Mirror Broken Mirror

And just like that, the mirror slid from the top of my makeup case and crashed onto the tile floor.  Shattered, Broken, Shiny pieces…Some so tiny, others large chunks.

I cleaned up the mess and went on about my day but God kept whispering to take a look at that broken mirror.

Ok, God, I see a bunch of broken pieces of a mirror.  What does it mean?

He reminded me that I had said these things in the past:

“I can’t be a women’s ministry leader. I am over weight and don’t have that perfect look that all of those ladies do.  They won’t listen to me.”

“I don’t know what my husband can possibly see in me.  I am sure he is really not in love with me but just sticks around because he has to.”

“I have a pretty face but that is about it.”

He wanted me to see something that I didn’t see.  He showed me to stop looking at what I SEE when I look at my reflection but look at what HE can do through me.

We are all broken by things that happen to us. Our past hurts can leave tiny little scratches on our heart or can remove great big chunks of it.   The comments people make about us do affect us. Sticks and stones may break our bones but those ugly words leave deep scars that take a long time to heal. Some, we may never forget. I still remember the name of one of my meanest tormentors in school and although I have forgiven him in my heart, I often wonder if he even cares about the hurt he caused me.

Yes, I still struggle with my image but I am not going to allow the lies of Satan to convince me that I am unworthy to serve my King with all of my heart…and excess weight.  I know that through Him, I can do ALL things,including get the weight off.  Not so I can “look good” but so I can bring honor to Him by being obedient.   Just like Mirror, Mirror, the song by Barlow Girl says, I don’t allow the mirror to define me and I pray that you don’t either.

Help me decide

I need your help!!  I have to choose a picture to send in with my bio for the statewide women’s ministry page and I can’t decide between these two…

Please leave a comment with which one you think I should use.  I will tally the votes and send in the “winner” by Thursday so don’t wait too long!!

Choice #1

Choice #2

All American History Out Loud

The weather was absolutely beautiful today and since my children were stuck inside all day yesterday because it was raining and I was in bed sick, we HAD to get outside today.  But we also had to do school so I came up with a fun, creative way to allow both.  We have a speaker that we can plug a microphone into so we took it outside and I read aloud to them from our All American History book while they played.  You may be thinking that they weren’t really listening so it was a total waste of time. WRONG!  They answered every question I asked about the lesson.

I had a lot of fun…so much in fact that  my 15 year old son told me that I was having “too much fun” and then he took my microphone away.  Party pooper! Anyway, it just goes to show you that school CAN be fun and I promise you that if you make it memorable, they will…well, remember it! I love making memories with my kids and sharing them with you to encourage you to do the same.

Please post links to YOUR blog posts about how you are making learning fun!

 

Healthier Living

The aroma of “fair foods” at Celebrate Munford today made it very difficult to stick to my healthy eating plan but I did it.  You know what I am talking about…funnel cakes, corn dogs, cotton candy, BBQ. All things delicious but definitely NOT nutritious.
I was there working the Junior Auxiliary booth and encouraging kids to be active. We had hula hoops, jump ropes, and Dance Dance Revolution for the kids to move their bodies and even a few adults got involved. On the way there, I laughed at the fact that we are educating our community on preventing childhood obesity, yet the chapter currently has the most overweight president in it’s history…me! How can I stand there and teach parents about getting their kids to eat right and exercise when I obviously have a weight problem? Let me just tell you how.  Yes, I am overweight. It is no secret, I can’t hide it, but I am far from lazy and I do eat healthier now than I used to. I can tell parents and kids about my lifetime struggle with my weight and encourage them that they need to change their lifestyle while they are young because the longer you wait, the heavier you get, and the harder it is to get it off. I don’t care about the way I look because it isn’t about that.  I am beautiful! If someone doesn’t like me because I am fat, that is their loss. Even considering the amount of extra weight I am carrying, I don’t have any major health issues…yet.   I am trying to change the way I take care of my body so that I don’t develop any of the diseases or problems related to obesity and hope that I can be an example to others.

I recently read a book by Lysa TerKeurst called Made to Crave and I keep going back to it to remind me that I can do this.  Even when the temptation seems SO strong and I feel like I am going to break, I can do this.  If it takes re-reading this book over and over to keep my mind focused, then so be it.

In the past, I have made big goals and then fell short so I am breaking it down into smaller chunks this time to make it more attainable.  I think that if I do this, I won’t feel so discouraged when I have such a large amount to lose so my short term goal is to lose 25 lbs by my birthday, which is November 30th.  I actually started 2 weeks ago and haven’t stepped foot on a scale but I can see a difference in my face and how my clothes and wedding ring fits. I also have friends who are going alongside of me not only to support me but to get support from me.  Some of us are using SparkPeople  to track our food and exercise.  By posting in our Food & Fitness trackers, we can hold each other accountable. You are more than welcome to take a peek at mine.  If you see that I am not doing well in any area, (too many calories eaten & not enough burned for example), send me a note and let me know that I need to get back on track.  You don’t have to send me a note about today’s entry…I already know where I slipped up.

Thanks for helping me be accountable. Join me and let’s all get healthier.

P.S. One thing that kept me from indulging in the fried yumminess at Celebrate was purposefully leaving my money at home 🙂
 

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No Tears Math Lesson

You don’t even know how happy I am to see this child smiling and playing around while working on her math lesson. You see, she has really struggled in math and we have tried many different methods to get her to understand but so many of her lessons ended in tears for her and yelling for me…yes, people, I actually blow my top and yell! I have explained to her that I am not mad at her for not getting it, I am mad at myself for not understanding how to help her.
What has changed this year?

Well…2 things actually. The first thing is really something that I feel totally stupid about. It involves that pink thing in her hand.  Yes…a calculator! I was with a bunch of my Junior Auxiliary friends one day sorting out school supplies from our Stuff the Bus program to help needy children in our area and we started talking about calculators in the classroom.  Many of my JA sisters are teachers and they told me that they use calculators as early as elementary school in their math classes.  I was seriously in shock and when I got home, I apologized to my children for not teaching them how to use a calculator. Now, before you get all crazy on me and start telling me that they need to do their math without one, let me explain.  I am allowing them to use the calculator to check themselves.  They still have to write out the problems and do each step but now with them having a calculator, they can check each step before they move on.

So what is the second thing that has given this math hating teenager a reason to smile?  It is the Chalk Dust Math curriculum. I learned about it at one of the homeschool support group meetings in my area.  When I got home that night, I immediately went online and did a search.  I wanted reviews and samples and I found what I was looking for. She is really doing well with this and I am excited!   Hopefully the rest of the year will be free from tears and frustration.

Now, if I can just get her to be happy about keeping the litter boxes clean…

 

US Geography – Delaware

Using the Atlas and Internet to fill in fact sheet about Delaware

Today Andrew began the geography lessons that are scheduled in Illuminations Year 4 for 3rd – 8th. Throughout this year, he will be learning about each state in the order which they became part of the United States. We are making a state notebook using the printable sheets included in our Illuminations program that allows the student to fill in facts about each state as well as a map to color in as we explore the country. In addition to the great resources Illuminations provides, I also gave Andrew a coloring sheet of the Delaware flag and a word search about the state. We also took an online “tour” of the Governor’s House, which Andrew said looked like a normal house to him. We both enjoyed learning about Delaware today and look forward to the rest of the year as we travel the country.

Rooting To Learn

As I have mentioned before, my children are using English from the Roots Up to learn the Latin and Greek roots. Volume 1 was part of our Illuminations Year 3 schedule last year  and we will be using Volume 2 this year. Some people have asked me WHY this is important. I have received comments like “Latin is dead”, and questions like “what is the point of them learning Latin or Greek in the real world?” Well, let me just tell you…Knowing what the root words of a word mean, helps you to understand what the word means.  For example, you know what a telescope is right?  Did you know that tele means far away and scope means to look? So,even if you didn’t know what a telescope was, you would know that it is something that helps you to LOOK at something FAR AWAY.  This is just one example…believe me, there are many more!

Well, you all know how I like learning through play so I am always looking for fun ways for my kids to grasp what I am teaching so when my friend was selling her Rummy Roots this summer, I grabbed them! The kids and I had fun playing today.

 

  

Last year, I came across Cynce’s Place, which  has some  fabulous FREE printables to use with both volumes. She even has some fun game ideas you can play using the printable flash cards she made.

Here are a few other websites that have games to practice root words.

http://www.funbrain.com/roots/index.html

http://www.vocabulary.co.il/root-words/

Making learning fun everyday is what I try to do.  It makes me happy when my kids mention something they remember from months ago because we did something fun to make it stick.

 

*disclaimer – this post does contain affiliate links.

Bits Of Our Day

Here are some random pics I took of the kids working on their school work today…

 

Here is my youngest enjoying reading The Kid Who Ran For President. He said it is very interesting. 

My middle child working on his Chalk Dust Algebra I…he did great with it today by the way! Yes, he has an afro and no, it doesn’t bother me (much).

 

This is my oldest working on her English from the Roots Up vocabulary cards. She is reviewing the words from Volume I and will be working in Volume II this year. It is so cool to learn about words by learning where they come from.

All in all, we had an excellent day! Looking forward to learning more with them this year.

 

*disclaimer – this post contains affiliate links.

First Day of School 2012

Today was our official first day for the 2012-2013 school year.  Yes, we started ON Labor Day.  We had no special plans for the day and have been on break for a couple of weeks anyway because we do school through the summer so why not kick off the new year with a review of the history of Labor Day?  I believe that every day is a day to learn.  It doesn’t matter if we pull books out, we are always learning something.

In addition to discussing Labor Day, we  also got started on our new Math curriculum.  My youngest is using the Pre-Algebra software from A Plus TutorSoft and did very well today.  In fact, I left him with the assignment and went into another room to watch the Chalk Dust Algebra I DVD with the older two and when I came back, he had done 6 lessons and got all of the answers correct in his workbook.  You may be wondering why I have my oldest, a senior, doing Algebra I again…well, she has really struggled in math and I am having her watch the videos and do the exercises along with my 10th grader so she can review.

One thing that we didn’t get to start today, because I didn’t order it in time, is our American History.  We are going to be digging into how our country came to be and some of the important events that shaped who we are today through the All American History program from Bright Ideas Press.  I can’t wait to get started!  Hopefully it will arrive this week.

Since this is an election year, we will obviously get to learn a lot about the election process.  I have always loved unit studies and will be using Cindy Downes President and Elections Unit with my youngest (although the older two will obviously learn from it as well).  Although not part of the unit, he started reading The Kid Who Ran For President today.  I will take some vocabulary words from it and make a list for him on Spelling City and when he finishes the book, he will take a quiz on Book Adventure.

I plan on posting more about our homeschool journey this year because I want to give other homeschoolers ideas on fun ways to teach their kids and also so I will have a journal of my kids during their 12th, 10th, and 7th grades year.  Hopefully I can keep up!

Happy homeschooling!

 

 

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