Friday Art: One Line Drawings

     Swiss artist Paul Klee once said, "Drawing is like taking a line for a walk."  That's exactly what my boys experienced last Friday using this continuous-drawing technique.  The whole idea for this art project came from Family Fun Magazine.  I get so many great ideas from there.  When I told B & B they were to draw a picture (of whatever they wanted) without lifting their pen, they said, "Really? No way!".  They found out it was easier than first anticipated, and we were all so excited with the results! 

Using a black pen to draw the picture, because later we will use watercolors to fill in.

Inspired to draw birds.

 

Almost done with the drawing part...

Now filling in with watercolors.

Finished product...inspired by an Aesop Fable

Well worth the time and effort!

Darth Vader + Headphones = Math done!

I wrote about how "Bach saved my sanity" a few blog postings ago.  True, classical music really does help my boys concentrate and get motivated.  Turns out, it works best for my oldest son.  So---he came up with just playing his "no words" music on his MP3 player.  That way, his younger brother can have quiet and he can have the music that really helps him concentrate.   This has really come in handy this week since we are working on finishing up the remains of his 6th grade Singapore Math---(the

Challenging Word Problems section.  :) 

Nothing like a little "Darth Vader" theme music from Star Wars to get you pumped for doing word problems!  (A little "Braveheart" music mixed in there, too.)

The Teacher's Lane: Happy Notes Printable

I came across these this a.m. while reading the "Econobusters" blog. This is from another blog she linked to: "The Teacher's Lane". These are printable cards you can give your children to encourage and praise their work. I love using stickers/stamps, but this will be fun to use with my boys. I know they will appreciate the extra thought.


The Teacher's Lane: Happy Notes Printable: Ok...raise your hand if this has happened to you. It's after school and you're preparing for the day tomorrow. Suddenly you realize that ...

One of my favorite quotes...

"Teach your kids to want little while they're little."

(I have no idea where I heard this quote.  I wish I could give credit to whomever said it.)

Philippians 4:11-13 and Proverbs 15:16-17

How Bach Saved my Sanity

     Yesterday calmness came to my home in a "Why didn't I think of this before?" kind of way.

     Let me preface by saying one thing I have discovered in my 5 years of homeschooling: If you choose to educate your children at home, you need to come to the realization that you will spend an inordinate amount of time with your offspring. I not only love, but  happen to really like my children, so I really do enjoy our time together doing our studies, reading to them, etc.   There are times, though, when this Mama feels like she might just loose it!  Yesterday, for example.  My boys were not being rude, disrespectful or any of that.  Just chatty and not "buckled down" to work.  Like a lot of kids in the afternoon, I suspect. 
    
     I had an idea. (From the Lord, no doubt.)  Something I used to do as a 6th grade teacher to help my students concentrate on their studies.   I put in our "Baroque Festival" cd.  Turned it up pretty loud.  Worked wonders.  Even made me feel better. 

     I'm not sure of the research concerning classical music.  I've heard that it is good for the brain.  I used to play it everynight when my boys were babies until they got to be older.  My oldest will still put in a classical cd on at night if he is having trouble sleeping.  I can't explain it, but somehow I think classical music helps to engage the brain in a calming way so that it can concentrate on other things-- like studying or sleeping.

     I just had to pass this on to my fellow home and/or school educators and parents!  Wouldn't want to keep a good idea all to myself!!!

Never Marry a Preacher

     When I was a little girl, my mom was always telling me, "But, whatever you do, never marry a preacher!".  I remember her and her friend would always have a good laugh about this.  It was an ongoing joke whenever the topic of dating or marriage came up. 
     I really did intend to heed my mother's warning  (albeit tongue-in-cheek.).  My goal was to attend college, get my degree in biology, then marry me some Godly man who wished to live in a tent and study some variety of plant or animal life.  Didn't happen.  I wasn't even married by the end of college!  This was definitely NOT part of the plans.  I began to earnestly seek God, asking what it was He had in store for me.  He spoke to me in a very unique way...you probably wouldn't believe it if I told you. But I knew for sure and for certain I was to be a minister's wife.
     That's why I was a little scared when the next man I dated (Darrell) told me he was called to the ministry.  But--- I was naive and in love...all that stuff my mom said about living in a fishbowl and your life not being your own...was all that really true or so bad?   
    If you know me, you of course know how the story has turned out.  My mom has teased me, saying, "When are you going to rebel?...Oh, yeah, I remember...you married a preacher!"  My mom's friend even brought up this joke at our rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding.  She gave my mom a great compliment, telling her that if she didn't want me to marry a minister, then she shouldn't have raised me the way she did.  We got married, moved to seminary 10 days later.  A few weeks after that, Darrell accecpted the call to a church as part-time youth minister. 
     A few years later God would solidify in my mind this "marrying a preacher" business.  After serving in our first church for two years we felt called to resign, even though we didn't have another church waiting.  Darrell and I agreed that maybe what we needed was to just be "regular church attenders" for a while.  The first  Sunday we attended your typical Baptist Church.  A wonderful service and congregation, but we were miserable. So, for the next several Sundays, we thought we would try something different. We saw on the seminary bulletin board where a church plant was meeting in a local high school.  We decided to check it out. Within a few weeks, the church asked Darrell to become their youth minister.  We met with them, but after prayer decided it was not God's will.  We were feeling pretty down about this, but when we got home to our seminary apartment, there was a message from a church on the machine asking Darrell to be their full-time youth minister! 
     Darrell and I often look back at that pivotal period of just a few weeks in our life.  It was the only time we have ever left a church without God calling us to a new one.  Many told us to wait until we were called to a church.  But we felt strongly that God wanted us to resign without having found another church.  I can now see God's purpose and plan in all of that.  We can distinctively remember those feelings of unrest when we thought we would just be another person in the pew.  God allowed us to experience that so that we know just how out of God's will that is for Darrell and I. 
     To those who think they may be want to go into the ministry, Darrell and I tell them to just make sure they are called, and that they marry someone who is called.  You know you are called to the ministry when it is the only thing that brings you satisfaction and joy.  Darrell and I cannot imagine doing anything else-- ever.  We won't even consider it, because we know we'd be miserable.   We might be able to sleep in on Sundays, clock in/out of a 40 hr. job, or go to sleep without worrying over some church matter---but we'd be miserable.  We know that for sure and for certain.
    
Blessed to be a preacher's wife,
Letha

A Website for All My Couponing Friends I Bet You Have Never Heard of...

    I do not have much time to blog this week because of VBS preparations, but this is a website/blog I found and I wanted to pass it along: faithfulprovisions.com
    You will find that it is more than just coupons.  She has some great resources on there to help get you organized, etc.  She also has lots of recipes.  I think you will also find more links to organic and natural coupons/grocery stores than other sites..  Can't believe I had never heard of her before!  (I read about her in either Parent Life or Home Life.)