A Full Table

I am pleased to announce that A Full Table is up and running. (Remember that whole changing gears post?) So. While you will still find me posting here once in a blue moon, you’ll mostly find me over at my new food blog digs. See you there!

Changing Gears

When I began this blog about two years ago I had a vision to provide encouragement for mothers with a focus on homemaking and home education. Soon after I narrowed it down to sharing ways to enhance everyday living for mothers with young ones. Since that is my current period of life I figured that this purpose would best fit who I am and what I was capable of.

Over this pregnancy I re-evaluated the needs of my family and myself and cut out unnecessary or superfluous activities. I decided to continue blogging because not only did my husband insist that I needed to do it but also because I feel that blogging is part of the gifts that God has given to me. I am by no means a great blogger but it does allow me to reach out to my Christian sisters while not interfering with my more important duties of being wife and mother.

At the same time I knew that my heart was no longer in the mommy blogging arena. This niche of blogging required me to put in more writing time then I felt I had to produce posts that were worth reading. Since mediocre content and spotty posting are not what I strive for I knew that I needed to make a decision on where Wisdom Begun was headed.

After much prayer – and when I say much I mean A WHOLE LOT of prayer – I knew that if I wished to continue blogging my focus would have to change gears. I considered very carefully how I could add to the blogging world and looked at the issue from all angles. And I prayed and prayed and prayed and asked for the Holy Spirit’s wisdom in this matter. Soon enough I came to the realization that I could no longer blog at this spot.

So. I will no longer write regularly here at Wisdom Begun. Occasionally I will post as I feel led but instead my blogging energies will be going towards my new project. Coming August 30, 2010, I will be launching a brand new food blog geared towards recipes and tips to help you feed your large families. This blog will allow me to share what I do every single day and I look forward to a fresh perspective on the blogging world. You will find recipes that have been doubled or tripled (or more!) to help feed your crowd, as well as ideas on bulk cooking, menu planning, and other helpful ideas.

I am truly excited about this and will be posting updates in the next couple of weeks. I am grateful for those who have faithfully visited Wisdom Begun over the years and I appreciate the relationships it has brought about. Since I will leave Wisdom Begun up I hope that what I have provided here will continue to be a blessing for many years to come.

Photo courtesy of stefanweihs

Homeschool Year 2010-2011

This is the time of year when you will find many posts about homeschooling. Bloggers are sharing their plans for the upcoming school year and getting excited about the newness of this next year of home education. New books and school supplies fill most homeschooling moms and their children with readiness to embark on another year of learning.

Technically we school year round. Our family does not follow any public school schedule. We keep it loosey-goosey in order to make time for new babies, illnesses, holidays and the like. Summertime is way too hot in Texas for the kids to be outside and so they are stuck indoors. Thus we do the bulk of our education in the summer and like to take breaks when the weather is better for outdoor play.

Still, because it is interesting to read what others will be using in their homeschool, I thought I’d share what we are utilizing in the Wisdom Begun household. We don’t put our children into grades, but if someone were asking I would say that I was homeschooling a 2nd grader, Kindergartner, and two preK kids. This is just to give people a better idea as to where my children are academically. Truth be told, my oldest excels in some subjects and so she is well above 2nd grade level and she is just at second grade level in others. Same for my other children. We teach subjects according to their comprehension and ability.

Core

Tapestry of Grace, Year 1

I have to admit that we gave up Tapestry of Grace this summer because I was overwhelmed with their Digital Edition. Give me paper in my hand any day. I thought that Mystery of History would better fit our family’s needs and would provide the education that my husband and I decided was best for our children.

In the end we are switching back to Tapestry of Grace and will be purchasing it in print format. While Mystery of History is a neat program it was not meaty enough for what we were trying to achieve. My children also meshed better with Tapestry of Grace and were much more excited about “doing school” when we were using it.

To be honest, we are only very loosely following Tapestry of Grace at this point because we are less about rigidly doing a curriculum and more about using these early years as a segue into more intense studies. Playing, character training, and fun learning are key. By reading the books for the Lower Grammar level and doing the suggested activities Mrs. Somerville provides we are able to begin learning as a family and will be familiar with Tapestry of Grace by the time they are older and fully using this curriculum.

*For more reasons while using Tapestry of Grace with little ones is a good idea, you can read my http://wisdombegun.com/2009/06/04/tapestry-of-grace-and-young-children-part-two-2/.*

Math

Still unsure at this point. We are finishing up Horizons Math with my oldest but she didn’t really mesh well. I am looking into Math U See for her. My Kindergartner will be using BJU K5 because it is very colorful and heavy on manipulatives and that is how she learns. The younger children will learn by counting things out with mommy.

Science

I will not be using a formal curriculum for this. Instead, we will meld together field trips, hands on experiments, books from the library, lapbooking, and nature journaling to broaden their understanding of what God has created.

Latin

My oldest is using Prima Latina for this. So far she really enjoys it and I appreciate the DVDs that go along with it.

Language Arts

We will continue All About Spelling, Level 2. As far as grammar, I am wanting to keep it very simple and just give my oldest an introduction. I am looking First Language Lessons but I may just point things out as she reads. Of course we will continue just plain reading. Boxcar Children books are her current favorites. For Handwriting she will continue using the Copybooks from Memoria Press.

Art and Music

Just like with science, we will just learn these two as we go about our days. We listen to classical music and do lots of coloring and I feel that is enough at this point.

Bible

We are not using a curriculum or book for this. Instead we do daily Family Worship that Daddy leads; also I read straight from the Scriptures to them often and we work a lot on practical applications – character training and discipline – every day.

Thank you for taking the time to read what we are using in school this year! What are you planning on using your own homes? Leave a comment letting me know what works for you!

If you enjoyed this post, you will want to read: Homeschool: PreK Edition – Education and Homeschool: PreK Edition – Training.

Books photo courtesy of svilen001

I’m Back

When I sat down to compose this post I waffled back and forth as to whether or not I should come up with a witty title. In the end, though, there is nothing clearer than just saying it:

I’m back.

My last post was in May. In blog universe that is akin to saying that you have been on a sabbatical for at least a few dozen years. An absence like that with no warning can and usually is the end of all the hard work one has put into their little spot on the web.

Still. My life became topsy turvy in my first trimester and into my second. Morning sickness like I have never experienced showed up at my door and God used that time to remind me of my human limitedness. During that time we also moved and so I had to take a backseat to my ideals and expectations and learn that life is much better when you hand everything over to God and watch Him through your circumstances.

It was amazing folks.

While chaos and physical discomfort like that is not something I would prefer to experience again, the truth is that I have come out on the other side of this season of my life refreshed, renewed, and – yes! – humbled.

So. What can you can expect from this blog now? To be honest nothing much will change. I will still write about homemaking, home schooling, and the like. I also anticipate some interviews to be shared by some wonderful, godly women.

Yet. Our newest daughter is due Christmas day. And I am learning to make joy and contentment my new usual. So things like our study on Passionate Housewives Desperate for God and my series on organization will have to wait till I am able to tackle those things appropriately. Projects and things on my to-do list will have to be put on a shelf for a while and that will be okay.

I look forward to getting to know my friends and readers all over again. I have missed you all.

It is good to be back.

Super Star Speech Review

Probably the most important part of a child’s education is their learning to read. I know I have found intense joy when my own children have started to read or sound out/recognize letter sounds and words. Their eyes light up at the very fact that they are able to accomplish this.

Some of these letter sounds are hard for small children to pronounce and while most of them are able to learn correct pronunciation on their own, others have a difficult time. That is where Super Star Speech comes in. The introduction states that the “purpose of this book is to assist parents in helping their children achieve developmentally appropriate speech.” I received the Super Star R&L book by Deborah Lott to review as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew.

While I was not really able to use this book as it is not currently a need in our home, I will be sharing my thoughts on this program.

First off, a small introduction and “how to teach/lesson plan” with this book is provided. This is especially helpful for those parents who have no experience with speech therapy. Mrs. Lott shares the steps toward teaching correct sounds and gives detail on how the steps are accomplished. She also gives reasons why keeping records on speech therapy lessons are important in order to note the progress the child is making. She provides a sample lesson plan for you to get your creative juices flowing.

Beginning with “R,” you are then given helpful ways to teach your child how to place lips and tongue so that the R sound is produce. Following that is an R word list (helpful if you get stopped trying to think of more words that contain R! Think Mommy brain) and then the correct tongue placement for L and a word list for that letter as well.

Then comes what I think is the best part of this! Practice and games. It has been my experience that children learn better when they are able go about it in a fun, hands-on sort of way. Practice sessions in involve words that start or end with R or L and then move on to L or R blends. Sentences for them to read aloud for these two letters are provided as well. Then: games! Tic Tac Toe, Checkers, and a simple board game are given to reinforce your child’s ability to correctly say R and L. I can easily see how this would spur a child on towards practicing towards correct speech.

This particular book, Super Star R&L, can be bought in a spiral-bound edition for $18.95. You can buy the eBook version for $12.95. To tag along with this book you can purchase additionally a Game/Picture pack for $5.95. Printed on heavy card stock you would not have to worry about printing out the games from the book. Also available are 90 page manual to help you identify errors in your child speech for $22.95. Books covering S, Z, Sh, Ch, J, Th, and a complete edition (with all books!) can be found here.

Why We Don’t Celebrate “Earth Day”

So today is “Earth Day.” A whole day in which countries all around the world celebrate “awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.” (From Wikipedia) As I perused Twitter and Facebook today I saw many greetings from one person to another which basically consisted of “Happy Earth Day!”

Started by a US Senator in 1970, it began as a political push to get environmental issues in the spotlight. I kind of chuckle at this whole thing. While I am all for taking care of where we live, the whole day is kind of backwards. Our earth, created by an omnipotent, all-powerful God, is very important. He made it, He sustains it. Yet where in all of the day’s activities do you see any mention of giving thanks to that Creator? While people may not actually be worshipping the earth, per se, on “earth day,” they are pointing out the importance of our earth without giving the proper acknowledgement to Him who made it.

As Christians we are blessed in that we personally are loved and cared for by our Heavenly Father, who is also the Author of this universe. We don’t have to wait for one particular day to tell our children of all the amazing aspects of the planet we live on. Every time we read Genesis, or garden, or talk about the new baby coming into our life, we can see God’s handiwork in every direction. At the same time we can remember that God commanded us to care for that which He had made (Genesis 1:28) and we can raise our children to be obedient.

Becoming a culture that takes proper care of Earth starts with bowing the knee to Him who made it. Let’s not forget this.

(If you do not personally know our Creator and you would like to know more, please feel free to email me at wisdombegun at gmail dot com. I’d love to tell you more!)

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” -Genesis 1:1

Photo credit: ba1969

Oh, What Joyous News!

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.” -Psalm127:3

It is with the most intense excitement that I announce that my husband, children, and I are expecting baby #5. We are so grateful that our prayers have been answered and that another sweet blessing is being added to our family. I covet your prayers during the early stages of this new one’s life.

Photo credit: ugaldew

Salad Bowls

Below you will find a video on how to grow your own Salad Bowls (with a big thanks to my mother, who sent me this link). This is a perfect way to start your children in gardening. They will also love to make their own salads for dinner when they have grown the produce themselves. Enjoy!

Freebies and Deals Survey

I realize I have already posted three reviews today – Sorry! – but I would appreciate it if my readers would help me by filling out this survey. The results of this survey will help me gauge whether or not the new deals blog I have in the works will be helpful to those who visit Wisdom Begun. Thank you so much for filling this out.

Growing Your Groceries Review

Kimberly Eddy’s Momma’s Guide to Growing Your Groceries is an excellent book for those beginning gardeners who have the passion to feed their family from a home garden. I wish I had had this book years ago as it very clearly lays out the best way to start a garden for someone like me who has very little gardening experience. If you don’t know where to start growing plants to use for food then I highly suggest this eBook.

Mrs. Eddy begins with a chapter on how to objectively look at growing food for your home. She gives examples of going through her pantry and noticing what her family did and did not eat and the notes she made in order to make her garden a better fit for next year. Moving on, she explains how to choose the best location for your garden and how to begin making a plan of where things in your garden will go.

Gardening “jargon” oftentimes found on bookshelves in libraries and book stores make those of us who aren’t experienced feel behind even before we start. Technical speak can cause the most determined of us to give up before we begin and to feel defeated. This Growing your Groceries eBook is written in such a way that you can learn practically and easily just what steps need to be taken and how to go about starting a successful garden. You won’t stumble over unfamiliar words or processes that the novice gardener will not know. I especially appreciated her section on Fruit Trees and Espaliers because it was straightforward and I have not found before now such helpful instructions on this subject before.

Information on dirt, herbs and flowers, climates, food preservation is offered and helps one choose what exactly your individual family can and should plant. There is also one whole chapter called “What do you need to grow?” that is entirely dedicated to guiding you towards making the best planting decisions. 6 questions are provided that give you a chance to think through the necessary processes towards making this garden to be the most successful it can be. Do you have a question as to whether you should start with seeds or plants? Mrs. Eddy provides information on this as well.

A list of “Helpful Resources” is provided at the very end is provided for those who would like more reading.

This is one eBook that I feel I cannot recommend highly enough. It is affordable – if you wish to download it is only $7.95 -, easy to read and understand, and was written with the family’s best interest and best use of mother’s time in mind. Mrs. Eddy has used her own expertise and experience to provide a practical manual that at 69 pages is small enough for busy mother’s to find time to read. Make sure to visit this page and order it for yourself. She also has many other eBooks available to help homemakers in their journey towards providing the best that they can for their family!

*A copy of Momma’s Guide to Growing Your Groceries was provided to me to review. The views contained herein are my own.*