Posted by Cindy on November 16, 2007
I love Family Fun! The magazine and having fun with my family. 
Lynn has asked for an entry about what we do for family fun around here. Lots – I’d like to think anyway.
We work hard and play hard. Fun comes in feeding the cows and brushing the horses. (Believe it or not, my children even love cleaning horse stalls!) Fun comes in board games and card games. Our current favorite games are Dutch Blitz and Yahtzee! Fun comes in borrowing movies from the library and pigging out on popcorn. Fun comes in an art or cooking project. Fun comes in a hiking trip or a short road trip. Notice I said “short” road trip. More than a couple of hours on the road and the trip quickly turns from good to bad! We love being together and, thankfully, the Lord has allowed us to live a very blessed life where we can be together most of the time.
Speaking of fun, hubby and the older kids are at church decorating a float for the upcoming Christmas parade! Little one and I decided to stay in because it’s so cold. But, I know they’re having fun together! I’ll post pictures of the parade after it happens.
Posted by Cindy on
The kiddos made this the other day, and boy does it smell good!
Pumpkin Pie Playdough
5 1/2 c flour
2 c salt
8 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 c oil
4 c water
pumpkin pie spice (see below)
orange food coloring (2 part yellow/1 part red)
Mix ingredients together. Cook over medium-low heat and stir until lumps disappear. Knead dough on floured surface until nice consistency. Store in airtight container.
Homemade pumpkin pie spice:
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
And here’s a fun recipe I have tucked away for December….
Peppermint Playdough
2 c water
2 c flour
1 c salt
4 tsp cream of tartar
4 Tbsp oil
4 Tbsp peppermint extract
red or green food coloring
glitter
Same directions as above, except wait until kneading time to add glitter.
Posted by Cindy on November 13, 2007
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Amen.
Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him, talk ye of all His wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually. Remember His marvelous works that He has done, His wonders, and the judgements of His mouth.
1 Chronicles 16: 8-12
Welcome to the 5th Edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival!! As we prepare to give thanks for all the bountiful blessings we have, I decided to go with the theme of Thankfulness. I’m sure integrating Charlotte Mason techniques and ideas into your homeschool has made you a very thankful momma (or daddy!) As you watch your children grow in their love of learning because of the gentle, meaningful Charlotte Mason way, you know you’ve found the key to combining family, homeschooling and love. May you be blessed in your ventures and never forget to be thankful to the One from whom all your blessings flow.
Remembering What a Charlotte Mason Education is All About
The Common Room gives an excellent overview of some of Charlotte Mason’s teachings in Charlotte Mason, Education, and Ideas, Part 1.
Did you ever think that taking care of yourself was part of a Charlotte Mason education? My4Sweetums explains this idea in Making Time for Mother Culture.
Training Your Child’s Heart
Higher Up and Further In has written a beautiful post about training a child’s soul to be motivated by God in Challenge Your Child with Greatness.
Praiseworthy Things shares a timely post about teaching the topic of loyalty to your children in Teaching Loyalty.
The Nitty-Gritty of Homeschooing
Would you like a simple way to keep track of what you’ve been doing for school, keep your family updated, and organize and plan your lessons? Living, Loving & Learning shows you how she uses a weekly blog entry to take care of all these thing at once in Plans For October 14-19.
How about exams? What would Charlotte Mason think? Freedom Academy gives an insightful look into how she handles them in Semester Exams Charlotte Mason Style.
Do you ever get frustrated with homeschooling? We all do at one time or another. Homeschooling Journey tries to keep frustrating days in perspective in Stay Cool While You Homeschool.
Do you ever get bogged down trying to do everything? The Educational Life shares how she tries to plan her week to fit in everything from school to housework, while not becoming overwhelmed in Rainy Days Clean My Toilets.
Dominion Family debates the need for a schedule versus an atmosphere of learning in Education as Atmosphere: The Schedule.
Nature Study
I’m never more thankful than walking outside in the fresh air taking in every slice of beauty that surrounds me. Yielded Heart shares a lovely blog about the importance of taking notice of this beauty in Why Nature Study.
Freedom Academy takes you along on a wonderfully fun Nature Study trip. Be sure to see all their exciting finds!
One Child Policy Homeschool also takes you along on their Last Nature Study for a While trip, but their’s is halfway around the world!
Falling Like Rain gives a very honest and pleasant look into how nature study is incorporated at their house in Nature Study – Relaxed.
Harmony Art Mom keeps a nature study blog called Handbook of Nature Study. She reminds us of a few of Charlotte Mason’s thoughts in Nature Study for Children, Part 1.
Bright Star Christian Homeschool explains how nature study brings joy to their homeschool in Nature Study = Observing God’s Creation
Life Nurturing Education is encouraging her children to observe the world around them and shares about her children doing just that in Learning by Observation.
Living Literature
I’m so very thankful for good books. Really good books that just whisk my children and myself away to another time and another place, making us feel as if we’re standing right alongside the characters as they go from one adventure to the next. Mama Squirrel has written a very lovely and thorough post about falling into books and enjoying the adventure in Notes from a Book Talk
Artist Study
Harmony Art Mom gives a wonderful overview of how easy it can be to add picture study to your curriculum in More Than a Heart Can Hold: Paintings for a Lifetime.
Dwelling in the Land shows the ease of artist study, even with little ones, in Picture Study: Noah’s Ark.
Handicrafts
My post called Handicrafts for the Craftless helps put handicrafts into perspective for those of us who aren’t naturally blessed with handicraft talent.
Music Study
Do you like hymns? In Music and Toddlers, New Little Blessings tells how she incorporates learning hymns with young children in a very gentle way.
Learning Fun
Dwelling in the Land had me chuckling all the way through her entry called Shoot! as she recounted their day spent learning about William Tell.
Ally Jo’s Erudition shares a high school history lesson and several links in Veterans Day – World War 1 Study.
Timelines anyone? Such a Time shows us how her first grader is keeping track of history in Century Book Pictures and Planning.
Play
Free play is such an important aspect of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy. In Masterly Inactivity and some Autism Therapies, Aut-2B-Home in Carolina gives some very concrete example of how free play has worked wonders in her autistic child. Don’t be fooled, though, there is much to glean for parents of all children in this article.
Visit this link to see past editions of the Charlotte Mason Carnival. If you’re interested in submitting an article for the 6th Edition of the Charlotte Mason Carnival, visit this link.
If you are thankful for this edition of the Charlotte Mason Carnival, won’t you leave a comment?
The cute clipart came from ChristiansUnite.
Posted by Cindy on November 7, 2007
Oh, I so want to be able to do wonderful handicrafts! Crafts so beautiful they are worthy to be placed in a cozy little shop on Main Street and sell out the day they hit the shelves. I would love to quilt, sew clothes for my children, knit colorful sweaters, make bars and bars of homemade soap and lotions, concoct all my own cleaning potions, and decorate a wreath Martha Stewart would want to hang on her door.
Even more so, I would love to pass down all those wonderful handicraft abilities to my children. But, alas, no cozy little shop has approached me. They probably have little need for the straight-stiched curtains that hang a little crooked in my bedroom. They probably have no need for a pile of scrap fabrics that I’ve never had time to turn into a pillow for my couch. They probably don’t need my wreaths whose decorations may or may not stay on long enough for the season to pass.
But, I try. I pass on to my children what I know and hope the Lord will bless them enough to be able to take those skills farther than me, if He so desires. I think this plan is working pretty well. My oldest (10)can sew a button, use a sewing machine, knit, crochet, follow a pattern, cook, bake, clean, do laundry, create small floral arrangement, and decorate her room nicely, among other things.
I’ve taught her some of these things, but the Lord has also sent some very lovely people into her life to teach her the things I don’t know. For instance, she really wanted to learn to knit. I haven’t a clue! But, our 91 year old neighbor loves to knit and has been working with my daughter occasionally! I also pick up how-to books at yard sales – how to sew, how to plant a flower garden, how to do small woodworking projects. Both my older children devour the how-to books. They’ve learned a lot (through trial and error sometimes) on their own.
Finally, my daughter is part of a Keepers At Home group and my son is taking a Contenders of the Faith class this year at co-op. I can’t speak highly enough of these programs to teach both boys and girls handicraft and life skills! The Contenders teacher is doing a wonderful job teaching “boy skills” like outdoor survival, fire safety and using tools correctly. Our Keepers group uses the various talents of each of the moms involved to teach the girls homekeeping and handicraft skills. We even schedule outside speakers and field trips sometimes.
Take it from me, your children can learn all the handicrafts they like and need even if you are “craftless”. It just takes a little bit of effort to find others who love sharing their gifts and talents with your children. And, never count yourself out as being “craftless”. When you really think about it, there are all sorts of wonderful skills, habits and crafts you are passing on to your children – even if they aren’t worthy of sitting on the shelf at the cozy little shop on Main Street.
Here are some other posts about our Keepers At Home group.
The Beginning of Our Group
Scrapbooking Day
Paper Quilling
A Christmas Party
A Service Project
Potholders
Fire Safety
Cake Decorating
Florist
