Homeschool Subject-by-Subject: What We're Using for History

 

Happy Friday, everyone! It's time for another installment in the collaboration I'm participating in, where we share and review the curriculum we've used in each subject this past year. This collaboration is hosted by April at The Simple Rugged Path, Michelle at The Brave Homeschooling Mama, and Ashley at Joyful Noise Living. Each of these ladies have wonderful content on their channels about faith, mothering, homeschooling, and more. Be sure to check them out!

Last week, we shared what we are using for science. This week, we will review History/Geography curriculum. Again, I will have a link with the playlist at the end of this post. So if you're looking for ideas for curriculum for next year, check out that playlist and you will see a variety of curriculum!

What We're Using for History

For the record, I will just be sharing our History curriculum and resources today. We did a whole year of just geography, cultures, and ecosystems before we started our History cycle. That will be a review for another day in the future. So for now, let's just jump in to what we're using this year!

Again, we do use My Father's World. The current year in the History cycle we are using is called Rome to the Reformation. The constant spine throughout this year is Streams of Civilization Volume One, by Albert Hyma and Mary Stanton. We started this book last year in Creation to the Greeks, and this year we just continued where we left off. This is probably the most "textbook-y" of our spines, although we don't use it as such. We just read the section that we are learning about that day. We don't bother with review questions or anything like that at the end of the units. The boys have chances to show what they have learned through discussion, notebook pages, and games we add. Also, we did not read from this book every single day.

Ancient Rome

During the first part of our school year, we studied Ancient Rome. So, along with Streams, we used the above books with our history reading.

Augustus Caesar's World, by Genevieve Foster. This book we pretty much read like a read-aloud, almost every day until we finished it. It flows really well and reads like a story. And we really did enjoy it. However, I would caution Christian parents who are trying to teach a Biblical worldview to their children. There were a few blurbs in this book where the author discusses the Bible in a way that didn't quite sit right with me. So you may want to skim through the chapter ahead, and be prepared to discuss with your child if they're mature enough, or just skip the blurbs altogether. I've seen Genevieve Foster's books labeled as "secular, but Christian-friendly."

Make it Work! The Roman Empire, by Peter Chrisp. This was a fun book that contained both information as well as fun craft activities. If there was information about a topic we were learning that day, we would read it. Most topics have a two-page spread with fun and informational pictures. Many topics have a relevant craft you can do with your child, such as make your own knucklebones game, a face pot, or armored shoes. We enjoyed this book, although I wish we would have done more of the crafts!

The Usborne Internet-Linked Ancient World, by Fiona Chandler. Again, we only read out of this as was relevant to what we were learning. Good info without the reading being too long. Lots of good pictures. And we love the internet-linked Usborne books! There were lots of fun, informational videos and activities.

Middle Ages

Once we were done with Ancient Rome, we moved on to the Middle Ages. While we still use Streams, The Story of the World Volume 2, by Susan Wise Bauer, became our main spine. This also kind of reads like a story, but it's also very informational. We have really been enjoying this.

My Father's World did not include The Story of the World Activity Book, but I added that in. I wanted to have the resources to add in more activities or notebooking pages as we were able, and the activity book has been perfect for that! It really solidifies and enriches what we're learning about. I do the review questions orally with my boys. There are narration suggestions, but I just use those to do dictation with my boys as we have time. This reinforces what they've learned while they study the summary, and again while I say it out loud and they write it down. In addition, there are cooking and crafting activities, as well as maps, coloring, and other notebooking pages in this activity book.

The Usborne Internet-Linked Medieval World, by Jane Bingham. We integrate this the same way as I described with Ancient World above.

Bible

I just love how My Father's World weaves the Bible and History together! While we studied Ancient Rome, we read in the Bible each day along with that time in history. Now that we're studying the Middle Ages, we're going back into the New Testament to study the life of Jesus more closely. We use The Victor Journey Through the Bible, by V. Gilbert Beers along with our Bible reading. This book is kind of like a mini Bible study about key events throughout the Bible. We really enjoy the background info, as well as many readings feature modern-day pictures of the area we're talking about. 

As we have entered the Middle Ages, we have started Trial and Triumph, by Richard Hannula. We don't read this every day, but as we come to a time where a biography takes place, we read about that person then. As hard as it sometimes is to read about what happened to that particular person (many martyrs in this book), this has been a good, faith-strengthening book to read. This is another book where I would caution parents to read ahead, as some details can be frightening to young or sensitive children.

Other Integrated Subjects

I won't go into detail on these subjects, since we're discussing History today. But again, I love how My Father's World weaves so many of it's subjects together! Both art techniques and art appreciation are studied according to the period of History we are in, with God and the History of Art.

Book basket is something My Father World incorporates that I think is wonderful. They have book lists in the teacher's manual for each week of the school year, with suggestions of books that go with our history and science for that week. I'll put books and any relevant DVD's on hold at the library and fill our book basket. Book basket time at our house is 30 minutes. They don't have to read a certain amount. They take that 30 minutes to read, just look at the books, watch a DVD, or play a relevant game.

For part of our science, we read Galen and the Gateway to Medicine, by Jeanne Bendick, when Galen's period of time came up in our History studies.

Finally, our year's read-alouds take place during the time that we are studying.
The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare
Twice Freed, by Patricia St. John
The Door in the Wall, by Marguerite de Angeli
Dangerous Journey, based on The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Fun Extras

I try to bring in and incorporate fun extras and activities that have to do with the time period we're studying. My Father's World provided the chess book and castle set above. My boys have already learned to play chess, and they love playing one-on-one with Hubby. Later in the year, they will use the card stock set to make their own castle.

In the bottom picture, are a few things I purchased on my own. The two books are like Choose Your Own Adventure books, but they incorporate historical fiction in their scenarios. My boys have really enjoyed these! Also, I purchased Professor Noggins Medieval Times Trivia Card Game. We all really love Professor Noggins games, and hope to purchase more in the future! These games really help us all remember information about what we've been studying.

Whew!

That's it! I think I remembered everything! I hope you enjoyed my brief walk-through of what we've been using for History this year. If you have any questions, please comment below. Also, if you use or have used anything I talked about here, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Playlist: Homeschool Curriculum Review 2019

Don't forget to check out the playlist above and see what others have been using in History/Geography this past school year!

Have a great day, everyone!

THM Recipe Roundup: Make-Ahead Breakfasts

 

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And I have to agree with that. A good, healthy breakfast just lays the groundwork for how you eat for the rest of the day. When I'm not prepared in this area, I definitely feel it!

Breakfast is that meal I either rock, or fail miserably at. There really is no in-between for me. I am blessed and thankful that Hubby has joined me in eating the Trim Healthy Mama way. But, since he wakes up early in the morning for work, that means early mornings for me as well. Most mornings, we have little time before he has to be out the door. If I'm not on my breakfast game, he either goes without, or he grabs something not-so-optimal. Then, I end up just having coffee, starting my day, and not eating until lunch. So in order for us to be off to a good start, I have to be able to make something quick, or have things already prepared.

Be Prepared!

When I have a couple of breakfasts all ready to eat made ahead of time, that's when my week seems to go the smoothest. However, this doesn't always happen. Lately, I've been struggling. I know I'm not the only one who struggles with breakfast, so I asked for help from some Trim Healthy Mama recipe bloggers for this roundup. They were very generous and shared many of their favorite make-ahead breakfast recipes to have prepared for those busy mornings. In this post, I am excited to share with you what they came up with. Some I have made before and enjoyed, many are new to me and I'm excited to try!

As I said in my one and only recipe post, I am not by nature a recipe creator. So, I am so thankful for all of these creative bloggers who share their yummy, healthy recipes with the rest of us! Make sure to check out their blogs for all of the other recipes they have created as well.

Let's dive right in to what they came up with for make-ahead breakfasts!

S Breakfasts

5-Ingredient Waffles & Pancakes-Briana Thomas Burkholder
Briana shares, "I love to put waffles in the freezer to pull out and reheat!"
Coconut Mocha Breakfast Cookies-Unconformed Kitchen
Meat Crust Quiche-Yellow Glass Dish
Josi of Yellow Glass Dish shares that this quiche holds up well in the fridge, but she wouldn't suggest freezing it.
Freezer Breakfast Burritos-The Well Planned Kitchen
Sticky Bun Cake-My Healthy Journey For Life
Strawberry Bread Two Ways-My Healthy Journey For Life
This Strawberry Bread can be made as either S or E!
Orange (or Orange Cranberry) Scones-My Healthy Journey For Life
Carrot Cheesecake Muffins-My Healthy Journey For Life
Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake-Wonderfully Made and Dearly Loved

E Breakfasts

No Sugar Added Baked Georgia Peach Oatmeal-Protecting Your Pennies
Overnight Oatmeal Survival Packets-Briana Thomas Burkholder
Blueberry Baked Oatmeal-Briana Thomas Burkholder
Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal-Briana Thomas Burkholder
Pineapple Rightside-Up Baked Oatmeal-Briana Thomas Burkholder
Pumpkin Chip Baked Oatmeal-Briana Thomas Burkholder
Briana shares, "Baked oatmeal is basically my favorite make-ahead breakfast." And I have to admit, I love that it is so easy to put together, and that there are so many different ways to make it so that it's never boring!
Authentic English Muffins-Unconformed Kitchen
Pumpkin Bam Cake-Unconformed Kitchen
Homemade Breakfast Museli-Unconformed Kitchen
Air Fryer Apple Fritters-My Healthy Journey For Life
These fritters can be made either E or FP!
Strawberry Bread Two Ways-My Healthy Journey For Life
This Strawberry Bread can be made as either S or E, so I included it in both categories.
Cereal Recipes to Find Your Healthy Trim-Wonderfully Made and Dearly Loved
This is a roundup Judy at Wonderfully Made and Dearly Loved put together of cereals that can be made and eaten on plan!
Overnight Stuffed French Toast-Early to Bed, Early to Rise
Easy, Delicious Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal-Early to Bed, Early to Rise
Cinnamon Apple Overnight Oats-Nana's Little Kitchen
Cinnamon Apple Cheesecakes-Nana's Little Kitchen

FP and XO Breakfasts

Sometimes, we need to throw in an occasional Fuel Pull or Crossover for breakfasts. Here's a couple of recipes to help you out!

Four Vanilla Waffles-Briana Thomas Burkholder THM FP
Easy Dragon Fruit Chia Breakfast Pudding Cups-Graceful Abandon THM XO

Get Prepping!

There you have it! With 26 recipes here, there is no excuse to not be prepared for breakfast! As for me, I am definitely working my way through this list starting today! If you're new to food prep, pick just one or two of these recipes to make. Then see how much easier the next few mornings go when you have your first meal of the day all ready to grab or heat up quickly. If you're a prepping veteran, you know what to do, and I hope you found some new recipe inspiration here!

Talk to me in the comments! If you've tried any of these recipes, I would love to hear what you thought. Also, if there are any other recipes you use, or even super-quick things you do for breakfast in the morning, I would love to hear from you. And those of you who are already doing it, let me know how prepping has changed your mornings!

Have a great week, everyone!

Did You Hear the Good News?

 

He is risen!

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you."
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
~ Matthew 28:1-8

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
~1 Corinthians 15:23

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~Romans 6:8-11

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
~Romans 8:34

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
~Colossians 1:13-14

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
~2 Corinthians 5:17

Dear Heavenly Father,
No words can express just how thankful I am that You sent Your Son for me. Thank You Jesus, for all You suffered for me so that I can be with You in eternity. I will never know the full extent of your sufferings, and I have You to thank for that. Help me to live my life so that it is pleasing to You, to live in a continuing state of thankfulness, gratitude, and obedience. My Savior, thank You, in Jesus' precious name,
Amen.

Beef & Zucchini Hash-THM S

 

Okay, you guys. I am not a recipe creator. Seriously. I like to follow recipes, then tweak as needed for my family's tastes. But today, I had an extra pound of ground beef in the refrigerator that I needed to use for something. I also knew I had some zucchini that I had to do something with soon. So, I decided to wing it for once and see what I come up with. I even measured and wrote down what I put in, just it case it actually came out good. And it did! This Beef & Zucchini Hash is what I came up with.

Beef & Zucchini Hash

If you're following the THM plan, this would be an S. This makes about 4-6 servings, depending on how hungry your people are.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes

Instructions

First, brown the ground beef in a large skillet or dutch oven. Drain, if necessary, and return to the pan. Next, add the diced zucchini and seasonings and stir all together. Then, add in the can of fire-roasted tomatoes. Finally, stir it all up, cover, and simmer until it's heated through, and the zucchini is cooked to your liking.

You can serve this as is with a side salad, or put it over your choice of noodles. This time, I used Trim Healthy Noodles. Similar to those, you can buy Miracle Noodles (or any other konjac noodles). You could also serve over spaghetti squash or zoodles. Sprinkle on some Parmesan if you like.

Both myself and Hubby thought this turned out really well! Hubby liked it better without the noodles, though, as he said they made it taste more bland. I'm thinking next time I make this for noodles, I will add some tomato sauce and up the seasonings a bit.

If you try this, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. I would also love to know your tweaks, if you had any, so I can try them out!

Homeschool Subject-by-Subject: What We're Using For Science

 

Today, I'm joining in another collaboration! This will be an ongoing collab, where we share what curriculum we used this year for each subject as well as our thoughts on that curriculum. This collaboration is hosted by April at The Simple Rugged Path, Michelle at The Brave Homeschooling Mama, Ashley at Joyful Noise Living, and Ingrid at Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles. Check out these channels if your looking for mom, homeschooling, and faith encouragement! The subject we're sharing about this week is Science. Make sure and check out the playlist at the end of this post to see what others are using for their science this year!

What We're Using for Science

Since we school year-round and take breaks as we need to, we're still in the middle of our current school year. The first half of this year, we've been learning about human anatomy. And we are just about to wrap this up, so I have a pretty good idea of how I feel about the books and materials we used.

Our core curriculum is from My Father's World. For science, we pretty much stick with their recommendations. In addition to the actual curriculum spines, we check out additional books from the library for whatever we're studying that week. The kiddos are then free to look through these books during our Book Basket time, to enrich and solidify their learning.

Anatomy

For anatomy, we used the following.

The Usborne First Encyclopedia of the Human Body. We really enjoyed this book. The illustrations are wonderful, and the explanations are simple and easy to understand.

The Human Body for Every Kid, by Janice VanCleave. We also really liked this book. The lessons are short, but effective. Each lesson has a fun, short experiment, and at the end there is usually a diagram with a few questions about it.

The Scholastic Body Book. This book has a lesson and pages to copy for each body system. The kids make a paper model of that system to help them learn the parts and where they go. I'll be honest and say we did not enjoy this book very much. In fact, we dropped it about halfway through. The models became complicated, and the directions were not always clear.

The Wonderful Way Babies are Made, by Larry Christenson. We have not gotten to this book yet, but we did use it with my oldest. Since we have boys, Hubby has been in charge of reading this to them when the time comes. This presents a gentle, Godly approach to discussing human sexuality and reproduction. It is to be read aloud and discussed with your child. Each page has two readings. A simple passage for younger kiddos, and a more detailed passage for older kiddos. You decide what's appropriate for your child's maturity level. It also contains beautiful, appropriate illustrations.

Astronomy

For astronomy, we will be using Apolgia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy, by Jeannie Fulbright.

I did use this with my oldest and we loved it. But, I am excited about a couple of new additions. First of all, we upgraded our text book to the 2nd edition. Flipping though it, the book looks a lot more user friendly and exciting than the 1st edition. With My Father's World, we only get the text book. This year, I ordered a notebooking journal for each of my kiddos to use along with the text. I did this with my oldest with some of his later Apologia studies, and we really enjoyed the addition. These are fun with guided note-taking, study guides, and experiment notes. If you are using any of the Apologia books, I highly recommend their accompanying notebooking journals!

Nature

In Charlotte Mason fashion, My Father's World encourages nature study through a weekly nature walk. This can be conducted in any way you see fit for your family. Now that Spring is here and it's not so frigid out, we plan on making more regular trips to our local park reserve for our nature walks. In addition, I have a few books I've added.

Natural Science Through the Seasons, by James A. Partridge. This book breaks nature study up seasonally. There are lessons for each season, plus a calendar with a short activity to do each day if you wish. I love this book, but I honestly don't use it much, except to see what to look for each month on our nature walks.

Nature Study & Outdoor Science Journal, from The Thinking Tree. This is a recent addition I made after watching April's review over at The Simple Rugged Path. These journals are wonderful and both of my kiddos absolutely LOVE them! April has done many reviews on The Thinking Tree Journals and Funschooling on her channel, so make sure and check out her videos if you're interested in either of those. I'm planning on adding more Thinking Tree Journals into our school as we go on, since we are loving this first taste!

***************************

That's it for now, everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading about what we're using for science in our homeschool this year. If you have any questions about what we're using, feel free to let me know in the comments below. Also, if you have used any of these books, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Make sure and check out the playlist below for more ideas from other homeschooling mamas. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else is using!

Playlist: Homeschool Curriculum Review 2019

And stay tuned as we each share a different subject each week on what we're using in our homeschool. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tuesday Thoughts: Keeping Our Focus on Jesus

 

And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."
So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
~Matthew 14:28-31

The above scripture was the focus of our evening devotional yesterday. I thought it was very fitting, not only after watching news reports on the Notre Dame fire all afternoon, but also just seeing what's constantly, in general, going on in our country and world today.

Keep Looking at Jesus

Peter was able to walk on the water as he was going to Jesus. In order to go to Jesus, he had to keep his eyes on Him. But, the storm around them made Peter shift his focus. In noticing that the wind was boisterous, his focus was turned away from Jesus, fear of the storm took over, and he began to sink. Also note, that when Peter cries out in desperation, Jesus reaches out and saves him. While we may lose sight of Jesus at times, He never loses sight of us, and that brings great comfort, doesn't it?

As Christians, it seems there are so many things going on to distract us. To tempt us into a state of worry and fear. To pull our gaze away from the only One we should be looking at. True, we are commanded to watch at least a few times in the Bible. Matthew 24 and 25 tells us to be on the alert. As does Luke 21 and Mark 13. We are to watch and be aware of what's going on around us. That's just common sense.

But when we start focusing on the storm, whether it be personal, national, or global, and start worrying about it, our focus has shifted off of Jesus. We have given that storm authority over us. We forget that God is in control. Even though it isn't, we act like that storm is now in control. Because it is immediate, and it may be turning our lives upside down. The storm begs for your attention, and often, we lose sight of the forest for that one big monstrous tree.

What to do?

Do I have the perfect solution to keeping your eyes on Jesus at all times? I'm afraid not, my friends. And I think we'd be hard-pressed to find someone who does. Sometimes, I'll catch the shift in focus right away. And other times, I'm in pretty deep before I realize what's going on. But, I can share with you some practical things I do. Again, please don't think I'm perfect in this, because just like everyone else, I am a work in progress.

Pray

There is nothing keeping us from talking to God anytime, anywhere! In the scripture above, Peter cried out 3 words. And I'm sure he didn't take the time to bow his head, close his eyes, and fold his hands. Those are all great things to do to show reverence, but they are not absolutely necessary in order for God to hear our prayers.

Pray for situations and people that need it (including yourself!), and don't be afraid to ask others to pray. And then give the situation to God, trust Him with it. Easier said than done, I know! And I have no clear-cut solution to this. But I do believe that with persistent prayer, God can shift our focus back to where it needs to be and give us peace. Even if the storm continues to swirl around us.

Read

Don't neglect your daily time in the Word. Too many times, I have been guilty of this, letting the worries of life and the world distract me into being "too busy" to really sit down and read my Bible. When I'm stressed out with the cares of life, I have to really focus and be intentional about this practice. But, it has never failed me yet. When I take the time and read what God has to say, even with unresolved situations, my soul is more peaceful.

Gather

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
~Hebrews 10:24-25

Make sure you don't neglect spending time with other believers. We need good friends who are good Christians. We need to be in each other's lives to exhort, encourage, comfort, and pray for one another. Friends who will remind us of God's promises when we lose sight of them. Who will lead us back to the right path when we go astray.

Take Heart

I just want to add here, it is okay and normal to feel fear, sadness, even worry and anger when certain situations happen. But to settle in to that feeling and become a slave to it, God does not want that for His children! If you are feeling stuck, seek the help of a trusted pastor or counselor.

God is in control! Be aware of what's going on around you, but don't ruminate on those storms. Keep your eyes on Jesus, trust that He is in control, and that He loves you, His child.

Thoughts On Spring Cleaning

 

Spring is here! Although it is a gloomy day here, only sparse patches of snow remain. As I type this post, it is morning and the birds are all singing their songs to welcome the day. In the home, I am getting the urge to purge, in the hopes that I will soon be able to throw open all the windows and stir the air that has turned stale through the winter months.

This is a time where I have to set aside Flylady for awhile. Her philosophy is that Spring Cleaning is not necessary if you're following her method. Once a zone is decluttered, you are basically dedicating one week per month to power clean that area. While I agree with this, I am feeling the need to do an all-house overhaul and give our home a clean slate. Pardon the pun. I have to be honest and tell you that I didn't get nearly as much decluttering done as I had hoped to so far this year. So, my plans are to give my entire house a good cleaning while decluttering along the way.

The UNlist

If you're looking for a list of Spring Cleaning tasks, you will not find it in this post. For those looking for one, I apologize. Then again, there are plenty of those around the web. And you don't even have to look very hard, especially right now. There is nothing wrong with those at all. In fact, I use them myself. Instead, I want to share my thoughts on how I'm going to go about this and hopefully give you ideas and inspiration as well.

First, I'm not going to lie. This will probably take me awhile. I've been down the road of Spring Cleaning burn-out too many times. I print out my list, set aside a weekend, and try to get it all done. Result? Too much coffee consumed, cranky mama, cranky kids, and a couple of really nice areas paired with the rest of the house being in a bigger state of chaos than when I started. Um, yeah. No thanks! I don't want to go there again.

Think (and Pray!) Before You Act

Like anything else in life, it's a good idea to think about it before you do anything. What is the purpose of your home? How do you want your home to feel? To your family? To others coming into your home? For me, I want my home to be a haven for myself, my family, and anyone who walks through the doors. A place of rest. A place where everyone can relax and know they can just be themselves. A place of comfort when the world is pressing in. A place where myself and my family can minister to each other and to others.

Of course, to me, this starts with prayer and love. Ask God to show you what He wants your home to be. And as you go about your tasks, keep 1 Corinthians 13 in mind. Trying to physically make your home a haven, while being cranky with your family in the process, well, is pretty much useless! I'd much rather have a messy home with joyful hearts, than a museum-perfect home with bitter hearts. That being said, I'm one of those people whose mind can't rest in the midst of clutter, so I have to ask God to give me a joyful heart while making a clean, clutter-free home for my family. Then I have to recognize when I'm losing sight of that, and give myself permission to rest and take a break.

Cleaning from the Inside, Out

This is just my own personal experience from my years of homemaking. When Spring hits, we all want to get out and clean up the yard, wash the outside windows, maybe power-spray the outside of the house. And that is wonderful! We should get out and enjoy the weather when it's gorgeous! But I like to start early in the season, when it's still mostly too cold to do those things.

I like to start with closets and major storage areas. When I have those done, I feel like the rest of the house goes so much more smoothly and easily. 

Last week, I did my pantry. I did one shelf at a time, starting with the top. First, I took everything off the shelf and put it on my dining room table. Next, I cleaned the light fixture, dusted the ceiling, wiped the walls down to that shelf, then wiped the shelf itself. Then, I sorted all the stuff on my dining room table. The top shelf of my pantry is non-food items: cooking apparatuses that aren't used very often, paper plates, disposable cups and eating utensils, that sort of thing. Some went to the trash, some went to the donation bag, the rest was put neatly back on the shelf. At my own pace, I did the rest of the closet, shelf by shelf. Removing everything, wiping, sorting, reorganizing. When the entire closet was finished, it felt so good! 

This weekend, I'm tackling my bathroom linen/utility closet. At some point while I'm doing the closets, Hubby will tackle our outdoor storage shed.

Work Your Way Around

When all the closets are finished, I will start at my front entryway and work my way around the house until it is finished. Again, this will be at my own pace, and it's not going to get done in a weekend! This will be a good, detailed cleaning, decluttering as needed as I go. Again, having those closets done will be a blessing when I get to this stage! When I get to a closet in the room I'm working on, all I will have to do is peep in, make sure everything's still straightened, and move on. Whew!

I also want to point out that, as I clean, I note any minor repairs, changes, or decorating ideas for the area I'm currently working on. As we get time and funds, we make those happen.

Another thing to be aware of is, before starting a new area, take a quick peek at the areas you've already done. Maintain those before starting another area. If you're keeping up on this, maintenance, if needed, should be super quick.

Go Outside!

Obviously, when the weather's nice, go outside anyway! I don't expect to be trapped inside cleaning all day, every day until it's finished. That just leads to burn-out, and I've learned to slow down. But, I do like to save the outside cleaning tasks until the inside of the house is to my liking. Then, I will wash the outside windows, rake those leaves that didn't get done before the first big snowfall, and prep my garden for planting.

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Such are my thoughts on Spring Cleaning this year. Go at your own pace. Don't be a slave to a list. Do clean in love to bless your family. And, hey! Do employ the help of your family! My kiddos are by no means off doing whatever they feel like while mama slaves away by herself.

So, do you do regular Spring Cleaning? Every year? Or maybe even every couple of years or so? I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great weekend!

Books We've Read March 2019

 

I'm a little late, but it's time to share what we've read for the month! March was somewhat of a month of chaos for our family. Most of it good, but not all. That said, besides school and devotional reading, I did not get a lot of personal reading done. But, I will share what we did read.

Again, this is a collaboration I joined, hosted by Ingrid from Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles, April from The Simple Rugged Path, and Lee from Creative 2X Mom. Be sure to check out the playlist for this collaboration at the end of this post.

Family Devotionals

We have continued in our family devotional, Daily Light on the Daily Path, compiled by the Samuel Bagster family. Everyone is really enjoying this morning and evening devotional, and I'm so glad devotional reading is a finally a habit in our home!

We have also been consistent with reading a chapter out of Leading Little Ones to God, by Marian M. Schoolland, each night before bed. As I said in my February post, it is a little young for my kiddos, but it is still a great read. And some of the questions are really thought provoking!

Morning Reading with the Kiddos

I guess this is what I would call my Morning Basket. I've been wanting to put one together, but I don't have anything "official" yet. But, I do have a pile of books we enjoy reading aloud from each morning before we start our curriculum for the day.

We start off with a poem or two out of You Come Too, by Robert Frost. Then, we read a story from The Blue Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang.

Next, I pull out the Children's Book of Virtues, by William J. Bennett, and read a selection or two from there, depending on how long they are. This book is broken up into different character traits. Rather than read from beginning to end, I rotate through the character traits. For instance, the first chapter is Self-Discipline. I will read a selection from that chapter one day, then the next day, read a selection from the next chapter, Compassion.

Occasionally, I will pull one of our local field guides and we will study one thing. I have local guides for birds, mammals, wildflowers, and trees. An example of what I do with these is, I will look up a bird that we should be seeing in our area this time of year. We will read the information on the bird that's provided. Then if I can find it online, I will look up the sounds that particular bird makes. Afterward, throughout the week, I will pull out just the picture of that bird and ask them what it's called, and maybe ask a question or two about what we learned about that bird. My boys really enjoy this study.

Lastly, if we are learning about a new composer, I pull out Lives of the Musicians, by Kathleen Krull & Kathryn Hewitt. This book is subtitled, Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought). This is a really fun book! If you are studying composers, I highly recommend this as a supplement.

Personal Reading

I have continued my monthly reading out of The Life Giving Home, by Sally & Sarah Clarkson. Along with this, I am working through the companion book, The Life Giving Home Experience, by Sally Clarkson. I am really enjoying these books, and look forward to a new chapter every month!

The only other reading I've done in March just for myself was Christy, by Catherine Marshall. This is a wonderful book about a young lady in 1912. She leaves her parents in the city to be a missionary to a rough, isolated mountain village. I really enjoyed this book, it is definitely one I will remember and cherish! 

School Reading

Our read aloud for March was Twice Freed, by Patricia St. John. We are big fans of this author, and this book definitely did not disappoint! This is historical fiction based on the book of Philemon in the Bible. It focuses on Philemon's slave, Onesimus, and life in Colosse during the time of Paul. We all really enjoyed this book.

For free reading, my 13-year-old read The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken. I did read this ahead of him, as I hadn't read it before. I really enjoyed it and decided that we would read all of the Wolves Chronicles. My son also finished it and loved it. He is chomping at the bit for me to be done with the next book so he can read it, too!

My 10-year-old read The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks. Again, I read this ahead of him. I thought it was a fun book. It took my son a few chapters to really get into it, but then he really enjoyed the adventure! He also wants to read the sequel, The Return of the Indian. I'm currently waiting on that from the library.

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That's it for the month of March, folks! I hope you enjoyed seeing what we read. And, I hope you've been inspired to read yourself and have found some books for your list!

For added reading inspiration, check out this playlist so you can see what other Moms have been reading.

Playlist: What We Read in 2019