The World Race ~ Mission Trip ~ Will You Go?

As I watch the video about the Word Race, I hear the words, "Here am I. Send me." from Isaiah 6:8.

Do you want more?
What is life about anyway?
Isn't the whole Facebook scene getting old?
Is it possible that God has more out there for you than this?

Check out the Word Race

It's a GOD sized adventure!








Even if...

Even if you don't plan on going to the World Race Mission Trip and spending 11 months living out of a backpack, healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead, you can STILL be inspired.

BE...

Be inspired!  Watch these videos about the different trips and be inspired to change the world....

YOUR WORLD.

The one that you live in...

YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

YOUR CITY

Serve the Lord in YOUR church and help to set some captives free.  (Did you know that there are people in bondage in every church?)

FREEDOM

Freely you have received.... freely give.

Watch here:
World Mission ~ Trip for young adults

Tomorrow ~ FREE Entrance to Over 100 National Parks

Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

National Park Free Day ~ First Day of Summer

Other Fee-free days in 2011:

• January 15-17
  (Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday weekend)
• April 16-24
  (National Park Week)
• June 21
  (First day of summer)
• September 24
  (Public Lands Day)
• November 11-13
  (Veterans Day weekend)

photo credit

Education For the Whole Family ~ Bird Feeding

photo credit


Bird watching isn't just for old people!  (That's what I'm telling myself.) 

Items needed:
1 shepherd's hook
1 bird feeder

I had Double Espresso put a shepherd's hook just outside our living room window, and I purchased a bird feeding block that he hung on the hook.

Even though it was winter in Chicagoland, the birds still came.  Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Finches stick around and are hungry! 

Before long, the birds discovered our food and came right up to our window to eat.  We got mostly Cardinals on our feeder.  I suppose that's because of the type of seed that I put out. 

It's very exciting for the boys to be sitting there doing their math and watching the birds eat outside the window!

Do you feed the birds?


photo credit

Wyndham Vacation Resorts from a mom's perspective!

We had the privilege (and I mean that) of staying at Wyndham Vacation Resorts at Glacier Canyon in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.


Wyndham Vacation Ownership is the world’s largest timeshare company with more than 135 timeshare resorts worldwide and I would LOVE to tell you about our experience from a mom's perspective!

From their site:

"Great Accommodations. Step up to a roomy 1, 2, 3, or 4 bedroom vacation condominium instead of a small hotel room. Enjoy the comforts of home with living rooms with media fun galore; elegant dining areas; fully equipped kitchens, and private bedrooms with pleasures like private spas." 

"You’ll stay at a brand-new property that assures you the same impressive list of amenities Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort guests enjoy — including five water parks within walking distance."

From moment we pulled up to the resort, excitement was in the air. Yes, the kids were excited about the indoor water-parks, indoor mini-golf, laser tag, playground and arcades, but more than that, I was excited about ultimate relaxation!

The front desk was wonderful.  They were extremely friendly and accommodating.  They informed us that once we get to our condo, we won't be bothered again!  Not once do they come through to make beds or change towels.  I really like that.  The only time they "bother" you is when you ask them to!

Things that I liked from a mom's perspective:

• Beautiful condo ~ tastefully decorated with high ceilings, leather sofa, and fireplace
• Open concept ~ helps the family feel "together"
• Private split floor plan ~ separates master for privacy
• Open kitchen with bar and stools
• Kitchen completely stocked with everything you will need except food
• Master suite ~ king size bed, feather blanket and pillows, flat screen TV, large whirlpool bathtub, private bathroom, large 2 person shower with glass enclosure
• Washer, dryer and dishwasher all inside the condo

This place was a dream and we were instantly comfortable.  From the moment we stepped into the condo, I felt pampered.  The whole place was great, but the thing I liked most was the master suite.  It was so big and open that when I needed privacy and time away I didn't feel like I was squished into a little room.

Our condo was just a short walk away down a few halls, to many fun activities.  Since it only took us a few minutes to get to indoor water-parks, laser tag, min-golf, candy stores, and so much more, we were able to easily go back and forth as we pleased.  That allowed me to rest and relax even though there was plenty for our family to do everyday!


Another thing that I really liked was that we never had to leave!  Everything that we could have needed (except groceries) was already there!  There was entertainment, stores, and restaurants right at our disposal within a few minutes walk.

If you are looking for a place to go for spring break or if you are just needing a family get-away, I highly recommend  Wyndham Vacation Resorts at Glacier Canyon in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

I will be telling more about our stay in future posts so stay tuned!

Here are some photos from our trip:

You'll find more photos and videos at this link:  Wyndham Vacation Resorts Review

This was not a paid review.  All opinions are definitely mine!  ;)

Homeschooling Fun ~ Beating the Winter-time Blues

What does your family do for fun in the winter-time?  Is anyone else like us?  After being cooped up inside the house, looking at the snow, we've just got to get out and go somewhere!

Here are some helpful links:

Easy Fun School has a link list a mile long!  Fun things to do in the winter (mostly crafts or activities)

Homeschool Views has a bunch of creative ideas.  Beat the winter blues

Eclectic Homeschool Online has a couple of articles, "Avoiding Homeschool Cabin Fever" and "Cures For Cabin Fever".

Kids Love Travel has a Facebook article on cabin fever:  CABIN FEVER? SPRING BREAK? HOMESCHOOLER? FIELD TRIPS

So, what do you do?

Ever test your kids? Not academically...

Sometimes, on Fridays (a lighter school day), I give my kids their math and tell them to do the amount of problems that they feel is right.  No kidding! 

Usually, Fridays are review day for math so it's not like they are learning something new.  I usually do this with my 14 year old.  Most days, he picks a fair amount of problems. 

The rule is:  The student picks the amount of problems, and if he misses any, he has to do extra of the type of problem that he missed!  Also, he can't choose only the easy problems. 

You may be surprised with the amount of problems that your child picks!  I think it helps the student feel in control. 

Let me know if you try it.

I Am So Blessed...and proud!

We are participating in Passport to India, a project headed up by SonLight Curriculum.  (It's FREE to participate and it's not too late.  You just start on day 1.)

Twice a week they send us a link to the latest video.  My boys (ages 14 and 11 1/2) and look forward to sitting down together to learn about India!  Even Espressos heart has been touched and he isn't the sensitive type!

Tuesday, I pulled out the little suitcase that is part of the kit that comes in the mail.  It's a little bank that you can use to collect and raise funds for the Children's Bible Club.  I helped Double Espresso take down notes for his fundraising speech.  He wanted to raise money at church that night.  Espresso is a behind the scenes / technical kind -a- guy and found photos for the big screens that went along with the speech.

The time for church came and Double Espresso clipped on his lapel mic and got busy. Even though he has been sharing verses from the pulpit every Sunday night, I could tell he was a little nervous.  As he spoke, Espresso was flashing the photos of children in India on the screen.  I could hear people express their emotions out loud as their hearts were being touched.

As soon as people realized he was raising money, I heard wallets and purses being whipped out and before I new it, the suitcase was being passed around and filled up!

The whole thing might have lasted 4 minutes but they managed to raise $47!  Since that was so successful, they want to pass the suitcase around on Sunday morning!  They'll have to get that approved by Pastor Dad.

I can't wait to see how this ends up impacting the boys.

You can join in the fun too!  Go to:  Passport to India

REDO! Are Your Kids Up For An Adventure?

When I first wrote this post, I didn't include the link.  It was late and I was so excited about what God was about to do that I forgot!  Thank you Luke!

 

I just signed up my boys and am soooo excited about them learning and growing in missions!

Is your family ready for the adventure of a lifetime? Join Mission India and Sonlight Curriculum for My Passport to India, coming October 5th, 2010!

Your children will learn all about India but best of all will be able to help raise money for the children in India to be a part of the Bible Clubs and learn about Jesus!

During this 5-week program, you will:

•  See and experience the real India — without ever leaving your neighborhood!
• Explore India's incredible, diverse culture, people and places
• Enhance your homeschooling with unique educational resources
• Meet the people God is using to bring the Gospel to India's 400+ million unreached
• Discover how you can reach boys and girls in India with the love of Jesus by supporting Children's Bible Clubs!

Engineering Projects and Links for Homeschool

Do you have a curious, budding engineer?  I have found some awesome links for Espresso (13) to use this year and in high school!  As I searched, I also found great ideas for younger minds.
(If you discover an outdated link, please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks!)

Elementary Engineering Games (I have not downloaded all games nor have I tested all games.)
50 Fun Engineering Games
Bridge Building Game
Build It and Bust It - Building Bridges Engineering Activity
Simple Machines - Learn about simple and compound machines (FUN)

Engineering Videos / Lessons
Discover Engineering - TOTALLY COOL engineering videos and activities for kids
Fun Engineering Games

Build Robots (links)

Science Junction

Electric Circuits - fun

Engineering Lessons and Plans
Children's Engineering Educators, LLC 
Free Design Briefs and Ready to Use Activities - Engineering Lessons for Kids

TryEngineering offers a variety of lesson plans that align with education standards to allow teachers and students to apply engineering principles in the classroom. (plans for all ages)

The TeachEngineering digital library provides teacher-tested, standards-based engineering content for K-12 teachers engineering content for K12 teachers to use in science and math classrooms. Engineering lessons connect real-world experiences with curricular content already taught in K-12 classrooms.

Ocean Engineering

Build the best paper airplane in the world - paper airplane plans

Electricity and Physics experiments

How to Make Your Nanorover

Engineering for kids activity sheets - Download ZOOM into Engineering printable activity sheets.




Jr. High Engineering

Free Engineering eBook for Jr. High student and teacher (great resource)
Taken from Intel Website - Engineering for kids

BUILDING BIG is a great opportunity to get kids thinking about structures they see every day - lots of lessons, learning and activities to try.

Engineering for Kids - "Discover the world of engineering for kids with our range of free games, cool science fair projects, fun experiments, interesting facts, amazing videos, quizzes and more!"

FREE Math / Physics / Optics/ Engineering Software Simulations & Lessons (some really cool stuff here)

Science, Optics and You - Engineering Lessons and Activities - "The following activities are provided to help you investigate light, optics, and color. They were written by educators with input from scientists, researchers, students, and teachers. Students, teachers, and parents are encouraged to work together to begin an exploration of concepts that help us learn about how we see our world."

Totally cool!!  AutoDesk Draw Lab

Fun & Learning About Bridges

Soda Play - Engineering and Design fun

THE BEST!!  Bridge building program and contest





Upper High School / College Age

Designing and Building File-Folder Bridges:

A Problem-Based Introduction to Engineering (written for high school but can be used for Jr. High)


Steam Engines~~~Free Building Plans


Education Portal - engineering for college students

Stanford Engineering - courses

SEE programming includes one of Stanford’s most popular engineering sequences: the three-course Introduction to Computer Science taken by the majority of Stanford undergraduates, and seven more advanced courses in artificial intelligence and electrical engineering.

Come visit my Etsy shop!  

Everything Beautiful 

Jewelry by Janet Powers

Homeschool Mom

Entrepreneur

Puzzle Maker

Lighten your day and theirs!

Discovery Puzzle Maker - You can make your own word search, maze, criss cross, cryptograms, hidden messages and more!

I just used it for our study on ancient Greece.  I plugged in vocab words and the generator makes the word search for me.

My kids love it!

Summer Learning Fun!

Here is a list of 52 science experiments that you can do with your children this summer. 

Keep their brains going in the right direction. 
Catch up on all of those science experiments that you skipped all winter!

52 Totally Awesome Science Experiments You Can Do At Home

Toys for My Boys!

(Example of what my boys usually do with KNex)

When we moved 3 months ago, we left the KNex and Legos behind vowing that we would go back and get them.  Well, we did but it took a while.  I'm actually glad.  When they walked in the door with the boxes tonight, TV, computers, and video games all took a backseat!  A new toy!  ...but not really.

Immediately, the weapons of choice were made.  Yes, we are firm believers in GOOD weapon toys!  (I know some don't believe that any weapon is good.  To each their own!)  

I was cracking up when Double Espresso came into my room with his "inventions".  He proceeded to introduce me to the "Viking / Cowboy / Gangster" weapon.  Well, that was interesting!  (I'm glad that he knows the difference and has been listening in history!)

Well, I just heard a big "OWWW" come from the living room.  I guess Espresso's creation of an actual shooting gun just worked!

Back to the drawing board...  I googled KNex plans and this is what I came up with:

Free KNex lesson plans for parents and teachers

Free downloads for KNex instructions

KNex challenges

What kind of activities do your children enjoy?

Photo from: dailydiy.com

Want your kids off of the TV?

How often do you have to tell your children to turn off the TV and do something, especially in the winter?   I know, some of you don't have a TV and some of you have VERY strict rules for TV viewing but that isn't the norm (unfortunately).  

(See that game in the picture?  I'd love to have it for our boys!  Anyone want to donate it to our homeschool? ;)

For those of you who wish your children would love something other than the TV, what are you providing for them that is more interesting?

Here are some ideas:

• Have an art box - Take a bin and stock it full of art supplies.  You can get plenty of things that are not expensive at Hobby Lobby or even the dollar store.
• Keep games accessible.
• Stock up on educational games such as these from Timberdoodle.
• Of course, we can't forget BOOKS!

What kind of activities do you provide that help your children stay interested in something other than the TV?  Please share!

Project For Families - Helping Others

I have a helping hands project going out all over the U.S.! 

Is your family interested in helping?  This is a great way to teach your children how to reach out to others.  Be creative in your giving!

You won't even get any glory from it!  Isn't that great?  God rewards those who help others, especially His kids!

You can read about it here:  Homeward Bound

This is SO much science FUN!

I saw this video on Homeschool Freebie of the Day.

We did many of these science experiments and had a blast!  We even combined the vinegar baking soda and match experiments together!  This was a lot of fun for a relaxed homeschool day.

Do Hard Things ~ The Rebelution!

The official definition of the 'rebelution' is "a teenage rebellion against low
expectations." When you look around today, our culture does not expect much of
us young people. We are not only expected to do very little that is wise or
good, but we're expected to do the opposite. Our media-saturated youth culture
is constantly reinforcing lower and lower standards and expectations.

The word 'rebelution' is a combination of the words "rebellion" and
"revolution." So it carries a sense of an uprising against social norms. But in
this case, it's not a rebellion against God-established authority, but against
the low expectations of our society. It's a refusal to be defined by our
ungodly, rebellious, and apathetic culture. Actually, we like to think of it as
rebelling against rebellion.

Read more from their website here: The Rebelution

I want to help our sons (and whoever else I can influence) to rebel against low expectations!
We plan on helping to promote the conference, volunteer and attend the conference. (Great experience for a teen!)

Coming to a city near YOU!

A Test For Mom!

photo: wired.com

I find this test so interesting! Of course, it's not perfect but it's pretty neat!

Are you right brained or left brained? I'm somewhere in the middle!

Right brained vs. left brained creativity test

How To Survive In the Wild - Videos

I would love to find a "Wilderness Training" class for the Espressos. I have no idea where to begin looking. I'm not interested in Scouts I just want some hands on classes or lessons. It would be so much fun!

So, instead, I found these videos on YouTube. They are taught by a Native American who is very soft natured. (The Espressos are outside with a magnifying glass right now trying to practice what they learned!)

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Want to experience Africa?

Christ Church in Oakbrook Illinois is having a World Vision Experience! You can go to and experience Africa and not leave Chicago! Don't live near Chicago? Find an Experience Africa near you!

World Vision Videos

"The World Vision Experience:
AIDS is a 3,000 square foot interactive exhibit that invites visitors to "step
into Africa" by hearing, seeing and walking through an African village to
personally experience the lives of children affected by AIDS. The stirring audio
tour and captivating photography will transport you into the life of an African
child and give you a new perspective on the greatest humanitarian crisis of our
time... AIDS. "

Reserve your FREE ticket today!

Blog Carnival

Would you like to submit a blog post to the Carnival of Homeschooling?

Subject: Thoughts and ideas about homeschooling

Deadline: Today, 6PM PST

Next Carnival held at: Dewey's Treehouse