Live and Learn Farm

But I Don’t Want to be the Policeman!

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Oh please tell me I’m not the only one that feels like a cop half the time in their home and homeschool.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about the traffic cop, the one that stands at the intersection and directs traffic.  I’m talking about the cop that has to escort you to the station in order for something to get done!  The one that directs traffic is a pleasure… the escort is not so nice!  I love being mom and homeschool mom to three very active boys, aged 13, 12 and 9, but I don’t want to be the policeman for them all day everyday!  

This is a new issue we are having.  Up until recently, I was a SAHM and their dad was also a SAHD.  We have a small business that we run out of our home, but he was managing it and had been for three years.  Recently, my husband went back to work and I returned to running the business after my three year hiatus.  So the boys lost having both mom and dad home and fully engaged at all times in one fail swoop.  So, in the boys defense, we are all in adjustment mode right now.  But that being said, they have been sleeping till noon and not even getting all their chores done, much less all of the schoolwork (we homeschool year round).  I was having to run behind them and not only direct traffic, but escort them to get the job done!  I don’t have time to manage them at this level and never had to before.  At the same time, their dad is feeling less involved in their daily activities and almost inactive completely in the homeschool realm.

 

Hands-on Activity for Studying Globes and Maps

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The easiest way to show the continents on earth is on a round globe, after all the earth is round. But there are times when we must use a map instead.  Many of us may not realize that a flat map is not the best representation of the relationship of  continents and their sizes. In order to get understand why, we will learn How to Make a Globe Flat and why we would!  

Distortion!  There is just no way to take that round globe and make it flat without deforming and transforming some of the sizes and relationships of the continents. One of the most common ways I’ve seen to demonstrate this distortion and how you can’t take a round earth and make it flat without have distortion is by using an orange peel. Another way that I found to be very effective in this demonstration is using a balloon  

To turn a spherical surface into a rectangle or other two-dimensional shape, we have to transform it or deform it by stretching it and/or compressing it. To see what happens when you deform a spherical surface, use a balloon. First blow up the balloon and tie it off. then draw rough outlines of the continents on the surface. Carefully cut off the tied end of the balloon and snip through the Pacific Ocean. Now try to flatten it into a useful shape. What does it look like? What happens to the shapes, sizes, and positions of the continents?

Cartographers have better ways to project spherical surfaces onto maps than stretching them by hand, but they’re subject to the same limitations. All projections deform the earth’s surface in some way, which means that every projection is in some way inaccurate. The trick in drawing or selecting a map is to find the projection that shows key information for a given region with the least inaccuracy.

The Mercator projection map commonly used on globes was developed in 1569 by a Flemish cartographer to aid navigators on their voyages.  Unfortunately, it shows land masses Greenland and Antarctica much larger than they actually are.   John Paul Goode.  He was very concerned about how the Mercator Projection map distorted the land mass sizes and thought it would confuse students.  So he set out to create a better map than the Mercator projection map. At the 1908 meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Goode described the Mercator Projection as “evil.”  It is for this reason he set out to create the Goode Interrupted Projection map.

Start a Home Economics Class in Your Homeschool

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So many of us homeschooling moms are running ourselves ragged trying to get it all done! I don’t think most of us have a conscious desire to supermoms, but I think that is the by-product of our “it’s just easier to do it myself” attitude. And honestly, it IS easier to do it ourselves… but are we doing ourselves or our children any favors? I think we all know children that have grown up with no responsibilities and have seen them spiral out of control once they meet the real world. And who’s fault is it? OURS! We have to prepare our children not just academically, but also for their roles within a family. Now, let me start here by saying I do believe in the biblical description of what the family relationship should be… a man is the head of the household and the wife is his helpmate. Does that mean the wife does it all?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  As a matter of fact, if they do, something is out of balance in the family. Everyone that lives in the house that shares in the benefits of the household should also share in the upkeep and maintenance of the home. So, it’s time to start a home economics class in your homeschool!

Let’s start with defining some of the outcomes of starting a Home Economics Class.  1. To get help around the house, in my opinion, is a viable and reasonable answer.  2.  The need to teach our children how to maintain a household.  3.  We can integrate other courses into Home Economics.  

Brimwood Press Worldview Curriculum Review

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I was intrigued when I was offered the opportunity to review this curriculum, A Young Historian’s Introduction to Worldview, published by Brimwood Press. Being Messianic, I was a bit worried and wondered how hard it would be teach my children using a traditional Christian curriculum, since so many have a denominational slant or perspective. My Brimwood Press Worldview Curriculum Review will also include a link to the review bymy  thirteen year old son of the book, The Secret of the Scribe.  Be sure to click through and read that as well!

Why should we teach a biblical Worldview to our children? Because we interpret our whole world through our worldview glasses. Every major life question is filtered through those lenses, as well as every minor one. Questions like “Where did man come from?”, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”, “What happens to me when I die?”. Every struggle, tragedy, joy and triumph is seen through those same worldview glasses. It impacts every aspect of our lives… our views, our relationships, our wants, our desires and our priorities… so it’s pretty important to spend some time with our children talking about worldviews.  

How does this curriculum teach this subject?  A Young Historian’s Introduction to Worldview is only four chapters long and is the beginning of their worldview curriculum product line. The four lessons focus on:  

  • defining the concept of worldview
  • identifing what all worldviews have in common
  • providing a tool to identify and understand the differences between the worldviews
  • and looking at how worldview influences history

Each of the four lessons present hands-on activities, literature activities, thinking activities and discussion questions to help our children understand how a person’s worldview shapes their perspective of cultures, individuals, literature, history, art and entertainment.  It explains how faith and philosophy are the foundation of a person’s worldview. The guide helps students understand the basic beliefs of four  worldview families.  The worldviews/faiths presented are: monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, and naturalism.  Twelve different religions are discussed, contrasted and compared and then sorted into one of these four categories.  and their   are presented dispassionately, numerous opportunities are presented to discuss these concepts and solidify your family s values through Table Talk sections. Several hands-on activities are presented, including the construction of boxes (all materials provided) to graphically illustrate the differences in worldviews. These lessons are powerful, powerful, powerful! If you purchase the entire set of materials from Tools for Young Historians, it is recommended that you cover these four lessons first, as they give the student a lens through which to evaluate the rest of their study.

This curriculum is designed for children ages 10-13 or in 5th to 8th grades.  

The first lesson begins with a brief introduction of the concept of worldview as “the lens through which people see and understand the world in which they live.” To reinforce the concept of seeing through different lenses, students are directed to the computer to view a geodesic picture on the publisher’s website. They complete an observation sheet viewing the geodesic picture with the naked eye, through sunglasses, and through 3-D glasses (provided in the bag). Next, students either read or listen to the story of Lensland that demonstrates how conflicting perceptions can have significant consequences. Lensland’s citizens divide into three groups: Twoeyes, Multieyes, and Thickeyes. As one might guess from their names, each group has different eyes and, consequently, views things differently. Their conflicting visual perceptions lead toward a clash that threatens the peace and tranquility of Lensland. The lesson then transitions back to the real world with two examples of authors’ writing about DNA demonstrating how different “lenses” influence how people might interpret the same information. Discussion questions are interspersed through the lesson, and it ends with Table Talk: Family Discussions Facilitated by Parents. This section might be used by the entire family even if they are not all involved in the rest of the lesson. It reviews key ideas from the lesson and raises questions for family discussion.

The rest of the lessons follow similarly creative formats. The second lesson teaches what all worldviews have in common—the important questions about the meaning of life and existence of God. The third lesson introduces a simple way to divide worldviews into four categories, using some very creative hands-on activities. The fourth lesson primarily uses stories and discussion to demonstrate the impact of beliefs in selected historical settings.

I particularly like the discovery approach used to lead students into worldview concepts. By raising questions and working through activities, students are led to explore their own beliefs and recognize the important questions they need to ponder. Because younger students are particularly susceptible to the influence of teachers, it makes the most sense to use this course within the family so there is opportunity to identify and discuss the family’s religious beliefs. Each family can then decide how far they wish to go in exploring alternative worldviews.

Brimwood Press has also published a series of four historical novels that can be used with students in this age group as a springboard for worldview discussions. The novels are set in different time periods—ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern–and feature characters with different worldviews: polytheism, monotheism, naturalism and pantheism. Titles are: Secret of the Scribe, The Jeweled Astrolobe, Beneath the Cat’s Claw, and Rebel on the Path. Brimwood should soon have available (by 2009) the Christian Readers Guide for Engaging Thinkers, a discussion guide for all four books.

nature journal post 2

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Hello! Today I am going to be continuing my nature journal series! Last week I was just talking about where I live, the animals I take care of and myself. Today I will be talking about Lyreleaf sage and dandelions.

Lyreleaf Sage: Also called Cancer weed is a hairy perennial (Which means it comes back ever year) that stands upright 1-2 feet. The plant has a rosette of leaves at the bottom and some smaller leaves up the stem. The stem is sorta a square shape, with whorls of pale blue to violet flowers. The flowers on the plant attract bees, butterflies, and birds. The flower was also once thought to be a cure for cancer thus where it got the nickname Cancer weed. The lower lip of the flower acts like a landing pad for bees and other pollinators. The stamen are right inside the flower so when the bee lands it is covered by pollen! Native Americans used the weed’s roots on sores, and the whole plant as tea for colds and coughs.

I hope you enjoyed my post about Lyreleaf sage and Dandelions! Next week I will be talking about a special visitor we had.

See ya soon!

Daytime Camping Activities

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Camping is one of the many activities people enjoy in Spring.  The weather is nice, aside from the rainy days that sadly aren’t uncommon here in western Tennessee.  Many people visit national parks around this time of year, enjoying the nature around them as the world wakes from a cold, harsh Winter.  Some people are content to simply enjoy an afternoon in their backyard, listening to the many creatures also waking.  Whichever group you fall into, a lot of people find themselves at a loss without their technology and the comfort of their home.  So I’ve thrown together a few things to keep you from going entirely insane in this environment unnatural to most of us.  You may even find that you enjoy it!

Like everything else in this world, there are always going to be a few requirements for camping.  First-time campers may get caught of guard when it comes to preparing for the trip.  Whether it be across the country, or in you backyard, preparation comes first.  And for us, that was buying our tent!

I think it goes without saying that, when camping, you should always bring a tent.  There are many different types of tents, some better than others.  Depending on whether you plan on bringing a crowd or not, your tent requirements will vary. Personally, my favorite brand is Coleman. They make some of the best tents on the market!  Now, one thing you’re going to want to consider when looking at tents it price.  It’s surprising how much a little house made of fabric can cost.  Tents are probably the most expensive aspect of camping.  Below are a few tents that find that magic balance between price and quality.

 

1.  Coleman Sundome Tent

 

Like I said, I’ve always thought of Coleman as one of the best brands on out there for tents.  I was a little reluctant to feature the Coleman Sundome at first, after checking out the relatively small price tag.  But I was pleasantly surprised with the great reviews of this tent.  This is a great tent for first time campers, or for a small group of campers.

2.  Coleman Red Canyon 8 Person Tent

 

If you’ve got a larger family, this is definitely the tent you need.  Now, you may be a little intimated by the price of this tent, but it’s actually a great deal compared to other tents on the market, especially for this quality tent.  Tents are, like I said above, almost always the most expensive aspect of camping.  But your only alternative is to sleep on the ground!

Now although the necessities of camping are important, you shouldn’t get bogged down in the details.  Even without a tent, you can still have a great day at a local national park, or even in your backyard!  Here are some of the many thing we’ve done over the years of our camping trips.

Hiking has always been a fun and interesting activity around here.  Whether it’s in our local neighborhood, in our backyard, or even in another state!  About ten years ago, we took a hike at Rock City, and since then have made at least three more trips to the mountain.  Each time is always better than the last!  On one occasion, we paid a trip to Grandfather Mountain, the tallest mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountain Range.  At some points, there bridges over a mile above the ground between peaks!

On the days when we don’t happen to be on vacation at the highest mountain within several hundred miles, we simple enjoy a hike in the woods behind our house, or even in the backyard.  It’s surprising how much is actually in your backyard that you miss, until you look for it.  Sometimes we spend hours outside, just checking out the area, seeing what’s new.

On many occasions, we’ve gone around the corner to the Wolf River Boardwalk, a trail that winds around a lake in the woods for about a mile. We’ve even taken the dog with us once or twice.  Though we’ve never actually camped there, it’s a popular stop for the locals, many of which are campers themselves.  There’s a lot of wildlife in these types of areas, some welcome and others not.  We’ve seen many deer in nearby pastures, but plenty of snakes laying across the trail too!  Not to mention the mosquitoes, which are always common at this time of year.

 If you’re the type of person who goes “all in” when you go camping, then you’ll be glad to hear there’s even a way to cook outside!  I’m not talking about your everyday grilled burgers, or a hot dog roasted by the campfire.  I’m talking real, quality dishes, cooked over a campfire!  Now you might be skeptical at first, but believe it or not pretty much anything you cook inside can be cooked outside as well.  Just a warning, it’s easy to burn dishes over an open fire.  You might want to attempt this while it’s still daylight outside.

Scout’s Outdoor Cookbook


When cooking over a fire, you’re going to most likely be using cast iron cookware, like what you see in the picture above.  Cast iron is basically just what it sounds like.  Iron cookware, which retains heat extremely well, will heat up quickly so watch out!   We’ve burnt more than one dish in the past few years using cast iron cookware.

There are a ton of things you can do while the suns still shining on you, but no camping trip would be complete without nighttime activities!  As a matter of fact, there are so many that I’m dedicating my entire next article to it.  If you enjoyed this article you should keep your eyes open for my next one!  I’ll go ahead and give you a bit of a sneak-peak.  I’m a huge fan of night hide-and-seek!

Ladybug – Backyard Bug Study

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This is the first post in a new series I’m starting called Backyard Bug Study. The first bug I’d like to introduce to you is the ladybug. I chose the ladybug to study first because it is pretty common to find and it is an interesting bug. 

backyard bug study ladybugs post

Ladybugs are easy to spot. Many have a red oval body with black spots, and a black head with mandibles. They have six legs, which means they are an insect. There are over 5,000 different species of these little bugs, and they don’t all look the same. Lady bugs are loved by most everyone who sees them. They mostly live in warm areas with lots of food. Forests and gardens are the main areas they live in because aphids are found there.

ladybug real

How to Catch Ladybugs.

Once you find them, they are also very easy to catch! The easiest way to catch a ladybug without harming it, would be to get a bug house and put it in their path so they most likely will crawl right on in! Try something sweet such as sugar-water, to help them find the house. You can also use a bug catcher vacuum.

How to study ladybugs.

What good is catching a ladybug if your not going to study it? Some of the most common ways to study a ladybug would be: A Bug microscope/magnifying glass, Books about them, and maybe even an anatomy work.

Legs

There are mostly three different kinds of bugs, the one with 6 legs, the ones with 8 legs, and the ones with no legs. Ladybugs are under the category 6 legs. We’ll be studying all of the kinds later on.

Friend or Foe

Some bugs can be pretty aggressive, such as: Wasps, Yellow Jackets, Fire Ants, etc. But then there are also bugs that aren’t aggressive, but just don’t help the environment, such as: Ticks, Termites, mites, and more of the sort. And last but not least, there are friendly ones, that help plants, like: Bees, Ladybugs, Butterflies, and other many other bugs. 

Food Chain

What are the ladybug’s predictors? And also their food? The Ladybug actually has many predators: Dragonflies, Wasps, Ants, Tree Frogs, and many more. The ladybugs have a few things to eat: Aphids, Other Animals Eggs, mites.

How to attract ladybugs

Ladybugs can be attracted by food, such as Aphids..a way to get Aphids to come to your garden is Nasturtium, Aphids favorite food. They also eat pollen, so flowers may also help attract ladybugs to your garden.

 

 

 

Backyard Bug Study: Wasps

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Everyone has had to deal with these little pests…Wasps, they’ll sting you, or maybe just build nests all over your porch and house. But have you ever wonder how to get rid of them, or maybe just learn about them? Well I’ll talk about both of those and more in this post!

 

Anatomy

Wasps are insects, which means they have the following:

1. Six Jointed Legs – All insects have legs with 3 joints, and always have 6 legs, look at an ant or something like it to see a great example of it

2. Segmented Body – Head, Thorax (The midsection of the body) and Abdomen (the tail end) are the main 3 parts of an insect’s body

3. Breathe through tiny holes in their bodies called spiracles – These tiny holes let air in through the exoskeleton and directly to the trachea (The windpipe) and then into the lungs.

4. Antennae/Feelers – They use echolocation to send sound waves that bounce off of objects then come back. Bats and dolphins also use echolocation. They can figure out distance by how long it takes for the sound to bounce back to them.

5. Metamorphosis – What happens when the young body of an animal goes through a radical change in form when it grows up

6. Exoskeleton – An exoskeleton is sort of like a protective armor that insects have. It doesn’t grow with them though, so they have to molt / shed yearly and grow a new exoskeleton.

7. Compound Eyes – Most insects have compound eyes, which means their eye is composed of thousands of tiny lenses.

Natural Replants

Here are some natural replants that will keep wasps away from your house/garden.

1. Get a hose-end-sprayer and fill it with dish-washing liquid, about 1/4 cup.

2. Add water til subs start to form.

3. Shoot the nest from as far away as you can stand, and still hit the whole thing.

4. Do this in the night or early morning, that way all the wasps will be at the nest.

5. Wear a shirt and pants that are long sleeved and thick, just in-case they try to sting you.

Benefits of Having Wasps

Wasps, and yellow jackets will actually kill bugs that will eat your garden, But they come at a cost…Sometimes if people get too close to their nest, they’ll become highly aggressive and try to sting you.

Attracting Yellow Jackets

If you have any apple trees or something like that, you can pick up the rotten apples that have fallen off the tree, put them in a pile near your garden and volia! Yellow jackets will come to your compost pile and eat the rotten apples, while at the same time find the garden and eat some of the bugs inside of it!

 

 

 

My Messy Unpredictable Life

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So, as I sit here on this crisp morning in early October writing this article, I reflect on where we are. Where I am. My Messy Unpredictable Life.

my messy unpredictable life llf

We’ve all heard how messy and unpredictable life can be.

But not mine.  That has never really described my adult life. My Life was together. Organized. Well executed. Everything worked and worked well. I seemed to almost have the “Midas Touch.” Everything I got involved in flourished. Until….

Until what?

Until I gave my life to Yeshua (Hebrew name for Jesus). I know that is not what you are taught.

Too blessed to be stressed… right? WRONG!

That is not real life and that is not scriptural. Don’t believe me? Read about Job or the apostles’ lives. How about Stephen? My point is life is not always hunky-dory and this whole notion that life will be perfect when you give your life to the Lord is just bunk.

Honestly, In my opinion after watching lots of fellow believers give their lives to the Lord… from what I see, it gets harder once we put our faith in Yeshua and our heart is pure in the desire to follow His ways.

Because God is cleaning us up.  Burning that flesh off. Tossing stuff out of our lives that is distracting us from our walk with Him.

Helping us get our priorities straight.

Which is where we are now. Working through one of the hardest phases of my life. And most definitely the hardest phase my children have ever experienced.

And Stress is NOT Pretty.

What it looks like on me…

An 25+ extra pounds

A shorter fuse than normal.

stress is not pretty LLF

Less confidence.

Less willpower.

Less focus.

Add in a few panic attacks, more grumpiness, exhaustion and stir it all up.

The resulting mess is where you will find me.

What got us here, you may be asking…

REALLY. BAD. TIMING.

In 2011, the very day I arrived home from spending six weeks in North Carolina with my dying dad…

Burying my father…

Packing up his house and distributing his belongings…

Yes, the very day I arrive home from my 1000 mile drive, I learn the business loan had been called.

A huge loan that we used to fund payroll because we paid our contractors long before the client companies paid us (months sometimes). Where do you get $100s of thousands of dollars all at one time? If I had that kind of money sitting around, I wouldn’t have needed the loan!

Do you file bankruptcy? Or do what you believe is the right thing and pay off as much of the debt as you can now? Pulling every dime out of retirement. Savings. Whole life insurance polices. Checking.

Selling everything you can .

Refinancing the house and creating payment plans for the rest of the debt.

Were we avoiding bankruptcy? Or just putting off the inevitable?

 

 

We are living outside of our means, financially.

We didn’t start there.

We were making way more than enough to cover our expenses and put back for college, vacations, retirement and new vehicles.

And then the economy shifted in 2007/2008.

And I found Yeshua.

And my priorities started changing.

I wanted to study God’s Word and learn how to be a faithful child of God. And a great wife. And an amazing mom.

But how?

I am caught in the American Dream debt trap!

Yet, ever since God has been clearing stuff out of the way.

And guess what, apparently money was one of those things.

I was never really all into money anyway. I thought.

I saw money as a tool (still do).

But it was my measuring stick. It measured my success (and yours).

So, as the economy disintegrated, and my financial security evaporated, my faith blossomed!

 

Out of Money. Out of Options. 

 

 

We chose to not file bankruptcy and go even further in debt to pay off what we could.

Four years later, we are still paying off the debt, but without the income level we had.

And now, ironically, we learn we make too much money to file bankruptcy.

Really? A family struggling to pay the mortgage and the utility bill and eat.

Driving vehicles that are over a decade old.

Not eating out.

Not going out.

No cable.

No luxuries.

Out of Money.

Out of Options.

But not out of faith.

Man praying as the sun rises in the mountains.

A gift guide for an almost 13 year old boy

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I’m personally a gamer, I play PC games a lot. And you need at least a decent mouse and keyboard to play some of these games because you have to react fast. Some of these things would be:

1. A Gaming Mouse ——– This can be very useful because the “Gaming” mice have a much higher DPI then other mice, which can be helpful for faster reactions.

 

2. A Gaming Keyboard ——— These aren’t entirely necessary, but sometimes are useful because the keys and more durable and weighted better for fast typing and other things of the such.

 

3. A Gaming Computer ———- One of the most important factors of being able to play a game well is having good FPS (Frames Per Second) which can be achieved by having a better computer such as a gaming computer.

 

4. A Gaming Headset ——– Now this actually isn’t necessary for actual game-play, But if you want to be able to talk on a chatting program or even hear the sounds in the game better, this is defiantly a good thing to have.

 

I not only play video games though, I also like some outdoor activities, one of my favorite being soccer, I’ve actually been playing soccer for about 7-8 years now. And to become a better player you need practice, here’s some things that can help with that

 

5. A Soccer Ball ——– When you’re actually playing soccer games they usually bring their own balls for the game. But if you want to practice you’ll need to have an extra one to keep home with you so you can practice there.

 

6. A Soccer Goal ——– Now this may seem like a very expensive thing, but you can actually make a very simple goal on you’re on if you’d like or go to a soccer field and practice there, but I’ve learned if you practice before the actually season of soccer you’ll play a lot better.

 

7. Air Pump ——- This is sort of an essential for having a soccer ball, because every once in a while they can get a little flat, so you’ll need to put some air in them.

 

 

Now soccer isn’t the only outdoor activity I like to participate in, I love going out for some other things to, such as:

 

8.Family Parks ——— We have a large one around here called Golf and Games, there are a lot of fun games to play there, Arcade games and also physical games such as baseball, and hence the title, golf.

 

9. Skating —— We have a small skate park near us, and I honestly enjoy it a lot…I probably would enjoy it even more if I was better at it

 

10. Bowling ——– Bowling is one of my favorite activities, although personally I’m not very good at real life bowling, I excel at the Wii sports bowling 😉