Taking a Blog Walk Through our TOS Crew Blogs

The Old Schoolhouse (TOS) Homeschool Crew is a group of dedicated homeschool parents tasked to review homeschool products. Most of them are located in the USA while some of us are in different parts of the world like Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and myself – Philippines. There are 250 homeschool product reviewers on the homeschool crew with 250 blogs. I’ve created this Blog Walk for all of us to be able to visit each others’ blogs. We are now on Week 3 and what we’ve found so far is this treasure house of homeschool blogs. Here’s this week’s blogs to read that I’m sharing with my readers. Click on the blogs and you may just find one or two that can be an encouragement to you as you homeschool your children.

1. All American Family
2. Growing Fruit
3. Learning to Teach
4. Codex Young Author's Publishing Program
5. Stairsteps Homeschool Academy
6. Kingdom Academy
7. Living Sola Gratia
8. Wynfield Christian Academy
9. The Cow Queen
10. Peace Creek on the Prairie

Book Review: 15 Good Reasons Not to Go to Church And One Great Reason You Should by Michael J. Insalaco

15 Good Reasons Not to Go to Church And One Great Reason You Should by author Michael J. Insalaco takes a good look at 15 reasons why people say they can’t go to church and offers a different perspective on every reasoning. Common reasons like Sundays are their only day off, or they’re going to be asked to volunteer or they don’t know/don’t have a Bible to other reasons like the pastors are always asking for money or they’ve seen pastors abuse their authority are all cited in here. 

He then offers his own views based on what the Bible says about it and encourages the readers to try and go to church anyway. After citing the 15 reasons, he offers one very good reason to go to church (you have to buy the book to find out what that is). The last part of the book then helps the one searching for a church with some specific guidelines on how to choose a church that is suited for himself or for his family.

At first look, I didn’t think I would be interested in 15 Good Reasons Not to Go to Church And One Great Reason You Should because it looked like such a serious book. But after reading the first 50 pages, I found myself laughing out loud while reading and not wanting to stop reading! 

Admittedly, finding a church to attend is a serious matter, but Michael J. Insalaco manages to find the humor in this search. It may seem as if a debate is brewing in between its pages, but surprisingly it does  not. It is a very easy read, with each chapter not extending beyond five pages. Easy to read but with a very meaty content, written in an  entertaining and encouraging style.

I agree with the reviews written at the back of the book that this should be read by every Christian. It should also be given to any of your friends or loved ones who are hesitant or don’t want to go to church. As I write this, I’m still chuckling to myself thinking about the imaginary woman sitting in the back row ready to whack you with her purse if you make a mistake. The author’s advice: whack her back :). Seriously, though, this truly is a good book to read for every Christian who does or doesn’t have trouble asking someone to go to church with him. Not only that, it is also for someone who is seriously seeking for a church to go to.

Note: I have been given a free copy of this book by Bring It On! Communications in exchange for my honest review. All opinions herein are mine. I did not receive any monetary compensation in exchange for this review. However, there are affiliate links within the post. Should you decide to purchase this item through my link, my family will be blessed with a percentage of that purchase.

Why We Homeschool – Our Core Reason, Our Vision

In our TOS Homeschool Crew forums, one of the members asked us our reasons for homeschooling. There are 250 of us in the TOS Homeschool Crew and there are as many reasons for each family. Here’s our family’s core reason for homeschooling our children:

“After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.

The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord.”

                                              Judges 2:10-13, NLT

When we were prayerfully considering homeschooling our eldest child, God gave me a vision for our children. The vision is that each one of our children will become leaders when they grow up, and they will be strong leaders for the body of Christ.

I grew up in a non-Christian family with values that changed every time the wind changed directions. My husband, on the other hand, grew up with Christian parents who brought him and his siblings to church every Sunday. Still, the family values he grew up with was still askew. He remembers that they were not taught how to live the Christian life. He thinks that maybe it’s because his parents thought that taking them to church every Sunday was enough.

We started homeschooling with the desire to teach our children about God, how He loves us so much that He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins. We wanted to teach them how to live a righteous life in God’s eyes. We desired for them to grow up seeking the will of God and obeying it in their lives.

In that vision, we saw how our present decisions will affect not only the lives of our children, but also the lives of the generations that will come after them – our grandchildren and great grandchildren and so on,

No, we don’t want any in our next generations to grow up with no knowledge of God and how great and mighty He is. We don’t want them to forget God’s faithfulness to our families. By God’s grace, every generation that will come after us will know and love God, their lives becoming a testimony for others that will bring praises and honor to God.

It is this vision that pushes us to keep on doing what we are doing despite all the odds against us. I pray that this vision will carry us through the years to come.

Speaking of our TOS Homeschool Crew, here are ten more of my crewmates’ blogs for your reading pleasure.

1. Second Star to the Right and Straight On Till Morning
2. Surviving The Testosterone
3. Family Style School
4. School Around The Bible
5. 1628 The Story of The Goebels 5
6. Morris Family Madness
7. Homeschool Musings
8. Homeschooling (and then some!)
9. Heartfelt Homeschooling
10. following Him home

 

For The Children’s Sake Book Study: Chapter 1 “What Is Education”

For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School

As I have written in my previous post, I am inviting Filipino homeschoolers to join in this discussion on the Charlotte Mason homeschooling method. This discussion is based on Susan Schaeffer Macaulay’s book For The Children’s Sake. I am also inviting other homeschoolers all over the world to share your insights with us. To join, all you need to do is leave a comment here.

Chapter 1                    “What Is Education?”     (Part 1)

In this chapter, the author talks about their search for the perfect school for their child. This begs an answer to the question “What should we aim for when thinking about education?” In answer to this, she looks at some of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education.

Here are some points for our discussion:

“Charlotte Mason believed passionately that children are persons who should be treated as individuals as they are introduced to the variety and richness of the world in which they live. She believed that Biblical Christianity is truth.”

“She really loved the children she taught. They were not just interesting specimens or an intriguing challenge. From the very start, they were valued friends, persons whom she respected. And this in a generation when children were normally meant to be “seen and not heard.”

“Children have often been the chattels of the adults. Their worth is constantly expressed in terms of dollars and cents, their education in terms of their being a cog in a machine, to be made fit for the highest paid job possible.”

“When a baby is picked up, spoken to, and loved, he is starting his education as God planned it. For all our lives we are human beings, in an active state of learning, responding, understanding. Education extends to all of life.”

My thoughts:

Over 7 years ago, when I first considered to educate my eldest at home, the question of what education really is was not my priority. I believed that education started with the kind of curriculum that I would use to teach my children. Through the years, my philosophy on homeschooling has slowly changed – from curriculum based to children’s needs based.

Having also had the experience of a child  that was meant only to be seen and not heard, my husband and I raised our own children as individuals that deserved respect. We always treated them as people who understood what was happening around them even if they are just babies.

Although I still subscribed to the curriculum first philosophy, it wasn’t until we were into our third year of homeschooling that I learned about Charlotte Mason through Cindy Rushton. I have learned that everything in life is education. Education is not only that which are read in textbooks and workbooks, but the real education is in what our children experience in family life and relationships.

So these are my thoughts for now. Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment here so that we can all learn from each other.

* Words in italics are direct quotations from For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, Chap 1, pages 3,5, 6,7.

Sodastream Weekend: Why We Like Sodastream

Our family used to be big on drinking softdrinks. I love to drink Coke on a hot, summer day with lots of ice in it. The fizz just makes me feel so good. As we have grown older and gained weight, we’ve made an effort to drink more water at home and wherever we go. Even our children are used to drinking lots of good and healthy water.

I do have to admit, though, that I certainly miss softdrinks and would give in to a craving once in a while (especially when the hubby isn’t home). For the most part, though, I really try to avoid drinking softdrinks as much as I can.

This avoidance have stopped, of course, ever since we got our very own Soda Stream Soda Maker at home. Almost everyday, we would make our own soda and enjoy ourselves.

Here are a few reasons why we love Sodastream:

1. It is very easy to create, children can do it themselves.
 

2. The gadget itself always sits on our counter. Due to its slim design, it doesn’t take up much space.

3. We no longer buy softdrinks, saving us a lot of trips outside the house and the cost of buying it.

4. For every liter of soda we drink, we are actually just drinking 23 parts water + 1 part Sodastream syrup.

5. We don’t throw away softdrink plastic bottles that only serve to pollute us.

6. Even if the soda stays in our refrigerator for days, it does not go flat and lose the fizz. (They claim that soda will not go flat for 7 days, we haven’t proven that yet because the longest it’s been in our ref is 4 days.)

7. The syrups are really delicious, and with so many choices to choose from, you won’t tire of one flavor easily. Some of it taste just like its commercial equivalent. Some are really special and taste like no other – my favorite ones are Orange and Honeydew Melon.

8. Honestly speaking, it does cost about P3.00 more than if you had just bought a liter of commercial softdrinks, but with Sodastream, you know what’s in your softdrinks and it’s mostly water.

So this is it for now. If you would like to see a video of how it works, click here.

If you’re interested to purchase a Sodastream Starter Kit for your family, go here.

Thanks to All the Fathers That I Love and Admire

At the top of my list is my own dad, Enrique Lim. I thank God for him because without him, I would not be. He is the solid wall behind me, the one who I know I can always count on. He is now in his 70’s, still very active in business and loves to care for all his grandchildren. I pray that he will get to know God as his Lord and Saviour and experience the peace that passes all understanding, coming only from God.

 

This is my cool brother-in-law, Kuya Tanny Panahon. He married my sister, Zenia, when I was very young. Because I was very close to my sister, I went everywhere with them and their three children. I can no longer count how many vacations I’ve been to with their family. Now that we have four children of our own, we still take our vacations with them. I have observed their life and seen their struggles and triumphs. Their children are all adults now with families of their own. To me, he is my shining light, still conquering new territories in his life – wakeboarding, white-water rafting and many other things. He is a wonderful husband to my sister, a great dad to his children and a doting grandfather to his two grandsons. 

 

My late father-in-law, Papalo Ernesto Padrelanan, to whom I will always be grateful for the life of my husband. He loved his family, taught them the importance of worshipping God, brought them to church every Sunday.

This is my niece and her husband, Edwin. They have two boys. I love this man because he displays such faith in God, he is hardworking and ready to take on new things with their life. He loves my niece and their boys very much.

This is our former church Pastor, James Aberin. He holds a place of honor in my heart because he has been there for us for so many years. He taught me and hubby to love the Lord, to love each other, to forgive each other. His faith in God is unwavering. He is bright testimony of God’s love.

I thank the Lord for filling our lives with such good fathers. My salute goes to all the hardworking fathers out there (and this includes all my brothers-in-law), without you a family can’t be complete.

And to the greatest Father of all, God the Father. You are worthy of all glory, honor and praise!

Happy Father’s Day!

Thanks to All the Fathers That I Love and Admire

 

At the top of my list is my own dad, Enrique Lim. I thank God for him because without him, I would not be. He is the solid wall behind me, the one who I know I can always count on. He is now in his 70’s, still very active in business and loves to care for all his grandchildren. I pray that he will get to know God as his Lord and Saviour and experience the peace that passes all understanding, coming only from God.

 

This is my cool brother-in-law, Kuya Tanny Panahon. He married my sister, Zenia, when I was very young. Because I was very close to my sister, I went everywhere with them and their three children. I can no longer count how many vacations I’ve been to with their family. Now that we have four children of our own, we still take our vacations with them. I have observed their life and seen their struggles and triumphs. Their children are all adults now with families of their own. To me, he is my shining light, still conquering new territories in his life – wakeboarding, white-water rafting and many other things. He is a wonderful husband to my sister, a great dad to his children and a doting grandfather to his two grandsons. 

 

My late father-in-law, Papalo Ernesto Padrelanan, to whom I will always be grateful for the life of my husband. He loved his family, taught them the importance of worshipping God, brought them to church every Sunday.

This is my niece and her husband, Edwin. They have two boys.I love this man because he displays such faith in God, he is hardworking and ready to take on new things with their life. He loves my niece and their boys very much.

This is our former church Pastor, James Aberin. He holds a place of honor in my heart because he has been there for us for so many years. He taught me and hubby to love the Lord, to love each other, to forgive each other. His faith in God is unwavering. He is bright testimony of God’s love.

I thank the Lord for filling our lives with such good fathers. My salute goes to all the hardworking fathers out there (and this includes all my brothers-in-law), without you a family can’t be complete.

And to the greatest Father of all, God the Father. You are worthy of all glory, honor and praise!

Happy Father’s Day!

Challenging Times in Homelife and Homeschool Life

She’s the one in yellow, my kids are very close to her.

When summer came along last April, we had to say goodbye to our house help so that she can go home and study for a college degree. This was not a surprise to us because it was one of the first things she told me when she first came to work for me – that after a year and a half of working for us, she will go home so that she can finish her studies.

It was quite an adjustment for me and the children because she was one of my most ideal helpers. She’s young – only 19 years old when she arrived – but she worked hard, got to know us and pretty soon was doing almost everything in our home for us. So we all became pretty dependent on her.

Now that she’s gone, we’ve had to adjust to having just a part-time house help, with all of us contributing with different household chores. I am thankful for this period in our lives because it’s a time for us to learn more about home management.

It’ll be such a challenge for me, though, because we’re starting school next week. In the past, we’d start school in the mornings, but now I can’t do that because I have to cook breakfast and lunch in the mornings, give the kids their baths, feed them and a lot of other things.

Add to that the fact that I’m on the TOS Homeschool Crew again, I’ll have to get more organized!

So here’s a list of 10 of my Crewmates on The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. You may want to give their blogs a visit, you never know, you might just learn something new in one of them! Happy blogwalking!

1. Reaping a Harvest
2. Pink & Orange Coffee
3. Live, Laugh, Learn!
4. Mrs. Mandy's Musings
5. The Fantastic Five
6. Refined Metals Academy
7. Just A Moment in Time
8. Providence Farm
9. My Journey
10. Petra School

 

I'm Back on The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew Again!

Back in 2008, I had the privilege of becoming part of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. As a member, I was tasked to use several homeschool products in our homeschool and write a review of those products. I was very blessed to be able to do this - I had received so many products to use for educating my children that I would not have been able to afford. Plus, this also got me started on writing my reviews.

When my contract ended in 2009, I was really sad. Not only because I won't have those homeschool products coming, I would be losing the friends I've made on the Crew. So I prayed and asked God to let me join the Crew again. I didn't make it to the 2nd year of the Crew so I decided to start writing book reviews and basically just improve my reviews.

Well, this schoolyear 2010-11, I'm on The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew again!!! Yehey!!! An answered prayer! I actually received an email last May 21, which I completely missed so I had no idea at all. Then I received an email two days ago that I'm on the Crew again, and I was jumping up and down with joy!

Here are my previous TOS Homeschool reviews from 2008-2009. Please click on the titles to read my reviews:

HelpMe2Teach.com

Homeschool Library Builder: Fill Your Bookshelves Without Emptying Your Wallet

Noah's Ark Go Fish by Alphabet Alley

Two By Two Matching Game by Alphabet Alley

Let's Make a Web Page: An Ebook for Ages 8-12 by Phyllis Wheeler

Times Tales, Clean and Flip Zone Books

The Little Man In The Map

Time4Learning - An Online Interactive Home Education Program

Splish Book: And Then Mama Said - It Takes Time to Learn to Read

Spears Art - K-8 Christian Art Curriculum

WriteShop StoryBuilders: World of People

Homeschooling ABC's - An E-course by Terri Johnson

All About Homophones

Math Mammoth

ALEKS Math

Spellquizzer

Glaucia The Greek Slave - A Tale of Athens in the First Century

Marie's Home - A Glimpse of the Past

Mathematical Reasoning Beginning - Developing Math and Thinking Skills

Schleich Animal Figurines

WriteShop Primary Book A - An Incremental Writing Program

Kid's Wealth Money Kit

Artistic Pursuits Grades 4-6 Books One and Two

Kinderback at Home - Piano Lessons Online

Rime To Read - A Program for Beginning Readers

Math Mammoth Fractions

The New Testament Activity Pack by Home School in the Woods

Watch out for my coming homeschool reviews. This will be an exciting time for us! Online casino Ireland. ###

Book Review: What Did Jesus Say? Bible Verses on Issues You Deal With by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

What Did Jesus Say?: Bible Verses on Issues You Deal With

Format: Paperback Number of Pages: 192 Vendor: Tyndale House Publication Date: 2010 Dimensions: 8.25 X 5.50 (inches)

Ages: 8-12

Just this afternoon, I had to reprimand my daughter, Artsy Princess, for failing to take her cough medicines. I wanted her to take the responsibility in taking her medicines when needed because she is already 11 years old, a tween that needs to understand that it is important that she learn to care for herself.

Tween issues is what my current book review is all about. What Did Jesus Say? Bible Verses on Issues You Deal With by Tyndale House is a topical Bible built around 62 topics. Topics that tweens and even teens usually ask about.

When this book arrived a few days ago, it was Artsy Princess who first devoured it. I watched her quietly as she sat down and browsed through the book. The pages are filled with interesting graphics relating to the topic. Each topic is introduced with a short commentary followed by several Bible verses on the topic. It ends with a summary and commentary leading the reader to think more about the topic. The topics are arranged alphabetically and explained very well. The Bible verses are taken from The Holy Bible – New Living Translation which I love because this version is very easy to understand.

I’m glad that I requested to review this book. As I read through the book, I read it with a questioning mind being careful to see if there may be some commentary that I may not agree about. So far, the commentaries are practical, can be easily understood by the youth, and most importantly Biblically sound.

What Did Jesus Say? Bible Verses on Issues You Deal With will definitely stay in our bookshelf for years and years to come. I expect it to be dog-eared from our constant reading of it.

Go here to read the first chapter.


Note: Tyndale House Publishers has provided me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Homeschool 101 Freebie – Download This Valuable Resource Now!

The Old Schoolhouse® is thrilled to share this FREE resource with you—a digital supplement to the Schoolhouse Expo . . . The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine Homeschool 101 Supplement. Get a broad overview of homeschooling in general, or enjoy reading up-to-date articles from some of the best authors and homeschool companies that TOS has been bringing you for years. With almost 200 pages full of supplemental homeschooling articles and resources, you won’t want to miss this . . . and you don’t have to—it’s totally FREE!

Instructions for downloading:

1. Click on the picture above or the words in red.

2. You will be redirected to another site The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool 101 Digital Supplement.

3. At the bottom of this page, look for this button:

4. Click on the button to be redirected to the digital magazine. Enjoy this super-packed resource for your homeschool!

Note: What you are getting is the digital magazine. You can download this magazine in PDF to your hard drive so that you can print the bonus pages. To do this, find this

Download Directions

5. Click on Download Directions to find out how to download the PDF file to your hard drive.

Ebook Review: Download N Go Series – Dolphin Days by Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse

If you’re into unit studies and lapbooking, but don’t have the time to do your own research, the Download N Go Series are for you. Download N Go are various unit studies created by Ms. Amanda Bennett, a homeschooling mom specializing in the creation of unit studies, in collaboration with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Each Download N Go features a particular topic that a student can study in depth for a week.

Dolphin Days Download N Go offers a special kind of schooling for our students – it’s unit study, lapbooking and video schooling, all in one. With dolphins being such dynamic and interesting creatures, it would have been a waste to just study them from pictures in books. This unit study is filled with several videos that you and your children can watch as they learn about dolphins. As they see the dolphins in action, they will definitely be in awe of how wonderful these creatures are. Since this is a unit study, geography, vocabulary and spelling, scripture memorization and a lot more are incorporated into this study. The beauty of this study is that there is very little need for prep time for mom before teaching. The materials for the lapbook are easily available at home or at your favorite book and office supplies shop. What is definitely needed is an internet connection because the videos and articles can only be downloaded online.

My only problem with this is that most of the videos are from YouTube, and after the video has ended, YouTube will automatically show other related videos. In this case, mom should be able to view the videos first and not allow her children to look at the other videos that have nothing to do with the study.

Dolphin Days Download N Go is a well-researched study with plenty of information that mother and children will be delighted to learn!

To get your own Dolphin Days Download N Go, just click on the words in red.

*Note: I received a copy of this product from TOS for free in exchange for my honest review.

Sodastream Weekend! How to Create Your Homemade Soda with Sodastream

We’ve been enjoying our Sodastream for about three weeks now. Today I am showing how easy it is to create your own softdrinks at home with Sodastream.

Everytime one of my cola bottles get empty, I wash it by hand, refill it with water then pop it in my ref immediately. This is so that I always have a bottle of cold water ready whenever I or my children want soda. It is important to use cold water always because the CO2 adheres better with cold water.









Here are the very simple ingredients for our soda today. A bottle of cold water and Sodastream syrup Lemon Lime.













Screw the bottle, lid off, to Sodastream. Make sure to screw it tightly to avoid any accidents.












Hold the bottom of the bottle as you screw it on. It’s easier to turn it that way. This should be done with one hand holding the bottom of the bottle, and the other hand holding the Sodastream out.











If you look at the picture closely, you can see that the bottle is screwed on its top, it’s bottom is not resting on Sodastream.












Press the button located at the top of the Sodastream three times to release the CO2 into the water.









Here’s a picture of the CO2 being released into the water. The bubbles are really quite interesting to see. The instructions state that the maximum number of times that you can release CO2 into the water is 11 times. For us, we sometimes only press it two times. This is one of the benefits of Sodastream, you can actually create your soda according to your taste.








Pour the syrup into its cap. The cap is measured specifically for one bottle.








Pour the syrup carefully into the bottle. Take care to slant the bottle when pouring so that the syrup slides down the side of the bottle. If syrup is poured directly into the center of the water, this will cause the bubbles to overflow, and you’ll just end up with a mess in your hands.







Shake the bottle gently to mix the syrup.










And voila! We have our Lemon Lime Soda (which tastes very much like Sprite) ready to be enjoyed at home!








Preparing this homemade Soda only takes us less than five minutes, much, much less than writing this blog post!

Sodastream is available at SM Snack Exchange, Hobbes and Landes, Robinson’s Department Store Sta. Lucia, Metro Gaisono in Cebu. For other inquiries, please go here.

Mommy Moments: Our Unforgettable Summer

I’ve been watching The Mommy Journey’s Mommy Moments since last year. Today I’ve decided to join since this is one topic that means something to me.

For the longest time, our family has not had the chance to go on a vacation due to financial constraints. It’s either our kids going on vacation with their grandparents, or hubby and I going off on our own. This summer, however, has been quite different with our family going off together, finally.

So here are some of our unforgettable moments.

For Guitar Babe – going to our church’s youth camp was the most memorable event for her this summer. She met new friends and bonded with some great girls.

Credit goes to Ms. Mica Pili for this photo.

For the rest of us – our family trip to Bicol last May with some of our favorite people was the best. We got to be with some relatives that we haven’t been with for a long time.

Here we are waiting to board our plane.

 

Arriving at Naga Airport. I can’t believe that my 14 year old Guitar Babe is taller than me now!

 

Wakeboarding at CamSur Watersports Complex, yes I did it! Except I fell all three times that I tried. Still, what matters is that I tried it out.

And so did Guitar Babe!

Here we are lining up with my nephew and his wife to use the baby pool which I consider to be a total waste of time. Hmm, Now, I look quite short here.

The rest of the kids had fun watching us fall off the boards.

Here’s the rest of us about to leave for Nato, Sagnay to visit our relatives there and to swim in the BEACH!

Nato, Sagnay, Camarines Sur is a place where I spent so many of my summers growing up. And I’ve swum in this beach thousands of times. So it’s been my dream to take my whole family with me there one day. This summer it finally became a reality.