Delicious corn salad

My favorite summer salad to make is with a corn base, rather than a lettuce base :)  It's so pretty and summery!  Okay, so it's not summer yet, not even really warm out yet, but it's getting close!  The one we had tonight had corn (it was just frozen corn I cooked and then cooled down), onions, red pepper pieces, cucumber pieces, and tomato pieces.  It had a little vinaigrette dressing on it, not much.  Yumm and pretty :) Often I will just add whatever veggies we have on hand.  Delicious!  Summer will be here soon!

Christian Heroes: Then and Now-- Jacob DeShazer -- my REVIEW

Our family LOVES the series Christian Heroes: Then and Now
from YWAM Publishing. We've read many together as read-alouds in the kids' younger years. My youngest daughter (almost 13) is making her way through a lot of the books, thanks to a friend who allows her to borrow them one at a time. These books are always captivating...drawing the reader in from the first chapter...and full of adventure and a great overview of how the individual became who they were.

For this review, we were blessed to have the opportunity to review Christian Heroes- Jacob DeShazer. Jacob's story is subtitled, "Forgive Your Enemies." Jacob was a prisoner of war following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Through his imprisonment he became a Christian and turned his life over to the Lord. As an amazing testament to the power of Scripture, Jake returned to Japan as a missionary and chose forgiveness rather than bitterness, anger, and hatred.

Along with this book, YWAM provides a downloadable study guide which can be used for homeschoolers (or others interested in using it!) It has several different sections such as Key Bible Verses, Display Corner, Chapter Questions, Student Explorations, Community Links, Social Studies, Related Themes, Culminating Event, and Books and Resources. If you are a unit study family, this is the study for you! There are so many suggestions of how to build a unit curriculum around each of these books!



So how did we use the book? Well, my daughter was so excited when we got it in the mail that she just raced right ahead and read it (as a recreational read). I wanted her to use some of the study guide options as well, so she went back and went through chapter by chapter again to utilize some of these aspects. She enjoyed doing the question and answer sections.



My daughter wanted to write "THE" review for this book, so here's what she said, "I really enjoyed this book. Jake DeShazer was imprisoned by the Japanese for nearly four years. While he was imprisoned, he received a Bible and became a Christian. When the war was ended, Jake was released and became a missionary to Japan. This book showed the importance of forgiving others fully. If Jake had not become a Christian, he would have hated the Japanese. He served the people who imprisoned him."

These books are written for children to read, but they are equally enjoyable for young adults and adults.  My husband actually started reading this one before my daughter had finished it.  He wanted to share a little as well!  Here's what he said, "Very captivating and it makes you think of how easy you have it compared to the hardships those POW's went through.  The forgiveness he gave to the Japanese people and the love that he showed them by dedicating his life to teaching them about God's love for us is as amazing as any character trait that I've ever read about!"

I definitely recommend this book and the study guide as well if you want to expand your learning about DeShazer, his era, his work, his geography, his Christianity, and more.  The overarching theme is forgiveness...which is something that probably applies to all of us (who doesn't struggle with forgiving?  Can you imaging needing to forgive something as huge as Jake did?!)  Your whole family will probably enjoy reading Jacob DeShazer as well as the other Christian Heroes; Then and Now books by YWAM!

For more reviews of other books in this series and other series by YWAM, check these out!  

S is for 4-H Shooting Sports!

We have been involved with 4-H for many years, doing different projects, such as the traditional animal ones (poultry and rabbits for us) as well as some others, like electricity, bicycles, robotics, and shooting sports.

Do you know about 4-H shooting sports?  It's a great way for your child to become comfortable with firearms (including archery) in a safe and responsible manner.  We have been so impressed with 4-H's programs.  Our children have learned and enjoyed different disciplines, such as shotgun, archery, .22 rifle, air pistol, .22 pistol (for the older kids), muzzleloader, tomahawk/knife throwing, and wildlife skills.

Programs begin for children at 8 years old and continue up until 19.  Instructors are thoroughly trained and emphasize safety as well as accuracy and skills.

In our state (VT) we have a shooting sports jamboree once a year, which is where members of 4-H clubs who are interested in shooting sports from all over the state join together for a fun weekend of learning and competing.  The first day is a practice day where youth may learn/practice the different disciplines (and they have to learn to use what they have not been instructed in previously), the second day is a competition day (they travel around to the different disciplines as teams, competing at each one), and the third day is an awards ceremony.  Lots of fun :)

If you are interested in 4-H Shooting Sports, contact your county extension office and they will give you more information about the 4-H programs in your area, including shooting sports opportunities!  To find your state 4-H shooting sports coordinator, you may check this list and give them a call to learn more.

 

The Typing Coach Online Typing Course -- my REVIEW

Are you proficient at typing? I am so thankful that I took typing years ago...actually when I was in 9th grade (hundreds of years ago haha) I was signed up for a foreign language, but the teacher quit suddenly and they dumped us into typing class...so for a semester I took a typing class (on a manual typewriter and then on an electric typewriter woohoo) and learned to type very quickly and accurately. I know that my speed/accuracy have slipped a bit as the years have gone by, but I am still quite a good typer. My husband, on the other hand, is a two-finger typer. It drives me berserk! I have determined that I would like our children to learn to type accurately and quickly and to that end we have tried several different typing programs and my oldest child is quite fast and accurate, though the other two have quite a bit to go :)

When I was given the opportunity to review this product, The Typing Coach Online Typing Course, developed by The Typing Coach, I was happy to give it a try with my middle child, a 15-year old boy. He is a slow typer, and could stand to improve his speed and accuracy. If you asked him, however, he'd probably tell you he is already pretty good at typing (15-yr old boy bravado?).

The goals which the author states about this course is that you learn to type without looking at the monitor or the keyboard with a speed of 10 words per minute by the end of this course. Ten words per minute is pretty slow, right? Well, he addresses this and talks about increasing that, as stated on the website, "The current typical employable typing skill is 45 words per minute, with no more than one error per minute on a five-minute timed test. At the end of this course, you should be able to type at least 10 words per minute (wpm). With the good habits that you will acquire (getting rid of any bad "hunt and peck” habits), your next goal will be to hit 25 wpm, easily attainable within a short time thereafter; and then of course, with more practice, 45 words per minute will be hit by most within a few months--by those who are committed."

The parts of the course are worksheets and tests that the student prints out, audio instructions for typing learning/practice of different sections, and the occasional online video.  There are seven lessons in all, meant to be used until the student can perfectly type the tests accompanying each lesson.  The student begins with learning proper typing posture, moves on to the other chapters--
2-Home Row Keys
3-Top Row
4-Bottom Row
5-Shift Keys
6-Typing Practices
7-Number Row
(and then "serious practicing" after that!)

Each chapter has online tests that follow.  The student must pass those tests correctly, with no errors, and cannot re-take a test for two days following an error.

So...what did we think?  Not our favorite.  It does move pretty slowly, at least for one already accustomed to typing.  (There is actually a slower track for younger kids, which might be appreciated by some!) He prefers something more game-like.  I also found it difficult to navigate the site and understand what was needed when.  My son (okay, he's maybe not as particular when it comes to reading directions) was pretty lost and couldn't figure out when to do what, so I gave him a hand with that.  It was also a bit frustrating for him that errors (that he might call silly) cause the 2-day delay in testing (for instance, in the above picture he failed it because he typed two spaces instead of one); if you, for instance, seated your hands one key over, the test, of course, would be completely incorrect and you'd wait again to re-test. The audio gives you music by which to type (I like that!) but my son just thought the narration was geared toward younger kids.

One positive out of this is that my son's typing posture has definitely improved!  This is a great thing that hopefully will stay with him throughout his life!

The Typing Coach Online Typing Course is a self-paced course, so you can learn at the pace you wish.  It is also a very economical option, at just $17 per person for an annual subscription!

I'm sure you'd like to hear other folks' thoughts on this product--you can click on this link to hear more!

R is for Rockport!

Well, I guess I missed the linkup for this week's letter "R" but here is my post anyhow!

R is for Rockport, MA!

This past weekend my oldest daughter had the opportunity to go to a 30 hour all-night hackathon with other high school students in Boston (she didn't know anyone there, but she's pretty bold and makes friends quickly and easily...so not intimidated by that at all!). Boston is several hours from our house, so we looked for a hotel to stay in while she was at the event, but Boston hotels are pretty pricey!! (like $200-300 per night!) so I checked on VRBO and found a cottage up in Rockport, MA (about an hour from her event) that was way less money and looked nice, so we booked it!

We were so pleasantly surprised! The cottage was only 350 square feet, but arranged so there was plenty of room (beds for 8) plus a teeny kitchen, teeny bathroom, teeny living room with a fireplace! And it is within view of the ocean :) :) :) Ahhhh!! We ended up having a little mini-vacation that we loved (great weather too!) while she attended her event. My husband was even able to come (a rare thing for him this time of year!)

If you're looking for a near-Boston getaway, I'd recommend these cottages http://www.lighthouselanecottage.com/cottage.php?cot=corner -- the pictures on the website don't really do it justice, inside it is just adorable!

So...we had a wonderful blessing of a weekend!

Let's Be Real by Natasha Bure -- my REVIEW

I wanted to like this book.  I really did.  I have a daughter who is almost 17 and one who is almost 13.  I thought that this would be a great book for them to read and learn from.  My expectations were high.  

Well...here's the thing.  I don't really like to write negative reviews.  I mean, look at this girl on the front of the book!  She's so cute...and her mom is Candace Cameron!  

Okay, enough dragging my heels...here's my review.  

This book is a kind of "self-help" book for girls, full of ideas of how to overcome different challenges that teen girls face.  Different topics are addressed such as dating, style, makeup, skin care, friendships, faith, parents, communication, and more.  The author fills the book with stories of how she met these challenges head on and overcame them. Not much rhyme or reason as to how the topics are organized that I could discover, but they do cover a vast swath of teenaged life. 

So -- what did I like?  I liked the message to be real, be yourself, be the person God made you to be.  I liked her positive outlook and tone.

What didn't I like?  She's just out of high school.  And sounds like it. Remember all of those valedictorian speeches?  The ones that sound like they have just about got the world conquered?  Yeah, this is like that.  

Does that sound shallow to you?  Take it in the same vein as not wanting to take parenting advice from someone who has no children or a 1 year old. 

I thought maybe I was being too hard on the book, so I had my daughter read it as well.  She noted some different things that she wasn't a fan of...such as the author seems to give all kinds of advice, but not really back it up with Scripture, so it was just pretty much her own life stories, suggestions, and ideas.  My daughter also said that she would rather take advice from someone who has more life experience.

I applaud this young woman for her sincerity in wanting to help others, that is a great heart attitude.  The book is nicely made, with a nice dust-jacket.  If you are a young person who likes to get advice from a peer or near-peer, this would be a great book for you!  

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Captain Absolutely -- my REVIEW

Absolute Truth. Do you talk about this with your family? I recently overheard one of my teens say to a younger friend, "You know that when they (the club they are a part of) talk about morals and integrity that ours are different, right?" I asked him what he meant by that and he said that the definition for integrity that they gave at the meeting was "doing what you think is right" and he followed that by telling the slightly younger boy, "You know what I mean, we shouldn't just do what we think is right, but what God says is right." Ah, yes! :) Glad that he has assimilated that into his own life. So much of what we are told today is to do what is right for that circumstance, or what you feel like is the best thing to do. People who follow Christ and the Bible hold to a higher standard of truth, absolute truth which finds its origin in God and the Bible.

A great tool for introducing the idea of absolute truth is this new graphic novel (aka bound comic-book style book!) produced by Focus On The Family called Captain Absolutely. Captain Absolutely is a super hero who uses Scriptural truth and some special powers that he gained through a big explosion in the library where he worked which threw him into a big set of Bibles plus a slow leak from the city's radioactive core. His arch nemesis is Dr. Relative (who used to be his friend in the library but in the same explosion he was thrown into the philosophy section...) Captain Absolutely works hard to fight against (no pictures of violence...one scene explains, "...but we shouldn't glorify violence, even when God asks us to fight for the truth") Dr Relative, the fear chemist, and a handful of other bad guys (a part of the "Legion of Bad Guys").

"Captain Absolutely: Defending Truth, Justice, and Lots More Truuuth!" :)


My 12-year old daughter has been a long-time subscriber to Clubhouse Magazine (another product of Focus On The Family) and as such already knew who Captain Absolutely was (the comic is in serial-form in the magazine, so she has read a section every month in the magazine).  She was excited to receive this book to read.  She's not a big fan of regular superheroes, but this one is more her speed :) .  I asked her to write a bit of a review on the book for this posting, here's what she gave me:

I liked this book because it gave the perspective that being a Christian isn't always easy but you have the Ultimate Truth.  I think one of my favorite characters is Hana's mom, because she loved her daughter so much that she took the responsibility (when police found the hidden Bibles.)

My daughter, at 12 years old, is definitely at the top end of the intended ages for this book.  My 15-year old son who loves superheroes read it as well (at my request) and confirmed that it was for kids younger than him :)  He did enjoy some of the humor, but it was definitely not something he would've read had I not asked him.

As a parent I really liked the range of topics that this book touched on.  Things like music and how the lyrics can lead into feelings of isolation; things like hygeine (haha!! yes, not only mom wants you to be clean!), other things such as laziness, grudges, confusion, FEAR, and more!  At the end of the comic was a little lineup of all the characters with their characteristics and Bible verses relating to each of them.  There is also a questions section at the end.

I think that this book would be a really great way for families to talk through different topics that relate to God's absolute truth.  Going section at a time might be an effective way--reading and discussing.

Captain Absolutely is a bright, eye-catching, action-filled book :)  Its pages are sturdy, this is a book that I imagine most kids in the target audience age will read without being prompted.  It'd make a great discussion book for you and your child or a great gift!  I recommend it!

You can read more reviews of this book here:

Dandelion Jelly :) Again!

I know I wrote a post about dandelion jelly years ago (here!) but here we go again!  :)  I really like dandelions in my yard -- the yellow interspersed with the green just looks so cheery!  My husband, on the other hand, sees them as a sign that it's time to mow again haha :)

This time of the year, when no fruits or veggies are really growing yet, is a perfect time to make dandelion jelly!  What?  You've never had dandelion jelly?  It's very tasty!  I think it tastes like honey, actually.  If your yard looks like mine:

then you are all ready to make a batch for yourself! The recipe I have used for years is from Prairieland Herbs. It's easy to follow and so easy to make! I have actually doubled and tripled this recipe successfully.

Basically all you do is pick the yellow parts of the dandelions (just the yellows! We cut them right off the flower into a bowl so that the green parts get left behind) -- we usually aim for about 6 cups of the yellow stuff (I have 3 kids, so with four of us doing this it doesn't take too long). You make kind of a tea or infusion with these and then strain and use the liquid just like in any other jelly.


I don't add any extra color and after canning it looks pretty good!

It's a delicious light flavor and makes a great gift too!  It's a great way to kick off your canning season as well!

Q is for our quest to rid our garden of thistles!

Last year we had some thistles in our garden, but this year, when the new greenery appeared, our garden is about 1/4 full of thistles!!!!!  Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!  No good!  So what to do?  Some internet and book research seems to show that the thistles are awfully hard to get rid of...and we didn't want to throw a bunch of herbicides in our garden.  Several authors suggest removing the green parts above ground (four or more times, as they keep springing up!) in order to deny the root any products of photosynthesis (and hopefully eventually to kill the plant).  

The culprit, our enemy!

Wow, that sounds like a large undertaking, especially since a pretty large portion of our garden (maybe 1/4) is covered in this green monster.  

See all of this green!  Most is thistle (a little dandelion thrown in,)

We dove right in and did the first cutting session, cutting off the green parts where they emerge from the ground.  With gloves, of course!

Ouch, so many prickers!! (our gloves are only rubber on the fronts and mesh on the backs, so we got a lot of pokes on the backs of our hands!)

A couple of hours outside (in thankfully very nice cool dry weather!) and my daughter and I ended up taking out five 5-gallon buckets full plus five large bowls full.  Hopefully we'll only have to do this 3 or so more times to rid our garden of this pest!!!

High School Essay Intensive by Institute for Excellence in Writing -- my REVIEW

As a parent homeschooling high schoolers, there is so much to do.  So many different subjects, and of course we want our students to excel!  Writing is one of those things that seems to come naturally to some students and a little more difficult to others.  So many different subjects rely on the student communicating what they have learned through writing, whether it be a paragraph, an essay, or a report.

This wonderful product, High School Essay Intensive which is produced by the Institute for Excellence in Writing  is a great tool for preparing your students for communicating in writing.  I had heard of others using products by IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) before, but I had never used or seen their products, so I was anxious to see what this was all about!

This "kit" is a box with five dvd's (you can actually also use this streaming if you'd rather!) in a nice little case, a "portable wall" which is covered with highlights from the lecture material, and a 26-page packet of papers to use in accompaniment to the videos.  This is all housed in a sturdy big box.
I will admit that at the beginning of our review period, when I first told my kids that we had this dvd product to watch and learn about writing they were not too interested.  My students are an 11th grade daughter, a 9th grade son, and a 7th grade daughter.  I decided to have all three of them give this program a try, so we started in on the first video.  
What is this program?  It is basically a recorded lecture by Andrew Pudewa of the Institute for Excellence in Writing; a lecture that he presented to a group of high school students to teach them how to do an excellent job at writing in different settings for different purposes.  Does this sound boring to you?  It is DEFINITELY not!
Just a few minutes into the lecture and my 15-year old son was smiling as he watched, with a few spurts of laughter from all three of them.  They were pausing the dvd and filling in information on their worksheets and commenting to each other a bit.  That first day we stopped the video after about half an hour and the kids were still enjoying it!  We began again the next day and the kids leapt right in!  In subsequent days I never got any complaints about watching more of the lesson.
Through participating in this High School Essay Intensive they learned alot of great information about writing, from the basics and "nuts and bolts" to things such as choosing topics and varying sentence style.  They learned some different "structures" of essays and how they are organized.  They learned how to write an excellent paragraph and how to write a great essay.  As appreciated by my more "structured" writer, they learned the TRIAC principle for writing an effective paragraph.  

The course is separated into different sections.  Part one is "General Strategies for Essay Writing" which is basically what it sounds like :)  This is filled with all kinds of information of how to communicate effectively through writing for many different applications.  I think it was about 3 hours.  Part two is how to write a great essay for the ACT essay section; part three is how to write a great essay for the SAT essay test.  Part Four teaches strategies for the "personal essay" as necessary for some things such as college applications or scholarship applications.  

My kids and I watched both discs of part one as well as disc 5, which is the personal essay.  They used the included worksheets for note taking and practice.   Every so often they were asked to pause the disc and write.  We were all very impressed with this writing method!  

this was my son's "page 217 from my 300 page autobiography"  ;)

So what did my children think of it?

My 11th grade daughter wrote:
It was very useful to learn tips and tricks for my writing.  It helped a lot with coming up with ideas for writing, and how to make a basic essay, it covered what is expected from various essays, it was very helpful all around.  The teacher was very fun, he made it super interesting.  He made it seem like something that is easy to do, which it is now! :)  The teacher was very good at holding our attention.  I would totally recommend this for anyone.  Regardless of whether or not you like writing, he makes it fun! :) 

My 9th grade son wrote:
The writing class was very helpful for me personally.  He clearly explained all of his topics and ingrained it into my memory.  Also, he was funny, which made the experience more enjoyable than all writing classes I have ever done.

My 7th grade daughter wrote:
I found these videos very informational, useful, and even funny!

I have actually already seen what they learned reflected in other writing they have done recently.  I think the biggest take away that they have all focused on was using different sentence patterns to make their writing more interesting.  I look forward to seeing how they utilize this and other methods!

We have found the High School Essay Intensive  to be a very enjoyable lecture workshop which is easy to listen to and learn from.  The teacher has great relatability and authority.  I would definitely recommend this program!

You can read others' thoughts about this product here:

Dress modification

My children attend a ballroom dance class and at the end of each session they have a semi-formal dance. My daughters are all about wearing something pretty that, more importantly, is nice and twirly when they spin :)

My 16 yr old was very excited to find this dress at a rummage sale for 25 cents (the price was right!) but unfortunately it was strapless ... and short. However, it had that twirl factor, so we took it on as a project. The length was easy to correct...just wear capri leggings under it (good cover for when in full twirl also!) and then we just had to add straps.

SO here's the before...with a tank top underneath :) Definitely couldn't wear it like that!

Next we took a trip to the fabric store to find a PERFECTLY coordinating fabric -- (haha, said a bit tongue-in-cheek because it's pretty hard to find a perfect match!) We couldn't find an exact match, so we settled for two fabrics and a ribbon that kind of coordinated :) Here's what we came up with...

First step was to wash the dress, and wash the fabrics to make sure any shrinking would occur before we made the straps! Next step was to measure and see how long the straps needed to be.

It was then pretty easy.  I decided how thick I wanted the straps to be, cut out strips of each color fabric, and sewed right sides together in a straight line down the edge.

Next I turned them inside out and ironed them with the seam in the middle (so it would be covered by the successive layers.

It was easy to then just layer the different finished fabric strips and then sew them together--

...and then decide on placement and pin them in place (well, we found that it worked better to do one and then measure the second side so that you place them symmetrically.)

Sew them on, try it on, adjust a little...and voila!  A dress ready for the big dance :)

And here it is in mid-twirl!  Comfortable, modest, and a lot of fun! :)  

So the moral of the story is don't be afraid to alter a dress that doesn't work perfectly for you...especially if you get it for a tiny price ;)  It doesn't have to be hard or even elegant or complicated and you may end up with a favorite piece!