Monday, July 30, 2018

Potluck reject

Do you enjoy potluck meals? They are filled with delicious treats to fill your plate! Everyone can find something they enjoy!

I have a weird confession...I think I am a potluck reject!!  Usually whatever I bring to a potluck doesn't get even halfway eaten!!!  It's so sad and a little frustrating...putting all that work and all those ingredients into a dish to share, and then it just sits in the table, nearly untouched (except for my family, who always takes some :) Thanks kids!). When it's time to pick up, my mostly full dish comes home to be given to the chickens (I don't dare feed it to the family after it has sat out for a couple of hours.)

Are you wondering what kinds of disgusting dishes I prepare?  They're not  gross, seriously!!  Frankly I think I'm a quite good cook!  I have taken items such as pasta salad, chicken pie, veggie quiche, cheesy artichoke dip, smoked trout, and even pizza!


So, what do you think?  Do you have any suggestions for me?  Thanks! :)


Sunday, July 29, 2018

Zucchini extravaganza :) and eating seasonally

A few years ago I read Barbara Kingsolver's very interesting book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and was struck by the idea of eating seasonally.  I think that our family already does this quite a bit, varying our menus according to what is seasonally available--not nearly to the extent that the Kingsolver family did in the year that the book gives an accounting of--but definitely enjoying the abundance of certain foods in certain seasons.

The lovely source of much of our abundance :) (It's even weeded! Extra wow!)

Tonight's dinner was a nice illustration of seasonal eating...our broccoli is very prolific right now, along with the zucchini, and we got our first ripe tomato of the season! 

Tonight's menu:
*broccoli/zucchini/tomato frittata (was going to be a quiche, but we only got 6 eggs today!)
*zucchini bread
*zucchini brownies
*lemonade



 Yummmmm.  Delicious, delightful, the whole family loved it!!  Hey, it was pretty healthy, too!  (at least the frittata part was!)  I love these summer meals, full of fresh-from-the-garden veggies.  They feel so decadent--just chowing on veggies that cost a fortune in mid-winter--recklessly eating them meal after meal.  There's also something about the brilliant colors that makes it even more delightful!


Would you like a little recipe for tonight's main dish?

6 eggs, beaten
1 cup of sour cream (because we were out of milk!)
1/2 c of water (to stretch the filling!)
salt and pepper
4 c zucchini, cubed (I used a yellow zucch tonight)
4 c broccoli, cut into smallish pieces
1 onion, diced
1 tomato, cored and diced
4 pieces of bacon--cooked, drained, and crumbled
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Mix ingredients together, pour into greased cake pan and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 50 minutes or until the egg part is cooked nicely and the top is just barely beginning to brown.  Take out of oven and let set for 5 minutes before cutting into slices.  Enjoy!





I had begun this post thinking about Barbara Kingsolver's book and I guess I'd like to end it with the same thought.  If you have never read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I would highly recommend it.  It is not only about eating seasonally, but also about eating locally...and more.  It is nicely written, entertaining, full of great ideas, and thought-provoking.  It's a great read for any time of the year!

Great book, read it.  Seriously.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

SmartKidz Radio -- my REVIEW

We love to listen to music.  If you are in our house or car, you will usually hear music playing (except during schoolwork, usually!)  This is not something new--ever since the kids were little we've been listening to music.  We have standards which we uphold through our music--Christian themes and Biblical teachings.  I had the opportunity to check out a new online livestreaming radio station for kids called SmartKidz Radio in order to review it and share my thoughts with you.  It is produced by a company called SmartKidz Media.


Smart Kidz Radio

When you read the "about us" section and the faq's you will read a stated goal through this radio station is "The Smart Kidz Radio Station is all about helping children learn valuable life skills and empowering them with positive self-esteem. The radio station also promotes the development of positive character traits and strong moral values."  

The station is a live stream, sort of like a regular radio station--you kind of join the livestream when you hit the play button, and when you push the pause button it turns it off for you, but if you then hit play again, it resumes not where you left off, but where the song has progressed to in the time that you paused it.  

The songs are of different themes -- character traits, family, siblings, being helpful, cleanliness, emotions, dealing with mistakes, manners, and more.  They are songs specially designed to be appropriate for young listeners.  

There are also "podcasts" which are stories to listen to--these are not live streaming, so if you pause the story you can return to the same spot to resume. At this time, most of these are fairy tales, with a few additional offerings.  The company plans to have an upgraded on-demand paid subscription which will potentially offer more of these and some other selections -- from their FAQ's, "Upgrade to On-Demand Programming. Members can upgrade their account which allows them to select from several radio programs on an on-demand basis (Upgrade requires a small monthly fee to access hundreds of songs and stories on-demand).

At this time, everything on their site is free.  You just have to sign up.  The paid programming option will be coming soon.

SO -- what did we think.  We did not care for the music.  Yes, my kids are older than the target age of these songs and the singing, but frankly, it is not our style, nor was it our style when our kids were younger.  I think the style is for a very young audience (3-6 maybe?) but others with older children may enjoy it, as I said before, it's just not our style :) 

My other HUGE concern comes from the website.  I am not familiar with this company, I have never used any of their products before, so what I see is how I can evaluate it.  In order to listen to the SmartKidz radio, one must sign up--well, when I read the Terms of Use (okay, I know most people don't read these, but maybe you ought to?) -- it is just LITTERED with misspellings and improper grammar and usage.  This really brought a red flag up in my mind. Several other pages on the site had misspellings as well.  In view of being careful online, that does not sit well with me. Once logged in, many of the links on the webpage for the livestream do not work (the ads for the SmartKidz bookstore -- all three of them) and the link for the "recently played" songs on the menu always is blank for me.  

I understand that this is a new offering by this company and hopefully many of these issues will be resolved, but as for me, I would not recommend using this site.  I will say, however, that many other reviewers really liked this site.  To get a more broad idea of how others liked SmartKidz Radio, please click on the link below:
Smart Kidz Radio Homeschool Reviews

Crew Disclaimer

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Love, Honor, and Virtue: Gaining or Regaining a Biblical Attitude Toward Sexuality -- my REVIEW

I have a teenage son.  I love my teenage son!  He is so different from my daughters! Having a son  really brings a depth of joy and excitement (and sometimes craziness too!) to our family. I grew up in a family with all girls (except my dad) and so although I had lots of friends and schoolmates who were boys, there is a lot that comes with having a son which has come as a surprise to me (like--even though we don't do "toy guns" -- how is it that a little boy can play with just about anything as a gun? sticks, baseball bats, rakes, you know what I mean!)

As parents of a son, we are responsible to him and to God to help him prepare to avoid and repel temptations in every arena, and his temptations are and will be different than those our daughters experience.  This great book from Great Waters Press which I just received to review, Love, Honor, and Virtue: Gaining or Regaining a Biblical Attitude Toward Sexuality  is written by parents of eight children (!!) including six sons, and they are familiar with the temptations which young men of today encounter.  They have written a book for young men to help them understand and withstand sin in the sexual or sexually-related sphere.

Love Honor and Virtue by Hal and Melanie Young


The husband/wife team of authors begin the book by explaining that the methods of war usually reflect the methods and tactics and equipment used in the last war, which don't necessarily fit the current scenario.  They have written this book to give teen boys "all the help you can get" -- understanding that even the previous generation's experience is not necessarily all-encompassing.  They have written this book as a tool for young men to read and become more informed and prepared for maintaining purity in their own life.

The authors jump right in with chapter one, "Sex was God's Idea" -- discussing gender, purposes of sex, passion, marriage, and more.  Want to hear a good quote?  Here's one from the summary of chapter 1:  "Our sexuality is part of our purpose in life, and God blesses it to carry out His plans for individuals and all of mankind."  Nice! The chapter uses Biblical references, not only Adam and Eve and God's command to fill the earth, but also Paul's New Testament statements about purposes of marriage.

Chapter 2, "It's All Connected" is basically a sex-education chapter, though they differentiate and expand it to a "marriage education" which is realy cool--even including a section on baby, breastfeeding, and beyond.  It's not just a clinical talk about the reproductive processes, but expands it to marriage, procreation, and more.

Chapter 3 is entitled "The Enemy Perverts God's Design" and includes discussions about sin, hook-ups, gender-bending, and porn.  I really appreciated the lengthy discussions about why porn actually is wrong,  not simply from a Biblical standpoint, but also what kinds of physical changes it can cause in your body and brain which will negatively affect you in the future. It is written in a very straightforward way, easy to understand as well as to read through without embarrasment.

Chapter 4, "How Can a Young Man Keep His Way Pure?" gives tools and techniques for withstanding temptation.  These are concrete, practical things which a young man can practice and understand.  Chapter 5, "Recovering From a Fall" gives hope to those who may find themselves already in sexual sin or addicted to pornography and shows them how to set their way back to God's way. It's not hopeless!

Chapter 6, "Guys and Girls" discusses friendships, dating, families, intentions, purity, and more.  Once again, it is written in an easy to read and easy to implement way.  I really like how the authors discussed this topic, not really extreme, very real-life.  Want another good quote?  "There is no definitive pattern in Scripture for how we find our mates--which means we give each other grace about the patterns we choose."

So how did we use this book?  I read it -- and handed it to my teenage son with the instruction that I want him to read it.  Now.  He is currently reading it and says it's not too bad :) It's a short-ish book, not really intimidating-looking-- and I think that it will certainly be helpful to him and reinforce other talks and etc that we have had.

I definitely recommend this book for any family with young men (it's good for older men as well!)

To read some review by other readers, please click on the links below:

Love, Honor, and Virtue  AND No Longer Little {Great Waters Press Reviews}

Love, Honor, and Virtue  AND No Longer Little {Great Waters Press Reviews}

Crew Disclaimer


Geology and Apologetics by Northwest Treasures -- my REVIEW

One of my children is interested in geology.  She has taken several geology classes (and just went to a library program about geology today!) and jumps at the chance to learn more about earth science and geology.  We were given the opportunity to review some online courses relating to geology and she was very happy to participate, especially when she found out that the courses were produced by Northwest Treasures -- Patrick Nurre of Northwest Treasures taught some online classes that she took--and enjoyed and learned a lot from Schoolhouseteachers.com.

The courses that we were given access to in order to review were Geology and Apologetics accompanied by a short course called Taking the Mystery Out of Geology.

Take the Mystery out of Geology Online Course

The video "Taking the Mystery Out of Geology" is a shortish video, about twenty minutes long and gives the viewer a good quick overview of Biblical young earth geology and timelines as well as introducing the viewer to several geology vocabulary terms such as uniformitarianism, rock cycle (and rock types), fossilization/petrification, and more.  It is basically narrated slides--and the narration is interesting and easy to understand.  My daughter had taken a geology course before, but she found this video interesting and helpful.  I think that the rest of the family will watch this (as well as the next one that I'm about to tell you about!)


Geology and Apologetics Course

After she finished the first video, she jumped into the course entitled Geology and Apologetics.  This course is a set of six videos, short lessons followed by review questions.  These lessons are entitled:
1: Knowing the Scriptures in the Secular Geological Age
2: Clarifying the Conflict Between Science and the Bible
3: The Geneologies and Chronologies of Genesis, are they Accurate and Reliable?
4: Evolutionary Gaps in the Fossil Record, How Serious are They?
5: Dinosaur to Bird Evolution, the Story that Never Seems to Die
6: Time and Chronology in the Secular Geological Age

Lesson 1 begins with an overview of the course and jumps right into what apologetics actually is and encompasses (and that is is for every believer) and why the teacher (Nurre) has chosen the field of geology to link to apologetics.  Lesson 2, regarding the conflict between science and the Bible...hmmm is there a conflict?  Is modern geology truly science?  Science/history/the Bible/philosophy--do you know what the differences and overlaps are? You might need to watch this chapter!







Lesson 3 Jumps into the age of the earth question (and how/if the Bible can enlighten us on this) using the writings of Genesis to help age the earth.   Lesson 4 deals with the fossil record and the "missing links" or evolutionary gaps and deficits that uniformitarianism can leave.  Lesson 5 tells us how the archaeopteryx came about (1861!) and how it relates to the fossil record and the evolutionary theory.  Lesson 6, the final chapter, kind of reaffirms the importance of the age of the earth/fossil record to Christians (how we ought to take it as important) and how/why the subject of time is so important to geologists and those espousing evolutionary theory.

The lessons are taught by Patrick Nurre--basically a lecture filled with illustrations--graphs, charts, photographs, word slides, and more.  The variety of the slides and the accompanying lecturing keep your interest, so that when the lecture is over, you are surprised that the time has passed so quickly!  They are actually pretty short lessons (between 10 and 22 minutes each) but are packed with great content.












At the end of each lesson, there are questions for the student.  Most of these questions are ones that were addressed/answered in the preceding lecture, a few are more for thought or discussion.



So, how did we use this lesson series?  My 13-year old daughter happily watched these interesting videos (and so did I!).  She answered the questions on paper (I did not!)

She wanted to share what she thinks about this course:  "The class is really cool.  I like the teacher.  He is firm in his beliefs and explains it really well!  I understood what he is teaching!  I really like it!  I learn a lot, and love it.  It talked about apologetics, and confusion people have between philosophy, history, and science."

SO, she is 13 and it is interesting/understandable to her...I (mom) am --well, many years older-- and it is interesting and understandable to me as well!  It is not just for highschoolers--also for parents!

So our wrap-up on these classes?  They are short videos, presented in a very easy-to-understand lecture, that is interesting and engaging.  They're not perfectly professional--a few additions into the video (edits)--but those did not negatively affect the content or delivery!  I would definitely recommend these to students as well as to adults. Christians need to be aware and educated in apologetics, and this area, where geology is concerned, is a great area to learn how to reconcile with your Biblical beliefs.



Northwest Treasures

After enjoying these courses, I wanted to find out more about Northwest Treasures, so I stopped by their website to find out more of who they are and what their other products are.  They have a very interesting story of how they came to be (check out their "What is Northwest Treasures" page) and tons of cool projects and products!  They have a really neat looking high school curriculum entitled The Northwest Treasures Curriculum Project:  Building Faith for a Lifetime of Faith which looks really good--it's a 4-part series that I would like to look into for perhaps an upcoming schoolyear.  They also have products for younger students as well as some great education kits (need to add to your fossil or rock collection anyone?), fun gifts, and more.  They even offer field trip/camps!  Wow!  Spend a little time checking out Northwest Treasures, especially if you or your students have an interest in geology!

If you'd like to hear what some other reviewers have to say about the course their families experienced from Northwest Treasures, please click on the link below!

Online Geology Classes{Northwest Treasures Reviews}

Crew Disclaimer


Monday, July 23, 2018

Stuffed zucchini

Okay, if you have a garden, you are probably familiar with the feeling of, "What can I do with all this zucchini???"
Here's an easy way to make a quick dinner featuring this prolific squash--stuffed zucchini!

It's so easy! 

First, pick your zucchinis and slice off the ends, then slice in half lengthwise.
Oh yeah, wash them first!!

Next, start cooking some onions and hamburger (with a little salt and pepper)


While you're waiting for the meat to cook, scoop out the inside seedy part of the zucchinis

Then chop that inner part up to add to your burger mixture.
  

Next you add (to the skillet) whatever else you have in season or in your fridge or canning shelves that you think would taste good with it!  Tonight I added some tomatoes that we canned from last year's garden.



Cook this till the meat is done and the veggies are softened.

Place the scooped-out zucchinis onto a foil-covered cookie sheet and fill with the meat mixture.


Cover with foil and place in the oven--bake at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes.


After 40 minutes, take off the foil and sprinkle the stuffed zucchinis with cheese of your choosing (we used sharp cheddar tonight!)  Return to the oven for 5 or 6 minutes to melt the cheese.

Next take out...and eat!!!  Yummm!!!  Enjoy! :) 



Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Milkweed


Milkweed is a weed that I allow to grow in my garden.  Seriously, it's purposeful!  (There are other weeds in the garden that are not purposefully allowed there!)

Why?  Is it for the monarchs?  Well, sure, I'm happy to provide food for those babies, but the kicker for me is...

THE AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL SCENT!!! 

Seriously, those flowers smell SO good!! They are my second favorite flower scent (after lilac). 

So--yes, they will remain in my garden and in my yard...and I will keep enjoying them!

(the seed pods are lots of fun, too--have enraptured my children for many years when they were littler--and even now are fun!) :)

Code for Teens -- my REVIEW

Homeschool families!  Are you giving your student opportunities to experience different aspects of the technology world? Are topics like networking, programming, and more a part of the subject offerings you are giving to your children?  If so, are you confident in your ability to teach these subjects or do you wish you were more tech-y?

My oldest daughter is a computer person :) That sounds weird, but what I mean is that she has been really driven to learn about computer "stuff" -- she has learned to program in different languages, has participated in cybersecurity competitions, and more.  Her drive has caused her to seek out and utilize different opportunities to teach herself.  Now that she's graduated, my youngest is entering high school and would like to learn a little coding.  This was the perfect time for this review product that we received, Code For Teens: The Awesome Beginner's Guide to Programming (Volume 1), which is written by Jeremy Moritz and illustrated by his wife, Christine Moritz, and produced by Code for Teens.

Code for Teens

This book is an instructional book for teens to learn the popular language JavaScript. It is written in a conversational style that is actually fun for kids to read and follow along with. The beginning of the first chapter sets the students up with how to use the book, how to access the learning environment (in chrome), and explanations of how the code is shown in the book. They jump right in with the typical "Hello World!" activity --and it works! And sets them off on an adventure of learning.

As the book continues, students continue learning the syntax with wonderful explanations of each command and then lines of code to copy and implement.


My 13-year old daughter was the family member who used this book--and she really enjoyed it! She does not have a lot of background in coding, and she found the book very easy to use -- it even helped her with errors or helped her avoid some! (One neat thing in the book is they actually have the kids make particular errors so that they will know why/how to correct them.  The way the book is written is that it explains what you're doing step by step so that the students understand the "why" of the syntax that they are using.  
The conversational tone and the examples used are great for teens -- they're full of silly/funny content that really enhances the learning :) 


The content that the book covers is JavaScript.  It is very easy to follow--the coding is highlighted in gray and students can easily copy it.  It is very interactive--my daughter found that it is easiest to read the book right at the computer so that she could type as she was reading :) 





There are ten chapters, covering topics such as arrays, loops, strings, functions, comparisons, logic, and more, each one full of different projects and the final chapter helps students "combine concepts from every chapter to build a cool game."

At the end of each chapter there is a chapter quiz, a Key Concepts list to review, Drills (to practice typing code segments), and aggregate review--to ensure that you are retaining what you have learned from the beginning of the book through the chapter you are currently on.  Answers are in the back of the book, so students are not left wondering if they are correct or not.  


SO what did we think?  We thought that this book was a wonderful tool to teach JavaScript!  My daughter has only made it through the first few chapters, but she intends to finish the entire book (and hopes for more in the series!!)  I think I actually might give it a try as well, as I'd like to learn a bit of JavaScript myself :) It is a great way for students to learn independently--as long as they are of a 6th grade reading level (suggested by the author) they ought to be able to move right through the book successfully!  

If you have more questions about the book or would like to see a sample chapter, you can do so by visiting the Code for Teens website.  It's an enjoyable book, written in a fun way (with awesome illustrations!) and yields success pretty easily.  I do recommend this book!

If you'd like to read what others wrote after using this book, please click on the link below:


Code For Teens: The Awesome Beginner's Guide to Programming {Code for Teens Reviews}

Crew Disclaimer

Saturday, July 14, 2018

CPR/ First Aid for teens

I am so pleased that my kids were able to take certification courses for CPR and First Aid this year!

I really think it is so important that everyone, even teenagers, be prepared to help someone out in an emergency!  


So let me tell you the story of how this came about.  Last year I had looked into CPR/First Aid courses and how I could offer them to my kids and others.  The costs that we were quoted were very prohibitive (like nearly $1000 for 8 individuals to become certified!!) There is no way we could afford that, or afford to offer it to others in our community. I had contacted both the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross.  I still don't understand why these courses are so expensive!!


So I gave up for awhile.  In September I had the Sheriff come to our 4-H Club for a career exploration presentation, and while he was there I asked him if he knew of anyone who offered courses for less $ than I had been quoted.  He said that he was thinking of having himself and some of his staff certified as instructors--and to contact him later in the year to see if they had.  I emailed him every couple of months and finally in June they had been trained to be instructors!  He coordinated with me to figure out two afternoons that we could offer the course and he offered the trainings for these students at a very low price.



I opened up the course to just teenagers, because there's something about a group of teens that they are able to concentrate/learn better without as much embarassment sometimes if parents aren't included :) We had nine students sign up and all nine of them passed all the requirements to receive their American Heart Association certifications in CPR (adult, child, and infant) and First Aid.


I am so thankful that we were able to do this and that now nine more individuals are prepared to help their communities in this way if needed!