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Tuesday, April 24, 2018

I'm Sorry!

With all the info I gave you about the Homeschool Boot Camp, I didn't supply you with any links.

So here you go.

I don't have much to say today.

We are rejoicing that one of the girls who has attended Kid's Club in Romney for years and now attends the Teen Night has given her heart to Jesus!

Today the skies were weeping. For joy? Lots of rain today.

Melvin, Christopher and I are in a Scrabble game. Melvin started off with 60 points. We are still trying to catch up to him. 
It's the boys' first time playing so I tell them where they can make the most points with their letters. The next games they will need to go alone.

Otherwise, our day was filled with cooking, reading, laundry, dishes, caring for animals and cleaning. The men started and finished a job in Romney today.

Supper is black beans, coleslaw and cornbread. Simple and delicious.

Thomas and I are doing the eye protocol. He's doing it for the first time and I'm doing it the second time. I did not get 20/20 vision the first time through so we're trying it again.

Christopher and I are home alone as the others all went to the Romney Kid's Club. Christopher's working on another flute. He's getting pretty good at it.

Thomas took off with the van, stopped at the mechanic's shop where he had a truck, and then the van gave up the ghost right there. He had forgotten his phone so he couldn't call me. 

He traded out the van for the truck and came back home to get his phone. He needed it to let the people at Kid's Club know where he is. He left again with the truck. What next?

Till next time...

Daily words-
Truculent
Venire
Adnate

Monday, April 23, 2018

Homeschool Boot Camp

Begins today!

Don't be scared off by the title. These are free live videos featuring instructors instructing instructors. If you are a parent, a school teacher or anyone who works with children in any way, this teaching is helpful.

I have learned so much over the last several years as I've listened to the instructors at HECOA. I learned about how children learn best. I learned how to make the most of the educational years by not sticking to graded curricula (not very possible in a traditional school setting).

I learned about mentoring a child. I learned methods of teaching math, history and etc. I learned the importance of reading aloud. I learned that grades were developed to keep children in school until they are the age where factories can hire them (which purpose is no longer valid). 

And I learned how much there is to learn!

This event and others like it at HECOA are free for basic members. (Membership is free also.) You can attend the live event and listen to the replay for 24 hrs afterward. 

After that, you will need to pay to listen to replays. There are many videos from prior events in the archives. There is usually a free video up on your member dashboard page that changes periodically.

The current free featured replay for basic members is of Shiloah Baker talking about the importance of reading, and especially reading aloud. Shiloah is a mother of 11, a number of whom have disabilities including autism and dyslexia. 

The link she shares for her website is no longer valid. This is a replay of a video from a number of years ago. What she shares is so interesting.

Back to the Bootcamp. There is a good lineup of speakers for this week, including Steve Demme who shows you how to see math, Patrick Nurre who is excited about learning from nature, Blaine Rindlisbacher who talks about relationships, and Jill Stowell who shares how to help your struggling student.

There are many speakers who come from many different places, religions and educational views. Listen, as always, with discernment.

Be blest!

Words of today-
Ganglion
Approbate
Cesium

Friday, April 20, 2018

A Capella Gospel Sing

Do you enjoy good, acapella music? If you are unaware of an annual event in Indiana, I will introduce you to it.

This year was the 8th annual A Capella Gospel Sing. We had heard of it some time ago but it didn't really sink in what it was. Then in 2016 we watched replays of the prior year's event.

About that time, Thomas' cousin's husband asked Stephen to come help him with some of the techy stuff at AGS. Stephen was at the 2016 event and we watched it on the live stream.

Last year we again enjoyed watching the event via live stream. Singing groups come and go and every year we look forward to more good singing.

Usually one group of singers, be it a quartet, family or whatever, will have about three different time slots to sing in throughout the weekend.

This year AGS has a YouTube channel and has taken the singing from each group and compiled one video per group containing all the singing they did throughout the weekend.

I enjoyed the replays of the daily events but I enjoy these compilations even more. Now that you know about it, you can enjoy it as well.

This year there was a "Homecoming" where every group that had ever sung at AGS was invited back. Some came and some did not. A couple videos were played, reminiscent of former times/groups.

The ladies' trio in these videos is one that my cousin Merry Yoder sang with. She is the singer on the far left. The lady in the center passed away from cancer.

Click here to go to the AGS YouTube channel. Click here to go to their website. Travel to Indiana next year to be present at the event.

Words-
Melange
Proscribe
Arbitrate

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

19 Days Later

Nineteen days ago. That's when I last posted here. It feels like a LONG time ago. The days and weeks continue to march on in rapid succession, leaving little room to breathe.
The white tulip magnolia blossomed out. One by one the other spring flowering bushes and plants are bursting with color. Melvin has been taking pictures of everything. 













One of these times I will have a post devoted solely to daffodils. Before we lived here, I never dreamed there were so many different kinds of daffodils. Everything from early blooming to late blooming.
We had another snow on April the 2nd. Plus, days since where there was snow on the air. After reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder, I wondered if this is that 21st year.
We finally set out some of the more cold hardy plants. They are in the garden that has a privacy fence around it, which gives them more warmth. The temperature this morning was close to freezing again.
Friday & Saturday last week were beautiful, warm days. But we were away. Thomas & sons left early Friday morning for a job in PA. By mid-afternoon I was on my way to PA with a group from church and Melvin & Christopher were at my sister's place.

The Urban Youth Workers' Retreat was held at Roxbury Camp in Orrstown, PA, beginning Friday evening and continuing through Sunday noon.

Thomas & sons met us there, coming from Penn Valley where they had to repaint the first floor of the new hotel the retreat has been building. They were up there April 5 & 6 to do the job but it ended up being a streaky paint job. Hopefully with the second treatment, it will be good to go.

At UYWR we enjoyed a rich time of teaching and fellowship. The main sessions were addressing brokenness and were taught by Phil Beiler. Very timely instruction for me. 

Other workshops were taught, giving us instruction in relating to different needs in our communities. Attention seekers, RAD's, ADHD, LGBTQ,and abuse. Do we as Christian people have answers to the needs around us?

Of course! It's Jesus! The closer we get to God, the more effectively we can minister His love to those around us. We must embrace painful situations in our lives, accepting them as God's way of breaking our earthen vessels so His light can shine out.

Laundry, house cleaning and cooking are calling my name. Hopefully I'll be back before another nineteen days have passed.

Words of interest-
Vassal
Genera
Imprimatur