7 Quick Takes - Volume 4

In case you haven't noticed, my blog has officially become... boooorrrriinnnggg! If it wasn't already! I have had, well, less than no time to post anything now that we're back into school full-swing and little girl is quickly advancing past "sleepy newborn" phase. So, I apologize that I haven't been more faithful in posting, but higher priorities have been consuming as of late!

Speaking of school, we're up and going full-swing again! Phew! It isn't going exactly as I had hoped/planned in this post, but it is going, and going reasonably well, praise God! I came to the very obvious conclusion that it's just better to save most of the "sit down and listen" type stuff for when Judah is napping. He gets plenty of "sit down and listen" training when we have our family devotions, are in church, and other various opportunities that pop up. Trying to toddler train and keep everyone focused and stay on track and juggle a newborn baby just can't happen during schooltime! That small change has brought SO much more peace to our school day!

Oh, and speaking of Judah, he turned 2 this month! Wow! Can you believe he's gone from this:

To this:

SO fast?! He's talking up a storm, although I'd say only about 52% of it is understadable to the general public. He's adjusting wonderfully to being a big brother - in fact, his first question every morning is "Where's Rachel?"... or, if she's awake already, he wants to give her hugs and kisses before he even gets out of bed! I adore the precious love he has for her already!

And since we're on the topic of Miss Rachel, she is almost 2 months old already!! Sheesh! She is, as expected, the object of everyone's affection and doting. She's a very happy baby - except when she's in the car. Apparently, the car is the death trap from Satan himself because she screams in total terror and despair whenever we're in it. It *is* getting better, but needless to say, I have limited my outings! But really, that's the only complaint I can make, and it's such a minor one! She's healthy, growing well, sleeping GREAT (averaging 7 hours a night already, a practical miracle in itself!), smiling and cooing, and just so sweet. I love watching her grow and change! It seems that with each baby, I see the miracle of God's handiwork more than I did previously. It's so awesome! I am so blessed to be a mama!

Do you see how chubby she's gotten?! I love her cheeks and all the little rolls I find on her now!

As a shameless plug for myself and the companies I love... take a peek over to the upper left - do you see the "I Recommend" label over there? The companies I have listed are all ones that I use, love, recommend, and am (mostly) an affiliate for. Of course, I'm not an affiliate for Compassion, but I love the work they do, love being a part of what they're doing, and highly encourage others to get involved, as well! The other companies' banners also come with high kudos from me, and if you're interested in taking a peek at any of them, it does benefit me, as well. Just sayin'... ;-)

Now that I've had two months to think over my homebirth experience, I wanted to try to put into words what a difference it made for me. Yes, I loved being in the comfort of my own home, I loved not having to fight off unwanted interventions or treatments, I loved that our life wasn't "interrupted" with a hospital stay, and so on... but the biggest thing I learned from my homebirth experience was this: awe. Utter amazement at the birth process and God's beautiful design in how life is brought into the world. I know, I've had 5 kids already, shouldn't I have realized all of this by now?! But here's the thing. My midwife was really hands-off. She didn't check my dilation, she didn't hover over me... she listened to the baby's heartbeat once in a while, and otherwise... stayed really low key. At first I was nervous - I thought "how will I know how far along I am?", "what if I'm getting close?", "what if I'm not making any progress, how will we know?". Intellectually, I thought I had to "know" my status. But you know what? I didn't! Because God designed my body to do what it needed to do without my total consciousness of every intimate detail. Instinctively, I knew when we were getting closer. Pushing happened without anyone telling me to, and without counting to 10 and holding my breath. My body knew all of this without my intellect having to know. Truly natural birth is such an amazing, awe-filled experience. It brought me to a level of faith that I hadn't experienced before. I'm so, so thankful I got to experience it.

I'm really looking forward to the next couple of weeks! We'll be enjoying our second-ever Sonlight Box Day (I'm ordering Core E plus Science!), as well as going to our local homeschool convention. I haven't been to a convention in several years, but this one seemed too good to miss - we'll be able to hear both Ken Ham and Voddie Baucham speak, as well as lots of others, and of course, feast our eyes on the wide variety of vendors! My first experience at a convention was totally overwhelming, but now that I've got a good few years under my belt, as well as a solid view of our curriculum choices, I think it's going to be just plain FUN! And many of our friends from church will be there, too, so we're likely to run into a few folks we know, which always makes things nicer.

Well, if anyone is around who still reads my boring old blog, thanks for stopping in! Maybe one day soon I'll be able to get back on the ball. For now, I'll drop a note whenever I can!

Wordless Wednesday - Hairbows and Cupcakes

TOS Crew Review - BrillKids Aesop's Fables Volume 1

BrillKids is not a new company to my blog - in fact, I reviewed their Little Readers program a few month ago. This review is for their Little Reader Storybook Series, Aesop's Fables, Volume 1. These books are simplified and illustrated versions of the traditional Aesop's Fables, and the book formats are "specially designed to give your child all the fun of storybook time, while also teaching your child to read".

Currently sale priced at $37.50 (reduced from $50!), the series comes with 5 familiar titles, including:

• The Boy Who Cried Wolf
• The Turtle and the Rabbit
• The Fox and the Grapes
• The Lion and the Mouse
• The Fox and the Crow

The layout of the books, as I mentioned above, is quite unique. Instead of combining text and illustrations, the text (which is large and well spaced to help little eyes see each word more clearly) is on one side of the page, while the illustration is on the other. The book includes a flap, which is designed to cover the illustration while the text is being read. After the text is read, the flap is lifted to reveal the illustration.

The concept behind this design is to draw a child's attention to the written text instead of allowing them to be distracted by the illustration. The theory is that the child will better be able to begin understanding the mechanics of reading, as well as recognizing words, because they won't be looking at the illustrations for clues.

I found the concept behind this method intriguing. The children enjoyed using the flap - to them, it was just like a simplified "lift the flap" book, and they enjoyed being the one to be able to reveal the picture when it was their turn (yes, we had to take turns!).

However, from my personal experience, both with the product and as a mom who has taught 3 children to read so far (not that I am expert by any means, I'm just speaking, as I said, from my personal experience), I didn't see that this creative layout would enhance reading instruction. Many of the words in the stories were big words - not even common "sight" words, but words like "probably", "frustrated", "confident", "laughing", and so on - so for beginner readers, the sheer size of the words could be intimidating, and for non-readers, there is no simple way for them to learn HOW to actually read - only try to remember the words by sight alone. Which works wonderfully for that specific word, but not for the entire reading process in general. I prefer a more methodical approach that teaches the mechanics of how to decipher words rather than just route memorization of random words. Route memorization, in the long run, does not work and leaves the reading process incomplete.

I also happen to be of the belief that illustrations help make a story come alive to a child and are important, if not essential, in a storybook. I feel that being able to look at the illustrations while a story is being read actually enhances the learning to read process, rather than hindering it by causing distractions. Studying the pictures, talking about the story in relation to the pictures, and even having a child remember the words to the story because the pictures trigger the memory of what was read, are all a huge part of reading to toddlers and preschoolers, and really help a LOVE for reading develop - and once that love is there, the desire to learn how to read naturally follows. Limiting the viewing of pictures, I think, does more to diminish the love and desire than to help it. Again, I am not a reading expert - I am just stating what I believe from my own experiences.

Also, while this is more of a personal critique of the books, there were some small things that, well, for lack of a better word... bothered me. For example, in the book "The Fox and the Grapes", the fox sees the grapes and thinks to himself "They'll make lovely wine, I'll have them for lunch!" While we are not strict abstainers from alcohol in our house, consumption of it is rare and far between, and I certainly don't want a preschooler's book suggesting that making wine to consume at lunch time is a fine and good thing!

Another issue I had with that story in particular is that the moral was never mentioned. The fox goes away from the grapes with a bad attitude, and there is no moral explaining why that attitude is wrong... which could be taken by a child to believe that a "sour grapes" attitude is perfectly fine, since the story ended that way. Yes, these examples give us opportunities to discuss the issues more in-depth, but for something that's supposed to just be a simple, fun "learn-to-read" story for young children, to me, it overstepped it's bounds a little.

Overall, here's my thoughts. Are they cute storybooks? Yes. Does the flap make reading more interesting? For a while - as I mentioned, my children liked trying to guess what might be underneath, but that got a little old to them after a few read-throughs. Will they teach your child to read? Perhaps, but I have my doubts. We only had the product for a few weeks before writing this review, so maybe over a longer period of time, I would have noticed a change in reading skills in my beginning and pre-readers.

I hate to write a negative review without reminding readers that what didn't work in my homeschooling might actually work wonders in yours! So please do not take my review and write off BrillKid's Aesop's Fables Volume 1 Series completely. Be sure to check out other reviews by going to the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog - I'm sure you'll come across a variety of opinions!

Disclaimer: I was given this product specifically for the purpose of reviewing here on my blog as a member of TOS Homeschool Crew. I received no other compensation in regards to this review.

Gearing Up! (or, The Post with Lots of Links)

It's been 6 weeks since Rachel joined our family, and almost 2 months since we've done any formal school routine. Talk about a long pre-spring break! So, next week, we dive back in to "real life" and get started back on track. I'm a little nervous, but don't have huge expectations, as we're out of practice and and have newborn thrown into the mix!

Over the past few weeks, I've been doing more organizational things to help prepare. I reorganized our school stuff, revamped the chore lists, and am spending this week doing the "great seasonal clothes swap" so that we're ready for spring (and summer)! It feels good to be getting all of that done so that I'll be able to focus more fully on school.

I played around with our school routine and bought a few new curriculum items that will hopefully enhance or improve some subjects. Here's what I hope for our basic day to look like:

We'll start with Bible around the breakfast table. We'll pray, read some scripture, practice our memory verse, and perhaps learn or practice a hymn! We're still using the Bible schedule provided in Sonlight's Core 3 Instructor's Guide, and will be using Hymns for a Child's Heart to learn some songs.

After breakfast, the kids will do a few morning chores, and then we'll all sit down together to read History (also Sonlight Core 3 - we have about 16 weeks left). After History, the bigger kids will go ahead and start their independent work, while I spend time with the littles reading some preschool stories (from Sonlight P 3/4 and P 4/5) and doing some fun activities. After we've read some stories, I'm going to do some one-on-one work with Joel (6) - mostly math (Math-U-See Primer) and reading, while Nathan spends some time on Reading Kingdom.

The bigger boys' independent work consists of Rod and Staff English and Reading, Math-U-See (Gamma and Delta), a Quiet Times for Kids Bible study, handwriting, and reading their Core 3 Readers. This can take them sometimes an hour or more, but that gives me lots of time with the littles!

After they're done, we'll take a mid-morning break until after lunch. This will let them have some time to play outside, or, if needed, we could run some errands or do a project - depending on how much time there is available! I gave up trying to do a "by-the-clock" schedule a few years ago, and instead just "do the next thing", stopping for important things like lunch and naps!

After lunch, Nathan and Judah take a 2 hour nap, so that is prime time to get some more focused work done. We'll do some Science (Apologia's Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology), and then I'll go over the bigger boys' independent work with them. Joel will be working on Reading Kingdom while I do that, and also just spending time entertaining himself quietly - a good skill to learn!

Along with going over the bigger boys' work, I'm also incorporating All About Spelling with each of them (yes, we switched spelling curriculum again! I'm hoping we see good results with AAS, I've heard nothing but great things!), as well as Writing Tales (a review for this is coming soon! So far, it's a keeper!). Ezra is also switching to Handwriting Without Tears after his former handwriting program was, well, reducing him to tears! That also requires some focused one-on-one instruction from me, so that will happen during naps, too.

After naps there's afternoon chores, and then the kids are free to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening!

On Fridays, there is no independent work at all, so we'll just have the basic Bible, History, and Science - leaving Fridays to be nice and open to whatever we want to do - field trips, nature hikes, library visits, science projects, fun things like that! I'm really looking forward to our new Friday plan - it's nice to have a set day to do school things that are more adventurous!

The plans look so nice and easy on paper! I'm hoping that they'll be able to flow at least somewhat like what I've written out... like I said, I'm keeping my expectations low to avoid disappointment or frustration ;-) Starting fresh is a nice way to fend off the mid-year doldrums that can pop up, and I'm ready and excited to jump back in to school! Hopefully, if you ask me in three weeks how it's going... I'll still have the same excitement!

New Look

Did you notice my new header?! (It was about time for an update, the other one was over a year old!)

Here's the original picture:

And don't be fooled, Miss Rachel isn't crying - she's sharing her big, beautiful, joy-filled GRIN! I was so thrilled to catch it on camera! She shares those with us a lot, and they melt us! And I wanted to give a big thank you to my mom, who made the shirts with the boys, as well as Rachel's onesie, which says "sister". Perfect!

Also, a thanks to Danielle, from Danielle Moss Graphic Design and Photography, the designer of my blog and updater of my header!

TOS Crew Review - Reading Kingdom

Reading Kingdom is an online program designed to help children ages 4-10 learn to read and write. Based on the idea that teaching phonics alone won't equip a child with what they need to learn how to read, the Reading Kingdom teaches 6 basic skills, which, when used together, give a child the confidence and skills they need to become proficient readers! The program customizes itself to each individual user, so that each child gets personalized reading instruction based on what they need.

The website has an incredible amount of information about how children learn to read, how Reading Kingdom is different from other reading programs, how to use the program, general FAQ's about the program, and many other tutorials about reading and the Reading Kingdom program, so I won't try to restate it all here! But I will share my thoughts, of course, since that is the whole purpose of a review!

My two middle boys, Joel (age 6) and Nathan (age 4) are using the program. Joel is already reading on a beginning level, while Nathan is still learning the names and sounds of the letters in the alphabet. To start the program, each child is given an assessment to see what they already know. Both boys started off in the pre-reading section, which helps a child learn to use the mouse, find letters on the keyboard, and also practice sequencing (helping to teach a child that words are to be read from left to right). Joel moved through this level rather quickly, as expected, while it took Nathan several weeks to make his way through it. I loved what it taught Nathan! He had never used a mouse or a keyboard before, and after he completed this level, he can now use a mouse proficiently and find many letters (hunt-and-peck style) on the keyboard.

I want to interject here for a second and mention that in the beginning, especially during the pre-reading level, parental supervision is needed. While the program strongly discourages parental assistance, the program is not entirely intuitive, either. In the pre-reading level, the activities alternate between clicking letters on a keyboard on the screen, and typing letters on the actual keyboard. However, the instructions for when to do which were not entirely clear (even for me!) and so for the first few lessons I had to stand nearby and remind them "listen carefully to the instructions" or give hints, like "when the keyboard is on the screen, you click it, but when there's no keyboard, you type". So, while I was very careful not to give "clues" or answers to what they were trying to do, they did need some help understanding the instructions.

As I mentioned, Joel quickly advanced into Level 1 of the reading instruction, and he is still there at the time of my writing this review. In Level 1, each lesson starts with a word being said and the child being asked if they can type it. If the child can type it, another word is introduced. When the program introduces a word the child cannot type, the lesson then centers on that word. For example, one of Joel's first words was "girl". Since he could not type "girl", the next 10 minutes (or so) were spent on various activities involving the word "girl". Some of the activities just had him clicking on a picture of a girl. Others had him filling in blanks to complete the word (such as "g_rl), or locating which combination of letters would complete the word. Others had him typing out the word completely. Here are some examples (using other words):

By the end of the lesson, he definitely knew how to spell and read "girl"! As he progresses through the lessons, there are stories that are presented, in which he has to fill in the blanks or type certain words, and the stories include many words from previous lessons, as a review system.

Joel is really enjoying the program and I can see that it is helping him with sight words and other words that are hard to sound out phonetically.

Nathan, on the other hand, is having a little bit more of a struggle. He was moved into Level 1 last week, and since he has had no background in reading whatsoever (other than my reading aloud to him daily), he just isn't catching on to it. The program gives progress reports after each lesson, using icons to demonstrate how well the child performs:

and in Nathan's case, in the Sequencing aspect of the pre-reading level, he consistently got "Performance suggests reader may need more guidance". Despite this, however, he was still moved forward into Level 1, and I cannot move him back into the pre-reading level, which is frustrating for me. I can contact the company and they would delete his progress and allow him to start over again, but I would prefer to be able to do that myself at my discretion. Now, Nathan isn't frustrated by Level 1, because he thinks any time he gets to spend "playing" at the computer is fun! But I can tell by watching him that he really is not picking up on reading through this method.

Comparing the two different experiences my children have had, I would say that I think Reading Kingdom is a good supplement to help a beginning reader start moving on to bigger, non-phonetic words and sight words. I am not so sure, however, how well it would actually teach a complete non-reader to read. The company has very generously allowed TOS Crew reviewers an entire year's subscription, and I plan to continue using it with both boys, so perhaps over time, my uncertainty about Nathan's progress will be proven incorrect! I don't have any doubts, however, that the Reading Kingdom will be a good asset in Joel's reading skills, and may be just what he needs to move from being a "beginning reader" to a full-fledged "reader"!

Both children enjoy the program very much, and ask to do it every day, sometimes several times a day!

Pricing for the Reading Kingdom is $19.99 a month, or $199.99 for a year. They also offer a scholarship program for families in need! A great way to see if the Reading Kingdom would be the right fit for your child is to sign up for their FREE 30-day trial!

Of course, be sure to find out what other reviewers thought of the Reading Kingdom program by checking out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog!

Disclaimer: I was given this product specifically for the purpose of reviewing here on my blog as a member of TOS Homeschool Crew. I received no other compensation in regards to this review.

Thoughts of Spring Blog Party

Lynette Kraft at Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground is hosting a delightful blog party, called Thoughts of Spring! I decided to be social and join in (not to mention there's some pretty cool gift incentives for participants! But that wasn't my main motivation, I promise!) Lynette created a list of "get to know you" questions for partiers to answer... so... get to know me! Oh, and just to keep with the theme, I'll throw in some random pictures of the signs of spring that we've seen lately, here in the lovely warm South!

First off, a brief introduction! I am Erin. I am 31 years old and have been married to my awesome husband Michael for 12 years (yes, do the math, we were youngins when we got married!) and have 6 incredible children - Isaac, age 10, Ezra, age 8, Joel, age 6, Nathan, age 4, Judah, age (almost 2), and (finally!) a little girl, Rachel, who is a month old! We homeschool and live in the (usually warm) state of Georgia, although I'm technically a Yankee, being raised most of my life in New England. I am in love with Jesus and have been completely transformed by His grace in my life - I am so thankful to be a New Creation in Him!

Now with the formalities over, I'll dive on in!

Our first daffodil this year!

How would people describe your personality? (If they could only use ONE word.)
Gosh, what a question to start with! I have no idea how other people would describe my personality! I'd HOPE they'd describe it as "joyful" or "upbeat", or even "funny" or "kind", but for all I know people might also describe me as "weird", "uptight", or "annoying"! How do I know how people would describe me?

Are they right?
Probably yes, to any of the above, depending on the day.

What celebrity/celebrities would create a “Star-Struck” feeling if you saw them in real life?
Honestly, none. I don't idolize celebrities. They're just people like you and me! They just happen to have a talent that puts them in front of other people more frequently. Which I don't envy at all!

Who is your favorite blogger? Why?
This is a really hard question! I love Brenda at The Family Revised because she's so down-to-earth, funny, and just plain REAL. But there are tons of blogs that I love (see my two sidebars as proof!), so I'm always scouring lots of blogs.

What is your comfort food/drink?
Dark chocolate. And nice, hot food that I didn't have to make myself. Italian is especially good, but I also like regular "down home" cooking! Yum! I love food!

Be brave – tell us something very random and weird about yourself.
Well, I covered a few down below in the "strange talent" and "strange phobia" questions. I guess it would be that I AM random and weird! At least, at times ;-) As proof, here's a random and weird picture - our dog, on our picnic table, with snow boots, a potted plant and some dirty washcloths. Why I took this picture, I have no idea!


Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done? What is it?
Yes!! My biggest desire is to adopt! Yes, more children! I have a huge burden for orphans and I think that adoption is one of the biggest "pro-life" statements that can be made.

Movies: Action, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Documentary, Comedy? What are your favorite genres?
I'm not a huge movie person, and it's hard for me to narrow down my favorite "type". If it's a good movie, it will keep my attention, no matter what the style. The only kind I don't watch at all are horror movies.

Books: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Romance, Biographies, True Stories, Self-Help, Devotional/Study? What are your favorite types of reading material?
I mostly enjoy devotional/study type reading, as well as non-fiction, and true stories. Even as a child I preferred non-fiction - I like learning!

Music: Funk, Rock, Country, Jazz, Classical, Film Score, Blues, Classic Rock, Crooner, Alternative, Heavy Metal, Techno? What are your favorite types?
I used to like Country music a lot, but the lyrics have been going downhill and I don't enjoy it much anymore. So I listen to Christian music 99% of the time, all kinds (popular, hymns, anything except the heavier stuff). I really enjoy Bluegrass style music, as well.

If you inherited a million dollars, what is the first thing you would do with your money?
I know this sounds so goody-goody, but the first thing I would do is give a bunch of it away! I find great joy in giving.

Name one weakness of yours (confession is good for the soul).
Perfectionism keeps me bound in guilt and feeling overwhelmed a lot. It's a horrible burden, and I know the Lord is slowly but surely helping me overcome, but it is still a struggle!

If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go?
I love living in the South! I'm quite happy here in Georgia. I used to think perhaps Tennessee or Virginia would be nice. Lately, I've been thinking BEACH! So, Florida? The gulf coast! But then there are hurricanes to contend with. Hmmm... hurricanes vs. chilly winters... which are worse? I'll have to think on that...

Strange Talent? Can you juggle basketballs, put your legs behind your head or perform some other strange feat?
OK, this could be embarrassing, but... I do have a strange talent... I can fit my entire fist into my mouth, up to my wrist. Yes, apparently, I have a large mouth and a flexible jaw. Kind of like a snake. But not exactly. Oh, and if you know me in real life, please don't ask me to demonstrate. It's not pretty! It involves strange facial contortions and slobber.

What’s something you consider yourself to be good at? (Don’t worry, it’s not bragging, it’s acknowledging a God given gift).
Yikes! I had to think about this one. Organizing time, maybe? Not that I'm the best user of my time, but I can organize it pretty well. And I'm good with numbers, so, financial stuff like budgeting. I wish my skills were more creative, like sewing or baking yummy things, but I'll be thankful for what I've been given. My skills do come in handy for homeschooling a large family, so God knew what I'd need!

What is one of your favorite things to catch a whiff of?
Hyacinth! Aaahhhh... the perfect smell of spring! That and honeysuckle.

(not in our yard, but I hope to plant some for next year!)

When you leave a social gathering, do you wish: You would have talked more or You would have talked less?
Usually that I would have talked less.

If money wasn’t a factor, what stores would you shop in?
I would grocery shop at Whole Foods or some other natural food place. For non-groceries like clothing or household supplies, I'd still shop wherever they're cheapest. Just because you've got the money doesn't mean you should spend $100 for a pair of jeans, you know?! To me, that's absurd. No offense to people who are more style conscious than me!

What is your greatest fear or strange phobia?
I hate swimming where I know there are large fish. Small fish I can handle, but fish that actually weigh pounds?! Nope, won't get in the water. That's not my greatest fear, but I suppose it's a rather strange phobia. I also get super nervous in social situations. Even talking to the cashier at the store! I fake it pretty well, but really, I can be painfully shy.

What is your greatest accomplishment?
Hmmm.... giving birth to 6 amazing children! And second to that, making it through each day with all six of them ;-)

What are your favorite animals?
Horses. I was the epitome of a horse-crazy girl growing up! Here's some random pictures of me and some of my favorite horses, back in the day:

Turtles are pretty cute, too, but I don't have any pictures of me and turtles!

Are you a hopeless romantic?
Nope, I'm a pretty down-to-earth realist.

What movie or book character can you most relate to?

Another tough one! Honestly, I think I relate to Peter in the Bible... my heart can be so full of passion and love for the Lord, but then I can go and make the lamest mistakes, or even neglect Him outright. It is so comforting to me to see the love Jesus still had for Peter, the forgiveness He poured out, and the power He sent to Peter through the Holy Spirit to do His work. I know He does the same for me, despite my weaknesses!

Just a pretty tree!

Happy beginning-of-Spring! Thanks for coming by!

Reason Number 5,724...

...why I love babywearing....

Sometimes it's the only way to get baby asleep (and to stay that way!)

Wordless Wednesday - Brotherly Love

Treasures of February

Is it True, Kind, Necessary? at catholicherald.com

The Truth: Lora Lynn's Homeschool Day in the Life (With a 2-, 3-, 5-, and Two 6-year Olds) at simplehomeschool.com

Value at Books and Bairns

Ask Auntie Leila: 10 Rules for Mothering a 13-Year-Old Boy at Like Mother, Like Daughter

From Raising Olives:

• Musing on A-Musing
• Today I Pray
  

LOOK at Him at girltalk

From Raising Arrows:

• When Did Marriage Stop Being Forever?
• Are You an Angry Mom?
• How to be the Perfect Wife and Mother - A Guest Post
  

From Passionate Homemaking:

• Keeping your Marriage Strong
• Affirming Your Man
  

My Wood-Carved Valentine at Getting Down with Jesus

Opening Your Heart to Life: Why Having Many Children is a Radical Act of Hope at a deeper story

Older Siblings Helping With Baby: How Much is Too Much? at babble

For the Love of the Self at Lambs in His Arms

The Thoughtful Parent's Guide to Thinking Through Vaccinations at Keeper of the Home

The Truth Behind Common Breastfeeding Myths at Nurtured Child

The Boy's List at Preschoolers and Peace

How to Stop Temper Tantrums Before They Start at ...to Love, Honor, and Vacuum