We’re studying China!

We searched all over the internet.  We read about China, looked at pictures of the land and watched youtube videos of dances and some other cool things.

We learned about and colored flags of China.

We read about Lottie Moon here.

We read about Ping the duck here.

We made a special lapbook to help us review and look back:

As we made our lapbook, we talked about how our names would look if we wrote them in Chinese.  We talked about customs and how the clothing would be different.  We made Chinese paper dolls, talked about Panda Bears, cut out and looked at different currency, and looked at numbers in chinese!

And then, we ordered in some chinese food

Links you may want to use:

-Paperdoll clothes here.
-Paperdolls here.

(Everything else we mostly found via google )

Welcome back!

It’s a well-known fact that we learn best by immersion.  When we’re studying a foreign language, it’s recommended that at some point, we fully immerse ourselves into the language and culture to learn and absorb more.  But, when it’s time to study history, learning by immersion can be a little tricky.  We don’t always have the resources to re-create a version of the past to immerse ourselves in and most history textbooks leave much to be desired.

So, what’s a family to do?

Recreating the past has just gotten easier with Hands and Hearts.  Recently, they sent me one of their Early American History Kits.  As I sifted through the contents of the box, my excitement increased as I thought about the many different activities we would be able to do to help Lorelei better grasp concepts from our lessons.

When I stumbled across Hands and Hearts History Kits, I was sold after reading what came in the kits.  Each kit is jam-packed with everything you’d need to do projects from the past as well as a CD with printable instructions and background history – making learning so much fun!

For example, the Early American History Kit included everything I needed for the following activities:

(as stated on the website…)

Dip candles: This kit contains 100% pure beeswax and natural wicking.  Your child is sure to enjoy creating his own hand-dipped candles, then eating or studying by candlelight.
Craft an apple pomander: After reading about the importance of fragrant herbs in early America, your child will enjoy creating a spicy-smelling apple pomander.
Make and play the Bowl Game: The Bowl Game was a favorite game for many Indian tribes, and it was a favorite for our testers as well!.  Your child will paint the wooden playing pieces, then enjoy playing the game with others.  Comprehensive math tie-in projects are included.
Prepare and drink black brick tea: Think you know about the Boston Tea Party?  Think again!  We don’t want to ruin the surprise, but you may never look at tea the same way after trying a cup of this brew!
Create a talking feather: No, this feather isn’t going to start chatting with you.  A talking feather was a decorated ceremonial feather used by Indians during gatherings.  Only the person holding the feather was allowed to talk.  Your child will be delighted to create his own talking feather using an imitation eagle feather, real buffalo bone beads, genuine rabbit fur, leather, artificial sinew, and more.  You will be delighted with the lessons he will learn about social graces!
Stitch a lavender sachet: Your child be so proud of making this fragrant and beautiful sachet made with lovely dried lavender and attractive calico fabric.  The time spent stitching it will give him or her a glimpse of the work that went into creating clothing and linens long ago.
String a bone cross necklace: This amazing necklace is made from a hand-carved bone cross and authentic glass tile beads.
Decorate and play a bamboo flute: This simple toy was enjoyed by many children long ago, and your child will enjoy decorating his own bamboo flute with leather and genuine glass crow beads.  He will enjoy playing it even more!
Learn about the importance of beads in early American history: You and your child will be fascinated by our section on beads.  We include a bag of genuine imported lampwork beads, trading and valuing information, and several bead projects from which to choose.
Create a wonderful keepsake notebook: We include a packet of reproducible notebook pages, information on notebooking, and specific notebooking suggestions.
Learn timeless language lessons: Our copywork section draws from classic sources such as The New England Primer, the founding fathers, and more.
Study the geography of early America: Our Early American History Discovery Kit includes maps from Knowledge Quest, Inc., and comprehensive, easy-to-implement lesson plans co-authored by Terri Johnson of Knowledge Quest, Inc. and Kate Estes of Hands and Hearts.
Hide God’s Word in his heart: Our exclusive Bible Truths Cards will help your child discern important Bible truths drawn from the KJV and the New England Primer.
This kit includes a comprehensive instruction manual containing full background information for every project, and clear step-by-step illustrated instructions.  Everything you need to do all of these projects is right in the box – *you need only to provide an apple and two empty metal cans (like soup cans).  All materials are of the very highest quality and are extremely historically accurate.  Your child won’t just be learning about history – he will be living it!

Each kit – whether you want to learn about Ancient Egypt or Ancient Greece and Rome – are full of learning possibilities and everything you would need for the activities.  Most kits are between $39.95 and $69.95, which is well worth it when you consider the contents are provided as are the CDs with instructions and history lessons – and, the gas you didn’t have to waste while trying to find similar items.

These kits are awesome!  (Can you tell that I really really like them?)  They’re great for homeschoolers – or, parents who just want to add a little extra learning and discovery into their child’s life.  They’d be great for a school classroom, too (add-ons for extra students are available)!

In fact, I believe in this product so much that Hands and Hearts and I have teamed together and are offering ONE lucky reader a FREE KIT of their choice.

How To Enter To Win

To enter, you can do any of the following (please use a separate “comment” for each “chance” to win):

• Leave a comment telling us which kit you’d like to try (visit this page to seem them all).
• Follow Hands and Hearts on twitter (<—follow this link) and leave a comment telling me you did!
• Subscribe to BossSanders.com (you can use this link or you can look at the top of the page and put your email address there) and leave a comment telling me you did!

Other Details

• This giveaway will end on May 31, 2010 at midnight CST.
• You have up to 3 chances (see details above) – making your chances of winning even better!
  
• Winner will be announced on Bosssanders.com and will receive an email.

Best of luck to you all!!

As I was reading through (who am I kidding, I was SKIMMING) a book that was supposed to help me learn contentment with my house, a thought came to me – other than the thought that OH MY GOSH, THIS BOOK DOESN’T APPLY TO RENTERS!   The thought was:  It’s an adventure.

Maybe trying to force myself to love the entire situation I’m in is totally the wrong way to go at this.  Maybe I should just try to be mostly happy DESPITE the things that happen to not be so great.  Maybe I should focus less on what I hate about being here…and just see it as an adventure, something that someday I can look back on and laugh about the loose carpeting and fridge shelves that the landlord “fixed” with some tape and tinfoil.

For now, a list to remind me the GOOD things about being here:

1.  I’m closer to my family.  Having lunch with mom or someone to swing by to watch the kids so I can run to the doctor is great.  So is being able to see my friends whenever.

2.  No baseboards mean I can automatically check off the “dust baseboards” item from Fly Lady checklist.

3.  The carpets were so stained and old before I got here, so when one of the girls spills purple juice, I don’t even flinch.  Is there really a stain if you can’t see it?  (I still clean it up, but no longer worry about the new color of the carpet).

4.  When all of the repairs by the landlord involve duct tape and super glue, it makes for a pretty inexpensive repair.

5.  We don’t have to bother ourselves with mowing because there is no yard.

6.  You never have to worry about sleeping in too late – either a car horn or a random flying ball will wake you up (when the ball hits the side of your house.)

7.  I’m fairly confident that there is nothing in this place that my kids could break that wouldn’t be covered under our deposit.

8.  If the kids ever trapped themselves in their room (any room), just a little nudge and we could break the door down so they won’t starve.

9.  The house is full of little entertainment stations…like the piece of “trim” in the doorway that spins.

10.  Most of the windows here need to be replaced, SO that means I could not clean them and nobody would even be able to tell.  They stay gross, even after a good scrubbing (between the glass).

11.  Our “house” is energy efficient, when you plug in more than 2 things in certain areas, it completely flips a breaker for that side of the house.  We’re reducing our carbon footprint!

12.  It has a porch swing.  I love my porch swing.

1.  I just don’t get seams up the back of panties.  I just don’t.  I don’t understand the panties with the holes for “butt cleavage” either.  Most people need MORE fabric, not less.  And, I don’t need to see your crack…I know you have one, just don’t need to see it!

2.  I like my minivan.  Not because it looks cool and what-not.  Just, because…I don’t care.  And, I want 5 kids.

3.  I enjoy proving you wrong when you try to make me feel stupid…especially when you do it in front of others.

4.  I don’t really chew gum much.

5.  Homeschooling and learning (myself) excites me.  I love it.  I also love teaching but am really glad I didn’t finish my degree in teaching.  Kids with bad attitudes that don’t listen or obey drive me crazy…even mine.  Actually, I stay crazy.

6.  I don’t really care if you homeschool or public school, cloth diaper or disposable diaper, let your child roll in the dirt or bathe them in hand sanitizer, choose to vaccinate or not vaccinate, or how you choose to spend (or not spend) your money.  It may mean we have less in common (or more), but it won’t make me like you less.  –Unless of course, you try to make me feel like crap about MY family’s decisions.

7.  A teacher once told us that once we became published, we could make up our own words and break grammar rules.  I took her seriously.

8.  Misspelled words drive me crazy.  –Less crazy if it’s just one out of 300 words…unless it’s my writing, and then I have to fix it ASAP.  Therefore, I can’t text with people who use the new “txting language” or their own made up words.

9.  Sometimes, I get loud.  But, I don’t get LOUD.  (Look it up on Urban Dictionary.)

10.  I don’t think that threatening your kids that if they don’t stop fighting over the hermit crabs, you’ll feed them to the fish in the pond is bad parenting.  I think it’s creative. 

And…despite what Subway may say, I DON’T believe raw bacon is a healthy snack choice…nor does it belong on my sandwich.

(Yes, both are words.)

Lately, I’ve been praying the same prayer for myself – I’ve been asking for contentment, to be satisfied with what I have.

It’s no secret that I’ve found difficulty in accepting this new “house,” or leaving the things we left behind.  It’s not really a secret that while I don’t have a need to eat off of my floors, I do appreciate a general clean-ness.  It’s also not a secret that I’ve really been struggling with figuring out how to transition from one place to another, especially when it comes to space and storage.

When we moved, it was hasty and we had to choose fast.  We had to find a home, and when we chose this place, we thought we were choosing the best place possible for the money.  We thought we could clean it up, make it great.  Until the electricity was switched on.

Suddenly, we saw walls with spackle covering the cheap wallpapered “walls” (it’s a mobile home).  We saw carpet that had worst spots than we thought, edges coming up, threatening to be pulled up by baby hands or tripped over.  Trim around the doors popping off…trim on the walls…popping off.  Pieces of floor no longer sturdy, that give way to the pressure of your feet in spots due to past water damage.  Oh yes, we found many lovelies.  And, after asking the landlord if WE could fix it and take it off of our rent, we were told not only that no, we could not, but also reminded that we’d already paid the deposit and first month of rent.

After buckets of bleach (which should tell you the original state of this place since I despise bleach), bucket upon bucketful of dirty water pulled from the carpets, and lots of elbow grease, we moved in.  We bought small rugs to cover as much of the floor as possible, trying to pull together the brown window coverings and the circa -1990 ugly blue carpet with almost as ugly throw pillows that contained a similar blue and chocolate browns.  We moved our furniture in, covering as much as we could.  We added little “pieces of home” to make things feel less…traumatic.

It was nothing like the place we moved from.  No brightly painted, cheerful rooms.  No table to sit at for dinner (no room for one).  No yard.  No swingsets for the kids.  No pets.  No kind neighbors, just uncomfortable stares and the feeling of being watched.  Constantly.

So, I’ve been praying.  For contentment.  Because, really…it’s a roof.  And yeh, this whole spring season has been a little rough when the wind starts blowing hard, up and under the “house,” shaking it like a little toy.  Or, when the rain pelts down in a thunderstorm, and you shoot straight out of bed in the middle of the night, looking nervously out of the window.  But, for the most part, it’s not THAT bad.  As in, it could be worse.  It could have had cat pee everywhere.  We could have gangsters as next door neighbors instead of the pot smokers that were there.  There could be “bed bugs” running rampant.  There could be more mold.  It could be in a bad part of town.  It could not have a front porch with a swing (which is the one part I love about it).  It could be infested with rats.  And, I know these things, but being content with the entire situation and this PLACE…it’s still something I’ve been struggling with.

So, it’s been my prayer because I know I should be grateful.

In a way, I guess I feel like I deserve better.  I feel like we’re blowing 550 dollars a month.  From childhood, we’re told that if we work hard and do what’s “right,” we’ll be blessed with good things.  We’re told that if we just work hard enough, we can have whatever we want.  So, after our family has put blood, sweat, and tears into various projects and jobs, just to be knocked down a peg a two way too often…it feels like…well, it feels like we’ve been screwed.  I look around and see people with all of this “good luck” and wonder what we’ve done wrong.  Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want an expensive car, I don’t need the Viking appliances…I just want a home where I can feel at peace (not a mansion, a home).

But, yesterday, as Steven and I watched a movie called The Shift, something occurred to me.  Something so simple, but so profound.

I don’t deserve ANYTHING.  No, I do deserve things…but if we went by what we “deserved” – by what we’re entitled, we’d all be hanging from trees.  (Thank God for His grace and blood that cleared me.)

I don’t deserve a decent house.  I may mean well and I may love people, but I assure you that if you were tally up my sins, you’d need extra paper.  I’m nowhere near perfect.  So, I’m thankful that we don’t all get what we deserve.

I also don’t NEED a house that’s anything more than this one.  I WANT one (desperately), but God is showing me that what I NEED is something that no man could ever take away from me, something that money doesn’t buy.

Perhaps I should be focusing on just using my talents and energy and time to bless others.  Perhaps I should be thankful that we don’t have  a house tying us down.  –That we don’t have to worry or stress about holding onto things we’ve attained, that we don’t have to spend more time and energy trying to attain more for it, and then to attain those things.  Perhaps.

I’m still struggling.  I don’t have it all figured out.  And, my prayer still remains the same.  Contentment.

I look forward to the day that I can see this period of time as a blessing, that I can look back and see what God was busily working on.

This past Sunday, our preacher asked us to take 2 minutes to write a list of those people who have made an impact on our lives – the people who have helped gotten us where we are today.

Names floated through my brain, as I silently ticked off the ways they’d made a difference.  Then, the next instructions came:  Over the next week, we are to send cards (or phonecalls) to people on our list, letting them know how they’d blessed us.

Oh, wait.  So, what do I do with the people that impacted my life…but not necessarily in a “blessing” sort of a way?  Do I get to send them a card, too?  (<—mischevious grin)

Dear Such-and-such,

Thanks for making my life miserable, and along the way, teaching me some very valid points.  I’ve become such a better person while trying not to be what you are.  Thanks for blessing me.  Hope one day I can bless you back. 

Love,

Me

Or, maybe not.  After a little vigorous erasing of names, my list is still quite long – full of people who have blessed me in big ways and small.  And, this week, I’m going to do my best to thank some of them (although I will never make it through the ENTIRE list of people who have made a positive impact on my life, and I’m sorry for that.  I do still appreciate you.)

And, above all of that, I’m on a mission.  This week, I will be consciously trying to be a blessing to someone else EACH DAY.

I urge you to try it to, because by being a blessing to someone else, we spread love.  We spread hope.  We spread the very message of Jesus Christ.

It feels like we moved from this:

(photo: not by me)

To this:

(photo: also, not by me)

Granted, we have indoor plumbing and a few other modern conveniences that the model above doesn’t – all of which we certainly pay for.  There are some similarities, though…our walls are both made of cardboard (mine just have wallpaper on them), they aren’t exactly “stable” in inclement weather, and…oh, the space issue.

Yesterday, I was thoroughly embarrassed when our neighbor wanted to come in and see my book collection (which included titles that were of interest to her).  Although we’ve been “moved in” for months now, many of the rooms look like a loaded closet just threw up in them.  And, unfortunately, if you weren’t here several months ago, you wouldn’t understand the improvement.

I’ve set up bookcases galore (we can’t hang heavy things, so hanging wall storage isn’t an option here), but despite that, there’s just not enough PLACES for things!  In the living room, we’ve maximized space and literally have no more wall space to add anything unless it was a pair of shoes…or, unless we didn’t want to open the front door.  At all.

I’m aware that there are some great “creative” storage pieces…like pontoon boat style seating (where the seat raises up for storage) and all of that neat stuff.  But, generally a cheap budget won’t really coincide with those things…unless it’s duct taping things under your couches.  (Hmm…the landlord did say no big nails, but he didn’t say anything about duct tape…)

So, I’m feeling discouraged.  After being in my neighbor’s home (who homeschools, has a business, and manages to keep a very tidy home), I’m feeling less than adequate.

My home almost looks like a small tribe of compulsive hoarders live here, but I promise that’s not the case.  We just moved from a bigger home with LOTS of room to a much smaller home that lacks a yard.  I’ve worked through my things and really only have 3 garbage bags worth of things to give away (small bags), and after that?  I use everything else pretty often.

(Shh…did you hear that?  The toddler wants me to come look at something.  Nevermind.  It was a booger.)

Dear Rora,

Happy First Birthday!

You are one!  And, like typical you, yesterday was a very dramatic one.  We celebrated your birthday (actual day) with a trip to the doctor and then promptly canceling all of our plans for the day (that involved people):  You have Roseola.

It’s a virus that reminds me a bit of chicken pox in how it acts – most kids get it between 3 months and 4 years old (although some are mis diagnosed because it can kind of resemble hives or a couple of other things), it’s contagious, and once you have had it, you’re immune.  But, unlike chicken pox, you get a fever for a few days and then it goes away, leaving you a nasty looking rash that doesn’t itch and an irritable mood.

I’m so glad we were able to celebrate this past weekend!

Anyways, you are one of the tiniest one year olds I know, despite your willingness to eat anything in sight.  You are standing and walking when you have things to hold onto, but don’t seem too concerned to walk on your own just yet (like your sister was).  You love to dance, play with water, and still have the prettiest blue eyes.

And, you’re the best cuddler!

This note, however, is going to be short – because you need me and I’d rather tell you over and over in person how much you mean to me.

Love

Mommy