With gas and food prices showing no sign of relief, many people are turning to the idea of a staycation in lieu of a vacation that involves driving or flying to a distant location and paying for lodging and food. Not only are people canceling planned vacations, many were never able to save for vacation at all this year. I can tell you that between moving to an area with a high cost of living this Continue Reading >>
Curriculum Review: Who Is My Neighbor by Apologia Ministries
Of all the things I teach in my homeschool, Bible is the one thing I care about above all else. If my children can leave home with a worldview that is clearly defined by a strong Biblical foundation and the apologetics to back up that worldview, I will be a happy Mom. The What We Believe series by Apologia Educational Ministries is an answer to prayer. Here is a concrete and well-built way Continue Reading >>
Seven Ways to Beat the Summer Heat without Wasting Water
Frozen Grapes - This fun and novel snack idea creates something a little like icecream only very healthy. We like to skewer our grapes and freeze one for each child. You can also just put them in a bowl and stir them around every little bit until they are completely frozen. You can even use grapes that are slightly past their prime. Do you remember the homemade pudding pops your grandmother Continue Reading >>
Product Review: Marie’s Words – a game from Timberdoodle
Marie's Words arrived in the mail from Timberdoodle at a time when my two oldest children were a little frustrated about helping me review products. Believe it or not, they do not always enjoy our "experiments". I thought I was going to have to pull teeth to get them to play this game with me. Fortunately, it is summer school which gives me some leeway. I just informed them that if they played the Continue Reading >>
Book Review and Giveaway: A Cry From Egypt by Hope Auer
The preface hooked me. I read these words from Hope Auer: "God doesn't just want your respect. He wants your heart. He desires that all should come to be saved. And I wanted children, young adults, and adults to be able to read something that would encourage them and inspire them to spend more time in the Word studying God's plan for the world and His plan for His Chosen People." and I Continue Reading >>
20 Super Cheap Summer Fun Activities to do with Children
Summer is a busy time for us because we just love to play every single day. Since we live in Southern California, summer stretches from the earliest possible moment we can claim a reprieve from school in May until late September. We need lots of fun play ideas -- and most of them need to be cheap! Here are 20 of our favorite cheap summer fun activities. Sidewalk Chalk Maze ($1-4): My 6 and 8 Continue Reading >>
Top Ten Free Summer Fun Activities For Children
#10 - Vacation Bible School: If your children are prone to the end of summer doldrums, find out about the Vacation Bible Schools in your area. Stick around to help and both you and your children will be blessed. #9 - Water Play: If you have a hose, your children can get wet. A sprinkler, mini-pool, or water guns can extend that play even further. Use whatever you have! You might even Continue Reading >>
Summer Camping With Children
The first time we took our children camping, my oldest was three, and my youngest was six months old. People said we were crazy. Maybe we were a little crazy, but we had a lot of fun and made memories that we still talk about to this day. Plus, we started building those neural pathways in the brains of our children that whisper "Camping is Fun, Camping is Fun." Camping with children is not Continue Reading >>
Moving With Children: Getting Ready for a Move Part 9
There's just no way around it; moving is stressful for children. You are taking away the familiar -- familiar bedroom, familiar windows, familiar bathroom location, familiar floor surface, familiar neighbors and church and friends -- and replacing it with the unknown. Even our very youngest mover who was three months old during one of our first moves, reacted with stress. Experts say that for Continue Reading >>
Fun in the Sun: The Summer Field Trip Adventure
I really enjoy going places with my children. I am not great at organizing field trips for a group, but I love to wake-up and re-arrange our whole day to make a field trip happen. That's not to say I don't plan ahead at all. In fact, I'm thinking on a hiking trip to the local tide pools right now. I just haven't decided which day we are going to go. Maybe I think outside the box too much, but I've Continue Reading >>