Homeschool Curriculum for the Year

Our homeschool year is clicking along quite smoothly and for that I am one grateful mom! Last year felt a little bit like I was repeatedly being slid across a cheese grater every day, so this year's relative ease is appreciated and warmly welcomed.
We changed all the curriculum except math. We've continued to use Math-U-See and Paul is in the Beta book this year. A Beka was our resource of choice last year for language arts and reading. This did not work the best for us but I know there are people who love A Beka and I think that is wonderful! After ceremoniously recycling every single piece of A Beka curriculum in our home (Yes, last year was that bad!) we began using English for the Well Trained Mind by Mary F. Hyde. The lessons are brief and user friendly for both mother and son. For reading, we're using lots of library books and Hooked on Phonics, which sounds kind of weird I suppose. But, he's learning and I'll take it!
We added geography and science this year, too. We are using Apologia science and will be studying astronomy for the entire year. We're currently learning about the sun. Our fact of the day today: 1,000,000 Earths would fit inside the sun! I appreciate the conversational tone of Apologia's textbooks and the student notebook is easy to use as well. Saving the best for last, we are using Galloping the Globe for geography. We are all learning and we all love it! The book is authored by Loree Pettit and Dari Mullins. It could be used as a unit study for K-4th graders, but I'm just using it for geography right now. Everything you need to teach young students about many of the world's countries can be found in this curriculum. It includes library book lists, reproducible worksheets, maps, flags and dozens of activity ideas. It's written from a Christian perspective and for many of the countries, books about missionaries who worked and lived in that specific country are included. I appreciate how straightforward it is to use and the ease with which I can pick and choose the activities I want to use for my learners.
At this point I must shamelessly advertise for Heppner's Legacy Homeschool Resources! It's where we purchase all of our homeschool supplies, with the exception of the Math-U-See books. Their advice and recommendations are solid and reliable and their prices very competitive. I highly, highly recommend them to anyone!

French Toast Casserole

I had 2 french toast casserole recipes that I liked fairly well, but one was missing what the other had and vice versa. I combined my favorite points of both and was quite pleased with the results. Enjoy!


8 cups cubed bread
8 eggs
2 3/4 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
1 bag frozen blueberries
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
3 T corn syrup
Cinnamon

Place 2/3's of bread cubes in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle frozen blueberries over the top then layer the rest of the bread over the berries. In a separate bowl, thoroughly beat eggs, milk, vanilla and salt. Pour egg mixture over the bread and berries. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove 30 minutes before serving and preheat oven at 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and corn syrup thoroughly. Spread over top of bread cubes. This will take a bit of time to accomplish, but I promise the results are worth the effort. Sprinkle the top lightly with cinnamon. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until bubbly around the edges. You can serve this with syrup, but it's probably sweet enough as is.

This Met Me Where I'm At Today

I was listening to some episodes of Family Life Today this evening and came across this audio preview of what will be on next week. It went straight to my heart! You can hear it here. You may need to click on a small box that says "Next Week Preview."
In the event you don't go to the link, here's a quote: "I asked Jill...'What's it like having a child with disabilities?' She said, 'It's every mother's nightmare...Every day I close my eyes, I pick Kim up, I walk up to the foot of the cross and I put her down. I turn my back and walk down.' It was this daily dying that was going through Jill."
That quote resonates with me in ways I cannot even express in this blog. In fact, I don't know that I could express its resonation within me to anyone regardless of mode of communication. I do, however, believe that any mother or father of a special needs child will instantly identify with the depth of emotion. The speaker goes on to express that his daughter was the best gift that God ever could have given to their family. His perspective warmed me and encouraged me.
While perusing Family Life Today's website, I also had opportunity to hear a previous guest named Bunny Williams share her perspective on submission and it rocked! Give her broadcasts a listen too if you have the time. They're applicable for men, women, singles, and married folk....not just married women.