Families Again
Families Again
Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
 
« March 2010 »
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31






Who I Review For



Download N Go

Promote Your Page Too

My Affiliates



www.jmcremps.com

CurrClick

Search & Win Families Again

Promote Your Page Too
Follow tink38570 on Twitter
Great Memes and Blog Carnivals:









Families Again
Monday, 29 March 2010
Ode to The Rotten Number 10!
Mood:  down
Topic: General

Oh April come quickly because then,

I won't have to look at that nasty ol' 10.

That's on my calender to the left

Every time I see it I feel bereft.

 

I still recall when my 'puter crashed

I still remember when I dashed

To see what time was on the clock

But, Oh, those numbers they did mock!

 

It was past 12 and to my dismay

No post had I made upon that day.

That promise I'd made not so long ago

Was to post every day on my blog. But NO!

 

The broken computer had made me miss

my daily post. I wanted to hiss

"Why me? Why me? What have I done

to deserve this?" I wanted to run.

 

To hide my face. Oh the guilt, the shame.

Now all of NaBloPoMo knows my name.

"He's the one!" They point - they stare.

I want to run but I don't dare.

 

I must stay. I must fight. I must start o'er.

The day will come when I'll be more.

When I'll be someone! They won't jeer

When I finally post everyday for a year!

 

But oh that 10! That one dark blot.

When April comes I will see it not.

A brand new month is what I need

To begin again - to plant a new seed!

 

So pray for me! That I will not burst

Until on that calender I see April first.

Two more days I must suffer and then it's true

No fool I will be - I will start anew!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Subscribe to Families Again

Posted by tink38570 at 11:03 PM CDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Artistic Pursuits - A Real Godsend!
Mood:  happy
Topic: Homeschool Product Review

 

OK, I'm going to be honest with you. Even though I feel confident that God wants us to homeschool, there are still some things that I feel inadequate to teach. Most academic subjects are fine. Either Sarah and I can cover even the advanced subjects because of our strengths. I have always been involved with music, so that's covered. Sports is Sarah's talent, so she deals with that. What's left that neither of us is good at? Art! Don't get me wrong, I love arts and crafts, but it is not something that I am confident in teaching. That's why I was so glad to hear that I was receiving Artistic Pursuits to review.

Artistic Pursuits is a great all around homeschool art program that doesn't just teach art, it teaches about art. I jumped at the chance to get the Junior High Book 1 for John Allen to try out. This was something that we have not delved into with him and I was anxious to see how he took to it. We bought all of the suggested materials and he was on his way. HE LOVES IT. I can't wait to scan some of his drawings in to show you all. They are definitely better than anything that I can do. And, like I said, he is learning about art while he is learning to do art. Let me tell you all about it.

 

The first part of the book discusses "The Elements of Art", while the second half has to do with "Composition". Artistic Pursuits uses a wonderful five step process in order to teach drawing. For example, Unit One talks about space. Not outer space, but how to use the drawing space that you are given wisely. In order to teach about space, they first talk about what it is. They do this in the "Be Creative" section that always introduces the new art vocabulary and gives you a creative exercise to help you understand the new concept that is going to be learned. For example - when they were learning about space, the creative exercise was to write your name so that it stretched across the page from the left edge to the right edge. You were to do this until you actually were able to judge how big to make the letters. For added fun, there is always a cute cartoon on the very first page that has something to do with the aspect being taught in that lesson. 

The second part of the unit shows an actual piece of art and teaches you how the artist creatively used the technique being taught. In the Space Unit, they showed a picture of an elephant "Dal Badal" chasing his attendant (Portrait of the Elephant, Dal Badal, Chasing His Attendent ~ Artist Unknown). They talked about how the creative use of space, where the elephant was positioned on the page, etc., made the picture more appealing. It also teaches how to look at art and appreciate it more. Again, you are given a creative art assignment to complete.

Section three is always the art history section. It usually takes the painting from the previous day and gives you a little bit of art history from where the picture is from. Since the picture of "Dal Badal" is from India, they talk about the history of art in India and the differences between art in Western countries and art in Eastern cultures. A short challenge is again given for the student to work on.

Learning and trying a new technique is always taught in the fourth section. The first unit taught John Allen how to make a rough sketch.

The final, fifth, part of the unit is the project/application section. This is where they actually give you a project to work on. In this case, they gave a story about six blind men and a friendly elephant. John Allen was to read the story, use his imagination, and draw a picture of what he read. 

I was amazed at everything John Allen learned just in this one unit. I believe it is much more than I ever recall learning in a whole semester of art in school. I really love this series and John Allen does to. This is a keeper in my book! I am so pleased that John Allen is learning a love for art and a love for creating art.

Artistic Pursuits has several levels of books to choose from including Preschool, K-3, 4-6, Junior High, and High School Levels. Most levels have at least two books for each level. Each book is $42.95 with materials costing extra. The materials for our book, however, only cost us approximately $15 though, and some materials are used for more than one level, so you wouldn't have to purchase them twice. 

To find out more about Artistic Pursuits, just click here or on any of the hi-lighted links above. Different TOS Homeschool Crew members reviewed different levels, so if you are interested in hearing about another level, click here. Again, this is a wonderful program, and I would recommend it for anyone. I don't know how the art programs are in public schools these days, but I know with all of the proposed school cuts in some areas, the arts are some of the fist things to go. This curriculum would be great for even non-homeschoolers who just want to give their children a step up in the area of art. Happy Home Educating.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was sent a free copy of Artistic Pursuits - Junior High Book One - art curriculum in order to try out and review on my blog.

 

 

 


Subscribe to Families Again

Posted by tink38570 at 12:01 AM CDT
Updated: Sunday, 28 March 2010 10:52 PM CDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post
Saturday, 27 March 2010
There's Another Big Announcement Coming!
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: General

I can't tell you what it is yet, but I have left you a big hint? Do you know what it might be? I'll let you know soon!

 


Subscribe to Families Again

Posted by tink38570 at 11:42 PM CDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post
Friday, 26 March 2010
Exciting News and Not So Exciting News
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Compassion International

Well, this is the second big announcement that we have to make...the first was the announcement that we had a new son (Compassion son that is) named Feyber from Columbia.

Our second announcement is very similar! Recently, our good friend Kees, announced that Compassion had an over abundance of correspondence kids that needed sponsoring. Well, I prayed about it and then we had a family meeting. Four days later Somi entered our lives!

Somi is from village of about 1000 in Indonesia. They have no electricity and he lives in a house with dirt floors, wooden walls and thatched roof. He is 9 years old and is in first grade. He lives with his father, a teacher, and his mother, a farmer. Most adults are farmers and make about $56 a month! Poor little Somi looks so serious in this picture. Please pray with us for him.

 

On a bit of a sad note. I called Compassion today to ask if our Christmas child Mwende from Kenya had been sponsored yet. They said that she had not yet found a sponsor Cry. We have been praying since November for Mwende. Please pray with us that a sponsor would be found for her soon.

Sponsoring has been a joy for us. If you have any questions about sponsorship, please feel free to ask. If you are interested in Sponsoring Mwende or any other child, please contact me or check out this website - www.compassion.com.

 

 

 


Subscribe to Families Again

Posted by tink38570 at 3:12 PM CDT
Updated: Friday, 26 March 2010 9:34 PM CDT
Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post
Ministry Moments - Embarrassing Tim!
Mood:  silly
Topic: Ministry

 

Unless someone is just now for the first time reading my blog, then it is safe to think that you all know that I work with a great group called the TOS Homeschool Crew. It is comprised of a wonderful group of homeschool bloggers that receive homeschool products to review and blog about. Well, something you may not know is that all of the Crew, except for me, are ladies. Yep, I'm the only male in the bunch. It has been a lot of fun getting to know one another over the past year on the Crew. We have our own forum where we talk with one another, ask questions, discuss the products, etc. Many jokes have been made about me being the only man ~ in fact, if truth be known, I am the one who starts most of them. 

Sometimes, however, the ladies will forget that I am on the crew and that I read every post on our forum. One example is what happened recently. Occasionally we'll get a product to review that is non-homeschool. We heard that we were going to get something from a company called Beeyoutiful. Beeyoutiful makes products like vitamins, creams, facial scrubs...you get the idea. Well, yesterday we all found out what we were getting and were talking about it on the forum. One product, though, was slightly more embarrassing for the ladies to discuss since they knew I would be reading. It was a...hrmph...how should I say this...ladies midlife crisis cream Surprised. While reading their tiptoeing comments, I wanted to laugh. Obviously these girls have forgotten the ministry that Sarah and I are involved with. We work with the low income folks that live in the projects across the street from us. In fact, it's not just the projects that are low income, it's really our whole neighborhood. Sarah has a great ministry with the women of the area, but some of these women are...let's just say...a little less cultured than other women. I have heard it all and seen it all.

Let me give you an example of the folks that we work with by telling you about something that happened a couple of years ago. This doesn't involve one of Sarah's ladies, though. It involves one of the kids that we work with. They had just moved in to the neighborhood and "B" had come to play with my boys. During a break, I had a chance to talk with "B". Here is how our conversation went. Imagine a little five year old boy saying this with a very thick southern drawl.

"B" - "My mama wears a bracelet around her ankle." 

"Me" - "Oh yeah?"

"B"  - "And she can't take it off."

"Me" - "Oh?"

"B" - "And she can't leave the house either."

"Me" - "Why not?"

"B" - "Because if she does, the law 'll git 'er!"

I quickly figured out what he was talking about. It seems that his mother was on probation for something and wore one of those tracking devices. I promptly ended the conversation.

This is just a small glimpse of the things that we hear and see daily. Life is never boring, and nothing really embarrasses me anymore. I hope this gave you a little smile to help you through your day. Thanks for all of your prayers for our ministry. We couldn't do it without you.


Subscribe to Families Again

Posted by tink38570 at 1:03 AM CDT
Updated: Friday, 26 March 2010 9:39 AM CDT
Post Comment | View Comments (6) | Permalink | Share This Post

Newer | Latest | Older

Subscribe to Families Again by Email
 
 
 
Related Posts with Thumbnails

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Subscribe to Families Again by Email