I'm Going to a Carnival (In Fact I've Already Been!) Mood: happy Topic: General
When I was younger, I used to love to go to the carnival and the fair. The little village where I grew up (yes, they actually called it a village - "The Village of Glen Richey") held the Fireman's Carnival every year up at the Fire Hall. A small carnival would come and set up rides and games, plus the local volunteer fire department would have fund raising booths and games. For weeks ahead of time, you could by "strips" of tickets for the rides at the carnival. It may have only had 5 or 6 rides, but it was a big deal for us!
But, the big event in the area, was the Clearfield County Fair! It had a huge parade, fireworks, grandstand shows, harness races, and acres and acres of midway and animal barns and food stands! It was (and still is) one of the biggest county fairs in Pennsylvania. Mom used to have a Tupperware booth at the fair, so we used to get in free! It was always a great week!
Recently, I became aware of another type of carnival - a blog carnival. www.blogcarnival.com explains a blog carnival this way:
We think blog carnivals are a great way for bloggers to recognize each other's efforts, organize blog posts around important topics, and improve the overall level of conversation in the blogosphere. Carnivals come in edited "editions", just like magazines or journals. The fact that carnivals are edited (and usually annotated) collections of links lets them serve as "magazines" within the blogosphere, and carnival hosts can earn their readership by providing high quality collections.
I thought that entering one of my posts into a blog carnival might be fun, so I tried it out and...my post was accepted! It was published today in this weeks edition of "The Carnival of Homeschooling". This weeks host for the carnival is Superangel, and you can find the link here. Check it out! There are a lot of great posts on there...including mine! Let me know what you think!
Sarah is Taking the Plunge! Mood: cool Topic: Book Reviews
No, not a plunge into the pool (although swimming is one of our favorite summer pastimes). She's taking the review plunge. I found out recently that some of the ladies who are on the TOS Homeschool Crew with me not only review homeschool curriculum, but Christian books as well. I knew that I wouldn't have time to do something like that, but thought that Sarah might be interested. Sure enough, she was! So far, just to get her feet wet, she has signed up with three companies to review books. And, although she always claimed that blogging was my thing, she may even start her own blog! Right now, though, she is going to use the Families Again blog to post her reviews.
I'm really excited for her. She has always been an avid reader, and she is also an excellent writer. This way, she can utilize two of her favorite hobbies at one time! And, she will get some free books to boot!
I don't know quite how we are going to do it yet. There are so many things that I want to start including in this blog, that I may have to have some theme days. Maybe curriculum reviews on Monday, Book reviews on Tuesdays, Ministry news on Wednesdays, Family news on Thursdays, etc. We'll find some way to do it. It may not be feasable to do weekly themes, but we'll put our heads together and announce the schedule soon. Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions for some theme days, theme names or a schedule, just make a comment or drop us an email at either tink38570@yahoo.com (Tim's email) or set1993@gmail.com (Sarah's email). We're looking forward to hearing from you! Exciting things are coming. Keep checking the blog frequently.
Getting My House in Order Mood: d'oh Topic: Family
Recently I read a blog about a homeschooler who is a firm believer in "A place for everything and everything in it's place". I thought to myself, "Well, that fits me". However, it doesn't always fit me in a good way. For example, my place for my dirty clothes is, of course, behind the bedroom door. And my clean clothes? They stay in the laundry basket beside my bed. You get the picture. Unfortunately, my kids are following right in step with their dear old dad (no comments on the old part please). Their place for their dirty dishes is...right where they left them! Clean dishes? Their home is in the dishwasher until needed. As you can see, the Tinkel household is in serious need of a makeover. Makeover of the bad habits of the men that is. Sarah does the best she can do, poor thing. If it were up to her the phrase "a place for everything and everything in it's place" would become law in our home. And I'm talking in the good way, not the bad.
Unfortunately, she is going to have to have the men of the house cooperate and I am bound and determined to help her. There are too many upcoming events that require a clean and organized dwelling place. Later this month, a friend is coming to help us with our summer ministries. That requires turning our spare bedroom back into a spare bedroom and not a junk room. My upcoming commitment to the Homeschool Crew requires mega organization. Those are only two examples of things that are happening in the near future. Without these changes, we are simply not going to make it through the months ahead.
While writing this, I was reminded of how God wants a clean and organized abode as well. His home should be even more important than our home. I was reminded of three things that need to continuously be maintained in our lives.
1. God wants our minds to continuously dwell on Him. That requires cleaning out all of the bad thoughts and replacing them with His Word.
2. God wants our hearts to be His throne room. So often we allow our hearts to become cluttered with other things, until, soon, there is no more room for Him on His throne. God wants us to decorate His throne room with scripture. We are to hide His word in our hearts.
3. God is not a God of chaos, He is a God of order. He desires our lives to be orderly and not chaotic. This requires much prayer on our part. Prayer that God would teach us to prioritize His way and not our way. Prayer that God would keep our feet firmly on His path and not wander in our own direction.
Bible study, Bible memorization and prayer are the things that God demands for a clean, healthy, spiritual life. In the days, weeks and months ahead, please pray that not only will I get my physical home in order, but my spiritual one as well. That will be the only way that I can live a healthy, clean, organized and prosperous life, both inside and out.
I must admit, being a camping family, we have not had time for much summer reading. Up until last year, we have spent our days out of school either working at Cedar Lake Camp or running our own day camps at Good News Mission. We have barely had time to breathe, let alone do a lot of reading. This summer, we are once again embarking on a new journey running what we call 1/2 day Day Camps at the mission (more details coming soon). However, unlike previous summers, we are going to make a concentrated effort to read more. The Literacy Company states that:
Studies of out-of-school reading habits of students have shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year.
But, how do you get your children to read during what they often feel is their summer vacation from anything academic? Enter The Old School House Magazine's (TOS)Summer Reading Program. I know I've been blogging a lot about TOS lately. I have been gushing about it almost as much as that other favorite company that I promised not to often mention {Vision Forum}. However, their summer reading program is so neat, that I have to say something about it! It has contests, drawings, coloring contests, even a weekly online scavenger hunt with prizes for the kids! There's even something going on for parents! Unfortunately, this one is only for homeschoolers, but even if your kids go to public or private school, check it out. It may give you some great ideas for starting a summer reading contest at your house, or even in your own neighborhood. Just click on the logo at the top of the page, or any one of the highlighted Summer Reading Program links in this blog entry and have fun reading!
The Tinkel's are Setting Sail! Mood: a-ok Topic: Homeschool Product Review
I told you recently about an opportunity I had to become part of The Old Schoolhouse (TOS) Magazine'sHomeschool Crew. The "Crew" is a group of 100 homeschool bloggers who would pledge to try out over 50 homeschool products and then talk about it on their blog, to their homeschool friends, etc. It promised to be an adventure that we would never forget. Well, put on your life vests, and get ready to set sail! We have been chosen and you're invited to come and join the cruise! During the next year, I will continue to blog about ways to strengthen the family, but also about some great homeschool curriculum and products. Your assignment is to read my blog, try the products that may interest you, and write back telling me if my review was informative and what you think of any of the products that you try. Remember what I said in my previous blog? All parents, grandparents and caregivers are homeschoolers. They all educate their children at home in one way or another. Homeschool products aren't just for those who teach their children at home. They can be used by anyone who is interested in supplementing their child's education. I'm really excited about this opportunity and want you all to come along for the ride. Get ready for a year of adventures as we serve on the Homeschool Crew together!
.gif)
happy
cool
d'oh
sharp
a-ok
