Monkey in the Middle

You know the game right?   

Monkey in the middle.. three people playing, two on the end are tossing something back and forth that the one in the middle wants?   Can be played in fun, but can also be played in a teasing manner? 

Being a middle child is sometimes like being a monkey in the middle.

The oldest ones are more experienced and old enough to not want to share with the bothersome younger sibling, and the youngest ones are so used to getting their own way that helping out the older sibling doesn't occur to them.

I am a middle child.  Can't say it was all bad, could be a lot of fun, being older and younger at the same time.   Teasing and being teased, always someone to play with, but hard when you need downtime as there's always someone around.  :)   BUT with families you take the good with the bad, you make a way because you want to fit in.

Lately I've been reading from Ezekiel, and right now I'm in a section where there are judgements against the nations surrounding Israel.   And I think about how Israel so badly wanted to fit into the nations around them.  How badly they wanted to fit in with gang.

But that's not what God wanted for them.  God wanted them to be HIS people, called to HIS way and HIS purpose.  He didn't want them fitting in with outside sources.

He calls the church to be family.  And how many churches try to fit in with outside sources.   Changing the church to fit society.

Will the church need to sit back and watch judgement being poured out on those sources just as Israel did?   Will the church need to learn again that the Lord himself is GOD and there is none other?

Just something to ponder late on a Thursday night.  
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This is a five minute Friday post.    Visit us at Kate's blog eh? 

Review: SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Affiliate Links are used in this post. They cost you nothing & help me with my family needs. 

I've been a member at SchoolhouseTeachers.com for so long I can't even really remember when I started, I know it was from before I started working with the Homeschool Review Crew.    I have used different program with them throughout the years and each year they add more courses to their Yearly Membership.   

Recently I wrote a post talking about the courses I am planning to use with my son this year, You can find that post here.  It will be good to round out our studies with these interesting courses. 

I got to reading through some of the other courses, looking for anything that might interest me and guess what?   I found a couple.

This one on Digital Art and Product Designs for Small Business. 50 Lessons once a week to put my creative skills to good use learning to make better graphics for my blog posts.   Doesn't that sound great?   I feel rather inadequate sometimes as I lack confidence and natural eye for making graphics.

I have a lad who enjoys history so I've been questing around for a history program I can use once he's gone through all the Veritas Press history program.    To that end I've discovered a what I think will be a good gap program.   This Day in History.  Learning on new history fact a day/week depending on how I use it.   Just the kind of thing to intrigue the lad.   

It's actually rather hard to choose as there are over 300 courses that you can take.   ALL for one low yearly fee.

Just look at all these different categories!

 
Divided into Elementary, Middle School and Highschool for your ease in finding courses that interest you.    I am thinking they might want to offer some adult courses as well, though I have to admit those grade 12 courses are intriguing.  :)

SchoolhouseTeachers.com has never let me down in the quality of what they offer.  They have so many different courses to choose from, that you can even use one to compliment another.

Their recent upgrade lends itself to a beautiful website, that is easy to navigate. One of the nicest features is the "can I help you" customer support button.   Ready and willing to help you at varied times throughout the day.  One night I was working at it was past 9 pm. and someone was there to help!  I was stunned!   Kind helpful people willing to help you find just the course you want.

The Homeschool Review Crew has been busy reviewing this company and it's yearly membership.   Do check them out by clicking the image below or by following this link.

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Discount Promotion Graphics

Beautiful new look, easier to use and over 300+classes and tutorial videos to help you get started.

Join during SchoolhouseTeachers.com's Super Christmas Sale and Save!

Use Code:CHRISTMAS for $9.95/month or CHRISTMASYEAR for $90/year.

50% discount on upcoming price increase ends: 15 January 2017

In mid-January,  SchoolhouseTeachers.com is having a price increase. The promotion is to LOCK IN NOW at the $9.95/month rate so that you save 50% on the NEW prices. In about a week and a half this same monthly service will be $19.95/month--approximately twice as much!

So if you are considering membership.  Click here.  Please don't delay, you don't want to be stuck with the higher membership fee.  :)

Field Trip: Ontario Science Centre

One of our favourite places to go is the Ontario Science Centre.  We don't go as often as we'd like, but we do go and have fun.   Our most recent trip we brought along our International Student.

Highlights of our Time

Our competitions against each other with the row boats.   We all competed against each other in different formations.   It was a hoot.  :)   I had video, but it turned out blurry.

We discovered this beautiful picnic spot.   AND while we were picnicing and relaxing in this green spot we were able to listen to "the maple leaf forever". 

the music area:

We saw a variety of wildlife.

Two joys.

One: seeing two boys take sheer delight in creating music with touch panels.   This area is a basically a large box with white panels with colour sections.  As you touch the colours different noises at different levels and tones would play.   The boys laugh and bounced around like a couple of young fiends   Good to see them having fun.

Two:
This quiet, unsure of himself yet lad, wasn't sure about doing much anything else.   I caught him though, playing this drum.  Checking out the different sounds depending on where he tapped it.
This is taken just after I caught a first glimpse of his marvellous smile. :)  I regretted moving so that I could get a better picture of what he was doing.

Let's see what else can I pull out from this trip to the Science Centre.....
I thought this was neat:  Seeing this image of multiple babies in the womb...  :)

Anyways, we saw and did so many things, I can't list it all.  
Suffice it to say, we had a great day.

January 11th edition of Connections and Thankfulness

Starting a new thing, not sure how often it will run, probably bi-weekly.   Showing some posts I liked during the past week or two, along with listing moments of gratitude.

Connections with Others

1. UsSchooling.  I love the tone and the thought in this blog post.   Instead of calling your style eclectic... call it US schooling.  

2. Friday Boxes. I used to, with my lad, write down one thing we were thankful for every day.  Became part of our routine but sometimes it was hard to come up with something.  I really like this idea of writing down one good thing (or more) of each week on a slip of paper, saving them and then reading them out at the end of the year.   I think we'll start doing this.  Will be lovely to do I think.  :)

3. Making a Change.  I liked this post of Lori's...I love her flexibility in how each of her children operates best.   Made a lot of sense to me it did.  :)

4. Is reading Hereditary.  I just thought this was an interesting question to ask.

5. Loving Languages Every Day.   I just liked this post.   Just keeping reading eh?

Moments of Gratitude

1. "Mom, can I help you with anything?"   I love hearing those words from my boy.  or even better "Mom, is it okay if I vaccuum?  Mom, can I sweep the floor"?   Why do I love that more?   It means I don't have to think of some way to honour his words, he's come up with the idea on his own.  :)

2. Snow and Cold.   I know it's odd.. but snow and cold mean health.  Means germs die.  Means no funerals or extra meals.  Means nothing is fretting people wise.

3. Clothing and it's options.   The fun of watching my boy run around in the snow... with SHORTS on!!!   Makes me smile and shake my head and be glad that everyone has been created differently.  AND it creates conversation starters with other people... like the fellow at the foodbank asking "what's with the shorts?" and the lad talking with him about how he loves shorts and loves the cold because it means he isn't hot.

4. A talkative husband.  Oh my... it's so interesting seeing the stress start to roll off his back and he talking it seems all the time.  I'm having a bit of time adjusting to that.  It's just so very odd.  I like it, but it's a bit of an adjustment.

Want to join in?   Go ahead and link up.   Be polite and link back to THIS post.   Visiting others and commenting is always a welcome thing. 

Art Book Series: Beatrix Potter

I talked about this gorgeous art book early in December last year.   I just LOVED reviewing this book and find it an absolutely wonderful book that tells us all about Beatrix Potter. 

Review: Out of the Spin Cycle

40 Devotionals awaiting to lighten your load as a mother.   

Jen Hatmaker writes with humour and real-life stories to bring truth to bear, and a heart bent to hold a struggling momma close.

This book is a hand up to mommas, teaching what is most important.   Knowing the hearts of our children and turning those hearts toward God.

More important than laundry.
More important than getting it all right.
More important than healthy children (as in no medical issues)
More important than doing everything for them.

Teaching them to see God's heart in the life of their mother.

And teaching momma that she doesn't have to do it all or know it all, all she really has to know is... the heart of the God who made her. 

Some of  the devotions have a bible passage at the start, others have the passage mixed within the devotional.  The passages seemed like they fit as opposed to be taken out of context (pet peeve of mine).   Each devotion has a least one question to help the reader think through the thought presented AND a step of action.

One step out of the spin cycle call to action was this "Think of a concrete way to teach the character of Jesus today. Find a way to demonstrate his love, his presence, his joy or his protection". 

Recommend it?   Yes. I didn't see anything that caused me to raise my eyebrows or set my spirit a questing after truth.   If you need some encouragement and truth spoken into your life, this book may be just what you are looking for.

Title: Out of the Spin Cycle - Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load
 Author: Jen Hatmaker

Pages: 175
Type: Christian Devotional
Style: paperback 

Reviewed for Nuts about Books

Amazon.ca: Out of the Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load
Amazon.com: Out of the Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load

Recipe: Scotch Scones

So I am hopeful I made these correctly.  I've never seen scones like these before (always been flat irrecgular shapes), but the recipe called for balls...

The recipe below.  :)

Sidon, be warned

The Lord God is finished dealing with Tyre, today it's Sidon's turn to be warned.

Destruction is headed her way so that they will know that GOD is the Lord God.

“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,

I have to admit, I find this line interesting.    God is against Sidon BUT his plan is to manifest his glory in their midst.  

 
    and I will manifest my glory in your midst.

 So that they will know that HE is the Lord.

 
And they shall know that I am the Lord

This way when judgement comes there will be no excuse. They will simply know that it is from the Lord God himself.

Introducing Blogging the Alphabet.

HEY

Guess what?   I was talking with the folks over on the Homeschool Review Crew forum and some how we got on the topic of Blogging through the Alphabet. 

I thought it might be fun to host it!  (I know bold of me eh?)

BUT I am not  in this alone (YAHOO!!!), a lovely co-member is going to help me out.  Isn't that great?   Amanda from Hopkins Homeschool is going to be my co-host.  

So just what is blogging through the alphabet?

Every week we do a letter of the alphabet.  Everyone who participates write a blog post starting with the letter of the Alphabet... for instance if we were doing the Letter A, folks could write about Apples, Alpaca, Aristotle, or Aardvarks...just something that begins with the letter A.   Then the next week we move on to the next letter of the alphabet.

Some folks chose to do a series... such as Animals of the World, Counties, Field trips, people of the bible and such like. Others just jump in with whatever word pops into their minds each week. It all works.   The most important thing:  we want you to join us!

So what to you think?   What to join in?  It is so interesting to read what others come up with  up.   I would LOVE to see what you would write over the next 26 weeks.   Get your thinking caps on and come join us.   We'll start next week.    

This page will be the stopping zone, if you want to look back at what others have done for inspiration... just come here and look back at each letter.  :)   

Rules:  

1. Linking time is Tuesday through Saturday.   
2. Family friendly posts on a variety of topics.  If you aren't sure, ask one of us.
3. If it isn't family friendly, it will be removed. :)
4. Linking back to us would be great.   You can grab the blog button or link back to one of the alphabet posts.  It's only polite you know.  :)
5.  If you wonder on a hashtag, you might want to use #abcblogging
6. Visiting and commenting on others is always a great social thing to do.  Let's other people know you are reading them, and encourages them to read and hopefully share your great posts.
7. HAVE FUN.   That's the point you know?   Have fun and share what's on your mind.

 
  

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We get started next week January 17th.

A  B   C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  

A: Sidney Altman, Canadian Scientist. 
B: Beavers!
C: Chant National/O Canada.
D: Dog Sledding.
E: Edgewalk.
F. Tailed Frogs.  
G: The Greats of Canada. 
H: 
I:: 
J: 
K: 
L: 
M: 
N: 
O:
P: 
Q: 
R: 
S: 
T:
U: 
V: 
W: 
X: 
Y: 
Z: