I’ve never used Saxon Math which seems to be the home school standard and even more specifically the Classical home school standard. But one of the things that I’ve heard about it, is that it gives tons and tons of problems to solve on each concept.  Based on that information alone I knew Saxon was not a curriculum I would be passionate about using.

One of the things I like about home schooling my children as opposed to sending them to a public or private school is being able to cater their educations to their specific gifts, talents, interests, passions, and callings.  I’m a firm believer that everyone is made to serve different purposes with their lives and should therefore not be made to read the same books or learn things in the same way.

Another thing I like about educating my children at home is being able to spare them from wasting precious hours in the day doing busy work.  I hated it during my own schooling years when teachers would assign 100 math problems on one concept.  Once I got the concept down by problem 34 the rest of the assignment was busy work.  This type of thing occurred in my learning throughout all subjects.  The worst part was when I had several different teachers assigning busywork in each of their classes, none of them of course speaking to each other or taking in consideration how much work each of them had assigned.  Then I would be stuck with hours upon hours of homework on concepts I already understood.

What a waste of time.

Now don’t get me wrong… there is certainly a point to learning a concept and practicing it until you can do it with ease.  The problem is that for each child and in each subject the amount of work needed to be done in order to arrive at that place of ease is different.

I am only home schooling one of my three children at this point.  Remy and Llany are not yet school age and are still working on pre school core concepts like numbers, phonics, shapes, and colors.  Leo however, my oldest and therefore my home school guinea pig, is just finishing up the third grade. His advanced learning abilities are what caused me to begin home schooling in the first place.  You can read more about that here.

When I set out to begin home schooling I didn’t want to just be doing school, at home.  I wanted to take advantage of being able to handpick curriculum and teach each subject the best way possible.  I didn’t want to just get a box of assigned curriculum and start plowing through it.  I wanted to know what was out there and make a decision about what sounded best for my son’s abilities and my teaching style.  One of the books that was instrumental in helping me do this was “The Well Trained Mind” by Susan Wise Bauer.  This book breaks down some of the different curriculum philosophies and explains their strengths and focuses.  When looking through the math section of this book, Singapore Math was the curriculum that appealed to me the most for three reasons.

1. I’ve always heard that Asian countries have a reputation for high achievement in math amongst students, far higher than the abilities of American students, so a curriculum from Singapore sounded like a better idea than an American curriculum.
2. The focus in Singapore Math is on Mental Math and that is something I wish I had been taught how to do better… I’m still tempted to count on my fingers.
3. Singapore Math does not require incessant amounts of problems to work through in each chapter.  This is perfect for an advanced learner like Leo who picks up new concepts with great ease and grows bored quickly if not challenged with moving forward. There are however additional “Extra Practice” books available at each grade level for when extra practice on a particular concept is needed.

I figured if the curriculum seemed to move too fast or leave out fundamental elements, we would go back to something like Saxon or Math U See. I’m glad to report however that we haven’t needed to change our Math curriculum at all over the past three years, and we will continue with Singapore Math again next year for fourth grade because we love it!

Leo continues to score WAY above grade level in Mathematics. Last year his National Percentile Rank (NPR) for the California State STAR testing in Math was in the 98th percentile.

Now again I will state: the same books and approaches to learning are not equally effective for every student, nor are they equally friendly for every parent or teacher’s, teaching style. I have overheard parent conversations ranting and raving about how much they hate Singapore Math, so I know it doesn’t work for everyone.

But… it works for Leo and me, and here’s why:

An Emphasis on Mental Math

I used manipulatives in pre school with Leo while we were learning to count, add, and subtract. I didn’t order some fancy color coded set of manipulatives and curriculum for this. We simply counted fish crackers, legos, cookies, jelly beans, and whatever else we were playing with or eating. Once we started with Singapore Math we didn’t use manipulatives at all anymore, but instead moved easily into the intermediary pictorial stage.

In Singapore Math at the elementary level, there isn’t a big emphasis on using  manipulatives.  Being someone who still depended on her fingers for counting well into adulthood, I liked the idea of being able to find a math program that would force my son, from the beginning, to see numbers in his head and be able to do tricks with them in order to solve problems without the crutch of manipulatives.

Illustrations with a Purpose

Singapore math books don’t look like the typical math texts we grew up with. They are filled with cartoon type color illustrations that I love. I don’t know about you, but just opening up a Saxon text book with a white page filled from top to bottom with as many little black numbers as will fit on the page, makes me woozy. I can’t imagine how it must make a six year old feel!

When I ordered our first Singapore Math book for Kindergarten with Leo when he was four, he picked up the books himself and asked if we could get started because to him they looked like a lot of fun. But Singapore Math’s illustrations are not purely for entertainment, there is a very logical and helpful purpose behind them.

One of the problems with other math curriculums in the U.S. is that they leap from using concrete objects or manipulatives in the early stages, right into abstract mental math calculations. Many students struggle with this leap as I did, and therefore continue to secretly count on fingers or calculate with physical tapping, in order to keep up, never developing true mental math abilities.

Singapore math textbooks include an intermediary pictorial stage. By looking at pictures of concrete objects being divided equally, students form a mental image of what adding, subtracting, multiplication, division, and other mathematical processes look like. When they finally get to abstract calculation, they have already internalized and visualized the process.

Additionally, the illustrations are so helpful that this year at age 8, while in the 3^rd grade, my son was able to teach himself several of the lessons without any parent involvement at all, and that is a BIG PART of my goal in choosing to home school – to teach my children, how to teach themselves… for LIFE!

Also as a home school parent, while being supplied with such great illustrative examples of each math concept, I have never needed to do any prep work in order to take my son through a Singapore math lesson (except for gathering some measuring supplies when learning about length, weight, and volume.)  And that fits my teaching style to a “T.” Very little prep… lot’s of hands on learning, questioning, and finding answers together. The Singapore Math lessons are easy to just sit down and go through together at any time. (And… they’ve really helped me to improve in my own mental math abilities.)

Introducing Mathematical Concepts Early

At the first grade level Singapore Math introduces addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, algebra, fractions, time, length, geometry, and on and on the list goes. Instead of waiting to introduce mathematical concepts at later stages, Singapore Math introduces nearly all basic concepts in the same year, and then each year of study advances the child’s understanding and ability in each area.

As a home school teacher I can’t comprehend how you teach addition but put off teaching multiplication for later years when all it is, is a way of adding groups quickly. Or why you would teach division but keep fractions a secret until fourth grade. Or talk about shapes and their names at age four, but wait to talk about the different names of triangles until middle school. Or how you teach any of if without introducing the algebraic concept of solving for “x” which is what we are all doing every day when we use math in real life. All of these ideas can be taught to a first grade student when done with simplicity of small numbers and done in the context of real world problem solving.

Word Problems

Isn’t the real reason we learn math for problems like, “If I’ve made 24 cupcakes in the last hour, but I need to make 700 cupcakes for the school play by tomorrow morning at 11am, and Johnny only gave me this AWESOME news ten minutes ago and it’s 8pm, how many hours and how many ovens will it take me to make the rest of my cupcakes and will I get any sleep tonight?” So why do other curriculums make this kind of math question a side-note instead of a central theme?

Singapore Math puts a huge emphasis on what we call “Word Problems,” and it doesn’t push off learning word problems to the end of lessons or for higher grade levels. In Singapore Math, word problems are part of the core curriculum in every chapter of every year of math study… and there is an extremely GOOD reason for this! What we should really call “Word Problems” is “Life Problems.” And aren’t “Life Problems” a huge practical reason for learning math in the first place?

Each grade level of curriculum not only includes word problems in the chapters, but also an additional optional “Word Problems” book made up entirely of just that… Word Problems. Also included at each grade level is an optional Extra Practice Book to reinforce math processes, and a Test Book that can be used for extra practice or quizzing students. With all of these extra optional resources that can be used, you can’t say Singapore Math doesn’t offer PLENTY of individual problems in order to master concepts. But…the fact that these problems come in separate books allows them to more freely be optional for the students that need them.

Extra practice books can be

1) Used with chapters that need more attention in a challenging area of study and

2) Completely ignored with chapters where concepts were easily mastered in the main text

Conclusion

Cracking open a Singapore Math book is something both my son and I look forward to and we have a great time going through the lessons together.

One of the greatest things about teaching home school is the fact that you get to choose what works best for you and your family so I’m not plugging Singapore Math as the “Be-all, end all” of math curriculums. It’s simply the one that works for us, and if you are looking into teaching Home School or are already home schooling, but haven’t yet found a Math curriculum you and your children love, consider giving Singapore Math a try!

To learn more about Singapore Math and to read a fantastic Blog post written by an American public school Math Teacher who has adopted Singapore Math, and see a YouTube video about other public schools adopting the curriculum, click here.

Also, visit the Singapore Math curriculum website where we order our materials.

And if you’ve used Singapore Math, whether you’ve loved it or hated it, tell us about it in the comments, and tell us “Why?” More input from more sources is welcomed and appreciated here!

Be sure to check out MY post about the importance of overcoming your own personal Math hangups and shortcoming, in order to better encourage your children to succeed in all areas of academics and in life – How Is Your Child’s World Being Framed?

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My Story

I’ve always been a very creative person, interested in art, music, and writing. I was told often that I was good at those things by my peers and my mother, and their praise of my accomplishments in those areas spurred me on to become better and better at them.

Adversely in my adolescence I was also told:

I’m not a math person

I’m not a science person

I’m not a good speller

I’m not a reader

I would always struggle in school

And for what? I thought.

So  I can get into a good college?  What in the world am I supposed to do in college, if I’m barely making it through high school?  What kind of serious degree or career can I pursue if all I am good at is painting and writing poetry? Forget it!

And in many ways I did.

I became consumed with my social life and did only enough school work to stay afloat. When it came time to graduate and choose a college major to pursue, I didn’t feel confident enough in any academic subject, to be able to approach it at a college level.

Now I know, for those of us who have never been professionally diagnosed with a mental disability or genetic learning disorder, our DNA does not prohibit us from being good at Math, Spelling, Grammar, Science, History, or Language Arts. For most of us, our strengths and weaknesses in academics have much more to do with our INTERESTS and our INSPIRATIONS rather than a left or right brain dominance. We pursue what we learn to love, and neglect what we don’t. And naturally we love what we’re good at, and what we become good at, tends to be what we’ve been ENCOURAGED in.

So what are you encouraging your kids in? I hope the answer is, “EVERYTHING.”

But, for many of us who were raised in “boxes” and are used to hearing others frame people into categories of “Math people”, “Artistic people”, “Bookish people” and “Athletic people”, we might not notice at first how we are now hastily and verbally, shoving our own children into a false framework.

What’s Your Story?

Were you ever told that you weren’t any good at an academic subject? What kinds of things were you made to believe about your inabilities, in your adolescence? What things do you tell everyone…

-          You’ve never been good at

-          You just aren’t cut out for

-          You aren’t able to do because you are a right brain or left brain dominant person

Have you ever stopped to consider, that maybe you never had a real opportunity to truly see what you were made of in the areas of study you struggled with, because you believed from nearly the start, you were BAD at them?

Is there any possibility, that given an inspiring mentor or a well written book, and some time and determination, that you might actually be capable of becoming good at the very things you’ve spent your entire life believing are impossible subjects for you?

Is it math?

Is it punctuation?

Is it drawing?

Is it spelling?

Is it reading?

Left Brain or Right Brain?

How many of us were taught to assess which side of our brain is dominant and allow that to tell us our future; what we were made for and what we should pursue?

As a pre-teen, I was told I wasn’t a math person. So, when math became difficult and no longer any fun, I had no motivation to work through it.  I assumed that the side of a person’s brain which makes them strong in math was not the strong side of my brain.  I believed that lie my whole adolescence and was empowered by teachers and mentors to use it as a valid excuse for my struggles. In High School I finally just gave up on math altogether.

Now as an adult, I have realized that was just something people told me and it might not be true. Once I had that breakthrough in my thinking I opened myself back up to math and I’ve learned I can be good at it, and my new attitude towards it has allowed me to develop a real interest in it.

This article is supposed to be about our children and how their thinking is being shaped, but in order to positively frame their self-image, we will first need to consider our own.

It took an epiphany for me to stop assuming since I was a creative person, I could not be a successful math or science person. We must each face the lies we’ve been believing for decades about ourselves and our abilities to learn, and in doing so, change the statements we make in front of our children.

If we say it about ourselves, our children will learn they can say it about themselves and get away with giving up, like we did.

Preparing Them to Be Able to Do Anything THEY Want

In a home where a parent is artistic, where drawing and painting are daily demonstrated, and artistic resources are always available, a young child is likely to be interested in art. They will more easily pick up artistic abilities and be encouraged in such endeavors.  And most importantly they will be INSPIRED to take part in art by a parent who loves it and lives it passionately in front of them.

In a home where a child has a mathematically confident parent and never hears the phrase, “I’m not a math person,” a child may be able to flourish in math because they never learn to associate the subject with fear and impossibility. A child like this will have a huge advantage down the road when math really does become difficult, in that they won’t be afraid of the subject, or have any belief that they won’t be able to eventually tackle any stage of it, with some effort.

But, if a child hears over and over from their parents and mentors that they just aren’t a math person, a science person, artistic, or good at spelling, you can bet they probably never will be. It won’t be their DNA that has dictated their weaknesses but rather their beliefs about themselves.

We all truly can be math people, science people, history people, eloquent people, artistic people, and yes even athletic people, if we choose to be. There of course will still be a spectrum along which we fall compared to others. We will be stronger in some areas and weaker in others, but we don’t have to feel genetically incapable of any of it.

It is so important to affirm our children’s capabilities, so that we are not shaping them to cut out certain pursuits by telling them what they weren’t made for. We ought to allow our children to discover their own passions and purposes, rather than dictate what they will become, by telling them from a young age what “ just isn’t their strong suit.”

This is NOT that talk!

Now let’s hold on right here while I make something clear.

This isn’t one of those talks that follows the philosophy of “Everyone gets a trophy no matter how well they play their sport, and everyone gets an A+ no matter how well they did on their assignment.” In those ways children need a barometer to see how the effort they put into their pursuit matches up with the results that they receive. Receiving a poor grade or not getting a trophy in a sport, teaches a child that they need to find new ways to approach their goals in order to receive better results in the future.

This talk is about thinking before we speak and knowing that the more times you tell a kid they are bad, bad, bad at something, the easier it is for them to believe it and give up on it.

And I’m not talking about mean verbally abusive parents. I’m talking about very kind, loving parents. Parents who often may not even realize they are saying these negative things to their children, but who based on how they themselves were educated, truly believe right brain/left brain dominance dictates WHO someone is capable of being and WHAT they are capable of being good at.

Parents and mentors need to be the voices of support encouraging children that they can excel in anything THEY DESIRE. We need not to be the people in their lives who throw our hands up and say, “You’re just not cut out for this. You just weren’t born to do this.”

(Unless of course we’re talking about being in the NBA or the Royal Ballet School… of course in those types of cases very specific genetics are pretty much a requirement!)

The Powerful Words of Mentors

We as parents are not the only ones who can frame a child’s world negatively by what we are telling them about themselves. Even when we correct our own speech, we still have to be concerned with input they are getting elsewhere.

A good mentor is able to creatively and passionately INSPIRE students towards accomplishment. But sometimes the mentors our children end up with, have decidedly chosen their approach to teaching and whoever can’t keep up, is verbally torn down or simply made to feel less smart by inference. Negative experiences like this can not only change the way a child thinks about themselves, it can affect how he or she pursues their own education, forever.

We must be vigilant as parents, to listen to our children and take action when we hear them beginning to repeat negative comments about themselves and their abilities to learn. If an adult in their life, like a coach or teacher has been telling them they aren’t good at something, or just aren’t cut out for something, it will begin to show up in a child’s attitude about themselves.

Our first instinct in this kind of situation can be to go on the defensive and like a mother bear march right in to that coach or teacher and tell them a thing or two about their lame brained teaching skills. But hold on a minute! Instead of getting all huffy and puffy over a situation like this, we can embrace it as part of the shaping of our children’s character.

After all, our kids will face criticism, competition for place, and even insults, throughout their entire lives. Rather than try and make those negative comments go away, we want to instead take notice of them and equip our kids to look ‘em in the eye, and knock them down with truth about their abilities.

As parents we need to stay on top of these kinds of negative influences as best we can, being aware of them, and bringing them up in discussions with our kids. We ought to more often be our children’s cheerleaders rather than their defense, reminding them that they can accomplish what they set their minds too and that they ought to get out there and prove it.

Exactly What TO Say and What NOT to Say

My hope is to encourage parents and mentors not to negatively frame a child’s world by the words of your mouth.  It takes a continual conscious effort to make sure we don’t verbally put our children in a “box” with a label of “not good at…” when we see them struggling in academics.

Instead, we should be affirming our children when they struggle and saying things to them like,

“You can do this, you just need to keep at it.”

“I know you can get into some tough spots with this subject, but just stay with it.”

“Don’t give up. You are very smart and totally capable of getting this.”

“ You will get it… you’ll see.”

“You are great at this.  You’re at a tough part with it, but you’ll get it because you really are great at this.”

These are the types of things we need to be saying to our children over and over again so that when things get tough, those affirmations are what fill their thoughts and push them on towards achievement, rather than cop-outs. We need to avoid saying things to them like,

“You’re just not a math person.”

“Honey science just isn’t one of your strong suits.”

“You’re just a creative person, not an analytical person.”

“You’re just like me, terrible at spelling.”

“You’re just like your father, terrible at punctuation.”

These negative comments allow our children to simply give up. These kinds of phrases tell them, that no matter how much effort they put into improving, they will never be GREAT. How is this motivation to work harder? It’s not. It is however motivation to drop the effort entirely.

One Final Note

I think as parents we are even sometimes tempted to say our children “just aren’t good at something” in order to take some of the heat off of ourselves.  If our child is struggling in a subject, it is much easier to tell the world and that child, that they simply aren’t a math person or a science person than it is to work harder with them on the subject. It is easier to box them up as “bad” at a subject, rather than admit we as parents or teachers might be failing in helping them to better tackle a topic.  After all we are awfully busy and having to realize that one more thing needs more of our attention can be an overwhelming admission.

The good news is that if you really stay on top of the ENCOURAGEMENT and building up of your child’s confidence in their God-given capabilities in ALL subjects, the farther ahead you’ll be in trying to help them conquer the subjects they struggle in. They will already be assured that they can succeed at anything, if they just keep trying.

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I’ve had a great response to things people are interested in, in my Online Store.

The most popular items people seem to be interested in so far are the Bringing Up Boys and Bringing Up Girls books by James Dobson, the Animal House kitchen items, and the products I have in the pre-school section.

These pre-school Books by Kumon are some of my favorite first books that I’ve used with my kids.

Kumon is a learning system made up of both curriculum and learning centers which administer lessons in math and reading from pre-school up to college.

These pre-school books can be found in my online store on this site, as well as at your local bookstore. I’ve even seen them from time to time at Costco.

This first one I want to show you is a book for pre-schoolers used to better acquaint them with the alphabet.

One of the things I love about these books is the suggested age level on the top right corners of all the books. This makes it easy for a busy mom like me to sift through the selection quickly and find the books that will work with the skill level of my child.

Kumon workbooks like these, range in suggested skill level from ages 2 – 8.

In the Alphabet Book there are these fun and simple dot-to-dot lessons, but with letters instead of numbers. Each dot-to-dot starts with letter “A” and moves to consecutive letters of the alphabet.

This beginner lesson is used to introduce children to the first 3 letters of the alphabet so it only goes up to letter “C”.

This elephant lesson is further along in the book so the letters go all the way from “A” to “Z”.

Each lesson also has a corresponding page of alphabet letters to practice tracing.

Alphabet lessons in this book progress to more typical dots-to-dot with no outlining grid to follow…

And a mastery in tracing and recognizing both upper and lowercase letters from “A” to “Z”.

Here is the book of Numbers.

Again… notice how great these books are at giving you just the information you’re looking for right on the cover. In the top right corner you can see the suggested age level for the book and it lets you know it covers lessons and games for numbers 1 – 30.

There are additional Kumon workbooks that progress up through greater numbers.

This Numbers Book also contains dot-to-dot lessons.

I love that the beginning dot-to-dot lessons in both the Letters and Numbers books provide a highlighted white grid around the projected path each created line should follow.

When my 3 year old wants to do dot-to-dot games without this kind of path, (like on kids menus at restaurants for example) her lines from one number to the next take on such strange and totally non-DIRECT paths, that when she’s done it’s hard to tell what the final picture is.

The dot-to-dots in these Kumon books start out with highlighted paths to train on, and then eventually progress to more advanced dot-to-dots, without highlighted paths.

The Numbers Book also contains corresponding pages of number tracing.

When I’m busy at the table working on Home School with my 8 year old, my 3 year old will bring these books to the table and joining us she announces,

“I’m doing school too.”

I’ve never required that either of my children do work in these Kumon Workbooks. I’ve just kept them available to my children, on a shelf they can reach next to some crayons and pencils, and both of them have ended up learning from the books on their own time because they’ve wanted to.

I love when learning happens like that!

The Numbers Book advances to standard dot-to-dot exercises, as well as fill in the missing number exercises like this.

None of these Kumon Books are expected to be the primary source from which your children will learn. They are just an additional resource to reinforce lessons already being taught. While little ones may be interested enough in doing these workbooks on their own, it’s beneficial to have a parent’s involvement or at least nearby to keep the child progressing according to the directions of each lesson.

Here are a couple of Kumon Books that insist a parent be nearby and ready to help.

Both my kids have REALLY loved the Cutting Book.

Cutting is one of those things that you might not allow your pre-schooler to do very often, simply because it’s unsafe unless you’re supervising. For this reason they may not have as much access to time spent with scissors, as they do other skill building tools such as books and crayons.

Then, when you finally take the time to sit down and do a craft project with your pre-schooler, which includes cutting, you realize how neglectful you’ve been of allowing them to cut, and how much they struggle with it simply because they haven’t had much practice. And then you both are so anxious to create your project, and they are so frustrated with trying to cut out all the shapes, that they say,

“Mommy will you just cut out the shapes for me?”

And you oblige because you’d like to make some progress as well, and keep the day’s schedule somewhat on track.

And then once again… they get no practice at cutting.

Or am I the only one this happens too?

If I’m not the only one this happens to…

Here is a fantastic Book to get both you and your child more frequently practicing cutting.

Because my pre-schoolers have LOVED this book, it’s hard for me to forget to do it with them… they ask to do it every day!

And the great thing about this book is that the lessons are short, but challenging enough that when we’re done, my little cutters are ready to move onto something else.

This book starts out with cutting strait lines.

In lesson 5 displayed above the cutting has progressed to being able to create a little craft. Once all the pieces are cut out you can tape them together to make one long train.

In the Cutting Book, projects progress to cutting curves, shapes, and eventually more intricate objects like animals.

And here is the Pasting Book.

It really should be called the Cutting and Pasting Book because each lesson offers the opportunity for both.

And of course if any of the cutting required in this book is too advanced for your pre-schooler, you can do all the cutting and allow your pre-schooler to just get some practice at pasting.

Using the Cutting Book and the Pasting Book will allow your child to advance in both areas, and they provide a great way to have some quick, fun, skill building time together at home.

The Pasting Book starts out simple like this.

Cut out square. Glue on Apple.

It progresses like this.

Cut out eyes, nose, mouth. Glue on Pig.

The pasting exercises don’t really advance in difficulty, but there are some variations in the fun you can have with them like in this lesson where squares must be pasted correctly in the grid like a puzzle to form a picture.

Kumon makes several other Pre-School development books such as, Drawing, Tracing, Telling Time, Mazes, Coloring, and more.

I’ve loved using these books with my kids and I’m sure you’ll love using them with yours.

To purchase check out my online store, or click the advertised links below.

Spend some time playing with and teaching your pre-schooler today! You’ll be glad you did and so will they!

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“Mama is busy. Go play with each other.” I say that a lot now that I have more than one.

“Mama isn’t lucky like you. She has lots and lots of work and chores to do and she doesn’t get to play. Now run along and enjoy yourselves. Mama has work to do.”

Have you ever gotten completely burnt out by doing chores day, after day, after day, after day. The same ones. In the same house. With no pay… no vacation… no incentives… and no end in sight!

Just work, work, work! The dishes keep coming. The laundry keeps coming. And the most hopeless part is that they always will.

And then you start to ask yourself, “What in the world am I doing? What has my life become? Where do I belong? Where has my joy gone? How in the world do I get it back?”

The temptation for me is then to begin dreaming of the day I’ll have money… lots more money. I’ll have a big beautiful house with so much more space than where I am now, that doing chores will be easier and more enjoyable. There will be room to stay organized and there will be room to get away from messes when I need to just breathe. I’ll have a laundry room where all the laundry will stay until I can get to it. I’ll have a huge kitchen with a great big granite top island, and in it’s spaciousness, dirty dishes will be almost unnoticeable in the corner over by sink.

Right now if there are dirty dishes they take up all my counter space (which isn’t much) and you can’t even make a sandwich until they’re dealt with. If there is one load of laundry unfolded on the floor in my living room, there is no space to walk. It’s an eyesore and creates a traffic jam. And the toys… oh the sea of toys that creeps right back out into every square inch of my home, the very moment they’ve been put away.

Yes, the temptation is to believe I’m enduring all of this just until I get my dream home.

But then reality sets in and I realize that day may never come.

And besides the fact that such a day may never come, I start to feel so shallow finding my joy in the hope for material things. “That’s not the point to life,” I remind myself. But lost… and confused I ask myself again… “Then what is?”

And then I answer my question and say, “Life is not about material things, it’s about serving God and serving others. I start to think about the women I know taking trips to Mexico, working in soup kitchens, teaching Bible Studies, and I begin to feel my life… which lacks all those good deeds… has really become a wash.

“Doing laundry and dishes, picking up toys and playing board games instead of going to Haiti and helping orphans and widows? How did I get this way? What am I doing here? How did I get so lost? How did my life get so off track and become so worthless?”

Back to square one.

I’ve been tossing and turning like this for days.

And then… today…

Everything changed.

After one short moment… one pause in all the monotony of life…

My eight year old came to me sobbing with a list of questions and doubts that have been weighing on his heart, about God.

We spent a bit of time talking about his doubts and searching for the answers to his questions, and agreed to talk about it more in the evening, and even more tomorrow.

And in the silence that followed our conversation, I was reminded what I’m doing here.

I am a missionary in my home, mothering not just children, but souls.

I spend a lot of time taking care of kids, messes, meals, clothes, toys, rules, games, books, but I had forgotten… neglected… to focus on their souls.

Before I had children I planned and plotted about how I would be a great mom. The things I would teach them. The ways I would disciple them. And then they came and teaching them about God was so simple because they just believed and agreed with whatever I said. I think it became so easy, and felt so taken care of that I sort of set their souls aside agreeing with myself to resume discipleship when they became teens and all the difficult questions would come.

Those questions came today. And I’m so glad they did. And I’m so glad God used my son to remind me what I’m supposed to be doing with my time, where my greatest work lies, where so much of my joy comes from, and what a privilege it is to be home with my children.

Not in an office, not on Wall Street, not on a stage, not in Haiti,… but right here.

In between the laundry, before and after doing dishes, during weeks when blogging must be put off until the next, because I am far too busy sitting, listening, talking, asking, digging, enjoying, engaging my children, and Mothering their Souls.

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I got the idea to make these from this book about the life and times of Shakespeare.

The book includes 21 activities, and making Pomander Balls was one of them.

According to the book Pomander Balls were used in Elizabethan times and in generations before them, to ward off plagues and other diseases which were believed to be caused by bad smelling air. It was traditional to carry these aromatic balls in hands, boxes, or pockets, for protection. People also attached them to chains and wore them around their necks or waists.

Happily today we know that diseases aren’t caused by icky smelling air, but making Pomander balls is still a fun thing to do and they smell AMAZING!

If you’re planning to hang your Pomander Balls on a Christmas Tree, or on wrapped gifts, you should go with a smaller citrus fruit like these medium size Clementines. Pomander balls made from larger oranges can be used as decorations on side tables, mantles, or in a centerpiece on your Christmas Breakfast table.

The first  step is to use a marker and make a grid creating four quarters on the fruit. You can use a black permanent marker, because your grid will be covered up by your ribbon later.

The next thing to do is to use a wooden skewer, toothpick, or sharp pencil to poke holes in the orange and make a design. If you skip this step and just try to push the cloves through without making holes first, you’ll end up with a lot broken cloves.

The holes that you poke for the cloves can be done randomly, in stripes, in the shape of letters, or in patterns.

Here is a design for a swirl.

And there’s this one that looks like a snowflake or a star.

Both my three year old and seven year old were entertained… for a little while…. doing this. It was easy for them to do and they both liked poking the holes and filling them with the cloves.

The next step is to cut a piece of ribbon.

I’ve found that wired ribbon is the easiest type of ribbon to work with because it can be easily manipulated and bent into the form you want.

I wanted big, beautiful, wide ribbon for my bows, but I didn’t want the ribbon to cover up my orange so…

I cut the wired edges off the ribbon into strips for wrapping.

Wrap one of the thin ribbons over one of your black grids and tie it with a double knot.

Next tie the second ribbon on over the other grid line, and again tie a double knot.

And then you cut an additional piece of ribbon to form your bow.

Now don’t freak out about this part. Even if you’ve never tied a fancy bow in your life… you can do this. You don’t attach the ribbon and then try to tie a bow. You tie the bow first and then when it looks how you want it, you attach it to the orange.

And this is why we’re using wire ribbon… so we can pretend we are master bow tyers when we really aren’t.

All you have to do is make a small loop at one end of the ribbon and wrap the long piece of ribbon around it tightly to hold it in place.

Then form a second and a third loop, knotting, and tucking, and bending them together however you can to form something similar to the picture above. It’s not an exact science and the wires really help you be able to bend and tuck and knot without things slipping. And don’t worry about things getting crumpled as you try and tie them… you can fluff all of it out at the end.

Next attach your free formed bow to your orange by tying it on with a double knot from one set of the ribbons already sticking up off your orange.

And then twist and curl your loose ends into pretty little Curly Qs.

Viola!

But wait… we’re not done yet.

Just to add a bit more AMAZING SCENT and a bit more SPARKLE you can dust on some spices mixed with very fine glitter.

I used this Baker’s Blend from the Spice Merchants – It’s a mix of cloves, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, anise, coriander and cardamom.

If you don’t have a blend like this you can make your own from any of the spices mentioned… pumpkin pie spice is also a good one to use.

Then, mix in some very fine glitter. The best kind to use is what you find at the craft store for use with stamps and embossing.

Just mix the spices and glitter together in a small dish and then using a dry paintbrush, lightly dust the mixture onto and around the cloves.

Seriously… I can’t express how good these smell.

They make beautiful gifts, centerpieces and decorations.

You can even put some on your tree or hang them by a string on some very specially wrapped Christmas presents.

Here’s what you need…

Oranges or Clementines

Permanent Marker

Wide Decorative Ribbon

Scissors for cutting Ribbon

Whole cloves – one large sized spice jar from your grocer’s aisle should make about 8 Pomander Balls.

Spices – A Baker’s Blend, or your own mix of any of the following: Cinnamon, Cardamom, All-Spice, Nutmeg, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Coriander, Anise, Ginger, and Cardamom

Toothpicks, Wooden Skewers, or Sharp Pencils for poking holes

Fine Glitter – Embossing kind seems to work best and white or clear looks best. A gold, silver, or orange glitter tends to make the orange look dirty.

Happy Pomandering! (So not a word.)

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Ah Shakespeare.

One of the world’s most revered writers of all time.

Whatever your personal feelings are about the Writings of Shakespeare, making sure your children have a familiarity with them is a highly beneficial endeavor.

This post is intended to be an encouragement to parents and to myself. No matter how deficient our own educations in Classic Literature may have been, we can approach the texts now, little by little, and hope still to benefit from their many gifts.

If we are going to spare our children from the same ignorance we have experienced into adulthood regarding the works of Shakespeare and the like, we should begin introducing them to such works, in a fun and enthusiastic manner, while they are still very young.

“Give me your children until they are seven, and anyone may have them afterwards.” – The Jesuit, St. Francis Xavier

His Influence and It’s Demise

Shakespeare’s writings have had a permeating affect on American culture for decades and it is only in this most recent decade that we have begun to see the decline of his writings as course requirements amongst elementary, high school, and astonishingly… University students.

In this modern day culture, lessons in morality and true character in the classroom are mangled at best and entirely shunned at worst. The bar for literacy has been set at the most basic levels in the name of “No Child Left Behind” and thus many teachers refrain from introducing any literary works that may be deemed “difficult.”

Though great efforts are being made in creating phonetic literacy, this generation is suffering from the lost pursuit of literacy in the Literary Great Works. The result continues to be a decline in eloquent self expression as well as in an individual’s ability to analyze with true logic and a grounded moral compass, life’s most difficult, and in some cases even simplest, dilemmas.

The benefits of reading Shakespeare have been altogether forgotten by many, and for others never taught or recognized in the first place.

I am included with those who had very little exposure to Shakespeare growing up. My high school years did include an obsession with the movie version of Romeo and Juliet starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Claire Danes. I watched it about 1 million times, and thus put many of the actual words of Shakespeare from that single play, to memory.

I was also exposed to a few excerpts in textbooks from Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar, when required to take turns with peers, reading in class. These lessons seemed more focused on an exercise in reading aloud, (once again phonetic literacy) than on actual appreciation for the writings. We each attempted to keep one eye on the book, while the other was more faithfully tending to homework for another class or constructing a handwritten note to be stealthily passed.

There was very little discussion about the actual words, characters, plot, conflicts, metaphors, language, or messages we were being exposed too. There certainly was no expectation placed upon us to grapple with the difficult task of reading and analyzing any of Shakespeare’s works, on our own.

Character Analysis

“A lively and lasting sense of filial duty is more effectually impressed on the mind of a son or daughter by reading King Lear, than by all the dry volumes of ethics, and divinity that were ever written.” – Thomas Jefferson

There is something about stories that affect our human understanding with great power. We are able to learn far more empathetically and with lasting impact, from myths and fables, than from factual snippets in textbooks. Both likeable and despised characters, mixed with dramatic plots, prove time and time again to teach each of us far more than the most well intentioned lecture.

Shakespeare’s works are filled with just such characters and complexities. As we read Shakespeare, we are learning about the world around us, past, present and future. As we figure out his characters, we are figuring out life’s characters. Struggling with the complexities expressed in his works, prepares us to struggle with the complexities we ourselves will face. The stories inclusive of the works of Shakespeare provide a mental realm for our students – a type of flight simulator – where they can hash through situations and acquire knowledge and understanding that will afford them a great advantage when it comes time to venture out into the real world.

Not only do the works of Shakespeare provide us with an opportunity to analyze character qualities, puzzle through moral dilemmas and make ethical decisions, they also introduce us to an exquisite array of the language arts including but not limited to, vocabulary, metaphor, poetry, symbolism, and eloquence.

Language Arts

“Shakespeare must be singled out by one who wishes to learn the full powers of the English language.” – Thomas Jefferson

One of the most important acknowledgements our children can experience through the reading of Shakespeare, is the observation that truly great writing is possible. Beautiful language has been lost in this generation and continues to decline with the acceptance of pervasive slang, and sound bytes of thought, expressed through the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and texting.

I love this excerpt from an article in the Cape Cod Times written by a former farmer and sailor:

“…Everyone fluent in English should read Shakespeare. The Bard’s 17th-century idioms and archaic stage conventions aren’t easy reading, I’ll admit. But everyone should wade through a few of his plays, for the following reasons.

1. It’s essential to know that it’s possible to write that well because somebody actually did it.

2. The rest of us can scribble and mumble but the Bard’s shining example can help us to polish our own deliveries. Woo a lover with poetry and she’ll respect the effort even if you have spinach stuck in your teeth. Berate a swindler in iambic pentameter and he’ll think twice about swindling you again.

3. Modern stagecraft has better lighting and modern cinema displays more thrilling special effects, but Shakespeare understood and expressed universal emotions better than anyone else ever has.

4. Exquisite language, vivid imagery and elegant cadences will never become obsolete. Understand the master and you understand profound, eternal truths.

Examples:

Shakespeare said, “Cry ‘Havoc!’ And let slip the dogs of war!” A modern warrior might say, “Let’s bomb those bums back into the Stone Age.”

Shakespeare said, “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I.” A contemporary might whine, “What a wicked, wicked dink I am. What a loser.”

Shakespeare: “My salad days, when I was green in judgment.” Ordinary schmo: “I had lotsa fun when I was a kid, even though I was sorta dumb.”

Shakespearean villain facing a tragic end: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It’s a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Modern sourpuss: “Life sucks.”

Shakespeare: “Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look.” Modern private eye: “That guy looks like a sleaze bag.”

Shakespeare’s amorous young man: “But soft! What light at yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!” Modern teenager: “Gee, yer cute. Can’t stop thinkin’ ’bout cha.”

(Excerpt taken from the Cape Cod Times article titled “Why Everyone Should Read Shakespeare” written by Tom Gelsthorpe a sailor and former farmer,)

Discipline and Patience

Not only does the reading and analysis of Shakespeare’s writings leave us with the tools to improve our assessment of life’s situations and an increased ability to create respectable writing and rhetoric, but the journey itself provides a practice in patience, discipline, struggle, and accomplishment.

Students of Shakespeare quickly realize that if they ever hope to achieve any semblance of effectual and beautiful writing or persuasive speech, it will be accomplished through no less than a disciplined, labor intensive analysis of literary Great works, and an extensive accumulation of vocabulary and skilled, organized, well communicated thought.

Hard work and struggle are valuable lessons recently forgotten.

With children of a very young age, the focus should be on making Shakespeare fun through an introduction to his plays, stories, and biographical content. The goal is to instill in them a love of learning, and a fondness for stories and their authors. Laying such a foundation will prepare our children for the later years when the more difficult work of analysis of the actual texts will come. If prepared in the suggested manner at a very young age, approaching the authentic works will merely be an opportunity to more deeply understand an already well known and beloved friend.

I’m Convinced… Now What?

Even if you believe exposing your children to Shakespeare is a worthy endeavor, you may be left with the following road blocks…

1. I don’t know anything about Shakespeare. How can I possibly begin to teach it to my children without sounding like a bumbling idiot?
2. My children are very young. There is no way they are ready for Shakespeare.

With concern to roadblock number 1, let me assure you…

I’ve already explained that I too am thoroughly deficient in my understanding and even abilities to read and analyze Shakespeare. I will not let that stop me though, nor will I allow it to keep my children from its benefits.

As a mom who desires that my children have a better education than I did, I have already made the commitment to continue my own self education at home through books… indefinitely. I am learning about Shakespeare and his stories for the very first time right along side my 7 year old. What I do not tackle with him because it is beyond his reading and comprehension level, I hope to approach in my own stolen away moments, how ever few and far between they may be, along with the works of Plato, Pascal, Dostoyevskey, and others.

I refuse to remain an ignorant victim of my own lacking education in great literature, history, science, math, philosophy, poetry, art, and music. I’ve taken my education into my own hands. And it’s true… I will never now be able to accomplish what I could have in my youth when I had all that free time for learning, which I chose instead to waste. However, a lack of time compared to what was available to me then, doesn’t in any way discourage me from pursuing whatever little I can find time for now. And trust me… when I say “little” I mean it. I’m no different than you are: dishes, laundry, diaper changes, meals, shopping, church, family, shuttling, scuttling, and more. But still over time… little by little… it can be done.

With regard to road block number 2… Just as you are now introducing young children to age appropriate simplified versions of stories from the Brother’s Grimm, Aesop’s Fables, and the King James Bible, so can you make simplified works from Shakespeare traditional picture books and read-aloud stories in your home.

Here are the books through which to do exactly that.

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children edited by Edith Nesbit is the most excellent source I’ve found for children and adults, to understand the basic story-lines from the works of Shakespeare. There are a lot of books which I have checked out from the library and then happily returned; glad I didn’t spend my money on a permanent copy. “Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare” is not one of those books.

This is a book that should become a purchased mainstay in your home, alongside other cherished collections of fairytales, myths, and fables. The stories have been rewritten at what I would call a child’s intermediate reading level, and they provide a great opportunity for family read aloud time when characters and plot can be explained and discussed.

You may also find this book a valuable tool in your own pursuit to understand the works of Shakespeare. Reading the stories in this book will prepare you to then approach the actual works with a good grasp on plot, setting, and characters.

Let’s face it. For those of us trying to play catch up in our understanding of Shakespeare, there’s enough work to be done even once you know the story, just in trying to tackle the language and metaphors.  Once I’ve got a good understanding on the plot through use of the Children’s book, I can more freely enjoy the beauty and symbolism in the writing.

The same will be true for your kids. Introducing them to the stories and plot lines while they are young will allow them to more easily ingest the actual writings as their reading and comprehension abilities grow.

The Shakespeare Can Be Fun series by Lois Burdett takes the great works of Shakespeare and reintroduces them in an easier to understand format which still uses vocabulary from the originals to expose children little by little to the authenticate language. It is also written in a rhythmic rhyme that is fun and dramatic for children to read aloud. The illustrations in the books have been created by 8, 9, and 10 year olds and they accompany impressive summary excerpts written by the same age group. Each book also includes a list of suggested activities in the back, which compliment the story and enhance the learning experience with respect to the setting, character analysis, and exploration of themes.

Richard Monette, the Artistic Director for the Stratford Festival, writes in the foreword of the Tempest for Kids, in the Shakespeare Can Be Fun series,

“How often have we heard adults proclaim Shakespeare to be too deep or difficult for them; and how often has their sense of inadequacy and exclusion been fostered in childhood by dogged reverence of well-meaning but uninspired school teachers? ‘This is Great Literature, and it’s good for you,’ goes the classroom mantra, and thus is perpetuated the idea of Shakespeare as medicine to be swallowed stoically rather than a giddy pleasure to be pursued at every opportunity … Thank goodness for Lois Burdett who teaches her students that great plays are great playthings, and that making theatre is a marvelous game, to be played with all your might… When one succeeds at firing the imagination of a child, nothing can quench that enthusiasm – and when one fails, nothing can ignite it. To the child to whom (Shakespeare) is introduced as a Very Important Man, indeed, Shakespeare may well remain a distant and impenetrable stranger. To the child fortunate enough to be introduced to him by Lois Burdett (author of Shakespeare Can Be Fun) he has every chance of being a friend and playmate for life.”

These books are great for handing to a young reader, allowing him to read it on his own. It is great fun to then tackle it a second time as a fantastic, dramatic, family read aloud.

Shakespeare for Kids – His Life and Times with 21 Activities by Colleen Aacesen and Margie Bluhberg, is a great book to work through while reading Shakespeare’s stories. This book will acquaint you and your children with the life and times of the man himself. The creative activities help cement details of the setting and era from which Shakespeare wrote, into your children’s hearts and minds.

“Of primary importance in the study of any literature is the context in which it was written. Every story is written by an individual living in a particular culture and period. Consequently, each author’s work is, in a sense, a relic of the period in which it was written… (Each author) writes folk, fable, truth, and fiction from his own sensory experience. He tells of sunsets he has seen, trips to lands he has traveled, and conversations he has enjoyed. He may use these sensory experiences to create fantasy worlds, languages, and places beyond his reach, but they still smack of the human reality he has experienced.

A passing knowledge of the history of the time in which a piece was penned is therefore invaluable in its study. Social and class structures, moral sensibilities, roles for men and women, theological and philosophical trends and more are at the root of many a tale as authors use their literary genre to examine, criticize, or reflect on the life issues of their time and place…. In addition to understanding the historical period behind a piece of literature, a good reader must also acknowledge the personal history of the author. While fiction is not necessarily autobiographical and cannot be read as such, knowledge of the character and life of the author can at times provide a window into a work.”

(Adam and Missy Andrews from Teaching the Classics – Institute for Excellence in Writing)

You can see an example of one of the activities we recently enjoyed doing from this book, here.

Having a Volume of Shakespeare’s complete works, or several individual books of his actual writings, when your children are very young, is mostly a benefit only to you, if you should choose to take advantage of it. The more familiar you become with his texts now, the more prepared you will be to further teach and discuss Shakespeare with your children as they grow. Once you’ve read these children’s versions with your kids and have a good grasp of plot and story, try reading the actual works on your own and see what kind of beauty and understanding you can draw from the originals that you never before saw… or perhaps never before even attempted.

By passionately and playfully introducing  our young children to great authors, their biographies, historical context, and simplified versions of plot in their writings, we will have prepared them for life, to be warmly familiar with otherwise daunting Literary Masters.

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I decided to show my kids how to make a snowflake with scissors and paper. This is the only picture I have of the snowflake because as you’ll see soon enough… the focus did not stay on the snowflake for very long.

As I was cutting the snowflake, I remembered how fun it also used to be to cut out paper accordion people. So, while my kids were “Ooooohing” and “Aaaahing” over my snowflake, I decided to make a link of accordion ballerinas.

Yep. My kids were seriously impressed.

I cut it out and then I asked Remy to color the ballerinas and give them faces. She did a good job.

With a snowflake and ballerinas on the table I of course thought of the Nutcracker. But then, looking at the ballerinas all linked together I thought of the Four Little Swans from Swan Lake. True… there are five ballerinas in my link and only four in the Swan Lake piece, but hey… I was close.

If you have no idea what the Four Little Swans piece is, here’s a video.

Next I needed some trees.

The stage was set!

But of course Remy… ( I say “of course” because this is so typical of her) said…

“Make some Bad Guys Mommy.”

This is what I came up with.

I know, I know… they aren’t attached. I got lazy. What can I say?

Remy drew their faces. She did a great job! She’s really got the concept down of angling the eyebrows just right to convey EVIL!

What?

You don’t think “Bob” and “Frank” look evil?

Now that is creepy.

These poor ballerinas are surrounded by psychos peeking through the trees.

Naturally the next request from the kids was for some Super Heroes.

Ta-daaah!

If you can name all four Super Heroes correctly in the comments section of this post you get a GOLD STAR. If you have one… to give yourself. Maybe add a little “pat-on-the-back” while you’re at it.

I have to admit… I’m pretty proud of those Super Heroes.

Did I mention I’d like to become a Children’s Book Author and Illustrator?

Zondervan, Random House, Thomas Nelson… If you’re reading this… which I’m sure you just must be… Call Me!

Let the Marvel Comic Ballet begin.

Imagine the lovely Swan Lake music playing as the ballerinas happily frolic by the trees.

Enter the menacing Bob and Frank with their EVIL Villain eyebrows.

It wasn’t long before they decided to cut the Super Heroes apart from each other.

Ah! That’s better.

“You’re goin’ down Bob!”

“No! Bob will be victorious!”

I think this is the part where Bob got crushed by a Giant Snowflake.

“Now to take care of Frank.”

Seriously… this kept both my kids entertained for over an hour.

“It’s a bird, It’s a plane, It’s… ” (Nope… that’s all the hint you get for the comments section.)

“You’re done for Frank.”

Curtain

This year has been a tough one for us financially. I’ve been feeling a little guilty about how little we have to spend on Christmas presents for the kids this year.

Something tells me they’re going to be just fine.

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Just before Christmas when I was twelve, I found a T-shirt at a Christian bookstore that had a picture of a manger scene on it and a statement on the back of the shirt read, “Put Christ back into Xmas.” I had never thought about the word “Xmas” as being insulting before, but when I saw that T-shirt I immediately got offended at the idea of people mentioning a day that is supposed to celebrate the birth of Christ without actually mentioning Him.  I bought a shirt for myself and a few more for three of my friends.  We proudly wore them to our school Christmas party and I felt like we were waging the war against secularism.

Years later someone mentioned to me that “Xmas” was not an offensive word because X is the Greek symbol for Christ.  When I heard that, I was done being offended.  That made sense to me and I was proud to know a deeper detail about the issue than most other Christians.  From that point on I proudly corrected others who made comments about taking offense to the term “Xmas.”

But one Christmas I realized…

“Wait a minute… do I even know what I’m talking about?  I have been telling people for years that “X” is the Greek symbol for Christ, but I don’t actually even know if that is true.”

It wasn’t until I did some study and investigation that I could speak more truly informed on the matter. I still am no expert of the Greek language, but here is what I have learned.

The term “Christmas” predates the twelfth century and comes from the Old English Cristes Masse, literally, Christ’s mass. There are documented variations of the word “Xmas” having been used as a non-offensive abbreviation for the word “Christmas” that date back as far as 1021 A.D., long before it became a word used merely to save space in electronics ads. In the distant past, “X” was also commonly used as an abbreviation for “Christ” in the word Christian, then written as “Xian.”

One early and common symbol used in the Christian Church, referencing Christ and his followers, is known as the “Chi Rho”.  The New Testament of the Bible which is the portion containing the history and documentation of the life of Christ and his church was originally written in the languages of Greek and Aramaic. In the Greek alphabet, X is the letter “Chi” and is used for the “Ch” in the beginning of Christ’s name.  In Greek, P is the letter “Rho” and is used for the “r” in Christ.

The X and P of Chi Rho were superimposed over one another and placed on jewelry, coffins, coins, armor, shields and other wares as early as the third century. The above photo is of a reproduction of a Roman Fresco found in the Villa at Lullingstone, containing the Chi Rho flanked by the Greek letters Alpha and Omega which God calls Himself in the book of Revelation.

Modern critics of the abbreviation”Xmas” typically feel that the X is replacing Christ, who is the reason for the holiday.  It is felt by many that “Xmas” further secularizes what is supposed to be a sacred celebration.

It is possible that the use of “Xmas” has become offensive to Americans in recent years, partly due a massive decline in knowledge amongst English speaking westerners of the Greek language and alphabet. For this reason, even once Christians understand the origins of “Xmas”, they may still prefer the use of the full word “Christmas” because an X no longer represents the name of Christ, in our modern American culture.

When so many Christmas traditions are being attacked and erased from the public square, and big business is trying to use alternate labels such as “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings” Christians are doing everything to try and keep the name of Christ on people’s lips and in their hearts.  “Xmas” may have it’s origins in being a holy and acceptable representation of Christ, but today it has lost that meaning and in most cases is used only to aid advertisers in saving letter space in ads which focus on commercialism, materialism, and selfish desires.

What’s your opinion?

Are you still offended?  Were you ever?  How do you feel about it now?

Leave a comment.

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While you’ve been working hard to prepare food for the big Thanksgiving Feast, I’ve prepared a recipe for great Thanksgiving Day discussions.

Q: Do we have any real documentation about the Pilgrims or is it all just legend?

A: Thankfully we don’t have to rely on contemporary history books who love to change facts in the name of Political Correctness to try and sort out the truth about the Pilgrims. Original Pilgrims who made the journey from Europe to this new world created great written records of their experiences which can be purchased and read today.

Two of the greatest Pilgrim documenters and historians were Edward Winslow and William Bradford. Their books are available for purchase online.

Skip the textbooks and go to the original writings!

Q: Was there ever really a Native American named Squanto? Who was he?

A: Yes, Squanto existed. He was a Native American living with his tribe at what would later become Plymouth. Years before the Pilgrims arrival in America, Squanto was captured by Thomas Hunt (A European, but not a Pilgrim) and taken to become a slave in Spain.  Squanto escaped Hunt and arrived in England where he was well treated and learned English. Squanto eventually made it back to his homeland in America 6 months to a year after the Pilgrim’s arrival at what became Plymouth.  Now with the help of Squanto and another Indian named Samoset who had learned English from English Fishermen who had visited America prior to the Pilgrims arrival, the English speaking pilgrims could speak with the Native Americans. William Bradford referred to Squanto as “a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond all expectation.”

Q: Were the Pilgrims cruel to the Native Americans or did they get along?

A: There were other groups of Europeans landing in America both before and after the Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower. Many Europeans treated the Native Americans with hostility and violence, but the history of the Pilgrims shows that their particular group of pious Christians strove for peace with the Native Americans. A formal Peace Treaty was signed by both the Native American’s Chief named Massasoit, and the Pilgrims, in March of 1921. The successful relationship formed between the Pilgrims and their Native American neighbors provided protection and education in agriculture from the Indians, which greatly aided in the Pilgrim’s survival in America.

Q: Why do we eat Turkey on Thanksgiving and not Hamburgers, Steak, or Spaghetti?

A: Thanksgiving is not a widely recorded event. There is ONE SIGULAR detailed explanation of the event recorded by a Pilgrim by the name of Edward Winslow. Here is his account of the first Thanksgiving… you’ll notice they killed and ate “fowl” which is where we get our Turkey tradition from. Looks like venison would also be an appropriate choice to recognize the Indians meat contribution.

“Our harvest being gotten, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner; rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted; and they went out and killed five deer; which they brought to the plantation, and bestowed on our governor; and upon the captain and others And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

Q: Why do Turkeys have gizzards?

A: Turkeys don’t have teeth to chew up their food with… just beaks to take the initial BITE. That’s why they have gizzards. They swallow rocks and the rocks stay in their gizzards. Then when they eat food, the food goes into their gizzards and gets mashed up and chewed up by the rocks to make the food easier to digest, when it moves from the gizzard to the stomach. Most all birds have gizzards because none of them have teeth, but in other birds the gizzards are internal so you can’t see them.

Thanks to two books in particular for a lot of this knowledge:

“Of Plymouth Plantation – Bradford’s History of the Plymouth Settlement 1608 – 1650” by William Bradford

And

“Plymouth in the Words of Her Founders – A Visitors Guide to America’s Hometown” by Dr. Paul Jehle

Both of these books are tremendous, highly recommended additions to home libraries for annual recognition as to the origins of Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to you All! God Bless!

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There is so much to learn about becoming a parent.

Isn’t this a great book? So helpful. There are lots of books like this that really help prepare you for parenthood.

Here’s another great one. Again… so helpful.

But guess what.

There is something you need to know that isn’t included in any parenting book.

This is a well kept secret… a deep, dark, difficult secret to deal with.

What I’m about to tell you is not easy for most expecting parents to hear.

Are you ready?

Here it comes.

Along with all the new preparations you are making to become a parent, along with all the things you are trying to learn, there is something no one else has shared with you, that you are going to have to learn…

You are going to have to learn to draw!

Now take it easy, take it easy… I know what you’ve been through.  We’ve all been there.

We all believed we were artists when we were five. Our mothers told us our drawings were amazing and hung them on the refrigerator with pride.

Then one day, in the sixth grade, we were asked to draw our shoe.

Ta-daaahhh! We thought as we completed the assignment.  Piece of cake.  Just wait until the teacher makes an example to the whole class of this beauty.  I even included the details of the tied bow and the little holes that the laces go through.  This is AWESOME!

And then, as you looked around the room your pride rose even higher because you saw a couple of students still working on the assignment when yours was already done.

Not only talented, but quick too.

You decide to get out of your seat and meander over to a best friend’s desk and chit chat until it’s time to turn in your work.

And then… you see it.

The drawing of a shoe that your friend has created, which in one quick and jolting moment alerts you that… your entire life as an artist has been a lie!

You stare at the shoe. You know it is a picture of a shoe. You can see that. But for the life of you, your brain can not in any way, shape, or form figure out how someone… namely your goofball friend… found those kinds of details and shading possibilities by looking at their stinky, old, STUPID shoe.

It’s ok.

You see… you’re among friends.

We’ve all been there, and we’re going to get through this together.

It’s simply time to come to terms with the fact that the art you abandoned at age twelve, now must be picked back up again and pursued.

How do I deal with this?

I practice.

You’re going to need to start practicing too.

Pull out those Disney DVDs, flip them over to the backside, and start copying the characters. Memorize the methods… you will most certainly be tested on your skills when you least expect it.

When you’re new little one reaches the age of two or three is when it’s going to happen.

One day, when you’re out to dinner with your sweet little family and you’ve just handed the waitress your menu after placing your order, your darling little angel is going to flip over her child’s paper placemat, hand you a crayon, look at you with those big beautiful adoring eyes and say,

“Mommy… draw me a picture.”

or

In my case with Remy it was,

“Mommy, draw me Lightning McQueen.”

Now you might get lucky and instead of a favorite Disney or Nick Jr. character, your little darling may ask you to draw a house, or a tree…

But if this is currently what your trees look like… this is not going to cut it.

Your very small child whom has admired you and your husband as infallible heroes up until now, will no doubt find the first crack in that facade, if she asks you to draw a tree, and this is what you produce for her.

And trust me, it’s going to get far more complicated than trees.

It’s only a matter of time before she asks you to draw a, “Beautiful Princess.”

Again… this is not going to cut it.

Luckily however you have stumbled upon this website, and I am here to help you… ALWAYS.

This is a fantastic new book Remy and I have been using.

It shows you how to draw and paint all kinds of princesses and ballerinas.

It even shows you some neat figures you can make by gluing on embellishments using different textured papers.

It’s really a fun book.

I believe the book is intended for eight or nine year old girls to begin learning how to draw princesses and ballerinas themselves. I’m telling you though, this book and others like it are wonderful for parents of babies and toddlers. This will prepare you for that moment at the Macarroni Grill when your munchkin expects you to start creating a castle on that paper table cloth they so thoughtfully provide you with.

Yes, the book includes instructions on how to draw a castle.

Wonderful, fantastic, step-by-step instructions.

Here is the one Remy and I created.  I drew and Remy colored. And after I had created all these sweet little princesses, Remy said,

“Mommy, draw a big scary dragon.”

This is not in the book, but remember… my firstborn is a boy.  I’ve been through all of this before but from the male perspective which requests dinosaurs, aliens, robots, monsters, and of course… dragons.

And please remember also… one of my goals in life is to become an author and illustrator of children’s books. I’ve been practicing drawing my entire life.

After that sixth grade shoe incident instead of abandoning art, I committed to practicing, practicing, practicing.  It was in my blood.  I see the same passion for art now in Remy.

So after I drew that monstrous dragon attacking the castle, there was just one problem.

The princesses all looked way too happy to be dealing with an attacking, ferocious dragon.

I quickly came up with a solution to the problem.

The two most important keys to parenting:

#1 Be prepared

# 2 Be flexible

And don’t worry… if you have little boys, there are lots of books just like this princess one, to help you learn how to draw robots, aliens, and Star Wars characters.

These books make great gifts for families of all ages.  I especially like them for families with very young children so that kids and parents can grow in skill with the books.  I would even be so bold as to include a book like this in a gift basket at a baby shower with a note to the parents that it’s time to, “Start practicing.”

You can find “How to Draw Princesses and Ballerinas,” and other books like it, for sale below.

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