Teachable Moments

A great advantage to homeschooling is having opportunities for extra teachable moments.
On the drive to take my son to work, I saw a woman, perhaps in her 80's, struggling to rake the leaves in her yard.  After dropping my son off at work, I stopped and asked if we (my daughter and I) could help.

Yes!

I quickly raked up the other half of her yard and filled two huge garbage bags with the leaves. Meanwhile, my 8 y.o.  willingly raked the sidewalk and the dwindling piles.  The woman asked me to stop after the second bag because she didn't have money to pay me.

No, no, no! That wasn't the point!

I told her I appreciated the opportunity to show my daughter that some things we do just because it's the right thing to do. I also told her that I hoped my MIL's neighbor-kids would help her.

All of the above only took 25 minutes - not a significant part of our day.  However, the warmth of having done a random act of kindness is still with us.

Colossians 3: 23-24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Icons for email

I thought I would find an easy way to include social media icons in my emails.  However, I'm finding it challenging!  See, you have to paste the image url, not the image itself.  The icon I want, I can only download the image, not copy the url.

So, I thought if I paste the image to a blog post, maybe I would then be able to copy the url.  I'll let you know if it works!

           

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"  Thomas Palmer

PiBoIdMo and WNFIN

Today is day four of Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) and Write Nonfiction Now (WNFIN).

I think I am up to 11 ideas and 2 titles for PiBoIdMo, but I haven't decided which PB to focus on for WNFIN.  I don't want to get behind, so I better decide today!

Many of the trees around the pond have lost their leaves and it's overcast today, but there's something about the pond that helps me write.  It's probably the calming effect of the birds, water, play of light, pretty foliage, etc. (The clouds were nice enough to part when I took this picture...)

It's also fun to watch the sheep...

Psalm 50:9-11  I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.

PiBoIdMo 2013

I think I've signed up for PiBoIdMo 2013. This is where I commit to coming up with an idea for a picture book each day in the month of November.

Here's the link for more information:  taralazar.com

Let the ideas roll.....

Proverbs 16:3 "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."

After a year-and-one-half, I decided it was time to start blogging again.  Much has happened in that time, but I'll probably start with the most recent events and go backwards as I see fit.

When I was between 8-10, my mother (who was an excellent seamstress - but who didn't have the patience to teach) had my sister and I get sewing lessons.  Over the years, I've made clothes for myself and many craft projects.  I decided it was time to start my 8 y.o. on a sewing project.  Yesterday, we made a pair of "lounge pants." They were too big, but they are comfy for her... and it was a good beginning project.

Lots of hidden schooling was part of the lesson... reading (directions), math (measurements), listening (to instructions), patience, and satisfaction (in a job well done)!

This morning, before school started, we made a skirt...

Proverbs 31:13 "She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands."