Hope Chest #52 part 3: The Fruitful Family
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>
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THE HOPE CHEST:
Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education
Issue #52 part 3
November 2002
The Fruitful Family
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This is part 3 of the Hope Chest Home School News, published by Virginia Knowles.
Web site: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html
Personal e-mail: [email protected]
Subscriptions: [email protected]
Unsubscriptions: [email protected]
In this section:
• What's New at the Knowles House?
• Prayer Updates
• Resource Ordering Information
• Reprint Permission
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WHAT'S NEW AT THE KNOWLES HOUSE?
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BABY NEWS: As always, life is hopping at the Knowles house. Specifically, baby #9 is hopping around vigorously in my belly! He is due mid-February, and I sure wish it were a lot sooner, as I'm keenly feeling my age... I am under close monitoring by my midwives, perinatologist, and endocrinologist, but everything looks good to go so far! I guess you could call us a "full quiver" kind of family. I see this as physical fruitfulness for us in accepting the blessings God has given. ("Be fruitful and multiply!") At the same time, I know people who have not borne any babies at all, and are still very fruitful. I think of my friends Lee and Pat, married well over two decades, but childless. Over the years, they have opened their home to folks who need to recover from the storms of life. Our friend Tim, whose wedding I mentioned earlier in this newsletter, lived with them for a few years! Bless God, their fruit is overflowing!
MY HUSBAND: Yesterday (November 23) was Thad's and my 17th wedding anniversary! Yippee! He's a good man, and I'm glad I married him. We promised to cherish each other and be committed "for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health" -- or however that goes. (Sure enough, I'm not always easy to live with, the budget is a little tighter than usual, and we sure have had a lot of medical stuff going on in the family this year!) Since leaving his full-time job a month ago, Thad has kept quite busy! He has spent 10 days tending to his mother's rental properties in Kansas, amidst taking three concentrated classes/exams for his Facility Management Administrator certification. As I write, he is en route home from a three-day class in Miami. Thad feels that he would actually be much happier as a real estate appraiser, given his unique mix of abilities and aptitudes (he is great with observing details and crunching numbers), so he also wants to take a nine-day appraisal class next month here in Orlando. Meanwhile, we have been sending out resumes and looking on the web for related jobs. Continue to pray for us during this time!
OUR CHILDREN: Everyone continues to learn, despite the general chaos that can overtake us! Andrew (5) has been using Dr. Maggie's short vowel readers, but has decided he's ready to take the plunge into "real reading." He still practices with the basal books, but also sounds out dozens of harder words, like garden, worms, danger, safety, downstairs, medicine, shape, etc. This morning, he actually read many of the words to songs in the church bulletin. I'm so proud of him! Yes, this is the sixth of my children to learn to read, but it still makes my jaw drop when they do this. (For those who are curious, I use my "tandem reading" method which I've described in Common Sense Excellence.) Four of my girls have been studying American history and government. My middle schoolers, Julia (13) and Rachel (11), have been busy writing timelines, time travel stories, and 1700s diary entries for their Excel group class. Excel is also going on a fossil dig field trip on the Peace River on December 3. I developed history reading lists -- mostly library books and anthology selections -- for Joanna (almost 10) and Lydia (8). Lydia has even tackled some middle grade historical novels that weren't on her list, such as The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Calico Captive, both by Elizabeth George Speare. Just last school year, SHE was still using Dr. Maggie's readers! Yikes! She and Joanna had speaking parts in the co-op Thanksgiving play last Friday, which was a lot of fun. Mary, 15, got her learner's permit to drive. Thankfully, Dad is home more now with the little car, because I am not keen on participating in this particular adventure. I prefer the tamer electives, such as sewing! Mary and I are making two shepherd's tunics for the church Christmas play. We've got them cut out, but need to finish up the sewing in the next few days. I'm grateful that Mary is also using her skills to coach her sisters in writing stories and essays. As for our preschoolers, Micah (3 1/2) and Naomi (21 months), they continue to learn even as they mess up the house! Naomi practiced pouring water from the plastic pitcher into a cup and back again after lunch today. I was tempted to stop her, but figured she was just developing her motor skills. She did pretty well, too!
OUR HOME: When Thad was out of town last month, I did a lot of reorganizing. I wanted ALL of my clothes in our walk-in closet, so I cleaned out an old dresser that was sitting empty in our garage, and brought it inside. It needed drawer pulls, so I made some out of colorful cord looped through the holes. It is also missing a bottom drawer, so I use this empty spot to store my shoes. I love it! I have a basket on top for my deodorant and hair stuff, so it's one stop dressing-and-grooming in the mornings. A little resourcefulness goes a long way to make my days more pleasant. The next big project is to switch children's bedrooms this week. Lydia is now too old to share a room with the boys, and Naomi needs to move out of the master bedroom since she has been escaping the crib and the new baby is coming soon. So Rachel and Joanna are moving in with Lydia, and the boys and Naomi are moving into the room Rachel and Joanna are vacating. This news was not met with much enthusiasm by certain daughters, but I know it's the right thing to do just now. We are picking up a new set of bunkbeds tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, I need to move four shelves of books OUT of their closet pronto. This has been my main auxiliary storage for off-year school books and Christian books, and I'm sort of at a loss of where to put them. Some I threw away. Some are in the giveaway pile. Teacher manuals and old home school magazines went into a large file cabinet in the garage. I am a confirmed bookaholic. Sigh...
GETTING STUFF DONE: I love notebooks for organizing my brain. I have lots of them for different subjects, and one main one for addresses, grocery lists, scheduling, etc. But, it's pretty cumbersome to lug around a huge notebook, and I wanted easier visual access to my schedule and to-do list. So, for a month or two, I used a clipboard with my weekly schedule grid as the top sheet, and then any other papers I was currently using. (The other ones stay in the main household notebook.) This clipboard was easy to carry around the house with me and take on errands, and I didn't have to flip it open to find what I need to do next. Howsobeit, I found that the papers often slipped out or got rumpled. Hmmm. Time for brainstorming. I wanted a cross between a clipboard and a notebook. AHA! Here's what I did. I bought a sturdy half-inch thick notebook (which is pretty skinny) and some small binder clips. I attach one page on the front of the notebook using a clip at each corner. I put my other "working papers" IN the notebook, along with a slender 3-hole punch and pencil pouch. I can still carry it around the house, and I can still see and write on the main page instantly, yet my other papers stay tidy. Also, just in the last two weeks or so, I quit using a weekly schedule grid as my main page. Now I have a computerized two-column TO-DO list, organized into sections for HUSBAND, ERRANDS, HOME, SCHOOL, PHONE, PAPERWORK, COMPUTER, and HOPE CHEST. In the top left corner of this, I have spots for each day of the week, so I can put in whatever appointments I have. Then, when I have a few spare moments, I can look at my list and see what I can do next. It works! Each week I can revise the list, deleting the items I have already accomplished and adding in new ones. I also jot new items on the list whenever I think of them. One other thing I recently did to boost my productivity was to batch cook ten dinner meals in one morning. I had a lot of help from my husband, and some from the girls, too. Each meal went into a one gallon Glad zip lock bag, which is just the right size for our family. The recipes that turned out best were spaghetti, chili, and ham & potato casserole. My chicken dishes didn't turn out as well, probably because of the corn and celery I put in. Oh well, live and learn! It sure has saved time to not have to cook much this week. My only problem has been remembering to thaw the stuff out and get it in the oven on time!
FAMILY REUNION: Earlier this month, we had the privilege of attending the Hess family reunion, in honor of my grandparents' 90th and 88th birthdays. It was a big treat to see my own parents, brother, sister, nieces and nephew, who all live up north. I also saw cousins I hadn't seen in well over ten years, as well as their children, and some of my mother's cousins. It was quite a gathering of over 50 people! I especially enjoyed listening to my older brother John playing the grand piano for over an hour in the lobby of the retirement center where Grandma and Grandpa live. As my aunts and uncles called out requests, he flowed from one oldie tune to another. I also managed to get in several rounds of Scotch Bridge, which is the traditional card game played among the Hess clan. Most of my own family was only there for Friday and Saturday, because two of the girls had a choir concert on Sunday evening. But Joanna and I stayed on until Monday, and the relative "solitude" was bliss!
SPEAKING AT A HOME SCHOOL SUPPORT GROUP IN SARASOTA: The reason Joanna and I stayed longer is that I was booked to speak at the Learning and Families home school support group that Monday evening. Sarasota is only about 45 minutes from the reunion, but 3 hours from home, so this worked out nicely. I had chosen the topic "Stress-Busting for Home School Moms" months ahead of time (I've spoken on this four times), but it's ironic because we have been "swimming in stress soup" with all that's going on at the Knowles house lately! At least I can say I was speaking from the trenches rather than the ivory tower. I did tape the presentation, which lasted an hour, and will soon make it available to those who are interested. I'll send a separate e-mail about this within a few days. There were probably about 80 women present that night, all very friendly and gracious. I was especially impressed by the family that hosted Joanna and I overnight. Mary, a single mother, really struck me as a wonderful example of a godly home school mom. Her five daughters, ages 5-18, were totally sweet, polite, attentive, cooperative -- the list of their virtues could go on and on. She attributes her success to the teachings of Bill Gothard and Michael Pearl. She also shared about their ministries of food distribution and nursing home visitation. Our fellowship with them was precious, and I came away inspired to do better with my own children!
THANKSGIVING: This year, we'll be having Thanksgiving at our house with Thad's mom and older sister. His younger sister and her fiance may come for a while, too. It sure will be quieter than last year, when we invited several students from India and China! Joanna's been busy writing out a menu, and Mary is plotting how to make a pumpkin pie and/or cheesecake. (Family Fun magazine has a recipe for pumpkin pie that includes cream cheese, so we may combine these two desserts.) For my part, I have to decide whether to get out the good china. I think I will! I don't often get a chance to use it, and probably won't be up to the extra fuss on Christmas. Speaking of china, my Grandma Driggs bought us our set for a wedding present. It is white with gold around the edges. When I was at the dollar store buying Tim and Sue's wedding present, I noticed that they had matching plates for only $1 each! Of course, they aren't the same quality as my "good stuff" but they look just the same, and our fruitful family of 10 + guests is definitely short on fancy dinnerware!
To all, we wish a very happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all of you, and the encouragement you have given me along the way!
Blessings,
Virginia
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PRAYER UPDATES
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CHINESE ADOPTION UPDATE: Our new next door neighbor, one year old Deanna (pronounced Dee-AH-nuh), arrived safely from China on November 2 with her parents Dean and Donna. She is a living doll, and according to one of her brothers, is very quiet and cheerful.
MISSIONARY IN CHINA: Our friend Aaron, a college student on a nine month mission to China, has been very ill lately. He is travelling to another city for diagonisis, but they believe he has hepatitis A, for which there is no treatment but about six weeks of rest. Please pray for him!
UPDATE ON JOETH: A Hope Chest reader named Joeth was severely injured in a traffic accident three months ago while she was delivering a truckload of donated goods to be shipped overseas on a mercy mission. She is eight months pregnant, is in a lot of pain, has steel pins in one of her feet, and will be unable to walk for a few more months. One of her children is also still in treatment for injuries. Continue to pray for the family for healing, financial provision, and for the other driver's insurance company to reimburse Joeth's neighbor for the truck she was driving! Joeth reports that she has been reading Elisabeth Elliot's book, A Path Through Suffering, and learning the lesson of "All of him and none of me!"
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RESOURCE ORDERING INFORMATION
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For more information on some of these resources, you can log onto the Resource page of my web site:
http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/resourceorders.html
RESOURCES BY VIRGINIA KNOWLES
Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade is a comprehensive subject-by-subject teaching guide with teaching methods, Scriptural inspiration, resource recommendations, scope and sequence, and much more. It has 231 jam packed pages. If you would like a more complete description, including table of contents, click on http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/cse.html or e-mail me and ask for it! $20
The Learner's Journal is an easy to use lesson planner and resource log containing enough pages for 50 weeks for one child. It has been used by over 100 children, with great results. There are annual pages in the front to record major resources, notable literature, field trips, special accomplishments and skills samples. Weekly page spreads feature 9 subject blocks (Character Training, Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art and 3 unlabeled blocks), a small five day calendar (undated), a list to record resources used, and a note area. It comes in lunar blue, rocket red, solar yellow, terra green and pulsar pink. The simple, attractive cover is suitable for all ages. You can see sample pages at: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/learnersjournal.html $10
The Real Life Home School Mom: A Book of Help and Hope ministers to a mother's heart with encouragement and practical tips. Chapters include Blessed and Stressed, In Search of Sanity, The Hallmarks of a Gentle Spirit, Abide in Christ, Theory and Practicality: How Does Education Really Work?, Your Support Network, Life Management 101, A Vision for the Future, Busy at Home, Excellent Work!, Building the Family Home, Cherishing Your Marriage, Little People, The Transitions of Life and The Home Schooled Mom. List price is $16. Discount price is $14. For more information, click on http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/reallife.html
Cassette tape containing two audio messages: Nurturing Naomi (How to Help Yourself or Someone Else Overcome Discouragement) AND Common Sense Excellence. 75 minutes total. $4 (no shipping charge if this is ordered by itself)
BOOKS ABOUT TEACHING CHILDREN
105 Questions Children Ask about Money Matters by various authors with a foreword by Larry Burkett presents Biblical answers in a child-friendly format. List price is $10.99. Discount price is $6.
How to Raise a Reader: You Can Help Your Child Read Well and Enjoy it More!, by Elaine K. McEwan, gives practical tips and recommended reading list for parents who want to see their children become strong readers. $6
Homeschooling... Digging Into ALL of the Options, by Cindy Rushton, takes a practical tour through the major teaching approaches. List price is $12. Discount price is $10.
GIFT BOOKS
In My Father's Vineyard by Wayne Jacobsen is a lush book, filled with lovely photographs and inspirational prose about the concepts of the vineyard as presented in the Bible. Grow into fruitfulness! List price is $14.99. Discount price is $7.
The Carpenter's Cloth: Christ's Journey to the Cross and Beyond by Sigmund Brouwer is told from the perspective of a master novelist. The book is laced with song lyrics by his wife, Cindy Morgan, and with art masterpieces by El Greco, Durer, Rubens, Millais and more notables. It's a beautiful gift book fit for any coffee table! List price is $12.99. Discount price is $7. (I only have one left!)
BOOKS BY NANCY CAMPBELL
The Family Meal Table and Hospitality by Nancy Campbell is a Biblical study manual on these vital topics. $18
ORDERING INFORMATION:
QUANTITY DISCOUNTS! If you order any three items or more that are over $10 each, take $1 off the price of each item.
SHIPPING: Until December 31, SHIPPING IS FREE! After that, shipping to USA addresses is $2.50 minimum and 10% after that. Florida residents pay 6% sales tax AFTER computing shipping. (Contact me for foreign shipping rates, rush shipping rates, or quantity pricing.)
TO ORDER ANY OF THE RESOURCES: Send me a list of which books you want and how many, and compute the subtotal. It is best to check with me by e-mail to make sure I have everything in stock. My own titles can be reprinted as necessary on fairly short notice, but the others may or may not be reordered. Mail your check, order and e-mail address to:
Virginia Knowles / 1925 Blossom Lane / Maitland, FL 32751
If you prefer to order with a credit or debit card on the web, go to the PayPal web site at http://www.paypal.com and send the payment to [email protected]. Be sure to get the e-mail address correct! Also be sure to include your name, address and other order information. This is the ONLY way I can accept credit/debit card payment.
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REPRINT PERMISSION
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You may freely copy material from this newsletter in other non-profit publications (unless otherwise marked in the article), but you MUST include the author's name (not necessarily mine) and this entire notice:
Reprinted with permission of Virginia Knowles from the Hope Chest Home School News. For a free subscription, send an e-mail message to [email protected] or visit http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html
Please send me a copy of the publication which includes the material.
Virginia Knowles / 1925 Blossom Lane / Maitland, FL 32751
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