Friday, March 23, 2012

Being Loud




I have no trouble with the topic presented for today....LOUD.  I tend to naturally be a loud person.  I have to work on quiet.  When I was a child in elementary school, I always got in trouble for talking too much.  I was loud.  As a teenager, I became rebellious.  I was loud in personality and in appearance.  As an adult, I became quite angry and was loud.  I have no problem with this concept.  


When I rededicated my life to the Lord in my early twenties, being loud started to present a problem.  I felt like I couldn't be loud and be a Christian.  I think it is Peter who admonishes women to be gentle and meek with a quiet spirit.  I don't remember the exact wording of the scriptures, but if you research the epistles written by Peter, I am sure you will find it.  


Recently, lots of anger has resurfaced, due to a move, and things not going exactly the way I have planned.  Did you get that?   The way "I" have planned.......So, I have become loud, primarily out of frustration, and I am sure many people have heard me.


So, I will go back to this scripture of having a quiet spirit.  I will remind myself of the presence of God, and being loud is not necessary, when He is present.


Just for the record, I do believe there is a good kind of loud.  But that is a whole other subject.



Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Learning About St. Patrick's Day

#BetterWriter


I am starting a little late on this challenge, but nevertheless, I am starting.  This post is part of allume.com's challenge of 31 Days to Become a Better Writer.  The assignment today was to read a wikipedia article about St. Patrick and blog about something pertaining to it.  The subject of writing today (actually for Monday, March 19th) is "The Hunt For Voice."


The Post-


St. Patrick’s Day, to me, has always been primarily about wearing green.  As a kid in school, I was always certain to wear green when going to school on that day, be it in the form of a t-shirt, shorts, or maybe even a stripe in my ‘80’s hairbows.  I didn’t want to get pinched by anybody.

As I grew into an adult, it became more of a festive occasion.  And in my early twenties, it became about green beer.  I am not really sure if I ever drank a green beer, but I saw it frequently in my wanderings during those times.

In recent years, I learned more about the man St. Patrick, through a children’s cartoon, Veggie Tales.  There is a little short cartoon on the show Sumo of the Opera that tells the story of St. Patrick.  After seeing that is actually when I believe I began to develop a more favorable perspective of the holiday.

That thought is what brings me to what I want to share today.  When I taught middle school, each class was responsible for leading the morning assembly on Fridays.  I searched for a long time on a subject or something fun that my advisory class could share about when it came their turn to lead the morning assembly.  I don’t remember all the things I came up with, but I do remember what we finally settled upon.  Their presentation fell on a day that was very near St. Patrick’s Day.  Since the holiday is so often associated with a reckless abandon of partying, I thought it would be a good idea to give them a different perspective of who St. Patrick really is.  We researched him, and each student recited one fact about who St. Patrick was or about his accomplishments.  It was a great project and something that I remember with a glad heart, because I sowed something good into my students' lives.

I am still learning new things about him all the time.  When I think of St. Patrick's Day now, I think of the evangelist, somebody sharing Jesus with people who don't know Him.  What a wonderful holiday to celebrate!


#BetterWriter

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Brave






I don't read a lot of blogs, even though I myself like to blog on occasion.  I have a couple of friends whose blogs I read fairly regularly.  Today I read one of my friend's blogs, and she had a link to 5 minute Fridays over at gypsymama.com.  The idea behind 5 minute Fridays is you get a topic and blog about it for 5 minutes.  Lol. (I am laughing out loud because I just explained something that is kind of self explanatory.) Anyhoo I thought it looked interesting.  So, even though it is Sunday, I am going to participate.

 This past Friday's topic was "Brave."  This brings up many things in my mind.  Funny enough, the first thing it brought to mind is a new movie coming out by Pixar called "Brave." The previews for it looked very interesting especially since the hero in the story is actually a heroine with long flowing red hair.  I researched it a little bit, and was a little disappointed when I found out it was more like a fairy tale in Disney fashion than most of the original material Pixar has produced in the past. (I am not against Disney.  I was just excited at the prospect of something original by Pixar.  This will be their first film where the protagonist is a female.)   Anyhoo, back to the topic of brave.  At the moment, the characteristic of bravery is something I don't think describes me very much.  I am living in a new place, with new people, and a new routine.  It is a very difficult thing, and I don't feel very brave.  I guess it requires some bravery to not totally give up, but to keep going.  However, if there is an emotion connected with being brave, I ain't feeling it.

(5 minutes up)










Monday, March 12, 2012

Springtime Activities For Your Homeschool


"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from
the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:"
~Genesis 1:14~

The first day of spring this year is on Tuesday, March 20th.  During the season of spring, there is rebirth, regrowth and renewal in the earth.  In this post, I will share a list of fun activities you and your student can do, including a few fun field trips that demonstrate these three concepts related to spring.


1.  Visit the Tulsa Zoo on April 6th-7th for Springfest.  Investigate the zoos in your area.  I am sure many of them have activities or events related to spring.

http://www.tulsazoo.org/events/springfest/

2.  Visit the Butterfly Jungle at the SanDiego Zoo on April 9th-May 8th.  This is something else you can explore at the local zoo in your area.  I know at one time they had a butterfly exhibit you could walk into in Tulsa.

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/butterflyjungle/

3.  Visit a local greenhouse to kick-off the spring regrowth activity of gardening. If you don't have a local greenhouse in your area, check out this virtual tour-

http://academic.kellogg.edu/herbrandsonc/bio111/greenhouse.htm

4.  Visit a local farmer's market and learn about fresh grown produce.  If you live on Oahu in Hawaii, there are many to choose from. (To combine #3 and #4 of my list, start your own garden.  If your children are small, start off small, teaching them about seeds and just grow one thing.)

http://kapiolani.hawaii.edu/object/farmersmarket.html

5.  Visit a farm.  During the spring many babies are born. Fresh produce is being grown.  One such farm can be found in McBee, South Carolina.  Students can pick their own container of fruit on the field trip.

http://www.macspride.com/

6.  Grow your own butterflies.  You can buy a butterfly garden at Insect Lore. We have actually done this in my house and it worked out beautifully.  It was very bittersweet releasing them when it was time.

http://www.shop-insectlore.com/Butterflies/




7.  Read children's literature that pertain to the season of spring.  One good choice would be Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. You can discuss seasons, including spring, while reading the book.  There are many, many lesson plans on the internet to go with this book.  Here's one-

http://staffwww.fullcoll.edu/janderson/children's%20lit/sample%20lesson%20plan.pdf

I hope this list has given you some ideas about what you can do to teach your child about spring.  Do your own research.  Find out what is available in your area.  Google "spring activities."  There are so many hands-on activities we can do to teach our children about the beautiful season of spring.  If you cannot go on any field trips, take one in your own backyard.  Get dirty!  Find out what is happening in nature right outside your home.

Have a beautiful spring everyone!
~Beth

“Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.” 
― Victor Hugo



*This post originally appeared at Growing Your Homeschool.