Reading Gallery/Lukugalleria

Reading, photography, and one of my sweet, wonderful daughters.
Lukemista, valokuvausta, ja yksi ihanista tytöistäni.

Tapestry

Did you know today was Maria von Trapp's birthday? She would have been 109 years old (she passed away in 1987).

Our family watched the Sound of Music (again) this month - what a fantastic movie! The documentary was fascinating also, so I went ahead and ordered Maria von Trapp's book "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers".

Tonight I read from chapter eleven:

"It will be very interesting one day to follow the pattern of our life as it is spread out like a beautiful tapestry. As long as we live here we see only the reverse side of the weaving, and very often the pattern, with its threads running wildly, doesn't seem to make sense. Some day, however, we shall understand..."



So true. I remember reading Corrie ten Boom's poem Tapestry years ago, and it has helped me through some rough patches where it has been difficult to understand the will of God. My prayer is for these words to comfort you, too.


My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.
Oft' times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.
Not 'til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned
He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.

Corrie Ten Boom (The Tapestry Poem)

Bedtime Stories/Iltalukemista

Quiet evenings, bedtime stories, little girls.



Cozy cubbies, soft blankets, warm snuggles.



Berenstain Bears and Henry and Mudge.



Learning to read.



Learning to love reading.



Little Miss, let the stories take you to new heights, discover new worlds as you turn to a another page.


“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!


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Lukeminen on ollut tuskaa Pikkuneidille. Nämä iltahetket kirjojen ja pienen lukulampun kanssa toivottavasti tuovat elinikäisen rakkauden lukemiseen.

Cryptic Mind Benders Review

In exchange for a blog review, Critical Thinking Company sent our family these two math books: Cryptic Mind Benders Classic Jokes and Cryptic Mind Benders Famous Quotations.

Both math books are geared toward 3-12th graders, and they develop algebraic thinking and teach basic programming operations. Each book is $10.99 (at the moment), and an electronic version is also available at the same price.

These books are chock full of activities where the student needs to break a secret code so he/she can solve a joke or a famous quotation. To break the code, the student will have to apply logic and mathematical reasoning to three sets of clues. Once he/she breaks the code, the cryptogram can be solved by substituting the numbers to their corresponding code letters.

We've had these two books for a few about a month now for reviewing. I think they are fantastic! I love how they teach math and algebraic thinking without the student even realizing they are learning. It is actually fun to crack the codes.

I was really surprised at my four 8th graders reactions, though. Missy has been the one who has loved cracking the codes. She is really enjoying the joke book, and has finished more than half the book already. She just keeps checking with me:"this is just for fun, right? - not for school?", and I affirm her: "yes, it is not for school, it is just for fun", and I chuckle inside. (Heh.)

I really thought my boys would love these books, but I have to be honest, they have not really been interested. I have waited the month to see if they would start cracking codes, but so far they haven't. Mr. D had helped Missy on the first one, but that was it. (They are really missing out.)

Missy has done the first activity in the Famous Quotations book, but she doesn't find it as interesting. My guess is she'll get into it, too, as soon as she has finished the Classic Jokes book. (Unless they boys realize how much fun these books are, and take over for her.) The jokes have been very cute, appropriate, and fun to crack. In the Famous Quotations students will find quotations from famous thinkers such as Albert Einstein, Voltaire, Socrates, and many more.

Despite my boys' current lack of interest, we heartily recommend both Cryptic Mind Benders Classic Jokes and Famous Quotations books. I think they would make a wonderful addition to any homeschool curriculum, or would be great as No-School-Books-Just-For-Fun for anyone:)

Thank you, Critical Thinking Company for providing us with these books. All the links are non-affiliated, and our opinions are entirely honest, and our own.

First Grade Curriculum/Ekaluokkaisen koulumateriaali

After much agonizing thought and review we settled on the kindergarten/first grade book bundle from Critical Thinking Company for Little Miss (age 6). And the much anticipated box arrived today for our Miss Sunshine (Missy's old shirt).

Little Miss could not wait to dig into her box! It was quite heavy, and as we opened it, the books seemed thicker and bigger than expected, almost overwhelmingly so. Two thoughts from mom:
- yikes! what have we gotten ourselves into?
- do we have to haul all these books all over the country as we travel??

But I'm glad I didn't say anything out loud as Little Miss opened her first book, and wanted to get going. At one sitting she finished 23 (yes, twenty-three!!!!) pages of Mathematical Reasoning Level A book, moved onto Mind Benders Book 2, completed four puzzles (and would have kept going if mom hadn't needed a break). She also did the first page of Thinker Doodles A1, started on page 2, and started on the first assignment of Half'n Half Animals A1. She probably would have continued ever more, but it was time for mom and dad to go for a walk, so we decided to take a break.

Little Miss obviously loves her new books! Which makes mom pretty excited, too. These school books are nothing like what I have been exposed to before (we didn't start homeschooling until our older kids were in 5th grade), and I have to say - I'm in love with our first grade curriculum ((swoon)). Yes, traveling with all these books will be a pain, but at least the older kids' schooling is on their computers (AOP Monarch).

We are also planning to use The Jesus Storybook Bible Curriculum Kit and various other resources for first grade (Atelier Art, Starfall, Bob books etc.), and plan to review some of these on the blog as well, later on. We'll continues our weekly library visits, daily book readings and daily outside activities as well. Oh, and there are also three sets of manipulatives recommended to be purchased with this book bundle, which we also got. Some were cheaper on Amazon ;-)

We were not given any of the books or any discounts of this material for review purposes, we are just so excited with it we wanted to share with you all. I'm sure there will be a half year review again, at some point.

If you haven't read our page on homeschooling, I should mention that being excited about a homeschool curriculum is totally a God-thing. I never wanted to homeschool, and even though this will be our fourth year, there is still a big part of me who is moaning and groaning about the whole thing. I am very thankful there are such great curricula available even for moms like me, who got into homeschooling kicking and screaming very somewhat reluctantly.

I am joining Collage Friday with Mary at Homegrown Learners and Hip Homeschool Hop with this post. Click the buttons for other entries.

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Pikkuneidin ekaluokan kotikoulumateriaali saapui tänään, ja me olemme molemmat ihan seitsemännessä taivaassa! Pikkuneiti teki yhdellä istumalla noin 30 sivua eri kirjoista, ja olisi jatkanut jos opettaja ei olisi lähtenyt kävelylle. 

Aika painava pino kirjoja, mikä ei ole kovin kätevää meille matkaajille, mutta niin Pikkuneiti kuin opettajakin tykkäsi materiaalista niin paljon, että ehdottomasti pidämme tämän oppimateriaalin.

Meille ei maksettu postauksen kirjauksesta tai annettu mitään alennuksia, tein postauksen ihan omasta innostuksestamme:) Mikä sekin on ihan Jumalan ihme, koska minä en koskaan halunnut aloittaa kotikoulun pitoa - se vain toimii meidän nomadielämällemme..

Wait No More

********* Thank you for participating in the giveaway - pikkuthti is our winner!

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, it shouldn't come as a surprise adoption is near and dear to my heart. As is reading. So this past Fall when Focus on the Family was looking for bloggers to review a new adoption book, I happily signed up. The book arrived in November, and I actually read it right away, but with the busy holidays and being on the road I didn't get to do the book review until now.

"Wait No More" by Kelly & John Rosati is a story of their family and how it grew through adoption. The Rosatis adopted their four children through the domestic foster care system. The book is written from Kelly's viewpoint. It is a Focus on the Family book, published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. in 2011.

The book starts dramatically in the middle of having their first foster child, a very challenging time for Kelly and John. Many would turn away from foster care adoption after such rocky first experience, yet the Rosatis realized the great need foster care children have, and opened their hearts and their home to children waiting for a family. I was hooked to their story from page one.

Even though our family has also grown via adoption, I have to admit I didn't know a whole lot about the foster care system before reading this book. It was definitely an eye-opener, and I would say this book is a must-read for anyone considering adoption, especially through domestic foster care. The Rosatis share openly and honestly the challenges and joys in their adoption journey.

And there are many. Both challenges, and joys and blessings. Wait No More is a well-written, beautiful story of God's call and His faithfulness as the Rosatis pursued to follow His plan. Kelly writes:

"You see, John and I have learned that God's plan for us through adoption was even better than we could have imagined. We've learned personally about God's faithfulness through the dark times. We know He'll be there no matter what else comes our way. What a gift that is!

We want to encourage folks who are feeling that urge, that gentle pushing of the Lord's hand at your back, to get involved with foster care or adoption. Don't be afraid to go for it. There could be a child out there who needs you desperately. You could make a difference in his or her life. God may have a new adventure in store for your family. Be open. Follow where God leads."

You can buy the book here.

As our family is still in transit stage (not really homeless, but...!), I would like to bless one of my readers by sending my (gently read) copy of Wait No More to them. Leave a comment with this post, and on January 18th I will let the True Random Number Generator pick a winner. Make sure to include a way for me to contact you, if I can't get a hold of you I have to pick a new winner. Good luck!