First Two Days of High School

I can't really believe that my youngest is now in high school. We started our school year yesterday and so far things have gone well. Things are completely different this year than in previous years so it's taking some getting used to. For one, we're using a different curriculum for the majority of our studies. I'm also taking a greater role in her schoolwork and actually sitting down with her and doing most things side-by-side. It's definitely nice to discuss things as they come up and this gives me greater flexibility to determine what needs to be written out compared to answered orally.

Yesterday we started at 10:30am to take advantage of the cooler morning for yard work, but were done by 2:30pm. Today we got started around 8am because it was raining, but were done by 12pm. That included a break to take the horses out since the rain abated for a bit. I know it's too early to tell for certain, but I think this year is going to be nice.

I'm now making bread for hubby's lunch and will make Sweet Zucchini Biscuits as a thank-you to the neighbor for taking care of the horses Saturday so we could go out as a family.

Upcoming School Year

I decided to make a few changes for this school year. We've used Tapestry of Grace for the past six years and have loved it. I think it was more me, but I've been amazed at the nuggets of history that Samantha has remembered. Since we just bought a farm and will be learning how to garden, preserve our harvest, keep chickens, own horses and possibly keep a cow, I decided to do something different and hopefully more in line with our new lifestyle. The most important focus for next year, however, is character training and everything else will take a backseat as necessary.

I searched around and found a unit study on Anne of Green Gables called Where the Brook and River Meet. The same publisher, Cadron Creek, puts out an elementary unit study on Little House on the Prairie and a middle school one on the Narnia series. The curriculum covers history (from a Canadian perspective), Bible, literature, writing, fine arts, occupational education, physical education, health and economics. I'm supplementing with several books throughout the year for history, literature and Bible and we'll use the methods presented in Teaching the Classics to discuss them.

I also bit the bullet and purchased Teaching Writing: Structure and Style and Student Writing Intensive Level C from IEW. I've been looking at IEW for several years, but have been very intimidated by it. I haven't been able to find another writing curriculum that I actually liked, so I figured I'd go for it. It seems easy enough once I actually got it and looked through it. Samantha didn't do too well with algebra last year so we're starting over with Video Text. We'll use Apologia Biology for science and Analytical Grammar for grammar.


I'm trying to get a service-oriented group for middle and high school students started through one of the local Christian homeschooling groups. We'll partially model it after the concepts in Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. I'm hoping we'll get enough interest and can really make an impact not only in the community, but in the lives of our teenagers.


And to round out our year, Samantha will be joining the IEA team this fall for competitive horse riding. This is a group in which the kids are ranked by levels and then are given a horse at random on competition day. They're given a certain amount of time to work with the horse, but must then ride to the best of their ability. This helps separate the truly good riders from the riders who just have rich parents and fancy horses.

Discipling Our Children

I'm rereading a book by Paul David Tripp called Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens. I read it several years ago after I purchased it from a homeschool conference, but think it should be reread periodically as a refresher. I'm learning new things this time through because I'm in a different place spiritually, and my daughter is older and hopefully more spiritually and emotionally mature. The last time I read it was with my son in mind, as my daughter was not yet a teenager.

Something struck me today and I'd like to share it. Chapter 3 has a section that discusses interpretation. Paul says,

"...all children think, and the thoughts of their hearts shape the way they live their lives...Parents who understand that their children are interpreters do everything they can to get them to think out loud and instill in them a distinctively biblical view of life. They will realize that this is usually not done in formal times of instruction like family worship, but spontaneously as issues come up in the course of family life...It is vital that as we live in the mundane moments of life with our children, we teach them to see life from God's perspective. Parents who understand that their children are not simply reacting to the facts, but are interpreting the facts in a way that gives them a particular shape and meaning, will ask good questions and be good listeners."

 I don't think I've ever really stopped to think about this, but it's true. I find myself wondering why in the world my daughter gets so upset about certain things, and I now understand it's because she's interpreting them in a different light from what I am. These are good teaching moments, once we get past the anger.

Paul goes on to talk about "fixing" a fruit tree that won't produce good, juicy fruit by stapling good, juicy fruit to the branches. He didn't solve the problem of the tree not producing good fruit, but only made an outward change that won't last. The new fruit doesn't have any support and will eventually rot.

"I'm convinced that much of what we have called Christian parenting is nothing more or less than 'fruit stapling'...This 'sin is bad, don't do it' brand of parenting forgets that sin is not only a matter of behavior, but a matter of the thoughts and motives of the heart as well. It fails to recognize that if the heart does not change, any behavioral changes that take place will be temporary and cosmetic, because they will not be attached to roots in the heart."

I've fallen into the trap of trying to change my children's behavior by "stapling" instead of getting to the root of the problem. It only creates more work for all of us, however, because the original problem never gets solved and typically only grows bigger.

Our biggest problem right now is that our daughter doesn't take discipline well at all. She immediately gets  an attitude and doesn't listen to what we say, instead arguing or negating everything. It's quite frustrating to try to have a simple conversation with her or give her a simple instruction, only to have it turn into an argument.

Verse for 2012

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

New Blog Open

I just started a new blog titled Adventures in Homesteading. The address is http://dicefamilyhomesteading.blogspot.com/ if you'd like to follow me there as well. Paradice Academy will be used for general family news and school related news, but all homesteading news will be at the new blog.

Pie Recipes

I decided to try two new pie recipes this Thanksgiving. I know, a holiday is probably not the best time to try something new, but I hate doing the same old thing. I've done a pumpkin cheesecake for several years, but this year I found a recipe with a cheesecake layer on the bottom, a regular pumpkin layer on top of that and then it's all topped with a yummy streusel topping. I also found a recipe for pecan pie (one of my husband's holiday requests) that doesn't use corn syrup. I don't know about you, but just the idea of using corn syrup grosses me out. I won't even eat one bite of regular pecan pie if it's made with the nasty stuff. 


Pie Crust 

Ingredients

·         1/2 cup vegetable shortening or butter, frozen (I used butter)

·         1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 cup ice cold water

Directions

1.     Mix shortening, flour, and salt together with a fork or a pastry blender until very crumbly or pulse gently in a food processor. If using a food processor, transfer to a medium mixing bowl at this point. Add as much water as needed, one tablespoons at a time to hold together, and mix lightly with a fork. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2.     Roll gently on a floured pastry cloth to about an inch larger than pie plate. Fold carefully in half, lift to pie plate, and unfold. Press into pan. For a single-crust pie, trim with a small knife to about 1/2 inch beyond rim. Fold up, and pinch so edge of pie is raised from rim.

3.   Follow directions for whichever pie recipe you're using for baking instructions.

*Add 1 T. fine sugar to flour if desired for a sweet pie.

Pecan Pie V

Ingredients

·         1 cup light brown sugar

·         2 T white sugar

·         1/2 cup butter

·         2 eggs

·         2 T bourbon or Grand Marnier (not in original recipe)

·         1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

·         1 tablespoon milk

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1 cup chopped pecans

·         ½ cup halved pecans (not in original recipe)

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.     In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and the flour; mix well. Add the milk, bourbon, vanilla and nuts.

3.     Flour both sides of pie crust before placing in pan. Pour into an unbaked 9-in pie shell. Spread halved pecans evenly on top. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300˚ and bake an additional 50-55 minutes, or until done.

4.     Allow to sit overnight so the flavor mellows and the texture sets up.

Old Fashioned Paradise Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

1 (9 inch) pie shell

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

1 egg, beaten

1 1/4 c. pumpkin puree

1 c. evaporated milk

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. white sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. salt

2 T. flour

2 T. brown sugar

4 T. flour

4 T. butter, softened

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. To make cheesecake layer:  In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1/4 cup sugar, then add vanilla and 1 egg. Beat mixture until light and smooth. Spread into pie shell and chill for 30 minutes.

3. To make pumpkin layer:  In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and flour. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

4. Pour pumpkin mixture over cream cheese layer. Cover edges of crust with foil and bake in oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes.

5. To make streusel layer:  While pie is in the oven, combine flour and brown sugar in small bowl. Mix well, then add softened butter and stir until combined. Mix in pecans.

6. After pie has been in the oven for 50 minutes, remove and sprinkle with pecan streusel evenly over top. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Thanksgiving

*I'm thankful for a husband who does little (and big) things to make my day better.
*I'm thankful for healthy children.
*I'm thankful that my husband makes enough money to support us while I homeschool.
*I'm thankful for friends to get together with and laugh and have a good time.
*I'm thankful for my wonderful sister and that we have such a good relationship.
*I'm thankful that my daughter and I enjoy being with each other.