Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth

Thursday, May 31, 2012

How We Store Student School Work

Storing school work can be quite a task. You want to keep everything yet you don't want it to keep you! As the school year starts to close for many, we are left with mounds of paperwork. What to do? This is the way I organize our homeschool goods which also offers itself as a memory maker.

What I do is prepare two binders for each student per grade. I then take a "school picture" for the year and slip it inside the binder cover. This serves to label the owner of the binder as well as providing a memory of what your child looked like at that specific age. It is also special to decorate the covers with scrapbook supplies, stickers or clip art. I must admit to color coding the binders according to their clothing in the pictures but that is just my obsessive compulsive nature coming out. You can also have your students do their own decorating and paper organizing as a year end project or beginning of the year project.

Inserting tabs into your binders (such as Bible, science/nature, math, etc., or according to unit of study such as bees, pioneers, pilgrims and so forth...) is the final touch. Then I simply file the school work in the proper category. You can start this up at the beginning of the year and add as you go or you can prepare it at the end of the year once you know what you have to work with.

It also helps to label the spine of the binders and it makes a pretty presentation on your school shelves. You can color code each binder to your children's favorite colors or you can just have fun and do whatever you please.

I also include pictures of the field trips taken that year, pictures of larger projects, science experiments and charts that will not fit into the binder. I make little scrapbook sheets (or have students do their own) by pasting these pictures down on card-stock and jotting down a few words pertaining to them. Then, I simply place these memory pages into plastic sheet protectors to keep them safe in the binder. How do you organize your school work?

"Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another:

and the LORD hearkened, and heard it,
and a book of remembrance was written before him
for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name."

~ Malachi 3:16

All the fine print. This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays, The Scoop, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, and Shabbilicious Friday. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. This post may contain affiliate links (which are merchant links that help to support this site at no additional cost to you if you purchase an item through them).

Monday, May 28, 2012

Holding Each Other Up

We as wives and mothers can get physically tired, mentally exhausted and very overwhelmed at times. When you add one extra burden or struggle into our hearts, it seems to bring everything to a head and we can feel so utterly alone.

Ladies, do not be ashamed of those moments of weakness. Do not feel like a failure. More importantly, do not be too proud to accept encouragement and love when they are offered. Daily we draw our strength from the Almighty but there are times when God sends someone to give comfort and care. We must remember that His followers are also His instruments.

Would you believe that Moses, the leader of Israel had these same struggles? He was given a work by God but was growing weary in it. In Exodus 17:11-12, we find him barely able to raise up his staff during a major battle and whenever he lowered it, the Amalekite enemies would prevail. Thus, his arms began to tire and soon he could no longer hold them up! What was to be done? Did not God give this responsibility to Moses? He had made it possible for him to part the Red Sea and bring water from a rock! Where was He now when his strength was failing?

This time, dear reader, God was going to give the task to Aaron and Hur. The two men found a stone and placed it gently under Moses to relieve his aching body. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his tired hands for him and as a result, Israel won the war.
When I read those verses, I see such beauty. It is so touching to imagine the men carefully tending to dear Moses. He was so strong at times, and yet, he was a human who could grow weary too! Though the work given to him was God ordained, it was clearly a heavy burden for him alone at that time. Just like ourselves. We may be doing God’s will, but it doesn’t mean it will always be easy and that we must always be expected to handle it ourselves.
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
~ Galatians 6:2
May we likewise be as ministering angels unto our dear sisters in Christ. Our husbands will always be our foremost earthly supporter, but they are out in the workplace for a great majority of the day. This is where we need each other. It can be as simple as sending over a meal (double up on your dinner that night), offering to watch their children (consider it a field trip of fellowship), or sending a card with godly encouragement (involve the children in drawing pictures and copying Scripture).
Let us not forget the blessings of a few words fitly spoken (Proverbs 25:11). What one sweet sentence can do to ease our pains! A few years ago I was going through a major change in my life and was struggling in an area. A younger woman whom I did not know very well took me aside at a church gathering and offered me some comforting words. Ladies, they were like a balm to my hurting heart! Do not underestimate any small gesture.
Let us be sensitive to every women’s needs. It is not always the mother with many children who require support, but also the women who have not received any. There are also the single sisters in the church who have their own burdens. Our struggles are all different, but the fact that we need godly encouragement makes us all the same.
What we must do is remind the women in our lives that they are not alone on this earth. They have Jesus the Christ and His followers for help! We are praying for one another. We are here for one another. We are one family in the kingdom of God, and we will hold each other up! Like Moses defeated the Amalekites with the aid of Aaron and Hur, we too will be victorious by supporting each other in our daily battles!
“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow…”
~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a

All the fine print. This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays, The Scoop, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, and Shabbilicious Friday. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. This post may contain affiliate links (which are merchant links that help to support this site at no additional cost to you if you purchase an item through them). Painting is "Madonna of the Prairie" by W.H.D. Koerner.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Flying Kites ~ Mixing Education with Pleasure

Kites are a pleasurable pastime in America though they are thought to have originated in China. The frame of the first kites are said to have been made with silk and bamboo. Sadly, many children today have never ran through a field with the wind in their hair and flown one. This is something we plan to do soon!

The Young Kitemakers by Harry Brooker

We are going to attempt to make our own kites and fly them in our field. You can find directions here if you would like to try this. The art of kite making and flying utilizes the skills of arts and crafts (decorating and creating it), mathematics (measuring all the supplies and cutting to size) and physical education (when complete, you will need to run around to get it going).

It can also cleverly include history and language arts when you introduce books about Ben Franklin and read kite related poems and stories. The science of air pressure can be taught through the example of the kite (here is an easy example for children). As you can see, it is a fun project that is also very educational. I love these types of teaching moments where no one realizes that they are learning! These make for excellent summer projects to keep the minds working and the hands busy.

How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning by Rosalyn Schnanzer

Flying Kites by John Philip Falter

THE WIND

I saw you toss the kites on highAnd blow the birds about the sky;And all around I heard you pass,Like ladies' skirts across the grass—O wind, a-blowing all day long,O wind, that sings so loud a song!

I saw the different things you did,But always you yourself you hid.I felt you push, I heard you call,I could not see yourself at all—O wind, a-blowing all day long,O wind, that sings so loud a song!

O you that are so strong and cold,O blower, are you young or old?Are you a beast of field and tree,Or just a stronger child than me?O wind, a-blowing all day long,O wind, that sings so loud a song!
~ Robert Louis Stevenson

"The wind bloweth where it listeth,

and thou hearest the sound thereof,

but canst not tell whence it cometh,

and whither it goeth:

so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

~ John 3:8

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Farm Fresh Eggs ~ How to Determine Freshness and "Eggs"tra Tips

“Eggs have two advantages over all other foods.

First, they are procurable nearly everywhere; second,

the most dainty person is sure when eating eggs

that they have not been handled.”

~ ‘A Book for A Cook’, The Pillsbury Co. (1905)

Do you have farm raised eggs? Below is a diagram which will help you to determine if your eggs are fresh. When in doubt, place them in a bowl of water and the results present themselves.

(1) slightly stale, (2) stale, (3) very stale

All of the above are good to eat except for number 3… the floaters are most likely rotten.

"Eggs"tra Information:

Fresh eggs do not peel well when hard boiled. If that is your intention, leave eggs out in room temperature for about two to three days prior to cooking in order to achieve an easier peeling experience. You can go crazy trying to peel a fresh egg!
Crushed egg shells can be recycled back into the chickens feed as a calcium source providing they no longer resemble an egg (otherwise your chickens may begin to look at their eggs as food which is big trouble).
Feeding chickens your table scraps is a great way to supplement their meals while limiting waste in your home. However, some foods are toxic to chickens such as raw potato peels, avocado (pits and skins) and rotten foods. It is also wise to avoid coffee grinds, chocolate (who would waste such a precious commodity anyway!) greasy foods, processed foods (we shouldn't be eating these things either!) and raw meat.
The chicken came first. Just as God created Adam and Eve as full grown humans, all other animals in the beginning were created in their mature forms as well (making them ready to reproduce and populate the world).
Here is where we order our chicks should you like to start your own coop operation for there is nothing like a fresh egg with orange yolks.

You may also be interested in:

Our Favorite Resources (These are affiliate links which support this blog):

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens

Fresh Eggs Daily ~ Raising Chickens Naturally

Your Chickens: A Child's Guide to Raising and Showing

Keeper of the Sacred Home

My name is JES...

I am an old-fashioned, Bible-believing, wife to my "one and only" husband of 25 years, who embraces her role as "keeper at home". For fun… my three main earthly weaknesses (in no particular order) are coffee, dark chocolate and hardcover books. What about you? My hope is that this blog will inspire you in the arts of homemaking, homeschooling and homesteading. There is so much beauty in this!

Should you like to see other "snippets" in my life, you can find me on Instagram here.

Have a beautiful day!

"The woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, filling it with love and prayer and purity, is doing something better than anything else her hands could find to do beneath the skies. A true mother is one of the holiest secrets of home happiness. God sends many beautiful things to this world, many noble gifts; but no blessing is richer than that which He bestows in a mother who has learned love's lessons well, and has realized something of the meaning of her sacred calling."

~ J.R. Miller, Excerpt from The Family

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