Super fun, Super cool! homeschool helper!!

I'm really excited to share a link with you all today! You probably know I home-school my children. You may not know however that my oldest son has real difficulty retaining information if there is no tactile stimulation WITH the lesson being taught. He needs it the most, but ALL my children enjoy hands on learning. So I enjoy trying to find ways to give them that tactile response. We have done snack counting activities and crafty learning projects. They're fun, but consumable, which can get expensive when you need it every single time you teach. Sometimes it can be hard to find things that are really useful, and reusable! But this is a project you are going to love!

This is my oldest son, Jon Jr., using cookie cutters to practice spelling.

Holly over at Ches Beeper Bebe has a tutorial, complete with pattern, for counting bean bags! You can find it Here.

these number bags are simply backed with pretty fabric

I think these are great because you can play all kinds of games with them, AND practice math. There are different styles too, one style has a "picture" showing an amount on one side and the other side has the corresponding number. Another mama, Laura from Chicken Counting, did letter bags! You can see her article Here. These can be used for phonics, letter recognition and basic spelling words, as well as games! If you made additional letters you could even take it up to more advanced spelling!

letter bags using natural color fabric and hand drawn letter appliques

This is such a cool idea! The best part is it gives you a way to use up all your super tiny fabric scraps! They are called bean bags, but you can fill them with whatever you have. I plan to add herbs to the filling to make them scented! (Just because I like things that smell good) One more tip I have is for parents of  children who respond well to tactile response. If you make these with lots of different fabric textures the tactile response will be even greater! Your children will have so much fun looking at all the different colors and feeling the many textures of the bags and letters! The hardest part will be letting them go when you no longer need them! The greatest part is, if you use scrap fabrics replacement letters or numbers can always be made. (For those of us who have houses that eat our favorite toys school supplies.) I'm off to dig up some scraps and make some bean bags!

¹⁴"And let our's also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful."
Titus 3:14

Blessings to you and yours,
Staci

A delightful recipe for Ginger- Raisin Bread

Why not bless your family with some warm Ginger- Raisin Bread on a cold day! This bread has an elegant combination of candied ginger and golden raisins. It's only lightly sweetened and it's got that warming sensation that's great for cold weather.

Ginger- Raisin Bread
2 c. flour (any kind) 1/3 c. oil
1 1/2 t. baking pwdr. 3 eggs
1/2 t. baking soda 2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt 1/2 c. Bulgarian buttermilk
1/4 c. chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 c. naturally dried golden raisins
1/4 c. sugar (I used demerara)
1/2 c. brown sugar

Mix first 4 dry ingredients well. Add ginger, raisins, and sugars, stir. Add oil and eggs, mix. Add vanilla and buttermilk and stir until smooth. Pour into greased bread pans (1 large or several small) Bake at 325' F for maybe 20 - 30 min. or so. Until a toothpick comes out clean and the bread "smells" done. Slice butter and enjoy!
Recipe created by Staci Schwarz

27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

Ginger although used as a spice, is also an herb. It's useful for a wide variety of symptoms and is very easy to find. It is warming, stimulating, improves circulation, good for muscle cramps and spasms, good for colds, flu and congestion, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, supports healthy menstruation and is also good for gas and tummy upsets. My take on herbs though is to include them in my diet for my health as God gave them for.

²⁹"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." Genesis 1:29

Though they are healing, herbs are better used to protect your health.  I used 1/4 c. for this recipe, but you could certainly increase that amount. I probably will because we really like ginger. The raisins I used were naturally dried without oils or preservatives. If you use the same, you will get a much better finished product. The taste difference is amazing! You'll want to be careful not to overcook this bread because the eggs will darken it and the bread will have that burnt egg taste. You're going for banana bread texture. I used whole grain flour and demerara sugar, which is very natural, but you can use which ever you've got on hand. In case you haven't heard of it Bulgarian buttermilk is just a better buttermilk, it has a distinct flavor. But again, you can use any buttermilk. I like the moisture buttermilk lends to the finished product. The thicker consistency of this batter is what keeps the ginger and raisins from sinking to the bottom.

It is my prayer that when you use this recipe you and your family will be blessed with warmth and nourishment during these cold winter days.
Staci

God's Fingerprints... and Another giveaway!

                              We got snow around thanksgiving! Snow is such a blessed surprise!

Hello again! First I just wanted to give a gentle reminder to take a moment and enjoy the little things in life. There are little blessings all around us that have God's fingerprints on them. I see these things everywhere, things that are barely noticeable, but there just the same and they are things that only God could have known would mean so much to us. I think he likes to leave his fingerprints in our lives. Almost like a little love note, just to show he's there, loving us and providing for us. So for today take a moment to think about what "fingerprints" he's leaving behind in your life! Then take yet another moment to tell Him you noticed and you're thankful. You'll be blessed!

Now to the giveaway... A lovely lady over at a blog I read called "Grace is Blessed by God" is having another giveaway to kick off the opening of a family business she and her mom and sisters are starting. This weeks giveaway is for an 8 oz jar of sugar scrub! You don't want to miss out on this one so head on over. Just follow this LINK.  They'll have another one after that too and this weeks entries will count so don't waste any time entering!

2"And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God." Deuteronomy 28:2


Also, keep checking back because I'll be doing a giveaway BONANZA! Again, this is to help kick off the start of their new business. It's called Gracenotes. (Click on the name to go to their page if you can't wait!) Their website is put together so neatly and these are sweet sweet ladies. I hope you'll enjoy their products as much as I do and the best part is their prices are great!

Getting to know you GIVEAWAY!

This is going to be a fun giveaway! I can't think of a more wonderful way to get to know people than to give them gifts! It's a way to put out your hand and say "nice to meet you!" I love to meet new people and I love making smiles too! So what I've decided to do is have a DOUBLE giveaway! Here is what we're going to give away!

First up is a well written book called Peace Within Your Borders, devotions for home school teachers. I like her perspectives in this book, and they can be applied to life in general as well as teaching! Peace, after all is a wonderful place to be. This book will be a blessing to anyone who reads it!

The second gift is the gift of communication! This gift is Signing Time volume 1. It's a great fun way to teach your children to sign, and learn with them. It's amazing how they retain the signs from these videos. If you've never heard of it you're in for a treat!

 "remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35 KJV

I'm going to give this giveaway one a week to complete, it will end Dec. 13 at 5pm PST,  so that the winners can have items shipped out to you by the 14th or 15th, depending on how fast I hear from you. Here is how we're doing it this time...

You do your best to get as many entries as possible and our very own VHannah will draw 2 names at the end. 1st name drawn wins the 1st item, 2nd name wins the 2nd. Now here's how to enter!...

1. You will get one entry for commenting about who you are, that's the most favorable, remember this is a get to know you giveaway. I want to know more about my readers and "meet" new ones! So comment and tell me your name and your interests. What kind of content would you like to see more? Where did you hear of me?

2. You will get an entry if you are a new subscriber! You can also get one if you're already a subscriber and refer someone who becomes a new subscriber! (they can post in their comment that you sent them)

3. You can get an entry for each time you share about this blog or giveaway, or both, on your pages. Share a link on facebook, tweet, or post about it on your blog. You can also get an entry for emailing this blog post to a friend who doesn't use social networking sites.

So there you have it! Plenty of fun ways to get in on this great giveaway and let me get to know you a little better! Post a comment for each of the things you do above for your entries! If you want to know more about me, read my sidebar info and check out my archives, there's lots to read and learn about us. I look forward to getting to know you!

Blessings!

Sewing with children and the usefulness of a child...

What does that mean? When I first became a mother that might have meant not very useful. I've found that our children, as limited as they may be, are really very capable of being helpful and useful. Don't believe me? Try for a week to train a little one to do something you think they can't do. Chances are at the end of the week they'll be better at it than you thought. I did mention the word "train", I know "sigh".  But let me encourage you dear mother that the time put into the training will be worth it.

A hundred years ago a 3-4 year old little girl could go right on over pick up a sewing basket carefully and bring it to mama without spilling it, then begin to help with the mending. At such a young age?! The practicality of it was 2 fold. They needed to learn young so their skills were fine tuned enough as older children to help with real important sewing, like clothing for the family. Secondly, the older children had chores more pressing than the "mundane" work of mending.  Most blessed of all was that those little hands were learning a skill, keeping busy not getting into mischief, and they felt useful because they were useful and everyone needs to feel useful.

How do you feel when you're stuck in bed, sick or laid up. Pretty frustrated I'm sure. I've been there and I know that having something useful I can do, ANYTHING, makes me feel better. I know from watching my littlest ones that they feel the same way. They don't care if they're wiping the door nobs on cupboards or sweeping up a pile of dust, they are helping and THEY LOVE IT. The smile and sense of pride that comes over them when they feel helpful is amazing. Thankfully, I caught on to this concept early and my children do help a lot! The older ones do "real" chores. But my 3 year old puts away silverware, clears the meal table, folds washcloths, helps with cooking and even helps wash and dry laundry. It takes her 2 long minutes to climb the basket to reach the dryer button and turn it on, but she doesn't care, she's helping. And besides I don't get to see her beautiful smile when I push the button myself! Don't forget the babies! My 14 month old wipes her face, and if left alone with a washcloth, she'll wash the table too! She may not do it "right" but we cheer her on and clap for her anyway, because we're building her up. Soon her time to help will be here and she'll be happy to do it because of the joy she brings to others.

So here's my challenge to you, find a mundane chore, that can be done right or not and give it to the little ones! Let them have at it, teach a little, laugh a little and smile A LOT mama because you're teaching that little one to be a helpful contribution to the family.
A word of warning though, focus on their strengths, not your needs! A happy sweeper is much more useful than a discouraged duster! If a certain job is particularly challenging or boring to your child, find something they enjoy that you can encourage them in and continue building them up.

Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. 2 Chronicles 15:7 KJV

If you're interested in teaching a little one to sew, here is some great information: Preschool Sewing Activities , Easy Hand Sewing For Kids  (at sew mama sew, I love this site!), and a Free Hand Sewing Stitch Guide. We started Hannah with lacing beads, and sometimes I poke the needle into my quilt and let her pull the thread through. When she's older I'll start her on dolls, perhaps she'll bless other children with them, or even explore entrepreneurship. My boys got to participate in a recent quilted pot holder class at our church. They loved it and with a little help they had a neat gift for their gramma's! My husband is a great sewer and is very helpful, so they naturally don't have qualms about sewing. It's a useful skill for men and women alike!

This is my oldest son making a doll skirt for his sister!

 Thanks for reading! and feel free to comment on what your children to do help! Blessings!