TOS Review: At Home in Dogwood Mudhole

Billed as “an unforgettable story of one family’s attempt to live an authentic life”, I’ve had the chance to review At Home in Dogwood Mudhole by Franklin Sanders as part of the Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Review Crew. When the review first came up, I thought it sounded intriguing. It sounded like something I’ve lived through, somewhat. Franklin Sanders, the author, is father to many, having been concerned with Y2K and the preparation for what might have happened, a city-dweller desiring to become a farmer, as the biography begins.

I was nearly halfway through the book of comical stories, written in letter form - as they came, originally, in form of newsletters authored by Franklin Sanders and published in his The Moneychanger newsletter - when I started to make a connection. Y2K was a real concern to my family, and preparation for it was rather forming to my teenage years. Our friendships were, more often than not, with families who were likeminded, and it was a threat we took serious enough to feel that preparation was wise.

Franklin Sanders owned a money changing service, exchanging paper currency for precious metals. In high school, this was something I did a little bit of. (You know, in those days where money came easy. Or easier – and stayed around longer, without children and homes to maintain…) Franklin Sanders’ children attended the Christian Worldview Student Conference in Newport News, Virginia a few years before I attended the same week-long conference. I finally called my dad, thinking all of this was sounding too familiar. Turns out, Mr. Sanders’ newsletter sounded familiar because it had regularly arrived in my childhood home for a season. His business was one I used, once upon a time. His name was one I remembered, once I had it in context.

Small world?! I suppose so. This book took on a new fascination for me, as I felt like, strangely enough, I knew a bit of this family. One-sided, to be sure, but it was a fun connection anyhow. My dad had talked to Mr. Sanders on the phone in the time leading up to Y2K. Coincidence or otherwise, it was fun to have a bit of knowledge of the author as I read.

Obviously, Y2K didn’t turn out worst case scenario. Life changed, moved on. The story of one family’s life as they hilariously work to get out of the city, join the ranks as farmers, and lose a ridiculous number of chickens to dogs who take on a place in their family with personalities of their own (and medical bills that make you cringe) was a fun one to follow. As a northerner by birth and now a southerner of sorts, I particularly enjoyed the chapters with Mr. Sanders’ perspective on what he considers to be the very un-Civil War. While I’d never consider myself a Yankee, the War was a far more personal thing to the people fighting for independence in the South, and, as a result, their descendants as well. My home state was still a territory during the War and I get the picture that people there were just fighting to survive winter for the most part. The War isn’t something talked about there. Ever. It wasn’t something we talked about or dwelled upon. Still, I rather appreciate the perspective, explanations, and patriotism Mr. Sanders writes of and shares with his readers. I’m beginning to think it’s something we should talk about more.

Whether you read this book as a like-minded reader or a passive observer or something else entirely, it’s sure to entertain, teach you a few things, and make you shake your head at how life can turn out. With a list of places worth stopping Mr. Franklin discovered in his travels, it becomes travel guide, chronicling life in Tennessee for the Sanders family. They have a story no other, and reading it was fascinating.

With 379 pages and composed of mostly short chapters (Something I, with my limited quiet and busy house of full of children appreciate – never mind my pregnant tendencies to fall asleep whenever I sit down for a few minutes…) At Home in Dogwood Mudhole: Nothing That Eats is volume one of a three-part series. It is available here for $22.95 for paperback or $16.95 for various e-versions. Volume one is shipping now, Volume two is shipping November 15, 2013, and Volume three, I can only assume, is in the works. I look forward to reading them all.

The read the rest of the Crew’s reviews on At Home in Dogwood Mudhole, head over to the Review Crew Blog.

Mr. P.

My dear youngest son is giving me gray hairs.

 

Last night, he asked for a banana. Sure. He chewed it up and spit it, systematically, all over the kitchen floor.

This was after he went grape stomping. All over the kitchen floor.

I set to mopping up his mess, and sent him to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Bedtime needed to happen. Soon.

I found him, minutes later, sitting in the bathroom sink. The water was running and he was drenched – clothes and all.

Near tears in my exhaustion and frustration and anger at this point, I sent him to bed.

I don’t typically mop on Sundays. I was left no option. Entering the kitchen wasn’t an option until the whole thing had been scrubbed.

Today, he dumped the crayon box. Then he dumped his milk – that he’d gotten out of the fridge and poured himself - on the mopping job of yesterday, of course. Then he played in the dry oatmeal and ate it. Twice. He dug through the candy drawer in the fridge. Twice. I was running from one disaster to the next, unable to keep up or slow him down.

You know those kids you see in the store, and you wonder why on earth his mother isn’t DOING something about his behavior?

I have one of those. I’ve DONE a lot of things about his behavior. Some days it helps. And some days, I just count a few more gray hairs at the end of the day and wonder what lesson God’s trying to get through my thick skull that I’m not getting.

The only sacred place is his bed. For now. I get approximately one and one half hours a day to catch up on the messes he’s made before he’s back out, feeling like a new boy and ready to go again.

I’m worn out, huge pregnant, (and keep getting comments about being due any day. I’m 22.4 weeks.) exhausted, and praying my stubborn streak outlasts his.

Start them young.

Mashed potatoes: It’s what’s for supper.

I invested in enough potato peelers for the whole crew last year. Best investment ever.

Pierce was feeling left out. I’m not sure how productive he was… but he tried. Ruby started him out, and he aerated the potatoes for us.

I love having my kids help in the kitchen. I don’t love tripping over them so much… but they’re turning into fabulous helpers who jump at the chance. The supper crew lineup made me smile tonight.

TOS Review: Apologia Chemistry and Physics

At the beginning of this year, I got to review Apologia’s Anatomy and Human Physiology. It was amazing. When another Apologia review was offered, I all but begged to do it. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Review Crew obliged me, and so here I am, for your reviewing pleasure, reviewing another Apologia homeschool science curriculum. This time, I got to review Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics. Sounds like pretty heavy stuff, but it’s written for all the elementary grades, and like the other Apologia science I did, this one did not disappoint. I received to review the Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Notebooking Journal to use with Eden (age 8 and 4th grade) and the Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Junior Notebooking Journal to use with Sterling, age 6 and 1st grade.

First off, my experience with Apologia is limited to these two sciences. I’ve heard of them in the homeschool world, but never used anything else they’ve published. That said, my experiences have only been good. I love how everything in the science world is tied to creation, with Scripture and all, and how well it’s all been explained, with one God, Creator and Ruler, creating an orderly and amazing world. I’ve read Apologia’s curriculum catalog and been thoroughly impressed with the company philosophy and would love the opportunity to use them in any subject.

The suggested experiments range from easy to somewhat complicated, and my shopping list has grown to accommodate a few of the suggestions as we’re able to do them. I particularly like the experiments that have ingredients I have on hand, and there’s quite a few of those. Missing an experiment, at least for a time while I round up ingredients, hasn’t been an issue. With lesson plans just two days a week, it’s been an easy schedule to keep up with and if you could see the hubbub that is raised when the kids see me grab the books – the excitement is fun. The kids love it when I read to them, and all four of my elementary kids (ages 5-10) have listened and been involved in the discussion. Charlotte (3) and Pierce (2) enjoyed the experiments too – even if they didn’t understand! All of the four older ones study what must be a similar curriculum at our co-op, because many of the things we’ve discussed they already had a basic knowledge of. Since science is something that often falls by the wayside for us, knowing they do it at co-op and “it’s not math or reading” (poor excuse, I know) it doesn’t always become a priority in our homeschool. Judging from the kids excitement over knowing this is a review that Momma “has” to get done each week – we need to make it a priority.

If you’ll ignore the dirty kitchen – because around here, it’s either clean or do fun science experiments, unfortunately - I’d be grateful. (If you’d kindly ignore Charlie’s boots on the wrong feet too… she dressed herself. If you couldn’t tell.)

All told, we loved this science, and with this brood, this book will be well-worn through their elementary years, to be sure. We’re learning about God’s creation, how awesome that creation is, and how awesome our Creator is. There’s so much to learn, we’ll be covering this book multiple times in the next years. The experiments we did for Anatomy and Human Physiology are still talked about from the beginning of this year, and remain highlights of our school days. This book is providing more of the same. I love it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hardcover Apologia Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics, designed for grades K-6, is $39.00. The Notebooking Journals are spiral bound and $24.00 each. The Junior version is for early elementary grades with less writing requirements, and the other is for the upper elementary grades who have mastered handwriting and are a bit more capable. Sterling was right at home in the junior version, with wide three-line (with the middle dotted line, for early handwriting learners) places for notes and more opportunities for drawings than writing. It does have cursive for the copywork, and Sterling is still learning cursive, so I had him use manuscript. It’s been an interesting venture in learning how well he can read cursive though! Eden is a proficient reader and writer, and she was quite capable to use the regular Notebooking journal. While the notebooking journals aren’t necessary to benefit from the curriculum (and I really appreciate the book’s suggestions for using your own notebooking should you not have the journal), if your budget at all allows, this makes it far easier for student and teacher and really helps the curriculum a lot.

To read reviews on this curriculum from the rest of the Crew, head on over to the Review Crew Blog.

Sometimes.

I was so on the ball this morning. I sat and did science with the kids first thing, since it tends to be the thing that falls by the wayside when the day gets too busy. I got some pictures for a review I need to finish, finally. The day had promise!

I took a nap. I woke up to the kids having finished or nearly finished their schoolwork I’d started them on. I cleaned up the kitchen, started the very last load of laundry. For a few brief seconds, not a single dirty item remained in my laundry room.

I sent Ruby out to the van with a pair of sunglasses to put in the tote we keep out there. She returned saying there was a cat in the van and the cat had locked the doors. I grabbed my keys and headed to get the cat out of the van.

Turns out, the cat had been in the van for 16 hours at that point. A cat, confined in a large van, poops. Many times. On spare clothes for the baby, on the floor… thankfully, I haven’t found any on the seats. Yet. I am unimpressed. Cat’s life is threatened. Eden volunteers - or is volunteered, that part is unclear – to clean the evidence of the cat’s night in the van. I have a brief moment that I’m thankful for cool weather and that it wasn’t 100 degrees out during cat’s extended stay in places she doesn’t belong.

I head back inside, on a track to accomplish great things for the day. I need to make another batch of soap. Turns out, I’m out of coconut oil in jars. All that’s left is in a five gallon metal pail with an opening approximately one inch in diameter. Coconut oil solidifies at 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Our garage is cooler than that at the moment, since the heat isn’t running. So here I sit, while my canner heats a pail of coconut oil on the stove, plans for soap making postponed, thinking I should be cleaning something.

But, here I sit. Contemplating another nap.

A bully, an icy creek, and a big giveaway from Elisha Press

Elisha Press, a publisher of Christian novels particularly suitable for homeschool families, is launching a new title this week. Julie: The Redemption Of The Backyard Bully is an all-new spinoff on The Reunion by Rachael McIntire. Both books are recommended as read-aloud material for the whole family. Solo readers of Julie should be twelve or older.

Fans of The Reunion may remember Julie Greene, the Gladstones' troublesome neighbor who almost drowned in the creek. This new novel - longer and illustrated - tells Julie's story before and after that incident, through the now-aging eyes of "Grandma" Greene. How can a sullen bully learn to be a selfless friend? How can a jealous young lady learn to be grateful and contented no matter what life brings? What does it mean to follow Jesus in the practical work and play of daily life? All this and more is waiting for you within the pages of Julie.

Author Rachael McIntire says that many elements of Julie are based on incidents from her own life. Growing up in the 1960's, she experienced firsthand the challenges of that tumultuous time. Though the sixties are now long gone, the principles of God remain the same eternally. It is her hope that some of these principles may penetrate young hearts and minds through the story of the backyard bully and her redemption.

As part of their launch event, Elisha Press is giving away one autographed copy of Julie every day this week. By entering once, you'll have a chance to win each time. This is a 183-page softcover book with 19 black-and-white illustrations like the example shown here.

The sooner you enter the giveaway, the better chance you have to win - so don't wait! Click here and put in your email address to sign up.

Just when I think we’re making progress…

The UPS delivery truck pulled into our yard Friday. When the kids went out to get the package from the driver, he’d already put it on the porch and left. They came back in, telling me there was poop on the porch. The man had walked around it to deliver the box.

I asked them to please tell me it was rooster poop. No such luck.

My son pooped on the porch, and the delivery driver walked around it to get to the door.

Complete personal mortification, complete.

Potty training Pierce score: Pierce: 235, Momma: 0.

In other news, I’m doing far better after my week and the kidney infection. Our church had a ladies retreat this Friday/Saturday, though, and I found out I’m not exactly 100%. Staying up late, going for a walk, and I’m wiped out and sore. Slowly, things will get back to normal. I hope.