We Want to Know You: Blog

By Shiloah Baker

My words fly up
my thoughts remain below.
Words without thoughts
never to heaven go.
—Shakespeare

Over the years I have met some amazing women- women who changed my life through their example or their mentoring me. When they moved away we lost touch because they were doers and not writers. How many times I wished those women would write-write their thoughts, their experiences and share their knowledge. Oh, the things we could learn!

Many people say, “I’m too busy to write- too busy living life.” To that I respond that there are many people who could use your mentorship through your example and writing about it. Writing about life, the ups and downs and how you learned from your experiences is a form of journal writing. How are our children to really know us if we don’t write?

The amazing thing about writing online is you never know who you will touch and how far reaching your words really are. Sometimes you’ll get some wonderful feedback in person or online, or sometimes people quietly read and take in what you share and allow it to enrich their life.

While I love to share my feelings in person with friends and those I meet, I feel that writing online is my way of sharing my thoughts and opinions in an unthreatening manner. I can also give unsolicited advice and people can read and take it if they want or move on to the next article.

To those who are currently writing on a blog or elsewhere, don’t hide your light under a bushel. How many blogs have I been to that I fell in love with the content and feel of the blog? The answer is many. When I like someone’s writings, I want to get to “know” them better and am taken aback when after sharing such a wealth of information they hide who they are and don’t give us an insight into their real lives. Sure there are some weirdos out there, but don’t let the fear of them keep us from getting to know you. Your writings have credibility when we know you are a real person. If you touch our lives with your writing, please further touch our lives with a glimpse into yours.

Everyone who loves life and family has something to offer. Everyone. I especially love reading from those who are passionate about life, Christ, family, hobbies, reading, writing, etc. and not necessarily in that order. It’s easy to begin a blog and share with the world. Take a chance today to touch someone or teach us through your writing.

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Shiloah Baker is a mom of seven, pregnant with #8, married to the man she's madly in love with. Exercise is her vice. She runs a The Homemaking Cottage and homeschools. In her spare time she sews, crafts, writes and reads. Join us at The Homemaking Cottage Deluxe Edition for 897 ways to improve your home and family! http://www.homemaking-cottage.com/ And don’t forget to join our ezine for free ideas. Free Homemaking Newsletter


Reprints of this article are permitted as long as it includes this byline.

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How the Environment in the Home Affects Children

By Shiloah Baker

“Children are affected from the beginning by what they see and hear within the walls of their home. Their environment creates their taste.” –Arthur Henry King 

From the first day I learned that I was going to be a mother, I began collecting books, toys and things that I knew would benefit my child. I read every resource manual I could get my hands on. Like most women, I want the best for my child. I quickly learned that in addition to providing shelter, clothes, food and love, that the environment in the home is an important key to raising a well adjusted child.

Creating an Environment for Learning

Years later when I decided to homeschool my children I was introduced to the Thomas Jefferson Education or a Leadership Education. One of the suggestions was to build a library of classic books. I had maybe a small bookshelf full at that time and not surprisingly my kids weren’t big readers. I took the advice to heart and over the next four years I gathered and built a large “brain” storage of books for our home. We have over eight bookshelves now spilling over with fun, classic and educational books. More importantly, my children have caught on to this passion for reading good, wholesome literature-literature that educates. Not a day goes by that I don’t see the children pouring through books, rifling through the bookshelves or reading in a corner. We have a large bookshelf outside of my bedroom door which is at the end of a long hallway. When a child is waiting to speak with me, she naturally chooses a book, sits by my door and takes a little adventure with words on the pages. What joy it brings me to see the difference having a library of books in your home can make.

“Every single item is of relevance to our education and to the education of our children.”–Arthur Henry King

How many times have you noticed your baby would rather play with empty boxes or magazines than her own baby toys? Children always want to help mommy bake cookies and can’t wait to learn how to make their first peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Children have a natural curiosity and we should allow them to explore and learn within the safety of our home.

Children learn naturally through their own environment. Why should a small child fill out a worksheet on how to match socks, when they can learn that same skill only using all their senses: the smell of the laundry detergent used, the visual senses of colors and patterns, touching the various textures of socks and occasionally tasting the texture of socks. I have many fond memories of sock folding growing up and trying the over-sized ones on my hands and sliding around the bare floors with them on my feet. The natural learning experiences within the home are powerful.

I’ve made it a mission to keep the majority of commercialized toys out of our home. They do not foster learning like a set of plain building blocks or a life-like baby doll with clothes and cloth diapers. Even though they wanted them and got them for birthdays, my children have never treasured commercialized toys (such as Barbie dolls, Bratz, etc.). After the initial excitement wears off, I find those toys lying around unused with little to no interest. We have never had that happen with puzzles, wooden beads, blocks, or art supplies- the basics for foundational and explorative learning.


Organization and Structure

I used to cringe when I heard those words, but now as a mother of many I feel excited and inspired when I see them. After being a mother for nearly fourteen years I have learned that children, some more so than others, thrive when there is structure and organization in the home. We have seven children, two children with autism and two others with various disabilities. When things become chaotic in our home, not only do our family pets react (i.e. birds chirp frantically) but the children react to it too. Every family has a rhythm whether they realize it or not. The question is- is it conducive to teaching and does it promote family time?

I love reading Steven and Teri Maxwell who have written a couple of books on this subject. They successfully homeschooled and raised eight children and now write about how they did it- it involved scheduling, structure and organization. “God has given us a powerful example and analogy of scheduling in the natural world. Everything that He has created, from atoms to the universe, has a periodic cycle. There is a timetable God has applied to each part of His creation. This is easily seen in the weather. Year by year, each season comes at its ‘scheduled’ time bringing with it predictable changes.” (1) If God uses scheduling, I believe it is an example to us that using a family schedule is something we should do too.
While it is unnecessary and too constricting to schedule all of your time, coming up with a family schedule/rhythm for each day gives the home an organized environment while giving peace to each family member so they each can know what to expect in their daily routine. This is especially important if you have children or adults in the home with disabilities. Eliminate the disordered feeling and house clutter by prayerfully creating your own unique family rhythm complete with chore time.

Keeping a Morally Clean Environment in the Home is Imperative

"Parents now are concerned about the moral and spiritual diseases. These can have terrible complications when standards and values are abandoned. We must all take protective measures.” -Boyd K. Packer

Memories from books and the pictures in the books teach, mold and shape a person. Just as we should fill our homes with uplifting and wholesome books, we should be equally as careful about not bringing anything contrary to that in the home. I heard it once said that if a young boy were to view pornography in his own home he will be a customer for life. Is it worth it to allow anything pornographic in your home? Never. Aside from the fact that it is morally wrong, the risk is too great.

Regarding music-while I am fairly careful about lyrics to the new music, it is easy for things to slip by our notice from time to time. I find that I feel inspiration often to continually sift through the music my family and I listen to. We are all aware of the powerful effects of music on our moods. Music teaches and depending on the words and the beat it can teach negative or positive things. By my vigilantly reviewing music, talking with the kids about their feelings on the songs and reading the lyrics online my family is learning to do the same. Even though you may not always listen to the lyrics, your subconscious mind does and then records it. I think I would rather know what my subconscious mind is recording by paying close attention to what I or my children listen to.

Television needs a filter like the computer. We don’t watch regular TV because the morals portrayed on everyday television, especially the commercials, are not in line with ours. Instead we rent Netflix and buy the movies we enjoy the most. We carefully screen the reviews and ratings before watching and buying movies.

Raising children is anything but easy; but it is so worth it. Each child comes to our home with his/her own unique personalities. I find it fascinating to see how for the most part, children naturally pick up many qualities of their parents, whether it be the habits they pick up, facial expressions or one or a combination of both parent’s temperaments. I have three sisters and while we don’t look exactly alike anyone can tell we are sisters when they listen to us talk or see our mannerisms. It is an art to take into consideration all the differences of personalities in the family and apply the perfect mix of teaching, religion, and love. Children can’t help but to be influenced by the home environment especially when the parents care so much about making it a positive one.



Works Cited
1. Maxwell, Steven and Teri. Managers of Their Homes. s.l. : Communications Concepts, Inc., 1998.

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Important and Famous People Who Were Homeschooled

Homeschooling has produced some of the greatest men and women in history. Here is a list of famous people-people who have made a difference in this word- who were homeschooled:

Constitutional Convention Delegates

* Richard Basseti – Governor of Delaware
* William Blount – U.S. Senator
* George Clymer – U.S. Representative
* William Few – U.S. Senator
* Benjamin Franklin – Inventor and Statesman
* Alexander Hamilton – Lawyer and Economist
* William Houston – Lawyer
* William S. Johnson – Columbia College President
* William Livingston – Governor of New Jersey
* James Madison – 4th President of the U.S.
* George Mason – Justice of Virginia County Court
* John Francis Mercer – U.S. Representative
* Charles Pickney III – Governor of S. Carolina
* John Rutledge – Chief Justice U.S. Supreme Court
* Richard D. Spaight – Governor of North Carolina
* George Washington – 1st President of the U.S.
* John Witherspoon – President of Princeton
* George Wythe – Justice of Virginia High Court


Presidents

* John Adams
* John Quincy Adams
* Grover Cleveland
* Jefferson Davis (the only president of the short-lived Confederate States of America)
* James Garfield
* William Henry Harrison
* Andrew Jackson
* Thomas Jefferson
* Abraham Lincoln
* James Madison
* James Polk
* Franklin Delano Roosevelt
* Theodore Roosevelt
* John Tyler
* George Washington
* Woodrow Wilson


Statesmen

* Henry Fountain Ashurst
* William Jennings Bryan
* Winston Churchill
* Henry Clay
* John Dickinson
* Pierre du Pont
* Benjamin Franklin
* Patrick Henry
* William Penn
* Daniel Webster


Military Officers

* John Barry – Senior Navy Officer
* George Rogers Clark – Revolutionary War hero
* Nathanael Greene – Revolutionary War hero
* Nathan Hale – Revolutionary War hero
* Stonewall Jackson – Civil War General
* John Paul Jones – Father of the American Navy
* Robert E. Lee – Civil War General
* Douglas MacArthur – U.S. General
* George Patton – U.S. General
* Matthew Perry – U.S. Naval Officer
* John Pershing – U.S. General
* David Dixon Porter – Civil War Admiral
* Joseph Bradley Varnum – Revolutionary War hero


U.S. Supreme Court Judges

* Charles Evans Hughes
* John Jay
* John Marshall
* John Rutledge
* Sandra Day O’Connor


Religious Leaders

* Joan of Arc
* Dietrich Bonhoeffer
* William Carey
* Jonathan Edwards
* Philipp Melancthon
* Dwight L. Moody
* John Newton
* John Owen
* Hudson Taylor
* John & Charles Wesley
* Brigham Young


Explorers

* William Clark – Lewis & Clark Expedition
* Meriwether Lewis – Lewis & Clark Expedition
* John Wesley Powell – Colorado River Expedition
* Sir Ernest Shackleton – Antarctic Expedition


Scientists

* Wilson A. Bentley – “The Snowflake Man”
* George Washington Carver – agricultural research
* Pierre Curie – discovered radium
* Albert Einstein – theoretical physicist
* Paul Erdos – Hungarian mathematician
* Michael Faraday – electrochemist
* Pierre-Gilles de Gennes – French physicist
* Oliver Heaviside – electromagnetism researcher
* T.H. Huxley – biologist, zoologist, Darwinist
* Ruth Lawrence – mathematician
* Gilbert Newton Lewis – physical chemist
* Ada Lovelace – founder of scientific computing
* Benoit Mandelbrot – pioneer in fractal geometry
* Blaise Pascal – French mathematician
* Joseph Priestley – father of modern chemistry
* Samuel C. C. Ting – Chinese American physicist
* Konstantin Tsiolkovsky – Russian rocket scientist


Inventors

* Alexander Graham Bell – invented the telephone
* John Moses Browning – firearms inventor/designer
* Peter Cooper – built the first modern skyscraper, the first commercial locomotive, and patented the first gelatin dessert which was later named Jell-O
* Thomas Edison – invented the stock ticker, mimeograph, phonograph, and electric light bulb
* Benjamin Franklin – invented the lightning rod
* Elias Howe – invented sewing machine
* William Lear – airplane creator
* Cyrus McCormick – invented grain reaper
* Guglielmo Marconi – developed radio
* Eli Whitney – invented the cotton gin
* Sir Frank Whittle – invented turbo jet engine
* Orville and Wilbur Wright – brothers who built the first successful airplane


Artists

* William Blake – painter, engraver, poet
* John Singleton Copley – American Colonial painter
* Evelyn De Morgan – Pre-Raphaelite painter
* Christian Grew – American Painter
* Donal Hord – San Diego sculptor
* Akiane Kramarik- 10-year-old art and poetry prodigy
* Claude Monet – French Impressionist
* Grandma Moses – American folk artist
* Charles Willson Peale – American portrait artist
* Lu Pinchang – ceramic sculptor
* Leonardo da Vinci – Renaissance artist, sculptor
* Andrew Wyeth – American realist painter
* Jamie Wyeth – American realist painter


Composers

* Johann Sebastian Bach – Baroque
* Irving Berlin – Patriotic
* Anton Bruckner – Symphonies
* Noel Coward – Musicals
* Felix Mendelssohn – Romantic
* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Classical
* John Porcaro – Experimental
* Francis Poulenc – Choral
* John Philip Sousa – “March King”


Writers

* Louisa May Alcott – author of Little Women
* Hans Christian Anderson – fairy tale writer
* Margaret Atwood – Canadian novelist, poet
* Fawn M. Brodie – biographer
* Pearl S. Buck – Nobel prize-winning author
* William F. Buckley, Jr. – conservative writer
* Willa Cather – American novelist
* Agatha Christie – mystery author
* Samuel Clemens – a.k.a. Mark Twain
* Charles Dickens – British novelist
* Robert Frost – Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
* Charlotte Perkins Gilman – early feminist writer
* Alex Haley – African-American novelist
* Sharlot Hall – poet, writer, Arizona historian
* Joshua Harris- pastor and author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye
* Bret Harte – frontier California journalist
* L. Ron Hubbard – science fiction writer
* Helen Keller – blind and deaf author and lecturer
* Rose Wilder Lane – journalist, ghostwriter, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder
* C.S. Lewis – Christian writer and apologist
* Amy Lowell – Modernist poet
* Gabriela Mistral – Nobel-prize winning Latin American poet
* Sean O’Casey – Irish author
* Thomas Paine – political writer during the American Revolution, author of Common Sense
* Christopher Paolini – teen author of Eragon
* Isabel Paterson – conservative political author
* Beatrix Potter – author of Peter Rabbit Tales
* Jedediah Purdy – author of For Common Things: Irony, Trust, and Commitment in America Today
* Kenneth Rexroth – poet, translator, critical essayist
* Carl Sandburg – American poet
* George Bernard Shaw – Irish-born playwright
* Mattie J. T. Stepanek – 11-year-old author of Heartsongs
* Rosemary Sutcliff – historical novels for children
* Rabindranath Tagore – Bengali poet, essayist, dramatist, songwriter
* Leo Tolstoy – Russian writer
* Mercy Warren – American Revolution eyewitness
* Phillis Wheatley – African-American poet
* Walt Whitman – American poet
* Laura Ingalls Wilder – children’s book author
* Virginia Woolf – English novelist


Educators

* Amos Bronson Alcott – innovative teacher, father of Louisa May Alcott
* Catharine Beecher – co-founder of the Hartford Female Seminary
* Jill Ker Conway – first woman president of Smith College
* Erik Demaine – associate professor of Computer Science at MIT
* Timothy Dwight – President of Yale University
* William Samuel Johnson – President of Columbia College
* Horace Mann – “Father of the American Common School”
* Charlotte Mason – Founder of Charlotte Mason College of Education
* Joyce Reed – Associate Dean of the College, Brown University
* Fred Terman – President of Stanford University
* Frank Vandiver – President of Texas A&M University
* Booker T. Washington – teacher and founder of Tuskegee Institute
* Noah Webster – “Father of American Christian Education”
* John Witherspoon – President of Princeton University


Medical Practitioners

* Clara Barton – started the Red Cross
* Elizabeth Blackwell – first woman in the U.S. to receive a medical degree
* Florence Nightingale – Nurse
* Susan La Flesche Picotte – first American Indian woman physician
* Albert Schweitzer – Physician
* Mary Walker – Civil War physician; recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor


Business Entrepreneurs

* Andrew Carnegie – wealthy steel industrialist
* Amadeo Giannini – Bank of America’s founder
* Horace Greeley – New York Tribune founder
* Soichiro Honda – creator of the Honda automobile company
* Peter Kindersley – book illustrator and publisher
* Ray Kroc – founder of McDonald’s fast food restaurant chain
* Jimmy Lai – newspaper publisher; founder of Giordano International
* Dr. Orison Swett Marden – founder, Success magazine
* Adolph Ochs – New York Times founder
* Joseph Pulitzer – newspaper publisher; established Pulitzer Prize
* Colonel Harland Sanders – started Kentucky Fried Chicken
* Dave Thomas – founder of the Wendy’s restaurant chain


Others

* Abigail Adams – wife of John Adams; mother of John Quincy Adams
* Ansel Adams – photographer
* Susan B. Anthony – women’s rights leader
* John James Audubon – ornithologist and artist
* Alyssa Buecker – director, Milbo Productions
* John Burroughs – naturalist
* Jennie Chancey – historical costumer
* Davy Crockett – frontiersman
* Edward Curtis – photographer
* Robin Lee Graham – youngest person to sail around the world at age 16
* Alex and Brett Harris – twin teen writers and conference speakers for “The Rebelution,” a Christian ministry/youth organization
* Eric Hoffer – social philosopher
* Sam Houston – lawyer; first leader of Texas
* Abraham Kuyper – Dutch politician, journalist
* Mary Leakey – fossil hunter
* Charles Fletcher Lummis – journalist, historian, photographer, founder of the Southwest Society
* Harriet Martineau – first woman sociologist
* Margaret Mead – cultural anthropologist
* John Stuart Mill – free-market Economist
* Charles Louis Montesquieu – philosopher
* John Muir – naturalist
* Raymond Parks – Civil Rights activist, husband of Rosa Parks
* Sofia, Susan, and Judit Polgar – chess masters
* Bill Ridell – Newspaperman
* Will Rogers – Humorist
* Eleanor Roosevelt – wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt
* Bertrand Russell – Logician
* Drew Ryun – co-founder of Generation Joshua, director of Jim Ryun Running Camp
* Ned Ryun – co-founder of Generation Joshua, president of American Majority
* Deborah Sampson – female soldier in the American Revolution
* Emerson Spartz – 12-year-old internet entrepreneur (MuggleNet)
* Herbert Spencer – philosopher, sociologist
* Gloria Steinem – founder of Ms. magazine
* Timmy Teepell – chief of staff for Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana
* Lester Frank Ward – Father of American Sociology
* Martha Washington – wife of George Washington
* Frances E. C. Willard – educator, temperance leader, and suffragist
* Frank Lloyd Wright – architect
* John Lloyd Wright – architect, toy designer, inventor of Lincoln Logs
* Sho Yano – gifted child prodigy
* Elijah ben Solomon Zalman – Jewish scholar


This list was compiled by Compiled by Teri Ann Berg Olsen, author of “Learning for Life: Educational Words of Wisdom”
http://www.knowledgehouse.info

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Colorado Springs

We are moving! Colorado Springs here we come before the end of the year! I hope to find you TJED'ers and pick your brains!

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Taking a Quick Break: Pay Attention to Politics!

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." -Thomas Jefferson

While this is not a political blog, it is my privilege to head wherever I wish to when I feel so inspired. If you read this and do not agree with me, I respect that. However, I don't wish to start debates. I wish to inspire those who are not aware of what is going on to learn today! It only takes 6% to make a change!

If you are not paying attention to what is going on the USA right now, you really need to. Our American rights- basic human rights- are being taken away very quickly.  Please don't just take your information from the controlled media sources such as CNN, MBC, or CBS. Go to www.afa.net and find a radio station that is near you, or listen to their shows in the evening online, or listen to Rush Limbaugh. Fox news is pretty open and honest as well. HONEST online news sources are: www.wnd.com, http://onemillionmoms.com/, http://onemilliondads.com/, http://action.afa.net/

“You and I have heard all our lives that the time may come when the Constitution may hang by a thread. I do not know whether it is a thread or a small rope by which it now hangs, but I do know that whether it shall live or die is now in the balance."
(Vaughn J. Featherstone, “‘These Are Not Men to Be Conquered’,” New Era, Apr 1980)

This was written in 1980, wow, I would want to know what is said of today. When I listen to the news today I'm shocked. The other day my husband and I were in the truck listening to the news and learned of a new device to stop all energy usage in the non-peak hours. The idea is to pass into law and that each home be forced into using it. The end product would be no use of any electricity during the non-peak hours. This is forcing all of America to save energy-the government's way.


I won't get into the health care bill, but this is trouble. Take note of the following quote from Thomas Jefferson:

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

Thank you for respecting my right to blog about politics and now I feel better and we're off to talk more of homemaking topics!

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I am starting to get it....

Picture from here.

I remember when I first started homeschooling and around that time I was first introduced to Thomas Jefferson Education I knew it was right but wrapping my poor mind around the concepts seemed difficult. As I read them on paper they made sense but implementing them seemed to be like a brick wall for me. For one of my book club readings we read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, you can also watch the video here. You will enjoy it, I promise. But in it he mentions brick walls. I assume here that you know what I am talking about. He says, "Brick walls are there for a reason. They are there to let us prove how badly we want something." So for me... homeschooling was a big brick wall. I knew it was right but..... there it is the proverbial but. Talk about information overload. So many approaches to homeschooling and this was not Anthropology that I studied in college. I did not study education, I just studied what I thought was fun (little did I know, that this was one of those things that was mine). Yes we have digs in the back yard, just in case you were wondering. Back to my brick wall. Hours of research... Montessori???? Waldorf??? Charlotte Mason??? The Well Trained Mind ??? Robinson Curriculum???? The list could go on. What we ended up initially deciding was that we wanted to have a classical education with some influences of Waldorf and Montessori so we started out with the Well Trained Mind until we came across TJed. And immediately I knew it was right but the implementing of it was a great challenge for me. The four biggest hurdles were:
1. "It's about you, not them."
2. "Structure the time, not the content"
3. "Secure, not stressed."
4. Inspire, not require."

To address number one... what???? How can I give them an education on what I like. So I send them off knowing how to knit, crochet, cook and scrapbook and how to properly excavate a dig site? So when I started studying myself, I was able to increase what was mine. I had more to share... things I didn't know I would like. Books I never thought I would read. The books that I thought we too hard for me or that they would be boring. Ask yourself at the end of that book that you have been dreading... Les Miserables? The 5000 Year Leap and oh.... The Abolition of Man. I painfully read them only to love them when I was done. Though I have yet to reread them! My newest "mine" has been to become a Naturalist. I have been reading books like mad on Leave No trace Ethics.... yeah, my Cub Scouts find me a little annoying, but they all get their Leave No Trace Award. And i have learned so much about Colorado Wildlife. That's when my scouts think I am so cool. My children came along for the ride. I see my oldest intensely studying Great Horned Owls and he is obsessed with being prepared and learning survival techniques. we visited 43 different locations in Colorado this past summer during our nature school and it was awesome. When you stand at the top of Mt. Evans (the highest paved road in the continental US) and literally touch the clouds with your children beside you. You just can't get that in a book. We felt the clouds we saw a red fox sniff our stroller, a black bear cross our path, peer at deer feeding and relieving themselves and avoided a skunk. We found the stars hiding in the branches of Gigantic cottonwood trees and felt the power of the wind sweep through them as they blossomed their cotton puffs and swirl around us. We caste molds of animal prints and retrieved water by tying a bag over a branch. Ok... list could go on... but it worked. When I shared what was mine and what I was learning.... they learned too.
Uhmmmmm how can I do that with math????????? Another Brick Wall....

Ok... structure the time, not the content. Time...ok. I set time that worked for us, but content. Well this is still a brick wall that I am working on. Brick Wall 1 math. Partial accomplishment for math has been the family store. We got some play money and I set up a store. They have to pick out the correct change for a specific item. Paying for computer time, snack, a new book, other items in the store. It works well and is still very new. Even the two year old participates with his own price list. 2 pennies for snack for him. But the rest... they are still doing math facts until I come up with a better way for this. But the reading is going well and they study what they want to. Once a week I go to the library and they get two topics to find books on. It is working well and we are still refining it.

Secured, not stressed... this is my biggest wall. As mothers we worry about all aspect of our kids lives, at least I do. I worried that I would mess them up educationally. I want them to grow up to be successful adults. To be confident in their ability to learn and provide for themselves and future families. This wall was just conquered over time. As I saw them succeed as I developed, security naturally took over those stress. Sure I have had times of STRESS.... tried out public school... went back to homeschooling. But today... the security is more constant and the more time passes the better it gets. I would encourage you to hang in there... it gets better and better when you trust in your parenting instincts.

Inspire, not require. As I develop, inspiration for them comes naturally. Not to mention time on my knees in prayer is vital. I have found that when there is an area, like my recent thoughts on developing their math skills, I need to spend the time on developing them myself. Its time to tackle that brick wall. It works, but finding the ways to inspire requires my constant research, study, pondering, and prayer. This shows my kids... that you never stop learning and that you will love all the other stuff you learn on the way.

Perhaps you have heard this quote from a religious perspective, "I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it." Look at it from a TJED perspective. It is.. it is so worth it. Of course ask me in 10 years when my oldest is 18.

Anyhow... I am starting to get it... the brick walls are being scaled, because I really wanted it. In the end... they are worth and I won't get these moments back.

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Classic Kids Book List That EVERY Child Needs: Three

This is part three in the series as the booklists I have to share are VERY long.  Keep checking in for new lists. Some of these books you may or may not recognize from your own childhood.  One thing I love about book lists is being reminded of good books I may have forgotten about.  Time to rekindle some pleasant memories and make new ones with our children today.

Here is the next book list:


Series Books:
Mist of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry (and other sequels)
Betsy Tacy by Maud Halt (10 in series)
The Borrowers Series by Mary Norton
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Uncle Wiggily by Howard Roger Garis
Flower Fairy book series by Federick Warne
Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieska (13 in the series)
A Child's Story of the Book of Mormon (series for those who are LDS)


Read Aloud Suggestions:
Phantom Tollbooth- Norton Juster (Just in time for Halloween)

Good Reading:
Dragon of the Lonely Island by Rebecca Rupp
The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumor Godden (Good for Christmas)
Moffats by Eleanor Estes
The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Flat Stanley by Tomi Ungerer



TJED is based on Classically based books and mentoring. Start buying and reading the suggested books and see which ones will work for you and your family library. For those who missed where I got these book lists, I received from a good friend who is well versed in classic books for kids and has a house filled with bookshelves full of classic books for children.  Several afternoons she had me come and copy down the titles so I could start my collection.  Thank you, Linda!  Happy reading, everyone!

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Classic Kids Book List That EVERY Child Needs: Two

This is part two in the series as the booklists I have to share are VERY long.  Keep checking in for new lists. Some of these books you may or may not recognize from your own childhood.  One thing I love about book lists is being reminded of good books I may have forgotten about.  Time to rekindle some pleasant memories and make new ones with our children today.

Here is the next book lists:

Series Books:

Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan
Bear Books Karma Wilson
Weekly Readers book series (the old ones)
The Littles by John Peterson

Good Reading:

Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling
*Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle
Raggedy Andy Stories by Johnny Gruelle
Floss by Kim Lewis
Just Like Floss by Kim Lewis
Dumpy by Julie Andrews Edwards
My Love For You by Susan Roth
The Girl Who Loved Horses by Paul Goble (An Indian story)
Degas and the Dance by Susan Rubin

Board Books:

Julie Merberg

Books by Author:

Lewis, Kim
Ehlert, Lois (artist)
Kellogg, Steven (artist)

Tate, Suzanne (Especially because shes is NC born and lives in the outer banks of NC -Nag's Head)


*Did you Know?

"Gruelle created Raggedy Ann for his daughter, Marcella, when she brought him an old hand-made rag doll and he drew yupa face on it. From his bookshelf, he pulled a book of poems by James Whitcomb Riley, and combined the names of two poems, "The Raggedy Man" and "Little Orphant Annie." He said, "Why don’t we call her Raggedy Ann?"

Marcella died at age 13 after being vaccinated at school for smallpox without her parents' consent. Authorities blamed a heart defect, but her parents blamed the vaccination. Gruelle became an opponent of vaccination, and the Raggedy Ann doll was used as a symbol by the anti-vaccination movement." (Source: Wikipedia)

TJED is based on Classically based books and mentoring. Start buying and reading the suggested books and see which ones will work for you and your family library. For those who missed where I got these book lists, I received from a good friend who is well versed in classic books for kids and has a house filled with bookshelves full of classic books for children.  Several afternoons she had me come and copy down the titles so I could start my collection.  Thank you, Linda!  Happy reading, everyone!

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Flat Travelers

A girlfriend of mine introduced me to the Flat Travelers Homeschool group online.  It sounded like so much fun! Here is the posted explanation straight from the group's page:

"This idea is based on the book "Flat Stanley".

A Flat Traveler is a person, animal or thing made out of paper. You print or draw your Traveler, laminate it and then mail it along with a blank journal to someone in another area, state or country. The host family treats your Flat Traveler as a guest and takes it places they go. After a short time your Flat Traveler is mailed back to you along with a completed journal and perhaps some photos, postcards and/or souvenirs. You look over your Flat Travelers journey and plot it on a map. Some families keep a scrapbook with all their journals, souvenirs and photos inside.

Some families send out one Flat Traveler and other families send out dozens! You can make this project as simple or as detailed as you like. This is a fun way to learn about geography and history among many other subjects!

This group has been formed to give homeschool families a group of participants to contact world wide. As a member of this group you should be prepared to host Flat Travelers from other families as well."

What a fun and educational project to do, especially for homeschooling families! :)

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Libraries with No Books

A few days ago, I read an online article on The Boston Globe by David Abel. The article was explaining how the New England prep school the Cushing Academy is riding their entire library of our 20,000 books and replacing it with digital screens, places for laptops, etc.

The first question that entered my mind was how the library cannot invite the digital books and books online along with the books? I’m all for the convenience of modern technology, but there are many things that technology cannot completely take the place of without consequences and one of those is books. What has been working well for centuries shouldn’t just end because one generation found an invention they liked better.

It was mentioned in the article that the staff of Cushing believe it is the start of a new era. The problems I foresee, aside from losing the pure love of books, are what if there was a power surge? What about the effects on the eyes as people do more reading on a computer screen? Like the television the computer screen can affect the brain waves as well. The author also pointed out various other problems with digital "books" such as sand, liquids and the cost of accessing the materials as many of the materials online are not free.

I'm also not in agreement with the library bringing in a coffee shop containing and encouraging the use of legally addictive stimulants for youth. Not just any coffee shop mind you, but a $50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine.

We travel an hour away to go to libraries in a large city nearest us. We have access to almost twenty libraries that inter-loan. I cannot imagine not being able to browse through the shelves, picking out books that catch my eye. Sometimes the spiral bound cookbooks are my favorites to browse, or books that are warn on the covers and pages dog-earring showing me that this was a well-read and well-loved book.

I write ebooks and articles, most of which are featured online. That still doesn’t replace the value of a book in my mind. Call me old fashioned but I love a book, a real book.

-Shiloah B.


Photo of old books by:  Ivan Vicencio (Pepo)

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