How to Practice Piano in Six Easy-to-Follow Steps


Step One

Sit with good posture and play the pieces your teacher gave you for the week.

Step Two

Smile when your brother sits beside you and invite him to a duet.

Step Three

As he begins to take over the piece, gently slide (no pushing, please) him over and place your arm over the notes he shouldn't be playing.

Step Four

If this technique fails, sweetly place your arm on him and explain to him that you are a budding pianist and would like to continue your devotion to music. He'll begin to understand that you are under time constraints and that you must take your music seriously.

Step Five

Don't be surprised if your brother is overcome with joy and decides to hug you. He isn't trying to slow you down in your endeavors, he is simply expressing his deep-felt emotion.

Step Six

If you've truly impressed him, your brother will even give you pats on the back(side).

You'll never know what music does to people until you begin to play an instrument.

It really does soothe the savage beast.....as illustrated above.

Homeschooling in Autumn

Homeschooling in Autumn
Originally uploaded by jannza

Peaceful, serene, autumn.....

A word of comfort

Flowers to remember

A candle for peace

Colored pencils to inspire

A table-runner from a delightfully creative day

and

A rock from the new homestead to remind me of the south

How to Decorate for a High School Graduation Party..........on a Major Budget

I decided to get creative this year for my son's high school graduation party. No pre-designed, pre-made stuff for us! We were going to forge new trails and come up with our own party decorations.

It seemed to me that decorating with typical kid quotes would be the most fun. Disclaimer: my son did not say ALL of these things.....though he probably thought most of them, if not all. (Sorry, Big Boy) Come to think of it, I have five kids. Put together, they've probably said them all.Correct me if I'm wrong.....but did I see you wince as you remembered saying some of these yourself?

Oh, good, I didn't think so. YOU would never say that!

Turn the Page.....Tuesday

It's the first Tuesday of the month again. I get so excited thinking I have a little homework to be working on through the month and I picture the others diligently working away on their homework assignment too. Pages flipping, plots thickening....ooo, the juiciness of it all. More books waiting patiently for us to discover, and sadly, some worth leaving alone.

In my normal routine excitement (can excitement be routine?), I rushed home with my monthly book from our very sweet but very accommodating library. Like a wise student I began reading early in the month. After only a few chapters I quickly realized this book WASN'T going to do it for me. And you're probably wondering which book I'm talking about. (We could have a Don't Turn That Page.....Tuesday sometime but not today! And I'm not the "boss" of this class anyway.....though she is a lovely person. : )

Pressing on......I quickly drove myself back. This time I walked the isles trying to find something that would be newish and interesting to those of you out there who love to spend your time reading and would be willing to try a new book based on someone's (my!) recommendation.

I picked up several and decided on: I'm still working on history, just a very different time period. Go back with me to the Gold Rush days of 1880. It's difficult to imagine just what life would have been like though we have many books and movies to help us.

Mattie O'Keefe decides to run when her present life is too threatening and a male relationship is too dangerous. Her best option is to meet up with her brother in Deadwood, South Dakota. Bravely travelling alone, Mattie finds that even her anticipated life with Dillon, her brother, is not turning out as expected. Quickly left on her own due to an unexpected death, Mattie must now find a way to survive in this rough society or leave again into another unknown.

Pulled in by the lure of gold, Mattie decides that working her brother's claim might be a way to survive and thrive! Dillon's claim is prosperous and she begins to believe that enough gold might see her through to better days.

Swede, a female teamster who is hauling frieght to the Deadwood region, is moved to compassion as she understands the need to exist on will alone. She begins to help Mattie and comes to count on Mattie's help with her own family as she must continue her trips to bring in more supplies in the hopes of becoming one of Deadwood's new stores.

One by one Mattie is taken in by a few of the town's members and made to feel a part of a community. Tom English is a kind-hearted man who respects Mattie and wants to see her succeed. Aunt Lou, a godly woman, can always be found in the one town restaurant cooking up delicious dinners as well as thought-provoking advice. And Aron Gallagher is determined to preach God's word in spite of the ridicule he receives from the town's people. As much as Mattie wants to trust people, she finds it quite difficult in light of her troubled past. In all of this, the deadly relationship of the past hovers over Mattie and threatens her again. Deadwood isn't safe from "him" and it isn't safe from disease. Both plague the town and bring havoc from which to flee.

Stephanie Grace Whitson is a delightful author. My interest in her peaked when I found that she started to become interested in writing as she taught her home-schooled children how to write. This lady has a life filled with kids, grandkids, quilts (I LOVE quilting), books, a devoted husband (sorry to put him so near the end of the list as I'm sure he really doesn't rank there) and a love for the Lord. I can't leave out the fact that she is a public speaker....love that too! We could be sisters! Well, not exactly, she doesn't even know I exist......

Hope you'll consider reading some of her collection. She has several series to choose from and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I was tempted to write a non-fiction book myself this month about a very cold and wet spring that doesn't seem to want to warm up. But it would sound like I was complaining too much and truth is, I've been inspired to be a part of my first-ever quilt-a-long with the Old Red Barn Co. I'll be blogging about that delightful fun-filled adventure soon, so soon. And I can brag a bit as I'm using fabrics from my "already-here" collection instead of supporting the economy and buying something completely delicious. (sense my responsible side speaking?) Pictures of the fabrics (and sewing progress to come) are already showing up on my flickr account.

For more reviews, check out Some of a Kind and have a wonderful time this month turning your own page. Remember to keep your brain (and body) active. The best is yet to come!

Turn the Page.....Tuesday

Summer of My German Soldier
Bette Greene

I'd bought this book years ago planning to use it for a reading selection at a time when we were going through WWII in history. I wasn't rushing to read it since the cover had it portrayed as a "youthful romance." Still it was a "National Book Award Finalist" and "An ALA Notable Book" so I held out hope for something worthwhile. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased that the characters held my attention well after I'd finished reading the book. I found myself pondering the arrangement of the friendship and recalling another friendship of great value to me.

I am friends with two dear people who love beyond the pain and 1940s wartime memories....one of German decent and one of Jewish decent.

The main character, twelve-year-old Patty, tells the story of living during this difficult period in history. Her family is Jewish, lives in Arkansas and owns a store.

Small town life in Arkansas was the setting for the strong emotions of a war that waged in Germany and in the hearts of the faithful southern Americans who'd sent their sons to fight. Loyalty was prized and the idea of a Jewish girl aiding a German was unthinkable. But Patty was anxious for acceptance and though her parents offered none, she tried diligently to gain their respect.

Patty's tale became captivating as I followed her desire to impress and please her parents. She longed for their attention and love. I felt myself cringing as she was mistreated by her father and as her mother looked the other way and was interested only in her own personal affairs.

Anton, one of the German prisoners, recognized Patty's strengths and through their friendship he boosted her confidence and reminded her of her own personal value. Anton, though supposedly "bad" since he was German, taught Patty that she had a worth that even she had begun to question. Their friendship enabled Patty to transition into a deeper and more meaningful life.

The family housekeeper, Ruth, was one of my favorite characters. She genuinely loved Patty and faithfully cared for her much as her own mother should have been doing. I could easily picture her and her gentle ways.

Summer of my German Soldier was not the "happily-ever-after youthful romance" I feared it might be. There were twists and turns that kept my attention. I look forward to using it later in our schooling as we discuss WWII. But more than the political discussion it might arouse, I look forward to the discussion surrounding how we value others and the situations that cause us to risk all for someone else.


I have already chosen next month's selection. It won't be a children's book, however it will still be historical in nature. Thank you to Some of a Kind for planning this project. Look forward to seeing you then.....

The REAL way to make Fresh Homemade Tomato Sauce

(First written to help out my homeschool mom-friends)

Ya'll had me laughing today when I was so kindly reminded of breaking the rules! Mentioning a delicious recipe without giving it is and SHOULD BE against the rules. I just hate to hear about something wonderful and not be able to try it out myself so I completely understand.

So......

step-by-step

1. pick a lovely spot in your yard for your tomato plants.....you didn't think I'd start you off with the tomatoes already grown now, did you? We're homeschool moms here. Shouldn't we first talk about whether or not a tomato is a veggie or fruit? Did you know it was part of the "nightshade" family? Why, I've always wondered.....it loves the sun! Can I bring up heirloom tomato varieties? Does anyone here want to write the plural of tomato on the board for us? Any songs about tomatoes? "You say potato and I say patato, you say tomato and I say tamato...." And in this group we'll not forget to discuss the history of the tomato.....thought to be poisonous....or how it was often referred to as the "love apple." Please, would you in the back there mind writing up a short article on tomato planting and harvesting..complete with an "ly" word, a who/which clause, and an interesting adjective and adverb, double-spaced of course....

2. OK, now that you've got your location picked out and your history, spelling, sing-a-long, botanical, grammatical and writing assignments in order, let's move on to a few general helpful hints. Give your plants loads of sunlight. If you decide to try out SFG, you'll want 1 plant/sq. ft. (I love that abbreviation stuff....looks like I'm such a technical writer!) You'll be so tired from setting up the garden and planting that you'll need to go out to KFC using your GPS and if your husband is your main-man helper, he'll be needing some TLC. He'll be so happy you got the IRS and a possible audit out of his mind this time of year, the CIA and the FBI off his back, he'll want to get fancy with the garden but KISS. Trust me. And in case the kids are running through the garden too much, send them in the house to make some PB&J or BLT sandwiches.

3. After the tomato plants are growing and you're ready to harvest, pick your juicy fruits (or veggies...whatever you decided to call them). Bring them into the house and take a picture of them before they meet their maker, that's you and God. Get a pot of water boiling, stab the tomato with a fork and put it into the water for about 30 seconds. When you lift it out, the skin will peel off easily. In another big pot, simmer some onions, bell peppers, garlic, basil and oregano (fresh if you put that in your garden - I do!), a wee bit of salt and a tad of sugar in a splash of virgin olive oil.

4. After you've peeled your toms, quarter them and put them in the pot of spices and veggies. Now just let them cook and soak up all that flavor you just created. Stir and watch them melt away into goodness that will eventually go into your delectable dishes. You can strain them to remove the seeds if you didn't do so before cooking them or just let them be themselves and stay in the sauce. I say, let's just all get-along. Stay in the sauce and be happy.

5. Now you can put them in freezer bags and store them flat (saves space) or you can can them according to directions you'll find on www.freshpreserving.com.

I use these in all types of cooking: chili, spaghetti, soups, etc. Don't be surprised when you see that they aren't as dark as the sauces you buy in the grocery. You may also be impressed when you consider how many tomato plants the pioneer and homesteading families must have had to grow to feed their family year-round. Math! How many tomatoes does it take to make one large pot of spaghetti sauce? How many tomatoes do you need if one train leaves Houston at 4pm going 50 mph and another train leaves Memphis at 2:30pm going 45mph and everyone on the train wants tomatoes on their salad? No, the trains never meet. Why? Because I always trembled in fear when I knew those trains were going to meet and possibly crash! All those innocent people!....just for the sake of one math problem??? Not in my story!

Well, this has been fun. Hope you're more interested now in SFG, eating tomatoes, making homemade sauce, lining your pantry with pretty canning jars, writing essays about tomatoes and eating salads on trains.

Any questions? Oh, the measurements.....You know your family and their preferences. Just make it up as you go along, sing while you cook, stir and laugh, offer your husband a taste from a gigantic spoon, speak Italian with a twinkle in your eye.

Want to know how much a splash is? Well, Darlin', it all depends on how big you are when you hit the water.

Time to run.

SWAK,
Jan

Who Says Math Isn't Fun?

"I hate math!"

Oh, such dreaded words. How to get a child to do their math, understand it and stop complaining! Ever try racing through the problems with them?

Really,
On your mark
Get set
Go!

I'm guessing this technique works best with a slightly competitive child but it's worth a try....

And then there's always snack time afterward....