School Book Shopping & Homemaking LinkUp Weekend

**NOTE**  This week has been a wild and crazy one so I did not get a new post up for today's link-up!  However, I've extended the time on this one from last week so please link up below!

 Good evening!  It's almost time for the weekend!!

Tonight begins one of my most favorite times of the year:  school book shopping!  While many kids are just finishing up their school year, our family is just settling into our routine for this year of homeschooling!  In our family, it works best to school all year, taking breaks of a week or two at a time, as needed throughout the year .  We usually start our school year about the first of February and do a little here and there up until the middle of May.  Then, we really get rolling and do the majority of our school-related activities throughout the summer and fall.  We stop completely right around the beginning of November and take the holiday months off.  This works well for us!  Since we have a baby coming in January, I'm hoping to do a little extra this summer so we can extend our winter break out a bit more than usual!

Our lesson on mummification!

I thought I'd share a few of our most favorite schooling resources so you can get a glimpse of some of the fun we have learning together!

The majority of our lessons are done as a family.  This is the most sane way that I have found to school a family of 11 with children ranging in age from 12 down to infant!  The kids do have their own Math and English studies that are geared toward their specific abilities though.  I don't assign the kids a grade level---they just work along in each subject at their own pace.

For Math and English, we use books from Rod and Staff Publishing.  These are very sweet and gentle books that challenge my kids with concepts presented in a very basic and straightforward way.  Written for use in Mennonite schools, I love how the lessons incorporate God's word and proper courtesy and manners.  My kids really enjoy the "old-fashioned" illustrations as well.  Lynzie, 12, is currently working through the level 4 books in both subjects.  Michael (10) and Elisha (9) are working through level 3 in Math and level 2 in English.  Cainan (7) is just about finished with level 2 in Math and is also working through level 2 in English.  I really like that this curriculum requires copying onto notebook paper.  While the books are inexpensive to begin with, (especially when they're found on eBay.com, paperbackswap.com, or curriculum-sharing websites) the fact that we can reuse these books every year is such a blessing!

We also use Rod and Staff books for our group studies in Science and Health.

Since we're a family of history buffs, we do a LOT of different history lessons.  Most of these lessons are taught from "living books": novels and historical accounts, as opposed to textbooks.  Currently, we're discussing a couple different periods of history.  One resource we are using is H.E. Marshall's Our Island Story, which covers the history of Britain as far back as anyone has recorded. 

A second WONDERFUL series we are going through is the Mystery of History curriculum.  These lessons take portions of the Bible and match them up with what went on in other parts of the world at the same time that Jacob and Esau were fighting over their birthright or the Israelites were marching on Jericho.

The thing I love best about our homeschool is the way we can just run with an idea.  While I do have specific goals for the kids and somewhat of a routine to follow, we are free to spend a whole day reading about the many King Henrys or watching a mother squirrel give her baby climbing lessons.  What a blessing to be able to give my kids the resources and freedom to learn about things that are interesting to them.  I wouldn't have it any other way!

Please link up your favorite posts below and have a wonderful weekend!

Linking with:

Raising Homemakers' Homemaking Link-Up 
Loving Our Children Tuesday
Tesha's Treasures

A Treasured Heirloom: Homemaking Link-Up Weekend

Welcome to this week's Homemaking Link-Up Weekend!  I spent some time yesterday rearranging some of my decorations and things and wanted to share with you all one of my most treasured heirlooms!

My great-great grandmother, Cora Jean Lasiter Bradley, made this for her son, Efeard, in the early 19-teens.  Efeard was the father of my grandpa George.  Recently, my mom had the chance to meet grandpa George's step-sister who passed this quilt on to mom---and mom passed it on to me two years ago when I had our son, Liam Bradley.

Aren't there some neat fabrics in here?

I have been keeping it in my bedroom so it didn't get messed with, but today I decided to move it out to the living room for everyone to enjoy!

Have you heard my GOOD NEWS yet?  Head over to my announcement post to check it out! 

Also, as a reminder, I'm teamed up with Anitra from The Mama Zone in a fun twist on the old-fashioned bloggy giveaway!  Please visit my Hop & Hunt for all the details and enter to win some of my yummy homemade carmels!

Please join the link up and show off your favorite posts!

Linking with: 
Coloradolady's Vintage Thingie Thursday
Beverly's Pink Saturday 

Organizing Happiness by Mrs. Lorrie Flem: An Excellent Resource for a Beginning Homemaker

I recently had the opportunity to read Mrs. Lorrie Flem's e-book, Organizing Happiness.  What a great resource for training an older daughter in the basics of running an organized home!

Do you know a new homemaker who could use a crash course in the basics?  Organizing Happiness is an excellent tool with great ideas for practical application.

A few great things that stuck with me about Lorrie's e-book included:

• "Just Say No":  Don't you hate that feeling of obligation for saying, "yes" when you know you should have said, "no"?  Think of how much more peaceful our lives, homes, and families would be if we stopped taking on more than we can handle!


• "Progress Not Perfection":  We should strive to get the job done well---not perfectly.  As Lorrie says, we can always go back and do the details later.


• "Never Give Up" on your family.  Trust God that your husband and children are ultimately God's children.  Have faith that the seeds we plant today have great potential for future success!


•  "Visualize the Victory":  having a mental image of our goals can really help in following through with our organizational plans.  When I was a new homemaker, I used to make a chart of how I wanted my living room set up when I was ready to rearrange it.  I didn’t get overwhelmed because I knew just what I was doing.

My favorite part of this blessed little book is her section on Spiritual Weapons for Happiness.  These truths are great to apply to my life as a wife, mom, and homemaker.

It's so easy for you to get your own FREE copy of Organizing Happiness!  Just visit the Eternal Encouragement website and sign up for Lorrie's newsletter, Snippets from Lorrie's Diary.  You'll be sent an email with a link to download the free e-book!

Should you be interested in purchasing a copy for yourself or a friend, you can find Organizing Happiness by following the link to her website as well!