Taking Care of You - Part Eight

Welcome back to our “Taking Care of YOU” series. This is the final installment in this series.  If you missed any parts please click on these links—Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7—to read those posts before continuing here.

   Find ways to help others.

Along with hobbies, it is important to many of us to give back to our community. Can you read to the elderly, sew nap quilts for the abused children's home, or help out at the library from time to time? You will find that time spent in service to others not only improves your community, but also your own outlook.

I hope that these last few weeks’ suggestions have helped you to see the importance of taking care of YOU, the caretaker! When you get some time to continue your own personal growth, you will find more patience with your family and your homeschooling efforts.

As you begin to take care of your needs, your children will learn a valuable lesson—that everyone has needs that are very important. As parents, our needs tend to get pushed to the background and set aside, and this isn't healthy for the individual or the family.

Remember to seek help and support when you are feeling stressed. You are not alone, and your needs are very important! As they say around our house, "When Mama ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy!"

Take care of YOU, and God bless!

Amanda B.

Scotland, Geography, and the Learn to Burn Gene

Many times in my life as a wife and mom, I have had a tendency to forget that I was cooking. I would easily become totally wrapped up in some project with the kids or writing a new book and forget that I was cooking. I own the website www.SmokeDetectorCooking.com—seriously! For all of these years, I thought that I was simply domestically challenged. However, while learning about the nations of the U.K. with our children, I made a HUGE discovery!

 

When we began learning about Scotland, land of our ancestors, the children wanted to learn more about our family’s clan. In the process of doing this, we investigated the clan castle and some of our wilder ancestors. The kids LOVED this part and still tell the tales of these great, wild forefathers. All of this was wonderful, and they loved the history, beauty, science, people, and stories of Scotland. But there was ONE more bonus lesson in the mix for me, the homeschooling mom who can’t cook.

Just imagine my surprise when I learned that our clan’s ancestral castle suffered a major fire back in the 13^th century after it was newly built. As we were reading this and imagining the horror of the fire, the kids could NOT figure out why I started laughing and couldn’t quit. I finally shared my research “find.” The fire started in the main kitchen area! J

Blessings,

Amanda B.

 

PS - Our Passport Geography titles are all on sale this week - don't miss the opportunity to explore Europe with your family!

 

Join the Adventure - The World is Waiting for you!

Which would you rather have learned geography from: a dry and boring textbook OR a virtual field trip, full of interesting places, people, science, history, the arts, the food, and much more? Here's your chance to take off on a learning adventure!

Pack up and get ready to travel across Europe with Amanda Bennett's new Passport Geography series! These one-week unit studies were developed to provide your student with virtual tours of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and now Italy too. Each study explores the geography of the nation, as well as some of its history, art, literature, landmarks, and interesting people.

Get the entire family in on the adventure! Whether you have elementary, high school, or a range of students, there are options to suit your needs.  This week we're not only spotlighting the newest Passport study, Passport Italy, but we're also featuring the entire series with special, discounted pricing.

For a limited time--Buy 5, Save $5 More!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to the second week of our Olympics 2012Facebook Co-op!

 Last week was quite a learning adventure at the London Olympics, as well as here on our Facebook gathering. There were some spectacular achievements and touching moments of firsts and finals for athletes Gabby Douglas, Oscar Pistorius, and Michael Phelps. One thing we have seen over and over again is that athletes who make it to the Olympics work hard, train hard, and give it everything they’ve got—they never quit.

The stories and testimonies of Christian athletes have spoken to our hearts and strengthened our faith. One of my favorite quotes so far was from Gabby Douglas when she won the gold medal: “I give all the glory to God. It’s kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes up to Him and the blessings fall down on me.”

This week, we are going to see some fantastic competition in areas like athletics, cycling, diving, and volleyball. We will meet many more athletes and hear their stories of trial, perseverance, and incredible effort—and their stories will stay with us for years to come. Through stories of country, culture, faith, and training, they will teach us about struggle and facing challenges.

Thanks for joining us as we continue our Olympics Co-op! I look forward to sharing and seeing what you discover and share in this coming week of the games.

Blessings,

 Amanda B.

A Giveaway to Help You Get Away!

Do you wish you could take a month-long trip to Europe?  See the amazing sites, explore historic places, experience the local culture, and eat the delicious food--but don't have room in your budget?

 USAB has a giveaway to help you get away! 

Passport Geography  K - 12 Combo Prize Pack
Retail value - $51.80

4 Titles--United Kingdom, France, Germany and NEW--Italy  

Passport Geography - these one-week studies use a cross-curricular approach (covering geography, history, science, etc.) to take you on virtual journeys around the globe. Each  K - 12 Combo Package is interactive, including daily lessons for both elementary grades and Jr/Sr High grades, with no prep required.

Each study is an in-depth, virtual field trip, a complete immersion into the country so that the student will see things as a "whole" instead of bits and pieces learned throughout their education.

Lapbooking, included in the Scout level (K - 6), brings a lively, creative project appeal to this series in a simple, ready-to-use format. These activities are made to be easy enough for a beginner, but "meaty” enough for children who have been lapbooking for a long time.

Research and writing skills are especially emphasized for the Explorer Level for Jr/Sr High grades. Reading skills are honed using the various books studied. Thinking skills mature through hands-on activities and problem analysis.

So, are you ready to go? 

Taking Care of You - Part Seven

Welcome back to our “Taking Care of YOU” series. This is part 6. . If you missed Part 1, 2, 3 or 4 please click on these links—Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6—to read those posts before continuing here.

      

         Make time to see just how far you have come!

Go back through photo albums and scrapbooks occasionally. Look back over goals from years past. See just how far your family has come. You may also notice some new directions that need to be taken.

Stay tuned right here for the final “Taking Care of YOU” post in just a few days!

Blessings,

Amanda B.

 

The Playbook

 

Today we are thrilled to welcome our guest blogger, Barb Cash! She is a long-time friend and fellow homeschool mom, as well as a very gifted writer and speaker.

Her husband, Tim, is a former professional baseball player and currently pastors The Oasis Church in Loganville, GA, and they have five terrific sports-addicted kids.

Please welcome Barb and read the words that she shares today. Don't forget to leave a comment for her and make her feel right at home here on the USAB blog!

Many thanks,

Amanda B.

Our oldest daughter, Rachel, babysits for a member of the Atlanta Falcons. One Friday night he and his wife were going out, so she went to care for their two sweet little ones. She had not been there long when she called, obvious excitement in her voice.
"Mama, you're never going to guess what I am staring at right now!"

I quickly racked my brain to try and come up with a reasonable explanation for her fervor, but I was left wondering. I guess I should digress at this point and let you know that Rachel is a rather unusual teenage girl. She is a sports junkie, and nothing makes her come alive like a good baseball, football, or basketball game! Given that knowledge, I figured it must be sports related, but the details escaped me! I told her I gave up.

"I am staring at the playbook for the game between the Falcons and the Eagles this Sunday. The real playbook. The key to everything that is going to take place on the field this week!"
When I got done laughing and inwardly rolling my eyes, I admonished her not to even open the cover! "Oh, I wouldn't," she replied, "but it sure is one of the prettiest things I have ever seen!" (I told you she was rather unusual.) After telling her I thought it would be okay to take a picture of the cover with her phone, I hung up and shook my head. What a nut!

Last night while lying in bed, though, I revisited our conversation (with a giggle, of course) and suddenly I was struck with a thought. How many people are facing the Playbook for the game of life, but never do more than stare at the cover? You with me? I am referring to the Bible, of course!

The Falcons playbook was designed specifically for the opponent they were going to be facing that particular Sunday. The Bible was given to us so we would be prepared to meet the opponent we will go up against every day from now to eternity—Satan!

Why then do we fail to open our Playbook and read what the One who has already been victorious shares with us are our best offensive tactics? Football players know that it is to their benefit to focus on their offense and rack up the points so as to not have to rely too heavily on their defense. A good defense is necessary, but if the offense is on their game, the defense is not exhausted to quite the same extent.

It's the same for us in life. The Lord has laid out in a very clear and concise way what our best offensive plan of attack is. He has also laid out a defensive plan, but if we employ the offensive tactics, the defensive ones are not as necessary. We are able to live a victorious life without always trying to dig ourselves out of a hole.

The reality that we face an opponent who is alive and well and seeking to annihilate us at any moment is a given. Why enter the battle each day without having read the Playbook and seeing what patterns the Coach thinks we should run that day then? It's all there—everything we'll need to play effectively.

- Barb Cash
www.BarbCash.com