Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Write Foundation


PhotobucketSince writing is one of my favorite subjects to teach, I was happy to be included in the TOS review list for The Write Foundation .
Here are my thoughts...


The curriculum consists of three levels; sentence, paragraph, and essay lessons. I chose to review the essay level as that's where both of my older children are in their writing progress. The author, Rebecca Celsor, is very thorough in the instruction phase of essay writing and includes vital grammar lessons along the way. Each day the student practices various concepts of writing/grammar/usage which build a strong foundation to essay writing. I'm impressed with the degree of detail included in this curriculum.

The only drawback, in my opinion, is the amount of time it takes to figure out how to teach this curriculum. If the author could condense teacher instructions to a simple format, I think more homeschooling moms would appreciate the time and attention she has put into her material.

For more information about the three levels offer by The Write Foundation go HERE.
For other Crew Reviews of this curriculum and others click HERE.

*I received a packet of complimentary lessons from The Write Foundation in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Rain

It's raining this November election day. It's the first day, this Fall, that whispers "Winter is just around the corner." We've gone most of the day without a fire, but it's getting chilly now and my trusty farmhand is working to get it started; not an easy task with wet kindling. Thankfully, he sees it as a challenge and all the ladies in the house, their cold feet included, praise him for his diligence.

In case you didn't know, farms don't survive too well without rain. The Spring held great promise for the farm when we planted about four acres of produce hoping to sell most of it at the local farmer's market. We worked the soil with new implements and even bought a nifty planter that hooks up to the toolbar on the tractor. Several hundred tomato plants were started in a greenhouse by some sweet friends of ours and they'd given us at least, uh..I don't know, 500 or so? We planted three or four types of greens, broccoli, lettuce, onions, two types of potatoes, zucchini & crookneck squash, butter beans, purple hull peas, sweet corn and.....well, pretty much anything you can think of, we planted it.

Then, we waited for the rain. It never came.

Our hopes dwindled so we focused on our livestock and various other projects while watching the entire pasture scorch from intense heat with no rain. The thought of planting a pumpkin patch crossed our minds several (hundred) times but, with no rain in sight, we decided against it. That decision proved to be wise because it would've been a complete loss. And now, past the prime planting time for winter grass (green food for livestock during the winter), it's raining. Guess we'll be buying hay for the winter and prepare to repeat the whole process over again, come January. Maybe. It certainly takes a large measure of Faith and a strong dose of fortitude to be land owners. My respect for the pioneers of the Westward Movement runs deep.

That said, I'm obviously thankful for rain when it finally comes. It's been raining for three days now. The driveway is washing out, yet again, but the animal poop is soaking into the soil and that's good for the farm. The leaves are turning and sporadically falling to the ground and rain helps them decompose into rich soil. Rain washes away the pollen and fills the pond with fresh aerated water. But, I'd have to say I'm probably even more thankful for the lack thereof. Why? ...Because it continues to remind me that I'm not in control. Yeah, we painstakingly make our plans. We plow, till, and toil. We hope, we pray, and some of us. . .beg. Man makes his plans...

rain Pictures, Images and Photos


But when comes to rain? 
It keeps me trusting in the Rainmaker.

Monday, November 01, 2010

A Month of Thankfulness

Over the years, I've participated in various blog challenges during the month of November. At first it was intimidating. Do I really have that much to say? I mean, thirty things for which to be thankful? C'mon, life isn't that good.

Well, if you've been with me for a while, you know I surprised myself and came up with over 100, way back when. I look back over that list from time to time. Most of it remains the same.....well, except that I'm not 40 anymore. I could probably add 100 more things by now. How? ....Because there is thankfulness in small things. It's easy to pass up the blessing of getting out of bed if you do it every day; or waking up with your spouse, until one day it doesn't happen anymore. These are a few of the very things that I've become keenly aware of as I watch dear friends travel extremely difficult roads.



So, here's the challenge. Whether you write it for the world to see, or hold it close to your heart - what are you thankful for? I'll be sharing mine here. Stay tuned...