Introducing This Grace Place Book Club

Announcing 

This Grace Place Book Club!!!

I had mentioned earlier this year about starting a book club, and now I would like to cordially invite you, my readers, to join my book club. I enjoy reading and having someone to chat with about the book. Really, there is only so much my dear husband wants to hear about my mom books. 😉


Here are my thoughts about how I will be preceding with this fun idea. I have a good selection of books that I would love to read with a group of like-minded moms. We will meet every other week in a private Facebook group to discuss each chapter until we finish the book.

Sometimes the book will be a Mom book, a book about the CM method, a devotional, a classic, or Christian fiction. This book club will be a place to share what we love about what we are reading, a place to talk about areas that maybe we are struggling in, and a place to enjoy a book with a cuppa of your favorite drink and a few friends.

I hope to see you there. We will be starting our first book, Monday, September 11th. We will be reading Sally and Sarah Clarkson's book,The Lifegiving Home. You can find the Facebook group here:This Grace Place Book Club

If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or send me a message. I hope you will join my book club!

Creative and Frugal Homeschooling Tips #1

Creative and Frugal Homeschooling Tips

3 Part Mini Series

This week I will be sharing three creative and/or frugal homeschooling tips. It's that time of the year again for most -  "Back-to-Homeschool" If you are like me and still planning for the up-coming school year, then maybe one or all of the tips from this week can help you. I hope that you will find these tips to be useful, and I would love to hear how you plan a creative and frugal homeschool year.

So without further ado... 

First Tip

 

Use the resources at your local library. Sounds simple enough, right? That is because it can be if you spend time at your library, browsing the shelves, and asking your librarian questions you have. I spent about 6 years working in my hometown's public library. I had the privilege of helping numerous patrons who visited the library because that was what I was there to do. It was my job to help patrons find the books they were looking for or get set-up with their own library card or do an internet search for a homework assignment.

Sometimes I feel like this is an underused yet valuable resource available for homeschool families. Normally it is free to sign-up for a library and to check out the resources. Some libraries now have an E-book service that allows you to check out a select number of e-books at a time. In addition to books, sometimes you will find audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, magazines, newspapers, a genealogy department, puzzles, blocks, and public computers. Even if the library doesn't currently have a specific book that you are looking for, they may be able to order a copy for you to check out. 

Whether you find yourself in a tight financial place or not, please don't overlook this wonderful resource. With your library card and your child's curiosity, together your family can have a creative and frugal homeschool year.

Tomorrow I'll be back with tip #2. 

The Lifegiving Home - Book Review

Building a Lifegiving Home

I am planning on making this into a series of posts about books that I have been reading, reviewing or just books that are in my "to-be-read" pile. I haven't decided if this will be weekly, bi-weekly or monthly yet. Sometimes I write about books in my homeschooling posts too.

Reading good books is like breathing air for me. There are very few times when I do not have a book with me. Since becoming a mommy to now five munchkins, I have to be intentional about making time to read books that I want to read. This can be hard sometimes when we are in the thick of our homeschool year. Does anyone else binge read over the holidays or is it just me?

Today I am going to share with you about a book that I read awhile back but have picked back up to reread. It is Sally Clarkson's The Lifegiving Home book and study guide. I had the privilege of being apart of her launch team  before this book released back in 2016.  If you follow me on any of my other social medias then you know that I LOVE reading Sally's books. Her books are so inspiring to me on this journey of motherhood. I've even nicknamed her my "mentor mom". I love that she encourages her readers to turn to God and His Word for guidance because when the day is done ultimately God is the only One with the answers.

So let's get back to her book and the wonderful ideas that she shares with her readers. Sally actually co-authored this book with her oldest daughter, Sarah. I love Sarah's writings as well. I have some of her books too. The Lifegiving Home is a great book written to show you how you can bring back an element of beauty that seems to be lost in today's society.  So many times I have read where Sally encourages ladies to bring both beauty and truth into their lives, homes, and that of their families. Home should be the safe haven from this world that ridicules God and His Word. Our homes should be "Lifegiving" and a place of blessing for our families.

The book is broken down into two parts and includes a chapter for each month of the year. Each chapter has information about special times that can be celebrated during a specific month, stories about the Clarksons, questions to ponder, and fun ideas to incorporate or even spur you on to create your own. If you want to dig even deeper, then you will need to get the book, The Lifegiving Home Experience by Sally and Joel Clarkson. The study guide provides further study by showing you how to apply what you have read and planned in the main book. It is filled with even more ideas, questions to ponder, and book recommendations. I love books with lists of books!! If you are new to Sally Clarkson and her books, then I urge you to visit her website and to sign-up for her newsletter. She has some exciting news going on right now. You can find her at Sally Clarkson

Have you read any of Sally's books? If so, I would love to hear from you and how her books have encouraged you! 

Prayers for a New School Year

Prayer is so important in the life of a believer! Prayer is our lifeline to the Lord. I know that I have to pray all of the time because I also know that I can't make it in this life without the help of Jesus. There is always someone or some situation that I am praying for and about to the Lord. 

August is the time when I start praying more intentionally for the beginning for our school year. I ask the Lord for His guiding hand, peace for our days, excitement for the opportunity to learn, and most importantly that we always make Him Lord of our school days. We wouldn't even be on this journey without His leading as well as His provision. 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV), we read "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.". (Emphasis mine) We should always be rejoicing, giving thanks, and praying without ceasing.

I want to share three verses with you for this upcoming school year. Write the verses on index cards. Hang the verses somewhere so that you will see them and be reminded to pray daily.

The first verse is about God's PLAN.

Jeremiah 29:11  (NKJV)

" For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

The second verse is about God's PROTECTION.

Psalm 91:1-2 (NKJV)

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

The third verse is about God's PEACE.

Philippians 4:7  (NKJV)

"and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."


Let's spend some time mediating on these verses this coming week and set a goal of starting the day with prayer. I pray that your children will have a great start to their new school years.



Scripture source: Bible Gateway

Summer Fun 2017

Wow! Our summer has flown by this year! It is hard to imagine that it will be time to start a new school year soon. My children are actually asking to start school, which we will start (hopefully) in about three more weeks.  How has your summer been? Are you (or your children) ready for "Back-to-School"?


We have participated in summer reading programs, played card and board games as a family, the children loved making mud puddles with the water hose in the backyard, they spent time with the grandparents, and they played at a near-by creek. Summer memories have been made! 


If I were to ask my children to name their favorite thing we did this summer, it would probably be the Summer Reading Program for our local library with some homeschooling friends. A sweet homeschool mama headed up this great program. They had a goal of reading 400 minutes over a 5 week period and were able to collect pledge money for meeting this goal. Afterwards, they each got to pick out a book from Usborne as a reward. Usborne also let the children pick out a book valued at half of their pledge amount collected to be donated to our local library. I love having opportunities for my children to help their community as well as our local library. 

Summer is also my time to plan for our upcoming school year, review what did or did not work for us last school year, and to continue my teacher training. I read a lot of books and online articles concerning how to teach children, child development, and educational methods. Over the past year, we have been dipping our toes in the Charlotte Mason philosophy. A good many of my books in my reading pile reflect this as well. Here is a list of what I have been reading here and there over this summer:

1. Different by Sally and Nathan Clarkson (rereading)
2. A Different Kind of Hero by Sally and Joel Clarkson (rereading)
3. Buried Secrets by Irene Hannon
4. Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levison (rereading)
5. More Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levison (rereading)
6. Give Your Child the World by Jamie C. Martin
7. Beyond Survival by Diana Waring
8. Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes
9. Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

My summer reading!

In other news, I wrote my first magazine article this summer for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine! I am still tickled pink that I had this opportunity. I've been reading the TOS magazine since we first decided that we were going to homeschool. You can read the current issue online at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

My copy of the Summer 2017 issue.