It's Beginning to Look a [Little] Like Christmas . . .

This morning our original fun plans got busted, so we decided that since it's the middle of November, we'd better get going with our Christmas preparations. So, we pulled out all our Christmas books (two shelves full):

Here are some close-ups so you can see some of the lovely titles:

And DD8 started jumping up and down when she saw this one:

Then we headed out to get some greenery for our porch decorations, which I think will be my "art" for today. I'm still not satisfied with them, but here they are for now:

The large balls were hanging ornaments, but I realized they must be styrofoam, so I stuck them on the ends of those green garden stakes (some of which I happened to notice in the garage -- though I don't know what we've ever used them for!):

A few days ago we pulled out the wreath that DH and I made collaboratively two years ago:

 Even though the date says that Christmas will soon be upon us, the weather suggests the opposite. We're still enjoying a bit of fall in these mums:

And there's still even a glimpse of summer lingering around:

Is it starting to feel like Christmas where you are?

Any suggestions on how I might pretty up my planters a bit more?

What preparations have you started in anticipation of the coming holiday season?

Collectorz.com Book Collector 7.0 Pro - Product Review

I don't remember a time in my life that I didn't love books. Even before I could read, I remember sitting on a couch pretending I was reading a grown-up book. When our television broke while I was in high school, I wasn't phased because I just delved into the fictional world of Victorian novels.

A few years ago I read a study that explored the average number of books in households of different social groups. Most people might have up to a couple of hundered books; homeschoolers tend to have libraries of more than a thousand books.

I've never taken the time to count, but I'm pretty sure that we fall into the latter category of book collectors. And that is why I was very excited to be on the list of reviewers of Collectorz.com 's Book Collector Pro. What an ingenious concept! It had never occurred to me that such a thing existed!

Book Collector Pro enables us to calalogue all of the books we own -- and even the ones we would like to own. Simply entering the ISBN number (manually or with a scanner) enables the user to access detailed information that relates specifially to the edition in hand. (Books can also be entered by author and title.) Once the particular version is selected from the software's searched results, an abundance of information about that particular book is presented.

Here, for example, is a screen shot of one book in our collection:

Call me crazy, but I'm tickled by the fact that I automatically get the cover price and dewey decimal number -- in addition to the exact cover image of the book I own. Now, maybe one day, we can fulfill DH's dream of having our home library organized by the Dewey Decimal System! (Ya -- not likely before we're empty nesters, by which time our library will likely be dramatically diminished anyway!)

I don't know if you noticed the "Personal Details" in the above picture, but that's another thing that I love about this program -- I can feed it information unique to our family -- such as where the book is located IN our  home. (OK -- where it's supposed to be! If only the software were capable of teleporting the books back to their proper places when they've been removed!) I can also document how many times and when each book was read  (Hmmmm . . . that could be very telling information. I wonder how many books we own but have not read . . . ) That means we no longer need to argue about which advent book in the series we read last year! LOL

As you can see here, the editing options are extensive. How cool is it that I can even rate my own books? As someone who sometimes can't even remember if I've read a particular book, I find it rather helpful that I can document whether or not I liked it in a quick and easy way.

Another feature that I love about Book Collector Pro is the ability to track the books that I lend to friends and family. I mean, we're talking about a real library system here! Never again will I need to keep track of those random slips of paper on which I've noted the people to whom I've lent our resources -- it can all be documented so easily.

If I wanted to get really fancy, I could make pie charts and graphs using the statistics of my book collection -- such as how many we have in each genre, or in each room of our home.

I have yet to spend a lot of time in-putting many of our books because I'd really like to find a scanner (preferably for free:) to help make the process go faster. It is a tad time-consuming, but I really believe worth while.The software is a fabulous way of documenting text resources for insurance purposes (lists can be printed, saved to a USB stick and stored elsewhere, or "connected" to an online data base for storage and sharing). And because it can be uploaded to an i-phone (or blackberry -- soon), it enables instant access to personal book records. That's quite handy if you're like me and can't remember if you already own a particular resource you've come across on sale!

But books aren't the only things Collectorz helps organize -- they also have software for games, movies, music, and comics. While some people (like me!) might be a bit intimidated by the learning curve required to make use of such cool programs, it is easy to rest assured because Collectorz.com is an easy-to-navigate website with extensive online manuals that outline the easy steps (with pictures for all of us visual learners!) for every task you might wish to perform with their software packages.

For more details, check out this list of features and screenshots, as well as this abreviated list of nitty-gritty facts from the Collectorz website:

If you're not sufficiently impressed by my experiences with Book Collectorz, I encourage you to take advantage of their 30-Day Free Trial! Find out what other TOS reviewers had to say by going here.


Note: I received this product free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are genuine. No other compensation was received. Thank you TOS and Collectorz for the privilege of using this product!

Easter Traditions

Christmas and Easter are two of my favourite times of year. Christmas gets lots of attention everywhere -- but I think Easter is even more worthy of celebration. So, over the years I've had my eyes and ears open for new and creative ideas to celebrate Easter, and to teach my children about its significance. I thought I would share some of the things we do in case an idea strikes a chord with you. I confess that few, if any, of the ideas are original, so I will try to give credit where credit is due.

Easter Basket
No -- don't get visions of pink and blue baskets with bunnies and chocolate eggs. (I'm not completely opposed to those -- except as EASTER decorations. They're more spring decorations to me. BTW -- how did bunnies and eggs ever get associated with each other in the first place?!?!?) Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:

The basket holds a collection of symbols associated with the biblical story of Easter. We've added to it almost every year as we've thought of new things that represent the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Here are the items we have in it this year:

Purple cloth - Because it's a royal colour, it represents Jesus being King of Kings (Revelation 17:14), but also the purple robe the soldiers put on him while they mocked him as the "King of the Jews" (Mark 15:17-18)

Grape vine - Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) Really, it's a symbol of our need for Christ.

Candle - represents Jesus being the true light (John 1:9)

Goblet - represents the cup that Jesus passed around at the last supper, explaining that the wine represented His blood, which was shed for us (Matthew 26:28)

Loaf of bread - a symbol of the bread at the last supper, which represents His body, broken for us (Matthew 26:26)

Stone - represents the stone that was sealed in front of the tomb where Jesus lay and was rolled away by the time the women arrived to anoint his body (Mark 16:4)

Tuft of white wool - represents Jesus being the spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)

Toy rooster - represents Peter denying Jesus three times before the cock crowed (Matthew 26:69-75)

Toy soldier - represents the Roman soldiers who mocked and beat Jesus (Matthew 27:27-31)

Dice - represent the casting of lots the soldiers did for Jesus's clothing (Matthew 27:35)

3 silver coins - represent the thirty pieces of silver Judas received -- and returned -- for betraying Jesus (Matthew 27:3)

Piece of rope - represents the binding and beating of Jesus (Matthew 27:2, 30)

Cross made from sticks - represents the cross that Simon from Cyrene was forced to carry to Golgotha and upon which Jesus was crucified (Mark 15:21-24)

Crown made from a rose bush stalk - represents the crown of thorns the soldiers made and put on Jesus to mock him as king (Matthew 27:29)

Large, iron nails - represents the nailing of Jesus to the cross (Acts 2:23) for our salvation

Stick with rag tied to the end - represents the wine mixed with gall that was offered to Jesus on the cross to numb his pain, which Jesus refused (Matthew 27:34)

Strip of linen - represents the linen Joseph of Arimathea wrapped Jesus's body in after taking him off the cross (Mark 15:46)

Jar of spices - represents the spices the women brought to anoint Jesus's body, and then discovered he had risen from the dead (Mark 16:1)

Angel - represents the angel that rolled away the stone from the tomb and told Mary and Mary that Jesus had risen (Matthew 28:2)

As we assemble the basket together, we discuss the meaning of each object, reminding ourselves of the events of Jesus's life and the significance of the Easter story. Can you think of any other appropriate items to include?

Egg Decorating

You may have noticed a few eggs in the picture. BC (before children), my dh and I enjoyed making pysanka (Ukranian Easter eggs) with beeswax and authentic egg dyes. We discovered a rich history of incorporating Christian imagery in the decorating of these symbols of emergent new life (not to mention a symbol of the triune God, with the three distinct parts making up one egg). We also created our own methods of decorating using acrylic paints and gold and silver foils. (Some of those have survived almost two decades and are visible in the photos.) So, I guess it makes sense that we make egg decorating a part of our annual Easter celebration -- be it with shrink-wrap sleeves, food colouring, tissue paper, or paint. I'm still looking for a new technique to try this year. Any suggestions?

Here's a slightly better picture of our decorated egg display, behind which is a resin replica of the Last Supper which we borrowed from my dh's parents a few years ago and have neglected to return :{ (That's just so wrong! We must give it back after this Easter!)

Resurrection Eggs:

We use an older version of this set, which is simply a dozen plastic eggs, each containing a symbol of the Easter story and a devotional reading for each symbol. We use this kit in conjunction with a book called Benjamin's Box. Little people especially enjoy opening the eggs and seeing what's inside, expecially since all the objects are in miniature. Symbols include a donkey, praying hands, and a cross.

Here is a link that explains how to make your own Resurrection Eggs.

Puzzle:

A few years ago, I read a list of Easter ideas on a message board. One was to work on an Easter related puzzle throughout the season. Family members can work together or independently as time allows, and the end result is a frameable piece of art :) It's a challenge to find puzzles that relate to Easter, so we use ones that at least suggest a Christian theme. Sometimes the dog even gets involved -- in which case we have to find ways to camouflage the missing pieces!

Here are a couple we've done. Excuse the reflection of my hand and camera -- I haven't mastered the fine art of photographing pictures!

Books

We wouldn't be true homeschoolers if books weren't a significant part of our Easter celebration. Our collection isn't as vast as our Christmas one is, but here's what's on the shelf right now (If you click on the picture, you'll probably be able to read the titles -- if that interests you):

One of our favourites is not shown above. It's called The Lamb, by John R. Cross (who, by the way, offers a free, on-line bible survey course which we just completed):

This book has an audio CD narration of the book, which gives a succinct, child-friendly version of the gospel, along with beautiful illustrations by Ian Mastin. We listen to it each year. A few years ago (inspired by friends who did it with Sunday school classes) we did lapbooks on The Lamb, so we take a trip down memory lane with those every year, too. Here's a glimpse inside one of ours, which has lots of mini-books to open and read, but if you want more info about lapbooks, check out this site.

 

Passsion Hymns

This could probably go in the books section, since we use Passion Hymns for a Kid's Heart by Bobbie Wogemuth and Joni Eareckson Tada to study some of the good theology in a few hymns that are sung around Easter time. Each hymn has a narrative to go along with it, so we read that, then sing along with the CD. Some years we do one per day; some years we spend longer on a single hymn -- it just depends on how quickly the season creeps up on me and how prepared I am for its arrival!

Easter Hunt

Not a big fan of the Easter bunny but fond of fun, we modified the common Easter Egg Hunt to suit life with a diabetic son who is tortured by the presence of copious amounts of chocolate in the house, and by parents who lack self-control when it comes to eating said chocolate (which means it rarely lasts long enough for him to enjoy). My dh came up with the idea of having the children work together to find homemade puzzle pieces that fit together to form verses and other messages that lead to the discovery of envelopes with a special surprise. Last year the "treat" was a fill-in-the-blank form giving the option to choose a special activity with a parent, knowing that x-amount of money was available for that occasion. It was a delight to see the children record their plans for a special date with one of their parents.

Empty Tombs

Another idea I found online was making "Empty Tomb" cookies while discussing the significance of the ingredients in relation to the Easter story. Here is a link to a recipe that needs to sit in the oven all night. We've done it with success -- but it's a drawn out process, and I'm not always good with those :P I tend to prefer this recipe, though we don't put anything on the outside of our rolls. I can't forget this activity because I'm usually reminded to purchase the ingredients ahead of time:)

Art Activity

You may have seen the wire cross in this post, which is the art activity we did last Easter. It's late, but I still haven't determined what we'll do this season. I'm thinking of these clay and bead crosses over at That Artist Woman, who inspires me with so many of her great art ideas for children and adults alike.

Anyway -- that gives you a pretty good glimpse of some of the ways we try to be creative in celebrating the Easter season at our house. I'm ALWAYS looking for new ideas, though, so if you can point me to any, please do!!!!!

I've linked this post to the Easter linky at Impress Your Kids. Check it out for more ideas!