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Happy Thanksgiving

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Don’t forget the act of thanksgiving this year. Don’t rush ahead to the next day. Enjoy the blessings. Enjoy the simple.

Thanksgiving is something we practice daily. Each moment. Not just on Thanksgiving. 

“Biblical Thanksgiving does not focus on circumstance, but on the character of God. Circumstances change; God does not.” Michael Youssef

As we approach the Christmas season, I will be sharing much more in the upcoming weeks about really enjoying this season.  I will also continue to write about how we can Simplify Once and for all. 

For today, just give thanks.
Love to you all!
~Karen

Philippians 4:6
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Psalm 107
“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his faithful love endures forever!”



And a few reminders:



Announcement!
BOTH of my eBook are now available for only $0.99 download or Kindle at Amazon.com

I am so thankful for each one of you!
Happy Thanksgiving!

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“Simply Homeschool: Having Less Clutter and More Joy in Your Homeschool?”
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SimplyLivingforHim

called home, simplifying, Simply...Homeschool, Simply...Living For Him, Using The Bible as Our Main Text

Off to a Good Start…

Welcome! Have you subscribed to this blog yet? You will be encouraged to simplify all areas of your life… straight to your email!  Subscribe here!

So begins another year of homeschooling. With only two days under our belt, we are off to a good start {so far!}. We have implemented our new plan-using the Bible as our main text. There is some tweaking to do, but overall things are going well.

Many of you are interested in seeing just how we are doing this. So I will try to include details when I can, and share with you what is working and what is not. I am new at this myself, so I am trusting the Lord to lead me in this…

So far this is what we have done:

We have started the morning around 8:30 am at the dining room table, everyone together. I actually love this part the most. We pray, and then go over the day of the week, the date, and the weather with the littlest guy-my preschooler.

Then we read the passage that we are studying for the week, which is Genesis 1.  We are using the King James version.

Yesterday I read the passage out loud, and today everyone took turns reading parts of it. It was beautiful to listen to the children read it.

I am using Genesis: Finding Our Roots, by Ruth Beechik as a resource to guide me in discussion with the children after we read. They each have a binder with a section for Bible notes, and during this time they write down anything we discuss or something they want to remember.



For Genesis 1 they wrote down the words “bara” and “yom”– Hebrew words that mean “created” and “day.” We talked in depth about the importance of the translation here.

We also are using resources from Answers in Genesis, the Life Application study Bible, and some commentaries on Genesis.

Our memory verse for the week:


Yesterday’s discussion focus was what happened on each day of creation.  We talked about how God had a specific order for the way He created things, and how we still need order when we do things. We talked about how our complex world could not have just happend by accident and God had a specific plan. We also discussed how humas were created higher than animals and in God’s image.

The preschooler made a mini book representing the days. The older kids put on  a play depicting the days of creation. They were very creative and it was so much fun!

Today our discussion was focused on the number seven and how God used this number of days to create the earth {and rest.}  We talked about the number seven in the Bible and the importance of that number elsewhere in scripture.

Tomorrow we are focusing solely on being created in God’s image, and how special we are.  I plan on focusing on each child as individuals and their uniqueness. Friday we are going to focus on myths of creation and understanding other beliefs about creation/evolution.

Next week we are going to look each day at specific animals that God created. The older kids will choose an animal to write a report on.

Both days, we watched a video on demand from Answers in Genesis website. They kids really enjoyed their videos.

After our discussion time, each child has individual assignments.  Each child has a spelling list that I created using words from Genesis 1, but on each of their level. I have entered them into SpellingCity where they can play games with their specific words. I love this site! They also can write sentences or paragraphs on the site, using their words. So far they LOVE this.

There is a section in each of their binders for spelling and for copywork as well. Each day they are doing copywork from Genesis 1, either in cursive or manuscript depending on their age.





My middle schooler is reading  “Adam and His Kin’ by Ruth Beechick and also The Basket of Flowers from Lamplighter Publishing.  My nine year old is reading Dr. Doolittle and the seven year old is reading easy readers.


The preschooler practices his ABC’s during the older kids’ individual time. I set out flashcards on the floor and we played our own version of “Hullabaloo” by calling out different letters for him to hop to, skip to, or crawl to!



My eleven year old wrote a one page paper describing creation vs. evolution. The highlight of her week is that she emailed me her assignment. I sent back corrections and she is working on the revisions. I think she likes using the computer for assignments!


The eleven year old and nine year old also wrote a newspaper article today, the topic being “Earth Created in Just Six Days!”  I look forward to incorporating more of these creative writing assignments each week.

We also did some experiments from  “Genesis for Kids: Science Experiments that Show God’s Power in Creation.”

In the afternoons, the children work on finishing up individual work. They are all using Math U See for their level. They are all using Rosetta Stone for Spanish. Once all of their assignments are complete, they are free to play outside or find something creative to do {paint, computer art, games, experiments, etc.}

I am grateful for two good days. It’s a start. What I am loving most is that we are all studying the Bible together, and our discussion time in special. It is truly a blessing.  It does get a bit crazy when we do our individual work, so I am trying to make it all smoother. For the most part though, it has been great.

I am letting God lead us on this journey. He is the Teacher. We are sitting at His feet. 


“She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said….

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:39, 42



I will post more at the end of the week about how we are doing, so be sure to subscribe here!

How did you first week go? Or, if you have been schooling through summer, are you trying anything new this fall? Comment below.

Called Home: Finding Joy in Letting God Lead Your Homeschool has been #1 for best selling homeschool eBooks this week! Have you ordered your copy yet? Available for PDF download or Kindle at Amazon. com 


Looking to keep it simple this year? Are you looking to eliminate clutter?

Simply Homeschool is still just $0.99 for download or for Kindle at Amazon.com or PDF download- Click here for more info

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim

called home, simply homeschool eBook, Simply...Homeschool, Simply...Living For Him, Using The Bible as Our Main Text

First Day of New School Year!

Welcome! Have you subscribed to this blog yet? You will be encouraged to simplify all areas of your life… straight to your email!  Subscribe here!


Today begins another school year around here. This is our seventh year, and I am really excited for God’s plans this year. We have many changes going on…I now have a middle schooler, two grade schoolers, and a preschooler. We have decided to use the Bible as our main text this fall, and everything will be stemming from Genesis. I can’t wait to see what He teaches us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“When we spend too much time on the details we miss out on the true teacher in all of this. God. He is teaching our families. He is in charge. Sit at his feet awhile and just listen.” 
~excerpt from “Called Home: Finding Joy in Letting God Lead Your Homeschool.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to really focus on God’s Word this fall. I want to simplify and eliminate the unnecessary and the things that really are just fluff. I want our days to be filled with a thirst for His wisdom.


By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
4through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.
Proverbs 24:3-4

I spent much of this evening before our new school year, praying. I prayed that the Lord would lead us, and that we would learn the things that He wants us to learn. I asked Him to make our path clear for this year. I submitted our school to Him.
As I say good-bye to summer, I look upon this new season as a time for Him to work through us even more than ever. I stop and remember how short life is, and how I want to live my life without reservation- truly living for Him. So my kids can remember that Mommy was their teacher-and the one who pointed them to Him in all things.  

That is what we are truly teaching. 

So as you begin your school year, I encourage you to simplify the unnecessary and make the most of each day-pointing to Him and simply living…for Him!
It’s been an exciting few days with the release of “Called Home: Finding Joy in Letting God Lead Your Homeschool.” Praise God it has already reached #1 for homeschooling ebooks at Amazon.com. I am so grateful that others are blessed by my words.

The introductory price of  $2.99 has been extended for just a bit longer! So grab yours now! It is sure to encourage you as you start out a new school year!

Choose PDF Download
Add to CartView Cart 

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For Kindle 
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Simply Homeschool is still just $0.99 for download or for Kindle at Amazon.com or PDF download- Click here for more info

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim

called home, ebook, homeschool, Simply...Homeschool

It’s Here! Called Home eBook

I am thrilled to finally offer my new eBook, Called Home: Finding Joy in Letting God Lead Your Homeschool. I have prayed over every word, and offered this up to Him.

Now I pray it blesses you all out there. It is my heart in words….


Now Available…


Called Home: 
Finding Joy in Letting God Lead Your Homeschool

In the Spring of 2006 I was called to homeschool. It was never my intention or my plan, but God clearly showed me this was a calling. It was a hard step to take, but the Lord directed my steps…

I have not looked back since.

Although the homeschooling journey is difficult at times, if God has put you on this path and called you here, He will lead you through each day. We simply need to stop chasing things, and start chasing Him.

This book will encourage you to keep your focus on the One who has called you here. Through my personal story and experience, you will see what happens when we take our eyes off of Him, and how each day can look when we regain our focus, fix our eyes on Him and on the true goals of homeschooling…

“Maybe you are just starting out, or maybe you have been doing this awhile. Either way, there is most likely some amount of fear. Fear of the major responsibility that homeschooling is, or fear that you aren’t doing it “right.” Perhaps you are tired. Burnt out. Running on empty. Maybe you are up to your eyeballs in curriculum catalogs, reviews, planners, highlighters, label makers, and resources. Meanwhile the laundry calls, the dishes pile up, and the kids are tired. You are tired. You are trying to decide how on earth you are going to do it all. Or maybe you just are ready to throw in the towel altogether.

Well, take a deep breath. Relax. The One who created the universe in a breath, the One who called you to this journey, is in control. Yes, He is in control of your homeschool. Is anything too hard for Him?”
~Karen DeBeus, Called Home

Ultimately, we can have freedom and joy in our homeschools once we let go and let God lead…

Available Now!
$2.99 
Introductory Price 
(this weekend only! Ends 9/3/12)

Choose PDF Download
Add to CartView Cart 

Or

For Kindle 
Click here


© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim