Do you like crafty Bible activities? Here’s a fun website full of printable paper Bible crafts to construct. My Little House is a lovely website full of free paper crafting printables that you can print, cut out and put together.
Isn’t this Bible town awesome! There are lots of different Bible printables, so be sure to take some time to browse through the site. Check out 3-D picture crafts- I made one myself and they turn out exactly like the pictures. Enjoy!
I was hit by an iceberg recently and I wanted to warn you of the danger. I consider myself a veteran homeschool mom and I thought I was immune to the iceberg danger. I was wrong.
Scrolling through social media one day, I came across a few homeschool-themed accounts with breathlessly beautiful photographs. Visually rich. Everything posed perfectly. I stopped to admire the work that went into the various photographs. They were stunning. The photos made me smile.
And then I looked up from my screen. To see crumbs on my table, to see scattered papers and books. And a neglected basket of laundry. I stopped smiling.
Thud. Direct hit by an iceberg.
Suddenly I was discontent. Why was my homeschool dark and dingy compared to those? Our activities no longer seemed exciting. Boring. Just blah.
As quickly as it hit me, the iceberg floated away. Wait a minute! I know better!
Our homeschool is exactly that. Ours. Full of our family, our needs, our hopes and dreams, and the blessings that God has poured out on us. The crumbs mean we had a fresh homemade breakfast. The papers and books mean that we were able to find resources at affordable prices. The basket of laundry meant we would be comfortable in clean clothes.
I had to remind myself. Those pictures are just that. Pictures. Posed and edited. Nothing wrong with that, nothing at all. They merely show a curated moment in time. Someone else’s vision captured in a photograph. Not your vision, theirs. Not your life, theirs. Not your blessings, theirs. Like an iceberg, there is a huge amount in each photograph NOT seen compared to what IS seen. We don’t know how many years a mother may have prayed to be able to homeschool. Perhaps the photo is the result of a good day after many, many bad days. It might even be an attempt to feel equal compared to others. Good or bad, we don’t know the underwater details of a particular photo, so don’t let it get to you.
We tend to look at the visible parts of others’ icebergs and compare it to the underwater parts of our own iceberg. Not a fair comparison! And there is NO reason for comparison!
May I make an unsolicited suggestion? If you find that scrolling through social media continually makes you feel inadequate as a homeschooler, consider dropping a few accounts or reducing your social media time.
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Galatians 3:26-29
If we would let our hearts be impressed with the following important words, and ever bear them in mind, we should not so easily fall into temptation; but our words would be few, and well chosen.
“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”—“Thou God seest me.”
The Review and Herald – February 17, 1853
We are learning about the Andes Mountains and Machu Picchu this week as part of our World Geography studies. I thought I’d share the amazing virtual aerial panorama tour of Machu Picchu that we are enjoying via Air Pano.
360* Aerial Panorama of Machu Picchu
AirPano is a project created by a team of Russian photographers focused on taking high-resolution aerial 360° photographs and 360° video. This site has lots of virtual tours that would make great visual supplements to any World Geography or World History curriculum.
Whatever attracts the mind from God, whatever draws the affections away from Christ, is an enemy to the soul.
Christ’s Object Lessons, 53
The Adventist Home Educator 