-
Welcome to my world!
I hope you’ll stay.
Since Father’s love changed me
I have something to say.
-
The One who loves me,
See, He also loves you
The things He’s done for me
He will do for you, too.
-
So come with me
As I follow the Lamb
Wherever He goes.
My life’s in His hand.
-
I trust Him and follow Him
No matter the cost.
Without His great love for me
I would be lost.
-
The words that you find here
I hope will breathe life.
In each day and moment
You’ll find His delight.
-
For surely His love for you
Is greater than you know.
Come with me now
To His presence we’ll go.
P.M.D.
Changed By Love and Still Changing
York, Pennsylvania 2011
Katy, Texas 2012
Mary Jo Peckham Park
Katy, TX 2013 Mary Jo Peckham Park
Katy, TX Honey Farm, 2014
Katy, TX Honey Farm, 2015
Katy, TX – MKT Railroad Park Caboose and Depot, 2017
Katy, TX – Heritage Park, 2020
Hi, I’m Penney Douglas. I have been married to my precious husband for 36 years. We have been exceedingly and abundantly blessed with 10 children. They all belong to me and my husband. And to think that I was afraid I would never get married! I got a late start (married at 25 and first child at 27), but I guess late bloomers can blossom profusely once they get started.
I blog for several reasons. I like to keep a record of what we’re doing in our homeschooling and share ideas for other homeschoolers or moms who like to work and play with their kids. I try to encourage families to keep Christ first in their homes so they can be all that they were made to be. I want to help others to draw closer to God. I hope to glorify God and give Him praise for all that He does for us.
I am constantly learning, changing and growing. Sometimes I feel like a beginner even though I’ve been a Christian since I was 4 years old and I’ve been homeschooling for about 27 years. And I’ve been living for __ years (long enough!).
But the Lord has been faithful to keep me and my family on an upward climb drawing nearer to Him in spite of our weaknesses and mistakes.
He has led us on a crooked path across the United States and back and then some. (From Ohio to Kansas City to Arizona to Colorado, back to Kansas City to Illinois to Pennsylvania and now to Texas!) We are still looking for that place to call home. We hope to find it before the oldest chicks are ready to fly from the nest! But our desire is that they land somewhere near us even when that time comes.
We are believing God for miracles of provision. We have already seen many. We suffered the loss of our home 19 years ago. Now we live in a different state, and my husband is making more money than ever before. But the money is beside the point. What God did in each of our hearts, convincing us of His reality and His love for us, is worth more than all of the houses or money in the world. But now He has enabled us to help others in need, and we are grateful for the opportunity to bless others.
Our children are truly gifts from God. They learn from us and teach us so much. I would never have known even a fraction of how much God loves me if I had never had the opportunity to be a mother to my precious children. They are teaching me even more as they grow in wisdom and understanding and we share together what the Lord is teaching us.
Family was God’s idea. Marriage was His idea. God has good ideas. His ideas work.
He wants our families to be training grounds for children (and adults) to learn His ways and right ways of relating to God and to people. We learn how to die to ourselves when others are dependent on us, and when we have to learn to get along with the people around us in order to experience peace and harmony. The rough edges are rubbed off as we care enough to be honest with each other and humble ourselves to receive correction even from those younger than ourselves.
God created us because He wanted a family. That’s more than a trite saying. He created us in His image so that He could have sons and daughters that would look like Him, act like Him and love Him. He wanted to be a father.
He created you so He could love you. Receive His love for you. Let Him be your Daddy.
Module 4: Different learning styles and ways that kids are smart (and moms, too!)
Learning Styles
There are different ways that people learn best. I learn best by reading. I would be classified as a visual learner. Others learn best by listening. They are auditory learners and would do well with audiobooks or being read aloud to or even reading aloud to themselves. Others learn best by moving, touching and manipulating. They are considered kinesthetic learners or hands-on learners.
Study and learn your own kids.
Further reading on this subject:
The Way They Learn
Every Child Can Succeed: Making the Most of Your Child’s Learning Style
By Cynthia Ulrich Tobias
There are other ways to categorize cognitive styles or different ways of thinking and learning. We need to find the ways that work best for ourselves. And we also would do our children a great favor by helping them discover the style that helps them to learn more quickly, efficiently and thoroughly.
We also should observe and study the way in which we organize our learning in our brains and what is the most comfortable and conducive atmosphere for us to learn in.
Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic, Logical, Spatial, Musical, Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal
These are 7 categories that have been identified by Dr. Howard Gardner, a professor of education at Harvard.
Dr. Kathy Koch writes and speaks about 8 great smarts. She writes about the multiple intelligences and tweaks them a little bit. She calls them: Word Smart, Logic Smart, Picture Smart, Music Smart, Body Smart, Nature Smart, People Smart and Self Smart.
She wrote a book called “8 Great Smarts” in which she explores the different ways that children can be smart. A summary of the topics covered in this book is here:
“Your child is smart, but does he or she believe it?
“Smart” is a power word. Children who believe they’re smart excel more in school and approach life with greater confidence. But children who don’t can struggle to apply themselves. Do you wish your child could see how smart he or she is?
Find hope in 8 Great Smarts. You’ll be empowered and equipped with new language and creative ideas for how to:
Accept and affirm your child’s unique smarts
Motivate your child to learn and study with all 8 smarts
Reawaken any “paralyzed” smarts
Redirect misbehavior in new, constructive ways
Guide your child spiritually, relationally, and to a good career fit
Dr. Kathy Koch loves seeing children flourish and helping parents make it happen–and it’s never too late to start. Now is the time to help your child be all that God designed him or her to be.”
Dr. Kathy has written other helpful books that offer parents tools to lead their children to become the best version of themselves and discover who God made them to be.
There’s another model that goes even further than the multiple intelligences in exploring what qualities several people who are considered geniuses had in common. This is a fascinating topic to think about as we are examining our children and learning how to keep the love of learning alive in our children. You can read about the 12 Genius Qualities HERE. I’ll give you a hint: They’re probably not what you think they are. Okay, I’ll tell you what the genius qualities are: curiosity, playfulness, imagination, creativity, wonder, wisdom, inventiveness, vitality, sensitivity, flexibility, humor, and joy.
____________________
New brain studies have revealed information about how our brains work that have fascinating implications for teaching and learning.
For more information about brain-based learning read books by Dr. Caroline Leaf:
and
_____________________
It can also be helpful to determine your personality type and the personality of each of your children.
If you understand yourself, you can modify the way you do things in a way that lowers stress and helps you to feel successful and avoids stressing yourself out.
And if you understand your child’s personality, you may learn how to say things in such a way or explain concepts in a way that makes sense to him/her. You may figure out how to avoid conflict and attain a better understanding of why your child says and does the things they say and do. At least, you may become more patient and gain some clues that will help you to have more peaceful interactions within your family if you understand what makes them tick. You may be very surprised to find out what some of them are thinking. Lots of times, they hear something completely different from what you were trying to say to them!
There are several different ways to find out what your personality type is.
One is the Myers-Briggs personality test. You can take the test for free at https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test
And some are specifically made for homeschool moms so that we can identify our strengths and weaknesses and we can become more comfortable in our own skin and not compare ourselves to other homeschool moms or try to imitate them when their ways will not work for us.
Myers Briggs for homeschool: https://www.simplyconvivial.com/2016/homeschool-personality
I personally found this helpful in understanding and accepting the differences in the way different people conduct their homeschools and feeling affirmed that what I was doing was okay and acceptable, because it lined up with the way God made me.
You may pinpoint your mothering personality here:
This is a good thing to know so that you can refrain from judging others because of lack of understanding. In Jill’s words:
“We desperately need to be true to ourselves, allow others to be different, and knock off the judgement that so easily creeps into our head and our heart!”
Another way of measuring personality types is the Personality Colors quiz from Full Spectrum Communication: https://jacobadamo.com/personality-colors-quiz/
To go a little deeper you may want to read the book “Strengths Finder 2.0” by Tom Rath. This could help you discover what you were made to do and help you fulfill your calling. This concept emphasizes finding out your strengths and capitalizing on them instead of working hard on areas that you are weak in, because you are not gifted and called to do these things. Chasing your weaknesses does not make sense.
Of course, you can look at it from the perspective that God may call you to do something that is difficult for you to do so that you have to lean on Him and go in His strength instead of your own. But in many cases, the Lord gifts you to do the thing that He has called you to do.
And you may discover hidden gifts as you grow and mature. It makes life very interesting, to say the least.
This may seem like it’s a tangent, but I really like tangents myself 🙂 so here goes! I think it’s also good to find out what your love language is and the love languages of the rest of your family. If you would like to find out more about what that’s all about, read “The Five Love Languages” by Dr. Gary Chapman. And then you may also want to read “The Five Love Languages of Children” and “The Five Love Languages of Teens“. You can find these and many other helpful resources HERE.
As you delve deeper into purpose, calling, destiny, and helping your children become all that God made them to be, you may want to check out Dr. Lance Wallnau’s teachings and resources at https://lancewallnau.com/category/motivational/
American History Living Books – For Readers of All Ages
American History Living Books
American History Living Books
Native American
Walk the World’s Rim by Betty Baker
Om-Kas-Toe by Kenneth Thomasma
Jamestown
Pocahontas and the Strangers by Clyde Robert Bulla
Advanced
The Keepers of the Ring series by Angela Elwell Hunt
This Dear-Bought Land by Jean Lee Latham
Pilgrims
Picture Books
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas
Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac
Thunder from the Clear Sky by Marcia Sewall
Easy Reader
Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla
Pilgrim Voices: Our First Year in the New World by Connie Roop
The Story of the Pilgrims for Children by Roland Usher
https://archive.org/details/storyofpilgrimsf00ushe/page/n19/mode/2up
Advanced
The House of Winslow series by Gilbert Morris
Stories of the Pilgrims by Margaret Pumphrey
https://archive.org/details/storiesofpilgrim00pump/page/16/mode/2up
The Courtship of Miles Standish by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
https://archive.org/details/courtshipofmiles1903long/page/20/mode/1up
American Revolution
Picture Books
George Washington by Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire
We the People: The Story of Our Constitutions by Lynne Cheney
Easy Reader
They Called Her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell
Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin
When Washington Crossed the Delaware by Lynne Cheney
Advanced
Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Great Battles for Boys The American Revolution by Joe Giorello
True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of Independence by G. A. Henty (from the British perspective)
The Crossing by Jim Murphy
Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen
Washington at Valley Forge by Russell Freedman
George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved America by Brian Kilmeade
Colonial Life
Picture Books
Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos by Robert Lawson
How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer
Ox-cart Man by Donald Hall
Easy Reader
Charlie’s House by Clyde Robert Bulla
Advanced
The Jefferson Lies by David Barton and Wallbuilders – Advanced
Thomas Jefferson’s America: Stories of the Founding Fathers by Jim Weiss – audiobook
Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates (Young Readers Adaptation): The War That Changed American History by Brian Kilmeade
Streams to the River, River to the Sea: A Novel of Sacagawea by Scott O’Dell – Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Pioneers
Easy Reader
Daniel’s Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla
Riding the Pony Express by Clyde Robert Bulla
Wagon Wheels by Barbara Brenner
Advanced
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Young Pioneers by Rose Wilder Lane (daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder)
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling
Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Story of the Oregon Trail (Part of the Cornerstones of Freedom Series)
by R. Conrad Stein
Inside the Alamo by Jim Murphy
I Remember the Alamo by D. Anne Love
California Gold Rush
By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman
Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan
Civil War
Picture Books
Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
Nurse, Soldier, Spy: the Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero by Marissa Moss
Advanced
Between Two Flags series by Lee Roddy
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder
With Lee in Virginia A Story of the American Civil War by G. A. Henty
And for some good British Adventure books
Horatio Hornblower series – Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is the first one
Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Coral Island and other adventure books by R. M. Ballantyne
G. A. Henty – he wrote adventures about places all over the world
Safe Haven News – March
|
|||
|
Safe Haven News – February
|
||
|
||
|
Safe Haven News – January
|
||
|
||
|