M – Soaked Oatmeal

T – Bagels w/ Cream Cheese or Egg Burritos (eggs for me, or gf toast w/ cream cheese)

W – Eggs or Cinnamon Toast

Th – Soaked Oatmeal

F – Berry/Banana/Spinach or Chard Smoothies and Sausages

S- Cereal and Milk

Sun – Eggs and Meat

Lunches:

M – Costco or Bean Burritos/Nachos

T – CC Lunch To-Go (homemade granola bars, veggies, fruit, cheese)

W – Tuna or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (buy Udi’s bread for me)

Th – Tostadas

F – PB and J (buy Udi’s bread for me)

S – corn tortilla quesadillas (plain, chorizo, etc.)

Sun – out to lunch?

Dinners:

M – Crock Pot Meal:  Crock Pot Tamale Pie, Broccoli Beef, Sour Cream Salsa Chicken, Shredded BBQ Chicken

T – Leftovers or Easy (CC Day): quesadillas, spaghetti, grilled meat of some kind w/ a salad, etc.

W – Beans and Mexican Rice with chips, sour cream, and salsa (and a salad)

Th – Chicken:  Chicken Soup, Green Pepper Chicken (crock pot), Chicken Oreganato, Fried Chicken

F – Beef:  Pot Roast or Beef Stew (crock pot), Cheeseburgers, Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Tacos

S – Vegetarian or Fish:  Salmon 2x a month, Cheese Enchiladas 2x

Sun – Try Something New (or something old-and-missed)

M – Soaked Oatmeal

T – Bagels w/ Cream Cheese or Egg Burritos (eggs for me, or gf toast w/ cream cheese)

W - Mango Lassies (made w/ kefir) and sausages

Th – French Toast Casserole (eggs for me, with fruit)

F – Berry/Banana/Spinach or Chard Smoothies

S- Cereal and Milk

Sun – Eggs and Meat

Lunches:

M – Costco or Bean Burritos/Nachos

T – CC Lunch To-Go (homemade granola bars, veggies, fruit, cheese)

W – Tuna or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (buy Udi’s bread for me)

Th – PB and J (buy Udi’s bread for me)

F – Tostadas

S – corn tortilla quesadillas (plain, chorizo, etc.)

Sun – out to lunch?

Dinners:

M – Crock Pot Meal:  Crock Pot Tamale Pie, Broccoli Beef, Sour Cream Salsa Chicken, Shredded BBQ Chicken

T – Leftovers or Easy (CC Day): quesadillas, spaghetti, grilled meat of some kind w/ a salad, etc.

W – Beans and Mexican Rice with chips, sour cream, and salsa (and a salad)

Th – Chicken:  Latin Stir Fry w/ Cilantro Lime Rice, Green Pepper Chicken (crock pot), Chicken Oreganato, Fried Chicken

F – Beef:  Pot Roast (crock pot), Cheeseburgers, Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Tacos

S – Vegetarian or Fish:  Salmon 2x a month, Cheese Enchiladas 2x

Sun – Try Something New (or something old-and-missed)

M – Soaked Oatmeal

T – Bagels w/ Cream Cheese or Pancakes/Waffles

W - Mango Lassies (made w/ kefir) and sausages

Th – French Toast Casserole

F – Quinoa (with berries sometimes)

S- Cereal and Milk

Sun – Eggs and Meat

Lunches:

M – Costco Hot Dogs or Bean Burritos

T – Leftovers

W – Tuna or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Th – Tostadas

F – PB and J

S – quesadillas (plain, chorizo, etc.)

Sun – out to lunch?

Dinners:

2nd - Beans and Mexican Rice with chips, sour cream, and salsa (and a salad)

3rd – Homemade Mac n’ Cheese (used whole milk instead of evaporated and arrowroot instead of cornstarch) with steamed broccoli

4th – Roasted Chicken and Mashed Potatoes

5th – Tortellini w/ red sauce, asparagus, salad

6th – Go to Church for Taco Bar?

7th - Cheeseburger Patties, broccoli, salad

8th -

9th - Toad in the Hole (thanks to Mrs. Drake – yum!) and salad

10th – Fried Buttermilk Chicken Strips (cut chic breasts into strips, dip into buttermilk and then a flour/ranch dressing spice/salt/pepper/paprika mixture, then fry in olive oil) and veggies

11th – Tacos w/ Shredded Chicken from freezer, salad, Trader Joe’s organic corn

12th – Beef Chili and Cornbread

13th – Leftover chili

14th -  Beans and Mexican Rice with chips, sour cream, and salsa (and a salad)

15th

16th

17th

18th

19th

20th

26th -

27th - Spaghetti and Meatballs and veggies

29th -

30th – Homemade Mac n’ Cheese, broccoli, salad

Things to maybe try this month:

Granola Bars or No-Bake Granola Bars

Giant Pot of Red Sauce?

Yogurt in the Crock Pot

- The CIRCE Institute               

I came across this excellent article by Karen Glass today on the Classical Side of Charlotte Mason and was reminded of my own journey to, from, and back to Classical Education.

When I first read about Classical Education, my heart leaped for joy!  It seemed like the perfect fit for our family’s educational philosophies. Once I read The Well-Trained Mind, however,  I changed my well-read mind quickly!  If THAT was classical, I didn’t like it.  Where was the cuddling-on-the-couch-reading-delicious-books time?  If I had more than two kids, how I was supposed to tackle all those separate grade levels, especially when I had already been sold on how wonderful it is to learn as a family?  The book stressed me out and I put Classical Education out of my mind.

Charlotte Mason, or a Living Books education, was my next discovery.  For the Children’s Sake inspired me to do anything I could to help make my kids passionate about learning.  A Charlotte Mason Education showed me that I could provide a vigorous, full education for my children without making my children sit still and do boring bookwork all day.  Charlotte Mason inspired me to make beauty and virtue and habit serious components of our family’s education.  After the first evening I read A Charlotte Mason Companion, I honestly had vivid, sweet dreams the entire night!  The book touched my soul in a gentle, warm way that made me want to slow down, hug my children, and learn alongside them.

But I couldn’t shake the fact that the deeper principles in a Charlotte Mason Education were very similar to those I’d first been drawn to in Classical Education.  Was Charlotte Mason “classical”?  It was when I read Teaching the Trivium‘s suggestion that parents consider using Charlotte Mason methods for their younger children and then utilizing a more traditional classical approach with older students  that I seriously considered how Classical and CM could go hand in hand.  

Two years ago, we joined Classical Conversations.  I am now thoroughly sold on Classical Education again!  Here’s a post I left a year ago on the Simply Charlotte Mason forum about CC and how we didn’t have to “give up” the gems we’d mined from CM to embrace the classical method:

“Our family is VERY Charlotte Mason-ish (we always called our philosophy Relaxed Classical with a Charlotte Mason twist) and we LOVED Classical Conversations last year.  Long story short, I had the opportunity to tutor for the group (so it didn’t cost me any $$) and we gave it a go.  I didn’t change our home curriculum a bit, besides going over the timeline and memory verse every morning.  We did completely different things in history and science at home- nothing related to the CC facts.  We simply played the CC CD in the car and sometimes before bed.  Oh, and the kids did have to do an oral report for CC each week.  They loved the class!  I can’t believe how many facts they learned.  It was frankly AMAZING, more amazing because of how much fun they had doing it!

“The kids did make LOTS of connections, though.  If we were at a museum or watching a show or reading a book when the name of a famous person from their timeline or history sentence popped up, they were so excited because they already felt familiar with that person (even though they had memorized those names without beginning with any connections).

“We added a foster/adopt son halfway through the year and I was even more amazed to see how he adored CC.  He hated school and loved homeschooling, so I didn’t know how the classroom situation would go for him at CC.  I can only speak for our group, but the class is extremely active – lots of singing, game playing, jumping around.  It’s not at all like what I had in mind for a formal classical school!  

“Tutoring was also a load of fun.  I can’t believe how much I learned!

“Anyway, just wanted to chime in that you can partake in CC without sacrificing your Charlotte Mason ideals.  In fact, we had struggled with memory work for years and I felt that CC actually freed me up to spend more time reading living books and letting the kids do a little bit of “unschooling” (or delight-directed schooling)!”

After two years of being involved with CC at this time, I can only agree with my first impression that my children LOVE memorizing and making connections from bare facts to deeper ideas. I have decided it is quite possible to embrace both the grammar stage ideas found in the classical method and Charlotte’s contention that children are not empty buckets to be filled but souls to be nurtured.  The high principles behind both Charlotte Mason and Classical Education are more within my reach thanks to this wonderful program.  I’m very thankful that the Lord led us to Classical Conversations!

‎”ONE Sun is splendid: six Suns would be only vulgar. One Tower of Giotto is sublime: a row of Towers of Giotto would be only like a row of white posts. The poetry of art is in beholding the single tower; the poetry of nature, in seeing the single tree; the poetry of love, in following the single woman; the poetry of religion, in worshipping the single star.”

~GK Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles

Both of these quotes have shown up in Facebook friends’ status updates recently and served to give a nice word picture to thoughts I’ve been having.

Our newly adopted son, DJ, began drawing pictures of my husband and I after just a few months of living here.  DJ came from an extremely broken background and had never seen an example of a faithful, loving marriage.  He was taken with us, as evidenced by his many drawings of us surrounded by hearts and holding hands.

I take pure delight in knowing our stable marriage can affect his heart, especially since I have not been the most stable mother since his arrival.  (Anyone who has adopted an older “hurt” child will understand how bringing a severely dysfunctional child into the home seems to bring out the worst in everyone!).

God is so good, not only to bless me with a sacrifical, faithful husband and the joy and rest that come along with having such a husband, but he uses that gift to reach this little boy in ways I didn’t even forsee as being important!

My husband has taught me so much about Christ through the years.  Not only in his sacrificial love for me, his warrior-like attitude in being faithful to me, but also through seeing God’s grace in his sin and repentance.

After looking at all sorts of online menu planning dealios (like Big Oven and Minute Meal Plan) I think I’ve decided the easiest way for me to keep track of meals and recipes is through blogging and linking.  I NEED to get this area of my life organized before the new baby gets here or we will all die from too much Taco Bell.  :)

Here goes:

Breakfasts:

M – Soaked Oatmeal

T – Bagels w/ Cream Cheese or Pancakes/Waffles

W – Mango Lassies (made w/ kefir) and sausages

Th – French Toast Casserole

F – Quinoa (with berries sometimes)

S- Cereal and Milk

Sun – Eggs and Meat

Lunches:

M – Costco Hot Dogs or Bean Burritos

T – Leftovers

W – Tuna or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Th – Tostadas

F – PB and J

S – quesadillas (plain, chorizo, etc.)

Sun – out to lunch?

Dinners:

17th – Homemade Mac n’ Cheese (used whole milk instead of evaporated and arrowroot instead of cornstarch) with steamed broccoli

18th – Beans and Mexican Rice with chips, sour cream, and salsa (and a salad)

19th – Tortellini w/ red sauce, asparagus, salad

20th – Salmon Patties with broccoli and roasted potatoes

21st – Toad in the Hole (thanks to Mrs. Drake – yum!) and salad

22nd – Fried Buttermilk Chicken Strips (cut chic breasts into strips, dip into buttermilk and then a flour/ranch dressing spice/salt/pepper/paprika mixture, then fry in olive oil) and veggies

23rd – Beef Chili and Cornbread

24th – Roasted Chicken and Mashed Potatoes

25th – Leftover chili

26th – Tacos w/ Shredded Chicken from freezer, salad, Trader Joe’s organic corn

27th - Spaghetti and Meatballs and veggies

28th -  Beans and Mexican Rice with chips, sour cream, and salsa (and a salad)

29th - Cheeseburger Patties, roasted potatoes, salad

30th – Homemade Mac n’ Cheese, broccoli, salad

Things to maybe try this month:

Granola Bars or No-Bake Granola Bars

Giant Pot of Red Sauce?

Yogurt in the Crock Pot

Symbol:

An Apple

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 3:1-24

Main Ideas:

The First Sin:  Adam and Eve’s sin separated them from God.  When you read this story together, make sure to emphasize their desperate need and God’s promise of redemption.  How amazing is it that God’s first promise of a Deliverer came when He went to curse Satan — even before the details of the curse was given? (1)

Consequences of Sin:  Sin affected everything in our world, not just Adam and Eve’s souls. Everything went from perfect to spoiled.

The Way to Repent:  Adam and Eve covered themselves in leaves out of shame.  They had no need of covering, no shame, until they had sinned.  God did not accept their leaf outfits — the work of their own hands.  Instead He killed an animal (presumably the FIRST time an animal had to die, and it had to die to make up for the mistake the humans had made) to make skin clothing for the couple.  God wanted Adam and Eve to see the terrible price required to cover their sin.

Discussion Questions (these questions were taken from Narration5 of The Story of God and Man*):

1. What attributes of God did we see in this lesson?
2. Out of His grace, what promise did God give Adam and Eve? God promised that one of Eve’s descendants would crush the head of Satan.)
3. When you crush the head of a snake, what happens to it? (When you crush the head of a snake, it dies.)
4. If this is true, what did God’s promise mean to Adam and Eve? (It meant that the One who was promised would bring Satan’s power to an end. The Promised One would bring freedom from Satan’s “poisonous bite” of slavery to sin and death.)
5. Why did God reject the clothes they had made of leaves? (God rejected their clothes so they would understand that they could do nothing to be accepted by God. They had to depend on what He did for them.)
6. Today, what kinds of things do people to do so that they will be accepted by God?  (Narrator, let your listeners give several answers here. They may say things like: They give to the poor, pray, go to church or mosque, they live good lives, and so on.)
7. If God did not accept Adam’s and Eve’s attempts to make themselves acceptable to God, do you think God will accept our attempts? (No. We must depend on what He says and does to make us acceptable to God.)

(1) Back in 2004 I read a wonderful book called Christianity is Jewish by Edith Schaefer.  I remember it was through this book that I first truly realized that God was foretelling the coming of Jesus in the middle of cursing Satan.  It’s a great book that explains God’s plan from the beginning.

(2)The Story of God and Man is a booklet used by a friend of mine on the mission field.  It goes through “narrations” of scripture, starting at the beginning, and brings you through a biblical worldview while building up the story of our Savior.  A great book.  Email me at onebeggarsbread@gmail.com for details about getting a copy.

For more information on the tradition of using a Jesse Tree for Advent, please visit this Squidoo page!

For yesterday’s reading, click here.

To proceed to December 3rd, click here.

Symbol:

Cain and Abel

(for our Sculpey ornaments we made a simple happy and sad face stuck together)

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 4:1-15

Main Ideas:

My Way v. God’s Way:  Cain and Abel never experienced the freedom in relationship with God that Adam and Eve had before sin entered the picture.  After the Fall, God required a blood sacrifice as the way to fellowship with Him.  Although Cain may have had “good intentions” with his sacrifice of crops, he simply wasn’t free to choose his own way to God.  Our own good works are never sufficient to please God.

Discussion Questions (these questions were taken from The Story of God and Man*):

1. What attributes and character of God did you see in today’s narration? (When we see how God talked with Cain and gave him an opportunity to repent after he killed his brother, we see that God communicates with man, and is merciful.  God already knew what Cain had done to his brother. God knows everything.)
2. Why are we all sinners, just like Cain and Abel? (We are all sinners because Adam is our father, and the father of everyone, and we have all inherited our sin nature from him.)
3. Abel offered an animal sacrifice but Cain brought the fruit of his garden. Can mankind choose how they are going to come to God? (No. God is the ruler of all. We can’t choose our own way of coming to Him. We can only come to Him by the way He chooses.)

For more information on the tradition of using a Jesse Tree for Advent, please visit this Squidoo page!

For yesterday’s reading, click here.

To proceed to December 4rd, click here.

Resources used for this study:

* Christianity is Jewish

* The Story of God and Man a booklet that goes through “narrations” of scripture, starting at the beginning, and brings you through a biblical worldview while building up the story of our Savior.  Email me at onebeggarsbread@gmail.com for details about getting a copy.

December 1^st

Symbol:

The World

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 1; Genesis 2:15-25

Main Idea:

God created the world and all that is within it by HIS WORDS ALONE.  That’s amazing!

When he was done, He said it was good.  When God made humans the final (working) day of creation, He said it was VERY good!

Discussion Questions (these questions were taken from The Story of God and Man*):

After reading Genesis 1:

1. What did God use to create all the things He made? (God didn’t use a single thing. He created by speaking a word.)
2. What attributes of God does this show us? (It shows us that God is all powerful. He knows everything.)
3. Name the things that God created during the six days of creation. (Water, light, the sky, dry land, the sun, moon and stars, plants and trees, fish and birds, and animals.)
4. God created all these things. What does this tell us about God? (It tells us that God is the one and only, most important One. He is all powerful; everything comes from Him; God rules over everything.)
5. What did God say about His creation? (He said it was good.)
6. If everything God made was good, what does that say about God’s character? (It says that God is totally good. There is no bad or evil in Him. He is absolutely holy.)

After reading Genesis 2:15-25:

1. In whose image did God create man and woman? (He created man and woman in His own image—the  image of God.)
2. In what ways are we created in the image of God? (We have an unseen part which is called soul and spirit. This means we have life from Him. It means we can think, decide, feel emotion and respond to God—and more!)
3. God knew about Adam’s loneliness. How did He fulfill this need of Adam’s? (He created Eve.)
4. God fulfilled Adam’s needs! What does this tell us about God’s character and attributes? (God cares for us. He is a God of mercy and love.)

* The Story of God and Man is a little book written by Carol Lyons to help Christians, especially missionaries to foreign cultures, explain the truth of God from the beginning of scripture/time.  Going through this book is like doing a Jesse Tree study on steroids!  Great stuff!   Email me at onebeggarsbread@gmail.com to receive a free copy.

Jesse Tree Reading for November 30