Great Back to School Ideas

I know, I know! We still have almost 4 more weeks of summer left and I am already talking school supplies! Yet I have to because I came across some amazing ideas I have used in the past or have found on my own being a home school mom to my youngest and a hybrid to my highschooler. I thought I would share them because in this economy of trouble times, who couldn't use the help!

1. TARGET ~ Besides being one of my favorite places to shop, Target has their school supplies out already. HINT: Don't wait to buy these, the prices will not drop, they will only run out and then go up! Made that big old mistake last year! I found crayola crayons for .24, index cards for .47, composition books for those science fair projects and spelling words for .50, pens for .50 and the list goes on and on.

2. Dry Erase ~ These work great for things like doing spelling words in the car while taking your teen to school. If they make a mistake, simply smudge your finger across the wrong letter and no re-writing is necessary. This works well for little ones because rewriting is something they don't like to do.

I also found my teen likes to use them for working out difficult Algebra problems in different colors for different operations, like red for adding, green for multiplying, so she can check her work and keep from being confused. I refuse to start school without a fresh set. Plus I can keep track of the subjects she needs to complete for my homeschooled daughter on the board and she can check them off or wipe them off when complete.

3. Preparing for back to school. One of the best tips I have gotten this year was from a home school mom whose son was taking the initiative to check his supplies before school started. He pulled out all his pens, pencils, markers, crayons, and even dry erase and made sure that the ones that had dried out, were tossed. Nothing spells grief to a child then starting coloring and the marker runs out of ink. I thought this was a great idea and it also helps with buying them early if you need to when the prices are still on sale.

4. Frustrated spellers? I had a great response last year and the year prior with washable window markers. Nothing says FUN like writing on the windows or patio doors. When it's all done, simply wipe off with water or Windex. Kids like writing on different surfaces and it makes it fun to write on things you don't normally get to!

I will post more tips next Wednesday, but if you have some, please leave a comment so we can all share in the great ideas all of you have!!!

It's Time For A Pop Quiz!!!

Remember when we went to high school or even Junior High while waiting for class to begin we would talk to our friends or share something that happened that day to someone we knew, then all of a sudden the teacher would walk in. Put their books down and smile?

We would look up and wonder why the smile? Then the teacher would say the words most of us would dread, “Pop Quiz!”

Groans and moans would be heard all around the class as we slid our books to the floor and waited with horror for the paper to be passed out. Of course, there were the kid or kids sitting in the class with the same smile the teacher exhibited and like they were hungry would anxiously await that same piece of paper, but with different results? Yeah, we called them ‘nerds’, ‘geeks’ and of course now, ‘boss’!

How differently each student views that ‘pop quiz’, some love it while others are hoping to spell their name correctly on the test, others wishing they would have stayed home and pretending to be sick.

God brings ‘pop quizzes’ into to our life. He does it, so He can see if we are learning the material He has given us up to that point.

God doesn’t announce them ahead of time, they just come.

God does this so we will learn the material. If when we encourage others through tough times, how do we handle it when we are faced with similar challenges or do we fail?

Why is it that the first thing we ask ourselves in the midst of difficulties in life is, “Why Me?” “What have I done to deserve this?” “Why is God allowing this to happen to me?”

Our response should be, ask God!

James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

There is nothing wrong with asking, “Is there something, you’re trying to teach me?” “Is there something you want me to know?”

Because we honestly want to learn it as quickly as possible, don’t we? We don’t want to have to endure this one-second longer than we have to.

Sometimes God wants us to learn, and we often times think we know more than what we do. Thus, the need for ‘pop quizzes’.

Do you know how mother eagles will teach their young how to fly? They begin by building their nests from 70-200 feet into the air. When the mother eagle believes the baby is ready, she kicks it out of the nest. The baby eagle falls and if it looks as if it won’t make it, the mom will swoop down and bring it back to the nest.

Try again tomorrow right? Wrong! Once back in the nest, the mom will kick it out again, until the baby tries it’s wings and flies!

Sometimes this is how God chooses to deal with us. He kicks us out.

In John 6:5, when Jesus is looking for a way to feed the multitudes, He begins His ‘pop quiz’ with his disciples and asks, ” When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

So how does Philip respond, (verse 7) “Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages[a] would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" He failed.

Then Jesus asks Andrew in verse 8-9, “Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

He is closer, and almost got it.

What Jesus wanted them to say was, “We aren’t sure Lord, but we believe you will do it” Right answer!

It’s so easy to tell others, “Trust God, He will provide.”, but what if you had a huge unexpected expense, a death in the family, lost your job, your home, how would you deal with it?

God will supply all your needs, not all your greeds!

It is amazing to see how far you can get by on, when you only have so much. God provides.

James 1:2 tells us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,”

You will be tested. No one goes untested. The truth is whether you will pass or fail.

God’s ultimate purpose in facing trials in life is that we will be more like the image of Jesus Christ. He wants to produce a family likeness.

Sometimes through our trials, we can immediately see what we have learned. It’s as clear as day. Other times, we have no idea, we are just happy its over. We may not be sure we have learned anything, but we may have learned more than we thought.

The word oops is not in God’s vocabulary. He knows what He is doing. If He puts you in the furnace, He always keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat.

If we rebel, He may have to reset the clock, but if we submit, He will not permit us to suffer one minute too long.

The point of this pop quiz for me was that yesterday I shared with all of you my difficulties of dealing with another of my hubby’s business trips. Guess what? I just heard, God announce, “It’s pop quiz time!”

God allows trials in our life so we might grow up. Guess I am still growing, and I hope I pass this time!