Hello Again!

Hi everyone! I thought I would write this quick post just to let you know that I plan to start writing this blog again every so often. I have been out of the habit for far too long, and have been missing blogging!

God bless

Wisdom Seeking Scot.

I got this from my friend's blog. #sotrue Head over there now!

www.weeeyeonskye.blogspot.co.uk

Hatching Chicks

Over the past couple of months we have been in the process of hatching chicks. We were all very excited four weeks ago today because they hatched! We had two mums nd about twenty eggs, and fifteen of them arrived but only thirteen survived. They got their first runabout on the grass last week, and now they are raring to get out each afternoon! We think only four of them are cockerels but we aren't sure yet. Here they are at night:

Two of them are white, and the rest are black and orange. We kept them separate from the rest of the flock until they were about two weeks old, then let them in with the others. There was some fighting, but they have now settled in well.

Worship Song

This is one of my favourite worship tunes ever! I hope you enjoy it. I have decided that I am going to post slightly shorter posts than I have up until now, as I don't have a huge amount of spare time at the moment. I will be posting more, though!!!

No-Sugar Healthy Granola (Genesis 1:29)

'Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.' Genesis 1:29 (NIVUK)

I thought I would share this recipe with you, which we use quite often for breakfast. Enjoy!

NO-SUGAR HEALTHY GRANOLA

Ingredients

• 6 cups Rolled Oats
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

• 2/3 cup Clear Honey
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2/3 cup Pumpkin Seeds
• 1 cup Raisins/Sultanas                

Method    

1. Mix together the oats, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.
2. Preheat the oven to 300°F, 150°C, or Gas Mark 2.
3. Mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl, and carefully add this mixture to the dry ingredients.
4. Stir in the pumpkin seeds, and put in a large shallow baking tray.
5. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour, stirring every ten minutes to break up chunks.
6. When the granola looks golden-brown all over, remove from the oven and pour into a large plastic storage box with their off to cool.
7. Once cooled, stir in the raisins/sultanas.
8. Enjoy!!!

We usually store our granola in  tall sealed plastic tubs. You can also freeze it in sealed tubs with plenty of space.

WisdomSeekingScot.

Fitting In to Our New Community (Psalm 101:6)

'My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose way of life is blameless will minister to me.'' Psalm 101:6 (NIV UK)
 

Neighbours

 



A cute little garden plaque in our new home

Now that we've moved, we are slowly but surely getting settled in to our community. We live in a small township outside a village next to a loch, and we have neighbours on either side of our house. One family have been really friendly and kind towards us, having us in their house and giving us presents, while the other have hardly spoken to us at all. It is lovely having neighbours that are friendly, and the other family open up an opportunity for us to be friendly and kind towards them even if they aren't to us (see Matthew 7:12). We decided to make Easter cards for both sets of neighbours and we are going to deliver them this afternoon.

 

Church

 

The first week we were here, we didn't attend a church because we had just arrived, but we soon tried an independent church about 50 mins. from our house, which we have really enjoyed and continued going to. The people there were so welcoming and kind, and the church services there are very relaxed and they have a good Sunday School.

     We also attend the local Free Church of Scotland Continuing once a fortnight. It is quite different to the independent church because of it being more traditional, but we still enjoy attending. It is very quiet at the beginning of the service when the congregation wait for the minister to arrive, so it is a challenge to remain quiet and still in the pews! It is a very good opportunity to practice self-control, though.

 

Local Events

 

Before we moved to our new area, we had found out that there was a local community hall nearby. It is very modern, and quite large for such a small community. Our new neighbours' daughter had told us about a youth club that was held in the hall, and we were quite interested because we wanted to get to know some more people in the community. We decided to go along one week and see what it was like. However, we have decided we will go to the local nature group instead.

     For example, Mum attends fitness classes there each week, and we are going to the Easter craft fair this month.

 

     Before I go, I'd just like to wish everyone a very HAPPY EASTER! You can make Easter cards, a salt-dough tomb, or paint eggs! Just remember to celebrate the true meaning of Easter!

 

WisdomSeekingScot.

 

(Still not found a good signature yet!!!)

Settling In to Our New Home (Proverbs 24:3)

'By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established...'

Proverbs 24:3 (NIV UK)

 

The Western Isles of Scotland

We are having a great time in our new house, a detached cottage on the Western Isles of Scotland! We have been here for a week now, and are enjoying waking up in the morning and knowing we can explore again! Yes, we (the 4 children) have been climbing the trees and crawling through the heather and scaling the fences and... well, our garden is big, and it is very fun to play in! It is a lovely garden, with a small oriental pond, large fir trees overshadowing the back of the house, and a mossy lawn. I think most children, at least at some point in their childhood, go through a phase of playing outside all the time - we certainly are! Really we play out a lot anyway, but we are just doing it a lot more than usual at the moment!

Collared Dove (courtesy of RSPB Images)

     We are in the middle of building a small den in the top corner of the garden, and

The Little Robin

Cinnamon is in charge of building the actual den, and I am taking on the job of building the screen around it. There is a little Robin that keeps coming up to the den and sitting on a branch next to it and cheeping at us - I think we must have invaded his territory! Talking of birds, it is amazing the number of Collared Doves we get here - they sit on the electricity lines, in the fir trees, on the fence posts, everywhere! (Click here to watch a video from the RSPB.) I think they are lovely birds, much smaller than Woodpigeons and Turtle Doves, with a beautiful pink eye ringlet and black collar. Well, I better go now, it's lunchtime: tuna mayo sandwiches! (Mmmm!)

Blessings,

WisdomSeekingScot.

P.S. I think I'll maybe think about a more fancy-looking signature, like Cinnamon's!

Loch Turret Reservoir Overflowing Video (Genesis 7:20a)

'The waters rose and covered the mountains...' Genesis 7:20a (NIV UK)

 

I have now added the video 'Loch Turret Reservoir Overflows' to my video page. I think it's really cool how the water just pours over the spillway. Let me know what you think by commenting below! (Anonymous can be selected from the drop-down list.) Here it is:

Loch Turret Reservoir Overflows from Wisdom Seeking Scot on Vimeo.

 

By the way, do you go for walks with your family? We enjoy doing this together because it means that we can spend time with each other and talk about stuff. Do your family enjoy this too?

Yours in Christ,

WisdomSeekingScot.

RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch (Genesis 1:22)

'God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.' Genesis 1:22 (NIV UK)

 

As I have enjoyed birdwatching so much this year, I thought that I might do RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch for 2015 this year! I've always wanted to do it, but we accidentally missed it last year due to being too busy and we didn't really know a huge amount about it before that. Basically, it is a huge survey across the entire United Kingdom to find out just how many birds are visiting our gardens and which ones are declining or not.

     To take part, all you need to do is register on the Big Garden Birdwatch homepage and the RSPB will send you a free pack. I received mine on Monday this week, and inside were:

• A small booklet telling me all about the Big Garden Birdwatch and what it was for.
• A leaflet with details of how to participate and spaces to write my results.
• An envelope so that I can post the leaflet with my results on it back to the RSPB.
• A £5 voucher for the RSPB Shop.

     You can then choose two days: either Saturday 24 or Sunday 25 January. On the day you decide to do it, get your binoculars, a timer, a pencil and a piece of paper, and sit down somewhere in your house where you can see your garden. You can make notes for yourself throughout the hour, but by the end of the hour you should write on the leaflet the highest number of each type of bird that you saw at the same time. (Don't count any birds flying over, just the ones that land in your garden).
     For example, if you see five blackbirds flying into a bush in your garden and disappear, and ten minutes later you see six flying over your fence into your garden, you can only write '6' as the highest number of blackbirds that you saw - because you didn't see all 11 of the blackbirds at the same time. If you didn't follow this rule, you might end up with a record of 250 blackbirds at the end of your hour or something!
     Anyway, it is quite fun, and I am looking forward to it, as it is also something that you can do with all the family, young or old.
     Before you go, you might want to have a look at the 'Videos' page of the website - I have added some of me playing the piano and some more of birds. I am hoping to upgrade the quality of the videos soon - at the moment you can see a lot of little boxes filling the screen! If it gets really bad, just head over to my Vimeo page - they do them in HD.

In Christ alone,

WisdomSeekingScot.

Wholesome Christmas Videos for Homeschoolers (Philippians 4:8)

'Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.' Philippians 4:8 (NIV UK)

 

Courtesy of Sheri Graham at Homeschooling Central, I know of some great Christmas videos that you can watch with all the family*. Most of them are cartoons, which are usually quite popular! This is a post where you can watch Christmas videos on for free without actually having to browse YouTube.

 



Red Boots for Christmas: 

 

 

Jesus - The Nativity:

 

 

Christmas Story (Animation Video):

 

 

The Legend of the Three Trees:

 

Jesus Christ's Life Story (Beginner's Bible for Children):

 

A Child is Born (Bible Stories for Children - New Testament):

 

 

The Nativity (Beginner's Bible for Kids):

 

 

The Nativity Story*:

 

 

  

I hope these all help, and you enjoy watching them with your families this Christmas!

 

Blessings,

 

WisdomSeekingScot.

 



*The Nativity Story: We have this on DVD - it is a PG, and some parts may be a bit frightening to small children, so maybe not best for all the family if you have small children.

GUEST BLOG POST by Cinnamon: 'Meet Cinnamon' (1 Corinthians 10:31b)

GUEST BLOG POST BY CINNAMON: 'Meet Cinnamon'

Click here to view it.

Christmas Crafts (Matthew 1:21)

'"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[a] because he will save his people from their sins."' Matthew 1:21 (NIV UK)

 

I have been enjoying playing Christmas carols on the piano recently, but the books we have are rather easy for me, being quite a bit below Grade 1. I am studying for my Grade 1 exam in the New Year, but I play Grade 3-5 tunes just now (eg. 'Fur Elise' by Beethoven), because I like there to be a lively bass clef instead of just one or two chords per bar. My favourite Christmas carol is probably 'Once in Royal David's City' or 'O Little Town of Bethlehem'. 'O, Come, All Ye Faithful' and 'Angels We Have Heard On High' are also some of my favourites. What are your favourite Christmas carols? You can vote in my MiniPoll on the right to let me know (all votes are anonymous).

     I have also been making some Christmas tree decorations, because I am getting into the 'festive spirit' as some might say, and they are really quite easy and quick to make. I just took an old Tesco cereal box, cut out an A4-size rectangle of cardboard, and stuck an A4 piece of yellow paper onto it with some glue. Then, I used a stencil to trace stars onto the now-yellow cardboard, but I had to do it lightly, because the glue hadn't quite dried yet, and I was afraid the pencil would go through the yellow paper and make holes in it. Finally, I cut out the star shapes with sharp scissors (if you let the paper completely dry onto the cardboard before cutting the star shapes out, you can use more blunt scissors), punching holes in each star on one of the five points. You can tie a length of ribbon through the hole in each star if you like, but if you don't have any, you can use string, twine, thread, wool, or even some bits of reed grass (if you're getting really desperate!).

     Another Christmas activity you can do is a candle table centrepiece. These can take up more time than other decorations, but are very nice to look at. You will need:

• Oasis Foam
• Medium-Sized Holly Sprigs
• Branches/fronds (about 15 inches long) of any type of Leylandii evergreen bush, freshly cut & green
• 4 Candles (about 10 inches long), all of the same colour (I would probably choose red or dark green)
• 1 Candle (about 12 inches long), a different colour from the 4 smaller candles (I would probably choose white)
• Plastic box/tub or small wooden crate (eg. ice cream tub), about 15 inches x 9 inches
• Water
• 20 Cocktail Sticks (about 2.5-3 inches long)
• Jug of any size
• Scissors
• Sticky tape
• Pine cones (optional)
• Ribbon (optional)
• PVA glue (optional)
• Fake berries (optional)

Put the Oasis foam inside the plastic box/tub or crate, trimming it to fit with the scissors. Cram as much foam as you can into the tub, and try to make sure that no space is visible. Now for the fun part! Fill the jug with water, and pour it over the Oasis foam. Keep filling the jug and pouring more and more water into the foam until no more will be absorbed (you will find that the Oasis foam soaks up much more water than you think!). Stick 4 cocktail sticks on the side of each candle with sticky tape near the bottom, so that about half of each cocktail stick extends below the bottom of the candle. Push the 4 smaller candles into the wet Oasis foam in a circle around the edge of the container, each about 1 inch in from the edges of the container. Begin poking the Leylandii branches/fronds and holly sprigs into the wet Oasis foam; you can push them in at any pattern you like, or even just do them at random. Make sure that all of the Oasis foam is covered! You can place a few pine cones around the bigger candle or around the outside of the tub with sticky tape (or PVA glue if you prefer) if you like. Your candle decoration is now complete!

     I might make some of these in the next few weeks in the run up to Christmas. Please keep praying for my family as we make important decisions for our house - there is good news! We are have found a house to move to! We still need prayer for a safe move, though - I appreciate your prayers a lot!

 

Blessings,

 

WisdomSeekingScot.

Good Books that you may Find Worthwhile Reading (Proverbs 18:15)

'The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.' Proverbs 18:15 (NIV UK)

 

I am an avid reader, who enjoys all sorts of books, as long as they are not too graphic or gory. Most of the books I read are Christian books, and I thought you might like the links to some of them. Here are the links:

1. Crown & Covenant Trilogy by Douglas Bond: Duncan's War; King's Arrow; Rebel's Keep - I really enjoy these godly books about Scottish Covenanters' history. The last two books are a bit graphic in some parts, so if using as a read-aloud, edit while reading when needed.
2. Red Rock Mysteries Series by Jerry B. Jenkins & Chris Fabry: Haunted Waters; Stolen Secrets; Missing Pieces; Wild Rescue; Grave Shadows; Phantom Writer; Double Fault; Canyon Echoes; Instant Menace; Escaping Darkness; Windy City Danger; Hollywood Holdup; Hidden Riches; Wind Chill; Dead End - these are adventurous, funny, can't-be-put-down-once-started books about twins Bryce and Ashley, and how they were converted and then had lots of adventures (in the different books), where their faith is tested and they learn to know God better through hard situations that have happened in the past.
3. Tales of Karensa by Jean Cullop: Where Dolphins Race with Rainbows; Castle of Shadows,;Children of the Second Morning; Silver Serpent/Golden Sword - these are perhaps for slightly younger children than myself, but are still fun to read. If you have ever read The Chronicles of Narnia before, this may ring a faint bell, because the children travel to a different world to learn about Jesus before returning to England.
4. Farm Mystery Series: Footprints in the Barn; The Mysterious Message; Midnight Sky; Who, Me?; Weighty Matters; Where There's Smoke...; The History Mystery; Lights Out!; Trapped; The Case of the Missing Man - we really enjoyed using these as read-alouds a couple of years ago. They are about a Christian family who live on a farm in America, the two boys, Andy and Jason, using their detective work around the farm.
5.  

Lego Train Set & Memory Stick Space Dilemma! (1 Timothy 4:16)

'Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.' 1 Timothy 4:16 (NIV UK)

I don't know about you, but I've always loved playing with Lego. Just over a month ago I received an electric Lego Cargo/Freight Train for my 13th birthday, and I have enjoyed building things to go along with it with my sisters, placing minifigures around the track and station, and taking it to my friend's house. Below are photos that I took of the set:

 

PHOTOS COMING SOON

The train set has had to be dismantled because of people coming to view our house; we are possibly moving soon.

I found this brilliant animation Lego have made of it here. Below are Lego's photos of the set:

Unfortunately, the train is powered by six AAA batteries and the remote is powered by three AAA batteries, so it is possible that it could cost quite a bit to keep it powered (although the batteries I bought when I received it haven't run out yet!). Also, the remote seems to work best when it is pointed upwards into the air - I wonder why?

 

Moving onto a completely different subject, I would like to tell you some stuff about my camera. I am having problems at the moment finding enough space on my three memory sticks to store all my photographs. I have one 32 GB, one 16 GB, and one 4GB. I use the 4 GB one for all of my personal files that are not photos, eg. Word Documents, PDFS, some videos, et cetera, so I don't really use this one for photos. I use both the 16 GB and the 32 GB memory sticks for photos, but the two of them only have a few MBs left on them, and my camera is 16 MP (photos below), so I can't put any more photos on them. I have gone through all of my photos once or twice, and deleted the unneeded ones. I have been saving up for a DSLR camera, and I probably have around £75, but DSLRs cost from £150 to £400 and an external hard drive costs £50 to £125. The actual problem at the moment isn't actually long-term storage, but storage between now and when I can afford to buy a hard drive. Does anyone have any suggestions? If you do, please comment on this post (below).

 

I hope you have understood a bit more about how I store my photos! I think I might just need to persevere until either I can afford an external hard drive or I figure out some other way of storing the photos!

 

Blessings,

 

WisdomSeekingScot.

What Websites We Use for Our Homeschooling Online (Colossians 3:2)

NOTICE

This blog post is not fully completed and is being updated all the time, so you can come back here in a few days time and see even more links!

WisdomSeekingScot.

'Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.' Colossians 3:2 (NIV UK)

Today I thought that I would put lots of links on my post so that you can look at what we use for our homeschooling. I plan to tell you more about myself in the future, but just now I would like to introduce you to a lot of places on the internet that we use for homeschooling (and other stuff).

• Everyclick - we use this website as our homepage, because if you sign up, every time you do an internet search, it donates around 1 pence to a charity of your choice. We are donating to Release International just now, I think.
• 

  BBC Bitesize - we use this for 'computer time' on Thursdays as an educational website full of games for all ages. Chosse from primary, secondary, and more grades!
• 

  Quest for Compassion - this is a Christian missionary game where you pick a travel buddy and travel around the world to complete tasks, games, and quizzes.
• 

  MakaziVille - run by the Duggar family of 21 in America, this educational game is set in a make-believe village named 'MakaziVille' in Tanzania. Complete games, watch videos, and do devotions to earn coins (no real money used) so that you can buy more things for your own version of the MakaziVille village.
• 

  Adventures in Odyssey - a website where you can listen to podcasts for free that teach life lessons with real-life examples. Also, you can buy Adventures in Odyssey on CD and MP3 (iTunes). This podcast is run by the well-known company Focus on the Family.
• Brinkman Adventures - audio like Adventures in Odyssey except that you can only listen to one episode online - you have to buy the CD packs to listen to all the episodes.
• 

  Jonathan Park - another audio adventure series, but, just like the Brinkman Adventures, you can only listen to a few online; you have to buy the CD packs/MP3s.
• Homeschooling Central - this website, run by Sheri Graham, is where you can find LOADS of different resources and information for homeschooling. It is an amazing place for links!
• Perth and Tayside Homeschoolers - the website of the homeschooling meeting group  that we go to, called P.A.T.H. for short. My mum made this website; she did a really good job!

I hope you are able to use some of these websites to help your homeschooling!

WisdomSeekingScot.

Schoolwork Curriculums and John Muir Laws Video (Colossians 3:23)

'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters...' Colossians 3:23 (NIV UK)

I thought that some of you might like to know what sort of curriculum we (me and my family) use for our homeschool. I use Teejay for maths, Learning Language Arts Through Literature (LLATL) for english, MapStart for geography, Trinity Guildhall for Music Theory, Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (BFSU) for Science, Mystery of History for History, Voici une Famille Francaise (no website) for French, and Hello World! for computing. The current levels that I use are:

Teejay Level F:

Learning Language Arts Through Literature Green Book:

Mapstart Level 4:

Trinity Guildhall Music of Theory Workbook Grade #1:

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (elementary level, but picture below is for whole package):

Mystery of History Volume #3:

Voici une Famille has no website, so no picture is available.

Also, we do nature notebook drawing for Art usually, but we occasionally use Lamb's Book of Art. We just recently watched this video about how to make good nature notebooks by John Muir Laws, so it is attached below, so that you can watch it too, if you like.

ATTACHMENT FAILED TO LOAD. WATCH AT LINK BELOW.

If it doesn't work, here is the link:

http://youtu.be/e3jb5674TCk

Blessings,

 

WisdomSeekingScot.

First Day of New Blog

I wanted to begin a new blog for talking about everyday, Christian, homeschooling things that happen in my life, and I have just started it today, 10 October!

I have already been running a Christian website about birdwatching, but I wanted to have a blog that talks about a lot of different things instead of just one subject.

You can see my other website here.

I hope you have fun reading my new blog!

WisdomSeekingScot.