Rummy Roots Card Game

May 23rd, 2011

rummy-roots-card-game

Rummy Roots is a card game where your children can learn Greek and Latin root words. In the pre-Rummy Roots game, you match the English word to the Greek or Latin word. It’s like a go-fish game. In the real Rummy Roots card game, you join two or more Greek or Latin roots together to form English words. This is a lot harder and wasn’t as fun for my kids as the easier version of the game.

game-to-help-kids-learn-latin

My 10-year-old son was the only one that liked the real Rummy Roots game better than the easier version, so if you have high school students, you can probably skip to the real game and be fine. This game would definitely help in building vocabulary for reading comprehension as well as improve SAT scores.

game-to-learn-latin-roots

learn-latin-roots

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Posted in History | 4 Comments »

The Importance of Friendship

May 20th, 2011

the-importance-of-friendshipI bet your husband would love to go shooting with a buddy, or play lazer tag, or just go do whatever guys do. But, no. Men are married, and they’re not allowed to leave home, or they’re bad husbands. It means that they are neglecting us as wives, and that they love their buddies more than they love us. That’s what we make them feel like.

So my husband has no one to hang out with. The men would feel guilty if they did.

Whenever I go to my “Mom’s Night Out,” my husband says, where’s the “Guy’s Night Out?” There isn’t one. Women deserve breaks, but men don’t. Women need rest, but men don’t. Men never burn out.

My other question is, why is it that men have more trouble making friends than women do? At church (not recently, but usually) someone asks me how I’m doing, and I give them a run-down on my soul, what God is teaching me, and whatever else is on my mind. I have deep spiritual conversations. I hate chit chat and dump it at the first opportunity. And yet when I overhear men talking, it’s all chit chat. No wonder they don’t know each other. No wonder they don’t hang out. It’s because they’re strangers. It’s almost like guys have to have known the other guy during their childhood to even be considered a friend. Bummer, because we don’t live where my husband grew up.

I get phone calls all the time from people who love me. I’m popular. People need me. If the phone rings, my husband says it’s for me without getting up. He’s right. This is just stupid. My husband is a great person: funny, intellectual, and spiritual. But men have their own clicks of people they grew up with. How on earth is he supposed to use his spiritual gift with other people in the body of Christ if no one ever hangs out with him? And he’s not the only one. I bet your husband feels the same way.

I just know how much my own girl friendships mean to me. My best friend has been a pillar in my life. She rebukes me when I’m sinning, she becomes outraged when I’m wronged, and she prays for me when I feel despair. Several times in my life back when I was single, I packed up all my belongings and moved to Texas, just because that’s where she was. That’s how much her friendship means to me. When she calls me to get my opinion, she knows I’ll give it. And if she disagrees with me, I don’t feel threatened in any way. I feel mentally stimulated to think about the situation from a new angle. That’s because I’m listening to her.

How many men have this? This is valuable. I think that in the body of Christ especially, it is vital. And yet we never let our husbands have the time to go escape, to breathe, to be understood as a guy. Because you know how wonderful it feels to be understood as a girl. But guys don’t need that, of course.

I’m just saying that we should encourage our men to go fishing or hiking with whatever men they feel like hanging out with. Just for the sake of friendship. Without making them feel bad. It’s worth it. Your man will come back refreshed, just like you do when you’ve had time with friends.

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Posted in Marriage | 8 Comments »

Colosseum Bricks: A Disaster

May 19th, 2011

colosseum-bricksDon’t buy the Colosseum bricks that I showed you on my Ancient Rome Unit Study YouTube video. They’re totally stupid. I don’t know how the manufacturer expects children to use them. They are lightweight like styrofoam, and they are supposed to be attached by hot glue. But hot glue melts the bricks slightly, and it’s too thick to look good. It is severely frustrating, because the bricks don’t stick together properly. You have to cut them into triangles with a sharp knife to make wedges. Really? Children are supposed to wield a sharp knife to make wedges out of styrofoam?! And then they’re supposed to not burn themselves with the hot glue gun that’s a bazzillion degrees? Okay…

Since my 10-year-old son screamed, “Mom! It’s impossible to make a Colosseum with these bricks! Can I make a castle instead?”

I said, “Sure.”colosseum-bricks-2

My children made castles and other structures (without sharp knives and burning equipment) and later knocked them down with only a slight gust of wind.

I just wanted everyone to know that I give this product a thumbs down. Really down. Like, my thumb is almost touching the floor; it’s that low…

Instead, maybe people can use wooden blocks, but you need a lot. This is what I recommend. Grab the phone and call a homeschool family. Ask them, “Do you own a set of wooden blocks?”

If the person says, “No,” then you say, “Never mind. Have a good day.” Hang up. (When I’ve done this to people, they call me back, laughing, asking for an explanation…)

colosseum-bricks-3On the other hand, if the person says, “Why, yes. We DO own a set of wooden blocks.” Then you say, “Come on over with your blocks, and we can build the Colosseum of Rome. Wouldn’t that be grand?”

In which case they will answer, “What a fabulous idea. I’ll be right over…”

You must call several homeschool families, depending on how large you want your Colosseum to be. Watch out, since blocks are hard, and the Colosseum is tall. Anyone who doesn’t want a bloody foot should exit the room. Yes, maybe we should let teenagers do this…

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Posted in History | 6 Comments »

Sushi and a Walk by the River

May 17th, 2011

sushi-and-a-walk-by-the-river

I’ve never liked sushi. It’s probably because I was raised in a third-world country, and my mother told me to never eat raw fish. But lately my husband has found sushi the most delectable food around. Most of our rare date nights end up in a sushi place. I frantically try to find something cooked on the menu, and I can usually find something…

Well, last Friday night I had a taste of sushi that was magnificent. I was stunned. Not only did I not feel like barfing; I actually wanted another bite. This was so funny to me because I classified sushi in the same category as snails and grasshoppers (not edible).

cooked-sushi

We were at a new sushi restaurant down by the Spokane River. It had a conveyor belt that wound itself around the room like a meandering train track. And on that conveyor belt were all kinds of sushi and other Japanese foods. You just grabbed the small plates as they passed by your table. There was no need to wait or to order. At the end of the meal, the waiter counted up the different-colored plates for the final price. A cooked oyster (two sides with delicious stuff inside) was $1.50. Other plates were $4. Anyway, each of the foods we ate was delicious. My husband said, “We definitely need to come back here.”

Another great thing about the meal was that you could stop whenever you were full. You didn’t have to feel overstuffed after forcing yourself to finish a huge, heaping plate of food. If I wanted a vegetable, I waited for a vegetable plate to parade by, and I’d snatch it up. I didn’t have to get sick of just one taste during the whole meal.

sushi-conveyor-belt

After dinner, my husband and I took a stroll along the river, crossing bridges and looking at the torrential waterfall. The dam had been opened, and the water looked dangerously high. The power of the raging water as it crashed over rocks was incredible. We just stood there and took it in for a while. Then I noticed a solid rock in the middle of the torrent. The rock remained secure despite the crashing waves around it. That rock represented my husband and I.

Many years ago my husband held my hands and looked into my eyes and said, “Susan, I want you and I to be a solid rock, that no matter what life throws at us, we will not waver or fall, but that we would be a bulwark against the storms of life.” He gave as an example an older couple that we know. He said he wanted us to be like them.

date-night-in-Spokane

As I looked at the power of the crashing waves against the rock, I realized that despite the way I felt, I was acting like that rock. I was one with my husband, and I was repeatedly surprising myself with how I would lean on God to help me endure our trial for yet one more week.

The river isn’t always this strong and damaging, though. Most of the time we’ve crossed that bridge, the water has been quite peaceful. I’m longing for the day when the waters recede and the sun comes out again to shine on the rock. The sun seems long overdue…

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Posted in Marriage | 7 Comments »

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