​I keep hearing criticism this year of a beautiful Christmas song, "Mary, Did You Know?" So I wanted to take a minute to think about that. I am a list girl, so here is my list of what Mary knew and didn't know.

She knew that she had found favor with God. (Luke 1:30)
She knew she would conceive as a virgin (Luke 1:31).
She knew she would have a son (Luke 1:31).
She knew what his name would be (Luke 1:31; Matthew 1:21)
She knew he would be called the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:32, 35).
She knew he would be given the throne of David (Luke 1:32).
She knew he would reign forever and his kingdom would have no end (Luke 1:32-33).
She knew that the Holy Spirit had come on her and overshadowed her (Luke 1:35).
She knew she was the mother of the Lord (Luke 1:43).
She knew she would be called blessed by all generations (Luke 1:48).
She knew that God was her Savior (Luke 1:47).
She knew that God's mercy extends to those who fear him (Luke 1:50).
She knew that God scatters the proud and performs mighty deeds (Luke 1:51).
She knew that He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty (Luke 1:53).
She knew that He has been merciful to His people just as He promised their ancestors (Luke 1:54-55).
She knew Jesus would save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
She knew her son would be called Immanuel (Matthew 1:25)​

​That her baby boy would one day walk on water
That her baby boy would calm a storm with His hand
That her baby boy would give sight to a blind man
That her baby boy would raise the dead

​That He would save the whole world
That He would make her new and deliver her
That He has existed from eternity
That He was the Creator
That He will one day rule the nations
That He is the Lamb of God
That He is the great I AM.

Remember, Mary was most likely a young teenage girl, around the same age as my daughter. She knew a lot, but she didn't know everything, and she certainly didn't know the details of what was coming for her son. And that is the point of "Mary, Did You Know" - wondering what Mary knew and what she did not, as she birthed and nursed and cared for her newborn Son. What went through her mind? How much did she really understand?

It doesn't say that Mary didn't know these things. It asks if she did, and by extension, it asks us if we know.

So do we? Do you know that the baby in the manger is the miracle worker, the Savior, the deliverer, the eternal Creator, Heaven's perfect lamb, and the great I AM??

If not, I would love to introduce you to the Savior who was the baby in the manger and is the Lord of all Creation, and who will one day return to rule the nations. Please reach out. And merry Christmas!

When we first started our homeschool journey with our daughter in kindergarten, we chose a popular program that was  said to be a classical, traditional approach. There was a sale going on at the homeschool conference we attended, so we got the first three years and the early elementary manipulative kit and dove in. And for my daughter, it worked great - so great that we bought the next level and the next, right up through Algebra 2, which she will tackle next year. 

When our son was ready to begin homeschool, we were excited to use the same approach, and the same books - not having to make a new purchase and learn a new approach was a huge advantage. And for the first few years, it worked pretty well, as the early levels have lots of hands-on learning, which worked well for my active young boy.

And then we hit third grade. We knew that as far as his mathematical ability went, he was ready for the level he was using, but it was a disaster. While he was able to handle the daily lessons, he was having a terrible time keeping up with the practice problems in each lesson. It is a spiral curriculum, meaning that it introduces a topic once and then practices it over and over again in subsequent lessons. We like that approach, but it makes those practice exercises super important for making sure a student masters those concepts.

A couple of other big things were going on with our son that contributed to a lot of frustration with math. First, although we didn't realize it at the time, he was having issues with tracking visually, making it hard to stay focused on a full page of print. Second, he had been dealing for a while with a condition called "palmar hyperhidrosis", or excessively sweaty palms, which made writing physically uncomfortable and sometimes caused his books and papers to get wet from the sweat. Those two factors contributed to math lessons taking way too long, causing way too much frustration, and leading to way to many tears, for both of us. We were doing all of his math together, and I was always his scribe. I was finding that we were spending so much time on math, that it was wearing both of us out for any other instruction. We tried some different apps to try to reduce the amount of writing he had to do, and we tried to do fewer problems, but we found ourselves falling further and further behind.

I started looking into other math curricula, both in print and online. That is when I found Teaching Textbooks. I knew others who had used it and that it was a computer-based curriculum, but that was it. What I discovered was a fully revamped curriculum that works via an app on a variety of devices, AND lets you try the first fifteen lessons for free. That was a win-win situation.

Now, several months into fourth grade, we are happily continuing to use Teaching Textbooks for our son's math curriculum. Here is why.

NOTE: I was given a free enrollment to Teaching Textbooks in exchange for an honest review, but the opinions below are mine completely.

This is super helpful in our son's tracking situation, and probably for other students who get overwhelmed with too much information on the screen at one time. The layout on the screen is visually appealing and clean, allowing my son to focus on the problem at hand without distractions.

Every problem has a "scratchpad" area where the student can use the mouse, or a finger on a touch screen, to write out a problem to show his or her work. This is one of the winning points for my son. It enables him to work independently without his hyperhidrosis getting in the way. The only thing I with they would add to this is a way to use the keyboard to input data. However, this is the next best thing and it is working great for us!

Teaching Textbooks allows you do download their app for free, and to access the first 15 lessons of any of their levels of math, from Math 3 up to Pre-Calculus. There is no credit card information given, and if you do decide to purchase access to a full math level, all of your child's grades will transfer over. 

This really helped us decide between two different math levels for our son and it made him excited about what we were switching to!

Getting set up with Teaching Textbooks is easy.

1. Download the app for your device(s).
2. Choose a level for your child - either by trying a certain level via their free trials, or by using their placement tests (there is one for each level).
3. Purchase access to your child's level. Prices range from $43.08 for earlier elementary courses to $67.08 for upper level high school courses. You will have access to that course for a full calendar year from the start date that you choose (which can be different from your purchase date), plus three months of "pause" time so you can turn the course "off" when you take time for the holidays or any other "time off" of school. AND they give you a 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee!

I am THRILLED with how Teaching Textbooks has worked for us this year. If you are looking for something different for your child, I encourage you to check out theirtrial enrollment - and to enter this giveaway! One winner will be chosen on Friday, December 3, to get a full year enrollment in your chosen level of Teaching Textbooks!

Twenty years ago, where were you?

That was the question of a poignant song by Alan Jackson.

Where were you?

​What do you remember?

​I remember being in my car that morning, listening to the radio as I drove between schools for my itinerant ESOL teaching job. I had several meetings that morning in different locations, and I remember the news being worse every time I left a meeting and got in my car and turned on the radio again.

I remember crying when I heard that a tower had collapsed.

I remember walking into a school and seeing it on the TV in the office. I remember we had a hard time accessing the internet for our meeting because everyone was on it trying to find out what had happened.

I remember being at one school that had a lot of military kids, and parents arriving to get their children. South Carolina was far from where the attacks had taken place, but they just wanted their kids safe with them.

I remember hearing that the Mall in Washington, DC, was on fire. (It wasn't; there were so many rumors flying that day.)

I remember going with a school resource officer to take two of my students home that day because their mom had been traveling and now would not be able to come home because all flights in the country had been cancelled. They were new students from Korea and we wanted to make sure the neighbors they had been staying with knew what was happening. 

I remember sitting and praying with a coworker whose dad worked in the Pentagon. (He ended up being okay.)

I remember hearing about the firefighters lost in the collapse of the towers, and about the courageous passengers on Flight 93.

I remember hearing that the President was heading to the White House, and then hearing that he was being taken to an undisclosed location, and then hearing him address the nation that night.

I remember going to the CIU campus as soon as I could get away from work. My then-boyfriend (now husband) was there, as were many friends. I wanted to be with others.

I remember seeing politicians from both political parties coming together that night, united as Americans. I remember wondering how long that would last.

I remember hearing that my brother was called to his Coast Guard ship and deciding to visit my sister-in-law.

I remember taking pictures on my way there of all the signs of support that shop keepers and gas stations had put up.

I remember shopping for red, white, and blue ribbon with my sister-in-law and not being able to find some of the colors because we weren't the only people with that idea.

I remember my mom going to donate blood for the first time.

I remember being glued to CNN and other news stations for days.

I remember the quiet of the skies for a week or more.

I remember flinching the first time I heard a plane after that.

I remember the first time I flew after 9/11, and holding my breath when we took off, and especially when we landed safely.

I remember the anniversaries five and ten years later, talking to students who remembered where they were, and to some who had no memories of it, and thinking that was so surreal.

I remember more recent anniversaries, and wondering what I could show my children that would help them grasp the enormity of what happened in a way their young hearts could bear, and finding the video "Boatlift" for the first time.

​And now, it has been twenty years. I still remember. I will never forget.

What do you remember?

​Where were you?