What is my blog about? It's about Torah family living. It's about letting Torah affect our daily lives, from mealtime to bedtime, homeschooling to farm chores.


Friday, July 29, 2011

Shabbat Shalom!

Wow, we are only a few hours from sunset! I have had a wonderful day. I made a list and managed to get everything done. I tried really hard to set the mood, which I often overlook due to time constraints. I put a tablecloth out, set the table early, put music on, etc. Everyone responded to the atmosphere and we had a pleasant dinner. It was worth the extra effort, and I felt so much more relaxed.

Tomorrow we plan to listen to some teachings at El Shaddai Ministries by Frank Seekins.

Find it here.

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Torah Portion Scavenger Hunt - Massei


This week our Torah portion is found in Numbers 33-36. Here is the question.

At how many locations did the Israelites stop on their journey through the wilderness? Rameses is stop #1, and the banks of the Jordan is the last stop.

Be sure to post your answer by Sunday at 3:00 pm eastern. I will draw a name from all correct answers. The winner will receive a printable math card game that I created. Get counting, and have fun!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Happy Summer Days

I'm so happy to see the kids entertaining themselves outside. We have huge willow trees in our pasture, which happen to drop a lot of deadwood every winter. We use some of it  for firewood during sukkot. But there is plenty more, so the kids have been building things with the help of some baling twine.

Here is the little house that they built.
This ladder is about 8 ft. tall. They tied the rungs on with baling twine.
And they even climb up and down on it! Be still my heart.


What fun things are your kids doing this summer?

Friday, July 22, 2011

Torah Family Scavenger Hunt - Matot


As you read the Torah portion together tomorrow, have some fun with our scavenger hunt. Find the answer to the question in the portion and then post it here in the comments. :)

Numbers 30-32
What famous person died in this portion?

Matthew 5:33-37
How is the earth described in this passage?

Remember to post your answers, and enjoy!

Torah Family E-magazine

Wow, it's time to put together the next issue of Torah Family E-magazine! I am very excited about this issue, because it's all about Sukkot, our family's favorite feast. I have some special things planned, but I will need your help.

I would like to have a picture gallery of sukkahs. If you have a picture of your sukkah from a previous year, please send the pic. The coolest pic will get put on the cover. I am also looking for short sukkah stories, just a couple paragraphs, or so. If something interesting happened to you or your family during a previous sukkot, please share. It can be funny, spiritual, praise, etc.

I am also looking for 1-2 longer articles about Sukkot. If you have some ideas for an article, please contact me.

Lastly, I would like a family to interview for our Torah Family Interview. It entails me sending you some questions, and you answering them. Pretty simple.

Deadline for submissions is August 19. All sukkah photos will be entered in the contest to get on the front cover. They will be posted in small groups here (www.servinginmyrubberboots.blogspot.com), and voted on. The winner will be revealed when the magazine is published. All contributions will be credited with name and blog address, if applicable.

Send all submissions to sheepmommy @ yahoo.com without the spaces, of course. Put Torah Family E-magazine in the subject line. Remember, deadline for submissions is August 19! Looking forward to what you will send in. :)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Torah parenting - The tower of Babel





Your house is full of kids, 80% of which do not belong to you. Craziness has insued. They have bad ideas in their heads and nothing will stand in their way. What do you do?

Torah parenting means that we follow our Heavenly Father's example. We don't need to look any farther than the Tower of Babel.

(Gen 11:1)  Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.

(Gen 11:2)  And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

(Gen 11:3)  And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.

(Gen 11:4)  Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

(Gen 11:5)  And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.

(Gen 11:6)  And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.

(Gen 11:7)  Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech."

(Gen 11:8)  So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

(Gen 11:9)  Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.


YHVH was dealing with many people that did not belong to Him. They were not believers and they were not obeying Him. Yet the situation had to be dealt with. As He said, nothing would stop them, and the ideas were simply going to get worse. So He used two classic tactics. Funny I should call them classic when He invented them. lol  He used divide and conquer, and distraction. The mob soon found themselves distracted by the fact that they couldn't understand each other. They were divided when YHVH spread them over the face of the earth. And they were conquered when the tower was abandoned. Mission Accomplished!


When you find yourself dealing with children that are not your own, distract them with new activities to keep their minds and bodies happily engaged. Split them up into groups to keep them manageable. Hopefully, you will conquer their attempts to spread mayhem! Most of all, love them with true Torah love, which puts the other person's needs first.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Elisha gets a haircut!

Okay, so he was beginning to look a little shaggy. I loved his long hair, but it was time for him to look like a little boy, and the girls needed to be discouraged from putting a ponytail in his hair. Also, it is 90 degrees out, so he really needed his hair off his neck. So we swallowed real hard. I held Elisha's head and Doug went snip, snip.
There! That wasn't too bad. Hair grows, and in a few days we can fix anything that still looks funny. :)

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Torah Family Living

After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to start a facebook page. The title is Torah Family Living, and it is a place for fun quizzes, links to great articles, and other resources to help you include Torah in your family's everyday life.
If you are on facebook, please be sure to head over and "like" it for me. Be sure to leave your answer to the Torah Portion Scavenger Hunt. Have fun, and thanks for your support. Tell your friends, too. There's a direct link to my page in the right sidebar.

Our school materials 2011-2012



I plan to start our school year on September 4th. I have done a lot of thinking and revamping over the summer. In some areas, I was being too gentle, meaning not pushing hard enough. We have worked very hard all summer to try to get everyone up to par in math and reading.

So here is my 2011-2012 general plan:

Bible: Hebrew Life and Times
This is a delightful book that I found free for my kindle. It goes through the Bible, looking at the culture behind the stories. At the end of each chapter, there are additional activities and study ideas. We will use the age appropriate ones.
Torah School
I contribute at Torah School and am very happy to be back after some maternity/babymoon time off. I have some ideas that I plan to add for the next cycle. Our main copywork will come from Torah School.

Math: Jones Geniuses
     Naomi will be finishing up Matrix Math soon, and will then move into Math 3. We'll see if we can get to Math 4.
     Holly and Isaac will be in Matrix Math for awhile and will then move to Math 3.

History: A Child's History of the World by Virgil Hillyer
We will be reading this out loud together three times a week and posting pictures on our wall timeline. We will be skipping the first few chapters due to some evolutionary thinking.

Science: A Child's Geography
This book is much more science than geography, in my opinion. It covers everything from lava to atmospheric layers. We will also be studying geology with various resources that I have collected online. Some are from Currclick, like this little freebie. I hope to study astronomy later in the year, but I haven't planned that out yet.

Reading: I have collected an assortment of readers for the kids to work through, to continue cementing their new skills.
McGuffey 1st reader
Christian Liberty Nature Reader 1
Reading to Learn Series "I Wonder"
Learn to Read Bible
Brandenburg Studies on Currclick also has some good literature designed for newer readers, that we will be using.

Nature Study:
We will be using a combination of The Outdoor Hour and Using Nature Study, Nature Journals and Poetry through the Year by Katie's Homeschool Cottage

Friday, July 15, 2011

The miracle of birth and the feasts

It is truly remarkable how YHVH knits together a baby in the womb. Everything happens right on schedule with precision. The tiny hands and feet are carefully and perfectly developed. Zola Levitt found a beautiful correlation between fetal development and the Biblical feasts. I would encourage you to read the whole article here. I am sure you will be fascinated at our Creator's amazing wisdom and design.
And while you are there, check out El Shaddai ministries. I have enjoyed listening to the Torah teachings from previous years on Friday nights when I have a bit of quiet.

You may enjoy reading:

More thoughts to consider