Memorial Day is Tomorrow!

Memorial Day is tomorrow, and we plan on taking in the day as not only time together as a family but in displaying our flag in honor of those who have given their lives for our freedoms.

I remember as a child visiting my grandma's grave and knowing instantly what it is to "memorialize" someone.

It's important to remember, in the midst of fun and building relationships with those who remain in the living world around us, that there are those who are gone and spent their time fighting for our freedoms.

This isn't meant to be lecture, just a reminder to never forget the meaning and purpose of someone's life!  As you talk about Memorial Day with your children, it's ok to also have some fun.

May God's purpose in your life shine through today...

He says, "I know the plans I have for you - A plan for hope and for a future!"

Welcome May and Day 1 of Blogathon 2012

Today I woke up to Day 1 of Blogathon 2012.  This means that every day in May, I will attempt to keep the pace to post at least one new blog article.  I have plans on some fun and exciting posts.  At least, I hope my readers will find them as exciting to read as I do.

Today will start out slow because I'm running on less than 5 hours sleep after a very exasperating evening.

So, this post will simply be an introduction to the month of May.

As I sit to type at 6:52 a.m. on May 1, I hear a storm raging outside with thunder and rain and hope our electricity will stay on and those baseball sized (yes, that's right - Actually, the weatherman used the term teacup size, 3" diameter) hail stays away.

Where I live May brings on a busy storm season.
May brings on flowers and gardens
May brings on studies of butterflies and new beginnings
May brings the celebration of a birthday in our household
May brings on the end of one school year and the beginning of summer
May offers a close to one chapter and the beginning of another
May ends with remembering our military

It brings on unit studies of:

Birds
Flowers
Bees
Weather
Storms
Tornadoes
Lightning
Thunder
Hail
Summer
Sunshine
May Day
Mothers Day
Birthdays
Military
Memorial Day
Our Country - USA
Flags

It brings on the opportunity to get outside and move around - Get fit and exercise our bodies that God gave us, to get healthy.

Each May for me brings on the wonder of whether or not I have taught my kids enough throughout their school year.  I begin to look at what worked for them in terms of their education and what did not.  It often is the time when homeschooling groups offer used curriculum sales which allow me to get my hands on new information.  Most of this information, unfortunately, excites mostly only me however.  Thus, it ends up in an entirely new form of a used curriculum sale and hence goes the cycle.

What does May mean to you and your children in homeschooling?

John Wayne and Red Skelton Pledge Allegiance For Memorial Day

A few weeks ago, someone handed my husband a handout explaining a couple things. For one, it explained how Memorial Day started and the traditions of wearing a poppy and such. But, it also included a breakdown of the number of wounded and battle deaths for many of the wars Americans have fought. It was as follows:

Revolutionary War - 6,1888 wounded - 4,435 dead
War of 1812 - 4,505 wounded - 2,260 dead
Mexican War - 4,152 wounded - 1,733 dead
Civil War - 354,805 wounded - 191,963 dead
Spanish American War - 1,662 wounded - 385 dead
World War I - 204,002 wounded - 53,402 dead
World War II - 671,846 wounded - 291,557 dead
Korean Conflict - 103,284 wounded - 33,741 dead
Vietnam Conflict - 153,303 wounded - 47,424 dead
Persian Gulf War - 467 wounded - 147 dead
There was no information on the current wars, but we know thousands have been wounded and dead.

This is the cost of freedom. Yes, I prefer peace to war as do many of you, I'm sure. But, sometimes something has to be fought for to maintain. Freedom is like that. It does not come free but with a price.

For Memorial Day, I thought a couple pledges of allegiance were in order:




Red sums this up with saying: "Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our nation, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance "under God." Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said, "That's a prayer" and that would be eliminated from schools, too?"

Well, welcome to our current time. It has been eliminated from some schools in our nation.



Happy Memorial Day! If you enjoy your freedoms, you might want to thank a member of the armed forces.

Memorial Day Lessons

Memorial Day has been said to be the official kickoff to summer. But, it is truly more than that. While backyard BBQs and swim parties can bring families and friends together to share and say thank you for freedoms int his country, it is not at the root of what Memorial Day is all about.

I'm not wanting to be preachy. I know you know Memorial Day is not a frivolous event. At least, if you are the family of a soldier lost fighting for those freedoms you know. If not, you may be one of the grateful ones. Or, you may just want to kick back and enjoy a day off at the pool without feeling guilty. You can do this because you have been given freedoms in this country.

Those freedoms did not come free. Because I do not want to preach away in this blog, I will direct you to a Website that will bring the message of Memorial Day home for homeschoolers.

The site is Vision Forum and they address this holiday! They present it well - Lessons from the battlefield!