Dave Ramsey

One of the books our senior son will be re-reading. He went with us to Dave's Financial Peace University at our church. I highly recommend this method of group attendance because you have the moral support of others.

After attending with us and watching Dave speak about the dangers of credit and seeing him cut up credit cards, our son said he'd NEVER own a credit card! YES! That's my boy!

Dave Ramsey knows what it's like to be broke and knows how to dig out of debt. He uses biblical standards for finances in his material.

Garlic Mashed Potato Casserole

Garlic Mashed Potato Casserole

Also known as "Mrs. Possum's Funeral Potatoes" because my dear friend always made them for funeral dinners. If you make them with canned milk folks will never know that you didn't spend forever peeling potatoes, but you can substitute real potatoes mashed with the jackets on, yum!
She used an entire large box of Hungry Jack Instant Potatoes. That makes a HUGE dish, bigger than 9x13, or two regular dishes. I'll give you both recipes, but you can't mess it up. I've tweaked the recipe and made it my own with fresh garlic, rosemary and chives, but it's quite good with whatever you have on hand.

HUGE Recipe

• 1- lg box (15.3 oz.) box of Instant Mashed Potatoes (When I measured these out I think it was about 6 ²⁄₃ cups.)
  
• 8 ²⁄₃ + ¹⁄₂ c. Liquid heated in large pan. (Milk and Water) This can be 3 cans of canned milk, and then some other milk if you want....if they end up a little dry we will be adding more moisture anyway.
• 2 sticks Butter (can use some olive oil. Not extra virgin)
• 16 oz. container of Hiland Sour Cream :)
• 2 tsp. Garlic Salt or fresh garlic
• Rosemary
• Chives
• Pepper & more salt to taste
• 12 oz. grated Sharp Cheese

Make the potatoes almost by package directions, but heat all the liquid, melting the butter in pan also. Mix in some cheese and all other stuff, throwing in the kitchen sink if you want. I might occasionally add something like cooked broccoli and chicken. Top with remaining cheese. Place in a sprayed or buttered casserole dish/dishes. Bake at 350 with foil on for a little while, take foil off to brown slightly. Everything is cooked so you just want it to be good and bubbly hot.

Smaller Recipe

• 4 c. of Instant Mashed Potatoes
  
• 5 ²⁄₃ + ¹⁄₂ c. Liquid heated in large pan. (Milk and Water) Again, this can be some canned milk, and then some other milk if you want....if they end up a little dry we will be adding more moisture anyway.
• 1 stick Butter (can use some olive oil. Not extra virgin)
• 8 oz. container of Hiland Sour Cream :)
• 1 tsp. Garlic Salt or fresh garlic
• Rosemary
• Chives
• Pepper & more salt to taste
• 6 oz. grated Sharp Cheese

Planning-Scope-Goals...Whatever You Want to Call It

So.....as I'm helping a 12th grader, sorting out goals to accomplish this, his last year, I did a real double-take on some courses we were going to use. The operative word here is "were". As homeschool parents sometimes we overachieve on behalf of our children, loading them up with studies and extras they may not necessarily need. Students and parents can be overwhelmed, and buried alive under a mass of stuff and activities. We can look at these things and decide they are worthy, but are they profitable for us right now? Every year has been different, but here's an example of some goals we've written out as our son has grown towards adulthood and the books and materials used to reach the goals:

Goals

• Bible & Christian walk- Know what you believe and have a ready defense. "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.." 1 Peter 3:15. Hide large blocks of scripture in your heart. Use a prayer journal. Lead devotions and/or a study group. Ask God where He wants you.

• Life skills & Relationships- Continue learning home and car maintenance. Continue watching for what needs to be done and acting on it. Strengthen and invest in your Christian friendships.

• Math- Sharpen basic math skills for life situations, such as figuring interest, percentages, finding area, math associated with construction, financial skills...

• Writing- Be able to communicate effectively and to write for pleasure.

• Physical- Work on strength and health with manly work.

Some materials we will use:

The Bible (NKJ, John MacArthur study Bible)

Apologia Science
Wordsmith Craftsman
Math
Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace
The New Answers Books 1, 2 & 3, by Ken Ham
The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel
More Than a Carpenter, by Josh McDowell
Christian Worldview for Students Volumes 1 & 2, by Brannon Howse
What He Must Be To Marry My Daughter, by Voddie Baucham
Marriage By Design, by Voddie Baucham
Family Driven Faith, by Voddie Baucham
Various videos and sermons from Voddie Baucham, Paul Washer, John MacArthur, and others.

Notgrass Government

We got our 1/2 year Government credit using Notgrass Exploring Government, by Ray Notgrass, last year.

This courses places an emphasis on using original source documents, and showing the influence that Christianity has had on the past and present.
I liked that the curriculum included the reading material for the historic documents, essays, and speeches using the book "We Hold These Truths" No searching on the internet or the library for those.

There were choices for writing and research assignments and tests that our whole family tried to take orally. I LOVED that it was Christian-based.

If you use Notgrass, and have your child read their Bible, you'll be able to give 3 separate credits. One-half credit each for Bible, government, and composition.