An Extra Post

I try my best each week to make school as fun as possible and this week I think we did a pretty good job making that happen. So although I normally blog just once a month, I wanted to get this post up before I forgot some of the fun things we did. Our theme this week was Egypt and Desert Ecosystems. Although not all of our weeks have a theme, I do think it helps with giving me direction and aids me in including some fun things we may not get to otherwise.So here is a peak at some of our week.

    So each day before school or as part of our school day we start with a Bible lesson. This weeks lesson was themed around trusting and obeying and since we were talking about the desert and Egypt who better than Moses to discuss. In this picture they had just finished with a lesson on God providing Manna and quail in the desert. The kids used sand for the desert and pearled barley for the manna along with a picture of themselves and the title Trust in the Lord. I think they liked it!

This week During Social studies we discussed Ancient Egypt and touched on things like the Nile River, deltas, silt, crops, the invention of the shaduf, etc. So as a reinforcement activity we made our own Nile out of colored sand including the surrounding deserts. The best part was when they found out that the sand we used was glow in the dark and they got to take their projects in a dark room. The glowing blue Nile was a hit!

This is a photograph of a science experiment that we did after discussing how certain plants are able to survive in the desert. We made two sets of leaves using construction paper and paper towels. We then sprayed them with water and wrapped one in wax paper and left the other as it was. We then moved them to a window sill and came back an hour later to see which one had held on to the most water. It was a great way for them to see hands on how the waxy layer or coating that some desert plants have aids them in surviving, This experiment was found in a publication by Harcourt science.

You simply can not talk about Ancient Egypt and deserts without discussing pyramids which we did and then followed it up with a "sweet" project that no one complained about doing. Building your own pyramid using sugar cubes. It was interesting to see the different techniques used by each age level. Of course mummies were also discussed and with that I found a great little online activity from Discovery Kids called Mummy Maker.What I loved was that it was educational and not at all hokey. Here is the link if you are interested: http://kids.discovery.com/games/just-for-fun/mummy-maker

 Hieroglyphics were a blast! We started off with our book lesson and then as an add on I found a site that allowed you to type your name and have it translated to hieroglyphics. The kids each did their own and then printed them. What was nice was that it printed the name of each child and then also the symbols for all 26 letters of the alphabet. The kids then got a small piece of clay each and were able to carve their own hieroglyphic messages using a toothpick .This is the site for the hieroglyphic translator: http://www.eyelid.co.uk/hieroglyphic-typewriter.html


So that was some of our week and I hope that you enjoyed reading about it as much as we did learning about it!

Garden Tip!

So we did a little globe trekking this week for school and our garden tip is similar. For our tip we travel to India! One day as I was flipping through a book on natural pest control I learned that different spices could be used to deter certain bugs, and that is when it hit me. Most of the spices could be found already combined  for me in the Indian Spice tea I had in my kitchen cabinet. So I thought why not. I had been battling ants in my garden bed and nothing seemed to rid them. That is until I took a few of those bags of tea and buried them throughout my garden bed. Voila! Ants be gone!

Food! 

In keeping with our Globe trekking I wanted to show you a very cool version of rice that some may not be familiar with. It is called Black rice but also goes by the name of purple rice, forbidden rice, or imperial rice and it is grown in China. It is said to have been eaten by Royalty. Simply follow the directions on the bag and  you will have a great side dish similar in  texture and nuttiness to brown rice but way cooler, because if you eat enough it tints your teeth purple.It is a bit of a splurge but well worth it and can be found in your local supermarket.    

Frugality and Some Fun

Frugality. What a great word! I feel like I have been drawn to write about this topic because it seems to  creep into conversations at every turn. Economically frugality is good; environmentally frugality is good, religiously frugality is good and the list goes on and on. Today though I want to focus on the frugality of homeschooling. I can not tell you how many times I have heard someone say to me "Oh yes, I would home school if I could afford it". While it is true that I am blessed and exceedingly grateful there is a bit of assumption made in that comment. The assumption is that in order to home school one must have a spouse who brings in XXX amount. This is so sad, I wonder how many people have decided not to home school because they didn't think they could afford it! There are tons of ways to save and I want to share some of them with you today.
So my first tip is in regards to books, curricular and supplemental. When buying curriculum's decide on what you want or think you want. If possible borrow or look at the curriculum's, either via other homeschoolers or curriculum fairs. After you have decided, see if one of those homeschoolers is willing to sell you (at a discounted price of course) their old curriculum. Also, and this is my favorite buy new in package curriculum through online sites like eBay or Amazon.In the 4 almost 5 years I have been homeschooling I can not think of even once when I paid full price.
Tip number two visit your local dollar store. The one in my area has a school supply section with lots of things you will love including bins to store supplies, educational posters, flash cards, and reward stickers/ certificates. Let's be honest about something, you don't need fancy construction paper or glue for the 300 crafts your child will make each year- that just get tossed out!
Tip number three is you don't need school desks or a "classroom" to home school. Even though the kids do have desk spaces lots of times we school at the kitchen table or even on lap desks that I picked up at my local craft store for just $10.00 each. If  $10.00 is still too much you can get clip boards at the dollar store :) If you want it you can do it!
Tip number four is go to your local library, books are free( as long as you return them on time- oops!) We have found lots of great books on topics we were studying or just books for pleasure. Most libraries offer computer services so if you do not have a computer you can look things up there and even print!
Tip number five is hook up with a local home school group or at least join their homepage so that you can see events that are free in your area, find out about home school field trips which are super cheap!, and also find out when their book sales are.
I also want to make a small disclaimer, I drive cars that are between 15 and 17 years old, I don't do a lot of shopping for extras, and we only do things we can really afford. That said, I want you to know that cars don't matter to me, I dislike shopping, and I dislike "extras" aka clutter! You may have to decide what does and does not matter in order to make it happen but I promise you that I have never felt I have lacked or given up anything. In fact I have been given a great gift, time with my children, something I could never replace or put a monetary value on.
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." --Albert Einstein


 So for the Frugal Photos........

Dollar store find

Posters and baskets from the dollar store

Lap desks from the craft store

Chapter books from Targets dollar section! (Ages 7+ about 170 pages each) 

Library find. The book that made writing enjoyable for all of my kids- even the kindergartner

So the title was frugal and some fun well,  this is the fun- homegrown popcorn

It was delicious!

More fun! The hubs working on a project with the kids

The results of that project - Table air hockey!



Gardening tip! Grow things you don't like, or you thought you didn't like! You probably think this wasn't  really a tip but it's one of the most important. There are  plenty of things I am sure my kids would not eat  (or my husband for that matter) if we didn't grow it. I am pretty sure my kids would not have liked brussels sprouts as much had we not grown them , or peas, etc. You may change your mind if you do................


Recipe: Chickpea Salad


Chickpea salad

- 1 large can of chickpeas- drained, the juice of 1-2 lemons ( I like 2) , 2 cloves crushed garlic, a sprinkle of  dried rosemary, fresh dill- about 1 tablespoon (more if you like) , 1 small carrot diced, 1 Tablespoon of celery sliced as thinly as possible, 2 Tablespoons finely diced red onion, 1 Tablespoon red pepper, 2-3 Tablespoons dried mixed berries or cherries, 2 tablespoons Olive oil, salt , pepper, and garlic powder to taste. ( these are all just estimates though- if you like more add more For best results this needs to sit overnight if not 2 nights and if possible stir a little each day to make sure the juices on the bottom get redistributed.



P.S. After looking back at old blog posts it has come to my attention that when I blog at 1:00 a.m.  the rules of grammar and spelling fly out the door. So please bear with me!

Anyway hope you enjoy!