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!

Summer Magic

Summer Magic

Maybe it’s because I watched too many movies when I was a kid or maybe it’s because I am just an old fuddy duddy romantic but, I have to tell you that today I feel like part of that old Hayley Mills movie “Summer Magic.”  Burl Ives is in the background singing “the ladybug crawl.” Summer is knocking on our door.  I am feeling the magic. Few things inspire and refresh me like some simple garden goodness. There is something beautiful about waking up in the morning to clean grassy smells and spotting bright red and orange tomatoes dotted between leaves like the adult version of a treasure hunt. Little jewels just waiting to be plucked. Even more lovely is walking through the dewy earth, picking out flowers to look at with my little boy, getting to explain the difference between a male and female squash blossom, and the look of excitement when he understands and can tell me on his own about the one he has found. The rewards of the garden are numerous. 


Today I wished for scent-o-blog. You know where you can actually smell what I am talking about. I wished it today when I sliced open the first heirloom rainbow tomato of the season and the smell wafted up all tangy and clean. I wished it again as we roasted a batch of tomatoes to be later made into sauce for our linguine at dinner. The smell of sweet tomatoes, drizzled in olive oil caramelizing in the oven.


There is something called a mandala in Eastern Religions ; a part of their sacred art, a representation of balance. The word mandala in itself means circle in Sanskirt. Interestingly enough I first learned of the mandala through a gardening article and although I am not a follower of these religions nor do I  see the mandala as a representation of  any belief system I can see how the garden is similar in some regards. I easily see the beauty, the art, the sacred gifts, blessings given by God.  Playing out in a circle or more accurately  the cycles of the garden. Unfragmented , cyclical, beautiful, the art of our Creator.  


My hope for you is that what ever it is you choose to do with your time, be it gardening, or art, music, etc., that you are experiencing some summer magic!

 Heirloom  Rainbow 

Roma and Heirloom Rainbow tomatoes for sauce  

Roasted tomatoes     

Sauce! 

Better Boy tomatoes we used for bisque earlier in the week. That day we had almost 2lbs of tomato      

  Tomato bisque

I could not close this entry without a nod to the movie “Fresh” another great movie with an emphasis on healthier, more sustainable food.  To see the trailer please click on the link below.
http://www.bbsradio.com/cgi-bin/webbbs/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=23628

Five of Five!

Five posts, One week. It  has been awesome to capture and share our week with all of you ! Thank you for taking the time to read this. My hope is that if you are just getting started with homeschooling that this week provided some ideas for how things could be done. I wish there was enough time and space to share with you all of the other wonderful websites and blogs, books and programs there are but I thought I would just give you my top 10 places to get information and inspiration.

1. The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer (this is the best book I have seen for outlining what children should be learning broken up by grade and also providing a critique of the best curriculum out there)

2. Accountable kids ( a program to create accountability, develop values, respect, etc.) 

3. BrainPop jr.(K-3)/ BrainPop (4th +)- their is a 1 week free trial 

4. Study Dog - another amazing site for reading- their is also a free trial for this site

5. If you have young children DLTK is a free site with printables and craft ideas

6. Education.com- a free site with printables that are amazing!

7. Family education.com - again, amazing free printables and some lesson plan ideas

8. Scholastic.com  has a website with some free printable material and lesson plans and additional ones for members

9. Keys for kids:  Online Devotionals for kids: You can listen to the key of the day or select from the menu  a particular topic/need   

10 . I Love Being a Mom by Therese J. Borchard ( a book full of encouragement)

( I left out the 101 Devotionals for homeschool moms because I told you about it earlier in the week but it would have made the top 10)

There are some things I think I have to say before I close this post. Most importantly, my way is not the only way to homeschool. There are plenty of moms out there who are doing wonderful things with their children in a different way. Some moms co-op, others use online/ Virtual school to homeschool their children, sometimes both parents work alternating schedules and both parents homeschool while holding jobs outside the home, some are unschoolers.  I love to garden , cook, and craft with my kids, take walks in the morning with them before school, and spend the last 15 minutes of our day together doing yoga, oh and drink coffee :) I love the freedom I have to choose how I want my children to learn. My kids have been in a community play, taken art classes at a local business, played basketball through inter-mural  activities at a local private school, etc . I say all of this because the point is , no matter how you decide to homeschool, make sure you stay true to yourself and your children. You will always fail if your heart says one thing and your actions are another . I wish I could take credit for that tidbit of wisdom but it came from a really funny Ghanese  man I knew who use to love to share African proverbs and wisdom with me. None the less it is true. You don't need to be Martha Stewert,  the Queen of bedazzling, or even wear a denim jumper -heehee! You just have to be you! 

Alright that's all I've got so go be the best you that you can be!  Oh and scroll down to check out a few pics from today's Adventures at Dinosaur world. 

You've heard of the eye of the tiger, well this is the mouth of the dinosaur...plus a few kiddos

Ya, that guy who looks like a tourist- that's my guy.

This is the rear view of a very rare Lucasaurous

 

Fish !

Kinda self explanatory

Giant sandbox!

This is the crew!

Digging for fossils

Seriously sifting sand for souvenirs- sorry we learned about alliterations this week :) 

I Took His Hand and Followed
Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.

 The poem came from here: http://www.besthomeschooling.org/articles/child_poem.html 

Day Four of Five !

Many of you are familiar with " The Gambler Song" by Kenny Rogers. Ya know the song that says "You got to know when to hold' em, know when to fold'em , know when to walk away, and know when to run! Sometimes homeschool is like that! I wish you could see me laughing right now! But in reality life is just that way. I had intended this morning to talk about something totally different and then my day kinda turned out like "The Gambler Song" It started this morning, I usually start my day before the kids are up dinking around the garden, checking out what's growing, smelling some clean air, listening to birds or frogs. But today was a little different. The last few days have been drizzly and grey and that is not a good thing because it usually means lots of slugs and bugs and today it also included having to re-stake tomato plants that are almost as tall as I am now. With all the wet weather they have also added a lot of weight in fruit and so some of them were lying on the ground. Thankfully none of them snapped. The squash and cucumbers were yellowing and have been for a while. About three weeks ago we had a full week of cold weather and it hit them pretty hard. A few more sunless days this week finally did them in. So I could try to save them but honestly they were pretty sad. It was a hold'em or fold'em moment. And I folded. I pulled all my squash and cucumber plants, save one. Homeschool is sometimes the same way. Today was one of those days, but it wasn't a bad day at all.  It was a  Test day. Science tests, Math tests, Writing activities,  and checking for comprehension. Everyone got A's in Math and Science and the lowest Writing grade was a B. But the day still had it's trials. One child had a melt down when they saw the science test. It could have become ugly but we were able to turn it around and once that child began to realize they knew the answers things got brighter.It was a hold'em moment , giving up was not an option. We had another melt down during writing because someone had writers block half way through their story. This was almost a fold'em moment! Luckily we were able to find some creative ways to resolve the crisis.I had to be a bit flexible but the story got written.  So how do we differentiate between hold'em or fold'em moments? There are a few questions I ask myself that I think might help others along!
1: Is my child capable of doing the work? Yes - Hold'em but be willing to bend a bit if need be to get the job done.

2. Am I teaching something at a level beyond what they are able to comprehend? Yes- fold'em
   
3. Are they bored?  Yes:- you have two options at this point:  a) hold'em if you are able to think of another way to explain it on the fly that is more fun or b) fold'em and revisit the lesson another day when you can come up with way to get the information across.

4. Am I as the adult being stubborn (gasp!) or unreasonable( double gasp!)? Sometimes outside opinions are needed to realize this one LOL!  Tug O War is not what we are after.  You should probably fold'em

   5. Is your child crying? STOP IMMEDIATELY! Time for a heart to heart. You need to get to the root of what is happening . Progress has ceased at this point!

Sometimes when I feel a little fuzzy I like to take a minute to take a look at the situation as an observer. This is hard and if you are frazzled it is even harder! One key thought that has brought me back time and time again to where I need to be is this: What snapshots are they putting in their memory album? I am not sure where this idea came from because it has been so many years but boy does that hit home for me.

Another  thought I loved especially when the kids were smaller was from the site DLTK. It is called " A Child's Ten Request-ments"

http://www.dltk-kids.com/school/a_childs_ten_requestments.htm

O.k. So our day.............

May 17, 2012

Bible: Joshua takes Charge/ Setting up Memorial stones

Tribes of Israel Worksheet

Review Rock Formation /Earth Science Transparencies

Test Day! Science C28-29 (Girls)

Saxon Math: (Individual lessons)

K: S3

A:S2

L:S1

Adventures in Literacy:

~Using bullet points

~Points of view

~Opinion

~Pro “vs” Con

Question to be posed for Example: Does a Dinosaur make a good pet?

Writing Activity/ Fiction Prompt: The Day my Dad brought home a Dinosaur!

Reading: L: HOP Red Level 1.5 

Science Test Time!

Math: Spinning ruler tricks included for free.

Cowboys can read too ma!

Shenanigans during school!

Just a funny list with reasons why dinosaurs make good pets

reasons dinosaurs make bad pets

Dinosaurs are big so if you write a story about them you need big paper right?  And the little monkey in red has nothing to do with it he is just a ham :)

                                                                         

Proud of his story

 
"Be clear about your goal but flexible about the process of achieving it." Brian Tracy 

Being Present and Fun Learning

One of the hardest things to do in life is live in the present. If we are busy thinking of things in the past ,  when we should be concentrating on the now , we cheat ourselves of the days joy.Woulda, coulda, shoulda! If we are busy thinking of things to come, and worrying over them ,we deny ourselves the  beauty of  the fruit of our efforts and the progress we should be celebrating . It is so easy to get caught up in worry isn't it.  Do you worry if you are capable ( physically, emotionally, intelligently)?, do you worry that the mom over at the Smith house is doing more with her kids than you are?, do you worry that it's the right decision to homeschool your kids?, or send them to school? How easy it can be to become occupied with our thoughts!  I can not say that I am any better at dealing with it than anyone else. But I can say that I have become better than I was before with practice. I have to remind myself all the time to be present. To take a deep breath! But I promise that  if  you will commit to trying, you will begin to see beauty  trickle into places you have never seen it before. By nature I am a planner. Not like 5 or 10 year plans kind of planner but  the check lists and such kind of planner.It is my comfort zone. There are things to be done and only so many hours in a day but, ya know what ? Too much planning just boils down to organized worry!. 

Children have a beautiful way of forcing you out of where you are comfortable and taking you to much better places if you are willing to accept their lead sometimes. Some of the best lessons are unplanned or just come from everyday living.        

                                      Something as simple as a few minutes in the garden can yield great reward

                                   Preparation for future fun (no worries involved) Homemade treasure rocks 


    

Preparation for something necessary- Eating! Homemade pizza dough for lunch - math included =  *Bonus  

                                         
                                                             But mostly it's just fun to make pizza
                                                   

                     Mold of a leaf that we cast with playdoh. We are lucky enough to have the "mold 

                         in our porch from when they poured the concrete slab and a leaf fell in.

  

           Directions on how to build a sedimentary rock model complete with fossils using playdoh.
                                      Colored sand would be a nice alternative though.

                                A little picture of what our sedimentary rock models looked like

Switch it game. After everyone build their sedimentary rock model we switched places and tried to match the fossil prints with the shells, etc. that created them.

                                        
Such an ugly picture but this is what our dough looked like for the treasure rocks. The link is on the page                     below with the list of the days activities. P.S. a great use for used coffee LOL!

                                    And breaking in to the Treasure rocks was worth the prep

May 16, 2012

Fossils and Dinosaurs!

Bible:  God made the Dinosaurs

BrainPop jr K-3.: Fossils- video

BrainPop: Fossils

Read from Science book starting on page C20

How fossils are formed and types of fossils

Make a cast of a leaf fossil

Create a mock sediment slice

   Brainpop: Dinosaurs

Discovering Dinosaurs page C24

People in Science: Charles Langmuir

End of section questions

End of Lesson Review questions

Dinosaur poetry prompts: Alliteration, Similes, and acrostic ( abcteach.com)

 Homemade Treasure rocks

 http://thevillagecook.com/best-buttercream-icing/

******* I know this says buttercream-icing but if you scroll down it is part of the same page*************************

Well it's bedtime. See you tomorrow!

Day two of five into the life of homeschool

Many mornings I start my day with a devotional of some type. Right now I am finding the book " One Hundred and one Devotions for Homeschool Moms" by Jackie Wellwood very helpful! I know that with the task of homeschooling three young elementary level students I need all the  knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration I can get. It is not because the material is so difficult to teach but  because of the quality of the teaching I want to do. I want my interactions as a mother and as their teacher to reflect the virtues I am attempting to instill in them.  If I want my children to be kind and patient, honest and faithful, I must model those behaviors. On days  like today "Molasses Days" I need to draw upon the source of my strength. For me it is God's word. In addition it may be regular time with other homeschooling moms to exchange ideas.What is a "molasses day" well that's what I call a day when things seem to take eons longer than you have planned. It's when the material you are teaching seems a bit too abstract and so you need to take the lesson a little slower and be a little more creative.We all have these days and that is a normal part of homeschooling. At times you will feel like the one who is being tested. Today I feel like I have passed my test. Despite the slowness of the day we achieved everything on our list and it was done in a way that was accepting of the moment. On days like this you can go with the flow or you can try and force the process along. I have learned that children like garden plants can not be forced to grow any faster than they are ready to at the time and you may as well save yourself a  headache and make yourself a cup of tea and cozy up to where you are at. At this moment my test is patience and  involves a small child who is talking to me at almost 12:00 a.m. because they have a stomach ache (or they just like staying up to read- not sure ). Inspiration and Preparation = less Perspiration and more Success! 

 

So today's school day included:

     May 15, 2012

Bible: Sauls conversion / Metamorphosis

Video: Road to Damascus

BrainPOP jr.: Rocks and minerals

BrainPop-

Mineral identification: color, Mohs scale, luster, streak test

Types of rock: Igneous, Sedimentary, metamorphic

Rock cycle

Girls: Define vocabulary words- write on index cards/ L: online ABCya

How Rocks Form: C12

Rock Cycle activity ( crayon)

http://www.ehow.com/info_7979034_rock-cycle-activity-kids.htm

Review questions

Saxon Math

K S3

A S2

L:S1

Reading: girls: HOP 4/5 Orange Level  Lesson 24

L: HOP 1.5 Red Level

And the pics: 

 Vocabulary

The product of our Rock Cycle Activity using crayons. 

See the link above 

* I strongly recommend doing this outside!!!!   Live and learn :) 

                                                 

If you happen to have crayon maker like this one I suggest you use it instead of the foil version listed

The results are comparable! 

 And because we couldn't let National Chocolate Chip Day pass us by

Hope you enjoyed.........and see you tomorrow!

One week five posts

I have no special talents.  I am only passionately curious.  ~Albert Einstein

This is so true! I also love this quote because if I had to pick one word to describe how people feel when they find out you homeschool , it would be curious. Mostly they are curious in a really positive way. They know of someone who homeschool or they wonder what that means. Sometimes people are curious because they are interested in doing it themselves. Whatever the reason for their curiosity I thought I would take one week to blog each day about what our day looks like. My hope is that once people see what it means and an example of our day that they would feel that if they waned to they were more than qualified to educate their children at home.  So, just some preliminary  information: I have three children; Kindergarten, 2nd, and 3rd grade. Our focus this week is Earth Science. We school Monday through  Thursday and have Fridays off. This Friday we will be wrapping up our studies with a trip to Dinosaur World in Plant City.     

May 14, 2012

Bible: Wise or foolish? Build your house upon the rock.

Matthew 7:24

Video: Reading Rainbow: The Magic School bus inside the earth

Science: Rocks, Minerals, Fossils; Read beginning on section C6

Define Vocabulary words

Observe, Classify, and Chart rocks

Read: Layers of the Earth

Layers of the Earth Worksheet; Label and fill in the blank

Make a playdoh model of the earth’s layers

Review questions at the end of the section

Make rock candy and discuss crystal formation J

Saxon Math ( individual lessons)

Kaitlyn: S3

Alyssa: S2

Lucas:S1

Reading: HOP 4/5 Girls Orange level Lesson

Lucas: HOP 1:  Red level

                                                       Rocks for classifying and charting

                                                       Playdoh models of the earths layers

                                         Making rock candy as an example of crystal formation                                                                          
                                         and because who doesn't love an excuse to make candy :)


All right so that was our school day! See you tomorrow!