I am going there because I can use more photo space. And since keeping my extended family informed is my first priority then I will be spending more of my time there. Please visit!
There is a lot of talk about what "works" for homeschooling families and what doesn't. And no one is exactly the same. But, we can give our ideas, support, encouragement and wisdom (or lack thereof) and hope that someone finds it helpful in some way.
We are not a relaxed, laid back homeschool family. It doesn't work for us. Yet, I know families that it works wonders for. I wish we were able to operate in the realm of go where the study takes us but, it has met with disaster for my older child.
So here is what works for us. And some things that we are still working on.
I believe in Classical Education with all my heart. However, I have found that there are a few subjects that I must let slide for fear of losing my sanity! I have a rather difficult time teaching my son (13 with ADD) and there is enough for him to accomplish during the day. Any more and I think he would be overwhelmed. For now. My daughter on the other hand, I could probably branch out and do many different things, be flexible, creative and add those other things in. It will have to wait. That's another part of learning--adjusting to those around you for their benefit. So what do we use?
We start our day around 6am. That's when my oldest gets up. By 7:00, he is ready to start studies. On a good day. These are his books and what he does on a weekly basis:
Bible: Just reads and prays for about 30 minutes. Right now he is reading James. Nothing formal.
Writing: Rod and Staff Grammar. He works on 1 writing lesson per week. We work on the writing and grammar separate from each other. For example, he is on lesson 52 in the writing and lesson 70 in the grammar. During the week he complete the lesson and often does other work related to the lessons concept during the week.
Grammar: Rod and Staff Grammar. Right now we are working on the second half of the level 7 book. We do at least 2 lessons a week. Odds on one day, evens on the next.
Reading: 1 hour per day. I try to have him complete a book in about 2 weeks give or take depending on the book. I have him write a summary when he finishes.
History: We are just starting a new book. We are using Story of the World for reading, discussion, maps, activities, and tests. Yes, I test. I think it's a necessary evil. I do not base my decisions off of them, though. We also us The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia for reading and outlining. So, during the week, he reads, outlines, maps, discusses and answers written questions, does a history project and writes 1 short report on the topic.
Science: Apologia Physical Science. We go though 1 module (Chapter) in 2 weeks. During that time he reads, experiments, writes lab reports, and takes a test. THIS is an incredible resource for daily lesson plans for Apologia.
French: The Easy French. He has a set check list that he must compete daily for this program. A lot of listening, phonogram practice, rule memorization and a semester project. We do one lesson per week.
Geography: Trail Guide to U.S. Geography. Some say we do too much in geography. It may work better for some to just include what is needed in your history study. I wanted my son to have more than that. So from this guide, we do 2 states per week. He draws locations and landmarks on a map and does a 3 page fact sheet for each state using the Childrens Illustrated Atlas.
Memory Work: This is an area where he has had trouble, so we are starting slow this year. For whatever we memorize, I have him read it outloud a few times every morning. Sometimes we forget, but I'm working on that.
Piano: He has a 30 minute lesson once a week and practices for 30 minutes every day. When he remembers. Working on that too.
Hockey and Gym during the week. He takes a 45 minutes gym class down the road at the Christian school. Mostly just for fun because he gets plenty of activity from the hockey practices that are usually twice a week!
For my daughter (6 years old) our books are as follows:
Bible: God Takes Care of Me. A wonderful devotional. It starts with a few questions to get them thinking and talking. A short story next, followed by more thinking questions and a prayer. There is a scripture at the end that I often have her copy for writing practice.
Math: Math U See Alpha. We do one page a day, sometimes two if she wants. Takes about 15-20 minutes. Try to do 1 lesson per week. I like to take time out to do activities from Play and Find Out About Math once in a while. Also, she helps me cook. Plenty of math there!
Spelling: Spelling Workout A. 10 minutes a day, she usually does one page for now.
Writing: Copywork--I have her copy the scripture from our Bible story, a sentence that I write for her, or passages from good books. We do this 2 or 3 days a week. We write a letter every couple weeks. I also try to throw in fun things. We write character sketches and problem/solution situations from the books we read and put them up on the wall.
Reading: Lots of good books. I read a chapter a day from whatever book we are reading at the time and Dad reads a chapter from something during the evening. Since September we have read A Wrinkle in Time (that took a while. More like 1/2 a chapter a day), Matilda and A Cricket in Time Square. Right now we are working on classic Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland (original and unabridged) and Little Pilgrims Progress.
French: The Easy French. Every day we listen to the lesson's story, vocabulary and do a short activity based on the lesson.
Geography: Trail Guide to U.S. Geography. Every day she looks at the atlas and answers 2 questions about a particular state and writes it down. We don't always get to this. At 1st grade, I'm not at all worried about it.
Science: Noeo Science Physics: A wonderful curriculum that has a day by day guide telling me what pages to read out of a particular book, what vocab to define and what experiments to do. It even include all the materials I need. We read a page, talk a lot about it, do a simple activity related to it, write a few sentences about what we read, and draw a picture. On experiment day, we fill out a lab report. She usually writes some of this.
History: Previously Story of the World. We would read a chapter, color, do some mapping, and do some projects. Now that we are finished with volume 3, I'm going to take some time experimenting where I want to go next. We may be doing a lot of unit studies. She learns well by hands on and I want to expand on that without distracting my older one who needs to hone in on the writing and studying skills needed for high school. See Clever Miners, Forty Niners.
Piano: Same as her brother. But, she practices whenever she passes the piano. My son is much more scheduled about it.
Hockey and Gymnastics: She plays hockey once a week on a young team. Really they are just learning how to play. She also is on the Pre-Competition team at gymnastics. That's 3 hours a week. Hard work, but she just recently got her back walkover down pat! Yea!
So that's it in a big 'ol nut shell. Got an idea of how I can improve this? What do you do in your home? What works for you?
We took a day trip into Boston to tour just a few of the Revolutionary war sites: Old North Church, Copp's Hill Burial Ground, Paul Revere's house and Lexington.
The first stop was Old North Church where Robert Newman held the two lanterns in warning of the British troops advance. Capt'n Tess thought it was the coolest thing that we could actually go to the place where the lanterns were held and Paul Revere had been. I love the fact that here on the East Coast we can visit so many of these historical places.
This is a statue of Paul Revere. I have found it interesting to learn about this period of time. I wanted to make sure that my children understood the sacrifice of ALL the men that fought and gave of their efforts during this time, not just Paul Revere. I have come to understand that it was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who brought Paul Revere to the status he is in today. Though the poem elevates him to a higher status, there were many men that rode and many others that risked their lives.
Here we are outside of the Old North Church in the North End, Boston, Mass. I love walking in the North End. There is still a sense of old world, though sadly it seems to be becoming overrun with uppity development and is losing it's Italian charm.
Here we are sitting in Paul Revere's Pew in the church. The sign says, "Revere Pew -- Paul Revere's son Joeseph Warren Revere bought this pew in 1808 (?). It is still owned by his decendents."
If you look at the top of this picture you will see 4 white pillars. Each pillar has an angel on top of it. The surprised expressions on the kids faces are because these 4 angels are actually stolen! A privateer, a legal pirate given permission by the government to attack enemy ships, attacked a french ship and looted it's contents. These 4 angels were a gift to the church from this privateer. So really, they belong to the french, but we still have them; hence the shocked expressions!
Each pew was enclosed in order to keep in the heat during cold winter months. Families bought and owned their pew outright and therefore were allowed to decorate and furnish it as they saw fit. (Shhhh. The children are praying.)
Our next stop was Copps Hill Burial Ground. We went on a hunt to find the oldest grave in the ground, and found it. Dated 1661, it is a double headstone and grave marker to two small boys: David Copp, 2 weeks old and Thomas Copp, 2 years old (I think).
This one is so cool. This is the grave of Robert Newman, the man who held the two lanterns in the church tower. He held the lanterns for under a minute. But not only did the riders see them, the British also saw them and headed for the church to see what was going on. They were banging on the doors trying to get in. Robert Newman had to escape out a side window. It didn't take the British long to figure out that the only man with the keys to the church was probably the one who had been up in the tower. This would have been Newman as he was the grounds keeper. Newman was arrested the next day, but there was not enough evidence to convict him.
The grave says,
HERE RESTS
ROBERT NEWMAN
Born in Boston, Mch 20, 1752
Died in boston, May 26, 1804
Patriot who hung the signal lanterns
in the church tower, April 13, 1775
Legend says that the British used this particular grave for target practice. We don't know if that is really true, but it's sure fun to dream! The grave says,
Here lies buried in a
stone grave 10 feet deep
Cap Daniel Malcom
who departed this life
October 23, 1769
Aged 44 years
A true son of liberty
a friend to the publick
an enemy to opposition
and one of the foremost
in opposing the revenue acts
on America
Just me and Eric the Enforcer! Capt'n Tess took this pic. Pretty good! In the back ground you can see over the river to Bunker Hill where the famous battle took place.
And one more by Eric the Enforcer!
A plaque in memory of Paul Revere (I cut off his name) and William Dawes who rode warning others that the "regulars" were on the way!
Next stop -- Paul Revere's house. No pictures were allowed inside. Very well restored, but odd to see it in the middle of so many large and modern buildings!
Our last stop was Lexington to see where the first shots were fired in the war (technically!). It was really amazing to just stand there and imagine 200 some years ago what had happened there.
This is the memorial to the battle and the minutemen who lost their lives.
"The remains of those who fell in the
Battle of Lexington were brought here
from the old cemetary April 20,
1835, and buried within the railing in
front of this monument."
Seeing it all first hand sure gives you a different perspective on it. Give me liberty, man!
We changed our minds and are going to try and adopt these two girls. They are mini rex bunnies with such soft fur. They were both very inquisitive of me, although the spotted one more so. Commodore Brilliantbones seemed a little unsure upon meeting all the bunnies, but there were A LOT of them. Overwhelming and a bit smelly, as can be expected with 30+ bunnies in one room.
We will see what happens in the next couple weeks. To be continued.............
MOST of what I need to have on hand I can buy in bulk. It may cost a little more to start up, but I assure you, in the end it's worth it. It really does save you money.
When I first started buying bulk, I gave myself $100 to spend at Sams Club. You must stick to your budget. I bought a bag of salmon filets, 1 bag of boneless chicken breast, and 10 pounds of hamburger. This was enough to get me through at least 1 month.
I also bought a huge bag of shredded cheese. I still have half the bag 2 months later.
3 dozen eggs last me almost 1 month.
A big bag of strawberries and mixed berries. The strawberries got us through two months and the berries a month and a half. We use them for smoothies, mixed with yogurt, in muffins, waffles and pancakes.
Tub of vanilla ice cream--the one treat I got! It lasted so long and everyone was happy!
Large bag of spaghetti and macaroni elbows. I still have plenty left two months later!
I know I bought a few other things and I did go to the regular grocery store for a few other things and produce, but the point is---it freed me up come the next paycheck to go back and get some of the other things I would need. I have begun to see the benefits and want to pass on the knowledge to you. When you:
1. Establish a budget
2. Commit to homemade
3. Buy in bulk
---your pocket will see the benefits of it. And even if you lag every now and then, you will be better off financially in the long (and even short) term.
Next tip I will send you to a site that shows you what things to keep on hand IF you are going to commit to homemade items. If you try it, you will find that you can make a huge amount of food from a simple list.
We are getting ready to adopt a pair of bunnies for Capt'n Tess's birthday. I haven't claimed these two YET, but will be in the next 24 hours. Their names are Spot and Zeus, however they may change once they come to live with us. The are both Dwarf Hotots, but I can see that they are *flawed* because of the black spots and dark ears. Who cares? We aren't showing them.
They are domestic bunnies so these will be our first official house pets. I'm sure little Capt'n Tess will do a wonderful job taking care of them and they will become much loved family members.
Anyone know about Dwarf Hotots? I would love any info!
At our baseball practice tonight I heard a few stories about the local schools. I'm shocked, sad, and 100% glad my kids are at home with me.
I really felt for the people I was with tonight. 1 was a teacher and 2 were subs. One other man worked in the schools or his wife did. Not sure which. They seemed helpless. In a dispairing kinda way. Here is a sample of the long conversation between the teachers, parents and me.
1. The sexual acts that are going on in the hallways are out of control. Not just kissing anymore. Seriously. She said they may as well be having sex! This sub said she just doesn't know what to do about it when she sees it. You can tell them to go to their class, but that doesn't take care of the problem. She really seemed in despair about it. I told her that there wasn't a whole lot she could do. These are morals heart issues. It made me sad to hear the story.
2. unoccupied rooms must be locked during the day or whenever they aren't in use to prevent kids from having sex in them. What shocks me is that this is actually a big enough problem that it had to be addressed in such a way.
3. The principal having a list of which students are to report directly to his office upon arriving at school in order to prove they are wearing underwear under their mini-skirts. I have no idea how they prove this.
4. The teacher stated that it's very hard because the government expects the kids to reach a certain level at a certain time without taking into account that kids are individuals and learn at different speeds in different ways. Like they expect them to be robots. She couldn't seem to find the right words for it. I said, "Like they're on an assembly line being mass produced?" She said yes.
I asked them to tell me the good stories. We all agreed that the bad experiences become cemented in our heads, but they didn't come up with any. Except that they as teachers are trying. I could tell they wanted to. One said that the government has so many stipulations placed on them that they can't do it effectively. It made me sad. To see so many teachers feel helpless. To know there is something down in there that's telling them, "this isn't right" and there isn't much they can do, even though they want to. *sigh* Made me glad to have mine home.
By the way, I live in a small town. It happens just as much here. My heart goes out to the teachers and administraters who want to make a difference, make a change, and just can't. I feel for you.
A conversation between me and my sons best friend this morning:
Me: "Do you guys want waffles or pancakes for breakfast?"
Friend: "What kind of waffles do you have?"
Son: "She makes 'em herself. Homemade.
Me: "I make them myself but I can add some blueberries if you want."
Friend (with a look of confusion on his face): "What do you mean? Do you have any regular waffles?"
Me: "They're pretty much the same as the ones in a box. Flour, milk and other stuff."
Friend (unsure): Oooookaaaaay.
He gobbled them down. I also expected a comment about the maple syurp (taken from family maple trees!) but, he said nothing. Score 1 for the weird homemade stuff!
Commodore Brilliantbones spent most of today building rasied garden beds for me. I'm so excited to plant! I don't know how it will all turn out but I'm gonna give it my best shot.
I wish I had a digital camera to show you how I arranged the beds. There are six beds, 8ft by 4ft. I arranged them in a hexagon shape so that the corners are almost touching; about a foot in between each corner so I can walk into the center hexagon. It kinda looks like a starburst. I would like to put something in the middle of the hexagon, but I'm not sure what yet. It made me think of my dad and how he would love to see the geometric shape! (I grew up in a pentagon shaped house)
Capt'n Tess had softball practice on Saturday. She did well, but you could tell about 1 hour into it that she was done. (practice is usually 1 1/2 hours) It began to rain quite a bit and I knew she didn't like it much, but she stuck it out and did a great job. All the kids did. I have been tagged for the Team Mom, so I have been learning what that is all about and doing my best to be organized with it. I had to play catcher for the batting practice and I was really suprised to wake up the next morning with my glutes KILLING ME! I guess it was a hour of bending over to get the ball when the batter missed! So funny, I didn't think I had much of a workout.
Busy vacation week coming up. We have many activites planned. Rain stick making at the library, a "mystery fish" project with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, outdoor survival learning and a kayak class from an outdoor expert. We will be having lots of fun this week!
Here's how to make those cute jelly bean filled carrots I always see at the store this time of year.
MATERIALS:
Disposable clear plastic icing bags
Orange jelly beans
Scissors
Green tissue paper
Twist ties
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Fill an icing bag with orange jelly beans, leaving at least 3 inches unfilled at the top.
2. Cut out two 8-inch squares of green tissue paper and lay one on top of the other.
3. Pick up the squares from the center and give them a little twist so you have a cone-shaped carrot top.
4. Place the tissue, twisted end down, into the bag.
5. Gather the bag at the top of the jelly beans and secure with a twist tie, wrapping the tie around the "stem" of the tissue paper, so the greenery sticks out of the top.
And don't forget the Bead Bunniesat every place setting!
But before all this, you must try the cooking project that refects and teaches our little ones (and us) the reason for our celebration.
(this is important--don't wait til you're half done with the recipe!)
Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.
Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.
Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.
Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.
So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.
Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.
Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.
Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt. 27:65-66.
GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
Read John 16:20 and 22
On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow!
On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.
Here are some simple recipies to cut back on the spending.
Muffins
The save time tip -- combine the dry ingredients together in a ziplock bag and repeat. and repeat. and repeat! This way you have many bags of mix that you just have to pull out and add the wet ingredients.
Mix together:
1/4 -1/2 cup sugar
1/2 t salt
1 T baking powder
2 cups flour
Add
1/4 cup oil
1 med egg
1 cup milk
(or you can add 1/3 cup powdered milk to the dry ingredients and 1 cup water to the wet ingredients)
Spray muffin cups -- bake at 400 for 20 minutes.
Waffles--You need a waffle maker. $10 at Target and well worth it. You will make your money worth in no time.
Save time tip -- same as muffins. Just put dry ingredients in ziplock bags. OR combine them all into a large ziplock bag and measure out the following: 1 1/4 and 1 Tbls. mix and then follow with wet ingredients.
1 cup flour
1/4 cup powdered milk
2 teas sugar
1 1/2 teas baking powder
dash salt
1 egg beaten
3/4 cup water
1 teas vanilla
1 Tbls oil
Pour 1/3 cup on heated waffle maker. Cook till it stops steaming. Make lots ahead of time and store in ziplock bags in the freezer. Add blueberries for a yummy mix.
Cream Soup Substitute
Save time tip -- store this recipe in an empty can or tupperware. I've kept mine in empty cans of powdered buttermilk and Jennies Macaroons.
2 cups powdered milk
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup bullion (whatever kind you want)
2 Tbs onion flakes
1 teas thyme
1/2 teas each of
basil
oregano
marjoram
pepper
**1/2 cup dry to 1 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbs butter. Cook until thickened. Makes about 6 or 7 "cans" of soup. Each 1/2 cup mixture is equal to 1 can undiluted.
Tomato Soup
This I don't make ahead of time. You could, though, by freezing it or canning.
6oz can tomato paste
1 can water
2 Tbl marg or butter (marg is cheaper!)
Mix till smooth and bubbly and remove from heat.
3 cans milk
1 teas sugar (more to taste)
1/4 teas salt (I always end up adding more)
1 teas onion powder
dash pepper
Stir in until smooth. Return to heat and heat through. Do not boil. It will curdle and look funny (but still taste good!)
Flour and Corn Tortillas
Head over to Hillbilly Housewife for this one. The two recipies are up in the right hand corner. Also, I use 1 1/2 cups water for the flour tortillas. Makes it easier to roll and I can get 16 8 inch tortillas out of it this way.
The possibilities are endless for these. Enchiladas, burritoes, any kind of wrap, peanut butter and jelly or honey, eggs and cheese.......just to name a few ideas.
Really, it's not as hard as it seems. You can pre-prepare many different things to have at a moments notice AND you can save alot of money on homemade convienience food.
Prepared foods are where we all get stuck spending more money. These are some of the things that I used to buy. And it's out of these things that we make so many different dishes and casseroles! I now make these myself:
(I would make bread, but I haven't bought the right pan yet.)
Tomato soup
Chicken noodle soup
Any "cream of" soups
Enchilada sauce
Broth
Waffles
Pancake mix
Taco seasoning
Biscuits
Flour and corn tortillas
Yogurt
Cottage cheese
Ricotta cheese
Baked beans
Rice a roni mix
Pizza dough
Oatmeal
Goodness Gracious! I don't make these things all the time. I don't need ricotta cheese every week and we only have baked bean every couple weeks. But really, the idea is that you CAN make so many things from scratch----saving you money. In the next couple days I will post some ideas on how to do this. Just some tips on making the prep and change-over easier. Come back in a day or two. For now here is a website that has helped me SO MUCH in changing my budget ways.
I'm not going to link to youtube because you never know what junk your going to see on the pages! This video reminds me of the domino stunts and those Discovery Toys marbles things.
Eric the Enforcer and Capt'n Tess both had little league tryouts last week. Eric the Enforcer made the Major's team! Yeah!!!! Very proud of him!
Capt'n Tess is playing with the U8 softball team and it's all girls! She is so excited to not play with any boys! It was almost the deciding factor in this years season.
And we are still a hockey family. We just went to a benefit game with former Boston Bruins players vs. county high school all stars. Some of the bruins players were OLD!
But the high schoolers still got their butts kicked! Tee hee.
The first thing you need to do is establish a budget for your groceries. Crown Financial Ministries sets this amount at 12% of your net spendable income (NSI--income after tithe and taxes) for a family of 4.
So if your NSI is $3200.00 monthly, your food budget should not be more that $384.00. If your NSI is $2000.00 monthly, your food budget should not be more than $240.00. You get the picture.
Whew! For a single income family, that could be really tough! I'm sure there are many parents out there who feel they end up making a decision between food and *that overdue bill*. God doesn't want it to be that way. His plans are for GOOD! But, He also wants us to be good stewards of the resources He has given us. It's hard to do that without a good budget. Go to Crown Financial Ministries for help in budgeting.
What if you have a large income? If your NSI is $10,000 monthly, does that mean you should spend $1,200 a month on food? Well, you could. Do you need to? No. Consider your other budget areas. Is there debt to be paid off? House maintenance that needs to be attended to? Could you be saving for your childrens college education? I challenge you to cut your budget down to $400 a month, put the excess into other NEEDED categories or savings, and see how you feel after a couple months. I believe God will bless you for your commitment.
Does this amount seem impossible? To little? How could I possible spend such a small amount on food? It will take planning. It will take learning. It will take some time and organization. And, since God is "in the details", it will take prayer. But you will reap the benefits, I promise.
Here to share a simple chunk of our life here in Maine. We are a Christian homeschooling family whose interests seem to be centered around church, hockey and gymnastics. Or maybe the latter two are just what my driving time is centered around.
