This was not a typical day for us, but this is how the day of a Homeschool Mom and her 8 children went:

1. We woke up late, ate late, showered late, and got out the door late-10:30 AM.
2. We went to our homeschool covering and registered for next year.
3. Ran by Sean's work, just so I could give him a kiss.
4. Went to get gas, because the fuel light came on.  Boy did I need it!
5. Drove to the hospital with Sean during his lunch hour to visit his grandmother and get her a gift.  She fell and broke her pelvis yesterday.
6. Ran home and fed the children lunch.
7. Went by the dollar store to find some ribbon...nothing!
8. Ran by another dollar store to find some ribbon...nothing!
9. Swung by Office Depot to pick up card stock and some fasteners.
10. Finally decided to go by the sewing shop for ribbon...10 beautiful colors!  YES!
11. Drove home to pick up Sean at 5 PM and went out for ice cream before dinner, because my crew was good during all the errands!

Not typical...not even a good homeschool or homekeeping day...but after 5 day of illness and rain, we needed OUT!

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3 DAY POTTY TRAINING

1.      Salty snacks (peanuts, popcorn, crackers...encourages drinking) or high water content snacks (watermelon, popsicles, etc.) or poop inducers (salads, broccoli, apples, applesauce, prunes, etc.) and plenty of drinks (juices, sodas, kool-aid...full sugar).  No cheese!

2.      Potty chairs in close locations or keep the child in the kitchen with a potty chair and plenty to do...we like a one-pice potty chair...they feel secure sitting on it and no parts to loose...clean up is a breeze!

3.     No diapers/pull-ups/undies (only at bedtime/nap-and take it off as soon as they wake and get them on the potty!) Naked below the waist (wear a dress or long t-shirt)

4.  No shame or fussing/make them help you clean up messes

5.  Reward successes with a “potty dance” and a favorite candy

6.  Set a kitchen timer to go off every 30 minutes and have the child sit on the potty.  Some times Kay Kay will go every 30 minutes, but then she won’t go for 3 hours...but at least she gave it a try!

Starting 2 weeks before, take the child to the bathroom and have them watch you go...explain the bathroom routine* (*Bathroom routine-pull down pants and undies, sit on potty and go, wipe, pull up pants, dump in toilet and flush, wash hands) and have them do it with you when you go to the bathroom.  The 3 days is about you CATCHING them in time to get to the potty, so pay attention to them!

·         Day 1-stay home and focus on drinking/snacks and going to the potty regularly, plus the bathroom routine*.  Naked below the waist.

·         Day 2-stay home and do the same as Day 1, except for 1 hour outside the house (potty right before going out-this is a must ALWAYS), plus the bathroom routine*.  Naked below the waist.

·         Day 3- stay home and do the same as Day 1, except for 2-1 hour trips outside the house (potty right before going out-this is a must ALWAYS), plus the bathroom routine*.  Naked below the waist.

The next 3 months-no undies/diapers/pull-ups at all, not even outside the house.  Carry extra clothing and clean up supplies with you when you leave the house.  Girls can wear loose bloomers and boys loose boxers...anything else will feel close to the skin like a diaper and they will wet or mess.  The loose clothing is key to them learning and not feeling like a diaper is being worn.  After that, they should be ready for undies/panties.  Our reward for going potty is the potty dance/cheer and M & M’s.   After 3 months with few accidents, they are ready for special underwear/panties.  If you don't see any success on the first 3 days, stop and start over in 6-8 weeks.  Accidents happen, even with children that have been potty trained for quite some time!  We also have a potty chair and toilet paper, etc. that we take in the van with us.

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NOTE: This recipe feeds a family of ten, so you may have to adjust it
a bit to your family's size.

7-8lbs. Potatoes, peeled and sliced or cubed
1 Large onion, chopped as fine/coarse as you like it
2-3 T Olive Oil, or Canola or whatever you use
1 ½ t Garlic Powder
1   t Basil
1 ½ t Black Pepper
2   t Salt
1 ½ Stick of Butter
¼   c Sour Cream
1   T Worcestershire
        Chicken Bouillon Cubes
        Milk

_______________________________________
Put the potatoes in a large stock pot, and measuring how much it
takes, add enough water to cover them.  Then for every 8 oz. of water
used add a chicken bouillon cube.  Add 1/2 teaspoon basil, one
teaspoon Black Pepper, one teaspoon salt, and boil the potatoes until
they are soft enough to mash.  Then pour the water into a bowl or
other pan and set aside.

Put your 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a sauce pan or skillet at medium
heat.  You want just enough oil to coat all the onion.  Anymore and
you will have oily potato soup.  Add your onion and garlic.  Cook
these till the onion starts looking kind of clear.

Add 4 cups of the water used on the potatoes that you set aside back
to the potatoes and mash leaving a few lumps (how ever you like it).
Now add the onion, garlic and butter to the potatoes. Mix all this
until the butter is all melted.  Add ½ teaspoon of Basil, ½ teaspoon
Black Pepper, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1/4 cup Sour Cream, and 1 tablespoon
Worcestershire. Then add enough milk to achieve the consistency that
you like.  Mix well. Before you serve it taste it and add any
additional spices that you feel it may be lacking on.

We like to top this with Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Chives and
Bacon bits.

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Boyd Family Chicken and Dressing

To make chicken and dressing, fix a skillet of cornbread.  When it is
cooled, crumble the cornbread as much as possible (sometimes the
crust will not crumble easily, but it is okay).

1 large skillet of cornbread, crumbled
10 slices of bread, diced
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon sage
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 large onion, diced well
1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted
3 large eggs
4 cups of chicken stock
1.5-2 lbs cooked & cooled chicken or turkey, shredded

I usually mix this in a stock pot and then bake it in a greased 9" x
13" pan.  Mix the crumbled cornbread with the diced bread, add the
onion and melted butter.  In another bowl beat the eggs, add 3 cups
of broth and seasonings.  Stir this into the bread to moisten it
all.  Transfer to the baking pan. Cover with foil.

Cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Stir the dressing, scraping it
off the sides too.  Re-cover, bake for another 15 minutes.  Stir it
again and taste it to see if you like the seasoning.  Add the chicken
and 1 cup of broth into the dressing and stir well.  Bake without the
foil until it seems "set", you know, not too mushy-gushy.  Serve with
mashed potatoes and another veggie.  Yummy!

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Chicken bought at ALDI on sale for 79 cents per pound @ 5.55
lbs=$4.38 + 9% sales tax = $4.77

My chicken is on the stove as I type, and this is what we have
planned for our chicken, although there are other things we do with
chicken such as chicken stew, chicken cacciatore, chicken pot pies,
chicken mashed potatoes, etc..  Yes, this can feed a MOMYS
family...see my signature line to see the family I feed.  We also
have the children's friends occasionally.  Nobody here goes hungry!

I put the chicken in a stock pot and cover it with water.  Bring it
to a boil and then simmer for a couple of hours.  The meat is done
when you try to pick up the chicken and the meat comes off the bone. 
Take the chicken out of the pot with a slotted spoon.  Set the
chicken in a dish to cool, and when cool, pick it off the bone.  Let
the broth cool.

Use 1/3 of the chicken and 4 cups of broth to make chicken and
dressing.  Add in sides, and this may actually be enough for 2 meals.

Use 1/3 of the chicken to make a chicken and rice or noodle dish. 
This has Cream of chicken soup and veggies added.  Homemade rolls
with this.

Use 1/3 of the chicken and the pot of broth to make chicken noodle or
rice soup...with veggies.  We add cornbread muffins to this.

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With 2 in diapers, this saves me at least $20 a month on baby wipes.  I shop the sales for the "ingredients"...such as buying the 8 pack of Bounty paper towels when they are on sale for $7.99 or less, and use a coupon.  Baby bath and oil go on sale too, and baby coupons are easy to find!  Shop smart!  Making baby wipes is VERY EASY, so no excuses!  :)

HOMEMADE BABY WIPES

Ingredients:

 

• 1 cylinder shaped plastic container or in a pinch, a Ziploc bag
• 1 roll of Bounty paper towels (no substitutions!!)
• 2 Cups Boiling Water
• 1 TBSP. Baby Bath
• 1 ½ TBSP. Baby Oil

Cut the roll of paper towels in half (cross wise) with a knife, serrated works best. Remove the card board from the middle. Place your half roll of paper towels in the container (cut side down). Mix the baby bath and baby oil with the boiling water. Stir well. When it has cooled a bit, pour the mixture over the paper towels in the container.

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Our newest little man was born by emergency c-section on September 6, 2008.  He weighed in at 7 lbs 15 ozs and 20 3/4 inches long.  He is named after our fathers. 

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The Grammar & Composition Notebook (again, a binder) will be a place for all writing assignments to go, a reference for the future, and gives the student the ability to see how their writing has improved over the years.  We will be using a 2 inch binder, so we may store their writing assignments from year to year.  For me, this gives us a wonderful place to store our work...and no loose papers!

THE BASICS

1. One-1 to 2 inch binder
2. Dividers with tabs
3. Notebook paper
4. Colored paper

THE SET UP

Put the tab dividers in the binder and label them: Reference, Goals, Work in Progress, & Completed Work.

1. Reference-the colored paper will be used in this section to differentiate between different topics.  An example of this would be, there are 8 parts of speech.  The students are instructed in one of their lessons to list the 8 parts of speech and their definitions, each on it's own page.  You would use the same color paper for all 8 parts of speech...let's say orange.  These would be hole-punched and placed in the "Reference" section of their binder.  Some subsections are listed for the "Reference" section of the Grammar & Composition Notebook, they are: Parts of Speech, Steps in the Writing Process, Writing Construction, and Signal Words.
2. Goals-Sometimes the students are asked to write down goals...these help the student identify areas that need improvement, and include the student in obtaining the goal
3. Work in Progress-this is a place to store work that takes more than a week to complete
4. Completed Work-all finished work goes here, must be labeled with student's name and the date.

A full description of the Grammar & Composition Notebook is available in Writing Aids by Marcia Somerville.

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Like I said before, we are heading into a new journey with Tapestry of Grace.  They recommend, setting up Student Notebooks.  I love this idea, it keeps down all the paper piles that I have to deal with all over my house.  So here is my take on the topic!

THE BASICS

Setting up the TOG Student Binder (aka Student Notebook) can be done a few ways:

1. One binder per subject (not going to happen here with all the children we have!)
2. One 2 inch binder that holds 1 divider per subject...but then where to I put there weekly lesson plans and SAP's? (again, not for me!)
3. One 2 inch binder that holds 36 weekly dividers (my plan!)

Some may purchase the dividers through Tapestry of Grace here Tapestry Divider Tab Set for $12.50, but with 5 students for this school year, that isn't going to happen here!  I found these (Economy Tab Set at Staples) at Staples for less than $6.00 and if you have many students like me, it will just be a better fit financially.

WHAT GOES IN THE NOTEBOOK

Here are my "plans" for each of my students notebooks:

1. Weekly Student Planner Pages (homemade)
2. Weekly Student Activity Pages (SAPs)
3. Maps
4. Worksheets
5. Coloring sheets
6. Pictures of completed projects
7. Anything else I think would be helpful

So, this is the beginning plan for our "Student Notebooks".  Coming up next, the Grammar & Composition Notebook.  Happy Homeschooling!

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TAPESTRY OF GRACE

Your TOG volume arrived, and with great excitement and anticipation you open the box and...WHEW...information overload! It happens to all of us!  It is alot of information to digest...so much so, that some set it aside for a few days/weeks...not me, I dug in!  After your nerves settle a bit, you will begin to look through your volumes and notice the need for binders. I bought 4-2″ binders at the Staples, and organized the TOG Units with the weekly tabs.

So here’s my Let's-Get-Started list:

Step One: Put the units in binders. Some TOG users are page-protector-"crazy", and while I see them as useful, they would be a HUGE expense for us, and I just keep my TOG units up away from the children.  As for the binders, we like the presentation-type binder with the clear pockets on the outside of the binder.

Step Two: Get out your Loom CD, and save the Resource List onto your computer. I played with the file a bit to make it more user friendly for me.  Some edit and delete all but the info for the levels they are teaching at the time, to make it a tad less stressful, and then save it with a descriptive title, such as “TOG Year 1 LG-UG Resources”, for those with only Lower and Upper Grammar students.  I chose to print it all off, with 7 (soon to be 8) children, we will hit all the levels soon enough!

Step Three: The only books you absolutely MUST HAVE are the ones on the Left-hand side of the resources page in your TOG manual...aka Primary Page. The Right-hand pages are Alternative Resources: additional reading, additional projects, movies that tie in, etc. The Alternative Pages also can be used for alternate resources if you cannot find the books on the Primary Page list. For instance, we already own Story of the World Volume One, so although I am planning on using the other books, I also have this book to use either as a backup, additonal reading, or my spine if I think it would fit the lesson better. There are a few others which I plan to use, mostly the videos, which I think would be a fun thing to tie in when we can. The Primary Page list is VERY FULL and I doubt we’ll need much else.  Many TOGGERS dot their books with colored dot labels (also available at Staples) that correspond with the TOG Year color...such as Year 1 is red, so they put red dots on the Year 1 books.  I have become a dotter!

Step Four: Finding books. Ohhh this is a big, multi-step project in itself. Print out your resources list and begin searching for the best deals on books.  Here are a few ideas to get you started on your book buying:

Some suggestions for online book buying:

Lampstandpress.com/bookshelf/
Amazon.com
RainbowResource.com

Coming up next, setting up the TOG student notebook.  Happy homeschooling!

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CURRICULUM SELECTION

2008-2009 School Year

Student’s Name: Boo

Grade: 1st

SUBJECT                                               TEXTBOOK

Bible                                                      Tapestry of Grace Year 1-LG Level (The Bible & Various Literature)

History                                                  Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Lower Grammar Level (Various Literature)

Math                                                     Saxon Math 1

Science                                                 Apologia Zoology 1

Language Arts                                   Phonics-Phonics Pathways & Pathways Pyramid

                                                                Spelling-Spelling Power

                                                                Vocabulary-Tapestry of Grace Year 1

                                                                Composition-Tapestry of Grace Writing Aids

                                                                Literature-Pathways Grade 1 Readers and Various Literature Books

Fine Arts                                              Tapestry of Grace Year 1-LG Level (Various Literature)

Physical Education                           Daily activities and nutrition discussions

Home Economics                            Daily activities & instruction in cooking, sewing,

                                                              home cleaning, home care and

                                                              maintenance, gardening, hospitality,

                                                              family finances, marriage, and

                                                              child training/development/care

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CURRICULUM SELECTION

2008-2009 School Year

Student’s Name:  Gogey

Grade: 3rd

SUBJECT                                               TEXTBOOK

Bible                                                      Tapestry of Grace Year 1-LG Level (The Bible & Various Literature)

History                                                  Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Lower Grammar Level (Various Literature)

Math                                                     Saxon Math 3

Science                                                 Apologia Zoology 1

Language Arts                                   Phonics-Phonics Pathways & Pathways Pyramid

                                                                Spelling-Spelling Power

                                                                Vocabulary-Tapestry of Grace Year 1

                                                                Composition-Tapestry of Grace Writing Aids

                                                                Literature-Pathways Grade 3 Reader and Various Literature Books

Fine Arts                                              Tapestry of Grace Year 1-LG Level (Various Literature)

Physical Education                           Daily activities and nutrition discussions

Home Economics                            Daily activities & instruction in cooking, sewing,

                                                              home cleaning, home care and

                                                              maintenance, gardening, hospitality,

                                                              family finances, marriage, and

                                                              child training/development/care

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CURRICULUM SELECTION

2008-2009 School Year

Student’s Name:  Sweet Pea

Grade: 6^th

SUBJECT                                               TEXTBOOK

Bible                                                      Tapestry of Grace Year 1-UG Level (The Bible & Various Literature)

History                                                  Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Upper Grammar Level (Various Literature)

Math                                                     Saxon Math 7/6

Science                                                 Apologia General Science

English 6                                               Grammar-Cozy Grammar Basic

                                                                Spelling-Spelling Power

                                                                Vocabulary-English From the Roots Up & Tapestry of Grace Year 1

                                                                Composition-Tapestry of Grace Writing Aids

                                                                Literature-Pathways Grade 6 Reader and Various Literature Books

Fine Arts                                              Tapestry of Grace Year 1-UG Level (Various Literature)

Physical Education                           Daily activities and nutrition discussions

Home Economics                            Daily activities & instruction in cooking, sewing,

                                                              home cleaning, home care and

                                                              maintenance, gardening, hospitality,

                                                              family finances, marriage, and

                                                              child training/development/care

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CURRICULUM SELECTION

2008-2009 School Year

Student’s Name:  Tater

Grade: 7^th

SUBJECT                                               TEXTBOOK

Bible                                                      Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Dialectic Level (The Bible & Various Literature)

History                                                  Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Dialectic Level (Various Literature)

Math                                                     Saxon Math 8/7

Science                                                 Apologia General Science

English 7                                               Grammar-Cozy Grammar Basic

                                                                Spelling-Spelling Power

                                                                Vocabulary-English From the Roots Up & Tapestry of Grace Year 1

                                                                Composition-Tapestry of Grace Writing Aids

                                                                Literature-Pathways Grade 7 Reader and Various Literature Books

Fine Arts                                              Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Dialectic Level (Various Literature)

Philosophy                                          Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Dialectic Level (Various Literature)

Physical Education                           Daily activities and nutrition discussions

Home Economics                            Daily activities & instruction in cooking, sewing,

                                                              home cleaning, home care and

                                                              maintenance, gardening, hospitality,

                                                              family finances, marriage, and

                                                              child training/development/care

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CURRICULUM SELECTION

2008-2009 School Year

Student’s Name:  Tiger

Grade: 8^th

SUBJECT                                               TEXTBOOK

Bible                                                      Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Dialectic Level (The Bible & Various Literature)

History                                                  Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Dialectic Level (Various Literature)

Math                                                     Saxon Algebra 1/2

Science                                                 Apologia General and Physical Science

English 8                                               Grammar-Cozy Grammar Basic

                                                                Spelling-Spelling Power

                                                                Vocabulary-English From the Roots Up & Tapestry of Grace Year 1

                                                                Composition-Tapestry of Grace Writing Aids

                                                                Literature-Pathways Grade 8 Reader and Various Literature Books

Fine Arts                                              Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Dialectic Level (Various Literature)

Philosophy                                          Tapestry of Grace Year 1-Dialectic Level (Various Literature)

Physical Education                           Daily activities and nutrition discussions

Home Economics                            Daily activities & instruction in cooking, sewing,

                                                              home cleaning, home care and

                                                              maintenance, gardening, hospitality,

                                                              family finances, marriage, and

                                                              child training/development/care

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ABC Workout

• Use a weighted ball, soup can or another lightly weighted item that is easy to hold
• Use your arms and entire body to spell out the alphabet, making large sweeping motions

I have done this workout, and it is awesome!  HOWEVER, if you are overweight or out of shape, here are some tips to keep you from causing yourself some major pain. 

1. To begin with, skip the weighted object (your weight will be sufficient to begin with) and use just a regular kids ball or pilates hoop. 
2. Start out with just 8 or 10 capital letters of the alphabet, instead of the full 26...add more as the others become easy. 
3. Do not do this more often than 3 times per week. 
4. When doing the letters, squat down to the floor and then reach up for the stars as you stand...this will work out ALOT of muscles. 

You may not feel the result of the workout for a day or two, but if you don't listen to my helpful tips, you may not be able to get out of bed one day because you thought it was so easy on day one!  The first time I did this workout, I did the full 26 letters, and then 2 days later I was feverish and sore and unable to move without screaming!  LOL

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History:  Tapestry of Grace Year 1

Science: Apologia Science

Math: Saxon Math-Homeschool

English/Language Arts:  Tapestry of Grace Writing Aids, Cozy Grammar, Spelling Power, English From the Roots Up Vol. 1, Phonics Pathways, Pathway Readers, Handwriting Without Tears

Bible: Tapestry of Grace

Fine Arts: Tapestry of Grace

Philosophy: Tapestry of Grace

Government: Tapestry of Grace

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Ting, Shing, Shy, Socks, Spooky, and Star...we love and miss you!

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