The Red Tartan Room - Homeschool Blogger

Ducklings...

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 08:51:00 -0500

One of my muscovy ducks has hatched four ducklings. They are the most beautiful, perfect things I've ever seen. They are so very small. They hardly seem real.

She's very protective of her babies. It was difficult getting these pictures. Everywhere I stood, she placed her body between me and the ducklings. She's teaching them to forage. She nibbles something, squeaks, and then the babies come running to nibble it too.

Have I mentioned that I'm enjoying living in the country?

Such beauty.

Winterizing...

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 13:36:00 -0500

My new house (built in 1825) has very old, beautiful windows. It also has an old, not-so-beautiful furnace. The weather-stripping around all the exterior doors is shot.

I have some winterizing to do.

I've been doing a lot of research about winterizing and I've made several pleasant discoveries. First, I found out that recent studies have shown that old windows paired with storm windows are almost as efficient as new windows. This was really great news for me because there was no way I was taking out my wavy-glass windows. Second, I found out that roller shades (when hung inside the window casing with gaps no larger than 1/4") increase window efficiency 25-35%! I hate mini-blinds anyway. And finally, I found out that one can find brand new, high quality furnaces on ebay for half-price. We're getting a 96% effecient furnace in a few weeks to replace the 40-year-old clunker that's down there now.

Other things anyone can do to lower their heating bills this year are:

1. Recaulk around the window exteriors. Use silicon caulk for this as it lasts 20-30 years. Latex lasts 5-10 years and construction grade has to be redone every year. Caulk should be applied when outdoor temperatures are 45-50 degrees for minimal cracking.

2. Get insulating foam in a can to seal up any large gaps such as: where the siding meets the foundation, where pipes enter the home, etc.

3. Invest in some weather-stripping and door bumpers to form a tight seal around those doors.

4. Check the depth of your attic insulation.

5. Get some foam gaskets to put inside the electrical outlets on the exterior walls of the home.

If any readers know of additional tips, feel free to post them in the comments section. Fuel costs are high and we all need lower bills.

Our First Week...

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 08:56:00 -0500

Our first week of homeschooling is now complete. I made and completely followed all my lesson plans. It's obvious that I need to work out some kinks in my schedule, though.

Two of our days last week lasted from 9am to 4pm! That is too long when your only students are a first and third grader. I asked my husband to look at my lesson plans to help me identify the problem. He thinks we're too heavy on Language Arts.

He may be onto something.

I don't spend an excessive amount of time on my first grader. My third grader's schooling is the one sucking up all my time. Our curricula for Language Studies are: Writing Strands Level 2 - 20-30 minutes, we're finishing up First Language Lessons - 10 minutes, learning cursive - 10-15 minutes, and 30 minutes of silent reading. And obviously there's a little time lost switching gears between subjects.

I don't want to cut anything. It all has merit. In addition to that there is also: math, spanish, art, music, history, and science. We don't do all of these everyday.

I have tweaking to do.

For All the Curriculum Junkies...

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 20:36:00 -0500

I placed all my orders today. There's nothing like waiting until the last minute, don't cha' know. A lot of work went into these orders. I checked "The Well-Trained Mind" for its suggestions. I combed my message boards. I picked the brains of other homeschool moms. I'm very pleased with what I've put together. Here's what we're using this year:

3rd Grade:
    Grammar - Rod & Staff English 3
    Math - finishing up Saxon 3 & then Saxon 54
    Writing - Writing Strands 2
    Spelling - Spelling Workout 3

1st Grade:
    Reading - Phonics Pathways
    Math - Saxon 1
    Grammar - First Language Lessons

Common Classes for both grades:
    Science - Science 4 by Bob Jones University Press
    History - The Light and the Glory for Children trilogy
    (American History) and then Story of the World - Volume 1
    and Activity Book
    Music - Let's Learn Music by Hays
    Art - How to Teach Art to Children by Evan-Moore
    Spanish - Let's Learn Spanish by Hays

Some of you classical homeschoolers are plotzing, "Where's her latin?!! There's no latin in this list!!!" Yeah, I'm not sure I'm doing latin. To help me decide I also ordered "Heart of Wisdom" by Robin Sampson. The more I learn about Greece and Rome, the less I want them to be a huge influence in my homeschool. I'll address that issue in another post...

Saturday...

Sat, 5 Aug 2006 08:19:00 -0500

Saturday is a day of possibilities.

Will we work today? Will we mark waiting tasks off our to-do lists? Build something lasting? Improve our homes and upgrade our quality of life? Perhaps.

Will we play today? Go somewhere new? Expand our horizons? Have an adventure with our families that will cement us together? Gather memories to sustain us through old age? Perhaps.

The marvel is that today it is up to us. Monday through Friday there are expectations for most of us. Sunday is the Lord's.

Saturday is a day of possibilities.

That being said, today we're mowing the lawn and butchering two ducks... We've never butchered ducks so we're nervous. Today we're expanding our horizons by honing a new skill.

What do you want to do today?

Wow. An Entry That's Actually Homeschool Related...

Tue, 1 Aug 2006 09:03:00 -0500

We had our assessment a few days ago. Everything went very well. My eldest just completed his second grade year and is reading at an eighth grade level. <Insert bow here> This year I'll be schooling a third grader, first grader, and a pre-schooler who's dying to read. I still have to send in my notification letter. I'll be working on that this week. Since I've just moved to this area, I have to find out who the superintendant is... I do not enjoy change.

I'm looking forward to school this year and dreading it at the same time. The lower grades are easier as you can't fall behind. Our school this year is going to require more time, more planning, more consistancy, more of me.

Also...

I'm looking forward to fall. My property is heavily wooded. Once the lower temperatures kill the mosquitos, I'm looking forward to lots of beautiful walks. I'm also looking forward to things slowing down. It's been such a busy summer. I can't wait for a lovely afternoon of raking leaves, the smell of burning wood, the taste of apple cider and glazed doughnuts, the feel of a thick sweater, and the smell of ice on the wind that tells me snow is en route.

My favorite time of the year: The start of school and autumn.

Life is good.

We Found a Fireplace...

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 10:00:00 -0500

We found a bricked-up fireplace in our livingroom! We knew there had to be one somewhere because the original occupants would have frozen without a fireplace. So my husband got the hammer and- BAM! Fireplace.

It's hard to make out in this picture, but the fireplace has an arched opening. We're planning on putting a fireplace insert and liner in here this spring. It'll be expensive, but worth it!

More About Chickens...

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 09:05:00 -0500

I have really been enjoying my chickens. I had no idea they'd be so easy to care for. Many people are starting to keep chickens even in suburb areas. As long as the neighbors don't complain, there isn't a problem. A few chickens (5 or so) and no rooster can be really quiet and provide your family with fresh eggs.

My coop (pictured two entries ago) comfortably houses my 14 birds and is 5' x 7'. I get anywhere from five to nine eggs everyday from them. They eat about four cups of chicken feed a day. That sounds like a lot but one 50 lb. bag of feed costs $7.50 and lasts me about a month. They also get all the table scraps except potato skins which chickens can't digest. They come to me everytime they see me hoping for a treat.

Cleaning the coop is a snap. It takes all of twenty minutes for a routine cleaning. Once a year it's recommended to disinfect the coop, but I haven't had to do that yet. I put a tarp down in front of the door and use a pitchfork to toss out the old straw. Then it goes to the compost pile. I put a whole bale of straw ($4.50) in there at a time and I'm guessing I'll have to clean the coop like this about once every three months. I also "stir" the straw twice a week with a garden hoe to mix the manure with the straw. That helps it dry out and not smell. My coop smells like sweet hay. The small amount of flies that are attracted by the coop get hunted by the chickens. That's really amusing to watch!

Before and After: The Mudroom...

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:23:00 -0500

This is the mudroom as it was when we moved in. It's roughly a 10' x 16' room. I've always wanted a mudroom. With four boys and all their gear, it's really a necessity. The side door enters this room from the driveway. I know that this will be the main entrance to our home, so I wanted it to be really beautiful as well as functional.

I saw an old house in a movie that had the trim painted black and it was stunning. I've obsessed about black trim ever since. I decided that this would be the room that gets it. I also wanted to put a mural in here a la Rufus Porter.

A little background on Rufus...

Rufus Porter was a muralist (among other things) that lived in the 1800's. He traveled the mid-Atlantic states painting primitive murals in large houses. I've decided to loosely copy his style for my mural since my house was built in 1825.

I'm not completely finished with the room yet, but my dearest and best friend lives in Texas and I can't wait any longer to show it to her. Here it is so far, Susan:

I'm planning on painting the side door there red and I'm going to install 1" x 4" trim all the way around the room where the mural meets the green. On the trim I'm going to put black iron coat hooks every 12 inches or so.

This is the only completed section of the mural so far. I'll probably add close-ups later. In the far left of the mural there's a little scottish terrier and dog house that can barely be seen in this picture. It says "Rufus" on the dog house as a nod to Mr. Porter.

Chickens...

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:11:00 -0500

This is the view out my kitchen window. These adorable chickens were given to me by someone leaving the country life. She couldn't take them with her, so I've given them a good home.

I have 12 hens and two roosters. These particular chickens are called Comet chickens, which is just a fancy way of saying that they're mutt chickens bred to lay brown eggs.

We got them a week after we moved into the new house. We went to the feedstore right after we got them. When we returned home, we found an egg in the grass. My husband had not yet built their nest boxes. I tell you it felt exactly the same as it did when I was a child Easter morning looking for eggs. It was magic seeing that soft brown egg just waiting for me.

Here are the first eggs they gave us. They are so funny and so cute... I believe I'm in love.