Our Homeschooling Expedition - Homeschool Blogger

Bulletin Boards

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:47:00 -0600

I thought I'd share some of the bulletin boards I've made for the Christian school. I helped the English teacher out with his at the beginning of the year. After all you can't have bare bulletin boards in a classroom.

Here's the one's for the English class

There was a word written on each flashlight. The beams of the flashlight had synonyms written on them. I tried to pick words kids tend to overuse. I also had attached a sheet in the corner that explained what a thesaurus was and a synonym. I must have took this picture before I put that up.

Here's the one I made for the Algebra class. It's an interactive one. Each student had a ship and had to sail to Genius Island. There was a set of cards with math problems on them for each island. They would pick which island they wanted to start on and then answer the questions for that island. If they got 9 out of 10 right they could advance to the next island. When they reached Genius Island and answered the questions for that one I had a small treat bag for them. It contained some tootsie rolls, starburst, a little debbie snack, and gel pen.

I was going to post about the one I have up right now but apparently I haven't taken a picture of it yet. Because I can't find it anywhere on my computer. I guess you'll have to wait for that one.

It's a New Year

Sat, 3 Jan 2009 11:41:00 -0600

It's a new year and with every new year it makes you stop and think about the previous year. This past year has been full and blessed! It also makes me think about what I've been missing. I really miss being active online and in the homeschool community. I really enjoy sharing about our homeschool and seeing what others are up to in theirs. So I've decided that is going to be put back on my priority list. I'm going to blog at least once a week and get back in the swing of reading others' blogs. I thought I'd start with giving you an overview of what I've been up to the last couple of months.

As you know I started teaching highschool math at our local Christian School this year and that has been going well. It keeps me busy and has helped stay more consistent with grading. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue doing it next year though. I'll just have to pray about it. I'm also the director of our church's Master Clubs program and teacher for the Ambassadors group. This has been a learn by fire type of experience but has been such a blessing. We are seeing steady growth with the club. Our first night we had 17 and the night before we broke for Christmas break we had 39. The kids seem to really be enjoying it and hopefully I'll get the hang of it running it soon. LOL It's one of those things where I feel I'm always a couple of steps behind.

My sister got engaged in October. They got married on December 20th. I was the matron of honor for her and she kept me busy with all kinds of things. LOL I helped her make the centerpieces and pew decorations. I think I'm all crafted out for awhile. The day of the wedding I woke up with a huge migraine and every time I moved my head I felt like I was going to pass out. I made it throught the wedding and the reception formalities, then I went home to die. LOL 20 minutes before the ceremony started I went to attach the train to the dress to discover the hook things were broke. I don't think I've ever sewed so fast in my life. I sewed the train directly to the dress. I remember starting to freak out when the music for the mothers started to play. I was still back there sewing when I had to be walking down the isle in 2 minutes. We got it done just in the nick of time and didn't delay the wedding. LOL Then somehow between the church and the reception hall she managed to get mud all over the front of her dress. At the reception I see my new bil frantically waving from the doorway for me. So I get up from the table and go out to see what's up. It was bad! I did manage to get the majority off, so you couldn't really tell unless you were looking for it. Overall it went well and no one was the wiser.

In November my oven, dryer, and dishwasher decided to start misbehaving. The oven completely quit working. The dishwasher wasn't cleaning the dishes and the dryer kept putting holes in my daughters clothes. Her clothes kept getting caught between the drum and door. When I would try to get them out they would get a hole. Then one of my kids dropped the toaster and broke it. My waffle maker also decided to puke. November was not a very good month. Oh I almost forgot 2 of the van tires went bad also. One got a hole and kept going flat. The other was so bad that it was causing the van to shake horribly when you drove. But in the midst of all this was some huge blessings!

I went to my pastor just to talk and get some encouragement. Not only was everything breaking but I was having other problems too. I didn't know how much more of this I could take. I just needed to talk to someone that would give me some sound Godly advice. Well later that night the assistant pastor showed up at my house with a new to me oven and dryer. I was speechless. I couldn't hardly talk because I was afraid I'd burst out crying. I hadn't even thought about them helping in this way. I was completely blessed!

My husband was also mandated plenty of overtime so we could afford to buy 4 new tires for the van. He also managed to find out what was wrong with the dishwasher and fix it. I tell you I'm spoiled! I really missed that dishwasher. For Christmas I received a new toaster and waffle maker. All is right with the world again. Also most of the other things have been resolved.

The last couple of weeks I've been off from school, so I've been busy trying to get my house in order. It has gotten way out of control over the last several months. It was getting so overwhelming I hated being here. Over Christmas break I finally snapped and decided to start going through every room and getting rid of things. My thought is we simply have to get rid of the excess to make managing the house easier. We live in a small home and it seemed like it was bursting with things. I couldn't seem to keep up with the chaos and clutter. I've been going through every room over break ruthlessly. LOL So far I've sent 9 garbage bags and 2 boxes of stuff to the Goodwill. Threw out some old furniture that has been sitting in the basement and 8 bags of trash. I told dh that by the time I'm done he may just have to make a run to the dump. So far I've gone through the kids' bedrooms, laundry room, kitchen, living room, and one room in the basement. I still have to finish the master bedroom and school room. The rooms that are done though feel so great to go into. I'll wait on the garage until spring when it is warmer outside because it's not heated. LOL I did tell the kids that if they can't help keep things picked up then I was going to get rid of more stuff. I have to keep the house more managable. It makes me very cranky when my house is out of order.

Well that's it for now. I'll blog later about what the kids are up to.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

Nearly Free Homeschooling

Sun, 2 Nov 2008 08:22:00 -0600

If you remember me telling you about a site I was creating, well I think I've got a pretty good start on it. So I'm going to go ahead and release it. It's still a work in progress and will be changing as I get the time. It is basically a consolidation of my blogs and group. I think it will be easier for everyone to find things.

Nearly Free Homeschooling

Mutliplication lapbook

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:18:00 -0500

Here is a multiplication lapbook I created for my kids and thought you all may enjoy it.

www.mediafire.com/

This and That

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:42:00 -0500

Boy it's been awhile since I posted! It's been super busy around here. My oldest on the highschool soccer team. The team is starting to look pretty good. Next year should be great! Most of the guys had never played before so you can imagine how the team is doing. LOL I will say though the last game I watched they really are looking like a team finally. They only lost by one point. Some of the girls in my math classes are on the girls volleyball team and had been asking me to come watch. So I made it to a few games this last week to cheer them on. I use to play volleyball in highschool so it was fun watching and the girls seem to appreciate it.

Boy scouts has started and Peewee is participating this year instead of playing soccer. We also joined a homeschool group that meets for field trips and just socializing. I also have a friend who is homeschooling her son and we are going to do some field trips with them. Just as soon as I plan some that is. LOL It has kind of been on the back burner lately but I need to get busy on that.

Master clubs has started and this year all 3 of my younger kids are in it. Oh and I'm the director this year. By the way that title really makes me feel uncomfortable. I think of myself as more of just organizing it. I find it kind of funny that I keep getting put into these leader type positions when I'm much more content being the wall flower. I tell if it wasn't for God I could never do any of this. Just thinking about getting in front of all those kids and adult helpers makes me want to vomit. Amazingly though when I'm up there talking to and leading the kids, it just melts away. After the first night the pastor told me I would have never thought you were so outgoing when I first met you. I just laughed and said I'm not. And honestly I'm not. It is totally God's doing. He's the outgoing one. I'm just blessed that He has chosen to use me and give me the ability to do it. He really does work miracles when we submit to His will! I did tell the pastor that he was stuck with me until God said otherwise. LOL Please pray for the children's Master Clubs ministry. That God uses it to help bring these kids and families to the Lord. My heart's desire is for these kids to see Jesus and His love for them through me and the other adults.

The math classes have been moving along well. We've had a few bumps that have caused me to put on the mean teacher hat. Which I absolutely hate doing. See I have a few students who don't seem to think its necessary to do their homework, so I had to get stern. Monday when I asked for their homework from Friday and they told me it wasn't done, I made them sit at their desk in complete silence and write "I will do my math homework" 200 times. I then told them that each time they didn't do their homework I would double the amount of times they wrote it. Today they had all their undone homework done and ready to turn in. Word seem to get around about the punishment too. I don't think I'll be having that problem much anymore. LOL See I'm pretty lax in my class. I let them chat some as long as the work is getting done and their not talking when I'm talking. I also let them help each other when I'm busy with another student. Overall the kids have been doing great, but I guess you'll always have a few that try and push the limits. I also set up a rewards system for them, where they can earn a giant Hersey bar. Everyday they do their homework, participate in class, have a positive attitude, pass a test, or help a fellow student, they earn an uno card (for each they do). Each card is worth a certain amount of points. When they reach 200 points they get the candy bar. Of course if they do the opposite of these they loose a card. Oh and if anyone dares utters the words "I can't" or "I'm stupid" they loose 2 cards. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. LOL

I also have an interactive bulletin board for them to do. I call it the "Equation Odyssey" There is a series of islands with different math terms as the names and the final island "Genius Island". Each island has a stack of 6 math cards with problems on them for them to do. They have to work the problems and get at least 5 right before they can move to the next island. Oh and they each have a ship to sail. When they reach "Genius Island" I have a prize bag for them. The hitch is they can only play the game if they have their work done for the day. This way they are getting extra practice over the concepts were learning. Each class has a set of cards appropriate for what they are learning to make it fair. I'll have to take a picture so you can all see it.

Well I have to get grading a stack of papers, so I'll talk to you all later.

Friday's Shopping trip and 2 weeks menu plan

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:50:00 -0500

It's that time again. It sure don't seem like its been 2 weeks already. With out further ado here is what I got while grocery shopping.

Wal-mart

4. 53 lbs. green grapes $7.93
Sour cream $2.66
8.99 lbs. bananas $4.32
3 heads of iceberg lettuce $2.34
1 bunch red leaf lettuce $1.44
1 bunch green leaf lettuce $1.44
4.67 lbs. of red grapes $7.01
5lbs. of red potatoes $2.97
Cantaloupe $2.38
10 lbs. sugar $4.48

Total $35.53

Aldi's

12 cans of mandrin oranges $5.40
24 yogurt cups $10.32
4 bunches of cauliflower $6.76
6 cans of pumpkin $4.14
1 cucumber $.39
3 packages of mushrooms $3.57
6 cans of frozen orange juice $7.14
15 cans of frozen juice $18.60
4 packages of string cheese $11.96
3 things of lemon juice $5.07
3 bags of shrimp $11.07
3 gallons of 2% milk $7.47
1 dozen large eggs $1.09

Total $92.98

Kmart

canning utensil set $7.99
food saver freezer bags $8.99
Ivory body wash $3.50
Sauve shampoo $1.49
Kids sauve shampoo $2.19
hairbrush $1.79
DVD $20.99 (yes this was a splurge)
hair dye $9.79
2 packs of sunflower seeds $3.98
5 gallon tub of vanilla ice cream $7.49
23 lbs. of pork $23.15 (they offer pork from a local farmer that isn't injected with "natural juices and flavorings". The thing is it comes in big chunks so I have to cut it up myself but for that price I'm willing)
2 packs of all natural chicken $5.88
3.36 lbs. of plums $5.01
5.43 lbs. of apples $9.72
5.bs. of carrots $3.99

Total $123.77

Grand Total $252.18

That averages to about $126.09

Now for the menu

Breakfast (served with fruit or juice and milk)

pancakes
waffles
apple muffins
eggs
banana muffins
pumpkin bread

Lunch (served with veggie, fruit, and bread)

salad
chicken wraps
fried bologna sandwich
cream of mushroom soup
leftover dinner twice
peanut butter sandwiches twice
homemade chicken nuggets and fries
tomato soup and grilled cheese
hotdogs
tuna salad sandwich
chicken salad on lettuce
wraps with leftover chicken salad or tuna salad

Dinner

spaghetti, salad, garlic bread
barbecue pork sandwiches, grilled vegetables
salsa chicken, rice, corn (didn't make this last time)
mini cheddar meatloaves, mashed potatoes, veggie
leftover dinner twice
Weds. night dinners at church
beef fajitas, refried beans,
tamale casserole
vegetable casserole
cajun beans and rice
shrimp stir fry
lemon herb fish, potatoes, veggies

Storing Convenience mixes

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:58:00 -0500

Someone asked so I thought I'd share how I store all those mixes. The best way is to just show ya.

These are what I use to hold the bags of mixes. I put an index card on the outside of some with instructions on how to make it when I'm ready. I use to use brown lunch bags with the recipe written on the outside but it just kept making my cupboard look messy. I also use these to hold things that come in bags. For my homemade biscuit mix I use a large ice cream bucket to store it and I keep it next to the baking supplies. I found these at the Dollar General. They don't exactly match my kitchen but they serve their purpose well.

Convenience mixes

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:45:00 -0500

Well I've been making up mixes this weekend when I had time. Therefore I thought I'd share some of the ones I made this weekend with you all. You can take just about any recipe and make it into a convenience mix for yourself.

Muffins

In large bag combine these ingredients

4 cups flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 sugar
1 cup dry milk
1/4 cup baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

After they are mixed well measure 2 cups of mix into ziploc bags.

To make muffins add (per bag)

2/3 cups water
1 egg
1/4 cup oil

Stir until just mixed and bake 10-15 minutes in greased or lined muffin tin at 400 degrees. You can easily add some raisins or put a teaspoon of jam on top of batter before baking. I've also added applesauce or diced apples. Just adjust the water so there not to soupy.

Waffles

In ziploc bag add these ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar

To make dump one bag in a bowl and stir the dry ingredients to mix. Then add

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup dried fruit or 1/2 cup chopped fresh fruit (optional)

Mix well and use waffle maker to cook. Makes about 8.

Pancakes

In ziploc bag combine these ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
4 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

To make add

2 eggs
2 cups milk
4 Tbsp. oil

Then cook them up.

I also did rice mixes and you can get those recipes off of Hillbilly Housewife

Tomorrow I'm making biscuit mix, bread, pumpkin bread, granola bars, and I think I'll try my hand at some yogurt.

Grocery Shopping and Menu

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:46:00 -0500

Well today was my grocery shopping day. I go every two weeks. I tried to go only once a month but found I kept running out of stuff so back to every other week I went. I've been doing a lot of reading on eating healthy and ridding our diet of unwanted chemicals. As a result I'm trying to use up the stuff that isn't so good for us and slowly restock with things that are better. Here is what I spent on groceries today.

Aldi's

5 gallons of 2% milk
seedless watermelon
4 containers of cottage cheese
10 cans of frozen juice
4 lbs. of real butter
3 bags of shrimp
2 bunches of bananas
10 lbs. of red potatoes
2 bags of dried tart cherries
fresh garlic cloves
sea salt
2 packages of string cheese
coffee creamer
coffee
1 tube sausage
12 small containers of yogurt

Spent = $90.64

Krogers

organic milk
organic salad dressing
washing soda
borax
tart cherry juice concentrate
ground flax seed
garlic powder
minced onion
skewers
2 bags of long grain brown rice
3 boxes of organic cereal
6 lbs of pork loin
greek vinaigrette
5 lbs. of crab
red wine vinegar
2 bars of fels naptha
5 boxes of beef stock (they are discontinuing this particular product and it is the only one that is natural with no msg. I'm bummed)
3 boxes of vegetable stock
1 box of chicken stock
1 bag of navy beans
5lbs. of whole wheat flour

Spent = $108.05

Wal-mart

4 pack of minute maid boxes
3 avocados
tomatoes (mine aren't ripe yet)
2 bags of red seedless grapes
2 heads of iceberg lettuce
1 bunch of green leaf lettuce
1 bunch of red leaf lettuce
2 containers of strawberries
beef bullion cubes
chicken bullion cubes
4 new shirts for mom off the clearance rack

Spent = $64.37

Dollar General

3 boxes of 8 gallon trash bags
4 stack-able plastic bins

Spent = $9.25

Farmers Market

5 lbs. of green beans (different variety then what I planted)
2 cucumbers
2 cantaloupe
2 green peppers
sweet onions

Spent $13.20

Grand Total = $ 285.51 That averages to about $143 a week

Now for the Menu. Somethings I already had in the freezer or pantry, so if your wondering how I got some of the things for the menu, that is where they came from.

Breakfast (served with fruit or juice and milk)

cereal
french toast
pumpkin bread
zucchini bread
waffles
pancakes
boiled eggs/toast
scrambled eggs/toast

Lunch (these are served with a veggie)

salad
ham sandwich
ham spread sandwich
chicken wraps
hot dogs
leftover dinner
peanut butter and jelly sandwich
tuna salad
grilled cheese and tomato soup
fried bologna
bologna spread
leftover dinner
chicken salad sandwich
mac-n-cheese w/ham

Dinner (served with some form of bread)

chef salad
baked ham w/potatoes/green beans
pork kabobs/salad
shrimp/brown rice/ veggie
tamale casserole
chicken soup
salsa chicken, rice, corn
eggplant Parmesan
crab quesadillas (I probably spelled this wrong LOL)
grilled pork, roasted potatoes/ salad
leftovers (twice)
roast, potatoes, carrots
beef stir fry over rice

History Workbook

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:27:00 -0500

I've finished the first 6 chapters of student workbookthe for An Elementary History of the United States. Feel free to download it. The link to the textbook is included in the workbook.

Have a blessed day!
JoAnn