Our Family Project

The speaker for this workshop said that notebooking is really just educational scrapbooking.  I could not agree more.  I really love the idea behind notebooking; more specifically, I love the method that the speaker suggested using.  Here are some of the things she said during her workshop that I wrote down: Homeschooling is not about patience -- it's about resolve! Education is discipleship: this is our goal. Multi-level Teaching Benefits: Biblical Integration is easy Less fragmented education Older children mentor the younger Less time consuming than teaching everyone individually In regards to Multi-level Teaching, she suggested the school bus approach.  Everyone gets on the school bus and you begin reading from your text (or teaching, or however you plan to do it).  After about 10-15 minutes, you get the littles off the bus and give them something that is at their skill level (like coloring a picture) that is also subject reinforcing.  Then,...

This workshop was most satisfying in the amount of information shared.  The speaker said that she won the award for the most frugal home in Arizona, and that as part of her application for that she itemized how much she was saving ... which totaled $18,000 a year!  She reminded us that while some of the ideas she would be sharing with us only totaled a small amount, they would definitely add up.  So, here is a list of ideas from her: WATER HEATER BLANKET Initial investment: $20 Annual Savings: $80-100 - Important: don't cover the intake air. WATER HEATER TEMPERATURE DECREASE Annual Savings: $50 Costs $500 per year to run water heater. Save 10% by turning the temperature down to 120 degrees. LINE DRYING CLOTHES Annual Savings: $195 Drying clothes in dryer costs about $0.50 per load The savings could be more or less depending on how many loads of laundry you do. HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP Annual savings: $84 Tide per year=$88 Homemade Detergent=$4 ($0.01...

This last weekend I was able to go to the major homeschool convention in Arizona.  Jon and I went last year, and I felt much better prepared this year.  Last year, I remember walking around the curriculum fair, picking up books and looking at them, not really knowing what it was I wanted or needed to find.  This year, however, I was able to pick up a book, hold onto it for a while, then set it back down and tell myself, "I don't need to buy this right now.  Wait and see if it's something we need later."  Whew!  All the stress I was feeling last year evaporated with one year of homeschooling experiences. The workshops I attended were exactly what I needed.  Last year I attended several that focused on Andrew and what I thought he needed, then I walked away with a 50 yard list of things I felt that I needed to add to our lives to help him.  This year, I mainly attended the workshops that had nothing to do with teaching methods.  For example, ...

Picture courtesy of Eliza from the backseat On our way home from the homeschool convention last weekend, we were warned of a major dust storm.  I've seen the dust storms from the windows in our house, but never really walked in them, or drove in them.  When we walked out of the convention center, I was so grateful for my sunglasses ... dust was flying everywhere! But, that was the least of my worries.  We got in my car and started to drive out of the city, hoping to stay a little bit ahead of the storm.  It was traveling west, the same direction we were going.  I kept looking out the window and thinking that we would make it.  That is, until we exited the major highway onto a state highway that was under construction. After driving for about three miles, our visibility was a few yards in front of the car.  We continued to creep along at about 25-30 mph.  Sometimes the dust cloud would dissipate for a short time and I would speed up in the h...

I spent some time with my sister-in-law last Friday at a fabric store.  We were both there to look at the knits so we could make some clothing for our daughters for whom we have a hard time finding clothing.  The knits table was $2.99/yd!  I was shocked, but pleasantly surprised by this.  We found some great fabrics and because some of them weren't even a yard in length, I got them at a great price. After doing the shopping, I came home and on Sunday I got started sewing.  It was so lethargic to sew just for fun.  I didn't use a pattern for either M's shirt or her dress ... which pleased me immensely to know that I can figure things out on my own. The best part about sewing for Maryanne is how grateful she is for homemade clothing.  She is constantly telling me that either Nana or I made her something (even when we didn't).  She'll endure fittings and being measured, then twirl around and give me a great big hug when she gets to wear the finis...

My Maryanne sure knows how to melt my heart. While she has a lot of energy and is quite an intense little girl, she is also extremely sensitive and can express her feelings quite well. When she was just two-years-old, she would get mad about something, sit down and say, "I'm so angry!" I'm sure she didn't really know what that meant, but she understood to communicate how she was feeling.  Then, there was last week when she decided to cut her hair.  She was only able to reach the sides, so she had a long tail in the back.  While I was "fixing" it, she told me that she needed to cut her hair short so that it will grow down to her bottom.  I miss her long curly hair, but her short bob is equally as cute and really demonstrates her fiery nature.  I just wish she hadn't been so proactive about her hair cut.   A few weeks ago, all my older children were outside swimming in our little above ground pool while I was making Alfredo pasta for dinner. Mary...