Thrift Schooling

Can you believe it? Less than a month away and SPRING will be upon us! Here are some tips of some quick and easy thing you can do NOW to prepare for Spring so it doesn't catch you off guard... 1- Plant Seeds Indoors In Small Pots - Buy small trays, or take newspapers and fill with dirt to place directly in the ground, you can even use egg cartons for this. - Planting seeds early allow you to plant the actual plant, rather than seeds in your outdoor gardens once Spring arrives. 2- Collect Compost For Good Soil - You may need to invest some money in the Spring for decent topsoil, but to get your garden area ready now, simply find an area on your property or a friend's that has old leaves and rake like crazy! Get several loads and dump in your garden for some FREE compost material! - Call up some friends with horses or cows. They may let you get some manure for free. 3-  Make a Garden Chart and Labels - Study up on which plants grow well together. Make a ch...

Our local Aldi had an awesome sale on fruit this week!!!! Monday 2/18 Breakfast :  Sausage Links and Orange Slices Lunch:  Tuna Sandwiches and Strawberries Dinner:  Fried Chicken Thighs, Salad, Fresh Pineapple Tuesday 2/19 Breakfast:   Scrambled Eggs and Toast Lunch:   Turkey Sandwiches and Melon Dinner:   Shepherd's Pie, Spinach and Salad Wednesday 2/20 Breakfast:  Oatmeal and Blueberries Lunch:   PB & J and Apples Dinner : Stuffed Potatoes and Fried Eggplant Thursday 2/21 Breakfast:   Waffles Lunch:   Tuna Melts and Honeydew Slices Dinner: Meatloaf, Kale and Salad Friday 2/22 Breakfast:  Eggs and Toast Lunch:   Turkey and Ham Hoagies Dinner:   Flounder, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Salad

When I taught preschool, we were encouraged in our classes to give the children unruled paper to write letters and their names without any boundaries or restrictions. We taught them using a white board, and showed them the correct formation, but then allowed them the opportunity to produce letters on their own through trial and error. I liked this approach because it gave the children freedom to learn and grow without the fear of making mistakes. Needless to say, I took this same approach when teaching my first child to write. You know how it is with the first child, so excited to see them excel. He could write his name and knew all his letters right around his third birthday. He still loves to learn and tends to favor math and science related schoolwork. But when it comes to favorite subjects, handwriting is not on the top of his list! When I found out I was chosen to review Handwriting Without Tears I knew immediately I was going to use this program with my First Grader! A f...

Soooo, it's tax time. A few years ago my husband and I began to use our tax return money to pay off our debt!!! We were over $20,000 in the hole, mostly from my student loans, and now (except for mortgage) we are now saving money! I wrote a post about this over at  homemakingorganized.com ! I would love for you to check it out!

Firmo is one of the world's most popular online eyeglasses retailer! Firmoo is not limited to the states as many of my giveaways are, but this company is a worldwide distributer. With amazing prices, as low as $9.00  up to only $59.00  why spend the normal $200 - $300 when purchasing frames? Just head over to Firmoo.com  and check out which frames might be the perfect fit for you! Then come back here and leave a comment telling me which pair of glasses you would love to own! Once you fill out the Rafflecopter form you are entered to win!!!  Firmoo.com has requested, that there MUST be 30 entrants in this giveaway for the Grand Prize to be awarded- otherwise only the second place prizes will be provided.... a Rafflecopter giveaway Firmoo will ship to the following countries: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Finland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Sw...

I had never even heard of Borax until a few years ago. I mean don't get me wrong, I did laundry, but I had just never heard of the stuff. It was when my husband would come home from work with impossible stains that I confided in a friend about my laundry struggles. Her advice? Just throw in a scoop of Borax in with the  stained clothes and you're golden. Tried it. Loved it. Still use it, (over five years later). Now, not only do I use it for my husband's clothing, but I jumpedon the "homemade laundry detergent" bandwagon and now I make my own detergent, using, yes, Borax! The receipe I have is the Duggar's Family Recipe . This is the first and only one I've tried. I figured with as many clothes as they must wash, and with all the stains they must have to deal with, their recipe would probably work. I tried it and yes and it does work wonders and seems to last forever, (probably since I only have a family of five). In case you're wondering what in t...

Last month we finished our first successful read-aloud in our homeschool, The Cricket in Times Square . Cute. My six and four year old were engaged and had a blast. We read a chapter a day and each would dictate what they could at the end of each chapter. Then, at dinnertime each night, they would enthusiastically share with dad what they remembered from the day's chapter! We had such a blast that when the book was finished I was itching to get the library and find a new story! I have the Burgess Bird Book for Children waiting on my bookshelf to be explored but the attention span of my four year old is not at that level yet. Soooo, I finally picked up Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. Two chapters in and the boys are enthralled! Interestingly enough, they have never seen the cartoon so this is their first exposure to these characters! Of course I've seen many episodes in my lifetime and a question that has always lingered is what in the world is up with his name? What is a ...

I've reviewed many books over the past two years on this blog and this book, by far, is the most well written and needed book in our society of all the books that I've reviewed. I received The Anger Workbook: an interactive guide to anger management , by Les Carter and Frank Minirth in e-book from and was able to enjoy it on my Nook Color. I have to admit, I was hesitant at first in reviewing this, I mean, is this going to be some hedonistic, worldly approach in dealing with anger? Chock full of philosophical solutions leaving God in the sidelines? Well, this book certainly did not leave God out of the picture, in fact, there was a point where the author clearly stated that  having a regular devotional time with the Lord helps to reduce agitation during the day that can lead to anger. Also, before delving deep into the areas that might cause or harbour anger, the author makes sure that the reader understands God's love for them and that their worth and security found i...

Today is the day! Reading Horizons has now released their long-awaited, revised version of their Discovery At-Home Reading program! This YEAR ROUND program can EASILY be used in a home or classroom setting to help beginning readers excel in their reading skills! Whether your child simply needs a push start in understanding phonics, or has been diagnosed with a common learning disability such as dyslexia, this program provides simple, step-by-step instruction for children ages 4-9. * Revised Version Release Date February 4, 2013!!* This program can be taught through two methods ~ Self-Directed Software in a CD -Rom format ~ Easy to Use Instructor Guided Materials I had access to both and prefered the easy-to-use instuctor guided materials. They were detailed and self explanitory and you could use as little or as much of the material that you felt your child needed. I used parts of the program with both my four and five year old. The first few lessons seemed very easy ...

Ok- seriously. One of the many  perks of having a newborn, is dressing them in cute clothes. Sure, when I had newborns I went through my share of simple onesies and sleepers. But sometimes, it's usually church days for us, it's super fun to break out the dress pants and ties for the boys and sweet dresses for the girls! I love dressing them up all cute, even if they probably will spill on their tops or mess their pants, oh well, they looked cute! Then comes the laundry. With a newborn, the term "doing laundry" holds a whole new meaning. You certainly are not going to have just one outfit a day for the child, no matter how hard you try. And, unless you're living in an extremely warm climate, like South India or something, you aren't going to keep your baby naked all of the time. You have a baby? Laundry is never "done."  I remember learning early on that choosing the right detergent when washing clothes for a newborn is key. I also remember t...