Thrift Schooling

Purex Fels-Naptha  is a laundry soap bar to remove those nasty stains on your garments! Either lightly wet the end of the bar and scrub onto your stain before placing in the wash or grate into the washer to help with heavy loads! I generally keep a bar of Fels-Naptha in my laundry room for when I make my own laundry soap. I love it's fresh organic scent that just smells, well, clean! I usually grate it and mix with water, borax and washing soda to make my own detergent.  Recently, I've been using Purex brand detergents because it's inexpensive and they have great scents that clean great as well! But I love to have the homemade stuff on hand, I guess that's the "prepper" in me. Making your own detergent is a good skill to have in case times get tough in the days ahead. It's also great to teach the kids, (an excellent homeschool project,) my five year loves helping me ladle the soap into five gallon buckets! It is good to know that Purex has a Fels-Nap...

Glideware is a company formed by a couple from Grand Junction, Colorado not much different than any of us. Dave Hall works as a construction manager while his wife Jenny is a Realtor. While busy working and raising a family, the two were still able to find time to create a solution to a common household problem: Cabinet Organization! Seriously. Even today when I went to get a pot to boil water, I had to dig deep to find the one I needed. I guess I'm so used to taking out a billion pots before finding the right one, that I never thought of seeking an alternative. Well, Dave and Jenny did! Glideware was created to simply hang your pots and pans in a way that provides easy access to each piece. Brilliant. Glideware has a patent pending design providing a system that is fully extendable with adjustable hooks that you can easily install into your cabinets! BENEFITS OF GLIDEWARE * Allows your pans to air dry! * Helps prevent dust build-up on your pots and...

Why do you have the auto insurance that you do? Is it because it's the same one you've had for years? Your parents had it, and it just seemed like the right thing to do? Well, maybe.You might be getting a great deal. But you might not be! If you're curious,  cheap auto insurance  might just be a click away!  I remember when I was thinking of ways to save money, I tried brainstorming about how I could save a little cash each month. So, after looking at what we paid for auto insurance each month I wondered if we could lower it.  I thought about how so many auto insurance companies are always claiming to have the "lowest rates" and of course, I was skeptical.  When I finally got a quote from a different company, interestingly enough, I came to find out that I was paying a higher price than what I could be! Then, just a few months later we got a quote from a company my husband seemed interested in so we switched companies. Now, we have an awesome rate and have ...

One of the beauties of homeschooling is it's relevance to everyday living. Education is not limited to what you learn while within the walls of a school building or what you read from a textbook.  When the parent is the teacher, at home, what they say goes. First, you teach them to respect you, to honor you that they might live a long life as stated in the Bible. Then, once respect is formed and trust is established, you can teach. Not just when sitting down for "school" but in the marketplace, at a friend's house, in any given situation.  I completely had the mindset that education was limited to "school." I realized this was when I grew up and noticed I had terrible eating habits. I was not a healthy eater by any means. I have no one to blame but myself because I chose to eat what I wanted when I wanted. The thing is, I learned in health class the right things to eat. It's just, APPLYING what I learned in class to real, everyday life was just n...

So we officially "started school" this week in our homeschool. Usually I'm ahead of the game compared to the public schools in our area but this year they started early and have already been going a whole week! I've felt a little more organized this year and the kids are enjoying the new set up, which makes things run a lot smoother than last year!  What better way to start off the new year than with motivational speakers to charge you up?! This week, I joined an "Online Homeschool Conference" put on by the Old Schoolhouse Expo. i was planning on listen to the meetings once the week was over at my own pace. I still plan on doing that, mostly with my husband when the kids are asleep. But, the past few days, when I have had a chance, I tuned in while folding laundry or making supper and have been amazed by the quality of these speakers! I've been blessed by every one I've tuned into! It's been set up to run from 1-8pm each night this week, Mon...

DVD  $19.00 The  Family Hope Center  is an amazing facility located in Norristown, PA. They serve children with developmental delays and special needs and their parents worldwide. They have resources in English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Russian. They have a video (that can be seen in all of the mentioned languages) called Understanding Child Brain Development . This video is a great resource for parents of any child. This video is an excellent tool even you child has no known brain injury or if they have been diagnosed with the following: ADD/ADHD AUTISM BRAIN TRAUMA BLINDNESS DOWNS SYNDROME CEREBRAL PALSY The video empowers you, the parent, to understand your child's brain and helps you learn how to bring your child to a place where they are functioning to the best of their ability in their lives! Once you've seen the DVD and want more, they conduct 3 day conferences worldwide to give you more detailed information on how to he...

Reading Kingdom  is an online reading program teaching children ages 4 through 10 to read using a unique method formed by Dr. Marion Blank. The program recommends that a child should be at least 4 years old, able to sit still for at least 15 minutes and able to use a mouse to embark on this adventure! I used this program with my five and six year olds. Even though my 3 year old does know how to use a mouse for some online games, understanding the letters on the keyboard is another story. So, she isn't quite ready to give this a go. When you begin this program you need to understand that this is NOT a phonics based method. It's interesting. Most all of the materials that I find while in this critical stage of teaching my children how to read, is phonics based. I feel this pressure to teach them these rules and sounds. Funny thing is, I was not taught phonics in our school system and have been an avid reader since I was six years old! I'm not sure which method was used, ...

    What better way to start off the school year than with a family field trip to a farm? But not just any farm, Polyface Farms ! My husband and I had first heard of Joel Salatin of Polyface farms through one of those "recommended videos" on YouTube. I remember watching through a video of him talking and being inspired! We remember noticing that he was from the Shedendoah Valley and thinking, "hmm that's not too far from us," but kind of just left it at that. Then when I saw a list of speakers at a homeschooling convention I was thinking about attending this year, I saw his name. Interesting. Maybe his family homeschooled. Maybe he's a Christian. Maybe I should check out what this farm is all about. So. I did. I went to hear him speak during one of the convention sessions and let me tell you, it was life changing. Our family wants to live more of a sustainable lifestyle, growing and raising our own food and having enough to share and sell for a liv...

Congratulations to ANGIE L. for winning a FREE TICKET to this conference. Also, A BIG thank you to the Old Schoolhouse for providing this ticket!! If you would like to purchase a ticket, there is still time. You can find all ticket information here . In my previous post about this amazing event I shared with you some of the exciting speakers aand topics that will be found at this event. CLICK HERE to read my previous post. So what exactly is an ONLINE CONFERENCE? Do I have to sit in front on my computer screen all day, every day? Um, no. Who can do that? Haha! But what you can do is look at the schedule here and see which speakers really capture your attention and plan to tune in at that those times. You also will receive a link after the conference is over allowing you to watch all of the sessions at your own convienence! I know that there is a class on how to make a computer game, I plan on watching this with my oldest son and take notes!  How do ...

Bible Study Guide For All Ages  is Bible curriculum that can be used in homes, churches or groups of literally ALL AGES (hence the name). They provide materials for children as young as three years old on up through sixth grade, as well as for teens and adults! I received the following materials to use in our homeschool with my children ages 3-6. Beginner Student Pages Beginner Time Line Children's Song CD Set Intermediate Student Pages Bible Book Summary Cards Two of my children used the beginner level while my six year old used the intermediate level. This program is a Bible Curriculum studying the Bible in 416 lessons over the course of several years! It teaches the students some of the Old Testament and some from the New Testament each year. The first thirty lessons study the lives of  Joseph, Daniel and Jesus. Rather than beginning in Genesis and going straight through, they use this method to give an overview of the Bible and then go back and f...

a Rafflecopter giveaway Who wants to get refreshed right before the new school year begins? What better way than to attend a HOMESCHOOL CONFERENCE right from the comfort of your own home! I attended my first ever homeschool conference earlier this summer and it was one of the best decisions I've made in terms of our homeschool. Receiving teaching, hearing testimonies and being encouraged was just the beginning of what was gained at this conference. I would love to go again next year and hope to even make it an annual event. I  also hope to go as a family because yes, it was THAT amazing. But sometimes leaving home for three days (which is what I did) is not always an option. Especially for us as a family, it's hard to leave with farm animals and the responsibilities that go along with them!  An awesome alternative is definitely an  ONLINE HOMESCHOOL CONFERENCE! HOW DOES IT WORK? August 19-23 you can purchase (OR WIN!) access to the event from 1-8pm...

Well this is it! The final day of our the Crew Blog hop! I hope you have enjoyed our articles and that you have been encouraged, blessed and inspired to either begin or continue with your school year plans! I'd like to leave you with some ideas of what you can have your child journal about on those days that you don't have anything planned.  SIMPLY EXPLORE On those days that nothing is going right and you just NEED to get outside, grab your journal, postpone the lesson plans and see what you can see! ~ Habitats:  Go to a swamp, pond, forest, lake or whatever is close and discover what is around YOU. ~ Local Stops: Go to the same places you visit regularly but with a different focus. Visit your local park, grocery store parking lot, library, or other locations and have your children stop and look around at nature. Help them to be aware at what they may miss when being busy in their day to day activities.  ~ Senses: Head out the back door, rain o...