Thrift Schooling

Library and Educational Services  provides quality materials at discounted prices for teachers, home educators, missionaries, licensed day cares, church leaders and wholesalers. From Bibles to Educational DVD's, this company provides great deals to those who qualify as one of the above, (as most of you reading this do.) For our homeschool, we recently received two, (yes, TWO,) DVD's from the Go Science DVD Series 2. This series contains seven volumes and I chose,  Volume 2: Life Science, Weather and   Volume 7: Engineering, Design, Flight .                                      Volume 1: Sound, Gravity, Space                                                                      ...

It's not every day that we serve up salad for breakfast in our house. But when I went to check out my garden in the cool of the morning, I couldn't resist! After several days of weather in the 90's, I just had to get outside before the sun began to reveal it's torturous beams of fire. When I headed to the garden, I was pleased to find some lettuce and cucumber ripe for the picking! When everyone woke up, I was determined to keep them cool and hydrated. It seemed that the day before had caught us of guard and even though meager attempts were made to quench our thirst, the weather still had it's toll on everyone. When I told my seven year old we were having salad that morning, he ran outside and found some dandelion greens to throw in last minute! If your looking for a refreshing breakfast to stay cool on those scorching days, try some tasty green leaves topped with whatever is on hand! On this particular morning we simply had leaf lettuce, dandeli...

 No, you are not in the wrong place! This is still Heather and this is still Thrift Schooling! I just have a new and improved look thanks to  Traci Michele Designs . (Hope you like it as much as I do.) If you want to know how you can receive an affordable (or FREE) custom design for your blog, keep reading! When I first started blogging, I had no idea what I was doing. Full of enthusiasm, I signed up for my free blogger blog, picked a pre-made blogger template and was on my way. Or so I thought.  Aside from my lack of creativity with the design of my blog, I had no clue what I was doing in terms of what to post. " Reviews are popular among mom blogs ," I think to myself. I had recently purchased a new pair of glasses from an online site so I said, " hey, I'll do a review of them and post it on my blog !" True story. Here's the sad, unedited photo I used on one of my first posts.  Embarrassing! What was I thinking?!! I'm not ev...

101 Bible Stories From Creation To Revelation provides short one page summaries of classic Bible stories from both the Old and New Testament. Each passage is written in story form with quotations taken from the NIV translation. This 217 page hardback is perfect for your independent reader! Each story is one page long (except for Esther which is a bit longer), and includes a full page color image accompanying the passage. The passages are written both in a way that is easy to read and easy to understand. It is certainly perfect for my second grader because the passages aren't too long. The wording is captivating and engaging for his age. Jesus looked up and saw a rich man proudly place money into the temple treasury. Then a poor widow quietly dropped two small coins into the box. "The truth is that poor widow gave more than all the others. The others gave out of many riches, but she gave all the money she has in the world. Obviously these stor...

This is one of those go-to meals that I run to when days are running a tad wild and I need to get something on the table, fast. It's also something I'll plan ahead of time when I know we have a busy day scheduled and there isn't much time to prepare. In the event that I  actually do have time, I may prepare this in the morning and put it in the crock pot (minus the corn- I'll throw that in last minute,) but recently I've been cooking this on the stove top and have it on the table quicker than you can say, "Rachael Ray 30- minute meals." INGREDIENTS 1 lb Ground Beef 2 Cans Chili Beans 1 Can Diced Tomatoes 1 cup Rice (uncooked) 2 cups water 1 cup Corn (frozen) Spices of Choice (I use Cajan Spices) Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream (to garnish) ------------------------------------------------------------ In a medium uncovered saucepan bring rice and water to a small rolling boil. Cover with tight fitting ...

I was excited to receive this handy little board book in the mail so I could share it with my little girl. (Of course I hid it away in a drawer before she could find it so I could check it out first)! Along Came You  written by homeschool mom  Karona Drummond, is a story that follows a mother and her daughter as the mother shares about how life is now since her daughter came along.  The mom expresses what life was like "before you," and now how it has changed, "after you." For example, one page shows the mother dressing up for a fancy evening out where she says how before... I would dress up, then you see a picture of her playing "dress up" with her daughter. That's basically the theme of the book, before you... I did this and now that you were born I now do this.   I have to say though, I left the book feeling like it was written more for a snicker from mom that can relate than for the child! I don't think the author intentionally was...

Custom Teeth Whitening Trays by SmileBrilliant! $129.95   FREE Shipping {Giveaway at Bottom of Post} SmileBrilliant! was created by Betty Shah, a 30 year veteran in the dental industry. Realizing that much of the cost and time associated with professional teeth whitening revolved around trips to the dentist, Betty began experimenting with a system to allow customers to make dental impressions themselves! In less than a year, she perfected the product and was working with some of the world’s leading manufacturers of professional strength whitening gel. With the support of her sons and close friends, she began delivering product and creating trays from a make-shift lab in her home basement. It was not long before the world took notice. Many people who saw meager results from over-the-counter products began searching for better results. For most people, the $500+ price tag of custom-fitted trays from a local cosmetic dentist was simply too much. ...

So... any big plans for the weekend? We have rain in our forecast so nothing terribly exciting planned on our end. I came up with a pile of suggestions for Father's Day this year that I thought Dad would enjoy, but he wasn't really into any of them. All he wants for Father's Day is a pie. I can do pie. And a good one at that, so this should be easy. Of course, the typical heart felt finger painted cards are currently hiding in the basement waiting for the big reveal first thing Sunday morning! (but shhh, don't tell)! As with any holiday, there are times we can actually forget who we are shopping for when getting gifts. Seriously. Sometimes we think so hard about what we might like rather than what the person on the receiving end is really into. It's easy to say to our kids, "it's not about the presents," but what attitude do we ourselves have? Are we prideful in a gift we created for someone or purchased, or are we genuinely looking at others needs ...

  We Choose Virtues  is an excellent resource to help aid in teaching virtuous behavior to your children. With our little ones, we have been using the  Parenting Cards  (NIrV) for children ages 3-11. There is an option to purchase KJV cards, which is normally the route I take but in this case I choose the NIrV simply because these cards include both Old and New Testament verses whereas the KJV only reference to the Old Testament.  Parenting Cards $38.49 This program made me realize that teaching virtues to my children does not need to be as hard as I have made it out to be in the past. I think where I got caught up was I was teaching them certain traits, reading them Scriptures and then just hoping for the best. Of course when they weren't " getting it " I would feel as though I was failing. What I needed to realize is that the key to change is realizing you need a change! And not only knowing that you need a change but understanding tha...

Upon noticing that today marks the 70th Anniversary of D-Day, a monumental day in world history, I was reminded of my visit to the beaches of Normandy, France in 1994 during their 50th Year celebration! If I could go back in time, one thing I would change is how I preserve my pictures and memorabilia. Seriously! Look at the yellowing on this newspaper article from 20 years ago, (oh goodness, I'm getting old). No, the student pictured directly below is not me, but, if you scroll down I'm the second one from the right. Yep, me at fifteen, a freshman in High School. Young, naive, with the future ahead of me. Yet oblivious to the past that paved the way for me to get here. Now, as a homeschooling mom, I have been embracing history with a new passion and fervor. I may not have understood as I walked the beaches of Normandy the importance of the ending of such a traumatizing war but now I am learning to view it with a new and fresh perspective.  Fairport Student Exchange ...

Kinder Cottage Publishing  has a series of ten adorable Peter Rabbit books for young readers ages 3-9. We currently have two titles in our homeschool library,  Peter Rabbit's Birthday and Peter Rabbit at the Farm !   Originally published in the early 1900's, it is both educational and fun to share stories with my children from the turn of the century. Even though some of the wording has been modernized, the storyline and images have a vintage feel about them all the way through!       $4.00 Just in time for my daughter's 4th birthday we were able to enjoy Peter Rabbit's Birthday ! This cute little hardback is a little less than 60 pages long with a large, vintage, color photo on every other page. I chose to read this book aloud to my 6 and 4 year old. We enjoy read alouds in our homeschool and these books are perfect to just sit down and enjoy together! I had originally planned to break up this book between two days but my s...