Thrift Schooling

Snacks are not evil. If you've ever been pregnant or nursing then you would certainly agree with me. Hunger might strike in the middle of the day or late at night and your body might genuinely need the nutrients it craves.  So what do we tell our kids? Oh yes, mommy can snack all day long but you need to wait until mealtime. Well, I tried that. And even though I believe in discipline and teaching children good habits, I realized that instead of taking away all of their snacks, (which I have tried) I simply needed to teach them how to snack. Children learn by watching. So, if I am constantly sneaking chocolate, chips, cereal or other relatively unhealthy snacks throughout the day, then they will follow suit. If not now, when they move out on their own.  So instead of telling them, no snacks allowed, I try to stock the house with healthy (or at least my definition of healthy!) snacks in the house. Of course, I don't let them eat any snacks hour and a half before dinn...

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In our study of the sun this week, the kids had a science experiment where they had to melt chocolate using a magnifying glass. We all know the concept. Of course, when I think of it, I think of little boys frying ants on the sidewalk.  Chocolate is definitely a much more productive and humane way to stir up your child's  curiosity  without having to kill a living creature. Although, I'm sure some little boy out there would argue that you could do both; aka chocolate covered ants. I'll stick with just the chocolate. I handed each one of the kids a large magnifying glass (taken out of an old projection TV) and some chocolate. Of course, if you look under the chocolate you will see that we simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to make s'mores- so yes, that IS a graham cracker! My second grader went to her room and found the most sunny spot she could- above is her set up- she was determined to melt that chocolate! Below, is how my fourth and si...

When I taught a small classroom of fourth and fifth graders, spelling was easy. We used the Abeka curriculum which basically gets through spelling class in ten minutes flat. The children, in unison, say-spell-say each word then for homework they are required to write down the words on a sheet of paper. Younger grades have a worksheet to fill out, but that is only once a week.  Easy. Enter the homeschooling world. Not so easy. I am not sure if was the dynamics of the classroom that made the Abeka style so efficient but when I tried that style in our home it was an epic, fail.  At first I had to deal with attitudes. "Do I have to do this??" Then, once we got over that, I realized that the method itself just was not working. I mean, my oldest could ace a test no problem but he was NOT retaining the info.  Then, I tried an online spelling program that a bunch of my friends were raving about.  Now, my second oldest son was improving his test scores bu...

  My family is so excited to be reviewing the Yearly Membership from  SchoolhouseTeachers.com.   This site is a collection of classes, downloadable materials, videos and other homeschool related resources. Before I share with you how our family has been using this site over the past few weeks, it is important to clarify that this site is not an online school , it is an online resource for homeschool parents to use within their school. If you are the type of parent that thrives off of scouring the Internet to find the perfect planner or unit study, then you will love this site, because they have done all the work for you! Not only are there piles of organizational materials you can download but forms for science experiments, nature studies, writing assignments, history projects and more. The materials are provided by teachers, parents, homeschool moms and outside sources such as World Book, to provide your family with a wide range of materials to choose fr...

The Portable North Pole was a big hit this past Christmas but the fun doesn't end now. I mean, Santa is busy working in his workshop year round, right?  If you missed the super fun opportunity to have your child receive a personalized message from Santa on the days leading up to the big day, you can still have your child receive a Birthday Message from the North Pole.  Love it.  We don't do Santa in our house but my nephew is a big fan so I made sure he was able to experience the best of what PNP had to offer. He was able to receive video messages and phone calls straight from the North Pole and he was all aglow! He was thrilled when he heard Santa say his name in the video, (pictured in the top center).  This app was a blast and in addition to the premium version called The Magic Pass, there is a free version where you can send limited messages to the ones you love. Check it out! The adult messages options are hilarious.  Disclaimer: My Po...

Happy New Year Everyone!  I hope it is starting off well for you. As for me, not so much. I started the New Year sick. Literally. When the clock struck midnight, the front door began opening and closing as people were leaving the New Year's Eve Party we were at and with every rush of wind I felt, I couldn't stop shivering- uncontrollably. Yes, it was cold, but what I was feeling was unusual. Then, as soon as I got home and rushed into the house, I knew something was "off." I couldn't get rid of the chills and I realized I had a fever, which woke me up several times that night. Praise GOD that my husband was home the next day because I was a MESS! Fortunately- none of my kids have caught it not even the baby, (though I thought he did for a quick minute)! I guess one good thing about the morning sickness I always get during pregnancy is that even when I feel terrible, I STILL have to take care of my kids and homeschool them so when weeks like this come ar...