Year 4: The “Plots and Plans”

kids at the pond in our back yard

I do love the hopefulness of a brand new school year! I’ve been reading in earnest, boning up on the history topics we’re planning to cover this year. We’ve decided to split Tapestry Year 2 into two years. There’s just so much to cover, and it’s such an interesting period. We rushed through the first time. I felt breathless by the time we got to the revolutions!

Here are some of the resources I’m intending to use:

Caleb_6th_curricula_2010_2011

Still gathering and planning for Sarah, 4th grade.

Winding Down Year Year Three

It’s been quite a ride.

I would not have missed this for the world.  What can I say?  Thank you, Lord, for my children, for the chance to see my kids grow up, for the moments that reassure me that this is good for them, and for my husband who loves us and takes care of us with his whole heart.  I am blessed.  Truly.

Gardening 101

I don’t know how it happened. I’ve resisted the siren song of the gardening obsession for years. I am, however, hooked. It’s a little like falling in love, though I think I’m old enough to know there are pests and diseases lurking under the shiny, pretty leaves. Still, I’m dazzled. Where have these flowers and shrubs been all of my life?

Knitting is set aside for the moment, probably for the season. I can’t even muster booties for my new niece. What a strange feeling it is to pass up the knitting magazines for the gardening glossies.

I have a budget, or I’m sure I would drown in all I’m bringing home from the nurseries.

Mostly I’m working on the front beds, mostly shade. I love the peaceful plants of the shade. I thought I’d miss the riot of colorful blooms intended for sun, but instead I find I love the shade loving plants tremendously. I have the sunny west side to play with, but I feel less confident about my choices. I’ve found a great book from the library called The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch. I love her simple, get-your-hands-dirty-don’t-worry approach. I want to imitate her fearless, joyful approach. She speaks to my homeschooling heart when she reminds the reader it’s just gardening, not rocket science, and if something dies, replant – no big deal.

I even love digging holes and hauling dirt. Once my budget is busted (and I may be there already) I think I’ll be perfectly happy to keep digging beds and amending soil for next spring. No one is more surprised than I by this turn of events.

Got Coupons?

I’m so hooked!  I’ve been trying to get the hang of this couponing thing for a few months now.  I went to a “Southern Savers” seminar a few weeks back and it was well worth it.  I’m getting my system down, and it’s really starting to pay off.   My cupboards and freezer are pretty well stocked, and my food and household expenses are coming in under budget this month.  I’ve gotten to where I spend between 1 and 2 hours gathering and sorting my coupons, preparing my list, and making my plan of action for the stores.  After much trial-and-error, I’ve decided my time and money are best spent at Publix and CVS.  With this new system, I’m in and out in less than 30 minutes — and I am far less likely to impulse shop.

Southern Savers is the coolest thing.  Half the work is done for me by the owner of that site.

After several months of this, I’ve decided it will take something really special to get me to shop at Aldis, Kroger or Food Lion.  I know because I’ve been tracking my receipts to see how everything compares.  They just don’t have the overall deals I can get at Publix (and I Love Publix’s  service and quality of food, too) and CVS is all about the freebies and almost freebies I can get with Extra Care Bucks.  You wouldn’t believe how much toothpaste, shampoo, and deoderant I have stocked for free or close to it.  FUN!

This was a good week at Publix:

Trip #1

1.17 bread

1.19 eggs

1.69 carrots

2.29 milk

free 6-pack water

free Honey Bunches of Oats

3.00 1 lb gourmet coffee Joffrey’s

1.00 Marzetti bl ch. dressing

1.00 “           “

0.19 Mt. Olive dill pickles

1.00 Sabra hummus

1.00 “

1.29 mand oj fruit cups

0.24 butter quarters

0.75 Spray-n-Wash

before coupons and store specials — $51.17

with coupons and store specials — $16.66

savings of $35.13

Trip #2

5.00 32 oz. bottle Pomp. EVOO

5.00  “               “                      “

.75  Keebler cookies

1.50 SL pound cake

1.50 “         “            “

1.65  SL cheesecake

.99    SL cheescake bites

2.00 salad in a bag

free Lysol disinfecting wipes 80 ct.

3.47  gr. beef

before coupons and store sales:  $54.56

after coupons and store sales : $24.36

savings of: $30.36

I saved over $60 for about an hour’s worth of my time.  And because I went to the store with a plan, I was in and out in about 15 minutes each time.  My newly refined system is working!

Christian Ideal

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”

GK Chesterton

First quilts

I began the first quilt 20 years ago.  I recently finished it and made the pink one.  I think I prefer machine piecing and quilting.  I’ve always feared binding, but it’s cake!

Sew far, sew good…

I thought I’d never sew. It seemed like something you couldn’t learn on your own. But then I taught myself to knit, and then I learned everything I could through trial and error. Knitting has taught me to enjoy the bumpy creative process. Sewing is no different. Every new project holds learning opportunities disguised as mistakes.

It’s a lot like raising kids.

Science Fair Fun

Had to post. The kids did a great job on their projects, and each one was awarded first in their age division.
They really did the projects themselves, and their log books showed their work, so it was a very satisfying win. I had them both very prepared to walk away with nothing like last year. We were all surprised!

Snapshots From Our First Year of Homeschooling

Our family albums can be viewed in a slideshow format here: family favorites, our homeschool highlights, and some beauty shots of our gorgeous kids. Note to the grandparents, aunts, and uncles: You can order prints from the same site. (The site is better served using the Explorer browser.) Enjoy!

(I made this picture here — fun toys!)

Homeschooling Through a Kid’s Eyes

I found this in a magazine “The Home Educating Family”

“Home Education Through the Eyes of a Child”
Author Unknown (liberally modified by me — DB)

• I can ask a question without feeling like I’m admitting that I’m stupid.

• I can use the bathroom without having to raise my hand, admit a bodily function to 30 people, and then be told, “No, not until the bell rings.”

• I can sit outside in my yard on a sunny, beautiful day and write an essay on the universe while seeing it rather than while staring at cinderblock walls, a chalkboard, and the backs of other kids’ heads. I can read as quickly or as slowly as I need, as long as I understand and and enjoy myself.

• I can say, “I’m having a bad day.” I can take a break, go get some fresh air, get a snack and play outside for a while, then go back and try again.

• If I feel sick, I can go upstairs and lie down in my own bed rather than throw up on my desk at school while waiting to be excused.

• I can see the pride in my parents’ eyes every time I learn something new because they are sitting right next to me.

• I enjoy learning about new things, and not because there’s a test coming up.

•I don’t always have to be told what to learn or where to find answers to my questions. I can look things up when I want to, and find answers without always having to ask; or if I do ask, we can find the answers together.

• I can respectfully disagree with my teacher, and I won’t get detention for having my own thoughts or changing the subject to something that interests me more.

• I am not required to sit still for long blocks of time. I can get up and do the Macarena if I feel like it and it is called “personality” and being a kid – no Ritalin required. I can wiggle while I work if I feel the need, as long as I am accomplishing my task.

• If I draw a cow and it looks like a duck, I am told I have a great imagination and will go places.

• If I want to, I can lay on my stomach on the floor, eat popcorn, and listen to Mozart while I do my spelling lessons.

• I do not have to know exactly what 30 other kids know at exactly the same time, in the same manner, at the same stages. I can grow in knowledge in my own way, my own time, when I am ready. I never get bored because as soon as I get it, we move on (except for the math drills — nothing’s perfect).

• My parents do not pretend to know everything. They say “I don’t know. Let’s find out.” They are real people who like to learn new things — just like me.

• I can read in the bathroom, in the car, on the floor, in the bathtub, in the tree house. And I do.

• I never get picked last in basketball nor will I have to shower in front of 15 other kids.

• I can learn my fractions by helping mom bake a cake or helping dad with the tools as he replaces a bad water pump in the car. When I drop something down the sink drain, it becomes a “learning opportunity” about plumbing (I have my own tools).

• If I or my parents get frustrated because our day isn’t going well, we can just start fresh the next day as I’m probably not going to learn much, and some days you’ve just got to expect that!

• If I mess up, my parents look for the things that were right as well, and then they help me by trying a new approach instead of the same way over and over.

• I don’t get bullied at recess and then get detention because I must have done something to provoke it.

• I don’t get A’s and F’s. I get a “Great Job!!” or “Good use of the word ‘antiquated’,” and sometimes I might get a “Try again,” …and that’s ok because second chances are really nice.

• I have the best teachers because they love me enough to teach me not only history and math, but also how to be a good person who never gives up when things get hard. I can follow their example instead of the examples of thirty other kids my age who also don’t know what they’re doing most of the time.

• They know that my failure to understand something means doing whatever it takes to help me get there. They don’t fly past me to get to the next lesson until I get the first. Making sure I understand is more important than the scheduled assignments posted near the dining room table.

• They realize that taking 1,500 pages of notes over the course of a year is NOT proof that I am educated.

• They have been allowed to teach me since birth and have done a great job.

• My parents realize I am a person. Though small, I have many ideas, questions, and needs, and I have a young and powerful spirit that can be crushed if they are careless with it. They know me well and they know how to build me up and make my world a wonderful place. I am safe. I am loved. I am worth all of the time and energy and expense that goes into educating a kid at home — and more.