Caramel Apple Desert

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at home this year.  Our first since we married 16 years ago.  Later in the evening we joined my grandparents and other loved ones for desert.  Knowing that all the traditional Thanksgiving deserts would be there, I decided to try something a little different.  A friend of mine gave me this recipe and this picture doesn’t do the desert justice.  It is so yummy I had to share. 

• 18 ounce sugar cookie dough (premade is fine)
• 1 (8 ounce) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large green apples or 3-4 smaller ones
• 1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Set cream cheese out to warm up a little
3. Roll out cookie dough (3/4″ thick) into a large pizza pan or cookie sheet.
4. Bake cookie dough appx. 17 minutes
5. Cool cookie dough for 10 minutes
6. Blend cream cheese, brown sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla.
7. Spread mixture evenly over cookie.
8. Peel and cut apples into bite size chunks.
9. Put apples evenly over cookie.
10. Microwave caramel topping appx. 45 seconds
11. Drizzle topping evenly over apples.
12. Sprinkle chopped pecans over apples.

Our Thanksgiving Dinner

My wonderful grandparents and children!

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap

I was curious about homemade laundry soap, but thought it would be to time consuming to make my own.  Then a friend showed our home-school support group just how easy it was.  She even gave me a sample of hers so I could try it before I bought the ingredients to make my own.  After using the homemade laundry soap I didn’t notice any difference in my clothes compared to the laundry soap I had been using.  Everything came out clean. 

You will need:

• 1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
• 1/2 cup Borax
• 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
• 1 cup Baking Soda (optional)
• 5 gallon bucket with lid
• Used, washed out, laundry soap dispenser

Yield:  10 gallons        Cost:  about $2.00 per 5 gallon bucket

Heat about 4 cups of water in saucepan on medium-low.  Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan of hot water.  Stir continually until soap dissolves.

Fill your 5 gallon bucket half full with hot tap water.  Add melted soap, washing soda, Borax, and baking soda.  Stir well until all powder is dissolved.  Fill bucket to top with more hot tap water.  Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

 After sitting overnight stir again.  Fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill the rest of the way with water.  Shake before each use.

Even though the soap gels (see above picture of 5 gallon bucket) when it sits, with just a few good shakes all the ingredients mix well and is ready to use.

1. Top Load Machine – 1 cup per load
2. Front Load Machines – 1/2 cup per load

Optional:  You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons.  Add once the soap has cooled.

Note:  I haven’t used the laundry soap long enough to see if the coloring in our clothes fade any faster, but my friend has used it for over 6 months and hasn’t noticed any problems with it. 

I’m off to another adventure! 

Teaching Textbooks

Math has always been a struggle for my dyslexic son.  I must admit after reading glowing reviews for Teaching Textbooks I had high hopes for the math program.   After 27 lessons in TT7, I had to admit it wasn’t the right program for us.  Now for all those that love this curriculum (including my dear friend ), I am not bashing it.  I just want to share why it didn’t work for us.  Please remember we have not used the program for higher math.   

Teaching Textbooks is a spiral math program.  Because the program is spiral and a child may not remember learning a concept, it would be nice if the company included an index.  The huge text/workbook is a little overwhelming to work with and not really necessary if you own the CD’s.  In my opinion it would work better if it was made into two smaller books and had more space to work the larger problems. 

I know that the minimal parental involvement is a big selling point for busy homeschooling parents.  I personally found it more time consuming and confusing for me to find out exactly what concepts my son was having trouble with then when I was grading his daily work myself.  Which by the way, does a child at this level really need to do 14 long division problems in one day on top of several large multiplication, adding, and subtracting problems?  I debated on skipping some problems, but with the automated grading he wouldn’t get an accurate grade.  And is it really necessary to put a grade on every single lesson?  Also with this program the student gets to try a problem two times and then it’s counted wrong.  I had always expected my children to work a math problem until it was right.

I know that there are ways to work around my complaints for TT7 if I really wanted to take the time.  But at the cost of $149.90 and higher, I think it was best for us to pick another math program. 

My 3rd grade daughter is using Christian Light Education for math.  We are 6 weeks into it and I am really impressed with the program.  So much so that I sold our TT7 (for only $12.00 less than what I paid for it ) and started my son in CLE math this past week.  It is working out great.  The program is what I would call spiral/mastery.   It comes in 10 smaller workbooks instead of one huge one.  Directions are easy to understand, yet thorough.  Grading is easy, and I can clearly see what concepts he is having trouble in.  Although my son will probably never love math, he is working through his CLE math workbook with no complaints.  He thanked me for getting rid of TT7. 

I’m off to another adventure!

First Week using Christian Light Education

We finished our first week using Christian Light Education and I have to say, I’m loving it.  The Sunrise editions are so easy to use.  I wish the company was finished  turning all their subjects into the Sunrise editions.  They challenge my children to use their brains but aren’t overly hard either.  One thing I would recommend for anyone thinking of using this curriculum for language arts is to purchase the reference chart.  We quickly found out we need them with this curriculum.

 

The only thing we didn’t start this past week was CLE Math 3.  We will start that this coming week.  I have high hopes for it.  CLE math is set up so the child works on flash cards each day before they do any work in the book.  Which I love.  However, I didn’t buy the flash cards to go with the program because we already own good quality flash cards.  CLE was kind enough to include an appendix in the teacher guide to show which flash cards are in which group.   I simply separated our flash cards into envelopes and wrote the letter for each group on the front of the envelope.

We also started using a modified workbox system.  So far it is working out well.  My daughter loves it.  She said that school goes much faster using this system.  She also said that she likes seeing how much work she has left to do each day.  I really like using the clear shoe boxes for my youngest but I do think my oldest would be just fine using a file box version of the system.  Although it is nice to be able to put all his science experiment stuff in one box so it’s ready for him to do.  I haven’t decided yet if I will continue using the shoe boxes for him or switch him to the space saving file box and use the shelf my husband built for books.  We can always use more shelf space for books and supplies.   I also like that the system keeps me accountable for grading their work each evening before I set up for the next day.

With these changes I’ve made one more I wanted to share.  I bought colorful post it notes to write down their lesson plans.  I just stick it on the front cover of each book or project.  It’s fairly simple using it with the CLE books since the books are set up lesson 1, lesson 2, etc.  But it comes in handy when I need to leave them a little note saying they need to review the past days mistakes with mom before moving on to the next lesson or with other curriculum that I have to divide the work up myself.  One post it note for each subject lasted us all week.  My children cross off the lesson when they are finished and I write the next lesson below it.  So simple!

 

I’m off to another adventure!

Workbox System

This year we are going to use the workbox system to help keep our home school running smoothly and hopefully get all those fun activities done that always seem to be put aside for later.     

There are many different ways you can set up workboxes.  Here is the basics on how we set up ours.  Each of my children have 12 clear workboxes.  I bought our boxes for $1.00 each at a local discount store.  Then I numbered the boxes so my children can move through them sequentially.  I believe the original idea was to use the white shoe racks to hold the boxes but for the same price my husband made us a couple of basic shelves that I plan on staining “eventually”.  :)

 

The idea is to fill each workbox with all the things they need to accomplish each subject or task.  That way they can work more independently and no more stopping the flow of school to find crayons, rulers, books and so on.  Since the boxes are clear the children can see exactly how much more school work they have that day.   You can also put fun activities in the boxes to encourage the child to get through the harder subjects.    Most of the other workbox systems I’ve seen have removable numbers.  I didn’t see that we had a need to do that, so as my children complete each box they will simply stack the empty boxes and turn in their work.

To learn more about workboxes you can purchase a book on it here  http://www.workboxsystem.com/ or you can  search for more blogs.  There’s all kinds of great ideas out there.  For example; I saw one blog where they had several children and little space.  She used file boxes and hanging files for each child.  She also used plastic bags to hold all the little stuff that needed to go into the hanging files.  Others have used cereal boxes covered in pretty paper for their workboxes.

I also wanted to take a moment and update everyone on my last post.  My son went to camp with a broken arm and still had a blast.  His cast is now off and he’s working his elbow and wrist everyday to gain back movement.  We had some wonderful friends and family donate the money for our dog to get the treatment he needed and he is recovering well right now.  My mother in-law actually broke a couple of ribs when she fell but she is healing as well.  I’ve had a nice few weeks of rest and I’m excited to start school back next week.   Thank you all for praying for us.  The Lord has truly blessed us. 

UPDATE:  Check out a friends file box system here: http://homeschoolingohio.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/workboxes-or-fileboxes/

I’m off to another adventure!    

One day at a time!

Our new school year was supposed to start this month.  After all we’ve been through the last few weeks I think we will need another month off.  First our car broke down and we were without a car for most of our time off.   Then my son fell during a basketball game and broke his elbow and wrist.  Unfortunately it is his dominant hand and camp is in 2 weeks.  Then my mother in-law fell during her visit with us and bruised her whole right side.  This is the third time she’s fell in the last month and was not able to get up on her own.  She doesn’t want to move back up here from Florida but she may have no choice.  To top it all off  just last night our 8 year old lab coughed up blood and is seriously ill.  We have to decide if we are going to try and treat him or if it would be better for all to put him down.  We will know more after his blood test come back from the vet.

Fear thou not;  for I am with thee:  be not dismayed; for I am thy God:  I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.  Isaiah 41:10 

Looking forward to better adventures! 

Planning for our 9th year of Home Schooling

If you’ve followed any of my past post you will know that I really like the Charlotte Mason way of education.  It has been a true blessing in our home school over the last few years.  Especially when it came to developing a love of reading in my children and getting them to write.  However, as with any program it is not perfect in every way or for everyone.   

Over the past few years I’ve seen the need for a good grammar program.  Mainly because I’m not so great in that area myself.  I’ve also noticed that with so many books being read, my children get tired of doing narrations.  In a Charlotte Mason school different children would narrate different books each day.  Since we need an end of the year portfolio and we don’t do a lot of workbook pages or comprehension questions, my children ended up doing more written narrations then I would have normally assigned for them to do.  And if I’m going to be totally honest here, I’m very tired of trying to come up with creative ways for them to show what they’ve learned for their portfolios.  Although I’ll admit it’s easier to find creative ways to show work for a younger child than a child in 7th or 8th grade.

For our next school year I decided to mix it up a bit.  However, I really did not want to return to some of the classic textbook curriculums we used in the beginning of our home-school days.  I remember to many days of trying to figure out complicated directions so that I could explain it in simpler terms to my child.  It seemed to me that the textbook curriculums we had used in the past way over complicated things.  

With much prayer and research I came across Christian Light Education.   I spent weeks looking over sample pages on their website and reading every review I could find for their curriculum.  I’m truly impressed with their Sunrise editions.  They have easy to understand directions and the lay out of the workbooks are very clean looking.  Which is better for children (or moms like me) that are easily distracted.  The curriculum also emphasizes wholesome morals, godly character training, family values, modesty, simplicity, and thrift.  All things I look for in a curriculum.

Here is our 2009-2010 plan.

3rd Grade Daughter

• CLE Sunrise 3rd grade Reader with out the workbooks (She will continue to narrate and read classic literature.  She will also finish the last two books in the Explode the Code series.)
• CLE Sunrise Bible
• CLE Sunrise Language Arts
• CLE Sunrise Math
• Exploring Creation with Zoology 1
• Truth Quest History using “living books”.

8th Grade Son

• CLE Sunrise 7th and 8th grade reading with workbooks.  Each grade is for 1 semester so we will do both grades in one year.  I chose for him to do the workbooks because in the 7th and 8th grade they teach concepts that I would not think to teach.  It’s more than just comprehension questions.
• CLE Bible
• CLE Sunrise Language Arts
• Teaching Textbooks for math
• Apologia General Science
• Truth Quest History using “living books”.

This way we get to keep reading all the great “living” history books available to us and I won’t have to worry about planning language arts anymore.  

We will start our new school year a few weeks into June.  As soon as we get a good feel for the curriculum I’ll post on how the changes are working out for us.  My goal is to find a happy balance between a CM education and workbooks that help me help my kids.

I’m off to another adventure!

Letterboxing

 

We went letterbox hunting over the weekend.  It’s one of our favorite activities when we want to get out but have very little money to spend. 

People all over North America hide boxes with rubber stamps and paper in them.  Our job is to find them using the clues they provide.  We take along a rubber stamp, ink pad, notebook, pen, and a compass.  When we find a box we sign our first name, stamp it, date it, and write where we are from.  Then we use their hidden stamp in our notebook, dating it and writing where we found the stamp.  Sometimes my children will write something special about the day next to the stamp in their notebooks.  After we are done we are careful to return the the stamp, paper, and box back to the hidden place for the next person to find.

My children say it’s like a treasure hunt.  I like that it is teaching them reasoning skills, how to follow directions, and how to use a compass.  To learn more about letterboxing in North America you can check out this website http://www.letterboxing.org/ .  You will find all the information you need to start your treasure hunt including any clues for boxes in your area.  Then I encourage you to stretch your wings and explore parks and public places you’ve never been or heard of before.  We have found some really nice parks by letterbox hunting, including a fossil park right in the middle of an industrial area. 

We also look for clues in other states when we go on vacation.  It is a nice way to site see when your out of town.  One time we even stopped at a rest stop on the highway to find a box.  Yes, we got a few weird looks as we were digging through the rest stop bushes..lol  But it was all in good fun!

I’m off to another adventure! 

For Instruction in Righteousness

When a child does something wrong in our home we’re not the type family to get the Bible out and start preaching to the child.  We didn’t want our young children to associate the Bible with punishment.  So when I came across this book at a home-school conference years ago, I was reluctant to buy it.   However, I found myself being drawn to it again and again.  I purchased the book and I am so pleased I did. 

I don’t know if I’ve used the book as it was originally intended but I have used this book repeatedly over the years.  When my husband lost his job I printed several verses under Worry/Anxiety and posted them on my fridge.  Any time I felt a twinge of worry I’d go to the fridge and read the verses.  When I found myself repeatedly complaining that my children were procrastinating on their work we started memorizing scripture under laziness.  I didn’t yell at them and tell them they were lazy and this is what the Bible says about that..  I just made the verses a part of our every day schooling, prayed, and let God do the work on their hearts.  The book also offers verses on the blessings of doing the right thing and so much more. 

For Instruction in Righteousness has been a true blessing in our home and you can learn more about it here.  http://www.doorposts.com/details.aspx?id=15

I’m off to another adventure!

The Best Title for the Story

My children are taking the dreaded achievement tests this week.  As my second grade daughter was finishing her reading comprehension test I couldn’t help but look over her shoulder.  I noticed that the last story was all about Polar Bears and the last question asked “Which of these is the best title for the story?”.  Two of the four options were “The Polar Bear” and “Wild Animals”.  My daughter filled in the circle next to “Wild Animals”.   As I collected her booklet I said “You do realize they wanted the best title for the story, right?”  And she answered “Yes, I like the Wild Animals title best.”  I couldn’t help but chuckle..   After all, one of the many reasons I home-school her is so she will learn to think for herself.  The computer will probably mark her answer wrong.  However,  it was an opinion question and she gave her opinion on it.

I’m off to another adventure!

TruthQuest History

We are making a change this fall in our home-schooling adventure.  I’m happy and excited to add TruthQuest History guides to our curriculum.   TruthQuest allows us to continue using literature or “living” books  for history but keeps us looking at God and His truth instead of focusing on mankind’s achievements.   You can learn all about TruthQuest History here   http://www.truthquesthistory.com/ .  

This will change the order in which we were doing history.  We will no longer have a four year history rotation.  I’m kind of glad about this.  I like the idea of spreading each time period out over 6 or more years and having time to dig a little deeper then we were able to in our 4 year history cycle.  I also like that TruthQuest offers American History for the Young for parents who do not wish to study ancients with their younger children.  However, after looking through the Ancient Egypt/Greece guide I could see how a family could easily keep all their children in the same time period if they so wished.

We chose the Ancient guides for my soon to be 8th grade son and American History for the Young 1 for my soon to be 3rd grade daughter.  My son will follow the 5 year plan found under How to Choose on the TruthQuest site.  My daughter will work her way through the 3 guides for American History for the Young and do Ohio history.  Then she will either start the 7 year plan in the 6th grade or the 6 year plan in the 7th grade.  Depending on how much time it takes her to go through the American History guides.

I will try to update our curriculum book list but the great thing about TruthQuest is we will be using a lot of the same books.  I’ll just be changing the history rotation.

I’m off to another adventure!

Geography Flash Cards

I once saw a television show where the host was asking young adults to point out different places on the world map.  It was unpleasant to watch young American adults squirm because they couldn’t place India on the map.  It was devastating that a few could not correctly place New York.  

This is when I came up with our home-made geography flash cards.  Every school day my children spend around 5 minutes pointing out each place on the map.  One card is always on the United States and the rest of the cards vary from different parts of the world.   I change the cards every 6-12 weeks, throwing the ocean and continent cards in periodically for review.

This little task each day has big rewards.  We have done geography flash cards for a couple years now and my children can often tell me exactly where a country is in relation to another country with out even looking at the map.  They are able to place the characters and events in our books in their proper place in the world with out having to stop their reading to look it up. 

I’m all for learning geography through “living” books.   However, geography flash cards insures that my children will not be the young adults that can’t find Texas on a map.

I’m off to another adventure!