2011 Homeschooling Year {To be continued.....}

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.. Been a little busy.. read below to find out why!!!

Taking Ethan to Pre-K and Emma's first official day of school!

I finally ordered Emma's curricula. This is my first year using Catholic Heritage. I must say that I LOVE the material. I do however think I may need to buy a different math and language arts. Today was my first day using the program with her. I started a new job working as a preschool teacher where my 4 year old is going. I am working 3 days a week and only 5 hours and while I work my mom does some of the work with her and when I get home I finish up. I really like what they have to offer. I think it's going to be a great school year and more to come with the program and my likes and dislikes! 

   [ [ [ Disclaimer: I would like to add that I believe that anyone who can homeschool should. There are so many advantages to it. If you want more info or have any questions please feel free to ask me anything... I was in your shoes at one point. I didn't know where to turn or what to do... I battled my way through this craziness and we are now a PROUD homeschooling family! Please ask me anything. Thanks for the continued support we have received from family and friends. Without you.. we would be in public school still!!!] ] ]

Reading from Little Acts of Grace {She LOVED this book}

Pillow Pet

I have already seemed to get off schedule here! I was posting every night... then my mother came into town. Lucky for you... while she is here we are going to go a LOTSA sewing! My kids have been bugging me for a pillow pet for a REALLY long time. I don't think paying $20.00 for one is the right route to go... so I said I know I can make one.. Well.... I cam across a blog with a tutorial of how to make one, at least that's what the site said. It did however go over the basic gist. I threw in my own stuff and went with it! So here is the tutorial I went off of  Pillow Pet Tutorial. This is mine finished. The only thing I would change would be the head. I didn't like how it attached and I think it looked a little wobbly. If you want any help please ask I will help however I can! I have a few more things I am working on that I will post when finished! Enjoy and happy sewing!

Laundry Soap {$Home Made$}

So I have been asked a few times about the laundry soap I made. I got my recipe from ~Holy Spirit-led Homeschooling~ I added a few of my own notes and comments. The most common question I get is about stains, do they come out good. I am still using Spray & Wash and I have no problems with stains, however once it runs out I plan on using white distilled vinegar and the box of Borax and Army & Hammer Super Washing Soda come with suggestions on their box for stain removal. The laundry soap should last me about a year or more and when it's time to make more I only need to purchase the Fels-Naptha soap bar {which is . 79cents to 1.00 at Wal-mart.} Pretty cheap laundry soap!!

4 Cups - hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

½ Cup Borax (I used 1 cup Borax)

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

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

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel, mine is still a little chunky but I was told it would do that and I haven't had any problems)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil. {I didn't add this because I like the lemon smell and I had NO idea where to find the oil. Everywhere I looked it said it would change the color of clothes and to keep it away from clothing... so I just passed and the lemon smell was pretty good in my opinion.}

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

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I also made my own dryer sheets, which I got from the same post at ~ Holy Spirit-led Homeschooling ~. I 100% LOVE these! I save money and the earth at the same time! This is sooo easy!!! I didn't want a 5 gallon bucket of this so I bought a small storage container from Wal-Mart that would sit on the dryer for easier use. I think I paid $2 something for it.

60 .oz bottle of cheapest softener @ Wal-mart $2.47.  6 pack of sponges $1.00 Dollar Tree!

1 part Fabric Softener

2 parts water

Throw your sponges in a bucket

When it's time for the dryer, ring out a sponge and toss it in as a homemade dryer sheets.  After your load dries toss is back in your bucket/container!

 The inside! 

This is how it sits on my dryer ready for use!

[Credit for this post: ~ Holy Spirit-led Homeschooling ~ I certainty take no credit for this except for my own fixings and editing I did] 

‎"Congratulations! Your Nonaccredited Private School Registration has been submitted."

So here is how my homeschooling adventures started...When Tim first deployed she was in Kindergarten and we liked it here (KS), I liked her teacher and the teacher did a lot of extra work for Emma, but we decided to move home (GA) for the remainder of his deployment due to other reasons. I went to sign up her at my old school.. and it was horrible. They didn't want to give us a tour of the school they didn't want offer any information about anything we asked. There were so many kids and they were rude and we could hear kids screaming and cussing in the lunch room... and we knew she was smart and that she would need extra help to stimulate her brain, she was already in 1st grade math and reading on an advance 1st grade level. (I thought I was in a WWII movie when I walked in, it was sooo loud in there) I spoke to the principal about it and they said they wouldn't be able to help me like that. Her class was 32 students. I knew I couldn't do that to her and she deserved a better education than I had. {When I started school I was in an over ran school system with teachers who didn't care about anyone or anything. It was horrible. Finally my parents figured out what was going on and we move to a better school system. They were much better but do to the lack of teaching I had received I was about 2 grade levels behind and they just kept pushing me and working with me. I finally caught up but it was REALLY hard work and I didn't want that for Emma. I wanted the best for her.} We looked into private schools but in Conyers {where I am from} they are like $900 a month and the really good ones are over an hour away and more money. Tim and I had talked before about homeschooling and we knew this was the perfect time to do it. My brother and his wife homeschool their girls and about 4-5 people homeschool at our church. So we got involved with a few groups and we LOVED it! Ethan went to a pre-school every morning and while he was gone Emma and I went to Mass every morning and came home and had all our work done in 3 hours. The rest of the days were ours to spend family time together. We loved it. We had Friday's off, NO SCHOOL for either of the kids and Emma was so happy about that. Finally the time came for us to move back to KS and finish her school year. She talked about wanting to go back to public school. (We have a really great homeschool group here, they do art, field trips, and physical education. But when we moved back we missed a lot of it, so for 2-3 months it was just us and she missed the group we had in GA too.) Tim and I talked and said she was doing so well let's send her back and see how it goes . She had to go to a difference school due to us moving into a new house once we moved back to KS. I had head good things about the school, not to much negative, but to my surprise it was HORRIBLE. Emma was ashead of 95% of her class and she would beg for them to give her extra work that she was bored. They would just tell her "just do the work like everyone else and you will just know it when everyone else knows it." She would cry about it. They had spelling tests every week and she got 100 on every one of them and half the kids didn't get half of them right in her class. The only reason I know is I helped out her class. They also started Sex Ed this year and I was blown out of the water. Who is the school to teach my child sex education. That is what mother's and father's are for. Not the public school system. The school population grew while we were gone too, she was in a class of 18 before and now in a class of 32. We try and lead a very modest lifestyle, we don't have T.V and we limit video games to 1 hour per week. So for the lifestlye we want and live, its not possible to do with her in public school. I am very passionate about this and if I can give my children the best I am going to do everything possible to make that happen! These are my babies and the future of our world!

This is who I am responsible for and I am going to do everything in my power with God and my husband by my side leading the way to give them the best possible future we can.

Jump, Frog, Jump

Today Ethan's P.A.T {Parents As Teachers} came. Ethan really likes when she comes. She always has something fun for him to do. Today he did this really cute frog project. They read from this book called Jump, Frog, Jump. Ethan really liked it. After she left we made some of our own ABC flashcards. I think his new glasses really seem to be helping him. He got about 70% of his letters correct. He is a very smart little boy!!!

{P.A.T. = Parents as Teachers helps organizations and professionals work with parents during the critical early years of their children's lives, from conception to kindergarten. 

Here is the storm that is brewing as I type!

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day! We had a great time at the parade this morning. Timothy marched in it and the kids and I watched. Tonight we had a little family cook out and then went to the Sundown Salute. They had great music!!! We finished our night with fireworks, baths, and now bed! Thank you to all the military men and women and the great sacrifice they make for us each and everyday! I would just like to tell my husband how proud I am of him and thank him for everything he does for our family!

Craft of the day & Fireworks!

Today the kids and I made these cute little headbands for the 4th. We used an old cereal box for the band and construction paper for the rest. Pretty easy, quick, & fun! This was inspired by The Homeschool Classroom. Enjoy!

Finally,



Please be careful this 4th of July Holiday. Tonight some friends gathered at what was suppose to be a nice fun evening. A little girl about 3 years old, standing at a pretty good distance away from the fireworks was hurt. The lit firework turned over when the wind blew and it turned it right toward her and hit her in the eye. Please keep her in your prayers.


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No doubt about it: Fireworks are a delight, filling the summer air with dazzling colors and deafening sounds. But they also can be a danger. Thousands of people every year are harmed by fireworks, many of them maimed for life, because they did not use them with the proper respect and care.

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Too Many Spools!!!

I have been looking into buying one of those fancy spool holders for all my spools of thread and bobbins to go on. But as we all know I am purdy cheap these days. I was at the fabric store the other day and noticed they were on sale. Originally $19.99 on sale for $9.99, still thinking that $9.99 is to much to spend on some wood, I take a picture of it and later that week ask my husband about making one. He said he could whip me up one. So today we go to the lumber yard and check prices. We paid $5.55! We bought 2 [1x2], 2 dowels, and nails! I am was so excited. We will need to go back and get 1 more dowel to make additional pegs. So it would total $5.94! Here is to my crafty husband:

Tada! : )

Wet Bags!

I have been wanting to make a wet bag for our cloth napkins that I made a few weeks ago. We went to the fabric store the other day to check prices and look at the PUL material {which is waterproof}. I personally think that 14.99 a yard is a little expensive in my book. So I thought maybe another day. So today I decided I was going to find a way to make one. I started to google wet bags. And this is the site that I liked the most and seemed easiest, Little Birdie Secrets. After looking it over I got my material from around the house. When I go to the Dollar Tree I normally buy 3-4 shower curtains at a time {they rip so easy} so I go to my stash and get one. I then go looking for a receiving blanket {the really small ones that you can't swaddle a baby in}. I forgot to add that I am a sewing beginner, I haven't put a zipper in yet nor do I even have any. So I decide to just skip that, I will figure a way to hang it. So I sew my blanket and shower curtain together and them trim the edges. I fold the blanket in half with the blanket on the inside and the curtain on the outside. I sew the side seams together. I took a strip of blanket and folded the raw edges in and used my zig zag stich to go down the center of the strip. I cut them to make 4 strips. I then took them and sewed them onto the plastic at the top of the bag. Once I was done I took the bag and turned it inside out so that fabric was on the outside, I turned the top over at the opening to make a smooth edge and folded the ties for extra leverage while hanging off the stove. Above was my end product. I was quite proud of my little wet bag! Below are the napkins I made. {I will post how to make those later, super EASY!}

My Little Love

Last week my little love {Ethan} went to see the eye doctor. He was having issues with his eye turning and they thought something might be wrong with his muscles. Well after a full exam and having his eyes dilated, he is just about blind. So off to Wal-Mart we go. We pick out his new glasses and return home. My oldest love {Emma} is away at VBS. When she comes home we relay the news of brother's new glasses. My poor sweet girl is so upset that her brother is going to have to wear glasses that she breaks down crying. I swear sometimes she has the biggest heart! We wait just about week and Wal-Mart calls to tell us {Saturday} that little loves glasses are ready for pick up. We rush to get ready to go and get them. When we arrive the ladies are very eager to help him into his new glasses. He puts them on... and starts looking around like a new born baby. It is so amazing to watch someone for the first time actually see what everyone else is seeing. He was amazed at what he was missing out on. He kept watching the floor and taking baby steps... It was simply beautiful. Today marks day number 4 of glasses wearing. His face looks like it was meant for glasses. He has done so well with them! I am so happy he can finally see.