Laundry Detergent and Patience

Posted on by
Reply

I have a confession to make (I’ve probably made this confession before).  I am not patient.  Unfortunately, I am not the kind of mom who takes the time as I am doing each thing around the house to show my children how to do what I am doing.  I am trying to work on that.

Today, I decided to make laundry detergent.  I have posted the recipe before- I usually make a batch every two months or so.  It makes about 5 gallons.  As I was trying to find a way to cut costs my cousin was telling my how the Duggers make their own laundry detergent to cut costs.  My cousin then began making her own detergent and I followed suit. 

 

1 cup of grated Fels-Naptha heavy duty laundry bar soap

1 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax

1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

Place on the stove mixed with some water and boil until shredded soap is melted.

Pour mixture into a 5 gallon bucket and then add water and stir until filled.

 

I then put the detergent into gallon milk jugs or old laundry detergent bottles so that I don’t have a five gallon bucket sitting in my laundry room.  You can also add essential oils to the batch for some extra scent.  There are several different variations out there.  I really liked the recipes I found on www.tipnut.com.

With today’s recipe I used bar soap, Lever 2000, instead of Fels-Naptha (because I didn’t have any at the time) and I added a cup of baking soda.

So, back to my confession- I’m not patient.  In hopes of working on my patience and in teaching them  I asked the girls to help me make the laundry detergent – and it went well.  They enjoyed helping me make the detergent and I am trying to make a conscious effort in asking for their help with other chores around the house like washing clothes and yard work like weeding beds.  Not only will it eventually help me in my chore load, but it teaches them the things they will need to know when they are on their own and starting their own families.  And they enjoy it.

Also, I won’t tell you that while I was writing this post the detergent was on the stove and it boiled all over the place.  Thank the Lord I have  a ceramic top stove and I was able to soak in up in a towel and ring it out back into the pot.  No use crying over spilled detergent.  Another lesson taught- my reaction to the spill.  the kids are always watching and learning- it’s mostly not what I say it’s what I do.  Lord, help me be the mom my girls need.

 

Living Books- 100 Chapter Books You and Your Child Must Read

Posted on by
Reply

More on living books!  I was on Pinterest today and came across this awesome list and want to share it.  Some of these books we have already read with our Sonlight curriculum in the first grade.  I’m looking forward to reading our way through this list.

1. Matilda by Roald Dahl

2. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

3. Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary

4. Holes by Louis Sachar

5. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

6. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

8. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

9. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards

10. Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

11. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

12. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

13. The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

14. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

15. 5 Children and It by E. Nesbit

16. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien

17. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (We won’t be reading this one)

18. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson

19. The Borrowers by Mary Norton

20. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Patterson

21. Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

22. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

23. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

24. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

25. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

26. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

27. Stuart Little by E.B. White

28. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater

29. The Wish Giver by Bill Brittain

30. Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

31. Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

32. The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth

33. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

34. Freckle Juice by Judy Blume

35. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

36. Ramona and her Mother by Beverly Cleary

37. George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl

38. Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

39. Frindle by Andrew Clements

40. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

41. Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen

42. Mandy by Julie Edwards

43. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

44. All-of-aKind Family by Sydney Taylor

45. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

46. Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand

47. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

48. Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

49. Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

50. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

51. The Field Guide: Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

52. The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

53. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Crowell

54. The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo

55. Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

56. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

57. Loser by Jerry Spinelli

58. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

59. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

60. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

61. The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

62. The BFG by Roald Dahl

63. Stuart’s Cape by Sara Pennypacker

64. The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

65. The Worst Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

66. The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling

67. Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

68. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall

69. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

70. Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary

71. The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit

72. The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White

73. The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis

74. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

75. Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry

76.  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming

77. Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

78. Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner

79. Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

80. The Great Brain by John Dennis Fitzgerald

81. Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

82. The Time Warp Trio: Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Sciezska

83. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

84. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

85. Belle Prater’s Boy by Ruth White

86. Sounder by William H. Armstrong

87. The Littles by John Peterson

88. Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

89. The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick

90. A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin

91. No Flying in the House by Betty Brock

92. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

93. Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies

94. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

95. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

96. Henry Reed Inc. by Keith Robertson

97. Tornado by Betsy Byars

98. Babe: The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith

99. The Moffats by Eleanor Estes

100. My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

There are a few books here that we probably will not read like the Harry Potter books.  But some of these books I can remember reading in school- like Island of the Blue Dolphins, Bridge to Terabithia, and Indian in the Cupboard and I am excited to share some of those with my kids.  A few we have already read like Charlottes Web, The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe and Mr. Popper’s Penguins.  Others we have seen as movies and it will be fun to compare the movie to the book- we know the book is always better!

This list as well as some great articles can be found at Chasing Supermom.

Living Books and Creating a Love for Books

Posted on by
Reply

Right now we are reading Anne of Green Gables.  I loved this story growing up.  Now my children are beginning to love Anne Shirley’s antics as well.  We also recently read Pippi Longstocking.  I was unaware that the book was translated into English (the author Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren was Swedish and the book was translated worldwide). The kids enjoyed that one as well.  Jaelyn has enjoyed the fact that both the main characters in those books have red hair and freckles as she also has red hair and freckles.

Since I attended the Teach Them Diligently Conference in Spartanburg ( I will probably be talking about that conference for a while- forgive me), I have been on the look out for ‘living books’ like the ones described to me by Sonya Shafer in her session titled Learning with Living Books.  Living books are those that make the subject come alive.  Check out  SimplyCharlotteMason.com, it has a wealth of information including a description of the Charlotte Mason methods as well as tons of resources.

I’m still feeling out what can be classified as a living book.  Apparently if it is not a living book it could be ‘twaddle’, a term coined by Charlotte Mason meaning that the book does not have any substance- it’s pretty much worthless and not worth reading.  I don’t think that either of these books could be considered twaddle.  We have enjoyed reading both of them.

So, I am definitely on the lookout for living books.  I’m hoping that I will know them when I see them.  I will let you know how that goes.  I might be a good idea for me to start my own list of what I want us to read this year OR I may just wing it because sometimes too much structure is stressful for me.

I think this is what I’ve been missing.  I think I was trying to be a textbook girl.  I don’t think I’m a textbook girl- I think I’m a bit eclectic.  I think my preferred homeschool method (if I have to be put in a box) is eclectic.  A bit classical education, a bit Charlotte Mason and a bit whatever else I throw in there.  And that’s what it’s all about.  Figure out what method is best for you and your children.  Take what works for you and leave the rest.

Trips to the Library

Posted on by
Reply

I love the library.  I am like a kid in the candy store- my eyes are WAY bigger than my stomach.  I almost always come home with more library books than I could ever possibly read in the allotted time frame.  But I love books and I love going to the library and I want my kids to love it too.

Our trips to the library have greatly evolved since the beginning of our homeschool journey.  In the beginning the kids were more concerned about racing to the computers and playing games than actually looking at the books.  Mom put a stop to that- no more computer games at the library.

These days when we go to the library we are trying a new system outlined in The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise.  In it explains her ground rules for library trips.  She tells the children which subjects to choose from:

  • science
  • history
  • art or music appreciation
  • practical (craft or how-to)
  • biography or autobiography
  • classical novel
  • imaginative storybook
  • book of poetry

We haven’t strictly adhered to this, but it gives us an outline and broadens the children’s’ choices.  It has been fun for me.  The best part of all of it is I see my children get excited over their books.

 

 

 

My Favorite Sessions at the Teach Them Diligently Conference

Posted on by
Reply

One of my favorite speakers at the Teach Them Diligently conference was Ken Ham.  My husband really enjoyed his sessions as well.  For those who don’t know who Ken Ham is- he is the founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis.  You can check out the website, www.answersingenesis.org.

We had never heard Ken Ham speak before and I was only slightly familiar with his ministry.  I had chosen to the Answers in Genesis Curriculum to teach science to my children based on a recommendation from a good friend and homeschool mom.  I decided to teach creation.  To me, it was a no-brainer to teach creation.  I’m a Christian, I believe in what the bible says, right?

Well, I had no idea that evolution versus creation was such a hot button topic, even within the Christian community.  Of coarse I expect the mainstream to oppose creation in the biblical sense, but I didn’t expect fellow believers to discard the idea that God created the Earth and everything here in 6 days the way he says He did in Genesis.  but I guess there are a lot of believers that do not believe in the literal interpretation of Genesis.  I do- especially after hearing Ken Ham speak.

I had discarded evolution because it never made any sense to me.  I knew there was a creator and that he created me.  I did not evolve from a monkey.  I didn’t know there was such a controversy over the age of the earth.  Again, I think I rejected the idea that the earth’s age is millions of years old because I believe in what the bible says in that God created the earth and everything on it in six days and he rested on the seventh.

What Ken Ham explained is that if we try to inject the idea that the earth is millions of years old into the scripture we are then challenging the authority of God’s word.  We are taking man’s fallible word against God’s infallible word.  Once you challenge Genesis you have broken down the foundation of everything else the Christian faith lies on.  In Genesis the fall of man and sin are explained- sin brings death.  How can you preach Jesus if you challenged the part of the bible in which the fall, sin and death are explained?  Not believing Genesis leads to doubt in other areas of the bible.

The Answers in Genesis booth in the vendor hall got a lot of our attention.  They had an awesome sale and we took advantage of it.  It also inspired me to teach the kids a little differently.  They need to be able to answer people who question their faith.  I need to be able to answer people who question my faith. 

 

 

Everyday is a Learning Day

Posted on by
Reply

When you’re a homeschool mom, everyday is a learning day.  Even when you’re not a homeschool mom, everyday is a learning day- even on vacation!  So, this past week we spent a week in North Carolina- one of my favorite places.  I love the mountains!

One of the things we did while in NC was visit historic Hendersonville.  One of the best places we visited was the Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Henderson County.

The awesome part of visiting the Mineral and Lapidary Museum is that it is educational, but it is also FREE.  It had some great geodes, petrified wood, dinosaur eggs and lots of other really neat things.

 

The kids loved it.  I think their favorite part was seeing the minerals that fluoresced under a black light.

 

 

Happy Mother’s Day

Posted on by
Reply

It was a beautiful day.  I enjoyed church this morning with my family.  My husband usually goes all out for Mother’s Day (we go a little over the top for each other sometimes), but this year we decided to scale back a bit.  We did just come back from vacation and our 11th wedding anniversary was yesterday. 

So, we decided to let our vacation to the mountains and attending our first homeschool conference be our present to each other.  I did try to explain to my husband that I was getting the raw end of the deal though.  You see not only was Mother’s Day today, our anniversary was yesterday, but this past week was nurse’s week (I’m a nurse!) and teacher appreciation day was this week (hello- I’m a homeschool teacher!).  Oh, well.  Honestly, they appreciate me.

Today was beautiful though.  We went to church and came home.  the temperature here was in the 70s.  I bought some plants from a nursery in NC so I decided to get in the yard and plant some of them.  I guess I shouldn’t be working on a Sunday, but I love it and really miss it.  I haven’t done much yard work since becoming a mom almost eight years ago.  It seems like one of those things that I just haven’t had much time for.  So I enjoyed the day by playing in the dirt.

My husband grilled steaks and we ate dinner outside.  It was great.  It was simple and pretty much perfect.

 

Keep Them Busy at Teach Them Diligently

Posted on by
Reply

We decided to keep our children with us while attending sessions at the Teach Them Diligently Homeschool Conference.  I know, crazy, right?  But we did not put them into the children’s program so I had to brainstorm on ways to keep them busy.

I put together a bag to help keep them busy.  New crayons. markers, drawing pads, coloring books, stickers and activity books completed the keep them busy kit.  In addition to those things, Jaelyn took her DS and Juliette took her VTech tablet- both with ear buds to keep quiet. I won’t say that the bags kept them kids completely boredom free or completely entertained, but it definitely helped.  I did not even let them look into the bags until we got to the conference and we were sitting in our first session to keep it a novelty.  Ultimately they did incredibly well considering how much time we spent sitting and listening to different speakers during the conference.

‘Summer’ Vacation

Posted on by
Reply

We left our hotel Sunday morning, May 5, after spending the weekend at the Teach Them Diligently conference.  This marks the beginning of our summer vacation. The kids are finished with this years school work and my husband and I are ready for a break.

The funny thing about the beginning of our summer vacation is that it is freezing.  It’s May, we are in the south, and it is downright chilly!  We’re staying in the mountains this week- in North Carolina, near Chimney Rock- and the temperature is in the 40s!  It was 52 degrees in Spartanburg before we left. And now it’s raining.  It doesn’t bother me so much, but it does bother my husband. 

 

It seems when we go on vacation it rains.  It’s okay though.  We have a fire going and we are nestled in a little cabin in the woods.  We stopped at the store on the way here and bought nail polish.  We are armed with art supplies and a new copy of Anne of Green Gables.  My husband may go crazy, but the girls and I will have a grand time!

God made Dirt

Posted on by
Reply

We have had a lot of rain here this year (or so it seems).  After each rain it becomes evident where the low lying areas are in our yard.  Getting a load of dirt has been on our never ending to do list and it appears the day has arrived.

 

Have you ever gotten a load of dirt?  The kids watched in anticipation as the dumped trucked pored the dirt into a big pile in the backyard.  Then they were automatically drawn to it.  There is something about a pile of dirt- it must be played in.  All I can think about is a saying from childhood- God made dirt, and dirt don’t hurt.  They got filthy, but had a blast.  The kids’ imaginations immediately went to work- they were searching for gold.  They collected pile of hardened dirt as there golden treasure (too bad there wasn’t any really gold in there!).