learningathome

[learningathome]

Travel Agent

I’m working on a math/reading/geography/typing/internet navigation activity! Last year we did a pet shop. This year Munchkin will be a travel agent. I can’t wait to get everything together! I will post things as I get it going. Lots of fun stuff coming up. Munchkin is starting Rosetta Stone this week for Spanish. (Guess I need to as well!) Fun stuff to come! Co-Ops! Dungeons and Dragons lessons! A walk through brain! Oh am I excited!!!!

[learningathome]

NASA Style!

Please, if you have local science museums and can afford it, get season passes.  Our season pass had reciprocal museums which included NASA.  (Who would have thought!)  You can do so many amazing things with that one pass.  It’s amazing.

[learningathome]

Space? Heck yeah!

We are studying the solar system. Of course we need to have activities and learning. Today involves a poster I found at a discount store for 79c, some star stickers, glow in the dark stars with the putty to put up in your room, some constellation cards, a cursive writing page I typed up to work on planet order, along with my compound word cards. I’ve also made some vocab/info cards and a matching game to go along with them that I don’t have pictured. (I’ll try to get pics of them soon.) Hope this inspires you to study space with your kids. It is so much fun!!!

[learningathome]

Goal sheet

We have decided to implement a daily goal sheet. Munchkin and I are both doing it! We each pick three obtainable goal for the day. Then we decide how we can work towards achieving those goals. The next morning we discussed how it worked. If it didn’t work, what could we do differently.

It is slowly changing how things work around here. Yesterday she wanted to spend extra time with Daddy so she decided she could help him get things done so he had more free time.

I’ve decided Munchkin needs lines lol.

[learningathome]

Poland!

We are trying out a box program. (Just a disclaimer I pay for the box. This is completely all me!!!) This month was our first box so I didn’t know what to expect. With that said I was pleasantly surprised! I went with www.universalyums.com . Not knowing what to expect and realizing only 3 of us would be eating the Yums I picked the small box. For a month to month subscription it was $14. If you purchase a whole year it will be a little under $13. (I’m thinking of doing the yearly subscription.) One thing I really liked was that it was FREE shipping! (I hate when companies toss on expensive shipping when you go to pay.). I was confused about the sticker they chose to seal it with. Later I realized it was the Polish flag...my bad. So...here’s what was in the box!

This was the first thing I was greeted with when the box arrived.  Well hello there Poland!  Oh and hello to you as well Poland’s flag.

The next thing was this booklet.  As you will see in a picture later on it has information about the yummy foods in this Yum box!  It also had a little 5 question trivia game that was extremely fun!  They were completely random facts.  The best part was on the back page it didn’t just give the answer.  It also gave an explanation of the answer.  I will also have to say that the description of each food was completely fun.  It wasn’t cut and dry.  It had some sassy mixed in with the facts which made for an enjoyable read.  (Yep, there’s the flag again in that circle.)  Also in the book was a brief overview of Poland, a link for some Polish tunes (very enjoyable and totally danceable <- Yep, made that one up although I’m sure someone has used it in the past), along with some fun info about the country and their art/festivals.  The chart you see off to the side is what was on the other side of the “Welcome to Poland” page.  Everyone got to pick their favorite, second favorite, worst and most unusual snack.  It also had a little game to play.

Snack number one!  This was interesting.  If it’s hard to tell because of the glare (I will do better next month...I was just so excited!) these are cheese and onion chips.  The chips were potato and rice flour based so they were crunchy but light and airy.  The taste wasn’t too bad either.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Snack number two!  I must say these gave me cause for concern.  Paprika covered peanuts.  I’m kinda scared.  Due to this I did learn a new little fact.  I never really put much thought into it but paprika is dried bell peppers?!?!  Who would have thought.  Interesting.  Once again I was pleasantly surprised.  This ended up being Mad Scientist’s favorite.

And the other snacks.  The red and white little packages are called Lobster Tails.  I will admit I learned a lesson about reading the info on the snacks.  I read the first few lines that said they were named lobster tails because they were made out of minced lobster.  Oh how you could taste the fresh seafood in these little treats.  (I was tired when I read it...it was late.  I gave up on reading.)  Yeah, that was a little sassy added in.  Had I kept reading I would have realized it was a joke.  Ooops.  I have to say even finding out they weren’t really lobster ground up in candy they were the only one I didn’t really enjoy.  All of the others I did enjoy to one degree or another.

Due to the Easter egg artwork we read about in the book I decided to try my hand at making paper ones.  This was my first slopping experiment.  (We will make more after learning from this experiment and post new pictures.)

Now adding the orange.

And onto the red.  It appears I need to recoat the white crayon after each painting.  But for a first experiment I thought it turned out kinda neat.

[learningathome]

I promise I haven’t bailed

I’m currently a few days post-op. Yep! In all the chaos of new baby and my MIL moving in...I got to have major surgery. (Totally my luck!)

With that said life goes on. I was able to get some review stuff together for Munchkin to do and a new chapter book to start reading. My mom watched the girls and my MIL while I had surgery and for a few days after. She was able to keep up with school work (fun worksheets and reading) while I had surgery and rested. My dad stepped up and has been helping out since. I am extremely blessed to have a caring family who would do anything for each other. We are getting pumped up to go on a vacation to Florida next month. Sea World, swimming with dolphins and NASA. So of course we are turning our school work towards these areas. Today we worked on the solar system. I even typed up a story for Munchkin to read with tons of extra info that helped her correctly order the planets. This is what you are seeing in the first two pictures. Of course we can’t neglect other things so she also worked on telling time today as well.

[learningathome]

Totally Blessed!  But Completely FUNNY!!!

The first 30 minutes of my morning: (Harley Quinn not sleeping well as we transition out of the swaddle...boo...so Mad Scientist tried to let me sleep in...after I gave her a bottle, burped her and rocked her back to sleep at 7ish...at which point he and Munchkin were talking and woke  Harley Quinn back up.) Both Munchkin and Mad Scientist came in the bedroom turning lights on/off, opening drawers and such, one text message and a phone call (In my sister's defense it was 8:55 lol.).

Mad Scientist comes in the room at 9: I can't take it anymore.  Harley Quinn had a string on her toe. It was like Sea Rescue. Munchkin had to hold her down and put things in front of her face while I cut the string off. I was traumatizing...for me. THEN Munchkin leaned on the walker too much and made it collapse. She thought she fixed it but then she put  Harley Quinn in it and it collapsed again. I'm having issues fixing it. THEN Munchkin made a bowl of cereal and spilled it in the floor. Plus she hasn't cleaned up the living room like I asked. You have to get up.

Me: Ok...so normal morning. What do I need to do? Have you fed Harley Quinn her morning bottle? Has Munchkin cleaned up the cereal? Where did she spill it? She should have a towel down if she ate it in the living room. And have you checked on your mom and given her her morning meds, made sure she ate breakfast, checked the microwave, and turned on the tv for her?

Mad Scientist: What? This is a NORMAL morning???

Me: umm...yeah.

Mad Scientist: I fed Harley Quinn her bottle in bed before we got up.

Me: No. I fed that bottle. Have you fed one after the bottle in bed?

Mad Scientist: Ok, you fed her but I got the bottle. (lol...ok) No I haven't fed her again. Munchkin had the cereal in the living room but no towel. Why was she suppose to? No, I haven't been to Mom's yet.

Me: calls my sister back quickly, gets up, walks in the living room and steps on soggy cereal (Munchkin wiped up cereal with kitchen towels and tossed them to a different spot in the living room lol), gets towel and cleans up thrown cereal as Munchkin continues sopping up spilled milk, goes to get bottle for  Harley Quinn only to realize Munchkin, trying to help, has formula bag ready with formula too high in bottle and fix that, unload the formula bag bc Munchkin used her boo boo seal in the freezer to keep formula cold, have Mad Scientist start making formula bc we are running low, get him ready with meds for his mom and explain how to give them, help Munchkin clean up the living room, help get cereal finished cleaned up, help her get another breakfast, feed Harley Quin a bottle and work on getting her back to sleep while Mad Scientist comes back to the house and says he has to go into work to fix a machine.

Before he leaves I remind him how just the other day he was talking about my short fuse by the time he gets home. I told him next time he wants to complain about it remember this morning. Remember what happened. That conversation ended with a kiss and me being told I was a saint lol.

[learningathome]

Delay Delay Delay

On top of all of the chaos with a new baby...and my MIL with Alzheimer's moving in (we got the official diagnosis)...life has taken a turn.  Harley Quinn developed Hand Foot and Mouth along with RSV...at the same time!!!  She was a miserable baby.  Once she started feeling better things took another turn for the worse.  I, Mommy, started breaking out in painful blisters.  Oh no!  Harley Quinn shared Hand Foot and Mouth with ME!  Luckily babies tend to not get as severe a case as adults.  I can’t tell you how horrible it was.  I wanted to die.  I was in so much pain and NOTHING helped.  NOTHING.  These are pictures BEFORE it got BAD!!!

Yes, it covered both hands (front and back), went down my arms, onto my chest and stomach along with my back.  It traveled all over my feet and up my legs.  It was on my face, in my mouth and down my throat.  Mad Scientist had to take over everything...including force feeding me ice cream lol. Shortly after I started feeling better (as in not wanting to die) Mad Scientist started feeling bad.  He got a mild case with a few small blisters and ended up with RSV.  Luckily for him it was short lived...only a few days. We are blessed that Munchkin and my MIL were free from illness. Then there was me breaking the printer..then Christmas...then there was the computer dying.  We won’t even get into that.  However, I am happy to announce I am figuring out Windows 10  (not fond of it lol) and will be getting my programs on my computer soon...including hooking up the new printer.  I have so many fun things to share that have happened in between all of that.

[learningathome]

One of the great things about homeschooling...

A little over a month ago my husband and I noticed my MIL’s cognition declining greatly.  It wasn’t a slow trend like it had been...this was a rapid decline where we found multiple new deficits weekly.  So...we set out to find a retirement community near us or an assisted living facility.  We weren’t sure which way to go.  We were frantically setting up appts and visiting local facilities to see which ones we liked.  We were calling doctor’s offices and getting appts set up.  We were talking with lawyers to see how we needed to go about things and signing forms.  We were visiting court houses and having things notarized.  It was pure chaos.  But in all of it...we kept the basics going with homeschool.  (Sorry...the blog didn’t qualify as a basic lol.)  We read books and talked during the driving.  We went over math facts and took along our travel workbooks (fun ones that only get pulled out when we need it).  We watched educational DVDs in the car.  Reading, math, science, writing.  Check, check, check, check.  We got it done. Three weeks ago my husband went to pick up some papers from his mom’s house (1 1/2 hrs away from us).  He came home distraught.  She had to move...and it had to be quickly.  He wasn’t ready to put her in an assisted living facility yet.  The places we visited were nice...but the residents were so much worse off than her.  He thought it would make her give up.  But at the same time she was far too sick to go into a retirement community.  She had to move in with us...quickly.  I would have to pack up my classroom (We hadn’t used it in awhile anyway.) and we would have to do some work to get it ready...but that would be her new home.  For now she would have to go in our spare bedroom.  Two weeks go Mad Scientist and I took Harley Quinn to go get her.  She had agreed to move in with us..today was that day.  We arrived to a very sick woman who had lost 8 pounds in one week.  She just laid on the couch moaning about hurting.  Her heart rate was 140.  All I had was an electric blood pressure 

machine that I couldn’t get a reading on.  We threw some clothes in tubs, got her jewelry and anything of value we could quickly grab then rushed out the door to the ER.  A few tests later they diagnosed her with multiple infections and sent us home with plenty of prescriptions along with referrals to other doctors. I can’t tell you how quickly the past two weeks have gone and how slowly they have gone.  We have been able to continue with the basics for school but we are also learning so much more.  We are learning to adjust to someone who doesn’t want to be here.  We are learning to adjust to a 71 year old woman who functions as a four year old...sometimes a three year old.  We are learning grace and forgiveness.  We are learning that life isn’t always fair.  We are learning compassion.  I am learning to throw things away.  I am learning to let stuff go...and boy have I let a lot of things go...furniture, momentos, dishes, toys, movies, etc.  (I can tell you it’s freedom and sadness all rolled into one.  Seriously, clothes with tags still on them?!?!?!  How much money have we wasted over the years!!!!!!!!!!!)  Munchkin is also letting go of things as well.  Mad Scientist took an entire trailer full of junk/trash to the landfill.  (Our recycling center is small and not very good...they will only take certain paper, certain plastic and certain glass, all must be 100% clean AND...you have to pay to use the facility...which isn’t all that cheap I might add.  It would be nice to have them come pick up stuff to recycle.  Along with trips to goodwill and other donation centers or just posting things on swap shops.)  I’m sure I would be sad to let a lot of this stuff go, but we are in desperation robot mode.  I’m just getting rid of things (knowing I will probably have to replace some of it in a year or two).  I admit it...I hoard children’s books and school supplies lol.  Yes...I do.  I’m donating most of it to a local homeschool co-op. So...this is a long post to say...I’m sorry.  I’m sorry I haven’t been posting anything going on.  I’m sorry I don’t have anything fun or inspirational for you.  However...in a few weeks, once we are done with construction for safety measures (like putting up a 6 ft gate with a dead bolt lock on it so someone can’t wander off, installing hand rails and ramps, etc...) we can get back to the fun stuff.  I hope everyone is having a great time and finding peace in their life.

[learningathome]

Opening Shop with Egypt!

I am so excited to tell you I’m figuring thing out on the teachers pay teachers site!!!  I’m all about free so of course I’m going for the free approach!  Over the years I have created some really awesome things but they got tossed in the back file never to be uploaded anywhere.  Kinda disappointing really.  Now, I can post pictures of what we are doing AND post the link so you lovely peeps will have access to what I’m up to!  How cool is that?!?!  

Of course I have to start it with something neat (I promise in the near future I will upload some of my files from the past lol) so Egypt it is!  We recently went to a museum of natural science and saw some pretty awesome things!!! (<- lots of exclamation points I know)  Needless to say those pretty awesome things just begged to be turned into longer lessons at home.

I lucked out to find a papyrus kit in the gift shop (totally unexpected).  I also took some of the pictures I got and turned them into cards for identification.  (If you print them off you can fold them in half and have flash cards or make a matching set with one card being pictures and one card being the name/description.  I’m making them two different sets instead of flash cards.)  I also made number cards.  Their original number system was a base 10 set.  You only need 9 of each number but I put 10 just in case you lose one (It was going to take 2 pages if I only put 9 per number so why not make an extra just in case on.).  I also made a work sheet to go along with the cards.  

Later in the week I will post pictures of how things are going with our Egyptian lessons but here are a few pictures of what I’m creating and the links to go with them.

www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Egyptian-Cards-3431387

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hieroglyph-Math-3432398

I don’t have a picture of the worksheet but this goes along with the number cards.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hieroglyph-Math-worksheet-3432399

I hope you find these resources fun and useful (or at least an inspiration to jump into something else)!

[learningathome]

Goodbye to the food I love

I know this is not a death sentence but I seriously love my carbs.  I LOVE my gluten.  In an effort to see if I can lessen the chance of being diagnosed with Lupus, it has been suggested I go gluten free.  If this works (I give it a 50/50 shot) I will happily avoid gluten for the rest of my life.  But for now, I feel as though I am losing a part of me...something I take part in every day of my life.  (Pasta and I..bff.)  I know there is gluten free pasta/bread/etc but it doesn’t taste the same nor does it have the same texture.  I also know I will still get brownies and cake and such (I see you gluten free mix boxes!) but it kinda feels as though I should be in mourning.  By the end of the month I will see what happens.  The odds are I won’t be missing any of my gluten filled indulgences.  The odds are, even if it doesn’t help me out, I will keep up with the lack of gluten.  But just in the off chance it really does help me...I’m looking forward to energy, a face without a butterfly rash, rashes on my foot and elbow that are just weird that magically will be going away and a lack of pain...or a decrease in the pain.  I’ve lived most of my life with pain in my joints and back.  My parents even took me to specialists as a pre-teen due to the pain.  I never got any answers.  So...if I seem kinda crabby in the near future, if my posts seem a little angry, if I’m not doing all of the things I normally seem to do (whatever those may be) please know my poor body is going through a lot this month.

[learningathome]

An Open Letter to Teachers

Dear teachers,

I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.  Please allow me to introduce myself to you.  I am “that home school mom.”  My husband and I made the decision to educate our children.  I know you feel this is a knock to your teaching ability.  After all, why would we purposefully not send our children to you if we didn’t question your abilities?  The truth of the matter is your ability has nothing to do with it.  I don’t hate you.  (I actually married a public school teacher!)  I don’t hate the schools.  I don’t harbor ill feelings towards you.  Please allow me to tell you what I think and know.

I think you men and women do an AMAZING job!  (I really do!!!)  I think you do something I never could.  (Seriously!)  I think you have one of the toughest jobs in the world that no amount of education could really prepare you for.  Ok, that’s not true.  If you got a degree in education, psychology, social work, and a few other degrees you might be prepared to teach.  Why?  Because I KNOW you do so much more than just teach our children.  You feed them.  You provide school supplies for you.  You counsel them.  You give them love.  You give them tough love when needed.  You stand up for them.  You guide them.  You treat them like they are your child because...they all are your children.  For some children you are their only safe harbor.  On top of all of that you teach them too!!!  I could never manage a classroom, wear all of those hats and be sane at the end of the day.  For that I give you admiration and prayers at night.  You are truly amazing even when you don’t feel like it.  I know you go in early, stay late and drag tons of papers home to grade on the weekend.  I know you give up time with your family to fulfill your work obligations AND to do so many other things to show your students you care...things that aren’t obligations.  I am jealous of your skills and abilities.  I am worried I will never live up to your standards.  So please understand when I say your ability to teach my child has no bearing on our decision to home school I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

My husband and I decided to home school for so many reasons.  You were never on the list.  Please let me tell you a few reasons why we home school. (It has changed over the years but these are just a few and in no real order.) 1. My husband and I watched our first born child grow from a baby to a little girl.  While doing this we noticed something very important.  She was a scientist!  She experimented every day.  She tested her hypotheses over and over until she formed her conclusion.  I know you are probably thinking I’m crazy right now but this is true of all children.  They drop the toy in the high chair, watch you pick it up to give back to them and they repeat.  They are doing science!  They have a natural curiosity of learning and base it in science.  My husband and I wanted to foster this natural curiosity and let her bloom.  We wanted science to be a part of her every day education.

2. We wanted her to love learning.  My husband and I full believe that if you foster a love of learning and teach a child to learn freely they will continue both into adulthood.  We also wanted her to be able to lead her education.  She gets to pick science topics to learn about.  She gets to decide how long we stay on a topic (within reason of course).  We are able to determine when she has mastered a concept and move on.  If she is ahead, great.  If she’s right on level, great.  If she’s a little behind, that’s ok.  We will get her up to level eventually.  Sometimes concepts take a little more work.

3. We wanted flexibility in where/how her education takes place.  We wanted her to learn inside of a book but also outside of a book.  We wanted to learn about elephants right in front of them.  What better way to learn about elephants than to spend the afternoon at a zoo or sanctuary where she can speak to the keepers and ask questions?  What better way to learn about any animal than to spend time watching them and seeing how they act/what they do/what they eat?

4. We wanted flexibility in when we had class.  A year after we started officially home schooling my husband quit teaching.  He then went to work in a lab where he worked random and odd hours.  Some weeks he worked 6 pm to 6 am.  Some weeks he worked Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  Home schooling allowed us flexibility to have longer classes when Daddy worked and to have free days when Daddy was off work.  Some weekends we had school on Saturday and Sunday so we could take time off during the week instead.  This also allows us to plan things like a vacation during the off season when everyone else is in school.

5. We wanted her to have time to be a kid.  I know this sounds silly.  The reality is we live in a go go go society.  When I was in school I got up at 5:30 to eat breakfast, get ready and head out the door to be at the bus stop by 6:30.  The bus ran between 6:30-6:45 at which time I rode for a minimum of one hour.  I was in school from 8 to 3.  The bus ride ended between 4:15-4:30. Then there was 1-2 hours of homework/studying involved.  If there was a ball game I had to attend, practice, or something else school related that would eat up 1-3 hours.  Don’t forget church Wednesday night.  Then there was dinner time and cleaning up afterwards along with laundry.  We didn’t want our daughter to constantly be going.  Not to mention recess being cut shorter and shorter to increase learning time.

As you can see, you aren’t on the list of reasons we decided to home school.  Our life is why we decided to home school.  Society has tried to separate the two of us...public school teacher and home school teacher.  However, at the end of the day, we are both the same.  We want what is best for the children in our lives.  We want to provide a quality education for those children so that one day they will be productive members of society.  We may go about achieving those goals in different ways but the goals are still the same.  

As I wind down this letter I know the task that waits me...finishing my lesson plans for the week.  I know you are probably doing the same this weekend.  Know that I pray for you.  Know that I defend you when others speak ill of those people who “get the summer off as a vacation”...yeah, we both know you might get two or three actual weeks off that summer if you are lucky.  Know that I will always champion and vote in favor of you getting a much needed pay raise.  (Doubling your salary won’t even pay you what you are worth.)  Know that you are cherished and respected by that home school mom.

Sincerely, That Home School Mom 

[learningathome]

While Daddy is away...the girls will play!

Mad Scientist had to go away on a business trip (luckily it was only one night) so...we took a special little trip ourselves to a zoo.  It wasn’t a local zoo but with our membership we were able to get half price admission!  (THANK YOU MEMBERSHIP!!!)  Such a fun and awesome learning experience.  If we were home Munchkin would have picked out a special animal (or two just in case the first choice wasn’t out that day) for us to stop at and study.  Maybe I would write a short story for her to read and finish, a song about the animal, random facts about the animal, or something else all together.  This go round...that wasn’t exactly possible.  But it did give us animals to google while we were there and to study when we got home.  (Heads up...he’s about to have to go on another trip, this one longer, so we will have a few fun trips in store too.  The joys of homeschooling...am I right!?!?!)  Munchkin had a blast. Not only did she see lots of new animals but I gave her free reign with MY camera.  It’s not a professional camera, but it’s not a $50 camera either!  One day I will get her a camera all of her own.  

This rock was a sad moment for Munchkin.  She ran up to it and wanted to climb it.  We know how that goes...they put things that would be extremely enticing to children and then we are the bad guys for saying no.  We walked around the rock and there was a sign...they put that rock there for kids to try their hand at...climbing the rock!!  My sad little panda was so excited!  Mommy encouraged and cheered but inside was freaking out lol.  

[learningathome]

Money Money Money!!!

In today’s society it seems like you need to work 20 jobs to break even.  (I wish I were joking.)  The reality is living can be expensive.  Personally, I love having things...but I hate to spend money.  (I’m kinda crazy like that.)  As I’ve gotten older my hatred of spending has won out over things.  In fact, I want to get rid of a lot of our things now.  But even without a lot of things...living is expensive (need I say FOOD).  Living on a single income can be hard.  So...here are some of the ways we have found to decrease bills. 1. Skip the middle of the grocery store. (This is also more healthy.)  Fruits and veggies, fresh cheeses, fresh meats, milk, etc.  The only time I venture into the middle of the store is if I need flour/sugar/you get the idea.  This saves a ton of money because I don’t have little ones begging for cookies, ice cream, or other treats.  If she doesn’t see pop tarts with super heroes on them...she won’t ask for them. 2. Meal plan!!!  Meal plan using the sales ads but don’t focus on 100% following the meal plan.  I know that my grocery store will have manager’s specials with produce that is getting ready to go bad.  I once spent about $10 and bought about 40 pounds of apples.  Homeschool lesson!!!  Munchkin and I made apple sauce.  (Thanks to our handy dandy apple peeler she was able to help a lot more than she expected...and she loved it.)  We ate on that apple sauce for about a year.  Well, we have some of it left to tell you the truth.  We also hit up the pineapples when our grocery store puts them on sale for 99c each.  My mom and sister get involved in this.  We will head up to my sister’s house and can pineapples until the day is done then split up the goods the next weekend.  We also realize that shopping in the morning is better because our grocery store will discount meat by 25% that goes out of date in the next two days. (yes, even the stuff on sale.  I’ve been known to find whole chickens on sale for 88c and get 25% off of that.  SCORE!)  And don’t forget...look at organic produce as well.  Do NOT discount organic produce just because it’s organic so it has to be more expensive.  I’ve found a lot of organic produce on sale for cheaper than conventional.  Farmer’s markets are also a big help. 3. Cook from scratch!!!  These are great lessons for your kids in regards to science, math and home ec.  Regardless of age, if they are old enough to be “in school” they are old enough to help out in the kitchen.  I bought Munchkin her own “knife” years ago.  (It was from a store going out of business...hard plastic, big handle and serrated.  Better than a butter knife at cutting but not sharp enough to slice a finger open.)  Munchkin loves cutting up fruits and veggies, measuring them out in the metal measuring cups.  She loves helping break open eggs and whisking them to make scrambled eggs. She loves making tortillas, bread and other things. 4. Lower/raise the temp in the home.  It really does make a difference.  In winter I set our thermostat at a lower temp during the night...we already have blankets so those are free to cuddle up under.  In the summer, we raise the temp during the day.  (On a side note, thermal curtains, while expensive, can be a money saver long term as well.) 5. Buy used!!!  Cars, clothes, curriculum, supplies and household items.  I’m a huge fan of buying at pop up consignment sales (and selling).  Swap shops on facebook...also a huge fan.  I wouldn’t buy used undies but a shirt or pants...heck yeah!  Most of Harley Quinn’s baby stuff is used.  My Moby and Boba wraps...all used.  (Seriously not paying 40-60 a wrap.) 6. Baby sitters are trade off days with other homeschooling moms.  Yes, we take turns because baby sitters are wicked expensive! 7. Pintrest/blogs/facebook/Teacherspayteachers.  Use them!!!  Tons of free things!  I can’t tell you how many free things I’ve found and happily used.  (I’m in the process of setting up a TPT account.  I promise I will get around to it one day.) 8. Getting rid of satellite.  Yes, we did.  We also got rid of magazine subscriptions and other paid monthly things not needed.  (Ask yourself if the monthly make up samples are worth $120 you could put towards something needed or the Sirius radio service.  When we cut the cords we ended up freeing up between 150-200 a MONTH!!!  Holy cow!!!)  The best part...we don’t miss any of it.  We check out movies and tv series from our library.  Heck, our library even has video games (don’t know if they have the systems to check out). 9.  Use local resources!  Our library is awesome.  It provides book clubs, story time, art history classes, lego club and tons of other free things.  I’ve taken essential oil classes, leather working classes, cooking classes, cheese making classes and so much more...all for free.  Munchkin has taken ballet classes, art classes, chemistry classes, biology classes, and so much more...all for free.  The local state and federal parks have classes for free (you can even request classes).  We can go on hikes, play in the sand or swim in the lakes.  There is so much to do and it’s all free!!! 10. Get memberships to science museums, zoos, aquariums, or other such places you want to visit more than once a year.  You can use these to your advantage on purpose or by accident.  (I’ve been known to be driving in town and Munchkin say “The zoo is over there, can we go?” and I respond with...”Sure, why not.”  Hey, it’s free...why not!  If you can’t afford memberships, contact the facility and ask when there would be discounted days, free days, or if they have scholarships you can apply for.  This is also a help if you are traveling.  We went to West Palm Beach awhile back on the cheap (no, really it was cheap).  We were able to go to museums and other fun places cheap or for free due to our memberships.  If you have a membership check out the reciprocal facilities. 11. Be ok with not spending tons of money on your kids.  Getting rid of the satellite has seriously saved us money on a few fronts.  First of all it stopped a rather expensive bill every month.  But it had secondary benefits in regards to saving money as well.  Munchkin wasn’t bombarded with the “newest and hottest” toys on the market so she didn’t constantly want want want.  Meanwhile, Mad Scientist and I weren’t bombarded with the “if we loved our children we would” commercials.  We got rid of all of the commercials that tried to play on our emotions.  Choosy moms choose Jiff.  Yeah, no they don’t.  But I can promise you I would see commercials playing in my head when I would grocery shop.  Now I buy food for a need instead of commercial.  We no longer feel guilty for not giving/doing more.  It’s ok to not spend tons of money on your kids.  They don’t need to new expensive toys. 12. Learn the difference between a need and a want.  I know this sounds silly and cliche but, as a society, we’ve forgotten the difference.  We don’t need tons of decorations for our homes.  We don’t need tons of toys for our children.  We don’t need the newest gadgets.  We don’t need a NEW car.  We may need a car, but not a new expensive one.  A car 3-4 years old within our budget is just as good as a new off the lot car.  Buying a foreclosed home in good condition is just as good as buying a home at full price in good condition. So there are some of the things we do to save money.  It really does help.  If you have any other tips/tricks/suggestions feel free to add to my list!

[learningathome]

Geoboards 2

Today we looked at the geoboard with the circle.  I taped the board (it’s clear after all) to a window and then taped a white piece of paper over it.  Once ready I used a sharpie to mark off the pegs on the paper.  From there I made a few templates.  The clock was one of them...so today we played with telling time.  Today MOMMY got to play with the Boogie Board.  Go me!  We worked on time in a variety of ways (four thirty, 3:25, half past 8, a quarter till 2 and so forth).  She then got the chance to use the Boogie Board and write times for me to make on the clock.  Did Mommy put the right time on there?  Did Munchkin catch my “mistakes”?  Fun times!

[learningathome]

Geoboards!

As previously stated someone requested some geoboard activities.  Of course I’m up to the challenge!!!  (Personally, I love the challenges because it makes me think outside of the box and come up with new things for us to do I wouldn’t otherwise have thought of.  I mean heck...we’ve had these geoboards for a year or two and I’m just now doing things like this with them???) First up is the regular geoboard you think of.  For this one you can print off cards or make your own (or have a list to work with, come up with your own ideas on the fly, etc).  You can do the ABC’s!  You can do numbers!  You can do shapes!  You can do animals, houses, trees, flowers, etc!  Pick something, pick a bunch of somethings.  Have two boards? Make it a game to see who makes the best A.  If they are the same or equally as good...both get a point or no one gets a point.  The sky is the limit!  Below you will see Munchkin’s rendition of a snowflake and a duck.  You will also see some of the cards I printed up.  They could say anything really: a 3 sided shape, a shape with 5 corners, an animal, a car, a face, a bird (which is why she made the duck lol), or anything.  Munchkin was bored with basic shapes so when she got cards like: a shape with 3 corners she asked to make a scene.  She did three mountains lol...ok.  She also made designs in the shapes.  Why?  Because it’s fun and looks pretty.  More power to ya Munchkin!

[learningathome]

Mosaic with friends

Because “what about socialization?” is a very very common question we get asked, I will address it yet again.  Earlier this week we took a field trip for art class.  This is an ongoing art class for us but a new one for some of our homeschooling friends.  You see we went to a local company that helps you create your own mosaic.  They are usually closed on the day we went but the owner was awesome to open it up for us to have a class there.  The kids were free to explore the place, the supplies they had to use, ask questions, chat with their friends, make new friends, and so on.  We had about 20+ kids show up ranging from Harley Quinn as a newborn to about 16 years old.  The older kids worked with the younger kids helping them out if Mom or Dad wasn’t available.  It was great! Kids took breaks when needed.  It was a great time for fun, fellowship and learning.  So yes, our kids get “socialization” just in a more rounded broader way.  They get to interact with people of all ages on a regular basis.