Surviving Home-School

We are now five weeks into our home-school adventure and haven't quit yet! {I really won't quit, I'm not a quitter, but you get the point.} People ask me how it's going. I say, "We have our good days and we have our bad days." And that is true. I think it is about half and half so far...

Our good days are really good. He is excited, eager to learn, it goes quickly and smoothly. He does a great job, he makes an effort, and does his best.

Our bad days, are really bad. He is frustrated {not seeing results fast enough}, he throws fits {sometimes things are thrown}, threats of quitting {by him} and usually includes a time-out or loss of his chair.

I love the good days. It is so rewarding to see him learn and to see his progress. The bad days even for me are frustrating. I feel ill equipped and a bit overwhelmed. I have tweaked the order of the lessons to make it feel less like work and more fun, but I am still struggling with how to deal with his frustration. When he starts feeling frustrated we quit that lesson. We can work on it the next day. I do love having that flexibility.

So far he has learned:

• vowels
• to write short vowels and know their sounds  
• to write consonants l, t, b, and n and know their sounds
• can blend the consonants above with a short vowel
• to recognize and count numbers 1-20
• write numbers 1-4
• write cursive vowels and consonants l, t, b, and n
• pennies/cents
• five senses
• to begin reading some short vowel words

Despite the bad days. I am surprised how easy it has been to just sit down and do "school." I thought that would be the hard part. The flexibility has been nice. Yesterday we tried out the Community Playgroup and went to the Library. We rented a science video and watched it after lunch. If daddy is home in the morning we will do school in the afternoon. {Having daddy around is a big distraction.} We spend about two hours a day doing "school." Sure beats an hour and a half bus ride each way and six and a half hours at school each day. I love being able to spend that time with him rather than away from him. 

Fireplace Bookcase Insert

We listed our house a couple weeks ago. After the first week we had an offer, we countered, they walked. Then the next we we had another offer, after accepting it, the buyers changed their minds. Things have since slowed down, but we remain hopeful. Gods timing is always right, so we wait patiently.

Since we may be here through the winter, and will be heating with electric baseboards,we thought we should figure out ways to cope with heat loss to help save some money on the cost of heat. The fireplace, though it works, we have never used it and is probably the source of a lot of our loss of heat through out the cold months.

What to do? How about build a bookcase and insert it into the hole of the fireplace! My handy hubby also attached insulation to the backside with furring strips. He added trim and...ta daaa! We have a creative solution for storage and heat loss! I find it kind of ironic too having a bookcase inside a fireplace. But, it works nonetheless.

I hope it makes a difference this winter. If not, it did free up some space in the other bookcase for Wyatt's home-school material. So either way, I am one happy mama!

First Day of Kindergarten!

Today marks the first day of school for all the schools around us. Since we are homeschooling we have some flexibility, but after some thought I decided it would be best if we started with the rest. Therefore, today was Wyatts first day of Kindergarten!

We started our lesson after putting Josie down for her first nap and finished just before she woke up! Our whole lesson was short, and worked out to be about an hour. The first couple lessons were basically review of what he has already learned and focused on our first letter sound. By the end of the year he will be reading, writing, adding, and subtracting! He was very excited and did really well listening. Hopefully, he will maintain his interest and focus for the remainder of the year!


Happy Back to School Day!

Homemade Cloth Diaper Laundry Detergent

We have been using cloth diapers for nearly a year now and happy to say it is going quite well. We have been making our own liquid laundry detergent for a while, but found that we wouldn't be able to use in on our cloth diapers. The soap in the liquid detergent will build up residue and keep the diapers from absorbing well over time. So I had to find a recipe that would be compatible with cloth diapers. After searching online I found a number of recipes. Finding that they were all different in their own way I adapted them to create my own.

I have been using this recipe for as long as we have been cloth diapering. I have found it has been working very well. I will save my laundry process cloth diapers for another post, but for now I will share the recipe that I have been using.

All you need are three ingredients:

• 2 cups Borax
• 2 cups Washing Soda
• 2 cups Oxi Clean

Mix well and store. I saved back an empty coffee can and gave it a fresh look to store my detergent in and use a scoop from a baby formula jug. When I begin my wash cycle I just add one scoop for a small load and two for a large load. All three ingredients can be found in the laundry soap aisle at your local grocery store.

Hope this works for you like it does for me. Enjoy!

Homemade Bug Spray

We live in the woods. As wonderful as it is, there is a downside: Bugs! Lots of them. We have bloodthirsty mosquito's and noseeum's. I had enough, and decided to find away to ward them off that didn't have nasty harsh chemicals. So, of course I had to make my own natural bug spray.

What do you need  besides an 8 oz spray bottle?

• 8 oz. Witch Hazel
• 26 drops Citronella Oil
• 26 drops of Lemongrass Oil
• 10-15- drops of Lavender Oil

You can find the essential oils at your local health food store and the witch hazel I found at Walmart for $1.44. Figuring out the cost after what you actually used, it works out to be only about $.75 per bottle! Crazy! 

I know I don't have to say it, but... Make sure you don't spray in your eyes and mouth. 

So hear's to being bug free! Enjoy!