Some Homeschooling Links

Here are some links that I stumbled across and thought it might be of benefit to other homeschoolers or those thinking of it.

Homeschooling for FREE!! LOTS of resources.


FREE Gardening Unit Study

Where Does the Time Go???

Wowzers!! The time has really gotten away on me. lol :o)

We are really enjoying spring here in our little neck of Canada. I am so not a winter person, but this winter was just too much. It has really made me appreciate spring so much more!! :o)

The deer had a very hard winter here with so much snow in the woods. They are out in full force now enjoying a feast in the fields. Today on our way home from my in-laws, we saw 4 deer in there fields and then 3 in our field. The 3 in our field were very close, yet they didn't move when we drove up the drive way. They just looked at us and we looked at them. :o) We must have looked trust worthy because they didn't move when my husband continued on. They just watched us drive up to the house and they kept on eating.

Are You Amazed?

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in HIm shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Kitchen Contest

A Cowboy’s Wife is having a contest on her food blog! You can win a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer and she’ll ship anywhere so everyone is eligible!

The Prize:


The winner will receive a brand new
Hamilton Beach 4.5-qt. Eclectrics Stand Mixer, Pineapple Yellow!!

About the mixer:

From Hamilton Beach’s “Eclectrics” line, this all-metal stand mixer comes with a host of accessories - a Flat Beater for cakes and cookies, a Dough Hook for bread and a Wire Whisk for whipped cream or pudding. The 4.5-qt. stainless steel bowl comes with a Pouring Shield that helps prevent splattering while in operation. The pouring shield has a built-in chute for adding ingredients. Powered by 400 watts, the stand mixer has a two-way mixing action to ensure all ingredients are incorporated into the mix. The quick-release, tilt-up head assists when removing the bowl. 9 x 14 x 14-in. When you’re ready for a kitchen re-do, don’t call in the carpenters! Instead, “counterscape” your kitchen with Hamilton Beach’s retro-designed, affordably priced electrics in happy, sun-saturated colors. Their “Eclectrics” line includes updates to those classic appliances from the 1950s. All of their “Eclectrics” are available in six colors: Apple Green, Moroccan Red, Pineapple Yellow, Intrigue Blue, Sugar White and Licorice Black.

Gas Prices Are Crazy!!!!

The gas prices here are crazy! 1.09 per liter of regular gas...or $4.36 per gallon! The prices will change either tonight or tomorrow. Will they be up or down? We won't know until they get changed. So it is hard to know whether to fill up at the current price or wait and hope it goes down.

If I lived in the city I could rely on public transit, but here in the country, we depend on our van to get us from place to place. I usually only make 1 trip to town per week, which means I have to be somewhat organized. I'm fairly organized but not perfect, but then again who is perfect?? lol :o)

Speaking of organization, our homeschool co-op had it's monthly meeting last night. the topics were multi level teaching and organization. One of the mom's showed the binder system that she uses, as well as some books on organization. One of the books she had was one that I have heard several homeschool moms (online groups) raving about. Ironically, she found that, while it had it's good points, it wasn't a match for her family. The majority of the moms there said they didn't find it useful to them either. I'm glad that I had the chance to look at it before I purchased it. I would have been disappointed if I had bought it. I've done this with other books too thinking they would be a perfect fit for us only to find out that they weren't. Having said all of that...I am thankful to the various groups and email loops I am one because of all of the hands on reviews of different books and companies.

Wow! How did my post about gas prices become about my meeting last night?? I am guessing I am thinking about the gas used to get there and the fact that there will be another trip to town this week for a field trip. Two trips instead of the usual one. Man, I hope the gas prices go down!!

Lapbook Freebie

This is a free "What is snow?" lapbook that Homeschool eStore is offering for free. Offer is only good for this week, so be sure to check it out.

Our Monday

Today was a bit of a relaxed homeschooling day. We did some more work on the spider lapbook(handwriting, drawing, cutting,& researching), worked on another mini book for the Bible lapbook (Bible, handwriting, drawing & cutting), made cookies using only a 1/4 cup and a 1/2 teaspoon for measuring(following dirctions, math fractions & life skills), and did some reading about life in the 1800's in Canada(reading and histroy). After that was done, Caleb took the dog out in the yard for some exercise.

At supper time, Caleb was telling his dad different little facts about the things he learned today. After supper we played a game of SkipBo(thinking skills). And while I was doing up the supper dishes, Caleb and hubby played a game of hockey (gym).

It's so easy for me to get focused on worksheets and books but, when I look at all of the learning that takes place in the run of a day, I think I really should just chill out. :o)

What a Busy Day!!

Today was a whirlwind day. Rush, rush! Caleb had a birthday party to attend this afternoon and I had a bazillion errands to do before that. Okay maybe not a bazillion but alot. lol ;o)

I took 2 large garbage bags and 2 boxes of stuff to the second hand store today. That sure makes our room look alot less cluttered.:D After we dropped the bags and boxes off, we went in to see what bargains we could find. My in-laws had given us some Bible Story books by Arthur Maxwell. 4 of the books were missing. I was able to get 3 off of eBay, but I still needed Volume 1. Well, what should I find today but Volume1! I am surprised that I even noticed it because the edition I found looks nothing like the rest of the books we have, but hey it still completes the set. The book I found today is smaller but thicker and it is red. The other ones we have are blue. lol :o) I am thankful to have found it and that it only cost around $3.50 total. :D Here is a picture of my find.

Have you ever lived in a small town? I grew up in the the city but in a small community. Everyone knows everyone. I haven't lived there for 12 years, but all my family lives there. Most people know me. Anyway, we stopped at the pharmacy to pick up a birthday card. When I walk in the clerk (I went to school with her son) smiles and says,"Oh your the girl who had a shower for T ?" referring to a baby shower I had 2 weeks ago for my friend. I replied, "Yes and I can't wait til she has the baby." Well then she grins even more and says, "Well I won't say anything more." That gave it away right there! :D My friend and her husband are the proud parents of a healthy baby boy! He arrived 3 weeks early. I've already claimed the title 'Auntie Lisa'. She and I have known each other since Grade 1 and, since neither of us has a sister, we say that we are the sisters we never had. (She's an only and I have 4 older brothers). I was her matron of honor at her wedding last December. So needless to say I am very excited and happy that she is so excited and happy! :o)

Back to the small community.....I get home from town and find out that my friend's husband had called and was talking to my husband, who called and told my mom, who told my 2 aunts, my sister-in-law, my niece and a friend. Who did I get to tell?? Um....no one! :o( I suppose that is not entirely true. I did get to tell the blogging world. lol :o)

Wow! I haven't blogged this much in a long while! ;o)

I am exhausted and very awake at the same time. It is well past midnight here and I really should be sleeping if I want to be half alert tomorrow. lol :o)

Tuesday Ramblings

I couldn't think of a title. Tuesday Ramblings should do seeing as I don't have any one particular thought to post about.

We had our first snow today. We woke up to a ground covering of white stuff. Of course Caleb was thrilled and was out the door pronto. He was out there for at least an hour and went through 2 pairs of mitts. I'm glad he got to enjoy it because by lunch time it was gone.

I am hoping to get started on making our Christmas cards this week. I am such a procrastinator! :D Add to that the fact that my supplies I ordered were late getting to me. I was really hoping to address them tomorrow night. Oh well maybe I'll work on them tomorrow night. We don't celebrate Halloween, so I know I will be home.

See ramblings was a good title. lol :o)

Changing Things Up a Bit

As I mentioned in my previous post, we have recently started lapbooking. I wanted to do something different from the typical fill-in-the-blank worksheet because they aren't a whole lot of fun for Caleb. We are finishing up our first one. It is on spiders. I've learned alot about spiders. lol :o) Today we started another one on Biblical Responsibility. It has 13 (or 14) activities, so it should take us about 3 weeks to do as we will do one activity per day. We do this in addition to 'My Bible First'. Once the spider one is finished, we will start a new one on something science or health related. If you click on the link above you can download a sample of the Biblical Responsibility lapbook.

Here is a freebie lapbook on Art Appreciation. It looks like it will be a fun way to learn about art concepts and artists. This changes every quarter, so be sure to save it before it gets changed. :o)

If you have preK- K aged children, they may enjoy doing a lapbook called 'All about Me'. :o) Or maybe Apples!! They are freebies too!

I will take a picture of our finished spider lapbook to post and share. I'll also take a picture of the supplies we use to make our books.

On another completely different note, I have made my 3rd batch of laundry soap. We are still really liking it. One batch lasts us about a month. I shared with another mom how to make it and she finds it a big savings for her family of 5.

More Catching Up!!

I thought I should post soemthing since I have neglected this ole blog for quite a while now. Really I should be in bed since it is almost midnight here and I have a headache. I rarely get headaches. They are usually sinus headaches or tension headaches. This is a tension headache from thinking (over thinking). I'm sure it will be better by morning.

Caleb & I have been working on a lapbook about spiders. I've wanted to incorporate lapbooking into our homeschooling but never was really sure about how to go about it. Well I had downloaded a freebie one on spiders a while back. It showed exactly how to fold each mini book and where to place it in the folder. So we (I) decided to do that one. I liked the idea of knowing exactly how it should look, but I think the next one that we do will have a little bit of our own touch to it. We may even attempt 2 at the same time. Maybe a science on and a Bible one. At least now my scrapbooking stuff (which is pretty much just sitting on my messy desk) will be put to good use. :P

Salsa Recipe

Here is the recipe for the salsa....

Fresh Vegetable Salsa

8 jalapeno peppers (wear gloves when chopping)
7 Cups prepared tomatoes (this just means peeled and chopped)
2 cups coarsely chopped onions
1 cup coarsely chopped green pepper
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped or crushed
1 can (156ml) tomato paste
3/4 Cup white vinegar
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp ground cumin

1.) Remove seeds and finely chop jalapeno peppers. Blanch, peel and coarsely chop tomatoes. Measure 7 cups
2.) Combine all ingredients in a large stainless steel or enamel sauce pan. Bring to a boil and boil gently, about 30 minutes or until salsa reaches desired consistency.
3.)Sterilize bottles
4.) Place snap lids in boiling water, boil 5 minutes to soften sealing compound.
5.)Ladle salsa into hot jar ( try to get bottle and salsa at similar temperatures so the bottles don't break) to within 1/2 inch of top rim. Wipe jar rim to remove any stickiness. Center snap lid on jar, apply screw band just until fingertip tight. Place jars in canner.
6.) Cover canner, return water to a boil; process 20 minutes. Remove jars. Cool 24 hours. Check jar seals. Sealed lids will be curved downward. Store in a cool dark place.

Quilt of Holes

This is an email I recieved.

As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.

Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many
piles; an angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a
tapestry that is our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged
and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each
square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the
challenges and temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw
hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air.

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the
light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up
their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me,
and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to
accept it for what it was.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, "Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles.

Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you."

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through!

When there is nothing left but God that is when you find out that God is all you need.

Our Grapes

We only have one grape vine that we planted a few years ago, but it is really growing!

Caleb says they taste just like Welch's Grape juice! :o)

They look so yummy!!

I'm Baaaaccck ! :o)

Wowzers! I really didn't realize I had been away from my blog for so long! Time sure flies!! I think we have just been so busy getting back school after the summer, getting the garden picked and put up for winter and generally running here, there and everywhere. lol :o)

Thanks to those who missed me and posted a comment. I appreciate that. :o)

I got most of my bloodwork results. Still waiting for 2 results, but they are nothing that I am concerned about. The doctor ordered an ANA test twice and both came back positive(1-80). So because of that he is sending me to a Rhuematologist. Still waiting to hear when my appointment will be. I'm not a worrier when it comes to things like that so I am thankful about that.

Here is a little of what has been keeping me busy...........

We made 14 bottles of salsa last week. Yummy! :D





Now I'm going to have to go blog visiting and catch up with everyone. :o)

Our First Day Back

Our first day back to homeschooling went well.

I had bloodwork at 9:00am and, since we go bowling at 10:00 am on Tuesday mornings, I packed reading, math, language arts and handwriting in Caleb's backpack and brought it with us. Once my bloodwork was done we had 45 minutes to spare. So we drove down and parked at the lake shore and went over some of his work. He read a story and we also looked over his language arts for today & tomorrow. We finished up the other things when we got home.

All in all a relaxed day. :o)

Now, since I didn't get much sleep last night, I am off to see if I can get rested up.

Insomnia Is No Fun :o(

Well it is 3:26AM here and I can't sleep!!! Ugh!

Thankfully this doesn't happen often.

I know I am tired and I will be exhausted tomorrow, but I just can't sleep. :o( Surfing the net probably isn't doing alot to make me sleepy. lol ;o)

There's no sleeping in for me either as I have blood work in the morning.

Long Weekend Happenings

The long weekend didn't seem to be so long. lol ;o) We didn't go anywhere, just stuck close to home.

I knew my mom and aunt were coming out for a visit today so I tried to get plenty done yesterday. I changed and washed all the bedding, made a batch of cookies, a double batch of biscuits and we froze some more of our corn for winter.

Also, yesterday, I finally got around to making homemade liquid laundry soap. Ann at His Grace to Me shared a link a while back for a recipe to make homemade liquid laundry soap. I had bought all of the ingredients this summer, and since it looked like I might run out of soap after my laundry-a-thon, I decided that it would be a good time to give it a try.

Caleb grated the bar of soap for me. :o)


Here is the finished product.


I used some of it today and shared some with both my mom & aunt.

Tomorrow is our first day back to homeschooling, so I'd better get some sleep. :o)

A Work in Progress

Well I've been working to put together a portfolio of some kind to organize Caleb's school work. Let me just say, straight from the get go, I have no clue about any of this. ;o) I have searched the internet and found some lists and suggestions, but nothing that included step by step instructions, so I am just winging it. lol ;o)

So far this is what I have come up with.

We found a lime green 1.5" binder. Just the color Caleb wanted. It has clear plastic on the front, back and side. I made a cover for the front. Sorry for the glaring picture, but it is the plastic reflecting the light.


I didn't realize it until we got home, but the binder also has pouches on the inside of the front and back covers. I thought this would be a good place to store important homeschool paperwork, like our application to the Dept. of Education. When we recieve our letter of approval back from the Minister of Education, then I will hole punch it and put it in the very front.

I used several (and I do mean several!) packages of subject dividers to keep each section by itself. So far the sections include..........weekly lesson plans, math outline, reading outline, grammar outline, math work samples, reading work samples, grammar work samples, library book list, media list (DVD, TV, Internet, Computer), reading list, handwriting samples, photos(in page protectors), field trips. And that is just to name a few. lol ;o)


This is a sample of the weekly lesson plan. I have the days listed across the top, and the subjects are listed down the side. I forgot to take a picture of the back, but it has the days listed and a spot to list chores, life skills, field trips, outings and outreach. Each month I will use a different color for the weekly pages. This month will be yellow, next month will be orange.....and so on. That will make it easy to find the month that I am looking for.


As I mentioned, I have lists to keep record of library books borrowed, media used (TV, Internet, computer, DVDs etc) and books read. I decided that these would get bright colored pages too! :o)


I'm still not 100% sure where I want each section to go just yet, so I have not labeled the dividers. So far, I have just used mini sticky notes to mark each tab. As I figure out where I want each one and in what order I want them then I will label them. For example, I thought I would have the math outline in one section and the math work samples in another section. Then I got thinking that they could be in the same section and I would print the outline on different colored paper so it would stand out from the samples.


So, as you can see, this is still very much a work in progress. I am glad that it is somewhat organized. That will make it easier to gather the samples as we go along and not have to try at the end of the year to pull it all together.

Now I just hope a 1.5" binder will hold it all!! :o)

Talking Out Loud

Excuse me for a moment. I'm just going to talk out loud. lol ;o) I thought I would type up a quick post of my ramblings.

Well I said yesterday that I needed to 'be super efficient with my time' today. Was I? Not really. Well maybe. I did get 2 loads of laundry washed, hung out, folded and almost put away. :o) Husked corn, blanched it and got it done and in the freezer. And a few other things that I won't bore you with. (I can hear the 'Thank yous' now.) lol :D

I sent for a handwriting book for my son. I'm so glad that it arrived last week so we will have it for next Tuesday. It's called 'A Reason for Handwriting' I really like the format of the book. It turns out that the school(closed) that we borrow books from had the Teacher's Edition, so I was pretty happy about that.

Since we began homeschooling, we've only schooled 4 days per week. Monday - Thursday. This year my son said he wants to do 5 days, Monday - Friday, so he will be done sooner. I agreed, but I will not get to settled in a 5 day routine until I see how he is liking 5 days. 4 or 5 is good for me. We'll see.

We are planning to go to town soon and I want to get few more things I need for the portfolio. I thought it would be best to wait until I had pictures to go with it. So I want to be sure I have the things I need. Caleb has decided that he would like a lime green binder for his portfolio. Hope the store has one in stock. If not, blue is his next pick.

Stay tuned for more homeschooling posts in the next few days. I'd love to hear about any homeschool plans that anyone else is working on.