4H

We had our first 4H meeting of the year this month. The kids learned about different types of plants and made terrariums.

H5 got to hold the 4H flag for the pledge

My Yard Maintenance Crew of One

This is my little B-man. He is my 3 year old yard maintenance crew. He works hard to keep Mommy's yard looking good. He pushes that lawn mower back and forth until his little legs can't go anymore and the cute little blond hair on his head is soaked with sweat. When he marches in with a confident stride and tells me that he has my yard work done, it just melts my heart.

He pretends that the guitar from his older sister's Guitar Hero game is a weed wacker. The whole inside of my house is kept very neat and tidy and weed free. What a hard worker!!

New Bread Recipe

One of the challenges of home schooling through high school in a rural area is figuring out creative ways to meet requirements. I was really stressing out this summer about how to get a biology lab credit for my son when a veteran home schooling family offered to teach the labs for me. YES, I said silently thanking God for His provision. They have graduated their three sons and are still active with local home schoolers so I knew they would be wonderful. I was thrilled.

Yesterday I had to take my son for a biology lab and while he had his lab, I watched my friend make bread. Her husband makes pottery so she had these huge gorgeous ceramic bowls that she was using. I was desperately trying not to covet them. I wanted one so badly but I don't think I can afford one at $80 a piece. They are beautiful though.

She was making whole wheat bread. She showed me the right texture for the bread and sent me home with a loaf to bake and the recipe. I made the recipe tonight and it is yummy.

Whole Wheat Bread

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour (bread flour)
1 TBSP salt
1 1/2 TBSP yeast
2 TBSP oil
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix the above listed ingredients together. Then add:

3 cups HOT water. Mix well. Let sit 5-10 minutes.

Then add: 5-6 cups of flour. This can be 1 cup whole wheat and the rest white or you can vary according to your taste.

Knead and let rise 1 hour

Knead again and divide into 3 loaves. Grease and flour bread pans, shape loaves, place into pans and let rise.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. When you start smelling the bread, it is probably done or close to being done.

Enjoy!!

Thrift Store Finds

I went to our local Christian Center thrift store this week and found a few things that I thought I could use for my house or to alter and give away as gifts. I am trying to make as many Christmas presents as possible. I found this metal stand. I didn't even paint it. I just cleaned it up and put some orange candles on it and put it on my coffee table.

Next, I found a couple of vases and two art prints. I don't know if I can use the larger one but the one of the boy I may frame and put in my bathroom. I plan to frost the red vase and put a design on the front or an initial. I am not sure what I am going to do with the other one yet. Any ideas?

I also found a couple of purses in like new condition for my girls. They love purses. There weren't any yard sales advertised this week. I guess it is because it is the end of the month. It has been raining the last few weeks so I haven't been yard shopping in weeks. I feel the need!!

Do you know about FIVE IN A ROW??

We love home education. It is such a wonderful blessing and has been, I believe, the glue that has held our family together during hard times. I don't mean just financially hard times like most people are facing these days. I mean the hard times of the combination of things that life throws our way. Hospitalizations, surgeries, births, sickness, taking care of elderly family members, etc. are just some of the things that have come our way. Our children have learned to do what needs to be done for the benefit of the whole family. They have learned to care for one another and at times, their parents. My oldest daughter can take care of this house as well as I can. My oldest son can take care of the yards alone if needed. They both can paint a room, lay tile, replace a toilet seat, and other minor things that need doing. They can prepare a meal.
These things are essentials in life. They can't get along in life without knowing how to do these things. There are many things they won't learn here at home but hopefully they will be able to function in a responsible way in their own homes.

When we first began our journey, we started out like many others with a packaged curricula that mimicked the way we learned in public school. My husband and I both attended public school so we didn't know any other method. We thought learning was that a teacher presented the material and the student did endless worksheets or problems to practice it and then took a test to show he mastered what was taught. This is a prescription for burnout in a home setting. Home is not school. But learning can take place at home. Fortunately for us, a friend introduced us to a great program called FIVE IN A ROW (http://www.fiarhq.com/). What is Five in a Row you ask? It is the creative genius of Jane Claire Lambert. She took her love of literature and her experience teaching and created a teaching tool that has changed lives. Five in a Row is a literature program that uses good quality children's literature as unit studies. There are 4 volumes of these units for ages 4-8 years old. This is how it works. You choose a story from the manual. You read the story each day for five days in a row, hence the name FIVE IN A ROW, and you choose learning activities for each day of the week. For example on Mondays you might do social studies and geography lessons. On Tuesdays, you would do language arts lessons. On Wednesdays, you would do art lessons. Thursdays would be practical math lessons day. And finally Friday would be science day. Mrs. Lambert has written the lessons for you in the manuals. All you have to have is the book to read to your child and the manual. To read a much better and more clear description than mine and to see some sample lessons check out this page: http://www.fiarhq.com/FIVEINAROW.html

Five in a Row made the difference in our home. I truly believe we wouldn't have made it this far(my oldest is in 9th grade) if we hadn't learned about Five in a Row when he was in kindergarten. Not only is it wonderful for the children, it has taught me HOW to be a teacher. Their website also has message boards where I have made wonderful friends over the years. We have laughed together, cried together, grieved with one another over losses, been silly with each other, been honest even when it hurt, and prayed for one another. Steve and Jane are a wonderful source of encouragement and support to those using Five and a Row not only for the logistics of using FIAR day to day but for the home educating lifestyle. Living on one income, marriage issues, spiritual issues, and just about anything you can think of that can happen are often discussed and thoughtful, loving counsel is given.

Steve Lambert has an encouragement blog for homeschoolers and even if you never use FIAR, you should really check it out. He posts daily doses of encouragement for the tough but very rewarding job of home education. http://bit.ly/4meATX

Slip covers for my sofas

My sofas are 13 years old and really need to be replaced. The fabric is threadbare. They have been through 4 children in their toddler years. Need I say more??? There is a broken spring that is sticking out between two cushions. But the thing is I cannot afford furniture right now so I decided slip covers were the only option. I ordered SureFit brand from JCPenney in dark chocolate brown. They were on sale and I got free shipping so the cost wasn't too bad. The fit? Hmmm.... Overall, I guess I am pleased. On the sofa we had to tuck the material under it and lift the sofa to sit on it because it was too short. It is very stretchy so it worked out fine. Other than that, I am happy. The material is very soft and thick. It isn't thin and flimsy. They were easy to install taking all of 5 minutes.

A Work in Progress

Please pardon the progress as I try to make some updates to this blog.

Dining Room Lighting Makeover

This weeks makeover project was my dining room light fixture. It was an all out brass party in the middle of our school area and it just didn't fit in anymore. Here is a before shot.

It didn't take very much effort for this redo. First a trip to the hardware for Rustoleum's Camouflage non-reflective brown spray paint. Next we removed the glass and lightbulbs and taped the ceiling. After about 15 minutes, we had new lighting!! YES!!

Ready for the result?

Much better, don't you think?

And even more decorating..can you stand it??

Hall Bathroom Remodel

I have been wanting to repaint, refloor, and redecorate our hall bathroom for so long. The linoleum floor had something purple showing through it. It was so gross. I decided to turn it into a school project. We didn't have much to spend so we bought our paint, a new shower curtain, and some tiles. We decorated with items we already had around the house. The shower curtain was blue and chocolate brown so we painted the walls a chocolate brown and accessorized with blue. Whaddya think??

More Decorating

My friends over at the Five in a Row message boards have been doing some redecorating and posting the links to the decorating blogs they are reading. I have been doing some home improvement projects little by little and reading the blogs was just the inspiration I needed. I went to a local thrift store today and brought home some treasures for $5. Love it!!!


The basket is going on my front porch, I think. I plan to paint the candle holder and attach some more ribbons to the topiary and use them in my kitchen redo. The red bowl is going to be a planter and sit on my outdoor bakers shelf.


This is a metal retangular something. I don't know what. It matched my bakers rack that I got at a yard sale recently. It is the same color and has the same ivy leaves and it was 50 cents so I bought it. I think it might be cute with potted plants in it. The old wooden picture frame is my favorite buy of the day. It was 50 cents, too. I plan to attach some tin and then punch the words HOME SWEET HOME in it and hang it by our entrance door. The little rooster box that says welcome is going on my front porch. Another 50 cents!!!


If you have any suggestions about how to use these items, I would LOVE to hear them so leave me a comment. Thanks!!

Deocorating Crazy

With the first cool breeze stirring, we decided to pull out the fall decorations. I snapped a few shots of things we put up around the house. Enjoy!