On the way to church I was thinking to myself, “Self, you are overburdening the teens and the littles have been living the sweet life!  Do something, give this some thought!

In a conversation during Fellowship lunch my friend, KimC (Life in a Shoe) reminded me of some wisdom I had shared with her some time back.

Ready?

Here ya go!

Before you assign a task, ask yourself who is the youngest child who is capable of doing this task?

This can make a huge difference in everyone’s attitude!

The teens see that you are spreading the jobs around better.

The littles are so proud of their ability to assist the family!

The mama is happy to not hear the sighing of the olders and the whining of the youngers.

And you never know just how much help the little pokes can be until you let ‘em try.

I didn’t even ask her to help, she begged!

She can only reach the lowest row, and not easily.  She worked it out!

Talk about taking pride in your work!

I am so glad I made room at my clothesline for Sally Mae  today!  She turned a dull task into a joy!

Here’s your shortcut back to Works for me Wednesday.

I’ve got a few homeschooling items for sale.

Understanding Writing  $20

Mathematics for Little Ones (K-3) $10

Fractions and More (4th & up)  $10  (including lots of photocopies of practice pages)

Using Cuisinaire Rods, 2 book set w/student set of rods.  $10

The Prairie Primer $15

American History to 1865 Rushdoony on cassette $15

Wulf the Saxon  by G.A. Henty on cassette $5.

My Utmost for His Highest $5

Wooden ring stacker $3

All of these item (with the exception of the cassette tapes) have been used in my home and are not in brand new condition, but they haven’t been used to death either.  They’re all still in good condition.

They’re yours for the listed price (I might haggle, I might not.) plus whatever it costs me to ship ‘em to you.

Leave me a comment if you’re interested.  Remember to include your email addy in the form, it doesn’t show up to anyone but me.

Now, what do you have that you’d like to sell?

I remember getting ready for our first and second years of homeschooling.

I remember paying through the nose for brand new curriculum.

I remember pouring over homeschool catalogs and making lists and running totals and having to cut my lists in half and then some.

I remember my first book swap after our second year of homeschooling and having my EYES OPENED to the glorious world of second hand books.  Books that were within my budget!

Suddenly I could afford whatever curriculum I wanted.  As long as I planned my purchases for the bookswaps.

After my third year of homeschooling I learned how to do it all for free by getting a table and selling last years stuff and using the “earnings” to finance the purchases for the coming year.

After our fourth year of homeschooling I was able to sit my kids at my table to sell last years stuff, while I had the freedom to drop by the table occassionally to just pick up more cash and shop, shop, shop for next years stuff.

I also supplement this wonderful method with purchases from the thrift store, and the used book room at our local homeschool curriculum store.  (Yeah, we have one, no, it ain’t all that useful.)  But I used to buy items in there for little of nuthin’ and keep them for several months (maybe use ‘em, maybe not) and sell them at the next swap for more than I paid.  Sometimes much more.

Now that I have kids old enough to babysit the littles I go alone.  At last year’s book swap I shared a table with my neighbor and we both made out alright, but it was tiresome, and hot, and I spent everything that I took in.  I came home with a lot of neat stuff, but no cash.

This time, though, I did something I’ve never done before.  Today was the swap that I usually attend.  Since I am on a $$$DIET I originally declined my neighbor’s offer of sharing a table again.

But she’s so good, she always offers twice, and when she offered the second time I decided to think before opening my mouth.  (I’m smart that way.)  And I thought to my little self, “Self, you need to get rid of some stuff or you are just gonna have to pack it and move it and you may never, ever use it anyway!  Why don’t you just try to sell it?”

So I told her I had some stuff to sell but I didn’t need to buy anything.  And do you know what she said?  She said, ” Well, why don’t I just take your stuff and sell it for you and you don’t have to go.”  What an angel!

Well, sir!  That is the way to go!  I sat here in the luxury of my own home, enjoying the company of my very own children, eating my meals at the normal time.  My routine was not impacted by this bookswap in any way.

Unless you count having to answer the door a minute ago and have my sweet, angel of a neighbor hand me $42.50!

So, unlike last year, where I listed the school books I bought, this year I am gonna list what sold.

• Melissa & Doug “Abacus”    $4.50
• Wooden 1-5 counter    $3
• Melissa & Doug Bead Sequencing Set    $8
• Melissa & Doug Wooden Magnets    $2
• Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons    $5
• Lauri Alphabet puzzle- lower case    $2
• Lauri Alphabet puzzle- upper case    $2
• English for the Thoughtful Child    $5
• Curly Girl    $3
• Intermediate Language Lessons     $3
• Bible on CD    $5

Can’t beat it!

Did I miss going to the swap?  Having all the fun of shopping at such a deep discount?  Yeah, a little.

But I didn’t miss wearing myself out trying to fight the crowd.  Getting all frazzled from the failing a/c in a gym full of bargain-crazed moms.  Not being able to resist the swan song of a lovely piece of homeschool usefulness priced at ¼ of it’s retail cost.  These I can live without!

Now I need to figure out what I’ll do with the books that didn’t sell.  I think I’ll offer them here on the blog.  But I’ll wait for for another post ‘cuz this one is already a mile long!

Here’s your shortcut back to Frugal Fridays.

Everybody stand up and give Tex a big round of applause.  He has finished building the shelters for the rabbits.

These shelters will serve to raise the cages up off of the ground and away from some of the pesky, nocturnal varmints that might bother them.  The shelters will also provide added shade to protect the rabbits from the worst of the heat and much of the rain.  We’ll be adding some plastic, roll down/tie down sheeting to further protect the rabbits from some of the more intense (stop laughing, it kinda gets cold in February, sometimes) Winter weather.

Here’s the Cowboy who built the rabbit shelters.  His Dad and I formulated the plan, but that may have been more of a hindrance than a help.  He outshines us both in handy-man skills.  Homeschooling is amazing, isn’t it?

And looky, looky, looky what came in today’s mail!!!

Now we just need to make a tiny shelter for Cookie.  I’d like to use some reclaimed lumber from old pallets for that project.  That’s kinda fitting since Cookie in no way pays for her own existence.

This post is linked on Gratituesday.

We got our meat rabbits Saturday afternoon.  They’re beautiful!

We got a young group and a breeding age group.  Each group having one buck and two does.  The breeding age group all were champions in live stock shows last Winter.

We are learning tons about the larger rabbits.  We have lots of experience with the Netherland dwarf rabbits.  We used to breed them when hubs was in the pet industry.  But the large breeds are somewhat different.  And they’re HUGE!!!

I decided to name them alphabetically.

On the right is Annabelle.  On the left is her handsome hubby, Bugs Bunny.

And this is the second bunny-wife to Bugs, her name is Clementine.

This is Daisy.  I’m told she has serious show potential.

This is Energizer Bunny.  I know you’ve always wondered what he looked like without his sunglasses and bass drum.  You may notice that he’s not the same breed as the others.  He’s a New Zealand and the others are Californians.  The cross breed offspring with make a better meat rabbit, eatin’ only, can’t raise ‘em for breeders.

And here is Foo-Foo, you know, Little Bunny Foo-Foo.

This is Sally Mae’s pet bunny, Cookie.  Cookie is not for eating, so why does she have the only food name of the bunch?

We live in town, really we do.  So, maybe one of y’all could explain that to the little critter that Trixie-the-Wonder-Dog found hidin’ underneath Sally Mae’s bed this morning.

Now Sally Mae’s bed is quite near our back door and we leave that door open all day long and because it’s a stupid, backwards opening door we don’t have a screen door there.  It’s just open.

I’m hopin’ that’s how the critter gained entrance.  Either that or Trixie brought it in, but we didn’t notice any excited behavior or barking until we started noticing a lot of my dog disappearing under the bed.  So, I’m guessing it just wandered in and found the nearest dark, quiet, cool hidey place.

By the way, if you don’t already have a smallish dog, I recommend you go to the pound today and get one.  Nuthin’  handier for locating pesky, intruding critters.  

And while you are out and about stop in at WalMart or HomeDepot and get some rakes.  Just sayin’.

The kids are all about the tracks it makes and researching the nocturnal habits.  I’m rather more interested in WHY ON EARTH DID THAT NASTY THING COME IN MY HOUSE?  But, oh my lands, I found a Possum Cookbook online.  Everybody altogether now, EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!

My littlest Cowboy, Slim, is an enthusiastic gardener.  He loves his plot of straight-neck squash.

Today he found a bee down in one of his squash flowers, doin’ the job God gave him to do for our squash plants.

This cracks me up, see the green air-soft BB?

I just think it’s really cool that he cares so much about the squash.  He’s always over there checking things out.

On a very different note, my hubs is coming up on a governmentally important birthday and is getting mail about medicare supplements EVERY DAY!  I had no idea there were so many businesses out there that sell that kind of insurance.  I should have started saving all that junk mail from the beginning.  I could have opened my own piñata factory. (get it? all that paper?)  Anyroad, he got one today that was note worthy.  What you need to know about my hubs is that he is the most fit person I know in the over 35 age category.  Only he’s turning 65.  Really, very fit.  He works in a warehouse and is on his feet 40 hours every week, plus a little overtime every week.  Plus all the after work errands (and putting up with me has to be fairly stressfull.)  So, Tex and I had a big laugh when this came in the mail today.

Hubs is about the last person who needs one of those!  

On the other hand, I may need one soon if Richard Simmons doesn’t lighten up!  I keep thinkin’ it’s getting a little better while I’m doin’ it, then afterwards I wanna lay down and die, but I’m just too stubborn!

Sally Mae has told me more than once that she needs GIRL BOOKS!!!  She is a little sick of Swiss Family Robinson, and all the other stuff we have been reading latley, because it’s BOY STUFF.   I know what to read to the boys, but Sally Mae claims it just ain’t workin’ for her.  

All you Mamas of girls, I’m gonna need your reading list.  I have a pretty good library here, but I will admit there are a lot of Hentys and Ballantynes on the shelves and not a lot of girl stuff.  What are your favorite read alouds for girls?  What are your girls’ favorites?

The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set
Or better still, just don’t install the idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone’s place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they’re hypnotized by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don’t climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch 
And wash the dishes in the sink-
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what 
This does to your beloved tot?

IT ROTS THE SENSES IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND! 
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -HE ONLY SEES!

‘All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,
‘But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!’
We’ll answer this by asking you, 
‘What used the darling ones to do?
How used they keep themselves contented 
Before this monster was invented?’
Have you forgotten? Don’t you know? 
We’ll say it very loud and slow: 

THEY….USED,,,TO,,,READ!
They’d READ and READ and READ and READ, 
and then proceed to READ some more.
Great Scott! Gadzooks! One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine fantastic tales
Of dragons, Gypsies, queens and whales
And treasure isles and distant shore
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars.
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching ‘round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be? 
Good gracious, it’s Penelope!) 
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Toad, the Dirty Rotter,
And squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How the Camel got his Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost his Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There’s Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, 
We beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something good to read.
And once they start–oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts.
They’ll grow so keen
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

ht to Anita at Busy Hands Busy Minds.

She copied my no-poo and my solar oven.  Well, fair is fair, huh?  I’m copying her sourdough.  

Y’all read my friend KimC @ Life in a Shoe, right?  For those of you who don’t know, Kim and I are good friends IRL.  And part of the reason we are such good friends is that we think alike.  

And today she posted about making a sourdough starter and I thought it was such a fine idea on so many levels…

• delicious sourdough bread
• no need for store-boughten yeast
• homeschool chemistry lesson on the hoof [so to speak]
• won’t it be cool to say, “Would you like to taste my sourdough bread I baked in my solar oven?”!!!
• did I mention delicious sourdough bread

…that as soon as I read most of her post and most of the starter recipe that she linked to, I jumped up and went in search of the perfect sourdough starter container.  

You know, it has to be at least 2 qt., made of glass or ceramic, no metal parts, clean.  Picky, picky, picky.  But I found it and we’re off and running.  Never mind that it’s 10 p.m.  Sourdough needs started and it needs started now! 

So, here’s your link to Kim’s post about it.  

Here’s your link to the starter recipe.

Here’s a photo of my starter, just minutes old and you’ll notice it’s being guarded by a desert tank (I dunno, I guess ‘cuz of the cloth covering on the jar?).

And here’s a photo of my other latest project.  Ya know, if the electricity is gone you have to make your own music.  Just sayin’.

(psst!  it’s called a mountain ocarina)

(the creepy antenae looking stuff is a neck strap)

Here’s your link back to Make-Do-Monday.

My first bloggy win!  I won a giveaway over at my real life friends blog, MamaArcher’s Blog!  She held a giveaway and the prize was a wonderful Science Curriculum.

Lyrical Life Science is soooooo right up our street!  Singing while learning, yeah, we can do that.  And the book has the sheet music, I’ll be able to play my ukelele while singing these fun, educational ditties!  Mammals, Ecology, and Biomes, oh my!  Can’t wait to dig into this wonderful resource.  

Thanks, Kristine!

Solar Update~

The weather changed and might be too cloudy to use the solar oven today.  I’ll have to monitor the sky through the morning.

I just love that 6 year old.  She’s so big.  And cute.  And smart.  And lovely.

And I just sat and watched her do her phonics workbook today.

(Sorry, that’s a little fuzzy.)  I’m just, after all these years, still havin’ fun sitting next to braids…

…and plastic jewelry.  I can’t think of a better way to spend a morning.

How to teach math.

Ok, ok, Kim, you can stop laughing now.  You are partly to blame for the bravado I now exhibit by daring to instruct others in the teaching of the horrid subject.

Stephanie?  Oh Stephanie!  Are you reading?  This is for you.  I have been pondering your question for 2 weeks now, and I just decided to share what we are doing, math-wise.

Some background.

Kim is a math whiz whose very math-ness scares me.

Stephanie has a daughter, her oldest, who is the same age as my youngest.

Kim and Stephanie are both real life friends of mine.

I am mathematically challenged.  However, I have seen great math success in my children.  Success that is NOT due to my diligent, brilliant teaching of math.  I really think the success is more due to the fact that they are in a learning environment and don’t have undue academic pressure applied by myself, their dad or their siblings.

What we’re doing.

The Cap’n is starting Algebra 1 using the D.I.V.E. cd rom.  Very cool resource loaned to us by some wonderful friends at church.  Thanks Donna.

Calico and B.B. are both starting Algebra ½ with yours truly as their teacher.  I’m shakin’ in my boots, but I have good support from my hubby, another math brain.  They had both been using the Saxon 76, but I could see that it wasn’t challenging them at all, so we did the online placement tests and oh my, off we go. Yes, I know that they are skipping a whole book, whatever.

For Cannonball I am using an old Rod & Staff 3rd grade textbook.  I am striving to find a level that will challenge him, yet not frustrate him.  Cannonball is one of those kids who learns by great leaps and bounds interspersed with huge plateaus.  Very hard to stay with him.  

The Squid is working on subtraction concepts and addition with carrying.  I am using a little from the Rod & Staff 3rd grade book and a little from the Ray’s Arithmetic.  I write problems for him in a composition book.  I need to be able to look at what he has done in order to decide what to do next.   I’m using these books as a loose framework and just keeping him moving forward.

The Princess is one of those kids who almost seem born knowing it already.  Not just in math but in everything in the world.  Just ask her, she has an opinion.  We just play around with numbers.  Some days we work some simple addition.  Some days we just play with number recognition.  Somedays we do nothing.  Not that there is no math, she is always counting and adding things, just that some days I don’t direct it.  The resources I am using with her are mostly in my head, but I have found the set of Unifix Cubes has great appeal and value.  She loves them.  I like that there are ten of each color and they are uniform, that seems to help.  I’m more of a ‘buttons in a muffin tin’ kinda gal, but there is some value in the orderliness of the Unifix Cube set.  We also use a set of flash-cards that teach numbers 0 through 25, and a hundred chart.  Sometimes I get out the Ruth Beechick Arithmetic book and we have some fun with the games and activities therein.  

There are also other activities like playing board games and working on projects that require and enhance math skills, for all of the family.   I also employ flash-cards for memorizing the facts, but once the facts are memorized part of the pay-off (for me and my child) is not having to do the flash-cards every day.

We have a MathShark, and they like to fool with it sometimes.  We use some of the free online math drill resources, but I don’t insist on daily use of any of them.  None have been the utopia of math drill, so we play them sometimes and kind of as needed.  I like the Table Trees for multiplication practice and Place Value Pirates best.

So, there ya go.  If it seems way too loosey-goosey to be effective, I probably would have agreed with you once upon a time.  But I am not a math person, and yet, one by one, my kids are becoming proficient.  

If your goal is to teach math in an orderly, rigid manner, don’t do what I do.  However, my goal is to have kids who know their math, that’s all.

I have frittered my whole day away doing math with my kiddoes.  Well, not frittered.  We all know more math now than we did yesterday.  Yes, I include myself.  Billy Bones and Calico Zak are pushing me onward and upward in my quest to try to stay a half step ahead of them.  Yikes!

Did you know you can get the Saxon placement tests free online.  Love that!  Here are the links for the tests for 54 up through Algebra ½,  Algebra 1 andAlgebra 2.  

Calico took it and found he can go ahead and start Algebra ½, which thrilled him and sent shivers up my very spine.  So, I decided to take the test myself.

I am happy to report that if I were a student, I would be allowed to begin Algebra 1.  And no, I am not gonna be taking the higher grades tests.  I am just gonna apply myself and learn the stuff as I teach it to Calico.

I guess I have a couple of other Pirates who maybe, should take the same test.  Hmmm…