Dollar Store Homeschooling!!!

Yay!!! There's not much I love more than a bargain, and there's no better place for bargains than the dollar store. Yup, and I found that our local Dollar Tree and Dollar General essential places to find plenty of homeschool supplies and inspiration beyond the obvious things like pencils, paper, and colorful craft supplies. We also have local stores that have a dollar section inside, like: Target, Michael's, and Ben Franklin.

#1. Preschool through Elementary workbooks. These not only have age-appropriate, skill building, activities, but many come in your child's favorite characters. I make black and white copies (see your local office supply store, because it's still way cheaper than using your home printer/copier/scanner). Making copies allows me to use the same pages again for reviewing of skills we need more work on and can be saved for future kids (like the baby in my belly). Shelby now wants to take a folder of worksheets with her everywhere :)

#2. Flash Cards and Learning Card Games. My daughter absolutely loves these. They come in a variety of skills and characters. These are good for reviewing as well and can be a much less structured time. Again, a favorite at our house.

#3. Manipulatives. I have also found counting blocks and sorting shapes, sponge cutouts of letters, numbers, and shapes, as well as foam cutouts of a clock, the human body (only because I loved anatomy in college), the solar system, and lamenated mats with numbers, letters, dinosaurs, and more. So far we haven't used these as much, but mostly because we haven't gotten much past basic counting, shapes, and colors, but I couldn't resist getting them for the future ;)

#4. Teacher Supplies. I'm not sure this is a dollar store staple or just something ours has, but I'm loving it! Everything from bulletin board borders and cutouts to banners, reward stickers, award certificates, and even lesson planning books and grade record books. (My mom was an elementary school teacher before and after our preschool years, and some of my favorite memories are of helping her make decorations and decorate her classroom.) I realize these aren't really essentials for homeschooling, but I like them, and it's a way for us to set up themes and showcase our work that's cheap, easy to use, and fun for Shelby to help with. Plus I can easily switch themes. The only foreseeable problem so far, storage and organizing and only this because I know it will mean more time needed for mommy's planning.

#5. Craft and Scrapbooking Supplies. Not essential either, unless you're like my daughter and love to make things. At a dollar each, I don't feel overwhelmed with the expense and I can do alot more projects in our lessons, which again is Shelby's favorite part!

#6. School Supplies. All the lined writing papers from preschool to high school, folders, binders, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, poster boards (less than $1 each!), construction paper, fat pencils, rulers, and more stickers than ought to be allowed.

All in all, the dollar store is and most likely will be a great source for all our homeschooling needs without bankrupting us! However, one of my favorite things so far about homeschooling so far, is how many things can be done either with what you already have on hand or with little expense and effort.
Happy Homeschool shopping! :D

Pregnancy Craving #10

Mmmm! Midnight cheese and mayonnaise sandwich! Yes, for some odd reason I have been craving a cheese and mayonnaise sandwich in the middle of the night for the last few nights. (But only on nights when I haven't eaten much supper earlier). All I can say is Duke's Real Mayonnaise, and lots of it, mmmmm! Yes mayonnaise was a staple when I was pregnant with my daughter (mostly in the form of mayonnaise thickly spread on saltine crackers), but I didn't know about Duke's then. So, a shameless product endorsement for those who love mayonnaise: Nothing is close to Duke's when it comes to mayonnaise!!! (Or maybe I'm just pregnant and hungry :p)

(I know it's backwards, but I'm iphoto illiterate)

A Husband's Gift

I realize that this may seem like nothing to most people, but meant a lot to me. You see, we recently took a camping trip to the Smoky Mtns. It was the first time Shelby had been camping and we only had to drive about an hour and a half to get there.
While we were there, they were having a Craftsmen Fair in Gatlinburg, so we stopped by. Here's where I wanted to cry (yes, it could be pregnancy, but I might have anyway). See, I'm not like most women. I don't ever ask for jewelry or perfume or am even big on shopping for clothes, shoes, or purses. I don't wear makeup without a reason and can get overly excited about going to the grocery store with my mom. I can't stand the thought of wasting money on things I deem frivolous for myself, and throughout our marriage and even while dating, my manly, quiet, and serious husband occasionally surprises me with something frivolous I really wanted, but would never ever spend the money on it for myself. This was one of those times.
There was a booth where a lady was selling handmade pottery and dishes. They were beautiful, but there was one mug that immediately caught my attention. I know, I know, I have mugs, I have plenty of them! Why was this one so special? I'm not really sure, but I just knew I really felt as if this was a luxury and a thing of beauty *sigh*.
It was $25! For a mug!?! Maybe to some people this seems fine, but was too extravagant to believe for me.
To make a long story short, Jeremy bought it for me. He bought it for me in spite of my protestations of it's outrageous price and the frivolous extravagance of it. He bought it because he loves me and wanted to give it to me.
I have since used it almost every day, and love the way it feels and just to admire it's beauty while I drink from it!

I know, it's no big deal to most people, but to me it made me aware once again of God's great love for me. My husband as the head of this home is a representation of Christ to our family. And God's grace was shown to me again, when my husband bought me a gift, a completely unnecessary and unmerited gift for no other reason than his love for me. Just like God gives with no intention of anything in return because I am unable to give anything suitable, I couldn't repay Jeremy for something that was just a thing I didn't need but admired. And as God gives us not only what we need, but often exceeds our expectations in His grace toward us, Jeremy gave something only I would care about but did so to exceed my expectations and took joy in doing it.
I saw my God and my Savior in the seemingly small act of my husband buying me a mug, and I can only thank and praise God for such a husband!

It's a BOY!!!

So, we found out we're having a boy! I am both excited and scared (especially of his older years), but we can't wait to welcome our little Jonah Elisha!

 Shelby has told us for weeks it was a boy, because she is THE girl, and turns out she knew best.
There are some concerns about the changes to come, though. Now my husband has someone to back him when arguing why there's no need to put the toilet seat back down. Shelby's ultra frilly and girly clothes will never do. Our princess movies will be inadequate. No more tea party days. Lots more dirt. The clothes really aren't as cute, but I'm sure our little man will make up for it with his innate cuteness!
But,....finally a mommy's boy! I have three brothers, and they are all still very partial to their mom, willing to do anything for her and at any expense. Not that they don't do the same for my dad, but there is something different there. And the part I think daddy is looking forward to the most, more fun toys for daddy. (I think he was growing slightly tired of princesses, bows, and all things pink, even though he's still Shelby's preferred tea party guest). And, they'll be someone to drive away and threaten prospective suitors for Shelby. Oh yes, my brothers were my best defense against scoundrels, and protested even my husband's worthiness for a long time.
Yes, our home is about to change with a good dose of added testosterone, but it's a change for the best. After all, right now, one princess is about all we can handle, but as my sister-in-law reminded me, every princess needs a prince!

A Nice Surprise

Daddy's a big help, too!

Okay, so, almost since Shelby was born we had been making plans to homeschool her. And even though I knew at some point I would have to make some sort of commitment and stick to it, I put it off. Shelby turns three in November, so I thought it's about time to be serious about this. September 1st was our first official school day.
I had been putting this off, because I was afraid that if she didn't learn something, it would be my fault or that I would never get anything else done or that I would get sidetracked and not be able to stick with it everyday. I know, I know, this is preschool stuff. It shouldn't be so hard, right?
Well, here's the best surprise as of late! It's really not been that hard. I've still managed to get housework done and even incorporated it into our learning. So far we've studied three different colors, two shapes, and the season of fall.

Our kitchen is transforming into a classroom.
(The words are only backwards on my camera)

She seems to be a really quick learner, and I know that a lot of these things she already knew, but I'm still surprised at what she can retain with just a little effort on my part.
My mom is a retired elementary school teacher who taught preschool as well and that's been a huge help. The big thing is to focus only on a couple of things at a time and to stay with those things for about a week with lots of reviewing afterwards. Think of math and reading each day, just like they would in school, only right now (at 2) math is shape recognition and colors are reading.

We're studying yellow right now. Mmmm.

As you go throughout your day, whatever you're doing make everything relate to what you're studying. For example: colors in the laundry, counting dishes for setting the table, pick out clothes with the colors you're studying, and the grocery store is full of shapes, colors, letters, and numbers.

Our orange bag for collecting orange objects and then sorting them by size and/texture. (We have a bag for each color, because they are my reusable shopping bags that I already had in various colors.)

Since we're in fall and studying fall the first three colors we are learning are red, orange, and yellow. Fall decorating is now a structured learning time :)

My goal so far is Monday through Friday we do a morning activity and/or review (preferably both) right after breakfast. Then I try to have something she can do on her own to reinforce what we are learning (this can be as simple as a puzzle or a card matching game or even some of her toys). Preschool kids need play time, so I try to limit the structured learning to a couple things a day. After lunch (if we're not ready to nap, and she's usually not) we do something else to continue the lessons.

These are lacing shapes that I made out of different colored foam sheets. All you need is foam sheets in assorted colors, scissors, a hole punch, and cord for lacing. I didn't use a pattern for cutting them out, but they would probably look better if I had. Shelby loves these and calls it her "sewing".  Learning to thread things through holes is a preschool skill. I would suggest investing in at least one good book that outlines and defines the skills for preschool kids entering kindergarten as well as something that defines their developmental skills. Teacher supply stores are full of these with great ways to incorporate these things. 

A couple key things that have helped us so far is to stay with some sort of schedule (nothing too strict though), for me to constantly be aware and thinking of ways to incorporate what we're doing with the lessons, and to remember that even if she seems to be understanding things well we still need constant reviewing and reinforcement (remember how many times you went over colors and shapes in school).
I know we've not been doing it for long, but I've been very pleasantly surprised with it so far. Hope it continues this well :) So far, we've only hit one snag. As the school bus passes by in the morning, she wants to get her backpack and go on the school but to school with all the others kids she sees getting on it, but I'm sure she'll get past that.

Patriotism Doesn't Mean Godliness and Mormonism Doesn't Mean Christianity

Mormonism is not Christian, no matter how much they want it to be. They became apostate to Biblical Christianity when they said that Jesus was the brother of Lucifer, that god was from an alien planet where he and his many wives had spirit babies to populate earth, that we can become gods ourselves and live on our own planet with many wives and have our own spirit babies. This is what the serpent said in the garden to Adam and Eve, too, "ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5). The worst is that they teach a false gospel of works, saying that we must do our best and all that we can do and Jesus makes up for the rest. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9). They will often quote from James that "faith without works is dead", but they can't explain how the thief on the cross next to Christ was saved only moments before he died without any time for good works or time to make amends (which is their definition of repentance), when Jesus said, "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). These are just a few of the false heresies that pervade the Morman church of latter day saints. This is a rehash of the ancient heresy of Gnosticism, claiming secret knowledge is the only way to God, and that only by some secret and special revelation (i.e. the Book of Mormon translated and seen only by their founder Joseph Smith) can anyone be reconciled to God. This was declared heresy in the 2nd century. The Mormon bases all their hope for salvation not in Christ, but in the man Joseph Smith, because if his revelations where all Mormon doctrine comes from is false then everything they are hoping in is false. Because Mormonism says that the Bible can't be trusted (especially over the book of Mormon), then when there is something that contradicts Scripture in their beliefs, they go with the teachings of the book of Mormon over it every time. "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God."- church of latter day saints articles of faith. Glenn Beck is a Mormon. He is not Christian, so remember when he says "god" or "Jesus" that he is talking about a false Jesus and a god created by man, not the true God who revealed Himself in the Holy Bible. I love this country and am grateful to God for His mercy and bounty upon us, but I will not align myself with false teaching or heresy in an effort to preserve it. Patriotism doesn't equal godliness. Let us not compromise truth and Scripture in an effort to "save" our country. God is sovereign over the fate of the United States and what He chooses for us will happen to the good of those who are His (Romans 8:28) and for His glory. May God expose this falseness for what it is and may those lost in this cult of Joseph Smith, including Glenn Beck, be brought to the true and saving faith that rests only in Jesus Christ as He has revealed Himself in Scripture. For if God isn't sovereign enough to preserve His Word and accomplish His will, then He is not God, but a fabrication of the vain imaginings of mankind. (Romans 1:18-23) For an unbiased and honest account of what the Church of Latter Day Saints/Mormonism truly teaches and believes through the words of those who were in the church, go to: www.exmormon.org
Scripture is our only source of truth or to know what God requires of man, and that is ONLY found in the Bible which wasn't written by men, but through them by the Holy Spirit of God Himself. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."-2 Timothy 3:16.

Cloth Diapering?

Okay, so my mom used cloth diapers with all four of us, and they survived. But when I had my daughter, I never even thought of using cloth diapers, nor did I think they were even a viable option. You see what I had envisioned was the old fashioned ones that were folded and pinned on. I had visions of constant leaking, accidently stabbing my baby's belly with a safety pin while changing her, and pretty much endless laundry.
What I learned with her as a newborn was that the laundry was always going to be endless from birth through potty training and beyond. So what's another load or two. After about a year and a half in pampers followed by another year of on and off use of pull-ups training pants, I can't stand the thought of wasting that much money again. And am firmly convinced that many of our potty training hardships were a result of disposable diapers and training pants, because why would she use the potty when she was perfectly dry in a diaper or pull-up and knew she would be cleaned and changed immediately? The only way we ever got her to use the potty in any kind of consistency was to let her go without underwear or anything on her bottom (fortunately she likes wearing dresses, so we wore a lot of them through this period :).






I know, I'm not due with this baby until March 2011, but I feel like I need to get this decided early for a couple of reasons.
#1. Cloth diapers are initially expensive (especially the cute covers), though they should pay for themselves within the first 3-4 months.
#2. If we are going to use cloth diapers, which I know very little about, much research as to the best kinds and how to's will have to be done.
#3. I will have to completely sell my husband on the idea of no disposable diapers at all (even though I will be the primary diaper changer).
#4. I will have to make a serious commitment to cloth diapering. I don't want to spend the money and then wimp out and buy a pack of pampers.

I am admittedly quite ignorant of the whole thing, and am in need of guidance from someone who's been there. There's so much info out there and no way to look at it all, so if you are even a remote expert in this area, any input or advice will be greatly appreciated. :)