Making Summer Plans

 Well, here I go feeling over enthusiastic again.  Making plans to fix things, attempting to plan a garden-at least I don't have a tree in the way again! 

So I'm keeping it small.  My two oldest love to help with the garden, so I can pretty much put them in charge of that and we'll be set.  

I want to redo one of the rock gardens in the front...  So pulling out as much vegetation as possible, probably replacing (that's a BIG probably) and making the faucet able to be winterized. Grading the dirt away from the house. Taking the tiller to it, laying down something to help block the weeds and putting the rocks back over that.  There are some lilies and tulips I would love to save and  replant, but I'm also not against just tearing everything out and rebuying the bulbs for those two plants.

Now, as much as I would LOVE to do more than one garden, I'm not planning on it.  There's still general yard maintenance that takes a lot of time so I'm taking things slow.  The vegetable garden is a must to help with the grocery bill and the kids will love to be in charge of that. 

My other big project I'm enlisted my parent's help, which will probably be more of a "sit and tell us how to do it" kind of help. Which is just fine with me.  I learn better if I have to physically do, and so does hubby.  This project doesn't have to wait for summer, but it does have to wait for funds.. Most of the rock garden redo just take the ground the thaw and time, we have almost all of the supplies needed. 

My poor kitchen needs help.  The whole kitchen really does need help, but we can only focus on a bit at a time, so focusing on the worst first-the faucet is leaking and the dishwasher needs to go for storage.  We're saving up for a new faucet.  Under the cabinet needs replaced, the bottom of the cabinet is not fit to use.  The dishwasher is finally coming out, it's been broken for 9 years.  As much as I would love to replace the dishwasher, we simply do not have the money so shelving of some sort is going in for storage.  I'll try to work on getting the green stick on tile up without ruining the linoleum underneath, that's a project I started 6 years ago and am still working on, though every time the floor is mopped (so....daily) a little bit comes up by itself.  Everything from the corner on the left to the set of drawers on the right needs worked on.  I would love to do more, but we cannot right now.  So I will be satisfied with what we can do.  

As far as the healthy changes we've been making. Dennis is losing weight and feeling better.  I'm not losing, but I am starting to feel better until I eat excess sugar.... Then I feel horrible-go figure.  

I'm also saving up for a bucket or two of paint to start painting walls so they are white again.  It's a plan anyway.  

~Tabitha 

Starting Again

I'm sitting here attempting to meal plan and write a grocery shopping list. 

Failing.

I know I need to do this, not just for my sanity, but for the budget. 

But I can't.  I can't even eke out 3 days of meals.  

It's so overwhelming trying to figure all of this out.  This is the 5th time I've attempted since school started and I can't get it done.  

What is going on in my mind?  

I'm also binging Jordan Page YouTube shows. Reminding myself how to do things....

This is the best way to help and to save us money but I can't make myself do it and I don't understand why.  

I have a feeling this is all related to the post-partum anxiety I was dealing with last year... But that doesn't mean I know how to combat it. I mean, I can't exactly go to the doctor and say "hey, I think I'm dealing with anxiety".....  They threatened to take my kids away over a slight risk of my baby having markers for possible jaundice (she didn't have any high amounts, nowhere near it even the lab techs couldn't figure out why we were there), but they threatened because I wanted to take her home and get her in sunshine.  If I tell the doctor I'm having anxiety attacks, what would they actually do?  

I know  my only hope is The Great Physician (God).  

I need to stop trying and give it up to God.  

I learned something this morning while reading in Joshua 1.  The original meaning of 'courage'.  Today, we think of it as having bravery and valor... it's original meaning was more the state of the mind.  God kept telling Joshua to "be strong and of good courage".   He was reminding and reinforcing to Joshua that not only did he need the physical strength to lead the people into the  land now known as Israel, but to keep a good attitude, demeanor and treat people in a way to show them he was God's man.  

I keep finding things in the Bible I would love to put on the wall and make posters or something out of... the problem is, I only have so much wall space. 

Sorry, this was a little scattergoried this week.... I don't know if my brain being everywhere is a result of unseen anxiety, or a result of trying to cut back sugar and carbs (as I stare down a homemade chocolate chip cookie)......  but it's getting on my nerves. :/  

~Tabitha 

Simplifying Homeschool... Step... 3?

So this is the first true step we have in our simplifying (and making sustainable) our homeschool. 

Now, if you haven't been reading my blog, you should go back and read at least the past one.  

Do I have you back now?  Ok.  

So honestly, this journey started when I realized what price we would have to pay for 3 kids in the ACE PACE Program..  I love the PACEs, they are so simple for me as mom and the kid LOVE them.. but it's simply not sustainable for a big family on a very limited income.  

So we sort of looked into making our homeschool more sustainable last year, but really hadn't found great solutions.  When I did the figuring for how much things would cost for the coming school year, it just wasn't going to happen.  So we looked for different solutions.  

Now, I knew it was possible to homeschool for free-and not use the public school books and curricula to do so.   But I didn't want every class online, I didn't want my kids sitting in front of a screen for hours on end to do their school.  I know they will have to learn the computer, but I do think it's a skill they can master once they are older.   

My original plans had me caving on that for more classes than I wanted.. Now, I'm still caving on that a bit, but not as much.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm learning how to do the Robinson Curriculum correctly.  It's not just reading and Saxon math, there's a method and it's a very sustainable and affordable way to homeschool.  

But, since I spent 4 months searching, printing and binding, then we're going to use most of what I did.  

So let's start with the oldest...and work our way down. Settle in with some coffee, this is going to be a long post. 

My biggest worry with piecing together was grammar..  I can write well, but don't ask me to identify parts of speech.  I've also come to the realization...  WHEN have I EVER used parts of speech in real life?  Now, honestly.  Somebody tell me when, because I haven't.    The next obstacle was math..  We were just going to put the oldest in Khan Academy, but since learning about Robinson, we're going back to Saxon.  

Ok.. So onto Andrew's school.  Andrew is going into 5th grade and like any boy his age is extremely interested in how things work.  

Math-Saxon 5/4 and flashcards.. Part of the Robinson Curriculum is having ALL math facts memorized before they started Saxon 5/4... Now, I have been a horrible teacher and haven't required them to memorize math facts-so we're fixing that.  Andrew is going to do both simultaneously because for some reason he's great at division and subtraction (somebody explain that to me).  You don't see Saxon 5/4 because as of right now, I cannot afford the physical textbook, but I was able to get a PDF file for free, I do plan on buying the physical edition as soon as I'm financially able. 

Grammar-this will come from a Scott Foresman Grammar book and reading. 

Spelling-again, reading.  Whatever words he doesn't know along with whatever words are the in the vocabulary list for the book he is currently on.. He will not only learn spelling, but how to use it and what it means.

Modern History (1900 to 2020)- This is coming from Write Bonnie Rose.  She put some awesome work into her workbooks and I am grateful she puts the entire thing on freebies for her subscribers.   

Geography- Again, coming from Write Bonnie Rose... It looks like fun.  lol

Science- I made a workbook from the Institute For Creation Research books we purchased last year.  These are great books, full of great information-but I would not recommend them for elementary science.   But.... it's information Andrew needs and since we couldn't replace them as I wanted, he is using them. 

Reading- Tuttle Twins, Rifles for Watie and Robinson Curriculum.   My husband found the Tuttle Twins Books and purchased them.  They came with a study guide.. I have yet to look through them, though I need to.   They teach government through fun stories for children.  Rifles for Watie is a book I read many times throughout my youth, it's about the Civil War so I thought Andrew would enjoy it.  After he's done with these, he will start on the Robinson book list.  

Writing- copy work, vocabulary, and essay writing.  The essay writing we'll start with a paragraph, teach him sentence structure, then move onto paragraph structure and we'll move on from there...  The topic? It's going to depend on the day.. Anything from what we learned during service at church....to something they see out the window or something from their imagination.  The purpose is to get them writing to teach them HOW to write correctly. 

One day out of the week he will do typing, one day he will do Spanish.  Both of these are done online. 

That's my plans, then I'm starting to incorporate Robinson Curriculum.  2 hours of math, then move on to everything else..  The end goal is going to be 2 hours of reading per day of school books.  We'll work up to that.  

Second oldest, Eva, is going into 4th.  She struggles a bit with the English language, but we'll work on it. 

Math-work pages and flashcards.. I had already printed off at least a semester worth of math for Eva, so we might as well use it.  Other than that, it's flashcards.  Once she's done with the worksheets, she goes into Saxon 5/4.  

Grammar- another Scott Foreman book

World Geography-the same one Andrew has from Write Bonnie Rose.

Modern History-again, the same one Andrew has from Write Bonnie Rose. 

History-state history... This is the one I wrote last year for Andrew, I tweaked a few things so it should be a bit better this year. 

Anatomy-Eva REALLY wants to learn how the human body works, so I found I had a coloring book on my shelf-but it was partly colored... So then I found it online (sorry I went to find the link for you and it's gone). But it's close to this one.  There's a simple explanation of what a few certain parts do, then you color the part. I took out the sections she's not old enough for. 

Writing-copy work, essay and spelling words. 

Spelling-just like Andrew, vocabulary words from books.

Reading- Eva is actually going to start with the Robinson list and then move on to the Tuttle Books once Andrew is done. 

Eva also gets typing and Spanish on the computer

Grace-the third oldest, she is going into 2nd. Grace is still trying to find her place.  I am starting Grace more in the Robinson than anyone else, simply because I didn't gather so much for her yet. 

Math-I did print off a full year of math worksheets-though I wasn't too happy with what I did have.  But she will do worksheets and flashcards. 

Grammar-again, a Scott Foresman book

History-I believe my husband found the website called Miniature Masterminds, it has A LOT of great things on there.  One of my friends has been using it to keep her 5 year old's mind busy while he anxiously awaits school this fall.   But they had a history on there that was already planned out (day 1, day 2 etc).  So I printed that off and that's what Grace is getting. 

Geography-This is from Write Bonnie Rose, it's more of a copy work kind of book, but I think she'll have some fun with it. 

Science-honestly, Grace's science is what I'm excited for (I'm a geek).  Through a giveaway at one point, I received the workbook for Science Shepherd's Introductory Science.   After looking through it, I realized it was not only young earth creation based, but I also needed the DVDs to be able to do it. This is the one thing  we spent money on this year.  So this is Grace's one class on the computer, she needs to get a bit older for typing and Spanish. 

Reading-Grace is starting at the beginning of the Robinson list, will she blow through some of the books? I'm sure.  But that's ok. 

Spelling-again, anything she has to look up the meaning to and words from the Robinson books.

Writing-she's going to improve her cursive with copy work from books and from the Bible. 

Hannah. Hannah is in Kindergarten.  The original plan was Abeka-because we have Abeka...   Then I realized how abysmal the Abeka phonics was...  They teach the spelling....and that's it.  So we're using the Abeka math, the Abeka phonics ladders.  She's going to read using McGuffeys then take off on the Robinson list.  Hannah is also learning cursive this year.   Once Hannah gets going on her math, we'll start the flashcards with her. 

Elijah has some "coloring books" to keep him busy, along with a box of fun toys that he only gets during school.  His coloring books are the collection of misprinted papers I gathered.  Somebody might as well use them.  

The baby, Dinah.. She's the wild card.  We'll see what happens with Dinah. lol 

Well, are you still awake?  Told ya it was long!! Thanks for sticking with me, let me know if you have any questions.

~Tabitha

 

Summer Project Number 2

 I have a few summer projects on the list for this summer, I just have to wait for summer.

Number 1 is the garden.  Well out of the 20 something  tomatoes we planted-9 have survived so far...  We'll see if they make it another month.

Number 2 is the girl's room.  

This is the biggest project I think-even with the mess in the backyard.

When Dinah was born last year, we knew we would have some major rearranging done within the next 12 or so months.  

Honestly the first project is getting the toys out of the room.  Hubby is working on that-cleaning out an unused office room.  

I'm working on organizing the girl's room.  We've gone through toys a few times.  Now it's time for clothes... I've been reading blogs, watching vlogs, working my way through Pinterest.  Trying to get ideas. I finally decided to buy cube shelves-4 for each girl-that would hold everything but their dresses. I bought some for the boys and they are working great.

Well.

Plans are great-those plans did not work out. 

I should have bought the shelves before the lockdowns.  Because apparently being stuck in your house makes you organize... The price has not only shot up, but they are actually hard to find.

So now we have moved to plan number two...  I bought two wire utility shelves.  They are coming.  So here's my plan.  I'm going to make cardboard cube boxes from our excess boxes and make them pretty with excess fabric.  They will all be labeled and be able to be used as drawers to help keep them organized.

The shelves will be here next week, the second bunk bed will be down the road this summer.  But hubby and I sat down with a room plan to figure out where the new bunk bed will go-because I don't want to move the shelves if I don't have to. 😆

Now that I've gotten my plan laid out... that's all for now.

Have a great Easter!

~Tabitha