Simplicity

Any of you other homeschoolers feel the need to have more teaching supplies then you really need? I do continuously. I have 2 complete sets of math manipulatives that could be appropriate for the level math we are doing, but instead of bringing them out and making use of them, I found myself bunching straws together with rubber bands one day last week.

The straws worked just fine. So, I guess there is something to be said for keeping it simple :)

Juicer!

Everyone remember a few months ago when the news came out with a report on arsenic in apple juice? Well, a couple weeks ago I turned on the news before my little monkeys got here one morning just in time to see two things. The first thing was a blizzard in Colorado... It just so happens that my brother had left for Colorado the day before. So of course (being the wonderful sister that I am) I texted him to see if he was alright. I forgot about the time difference. Turns out that when it is 7am in NJ it is REALLY early out there. Oops!


The second thing I saw on the news was a report on pesticides that have been banned in the US. Apparently some orange juice that has been imported is contaminated with this pesticide. It was being held in large holding tanks in Florida at the time of the report.  They said that they ARE going to allow this OJ into our grocery stores and they're not going to make them clean the holding tanks.


I am never watching the news again. EVER. A few days later we came home from Walmart with our very own Jack La Lanne's Power Juicer.

Isn't it pretty?? I absolutely love it. I checked it out beforehand and the only thing that was more highly recommended was a $450 Vita-Mix. I wasn't quite ready to make that kind of investment! I was a little concerned that I needed a little plastic tool to take it apart, but the blade fits so tightly into the filter screen that I would tear myself up if I used my fingers to take it apart. I think that's why it makes so much more juice per fruit then other juicers. It catches more of the juice... I guess. I've never had a juicer before, so I'm just making an educated guess.

We make one batch of juice every morning to last us the day and it is delicious!! Our favorites are:
Apple-Pear
Pineapple-Blueberry
Orange-Carrot
I think the various orange juices will be better once I start buying oranges that aren't so SOUR :(

I get about 14-16oz of juice from some fruit (example: three big apples or half of a small pineapple & an orange) and then delute it 1/2 and 1/2 (Trust me. It's WAY too strong otherwise). I'm storing it in the fridge in a plastic pitcher right now, but I've been told it stores better in glass so I'm going to see about getting something appropriate. All the kids really like helping make the juice and drinking it too.

What are your favorite juice recipes?

More Lost Than Found by Jared Herd

In More Lost Than Found, Jared Herd comes alongside anyone who has ever struggled with faith to reengage them in the truth they long to hear. If you have ever felt you didn't fit at church or had questions about God, maybe it's time to give your faith another chance.
God wants to find you where you are.

Upon receiving a free digital copy of this book from booksneeze in exchange for an honest review I was anxious to get started. I have several friends who thoroughly enjoyed it so I was expecting to be immediately engrossed.

Unfortunately I struggled with it for several weeks before finishing it.  In a couple of places I thought he was crossing into a place that was too liberal for me then, after I reread it, I realized he was doing no such thing... hence the struggle.

I liked the way the author welcomes us into his experiences with religion with refreshing honesty and hope. He encourages us to reevaluate our faith with humor and points out the problems in our society with acceptance, not condemnation.

I really appreciate where the author was going with his book. As I understand it, it's all about getting back to the basics- God, Jesus and the Bible. In my opinion, that makes all the work of reading it well worth it. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Spiritual Sunday- Giving

"I am sorry, Boy," said the tree, "but I have nothing left to give you.  My apples are gone."

    "My teeth are too weak for apples," said the boy.

    "My branches are gone," said the tree. "You cannot swing on them.”

    "I am too old to swing on branches," said the boy.

    "My trunk is gone," said the tree. "You cannot climb."

    "I am too tired to climb," said the boy.

    "I am sorry," sighed the tree. "I wish that I could give you something------ but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump." 

 "I don't need very much now," said the boy. "just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired."

"Well," said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, "Well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest."

And the boy did. 

And the tree was happy.

New Stuff

Well, soon after my post on Friday I received an anxious call from a friend who desperately needed to get out of her house and away from her children and husband for an hour or two. There's no shame in that. We've all been there. If you're sitting there judging her then we need to find a way for you to walk in her shoes for a week... heck, a day would probably be enough.


SO. I packed up my poor kid and we scooped up my friend and spirited her away to...


LAKESHORE LEARNING!!!! We were in the car for 2 hours to get there so once again I am insanely grateful that Gwen is into audio books now.


We spent an hour in the store. If I hadn't had a budget I would've been a lot quicker. It was a lot of picking up and putting back and looking and exclaiming and putting back. I talked myself down to just a few, super exciting things

 
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom activity tree


Math board game for Gwen


Fun Foam

Also Old MacDonald felt characters, and a large jug of glue. It was so much better explore in person then it was online :)

Hello!!!

I'm back! I know it's been quite awhile, but I think I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.

There's something you should know about me... I have a slightly obsessive personality. I latch onto something and think about it all the time for a few weeks or months and then I move on to something else.

That being said, my latest obsession is Lakeshore Learning. What makes this different from others is that lakeshore is a repeat offender. I have gone through lakeshore 'kicks' 2-3 times a year, every year since I discovered them.

They have so many things that I could use for my daycare and my daughter... even if I wasn't homeschooling, but especially because I am!


Bookshelves


Giant reading pillows


Really cool rugs


Active play kits


Bugs discovery kit

 
and Educational Games

So how much money has it cost me to be 'window shopping' on the website a couple days a week? $0.00

In all this time I have not been able to justify the purchase and shipping cost of any of the things on my wish list.

Unbelievable huh?

Happy 200th Birthday!

I was recently enlightened to the fact that 2012 is Charles Dickens 200th birthday. Well... great, you say. But who cares?
I do :)

It just so happens, that I have never, in my life, ever, read ANY, not even one, of his books! I'm not usually one for classics... even though I have much of The Secret Garden memorized and can point out all the difference between the book and at least 3 of the movies.

Anyway, I am reading a booksneeze book right now called More Lost Than Found. So after I review that I am going to dig into some Dickens. I have a plan (sort of).

Oliver Twist

Great Expectations

David Copperfield

Penwick Papers

and A Christmas Carol

Hopefully it won't take me till Christmas to get to A Christmas Carol... but I've never taken on a challenge like this, so who knows! Maybe after that I'll try the Fellowship Of The Ring again... Maybe.

What are your reading challenges?