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Cookbook Giveaway!Posted on Friday 4 April 2008 at 1:21 PM - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link
Homeschool CarnivalsPosted on Tuesday 26 June 2007 at 12:57 PM in Homeschooling - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Linkhttp://homeschoolingjourney.com/homeschooling-carnival-1/Homeschooling Carnival #1 over at Homeschooling Journey http://homeschoolhacks.com/2007/06/25/carnival-of-homeschooling-surgery-edition/ Carnival of Homeschooling #78 - Surgery Edition Stop by these homeschool carnivals and see what homeschooling bloggers are writing about this week. Cheese Sandwiches and Lunch DebtPosted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 3:48 PM in A Little Bit Of Everything - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI just heard this on the radio: Father's Day on the LakePosted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 11:36 AM in Out and About - 1 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI'm catching up on pictures...and now I'm caught up!We had a church picnic on the lake. What a great time we had celebrating Father's Day.  Hubby and Boo taking the paddle boat out.  Have a great time guys!  I chose the pontoon ride instead....  ...and got some great pictures. We had a yummy pot luck dinner with homemade ice cream for dessert...and a bonfire. Thanks to our hosts for opening their lovely home to us all. Archery FunPosted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 11:29 AM in Out and About - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI'm catching up on pictures:Boo is learning how to shoot a bow. We all went to our local range and had a great time.  Boo taking aim.  Boo aiming at the 10 ft. targets.  Watching it fly.  "Look what I did!"  Dad taking aim. He did really well, must be the hunter in him. lol  Me taking aim. I could use lessons. Adventures With Frog and ToadPosted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 11:21 AM in A Little Bit Of Everything - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI'm catching up on pictures:A while back I posted about Boo catching a frog and a toad in our backyard (here). Finally I got the pictures posted:  
Our New "Used" Dining ChairsPosted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 11:13 AM in Household Projects - 2 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI'm catching up on pictures:We were in bad need of a dining room table and chairs. Our chairs were falling apart and as was our table...beyond repair. I've been looking for a nice set at yard sales and resale shops for a couple years but I really didn't find anything that I liked. I found this set (1 table with a leaf and 6 chairs) at a yard sale for $35. And I liked it...so did hubby!  The only thing I didn't like was the vinyl on the chairs. But that in my opinion was an easy fix.  $30 later, new foam padding and pretty fabric that matches our red dining room. More On Mother's DayPosted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 11:05 AM in A Little Bit Of Everything - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI'm catching up on pictures:We had a dove nest in Boo's homemade birdhouse...we named her Lovey. She was out with her chicks on Mother's Day also.  Lovey peeking out of the box.  Lovey out with her chicks on Mother's Day. My Mother's DayPosted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 11:01 AM in A Little Bit Of Everything - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI'm catching up on pictures: Mother's Day banquet at our church. We were served dinner by the men and boys. BBQ chicken was the featured dish.  They even used the "fine china"...or in this case Corelle.  My Mother's Day flowers, aren't they pretty?  Me and my Boo. It was a great day to be Mom. I'm thinking about using this one for my avitar. What do you think? Clover All OverPosted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 10:59 AM in A Little Bit Of Everything - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI'm catching up on pictures:The clover is abundant this year! 
Duck, Duck, Goose, Goose, Goose....Posted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 10:55 AM in Out and About - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI'm catching up on pictures:While we were at the park a while back with our little family, all the ducks and geese thought it was a great day to be out with their families too!  3 families of geese, and some of the ducks.  Taking a lunch break. Family Fishing FunPosted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 10:51 AM in Out and About - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI'm catching up on pictures: Boo at his favorite fishing spot.  One of my favorite parks here. Boo loves sitting and fishing.  Hubby loves fishing too. I do as well, but...well...I had the camera. lol  "I think I caught something!" Nope, not this time.  "I think it's time to try a new lure." The Reader Caught ReadingPosted on Monday 25 June 2007 at 10:44 AM in Homeschooling - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkI'm catching up on pictures: I love watching him read. Why We HomeschoolPosted on Friday 22 June 2007 at 9:01 AM in Homeschooling - 1 Comments - Post Comment - LinkMy second tips for beginning homeschoolers post...find out more by visiting Kelly at Pass the Torch http://2passthetorch.com/.We are almost finished with our school year...we have about 4 weeks left before our little summer vacation (we school year round). Most of my family and friends are very understanding about our decision to homeschool...but I still find myself having to defend our decision to homeschool with some people. I understand it's is not for everyone, but it's right for us. So I decided to make a list of reasons why we chose to homeschool. Homeschooling is one of the easiest things I've ever done...but it's also one of the hardest things. Once in a while there will come a day when you're burned out and ready to throw in the towel...it can be helpful to re-read through the reasons you chose to homeschool. Here are some of the reason why we chose homeschooling (and yes, I did get some ideas from other homeschoolers on the net!): * We want to keep the heart of our son where it should to be, with us - his parents, until it is time for him to marry and to leave home. * We want to have control over what he is exposed to - both good and bad. We would like to present these things to him ourselves at a time when we feel he is mature enough to gain the greatest benefit. * We love being with our son. We are truly blessed. * We have full control over the curriculum he is using, and can tailor it as needed to his learning style. * We had already taught him to walk, talk, eat, potty, dress himself etc. * No one loves our son or has his best interest at heart like we, his parents, do. * We want instill in our son a love for learning. * They don't teach Greek in public schools. * Prayer is allowed and encouraged. * Our son won't spend most of each day with children we normally wouldn't let him hang around with. * Our son will never stuff anyone in a locker. * We can spend much more time at the library. * It's all homework. * Our son will learn positive values and good morals each day. * Our son can go to the bathroom any time he wants. * Our son won't be ranked, judged, labeled or categorized. * Art and music will never be cut. * There is no assigned seating. * Our son ALWAYS makes the honor roll. * We have a lot of fun. * Our son has more free time to pursue his own interests. * Our son can ask questions at any time. * We can spend more time on recess. * The lunches here are healthier. Remember those soggy grilled cheese sandwiches in the plastic bags? * We can homeschool anywhere at any time. * We get to sleep in. * Our son can learn at his own pace. If he doesn't understand something, we can spend extra time on it. * We don't have to go "back to school" since we homeschool all through the year. * The class size is perfect. * The lines are much shorter at Cedar Point after public school starts. * We feel our home environment is a safe refuge from drugs, violence, prejudice and moral decay. And the most important reason? I like this one shared by another homeschooling family: We are spending hours of study in our home and dedicating our lives to find out if it is really spelled home school, home-school or homeschool. My Homeschool "Must Haves"Posted on Friday 22 June 2007 at 8:44 AM in Homeschooling - 2 Comments - Post Comment - LinkKelly at Pass the Torch http://2passthetorch.com/ is gathering up everyone's tips for beginner homeschoolers. I wanted to re-post a couple that I felt would fit this. When I started homeschooling, I wanted to create the school environment here at home. I found a school desk at a yard sale, bought all kinds of school supplies. Now that I have a couple years of homeschooling under my belt (we are finishing second grade) I've found mosst of that stuff hardly got used. The desk is sitting in our storage unit waiting to be sold at our yard sale. There are many things we use each day for homeschooling...binders, pencils, big erasers and especially the Bible...but there are a few things I've found that really work for us:Dry Erase Board and Markers - We use this for everything. Our 2' x 3' dry erase board serves as our chalk board as we learn different subjects. Boo used to practice writing his letters on it and he uses it now to write out his math problems and spelling words. You don't even need a dry erase board...just a plastic page protector with a blank white paper in it...which is what we use when we travel. For younger kids you can put in alphabet/number/shape pages and have them trace them...and you don't have to keep making copies. Dice - Not just the standard 6-sided dice, but we have 4-, 8-, 10- and 20- sided dice also. Dominos can be used too...we have the ones that go up to 24. Instead of printing out math problems I give Boo the dice and he rolls them out, writes down the numbers on the two dice and adds them together or subtracts the greater number from the lesser. I also plan on doing the same thing when we really get into multiplication. Sometimes I'll give him 3 or 4 dice and have him add the numbers together. It's one of his favorite ways to do math. Index Cards - I use them as flashcards for everything...math problems, spelling words, vocabulary words, phonics rules, Bible verses etc. They are also portable. I had some extra shower curtain rings...you know the thin, cheap metal ones...and put the index cards on one of those rings after punching holes in the corners. They all stay together and Boo can take them anywhere. Library Card - It's amazing the wealth of resources the library has...even our tiny county library. It's also amazing the amount of money saved instead of renting DVD's or buying books. Laminator - Print it up once, laminate it and re-use it over and over again. Dry erase markers work on these too! I laminate maps, lists, forms, Bible verses, cursive alphabet for tracing etc. The Internet - Honestly...I can't imagine homeschooling without it. These are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. If you homeschool, what are your "must haves?" Share your best homeschool tips - a call for bloggersPosted on Thursday 21 June 2007 at 5:00 PM in Homeschooling - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkTomorrow (Friday, June 22) Kelly at Pass the Torch will be gathering up everyone's tips for beginner homeschoolers. I'm sure even "almost" veteren homeschoolers will enjoy it also...I know I will. If you have homeschooling tips you'd like to pass on, she's going to post a Mr. Linky with links from everyone's homeschool blog posts. You can find more info here.Write To Politicians In WashingtonPosted on Wednesday 20 June 2007 at 3:13 PM in Politics - 1 Comments - Post Comment - LinkYa know if you ever want to get in touch with your elected representatives in Washington DC...or your own state, a great place to start is http://www.congress.org/. Simply type in your zip code and it'll pull up your reps. Click on FEDERAL or STATE...or you can select an individual from the list. It's really easy to fire off a single letter (or many letters! LOL) to all your reps when you want your voice to be heard. It's a really cool website. Check it out, I bet they'd love to hear from you.
Saving Electricity UpdatePosted on Wednesday 20 June 2007 at 2:22 PM in Household Projects - 3 Comments - Post Comment - LinkOriginal post: http://www.homesteadblogger.com/annreathome/59457/Saving+Electricity.htmlThe Kill-A-Watt device arrived yesterday and Hubby was able to test a few things. Here are a few that he tested: The fridge is constantly using a minimum of 200 watts. The coffee maker takes a whopping 2 watts to show the time...but 970 watts each time we make a pot of coffee! Should have went with the stove-top perculator when we were looking at them! The microwave we use mostly to heat up a cuppa coffee...many times a day...was off the Kill-A-Watt scale! (Do we really NEED a microwave???) Our TV was using almost 10 watts when it was off! We use a fan since we don't have an air conditioner...it takes 40 watts on low...46 watts on high. Not sure how that compares to an air conditioner. Listen to my radio is only 2 watts. My Kitchen Aid mixer is 45 watts. My iron is 1200 watts! Update: Dishwasher uses 640 watts. Dryer went up to 750 watts when it started up, then stayed around 300 watts while it ran. Still have to get the info on the computer stuff, DVD player, fish tank, cordless phones etc. We have so much more that plugs in now than we did when we lived in Michigan...when I had nearly $10 a month electric bills. Hubby and I were discussing last night things we chould change over to non-electric...like the coffee maker...and do we really need 4 cordless phones??? Again...I'm not buying into "man-made" global warming  , but I do buy into being frugal and getting out of debt  .
The 77th Carnival of HomeschoolingPosted on Wednesday 20 June 2007 at 1:20 PM in Homeschooling - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkBuckle up and enjoy the road trip! Don't forget to watch the signs along the way! The host this week is Consent of the Governed: http://yedies.blogspot.com/2007/06/carnival-of-homeschooling-77-homeschool.htmlHousehold BindersPosted on Wednesday 20 June 2007 at 1:12 PM in Keeping The Home - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkCandi over at Keeping The Home posted a nice blog about creating a Home Management Binder. I'll tell ya...I'm organizationally challenged. My grandmother used to tell me all the time I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached. lol It really helps me to keep all my important stuff in one place...bills, receipts, menus, coupons, appointments, contacts etc. It really helps to keep me more organized than I really am. I posted last year about mine...I call it my Household Binder...you can find that post here. I have actually updated mine since that post, so one of these days when the software for our camera is working again I'll post some new pictures. I also created my own planner pages...you can find the post and the pages here. |
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In celebration of the new domain for my blog Ann'Re @ Home...I'm hosting a giveaway. I'm giving away a copy of the cookbook A Taste of Shipshewana - A collection of local recipes:
