Parts of Speech Lapbook

Here are some pictures of a parts of speech lapbook my daughter made when she was 7.  No printables, no links. Just an example of the learning that can happen when you turn a child loose with a project idea and some scrapbooking supplies.

How To Organize Your Notgrass World History Notebook

This is a picture of the inside of my son's Bible
& history notebook last year. There were 3 tabs
 for the Notgrass study & 2 for other things.

 I put a lot of time into preparing my children's notebooks to use Notgrass Exploring World History last year. The first section of the notebook was for unit writing assignments, the next for literature reviews, the third for Bible study questions, the final for quizzes and tests. (Behind those was a separate study of Roman's that we did and a folder to store additional essays that they wrote.) I even made up a literature reading log to record hours spent reading, and nice title pages to glue to the front of the notebook tab pages. However, if I had put a little more time into actually looking at the program, I could have saved myself a lot of work. Here is what I discovered:

The unit writing division worked really nicely. These are essay type assignments that are graded by the teacher, not using the answer book. They take up a lot of space, so it is nice for them to have their own spot. My kids were pretty bad about forgetting to file them, so a folder might have worked better. [To add a folder to your notebook, use a regular no-prong folder. Place a piece of 3-hole punched paper on the front of it (because the folder is too long to fit in a 3-hole puncher) and use a paper punch to make holes.]



lesson quizzes

The second section (for literature reviews) was pretty much useless. I had planned to have my kids write something like a book report for each of the book selections they read. However, since the curriculum includes questions to answer on each book, and since the answers to these questions were included in the test & quiz answer book, and since my kids were a bit overloaded with work this year (OK, I was waaaay too ambitious in the lesson planning), we didn't end up doing this. Plan B was for them to store the answers to the literature questions in this file, but the answers to these were listed along with text and quiz answers in the order they came in the textbook, so it made more sense to file them with tests and quizzes. The literature reading logs, while a good idea in theory, also didn't work out well. My kids kept forgetting to time themselves when reading.

The third section for Bible study questions was unnecessary for the same reasons as the literature reviews section- answers in the quiz book along with answers for tests and quizzes in the order they were completed.

The final section, for quizzes and tests is where most of their papers ended up getting filed. There are questions for each lesson, a bible study question each week (after the fifth lesson), and occasional literature questions (after a book is finished). I had the kids fill out the answers to these on notebook paper and file them in order as they completed them. There are also tests for each unit, and four quarterly tests. These could also be filled out on notebook paper and filed in order as they are taken. However, I wanted to have these all in one place for easier grading, so I made up a form that the kids could use for taking the tests.

In hindsight, I think we would have been better off with a notebook full of lined paper with a folder in the back instead of all the fancy forms and divisions. The Notgrass History curriculum is well designed and is set up for ease of use. You really don't have to over think things.

Exploring World History Curriculum Package By Ray Notgrass / Notgrass Company Integrative and faith-based, Exploring World History presents a God-oriented view of history that combines biblical studies, word history and English (literature & composition). Two textbooks contain history lessons that are generally followed by studying grammar points, completing writing assignments, reading assignments in In Their Words as well as the required reading, and Bible study questions. Moving from creation all the way to the 21st century, your students will have a comprehensive overview of the events, concepts and culture of humanity. 2 Student Texts and Reading Book In Their Words, 1095 pages total, softcover.

World Explorer Biography Pages {free printables}

I've been looking through our geography notebooks as I prepare for next school year and have started to make some notebook pages to use with my younger children. Here are some pictures of my most recent creations. Scroll to the bottom for a link to download the pdf file.

World Explorer Biography Pages Download

Father's Day Project {free printable}

I know we haven't even celebrated Mother's Day yet, but since I AM the mother I don't really have much to do with preparing for that holiday. So, on to Father's Day! Being that I'm usually running behind, you will have to excuse me for actually being early for a change.

I wrote this poem for my husband almost 14 years ago, when my oldest two children were just babies, and put in on a card with pictures of my sons wearing their Papa's boots and  "working" with him around our yard. After seeing a Father's Day project which included a cut-out of a child's shoe print glued inside his father's shoe print, I decided to create a similar Father's Day project for my toddler. (I'd recommend using ink, if possible. I wasn't really happy with the results I got using paint. But maybe it was just because I was trying to take pictures at the same time.)

If you'd like to make your own Father's Day craft, you can download the PDF file of the poem below.

Papa's Feet Poem
Daddy's Feet Poem

Three More Ways To Save Money on the Grocery Bill

People often wonder how we can afford to feed nine children. The short answer is that we can't. Sometimes we don't know how we are going to make it. Sometimes we go weeks without a trip to the grocery store, living on what can be found in the pantry and freezer. These are the times that I fall back on my Dutch heritage, using the skills bred by generations of frugal living to create masterpieces of culinary genius. (I call it "pulling a rabbit out of my hat" and believe it is the closest mankind can come to imitating God's act of creation ex nilo.) Sometimes, the creativity reaches its limits and we eat strange and not so great meals. But God has always provided and we have never gone hungry. Here are three more ways you can make the grocery budget go farther.

1. Learn To Eat What God Provides.  It is much easier to stick to a grocery budget if you teach your children (and yourself)  to not be picky eaters and learn to eat a wide variety of foods. Grocery stores often run specials on surpluses or foods nearing their expiration dates. Gardening friends will  sometimes offer extra produce when they have more than they can handle. (You know the joke about leaving your car locked during zucchini season?) Friends with chickens may gift you with farm fresh eggs. (I admit, this is my area of weakness. I much prefer the less healthy store bought ones.) Occasionally there are  leftovers from potlucks that no one else wants to take home. These gifts are not always what we would purchase had the choice been ours, but they are still a blessing which we are happy to receive. If you are not confined to the whims of picky eaters, you will have so many more opportunities to save money on the grocery bill! However, there are times when the cost of food needs to be measured in more than just dollars. Health should always be a consideration when you are choosing what to feed your family. Even though junk food sometimes appears cheaper, you will pay an additional cost for it in the long run through poor health and doctors bills. Sometimes, being frugal isn't really very frugal at all.
2. Eat whole foods and cook from scratch.  While real food options don't usually go on sale or come with coupons, they are often a better value pound for pound and will do a much better job of satisfying appetites. Real foods don't come "ready made" so you are only paying for food, not convenience. And cooking from scratch gives you much more control over what is in your food, so you can make better nutritional choices. However, the recent popularity of organic foods has caused the cost of whole foods to climb. For those hoping to stretch the grocery budget, the best alternative is often to take a do it yourself approach.
3. Raise Your Own. No matter who you are or where you live, there is always something you can do to grow your own food. Those blessed to live in the country will find it easy to keep a few chickens or plant a large garden. But the idea of raising your own groceries should not seem impossible even to those living in urban areas.  I grew up in the middle of the city, but my mom still had a garden every year. It meant the sacrifice of a good portion of our yard, but it was worth it. If a garden is not a possibility for you, try growing vegetables in containers or herbs and greens on a window sill. Houseplants are pretty and help to clean the air, but why not make them edible as well? At the very least, you can purchase some seeds (alfalfa, beans, etc.) and grow your own sprouts.

Though grocery prices continue to climb, it is still possible to stretch the budget with a little creativity and some good old fashioned elbow grease. The important thing is to remain balanced. Do what you can, but keep in mind that there are other factors to consider besides the dollar sign. Don't sacrifice your health for the sake of a good deal, and don't be afraid to choose convenience when you need to. Your time is worth something too.

Part One: Use What You Have

Update On My Tabletop Garden

The re-growing celery has made it's way outdoors.
I can't see much difference between the two plants,
 although they were started two weeks apart. {Only
one of these plants survived and it did not produce
 more celery. It just went to seed. So, 
Re-Growing Celery apparently doesn't work.}

The sweet potatoes slips are coming along slowly.

My experiment with re-growing green onions
in water is yielding not so great results.  The greens
come back limp, and see how the bulb is shrinking?
I may try planting these in dirt and see if that makes it worth it.
{Dirt didn't go well either. Another re-growing fail}

Here is my ginger "plant." It isn't growing like it expected
(sprouts out the top). Instead, the nubs are growing out
and turing green. Very interesting. Very slow too.
{I kept this potted up as a houseplant. It looks and smells nice.}



 Want to try growing your own indoor garden? Amanda of Hearts and Trees has created a Tabletop Garden Notebook Page that you can use to record you observations.

How To Repurpose A Winter Shirt For Summer

Hand-me-downs are a way of life in our home. A change of season means it's time to pull out the tubs of clothing from storage and find out what we will need to purchase, and what we already have. Out of season clothes are put back in the tubs for the next year and the next child. However, sometimes it makes more sense to repurpose winter clothes that still fit than it does to go out and purchase "new" ones.

Clothes that are too worn to pass on are great candidates for repurposing. Jeans with holes in the knees can be turned into shorts by cutting off the bottom of the legs. Long-sleeved shirts can be turned into Tshirts in the same way by cutting off the sleeves. The pant legs and sleeves can be hemmed, but it's not really necessary since the clothes are already grungy and will just be used for play.

Another good time to try repurposing is when you find yourself needing to purchase summer clothes for a child who has no younger siblings. Why give away all their winter clothes when they could just wear the same clothes for another season? In this situation, however, you will want the clothing to look nicer. That's why I love this kind of shirt:

Long-sleeved shirt with layered look

Just fold up the sleeves of the short "over shirt"

Cut off the sleeves of the mock "undershirt" where the two join, being careful not to cut into the material of the overshirt.

Enjoy your "new" short sleeved T-shirt.

"New" shirt, no need to hem!