Tips For Writing Your Child's Homeschool Transcript

One of the biggest points of concern for homeschoolers who continue to home school through the high school years is how to write a transcript. The first step in writing a home school transcript comes in planning the courses which will be recorded on that transcript. Once you know what is needed to make a transcript that will cause colleges to take notice, it is mostly a matter of keeping good records.

Start planning early. [Free High School Planning Sheet] I know I heard this advice, but didn't really pay it much attention. Then my son was suddenly in high school and I realized I should have taken a closer look at this transcript thing before I planned his first year of classes. As I was planning out his final year, I realized why it is useful to plan all four years from the beginning. After three very heavy years, there wasn't much left to study. (An easy senior year is a big transcript "no-no", but my son has opted to go directly into the workforce so I get a free pass this time.)

Find out what your state requires.  [VA High School Planning Sheet] (Do a search for your state's department of education website.) Our state has a religious exemption which allows parents to home school using their own choice of curriculum and to set their own requirements for graduation. However, knowing that colleges are more than likely going to compare my children's transcripts to those of other children from our state, I have used our state's graduation requirements as an outline for our high school program. (Homeschoolers who live in states with stricter laws will also need to research what their legal requirements are for graduation.) But keep in mind that, though you want your child's transcript to be noticed by colleges, your most important role is to equip your son or daughter for life. Make sure you are giving them the education that is right for them, not just one that looks good on paper.

Remember to write everything down. Don't assume that you will remember everything you have studied when the time finally comes to fill out the transcript. Also keep track of the extra activities and learning your children do outside of the "classroom." Check out the course descriptions of classes being offered at local high schools. This will give you an idea of things your children may already be doing which could be used for credit as electives. I don't believe in making up classes just to fill a transcript. However, I do think it is proper to give my students the credits they have earned.

Here are a  couple links to get you started writing your child's home school transcript:

•  Homeschool Highschool Transcript Template and Tips
• Homeschool High School Transcript Template

Bible Verses For Thanksgiving

Need something to keep the kids busy while you finish up in the kitchen? Here are some Bible verse pages that they can color. I plan to hang these around the house after the kids are done with them.

Bible Verses For Thanksgiving

Save Time In the Kitchen, The Easy Way

It seems like everywhere I look lately, I see directions for make-ahead crockpot cooking and meals for the freezer. These directions come with the promise that they only take "one afternoon" or "a couple of hours" to prep. But seriously, what homeschooling mother has an entire afternoon to set aside for meal preparation? How often can we even find a couple of extra hours in our schedule?

Actually, if I could prep several weeks worth of meals in one afternoon, I might be tempted to try it. But with a family the size of my family, those massive amounts of food you see artistically displayed in stacks of filled freezer bags don't last nearly long enough to make it worth it.

So, I don't follow any handy-dandy freezer cooking plans. And yet, I still manage to prepare from scratch meals, seven nights a week, without stressing. I even have a couple of meals ready in the freezer at any given time. How do I do it?!

No, I'm not superwoman. (Really, ask my kids.) But over the years I've discovered that taking a few extra minutes here and there eventually adds up to hours saved. None of these tips are very revolutionary. Most will probably seem elementary to experienced homemakers. But since they came to me in "duh!" moments after years of cooking for my family, I hope I can shorten the learning curve for someone by posting them here.

3 Tips For Saving Time In the Kitchen

1. Prep Once, Clean Once

It takes less time to make twice as much of anything as it does to prepare, cook, and clean up on two separate occasions. While you may not have the time or resources to double a complete recipe, you can still save time by doubling parts of the recipe each time you cook.

When you are browning ground meat, it only takes a little extra effort to throw an extra pound or two into the pan. Drain, cool, place in freezer bags- you've just saved yourself both cooking and cleaning time. If you are making a meatloaf, mix up enough for two and stick the second batch (uncooked) in a freezer bag. Add some vegetables on the side and you now have a freezer meal to use on a busy day. The same is true when making meatballs, though they will involve more time to prep and should be cooked before freezing. If you are cooking chicken, cook twice as much. Next time you need to add precooked meat to a recipe, you will be prepared.

When chopping vegetables, chop a little bit extra (or a lot depending on how much time you have) and toss in a freezer bag. There is nothing to say that you must fill the bag all at one time. Celery, carrots, green peppers, and onions are especially good candidates for this technique. It is soooo convienient to have some of these kitchen staples already chopped when you are in a rush and need to throw a meal together quickly. Just take out the amount you need and throw it into the recipe.

And on those days when you do have enough time, go ahead and double a whole meal. Place it in the freezer (cooked or uncooked depending on the recipe) and you not only have your first "freezer meal", but you also have a convience food you know your family will love.

2. Let Your "Servants" Cook For You

 I once sat under the teaching of a wise woman who explained that, though modern women may not have "maidservants" like the Proverbs 31 woman, we do have appliances that we ought to be using to their full advantage.

Crockpots are great for creating meals out of a few ingredients hastily added to them in the morning, but they are also a useful tool for precooking ingredients for multiple future meals. Dried legumes take hours to cook from scratch. It is much easier to open a can of beans than it is to stand over the stove stirring a pot while they cook. However, I don't do either of those things because my servant cooks them for me. I just pour a bag of dried beans, lentils, or chickpeas into my crockpot, fill it with water, and leave it cooking on high until the beans are soft. Then I rinse them with cold water and bag them in quart size freezer bags. It only takes me about 10 minutes of my time to prepare 4 to 6 quarts of cooked legumes.

An outdoor grill can be a wonderful help "in" the kitchen by reducing the number of greasy dishes that need to be washed. In addition to meats, you can grill foil wrapped veggies for a complete "mess-less" meal. Grilled chicken breasts freeze well and are a handy convienience food to have on hand. (If you'd prefer to grill "as needed", at least mix up an extra batch of marinade and  pour it into a zipper bag along with some meat for next time. Store in the freezer and thaw the night before you wish to use it.) 

The oven is often under-used when it comes to cooking helpers. Many foods that are prepared on the stove top can also be baked in the oven, saving energy and reducing messes. For instance, bacon can be spread on cookie sheets and baked at 350 degrees. (Egg casseroles like Chili Cheese Egg Puff are some of my favorite Sunday morning meals because, unlike fried or scrambled eggs,  I can take care of other things while they are cooking.)

My rice cooker is another "servant" whose help I rely heavily on. Just pour in the rice, add twice as much water, place the lid on it, push the button, and you're done! Other kitchen helpers include blenders, hand mixers, and food choppers.

3. Clean Up As You Go

I know this doesn't seem like much of a time saver, but anyone who has ever tried to scrub pans which have been left to sit overnight will know the truth of this saying. Food which splatters out of the pan will burn onto your stovetop if it is not wiped up immediately. And it takes more time to work around a stack of dirty dishes than to work in a clean, organized kitchen.

If you are doing a lot of cooking at one time, keep a dishpan filled with warm soapy water so you can do a quick wash up of utensils and mixing bowls as you finish using them. It seems so much easier when you only have a few dishes to wash at a time, rather than having to face a mountain of them all at once. And by the time you finish cooking, you might be too tired to take care of them anyway.

By following these three time saving tips, you will accumulate hours of "free" kitchen time. Without taking an entire day to prep freezer meals, you will have on hand some quick-fix meals and home made convienience foods for days when you have no time to spend cooking. And you'll still have your sanity.

What are your tips for saving time in the kitchen?

f is for fireman {free printable}



Because CJ had asked to study firemen for "school" this year, I was excited to learn that October 7-13 was National Fire Safety Week. I had already searched the childrens' section of our library for books and videos on fireman.  But I had not found even half of the items that our nice librarians gathered for their Fire Safety Week Display. It was tempting to check out the whole pile of books ('cause that's what homeschoolers do, right?), but I controlled myself.

Yes, I know it looks like a tail,
but it is fire hose. Really, it is.

We will be spreading our study out over much longer than a week, but the fact that there is  a National Fire Saftey Week made it much easier to find resources. It's nice when lessons can be both fun and easy to plan. And since we are almost to the letter "f" in our Alphabet Notebooks, we skipped "e" (temporarily) so we could do "f is for fireman."

This fireman bears a strange resemblance to our "d" dinosaur. I wanted to add a face to make him more man-like, but I got out voted by my children. Feel free to get creative if you would prefer a face.

f is for fireman coloring page & pattern

Here some additional resources that I found online:

THE SNACK
I'm putting this first because, as far as 3 year old boys are concerned, the snack is the most important thing. Shape Your Future has a cute little campfire made out of cheddar cheese, pretzels, and grapes and  Taste of Home has some cute fire trucks made out of graham crackers. (We are actually avoiding gluten and sugar right now, so I won't do either of these as written. But I'll try to adapt them for him.)

PROP FOR PLAY ACTING

• Fireman Paper Doll

EDUCATIONAL STUFF

• Fire Station Math  using lima bean "dalmations" for counting practice.
• Fire Safety Preschool Pack
• Firemen Printables
• Sparky The Firedog Website

How To Make A "Leather-Look" Vase

You will need:

* a glass jar or vase

* masking tape

* paper towels

* brown shoe polish

Tear small pieces of masking tape off the roll and place them, randomly but slightly over-lapping, on the glass jar. The edges of the tape should be jagged and not square. Make sure you put the tape on flat so you don't create wrinkles. Cover the entire surface of the jar.



Place a small amount of shoe polish on a paper towel and apply it to the surface of the vase. The shoe polish should gather in the cracks along the edges of the tape.

Do NOT polish the surface, but wipe gently as you apply so you don't have too much build-up on the flat sections of the tape. Be careful that you do not rub polish up under the tape or it will no longer stick. Let the shoe polish dry, then spray with a clear sealer. Add flowers to you vase and display with pride!



A Study of Six Lapbook {freebie}

A Study of Six Lapbook

Many years ago, there was a request on one of the Yahoo Groups I subscribed to for ideas to create a lapbook about the number six. The mother who asked for suggestions was wanting to create a lapbook for her daughter's fifth birthday. Since my own daughter was also nearing that eventful birthday, I started brainstorming ideas. Due to a computer crash, the lapbook I started was lost. However, I recently went back and recreated that project for my daughter's sixth birthday. 

Thanksgiving Printables {freebie}

Thanksgiving Acrostic Poem

I found a really cute pumpkin clipart alphabet that was just begging to be used. I was also trying to find some fun activities for the kids to do during Thanksgiving vacation. Ta-da! A fun little page for creating an acrostic poem about Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Notebook Pages
Notebook pages are like shoes. Sometimes you don't really need new ones, but they are still fun to have. That must be why I end up making a new set every Thanksgiving. Here are three new ones to add to your collection.