Homeschooling Semantics

I love this humorous cartoon by Bruce Tinsley that was in the recent edition of our area homeschool newsletter. The main thought of the cartoon was about the homeschooled kid's vocabulary and whether or not he/she would assimilate in their mainstream peer group.

We had an example of one particular homeschooled kid's semantics that very day.

Malcom (14) announced that he would like to inquire and follow up on some of his submitted job applications. He mentioned a few of the establishments he had applied to, among them a small restaurant in town called "Morsels."

Malcom went on to describe that he liked to work at this eatery and that it was a small, quaint place.

Greyson (11) commented with this statement: "Uh, duh! Morsels, meaning *very small*, *tiny*..... hence, the name "Morsels." (He used his fingers to represent quotation marks to emphasize the word "Morsels", similar to how Austin Powers did in his movies)

I just burst out laughing upon hearing that interchange between an older brother and his younger nemesis.

I don't think I have heard anyone use the word "hence" in a long while.

Blessings,

Camy

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Family Popcorn Night!

"It's popcorn night! It's popcorn night!" exclaims little Sam (2 1/2).


He gets very excited when he discovers it's Friday night, our family movie/popcorn night.


This tradition began when I was a little girl. Every Sunday evening we would watch the Disney Sunday night movie, and my mother would make a large bowl of popcorn. It was the highlight of my week, and thus began my love affair with popcorn.


I decided to add popcorn night as one of our family traditions when my twins were little guys. Now they are 14 years old!


Tonight we are going to watch "Rocky." The very first of the series of Rocky movies. I figure it will motivate and encourage my boys to step up their workout programs (grin).


10 reasons to have a family popcorn night

1. Family togetherness


2. The benefit of viewing great & inspirational movies. We enjoy popular movies as well as great documentaries.
3. You get to drink pop (this is about the only night our children get to splurge on pop :O)


4. No need for supper preparation (yahoo!). Just have a light, informal and early supper of sandwiches or another simple meal. We begin popcorn night at 6:30 or 7 pm.
5. Encourages serving one another. Have a few children help with serving pop, getting bowls and napkins, and passing out the popcorn. This is great for the littler children.


6. Provides a restful evening for busy parents. It's nice to just unwind and sit with the family.


7. Allows the family to re-focus. While everyone is in one place, you could have a short family meeting/conference/devotional time, etc. before you view the movie.


8. Facilitates discussion over movie content. Sometimes the content is objectionable and the movie is turned off. Other times, we are inspired and encouraged by motion picture themes.


9. Helps get the house clean! No popcorn night until the house it tidy and laundry is put away.


10. It's cheap!!!!! Along w/ homemade popcorn and pop in 2 liter bottles (we get 3 or 4), we get our movies from the public or church libraries. Once in awhile we will get videos or DVDs from the video store. Still, it's a thrifty way to have family entertainment!

We use a Stir Crazy popcorn popper to make our popcorn. Here's our recipe:

• 3 Tablespoons coconut or other oil
• 3/4 cup popcorn
• 1 stick of butter + 2 tablespoons of oil to stretch the butter
• salt

You could also use a heavy pan instead of the Stir Crazy. Just pour the oil into the pan along with the popcorn kernels, cover with pan lid. Heat on medium-high and shake pan occasionally. When it pops, shake pan over heat until you hear just a few pops and most of the corn is popped. Remove pan from heat and pour popcorn into a large bowl.

Melt the butter over medium heat and add the 2 tablespoons of of oil. Pour over popcorn. Stir w/ a large spoon. Salt to taste.

You can also add other spices to flavor the popcorn. The possibilities are endless! We will add Parmesan cheese once in awhile.

Our family quadruples the batch listed above in the recipe. If we want leftovers for the weekend, we double the quadruple batch.

Yummy!

Hope this inspires you to have a family movie & popcorn night.

(*if the evening is simply too hot for making popcorn, we eat ice cream sundaes!)

Enjoy :o).


Blessings,

Camy

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Next Time, Do That In The Woods

Last Sunday evening we were with a gathering of friends. Our children accompanied us and looked forward to hanging out with the other children who would be at this get-together.

It was a lovely, late afternoon and the host family decided that we should all move to their deck and have an outside meeting.

The children played on the lawn below as the adults had fellowship together. It was going very well, the bigger boys were playing a game of football while the smaller children shoveled and plowed in the sandbox. No one seemed inclined to wander out of the yard, and the situation was content . Until....

During a quiet, reflective moment with our friends, the host family's oldest son said rather clearly and plainly, "John, next time go pee in the woods!" (John is our 5 year old, by the way)

We all just looked at each other...My husband & I specifically exchanged a "we know perfectly what is going on" kind of glance. Then came the laughter.

At this point and time in our family life, my husband and I have learned to have quite a sense of humor over moments such as these, and we seldom experience embarrassment anymore! I think we are getting used to it! (However, stay tuned...this could change at any time)

For such a time as this we all had a laugh!

Blessings,

Camy

Quality Time Is Everyday Life!

A friend inspired me to post about children and quality time.

As a mother of many, I am often asked how my time is divided between our children. How can one mother give seven children quality time? I think this is a worthy question.

The more this issue swam in my head, it occurred to me that many opportunities abound each day for special one-on-one moments with my sons and daughter and husband as well. Perhaps a few may consider my answer to be unconventional....

I believe that every minute has the potential to be special one.

Almost every morning (like clockwork), my oldest sons (14 year old twins) arrive in the kitchen to give me their individual sports updates. Seriously, they come as individuals, but tell me almost the same story verbatim! That's identical twins for ya. "Mom, the Pistons won. The Tigers lost. The Redwings play tomorrow night." Just today they shared that the Green Bay Packers had not yet cleared out Brett Favre's locker and that he had not signed his retirement papers. Could this be ESPN Radio rumor? Who knows? Who cares! It is just my boys coming up to tell me something they want to share with "me", their mom. I smile and listen with great interest (because I really am interested in sports :o). You ought to see us during football season!

My son Greyson is a scientist. He is either doing an experiment, building some contraption, or dreaming of doing both. We will sit for the longest time discussing different scientific theories or doing scientific experiments. Our latest experiment was using a peppermint essential oil solution to kill bugs. We are also observing the seeds we planted in the garden to chart their progress. I just love these talks!

Elijah, my 9 year old, loves to talk about his passions...reading The Adventures of Tintin by Herge (his absolute favorite), Indiana Jones films, or his Lego movies on our computer. He asks often for my input on why Tintin did this-or-that or why did Indiana Jones have to get so old or "can I please make another Lego movie on the computer?" (No!)

Rachel, the dear 7 year old princess of our children, loves to help me in the kitchen. She also enjoys it when the two of us clean her room together. We have the longest talks while doing this. It is a special blessing when mother and daughter (who are SURROUNDED by testosterone) can spend some time together just being feminine and girly. We talk about babies, flowers, pretty things, birds, cats, etc.

John, the almost 5 year old genuine boy, says he is going to marry me. He wants to kiss me all the time. He then flaunts this in front of his daddy who in turn goes after him and jokingly tells him that I am already married. John also loves it when I read to him. He also loves to help in the kitchen and laundry room.

Samuel, our baby boy of 2 1/2, is so loving and huggy to me. If John kisses me, he is right there to counter it with a kiss of his own. He loves it when I sit with him, read to him, or lie down with him at nap time. Like John, Sam enjoys cooking and folding laundry, too. ("folding" has its own definition for a toddler boy :o).

My husband Roger, enjoys it when we can spend just about any time together. It is our daily routine to have morning coffee, before the children arise. We both value this time so much and hate it when it doesn't happen. It is rare that we miss our morning coffee time. Sometimes we are very tired and look forward to a nice cup of coffee. Our conversation may not be enthusiastic on the tired days, but we are there together. Just a touch of a hand or foot rub, and we both feel better. (the children are encouraged to leave us alone as we talk)

So, this is getting much longer than I anticipated. To sum it up, our culture emphasizes quality time with our loved ones. What a blessing that I get plenty of it everyday...just living in this household...walking, talking, working, struggling, smiling, laughing, eating, sleeping, bathing children, cleaning house, brushing little ones teeth....the list goes on-and-on!

Not everyday is perfect all the time...but I seem to remember many more happy moments than sad.

Quality time is perspective. It is everyday life!

Now I am inspired to smile and spend some quality time with my seven, wonderful children and fantastic, handsome husband. Perhaps you are inspired to do the same with your loved ones, too!

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow!

Camy

A Serious Homeschooler Issue: "What's For Lunch?"

As a homeschooler, I am concerned about many things for my children. What will they study? What math curriculum (or not) is best? When should we work on essay writing? etc...

But, there is an even more crucial subject that we cover everyday and can put the house in an uproar if it is not completed, and that is "lunch."

After a busy morning of homeschooling, we all get very hungry. The "What's for lunch, mom" question begins to fly around the room. It would often be met with a response like "Make some sandwiches" or "Have some yogurt and fruit." As my children have grown and are still growing, they are not thrilled w/ the aforementioned answers to the "What's for lunch" conundrum.

I came across a brilliant idea to help answer the question with a satisfying response. This answer was easy on the wallet and acceptable to the palate. Beans and Tortillas!

Directions on how to have a great lunch that is healthy, delicious, fairly simple, and inexpensive:

1. Place pinto beans in a crock pot w/ enough water to cover by 3 inches. I normally use about 5 cups of beans. Soak overnight.
2. When you get up in the morning, turn the crock pot on high (check to see if you need to add more water. Sometimes the beans absorb much of the water). Cook for about 3 hours. Check for doneness w/ a knife by breaking a bean in half. If tender, they're done.
3. Warm your tortillas. We do this by either wrapping a stack of tortillas in foil and placing in the oven on 375 degrees until warm (about 15 minutes), warming them one at a time on a hot cast iron skillet, or popping them in the toaster one by one for a more crisp tortilla. Make sure to watch them carefully in the toaster. They can burn quickly if you are not careful.
4. While tortillas are warming, drain cooked beans in a large strainer. Put beans in a bowl or back in the crock pot (turn on low). Mash the beans and add a shake of onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, & a dash of salt. You could also add a small can of chopped green chillies for more flavor. Take note to add more of the spices if you use more beans. Keep taste-testing to get flavorful results.
5. Prepare any desired toppings (i.e. lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, onions, peppers, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, etc.) . We stay very simple.
6. Serve mashed beans in tortillas and top w/ your choice of the above.

That's it! This is our favorite lunch. You could also serve freshly prepared raw vegetables on the side. If you have a capable child to prepare this lunch, that is very helpful, too!

Prepare a large amount of beans so you will have enough for more than one day of lunches. Just heat them in the crockpot that morning.

I purchase our tortillas at a Save-A-Lot store for 99 cents a package (10 tortillas). I buy the tortillas with the least amount of ingredients listed as possible to avoid all of the preservatives and chemicals. These are normally refrigerated due to their perishable nature.

For those of you skittish to any prepping, feel free to use canned beans!

Blessings!

Camy

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Homemade Handwriting Lessons

If you didn't notice, there is a new icon posted in the sidebar for your reference. It is Donna Young's website for homeschoolers.

Yesterday I was there investigating a few things when I came across a recent idea added to Donna's site. It was regarding penmanship.

I hate to spend money on penmanship books, though using these books is convenient for daily practice and perfecting of handwriting skills. Though the books are usually under $20 each, they add up when considering the number of books needed.

I have 3 students who will be practicing penmanship this coming fall. That would add another $50 to our homeschooling order. Ouch. In comes Donna Young's idea.

It's called Homemade Handwriting Lessons Using A Composition Notebook.

As homeschoolers we know that you can either buy, borrow, or make your own materials when necessary. This is one of those instances where you can make your own penmanship book.

Donna recommends purchasing an inexpensive composition notebook, a frequent member of many homeschooling households, and use it as a base book for cutting and pasting in computer-made handwriting fonts.

The more I thought about it (this was spurred by the fact that our printer ink is running low :o), I could take old, used penmanship books that I have filed away, and cut out the instructional parts and paste them into the composition notebook!

I will leave space for the student to practice these new lessons on the page.

This could be done w/ any old workbook, even those that do not feature penmanship. Talk about a great way to recycle! My relatives who lived during the Depression would be very impressed with this!

If you view the link for the Homemade Handwriting Lessons Using a Composition Notebook, you will understand what I am trying to explain.

It takes a little work, but what a great idea!

Donna Young's site is a veritable goldmine for homeschoolers in need of a variety of forms, ideas, and wisdom. Check it out!

Blessings,

Camy

Ambidextrous Chainsaw Filing

I have receive my first complaint email. It was from my dad :o). Technically, it was not a complaint, but a helpful inquiry.

After nagging him to subscribe to the blog (I thought it was his responsibility as my father :O), he kindly did so. Many of the articles here are not going to be helpful to him (grin), so he requested some informational material for those blog readers like himself.

So, Dad, here ya go.....

This is an article entitled "Ambidextrous Chainsaw Filing". I just know it will be right up your alley. You may also want to check out the list of articles at the site featuring this article, Backwoods Home. From building a fence out of free wood pallets to building stone walls...they've got all kinds of helpful and educational articles!

Dad, I will also work on blog entries that feature physical fitness and nutrition info. All my education and work experience as a personal trainer/aerobics instructor/nutrition consultant have not gone to waste!

Speaking of work, my oldest twin sons are out pounding the pavement in their pursuit of employment. They have already been offered one job (a place willing to hire the both of them!), but it was not going to fit what they were looking for. Last week they walked miles around our city filling out applications and speaking with business managers. I think this is a great learning experience for them.

In the meantime, I and the littler ones are working hard at keeping our chickens in the yard, doing school, keeping the house tidy, and planting flowers.

Enjoy the day!

Blessings,

Camy