Laundry Closet - After

Desperately refreshing, no??

All these labels were just scrapbook papers printed with text boxes inside of shaped clipart from Word.

That's all.  And some elmer's glue.  I made the bag bag out of scrap fabric.  The rest is just elbow grease and containers from here and around the kitchen.  The doggie treat containers here (pink) are : an oatmeal box and chocolate milk container! :)

Laundry Closet- Before

Shameful Before Picture. 
This area is head-on from our kitchen door.  Talk about a dramatic entry.  Stored here is: laundry detergents, plastic bags, doggie supplies, extra egg cartons, cleaning supplies, lunch cooler, light bulbs, garbage bags, .....  a lot for a small space.  It was desperate for some TLC and organization.  The "after" effect will be up soon. 

There are entire stores devoted to organizing and labeling and storage.  I do not have access to such a store nor do I have the budget to accomodate those types of remodeling jobs.  So, I went to my computer, scrounged up some basic supplies and used what was already there.  Up next, you will see what I came up with.

Organized Simplicity- My Kitchen

I recently downloaded a free book on kindle called Organized Simplicty and am working through it with the ladies at FIAR . These are my (way too tall for me) cabinets in my kitchen that are being used for pantry storage. Our new house has no pantry but plenty of cabinet space. My challenge in using this space well is my own height vs. cabinet height. I am only 5'4". The ceilings here are 9 or 10 feet and the cabinets extend to about 1.5 ft below that. I cannot really use the top two shelves of most of my cabinets for anything that I would need on a daily basis. So, this is what I came up with.

Back to School Part 3: The Daily Line-up

Our homeschool is getting geared up for next school year. I am pleased to be fairly ready for next school year. I have a few more resources yet to be received but we are ready. I thought I would lay out what I have each child doing next year so that it is clear what I mean by things.
I mentioned in another post that each child has their own planning page in a weekly lineup that I can write on with dry erase pens where needed. My older children especially like the independence of being able to know what's expected and then just go do it. I'm still enjoying having our family together for some teachings/readings and we will continue with some of those things.


Here's the general plan:

Begin together:
Scripture/Praise/Prayer
Readings/Discussions from the Family Discussions section on harvestministry.com's unit study.
Unit study from Expedition Earth
Prayer wall, animal classification chart, missionary studies


Individually:
Math, Spelling, Grammar, Handwriting, Phonics for littles, reading assignments (mostly from harvestministry.com), memory work, writing assignments
There will be some weeks when there will be timeline entries, but not consistently.
Also, there are few things for the older children(not every single day, just sporadically): geography worksheets, critical thinking exercises, vocabulary worksheets


Together again:
Extras such as games, Spanish, geography experiments, music, etc Each week, I have a meal planned relative to the country we will be studying.


Some of these items only require a few minutes' time, but I list them to keep myself accountable.


I'd like to hear what you have planned for your homeschool next year. Leave me a comment!

Back to School Part 2: The New Stuff

 

Each year, evaluate what worked this year and what didn't and I try to give myself the liberty to get rid of the stuff that ends up in the "didn't" category. Sometimes I hang on to stuff because I suspect it could work for us at another time but other times, I just let it go. Then, I go on a research kick to find what will fill the need that might be left by letting something else go. There are times when I have to consider whether something I'm letting go of was something that fell into the "good" category or the "best" category. If it isn't a "best" item, I consider just not filling the gap, because saying yes to one thing is also saying no to something else. That process takes time…but here are our "new " results:


Spelling Workout –I mentioned here that I used a combined method but I stayed behind in getting words keyed into the site for the children. So, this is an effort to simplify.
Primary Language Lessons (2^nd grade)—This is a child-specific choice. This child did not seem to retain much of what was presented in the workbook that we used last year.
Not focusing on History—just based on the observation that my children needed a better basis for history studies, so we are focusing on world geography with only the occasional history topic.
Going it without much of anything for Kindergarten—I am thinking that the most important things I have accomplished (academically) in the first year of our children's educations are learning to read, write the alphabet/words, counting/sorting/adding…I can do that without formal curriculum. Starfall has been a huge help in this area, and other simple resources, such as the library.

 
My new "method" for assignments for the children. I just laminated different colors of cardstock and made up their weekly expectations. There is a section at the top for things we do together, individual assignments for each day of the week and other "extras" at the bottom that are nice to accomplish but not necessary. I can put Post-it notes/tabs on there or write with dry erase pens to make any notes. That fixes them up for a week and I am done planning for them for the week, too!! When we have a day that has things to do away from home, they are to take the items with them that are reasonable for them to complete either in the car or at the location and the next day, just move on. Carry-over type projects just keep going until we're done. I will have a simple spiral notebook for my personal notes, but I don't have that many.

Even the Kindergartener has one :

With the framework from Expedition Earth already given, as well as the outlines from harvestministry.com , I don't have a lot of planning to do. I will try to match up a few of the readings, but that can be done as I go along. I hope this year will be somewhat light in terms of my personal planning load. We'll just keep swimming…swimming…..

My Top 5

                                                    

Each new day that we are given from the Lord holds fresh promise.  We are given the same number of hours each day.  We are living in the same skin as we were the day before; yet, we have something new.  Another chance. Freshly revived.  Another round. A do-over.  A repeat.  Renewed.  What will we do with it?

I have been getting lots of planning ideas from here, but I find the need to keep my top priorities at the top, first.  Then, I am free to go into the other areas.

Here are mine:

1. Pray with/for children, Bible reading, character training
2. Look into the eyes of my family, listen.  Support/help in relationships.
3.  Daily physical needs: meals/clothing/cleanliness/exercise
4.  Educational requirements
5.  Household management (errands/bills/appointments)

When those things are achieved, then my day has been successful.  Not all of them get done every day. Some days it takes all day long just to get those priorities done.  But, if they do get done, I am free to move into other areas: personal pursuits, hobbies, social pursuits, business related efforts, extracurriculars in any area. 

Also, if I notice an area that a particular child needs some special attention in, I will make a note to myself to attend to that.  The little things are important.  But I'm not SuperMom, so I have to write myself notes.   It doesn't matter if it's extra review with their flashcards or if their fish died and they need a little extra TLC.  It's worth it to me.

What are your Top 5 for your days?

Laundry Day

Every one has one household chore that they do not sincerely prefer, right???  Right?  Tell me it's not just me.  Pleeeease.  Even if it is just me....I do not prefer laundry.  At.  All.  None.  I have tried ten thousand laundry schedules and routines.  I'm ever evolving on that one.  One thing doesn't change, though.  By the time children are around 6 or so, I am diligent to make it ever so easy for them to do their own laundry.  Yes, I'm a whiner and I'm selfish about it.  I confess.  I have repented and try diligently to maintain a grateful heart for the clothing and appliances and fresh water and all that we need to keep cleanly clothed.  I do....

Laundry with children:  At around age 4, they become my laundry helper on a fairly regular basis.  They help transfer clothing and remove clothing from the machines.  Also, they begin to learn to put a simple shirt on a hanger.  They are with me and just "practice" on this for a loong while.  Sometimes, the child might not have a dresser ( we use baskets across the shelf in their closet) and keeping that organized is not an issue.  Right now, our littlest helper can put a shirt on a hanger.  She has four containers across her shelf in her closet.  One for socks/undies, one for jammies, two for folded pants .  Shirts, sweaters, dresses and skirts are hung.  It keeps it simple and streamlined and very functional.  My boys, who share a room, do theirs together.  Each can hang/fold all of his own pieces.  There are two plastic drawer carts in their room and each has one to hold socks/undies/jammies/pants.  It's real simple here.  My oldest can do hers however she likes and is not prone to having laundry issues, so I give her organizational liberty on that.

 I went through a rather long period of time when everyone had an assigned laundry day.  Everyone of laundry age loved that one, that way they knew what to expect.  They sometimes still revert back to it.  Lately, I've been doing A laundry day.  As in, doing it all on one day and not having to think about it again till next week, or  at least the end of the week.  That goes OK, too.  I don't really care as long as it gets done and is not lingering.  It's a huge thorn in my side.

Laundry Products: I'm about as simple as it gets in this area.  I like smelly stuff.  My family does.  My husband likes the smell of fabric softeners.  There are less expensive, natural alternatives, I know.  I do use the Aldi brand and all agree that it is nice.  Also, I try to keep detergent to 2.00 or so per bottle because we do so much.  I did try to make my own.  I gave it a good effort.  I used it all.  I was not impressed with the clothes that needed a lot of help.  I generally stick with Aldi there, too, unless I have a coupon deal going on-usually from a drugstore.  I have no complaints with the Aldi cleaners as of yet. 

Sorting--I'm not real particular there, either.  Again, I just want it done!  When we were on the assigned days system, we did  not sort and each person just used cold and had about one load.  If they had two loads or more, sorting became a possibility.  Now, with the once a week method, we definitely sort and I do feel like I'm doing laundry the "right" way, like my Mama taught me.  But, honestly, I really couldn't care less if linens are in with my socks.

I'm soo open to hearing more on laundry simplifying and scheduling...any help is welcome! Leave me a comment and tell me how you get it done. 

Sorting It Out in the Bathroom

I am sure that next to laundry, bathroom duty is my least favorite job.  But there is something therapeutic about getting down on your hands and knees in the place where all the cleaning takes place and actually cleaning that place, too.  I have high hopes for our bathrooms...I have paint colors chosen, just purchased a few more rugs for the kids' bathroom and already have a cute shower curtain.  Enter the four precious souls who share this zone and you have the epic nonsensenical battles of who put what where, who did the handprints, why someone misplaced someone else's toothbrush, no one knows how on earth the whole roll of TP got into the trash can and despite the fresh hand towel there is water slung onto every surface. 

I am getting to the bottom of it one step at a time.  The first step is the most important in the hygiene arena--the toothbrush problem.  This little gadget has become our best friend.  The toothpast rests nicely on top so there's no fumbling.  There are four perfect slots of toothbrushes and we just happen to have four precious children, so that works out nicely.  This keeps them off the countertop and out of easy reach of little ones.  The littlest one usually has a helper to assist with toothbrush time. 

You will also notice the container of wipes on the cabinet.  That is for the bathroom cleaner.  Each child has his/her own jurisdictions to attend to daily.

Next, the problem of  "I didn't throw it down there", when asked to pick up towels/washcloths.  I found (on clearance) these hooks that do not leave marks on the wall when removed.  They hold up to 3 lbs each, which is plenty for a towel and washcloth. My children thought it was great that they each got to choose their own color towels.  What a wonderful Mom I am!!  Yes, there is only one each.  They are to wash their towel when they wash their laundry on their day (more on that in another post).   My children are old enough to take responsibility for that.   I was sure to hang the hooks for the smaller children lower so that they can actually reach the level of the hook.

This method has eliminated the fussing back and forth about who didn't clean their towels up behind themselves and who put which towel where after bathtimes. I am soo thankful the Lord dropped this idea into my mind.  I may have even read it somewhere, but if so, the Lord brought it to my remembrance and it has been a blessing!

Organization: My Monthly Menu

A few days before I read Erica's post at Confessions of a Homeschooler, I had the same thought! With school starting and so many other things to keep organized, I could not possibly think of adding another paperwork item to my list of to-do's. So, I decided to make a monthly menu and just repeat it. It already allows a few "new recipe" slots in there for variety. So, I hope it won't feel like we are having many repeats in a month. I try to make healthy , homemade meals. I also try to accommodate what my family likes and will eat. Some are healthier than others, I do concede. I am planning to create 4 shopping lists, one for each week of the month, and that way my master shopping list is done for me each week. That would feel great, no??
A few really quick notes: my husband works Tues-Sat so, our weekend is Sun/Mon. He loves to grill out on those days and he loves a burger! J Also, veggies vary, depending on season/availability but are served at nearly every meal. Breakfast and lunch are planned so that my children can either prepare themselves or with little supervision. Breakfasts don't really need a plan… and lunch sometimes revolves around leftovers, soup/sandwiches or other fairly light fare. Snacks are at around 3:30 and are something like cheese sticks, yogurt or peanut butter crackers. And I do very little on Sundays . SO, this is just my dinner menu.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Soup/sand- wiches	Burgers on the grill	Spaghetti Salad Breaksticks	Breakfast night (varies)	Tuna Casserole Veggies	New Recipe	Chicken tetrazinni
Shake 'n' bake chicken Mac'n'chz	Hot dogs on the grill	Enchiladas and Mexican sides	Beef tips in gravy/rice Salad	Chicken pot pie	Chili Cornbread	Beans n rice with cheese J
Sloppy joes	Burgers on the grill	New recipe	Stroganoff Salad	Deli sandwiches or hot sub	Corn dogs and tater tots (family request)	Taco nite
Grilled cheese tomato soup	Chicken kabobs over rice	Chili dogs sweet potato fries	Pork chops (method varies) Veggies, Homemade bread	Whole roast chicken Veggies Baked potatoes	Pepperoni rolls Salad	Cubed steak w/ gravy Veggies (family Request)
Chinese (frozen)	Salmon cakes Salad or veggies Pasta salad	New recipe

Organization: Home Management Binder

You are looking at one of my most treasured homekeeping tools!  I used to do the Flylady type Control Journal.  That has since morphed into my Home Management Binder.  I don't have the time to follow an entire notebook system devoted solely to housecleaning.   This binder manages each area of our home, in as much detail as I can manage. Simplify and streamline.  That's what works best for me.

Here's a look at what mine contains:

1. Meals and recipes

There is a recipe section for things that I have printed out and do not have the time to transfer to little index cards. I have a monthly menu made up and will hopefully share that soon and I'm planning to make a grocery shopping list to go with each of those weeks so that the lists is already done for me.

2. Homeschooling

This section contains all those little notes that you write down along the way or lists that you must print out and have no place to store.  For example, I have a 3-pg list of narration starters.  Where would I put that? Also, if I have pending orders I would put email confirmation paperwork in there. 

3.  Personal

This section has a chart with each person's name, date of birth and social security number for easy access.

There are gift ideas and clothing sizes.  This is also where I do some of my "doodling".  I plan for my garden, write down home dec ideas, etc.

4. Household

My secretarial spot.  It has the name, phone number and account number of every agency and business with which we hold accounts.  Also, the library, our hair lady, medical offices' numbers, etc.  There is also a rough schedule in there, just to keep me on the path, but nothing like a Flylady get-up.  We do jurisdictions each day and try to encourage each other to clean behind ourselves as we go along.  Also contains husband's drill schedule and any info that he needs me to have handy.

5.  Ministry

Contains contact list for church families and ideas/notes I have in my head for things church related stuff.

Now the front inner pocket contains immediate needs, such as delivery confirmation slip from the Post Office, or other things I would want immediately at hand on a day-to-day basis and I don't want to leave it out on the countertop to catch a spill.

I do have the zipper pocket in the front (Flylady) that holds handy stuff like pens, paper clips, etc..

Can I see yours???
Link up with me to share our Home Management Binder ideas!

Link up

Planning for Next Year - Part 3

 Hi! My name is Christi and I love planning.  I begin planning for school long before a new year is upon me. I love planning for school in general.  This is always a huge part of my looking ahead in the Spring and my gettin'-down-to-business-cause-it's-almost-time in the Summer.  I have four children, three of which are 'school age.'  So, I began with my resources and this will give you an idea of what I have planned for my Preschooler.  Now, it's on to my First Grader.

Plan:  Stay steady on the basics.  Everything else will happen.

I have never been one to stress that my young students get a full course load in the first few years.  I really emphasize getting the basics down.  When they have basic tools, the extras will come far more easily. 

These are the No Questions Asked, Gotta Be Done daily basics:

Math:  Abeka Math Text, lots of games (some printables from here as well as some I have made myself), and nothing can take the place of a deck of flashcards while carschooling to fill in the gaps!  We also use the Math-U-See blocks and methods to help reinforce, since I used it for quite a while.

Language Arts:  Abeka Phonics and Language, A Reason for Writing and lots of reading, reading and a smidge more reading (using Abeka readers).  These readers are perfect for this age and reinforce phonics.  Children love the colorful books and illustrations, too.  We just practice with these, nothing high stress. These are subject to being put aside in favor of audio books or group read-aloud time.  Narration is common (lots of CM tendencies here). This child needs a little practice on some of his letters so, we will have to be diligent on the writing efforts. I also have several manipulatives to help with sounding and spelling words.  Copywork could, at any time, replace a day's work in the writing workbook.  I don't feel bound by much of anything.  I go with my gut most of the time.

Extras

Science and History:  I have two very simple readers for these.  Both are from Christian Liberty Press and involve just reading to the child. These will probably be used for the older children to read to the 1st grader and nothing more.  Nature is the best teacher on this one and they pick up on so much that the other children are reading regarding history, so there is no concern at all there.

Art:  As a group, I will be using How to Teach Art to Children.  I have done several of the activities with them already and they were a hit.  He is also present for music that might be playing or be being played and can enjoy a little inspiration there.

He will also jump in and participate wherever and whenever things work out that way. 

He also has household chores and is involved in devotion discussions as a family.  He is asked to find Scriptures and read (where he is able) aloud, as appropriate with help. He has his own Bible journal and draws to go along with what we're discussing.