May :: A Month in Review :: Large Family Style

Aargh!  It's already time for a May month in review.  Finishing off the school year strong was my top priority along with preparing for Nick's graduation party along with getting the garden planted along with, along with.  Doesn't it seem like there are so many along withs?  Most days my head is just spinning with all the to do right nows.  My notebook system to do list wasn't working - the notebook was always getting buried in the paper mess that is my life and the to do list became a never do list.  I needed something more in my face than a notebook so I bought a magnetic white board for the fridge door similar to this:

And it's always in my face because #1 I like to eat and #2 My family likes to eat so I'm always reading the list and working at shrinking it.  It's been a good thing and I still use the notebook for shopping lists and menus.

In my April month in review I shared a picture from Nick's turkey season.  He's a huge protein nut and cooks plenty of his own food.  Well, the day he shot the turkey I was with Amber at the hospital while she recovered from her appendectomy.  He breasted out the turkey and baked it just as he would for chicken breast.  It was so tough, basically inedible for those of us with average jaw strength.  Hah!  I suggested he turn it into crockpot turkey and rice soup.  I walked him through the process, but he did all the work of chopping vegetables, etc.  The turkey tenderized pretty well in the crockpot and the soup was delicious.

The season changeover called for a great big shoe cabinet clean out.  With a family of 9 we have a ton of shoes, not because we believe in excess, but we all have a number of interests and many of those interests call for certain shoes.  And country life requires a good stash of junk shoes so we tend to keep shoes for gardening, lawn mowing, cranberry planting, and all sorts of outdoor activities until they fall apart.  I know, that's very green of us.  Below you can see what we took from the cabinet; we sent seven pair off to Goodwill, 10 pair went into the trash, and the rest were placed neatly back in the cabinet.

Maria and I baked a giant 2.5 pound of whole wheat bread in a very old pan found in my Grandma's basement.  I wish I knew the story of the pan - where she got it, if she used it, why it was in the basement and not in her kitchen cupboard.  I suppose I'll never know; even though, using it still brings out stories.  Stories I share with my littles who never knew their Great-Grandma.

Mother's Day flowers - we spied three huge Bumblebees pollinating this day.

One of Joseph's favorite games is jumping on the trampoline with toys.  This day he grabbed his horse, but he's also jumped with balls and sand pile trucks (that one I put a stop to, I don't want him to fall on a metal truck - that'd probably hurt).

Amber loves finding paintings on Pinterest for inspiration and painting them with her own style.  She uses this fold-able easel and a variety of supplies to create some really fun paintings.

It is rhubarb season; I've been baking with rhubarb and juicing it.  This weekend I put up 15 quarts of rhubarb juice.  I'll share a post on how I do that soon.  This little number, though, is so good.  I doubled the recipe and reduced the sugar.  That way there was enough to go around and it still tasted like rhubarb should - sour and puckery.

The virtual homeschool program end of year field trip took us to Circus World Museum.  See Maria clinging to Dad; she was nearly scared to death of all the newness.  She warmed up a bit for a carousel ride.

107 year old carousel

Circus snacks:  popcorn and ice cream

 Apparently we raised a little lady.

Fishing....always fishing around here and an endless supply of cheesy smiles.

He's not riding yet.  Matter of fact, a couple weeks back he actually punched me when I lifted his foot onto the pedal.  I'll give it some time before I try again.  Until then, though, he walks the bike around the yard every chance he gets.  And in the background was my Memorial Day treat, a tilled garden ready to plant.

That's a wrap for May.  Another blink of an eye and it'll be the end of June; all our much anticipated events of early summer will be over.  Enjoy every day, each is indeed a gift from God.

Homesteading Mishaps

The reality is I will never be going off the grid by choice.  As much as I love the word homesteading and try my hardest to act like a homesteader, I'm simply not one.

I do love gardening in a soft cotton dress.  I love the taste of pure maple syrup.  I love, love, love canning vegetables, jams, and juices.  I love the flavor of fresh eggs in hues of brown, blue, and green.  I love butchering*, grinding, and wrapping fresh venison in the fall.  I love baking bread in a pan found in my grandparents' basement.  I love blackberry picking along our woods trails.  And I love a well-worn apron.

*For the record, Warren and the kids do the butchering.

Homesteading and getting it right is hard work.  Years ago my canning goal was to put up 52 quarts of whatever I was making.  One quart a week of tomato juice, salsa, pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, green beans, cranberry sauce, pickles.  As our family grew and appetites increased, so did the number of outside activities, loads of laundry, and time spent cooking.  I really should be putting up double, but finding time for a garden that size is hard.  And some days I'm just not up to the challenge.

A number of us were feeling under the weather this week and a pot of Hug and Kiss Soup is the perfect remedy.  Sadly, though, those two empty jars were the last of my supply of tomato juice.  We still have plenty of soup and chili days ahead of us here in Wisconsin and leave it to me to run out of tomato juice - the starter for both.  #homesteadinghardships #notselfreliantenough

And this beautiful picture has a very sad ending.  Sunday was finally the day to cook down the sap.  At the beginning of the season my goal was to make 2 quarts.  Not much, but about 7 times as much as Sam and I made last year.  Sam and I had the sap boiling away and came in to make supper.  We took turns checking on it every 20-30 minutes.  I checked on it.  It's getting close when it really starts smelling like maple syrup, which it did.  I ran in the house for something, decided to put away the leftover brats so I could take the boiling liquid outside to dump.  That's when I saw it - the fireball inside the kettle.  Before charring the syrup, it looked like we were going to have about 12-14 oz.  Last year our entire production amounted to only 6 oz.  Back to square one, but now the weather isn't conducive for a good sap run.

On a positive note, Nick filled the freezer for our Lenten fish fries.  Add to it the Northern Pike caught up North this winter and we're set for seven weeks of fish.  #homesteadingforLent

Share your best homesteading tips.  I need all the help I can get.

Hold your hat on, it's a blustery day out there.

Can Pre-Schoolers Cut the Grass?

Last week I shared my low-tech way of keeping track of all the cute and educational ideas I find on Pinterest.  Notecards are my friend.

Peter is always asking to do a project.  

"Mom, can we do a puzzle project?"

"Mom, can we do an art project?"

"Mom, will you print coloring pictures so I can do a project?"

Mom, Mom, Mom......project?  project?  project?

It's his mantra.

These little notecards come in handy; one quick thumb through, and I find the perfect project for the day.

Last week we had a couple beautiful fall days - sunny, warm, low humidity, slightly breezy - just gorgeous.  So, in between walks on the marsh, Peter and Joseph did this fun grass cutting activity project.

The card read - Grab scissors, cut grass.

Simple enough and fun in its own way, it also offers some skill development for Joseph.  His hands being on the small side, they're a little weaker than the average kid's hands.  I'm always on the lookout for ways to strengthen his hands to improve his pencil grasp.  Scissor work offers plenty of opportunity for strengthening his dominant hand.

Peter gets to practice perseverance.  I told him to cut all the long grass around the big rock.   And cut he did.

This SIMPLE project freed me up for a while.  What did I do?  I swept thousands of cranberry leaves off the garage floor because those thousands of leaves were finding their way into every nook and cranny of the house.

Have a great day.  What kind of projects do you hope to accomplish today?  this weekend?

Organizing the Homeschool Closet

I can hardly believe I just typed that post title.  Why?

(ONE)  I never organize the closets until well into August!
(TWO)  It means the summer is winding down.
(and THREE) I am the world's best procrastinator.

On the procrastinating thing:  I only procrastinate the doing.  The thinking?...that I start months ahead.  I think through the entire task; I make mental lists; I talk it over with myself; I visualize; I just don't actually DO until the very last minute or even second.

It drives everyone around me nuts with a capital N.  But, I'm still married and my kids tell me they love me everyday, so it must be working.  Right?  Right!

Back to the closets.  I am so fortunate to have two large closets dedicated to homeschool materials/art project supplies/overflow chapter books.  The closets are big - lots of room for piling, stuffing, and cramming, which is what happens during the school year.  I wish I could place all the blame on my darling students, but I'm part of the problem, too.  We have to leave in 60 seconds for violin - quick, shove the art project in the closet.  And then never get back to it.

Does that happen to you?  Please say YES.  I can't be the only procrastinating, messy homeschooling mom out there.

Since I have two closets, one is for the meat and potatoes the other is for the gravy and dessert.

In other words:  science, math, language arts, history, and religion materials in one.  The other holds art supplies, games, manipulatives, puzzles and other odds & ends.

In the meat and potatoes closet I like to group the subjects together.  In the past I grouped materials by grade level, but that didn't work because I wasted too much time searching for multi-level books.  It's much easier to locate a specific language arts text if all language arts/English materials are together.

Below are two examples:  History and Language Arts

Now for the gravy.

This closet is a little trickier to organize because it contains such a variety of materials.  Basically, I clear out all the stashed in the corner garbage, put all the pieces back in the game boxes, and place similar items together.  Not rocket science, and I try not to spend too much time agonizing over the placement or grouping of like items.  One crazy, busy day and it's bound to get out of order again.

My best tip for you is to make a list of what's in the closet.

If you're like me, all kinds of awesome ideas will pop into your head while organizing the closet and you will start making plans for how and when you'll use all these cool art books and awesome manipulatives.  Then the school year begins and reading lessons and science labs push all those fun plans right out of your brain.  But, this year that's not going to happen because you're going to make a list of what's in the closet.

In all it's organized glory, here is the gravy closet.

It's definitely not perfect.  The violin storage is always a problem.  They need to be out of sight from the little ones, yet accessible.  The stands need to be close by, yet put away to avoid being tipped over.  The music - they want it put away, yet not so put away just in case they want to play one of their old songs.  Try working with that!  On the floor in a heap is our solution.

Since the closet still looks not perfect the list is important.  It's not a detailed list of every item, just the project books and activity packs that seem to get forgotten, but would bring great value to our home education plan.

Make a Plate

Chinese Brush Painting

Watercolor for the Artistically Undeveloped

Hummingbird Paint-by-Number (the Underwater Scene was painted years ago)

Water Magic - Young Artist Series

Canvas Boards (these are a favorite - Sam's Winter Painting)

Magic School Bus Rainbow Kit (I plan to use this very soon)

Dilemma Games (something similar)

Stickers

Rush Hour Jr.

Alphabet Bingo

U.S. puzzle (my childhood puzzle - this one is similar)

Double Take - Butterflies & Moths

Spirograph

Light Up Drawing Desk (ours is a much older version, but it's been a hit with all the kids)

Sculpey Clay

The Window Art Book (definitely keeps kids busy for a LONG time and your windows will be colorful)

Aqua Doodle

Foam Stickers

Shrinky Dinks

Make a Collage

Fun With Easy Oragami

Number Flip (fun for kids and adults)

Balloon Animals (excellent for keeping boys busy when you're working with another child)

Crazy Cool Lettering

That's a BIG list.  I'll tape it inside the closet and refer to it when we're looking to add a little fun and flair to our school day.  I'm thinking it will come in handy when I need to grab a quick activity to keep a certain someone from running off while I work with a sibling.

As we encroach upon the school year I'll be sharing more of my not rocket science, but tried and true homeschool tips.  Stay tuned.  And if you know of someone in need of a little closet organizing, why not send them my way - I'd appreciate it.  Thanks.

You all are a great bunch.

10 Tips for Weeding WITH Kids WITHOUT Losing Your Mind

Every vegetable gardener knows weeding is a necessary task if the end goal is to actually produce food.  But weeding takes time, and depending on the size of your garden, maybe hours of your time.  Here in Wisconsin our summer arrives somewhat late and autumn all too soon.  As a homeschooling mom I try to soak up every bit of summer I possibly can before we hit the books again in September.  Baseball games, homemade ice cream, swimming at our “swimming spot”, BMX races, gymkhana games, walks on the cranberry marsh, fishing – these are the things I want to fill my days with.  This may sound strange, but I also want to spend my time weeding.  I love being in the garden.  It’s close to our pond so I can hear the bullfrogs croaking, the loons calling.  Now, enter the kids.  They don’t share my same love for weeding, but in order to enjoy my list of summer fun, I need their help.  I can’t possibly get it all done alone. 

I bet you’re thinking this blogger lady is crazy if she thinks I’m going to take my rambunctious kids into my precious garden.  I thought that once upon a time, too.  But I also subscribe to the idea that kids need to learn life skills at home and from the beginning.  I’ve been gardening with kids for nearly 19 years and have learned a lot along the way.  If you’re in need of extra hands in the garden and have kids, I have tips for you.

Weeding WITH Kids WITHOUT Losing Your Mind

11.        Think Ahead – Plant extra seeds and seedlings.  There are bound to be plant casualties when kids enter the garden. Period.

22.        Wait – It works best if the plants are at least 4 -5 inches tall before employing the kids, that way the plant is easily identified and not mistaken as a weed.  (FYI:  employ does not equal pay)

33.        Pack-n-Plays are Your Friend – For anyone under 2.5 years the pack-n-play or Ergo is your friend.  Toddlers simply can’t be trusted in the garden.

44.        Set a Goal – How many rows or hills do you want to get done?  If kids know the goal they are much more apt to work diligently to get the job done.  If the goal is met quicker than you thought, stick with the goal.  Don’t add an extra row or two.  Mutiny will ensue.  I know this, through experience, to be the truth.

55.        Simple Jobs for the Littles – My littlest kids (ages 2, 4, and 7) are given simple jobs.  They pick up piles of weeds and place in a bucket.  Then the weeds are carried over to  

the chickens for their picking pleasure.

66.        Choose the Right Time of Day – My favorite time to weed is when the sun is blazing down, it’s slightly humid, and any normal person would rather be at the beach or waterpark.  My kids are more on the normal side.  They are much more willing and helpful if the day is slightly cooler, the bugs aren’t swarming, and they’re not tired.  Morning works well – after they’ve been fed, but still energized from a good night’s rest.

77.        Memorize a “Watchout Phrase” – My phrase is “Hey, Hey, Watch the Plants”.  It seems like don’t step on the plants! Or even step over the plants! Might be more effective, but, “Hey, Hey, Watch the Plants” always comes out.  Find your phrase and be prepared to say it 100 or more times at each weeding session.

88.        Sing Songs – My kids go to summer camp and always come home with all kinds of silly and spiritual songs.  Assigning parts and singing in 3 part harmony either gets us all laughing or mad at each other.  Either way it helps to pass the time while weeding.

99.        Laugh – Remember to laugh.  The baby might be crying in the pack-n-play, the 3 year old just stepped on a bean plant, the 7 year old pulled an onion, the 11 year old is hot and tired and letting everyone know it, the teen is scolding everyone for working so slow, and all you want is to weed in peace.  Laugh, it’s contagious!

110.    Have a treat – When the weeding goal has been reached, have a popsicle or whatever treat your family likes.

Happy Gardening and weeding!

Linking up with
Whole-Fed Homestead

Raising Homemakers