One Hundred and One Titles

There a lot of books I want to read, especially before my kids grow up - since their purpose is to educated my on parenting or homeschooling. There are also a lot of other books I want to about Christianity and my walk with God. And on it goes.

Recently I have been watching the latest movie version of Jane Austin's book Emma, and there is a part where Emma, in an effort to improve herself, makes a list of 101 titles of books she intends to read. I want to make a list for myself, so I do not miss a book piled under all the other books around here.

From you, I would like to recommend some titles to add to my list. What are some books you want to read? What books have you read that were excellent, that have impacted your life? Have you read any good books lately that would be helpful to a Christian, homeschooler or mom? They can be fiction or non-fiction. The Bible is an obvious answer, of course, and I have read all of Austin's works - so do not be a smarty and list Emma as one :-)

Workboxes and Homeschooling

Hi All,

I've changed my plan many times, so don't hold me to this plan either... :) But I think I'm going to start Kindergarten with Rachel in the fall. Of course, our third baby is due 2 weeks before I was planning to get started, so I'm reserving the right to stop, take a break, slow down, or whatever I need to do until we find our groove. Rachel will only be 4.5 years old by then, which gives us some great flexibility. If we were sending her to school, she wouldn't begin until September of 2011.

Organizing our day with workboxes...
I've been reading other homeschooling blogs to get tips and ideas and that's been getting me really excited about starting! In particular, I'm really interested in how other Moms organize their curriculum and supplies. Workboxes are one system that has caught my eye.

I haven't read Sue Patrick's Workbox System book, but this is what I've gleaned from other bloggers. Workboxes are a way to organize your homeschool curriculum in a way that fosters independence and a well structured day. Sounds good to me!

Many people use a cart with 3 or 4 shelves that hold a total of 12 containers. The containers are numbered 1-12 and each container corresponds to one subject area. For example, if Box #1 is designated for Math, the box would contain the worksheet, manipulatives, and pencil that the child needs for Math that day. The child begins working through the boxes starting with Box #1 and ending with Box #12. As the child completes each box, they take a velcro number off of a schedule/number strip and velcro it to the box. It's a great way to see the sequence for the day, how much work is left, and what has already been completed.

It's also a great way to ensure that I will be prepared for each day. I can simply fill up the boxes the night before and know I won't have to hunt for all the little craft supplies I currently have to hunt for. It's a big time stealer!

What else can go in the boxes?
Just about anything it seems! I've even seen Moms put a snack in one of the boxes or a fun game or activity. The curriculum we will be using, Little Hearts for His Glory, only has 9 subject areas per day, so I plan to be creative with my extra 3 boxes. I've also thought about using the extra boxes to plan activities for Abby who will be 2.5 by then. I will definitely need things to keep her busy while I work with Rachel!

Inspiration...
Here are some photos from other Mommy bloggers to show you what they do and how flexible the system can be. Some Moms don't use a cart and boxes because of space constraints. Instead, I've seen workfolders and workbinders too.

Cassie from Spell Out Loud uses IKEA shelves and Itso bins.

Ruby Slippers School uses space saving file folders.

Fenced in Family uses work pockets for another variation.

Last but not least, I just love how Jolanthe from Homeschool Creations modified the system to work for her family.

Here is a picture of the schedule strip she created. How cute is that?

She uses workfolders because she has 4 children and didn't have room for 48 boxes.

These are the activity and subject cards she created for things they do during that school day that don't have worksheets. Jolanthe is a graphic designer extraordinaire and she loves to share! You can download them from her here!

I'd love to give workboxes a try. Now I have to figure out how to convince Matt to let me put workboxes in our dining room school room. His initial reaction was, "You're going to put what where?"

Have you tried workboxes or a variation of the system? Please share your experience with us!

Skip Counting Charts

We use Singapore Math with MFW, which recommends using skip counting verses using math facts. Skip counting has turned our daughter into a human calculator, and math is the one subject that does not come easily for her. Homeschool Creations Blog has posted these wonderful printable charts. They would be perfect for a workbox. Even a small child can learn to skip count by 2s and 10s.

I have not been able to find skip counting charts or cards to buy, and these are FREE and look professional. I have found using attractive tools increases their joy of learning.

UPDATE~ I found some typos on the number 4 chart, hopefully she has fixed them and has posted an updated version. So read all the charts before printing or print and correct by hand.

Debt

Piggybacking on Catherine's debt free post, I wanted to share our story in the adventures of debt free living. Today, after all, marks an important milestone - we paid off my husband's student loan.

About a year and a half ago, we decided to switch to a debt free lifestyle by using a few simple methods:

• Only use cash to buy items. If we do not have the money, we do not buy it. (see Saturday Night Live Clip below) Even when our refrigerator broke, we did not buy one until we had the cash. That meant living out of a dorm size refrigerator for over a month until God provided us with an old one from a friend. Not that we ever spent big money on luxuries like a big screen TV, but we probably would have thought in the past that we HAD to have a refrigerator right away, and put the purchase on a credit card.
  
• A budget on a weekly basis
• Pay off our smallest loan 1st, than use the budgeted amount from the smallest loan to pay toward our next smallest loan, and on it goes until our mortgage, God willing, is paid off. This system is nicknamed the debt snowball. Let me give our example, our loan with the smallest pay off amount was our car loan. Once the car was paid off we had an extra $250 to pay on top of our budgeted amount for my husband's student loan for a total of $550. Now our we have $800 towards our next loan, our credit card.
  
• The first thing we did though was put $1,000 in the savings for emergencies. We tend to have expensive ones here - hence the credit card debt. When an emergency arose, such as dental work, medical expenses or car repair, we had in the past no choice but to use the credit card.
• Getting additional income through hard work. Another reason for the debt was the year that my husband loss his overtime, which we counted on. If you have a chronic illness, you can easily spend a few hundred dollars on medical expenses in one month even with good health insurance. There is no way to stay out of debt other than to bring in additional income. We had already cut everything back possible. I got a part time job for a while, and my husband received his overtime back. This money helps us cover our unexpected expenses and pay down our loans faster.

By paying off our loans, we will have less overhead expenses and more money. After our credit card is paid off, we will save for a large emergency fund, a large purchase fund, and home repairs fund. We hope to buy our next car with CASH. Then it is on to our mortgage.

These two books were extremely helpful, and I highly recommend you get them from your local library (COST $0):

America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money by Steve Economides and Annette Economides - Yes that really is their last name. Great book. They are a homeschool family with five kids who lives debt free on a modest income by being smart, thrifty and hard working.

The Total Money Makeover by David Ramsey

The Duggars: 20 and Counting!: Raising One of America's Largest Families--How they Do It by Jim Bod and Michelle Duggar - Thrifty ideas, as well as their story how they live debt free with 19 kids.

Here is a very funny clip that makes a lot of sense:
Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford from Saturday Night Live (saw this one on I.O.U. U.S.A a DVD on America's national debt problem, which is also very good)

There is a lot more I could say about how paying off debt is liberating, how you are more available to God, or how living simpler is so much better. But, I will save that for another time.

The picture above was found on Flickr with the title "Get in Debt, Get Fat and Die at Walmart no less."

Westminster Shorter Catechism with Children

Click here for the Westminster Shorter Catechism for Young Children. It is a simplified revision of the shorter catechism, and is much easier for younger ones to understand and remember. This is something we would do during circle time. Perfect for my 8 and under crew.

Debt Free

Dear Friends,

Hello! This is Catherine posting. :) Recently, my husband Matt's heart has been stirred to pay off all our debt (with the only exception of our mortgage). We're very close to reaching that goal... a little left on a car payment and a little left on a college loan. The closer we get to paying these off, the more freeing it feels.

But there will always be more purchases, right? How long can we sustain being out of debt before the next thing comes along? We're at a crucial point where we need to make a decision... are we going to commit to managing our finances in a way that leaves us debt free?

With the impending arrival of Baby #3, we have some new purchases on the horizon. Namely, we have to take the plunge and buy a minivan. Our first clue that we will soon outgrow our current vehicle was when we tried to put a third carseat in there. We couldn't close the doors! :) We have a practical need and an important decision to make. Will we take on more car payments or will we search for a used van that we can afford without financing it?

Last night, Matt expressed that he would really like to do that latter. That means going without the latest bells and whistles and perhaps having to wait patiently until the right van comes along.

I haven't done a lot of reading up on living debt free, but as I've thought about it a little, I came up with the following list of benefits:

- It will allow us to wait patiently for God's provision.
- We will be more prayerful about the dollars we spend.
- When God provides, the thanks will go to Him. (James 1:17)
- It will be so freeing! Debt is always burdensome whether you owe the bank, parents, or friends.
- It will allow us to give more generously and radically.
- It kills covetousness and wanting things that are beyond our means. If we can't afford it, we can't have it.
- Our focus will be placed on kingdom building and things eternal. How much better will it be to store up treasures in heaven? (Matthew 6:19-20)

Matt sent me this John Piper video over email last week and it really made us think about our long term financial goals. What do we want to treasure?



If you live debt free, what advantages/disadvantages have you experienced from living this way?

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Image credit: Alan Cleaver

Post on "When Mama Has Limited Energy"

Thought this would be helpful to Hope and Catherine as they are both expecting at the moment, but since we all will go through trials or health issues that zap our energy, I thought the rest of us could us this post as well. I know I found it encouraging.

When Mama Has Limited Energy

I would add:

• Hire help if you can afford it - whether that means using Shoprite's shop at home, a mother's helper or a cleaning service. The author of the Blog post does suggest asking for help, but I wanted to mention the idea of paying for help too. Moms, myself included tend to feel guilty or unsupermomish at the idea of spending our household finances on such a "luxury" for ourselves. However, if we humble ourselves, we will see it really is a need in order to homeschool and have peace in our household, as well as for our health. Believe me, I know from experience, you can work yourself so hard that you WILL get sick. Accept your limits. Just research how much it would cost to put your children in private Christian school, paying for any or all of those services is much less even when you add the cost of curriculum. If there is no way to even find an extra $10, reach our to your church family, extended family or homeschool support group for help. You will be blessing another with an opportunity to serve.
• This is sort of silly, but use paper plates - the thin cheap kind. As my mother would say, "It is about survival." Well, just in general, make life as simple as possible.