Monday, March 27, 2017

School room renovation

A few weeks ago, we got a new desk for our school room. We had a huge desk before, and it was just particle board, not real wood. We always wanted a smaller, all wood desk. We found one on Craigslist, and my hubby picked it up a few hours away on a Saturday. My goal for this Spring Break was to tear the wallpaper down in our homeschool/ dining room. It was the last bit of wallpaper in our house, and it was a light green and blue paisley type of pattern.
 I posted this photo (below) on social media and asked for a color opinion for the walls. We decided on gray. We looked at Lowe's and picked out several. When we got home they all looked darker than in the store. We ended up choosing a light gray-blue called North Star.
 Here is the school room before painting, after all of the wallpaper was removed. When we moved all of the furniture, I realized how terrible the carpet looked too. We did move the computer desk too.

 After scraping wallpaper glue off of the walls for a day, we began taping, spackling and priming.
 We cut in the edges...
 After we painted the tip part gray, we painted the bottom section bright white. (it was off-white)

 We love the contrast of the gray and the wood!
 Since we were mostly finished by mid-day Tuesday and had extra paint, we decided to paint our kitchen too! (We had been talking about it for a few months!)
 The kitchen walls after one coat... we painted the ceiling too!
 This is the kitchen after we put it all back together. The blue paint was leftover from a bathroom renovation a few years ago.
Loving the brighter blue-gray on these walls!

And here is our new school room set-up!
 We rearranged the room, putting the table on a wall, getting smaller maps, and using command hooks (removable, no nails!) to hang everything so far. We are liking the set-up and the brighter walls too!

I also cleaned the carpets in the school room and adjoining living room. They were gross! I cleaned carpets upstairs too. It was a lot of work, but it is looking so nice!

What did you do over your Spring Break? Hopefully we'll travel this summer...


1 Chronicles 28:10
Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

Psalm 90:17
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish thework of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working forthe Lord, not for human masters...

Friday, March 24, 2017

School funding...

In our area, we have lots of homeschoolers. There is an "Umbrella" school that we are under, also called a charter school. We are accountable to the program for the work that we do each week, set goals for the student's school work each year, and then we receive funding from them for school resources. We receive $2000 per child at this point, for approved school related items, such as paper, pencils, crayons, staplers, tape, ink cartridges, binders, and some curriculum. Since it is a non-Christian entity, they will not pay for any Christian items, or anything by a Christian publisher.

We have enjoyed it, because the kids get tested there, and I don't have to do it. Caleb's drum lessons and baseball fees have been paid for. They changed some of the funding guidelines this year, so they don't cover most sports-related clothing, any more furniture (last year we got two big bookshelves!) and several other things. They will pay for most educational games, books, math curriculum, construction paper, and more. I like that I can get most school supplies paid for. They even have paid for Rebekah's college classes this year. That is a HUGE help!

Usually at the end of the year though, the younger girls especially, have funding left over. We already have lots of books and curriculum from the older kids, so it can be a small challenge to utilize their funds. I have gathered a list of items that we have gotten before to help other homeschool families in my area gather ideas.

Here is what we have gotten before:
A set of 100 colored pencils
Solar system kit, paintable to hang
pencils/ scissors organizer for the desk
pencil cases, erasers
A local trip (within 350 miles), one night hotel stay
A ball to sit on (great for my ADHD kids!)
Scissors, crayons, glue, glue sticks, markers, rulers, Sharpies
pencils (mechanical too), pencil lead refills
dry erase boards and markers
Sticky notes, index cards
Large pack of construction paper (300 sheets? Maybe 500?)
Scotch tape and dispenser
a case of paper
a magnetic/ white board for our spelling curriculum, eraser
Maps
backpacks
Educational puzzles, esp. maps
Computer, printer, ink
IPAD with case
swimsuits (no longer fundable), dance clothing, baseball pants, etc., (may not be fundable anymore)
Drum/ piano lesson fees
Crossover class fees (classes taken at a local school, such as band)
Magnet kit, butterfly kit, ant farm
Many, many, many books!
Great books with a historical emphasis!
Trebuchet kit
Drawing books
Large binders to organize papers, page protectors, subject dividers
folders
Art supplies- paint, paper, brushes, watercolor paints
Money kit, calculators
Tangram puzzle/ game cards
Handwriting books
Books for Five in A Row curriculum
Math, reading curriculum, spelling curriculum/ magnets, workbooks (secular only)
Museum admissions, art museum, pool punch cards, pool admissions
Swim lessons
Bicycles, bike helmets
Rollerblades
Telescope
A new stapler, staples
Clay for art
Pencil grips for pencils
Internet fees (but not cable)
Mileage to/ from classes
ACT or SAT assessment (one per year)
Class fees outside the home- choir, speech, dance, etc.,



This was at Office Depot, I found it cheaper on Amazon.co
X-Acto school Pro heavy duty electric pencil sharpener
Many games: Ticket to Ride, Ticket to Ride Europe, expansion packs for Ticket to Ride,  Sum Swamp, Math Dice, Rory's story cubes, Wordplay, Flag Frenzy, Timeline, Sequence, Blockus, Bananagrams, Quiddler, Set, Speed multiplication, Spelling Bee, and many more. We love playing games!

Here are other ideas that we have not purchased, because we either already owned them, received them as gifts, or don't need them:

jump drive for computer
math manipulatives
teaching clock
Flash cards
Dictionaries
Microscope
Boggle Jr. game
Scrabble Jr. game
Educational camps (science, art)
Kindle for reading
GLOBE
Organizational items- bins, etc.,
Storage boxes for spelling cards or flash cards
Clipboards (useful for not working at a table)
Twistables colored pencils
Mr. Sketch markers
Poetry books
Science kits- Magic School Bus or Young Scientist
Magazine subscriptions- National Geographic, Highlights (?)
Art supplies, or art curriculum
Blue tooth speaker (unsure of funding for this item)

I am unsure yet what we will spend the rest of our money on. We will probably go to a museum or two before the end of the school year. We may buy more books for the summer reading.


Deuteronomy 11:18-21

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.


Matthew 21:15
But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Rebekah's 18th birthday!

We had a great party celebrating our beautiful blessing, Rebekah for her 18th birthday! We had family and friends join us for dinner (wings, fries, asparagus, soda) and cake/ ice cream this past weekend. Two of her long time besties joined us for the first time in many years. They are all grown up! 
Here are a few photos of the gift opening and candle-blowing! We sure love our girl!

 She got a fun card from Auntie Allison, with Belle on it. The new Beauty and the Beast movie just released. When Auntie Allie and Nana were at Disneyland recently, they met Belle at a meal in the castle. Auntie Allie recorded a personalized video message to Rebekah from Belle. So sweet! <3 p="">
 A new infinity scarf...
 A LuLa Roe dress...
 A new comforter/ sheet set...
 Sweet earrings from her buddy...
 Another LuLa Roe dress, in addition to the one she is wearing that we gave her in the morning, with leggings. Now she has FOUR dresses! (I'm a little jealous! They are SO comfy!)
 A shamrock necklace from her Great Uncle!
 She received several gift cards and cash!Even to her favorite store, ULTA!
Blowing out the candles on her cupcakes that she made... chocolate with peanut butter frosting.. DELICIOUS! What a fun party!

Happy birthday to our ADULT daughter!?! (I still feel 25, so I'm not sure how that can be!)



Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”


Genesis 24:15
Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.


Genesis 25:20
... and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

Monday, March 13, 2017

Spring allergies

Allergies. Some people get them in the fall. Others get them in the spring, like me. Some people get them in both seasons, others not at all.

My allergies usually show up the 2nd week of March. Some years they arrive around March 15. It begins for me with the itchy eyes. Then more sneezing than usual. Then the nose starts to itch on the end. Sometimes it runs more. I feel tired. Sometimes when my allergies are really bad, my eyes are swollen and my sinuses are really stuffed up. Occasionally my throat itches. It is not fun!

I've tried lots of over the counter medications, and I've found only a few that help. I take Claritin year round to help with allergies. During allergy season, I have taken Zyrtec for many years, but it makes me sleepy. All day long. Ugh. I've also taken eye drops (I like Zaditor) and prescription nasal spray, which I should have started already, but I ran out this spring!

A few years ago when I began to get into essential oils, I found the TriEase soft gels by doTerra. They were created to protects against seasonal and environmental elements. They help maintain clear breathing and healthy immune system function. They take a few days to kick in, and if I don't take them with lots of water, or eat afterward, I'll get heartburn.

Another natural supplement that my husband and I found that helps is a dissolvable pill called AllergieMittel. It helps very quickly.

I was tested for allergies about 17-18 years ago (my oldest was a baby) and found that I am allergic to juniper, which is in  75% of the yards in my valley. Sigh. It blooms in the spring, putting off a fine yellow powder. That powder is what I am allergic to. My allergist had a picture of it that he showed me when I visited his office.

I am also allergic to some animals: dogs, cats, horses and rabbits. So we do not have pets besides chickens that stay outdoors. I am also allergic to dust mites. So I vacuum our mattress at least once a year and wash our bedding frequently. Spring cleaning comes at the perfect time to coincide with my allergies. I have been cleaning a lot lately, washing bedding, curtains, dusting...


My family is allergic to many of the same things that I am. I am pretty sure that a few of my children are allergic to juniper too. I know a few are allergic to cats and dogs. We've only had our youngest daughter tested because she has eczema as well as allergies. My doctor told me that allergies, asthma and eczema are all tied together. Of course my husband had all three when he was younger.

My mom and one of my older brothers had more severe allergies than me and went through rounds of allergy shots. My brother was allergic to several kinds of grass and trees, but not me. I am thankful that my allergies are not worse.

So those allergy sufferers out there, I can sympathize with you. For those who have no allergies, I am jealous of you. I wish I could understand why God made some people allergic to things while others are not.

I have tried eating local honey too, that helps a little. Anybody else have any great helps? I'd love to hear your ideas! I'm not super desperate yet, but I do have a roller bottle of lemon/ lavender/ peppermint oils in my pocket. That reminds me, I need to refill that one...



Daniel 2:21
He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

Acts 14:17
Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

Galatians 4:10
You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

A time I got "lucky"...

When I was younger, I didn't get much money. We didn't get allowance, and didn't have any way to work for money. That was ok, my mom would give us coins to spend at the corner store for Bazooka bubble gum. It was 5¢ for a piece, and it had a little comic wrapped around it. We didn't go shopping a lot, except for groceries, so I didn't have a chance to spend much either.

I had two older brothers, and they had paper routes. My oldest brother loved the Hobby store, and they bought lots of rockets and supplies there. My brothers also had model trains, and they made a huge board for it, with little trees, rocks, and even a volcano that worked. It was pretty cool. I was content to ride my bike, play at the park, and play Barbies with my friends. I did like being with my older brothers, but they usually liked to have me run bases for them. They could throw their baseball much faster than I could run between them, so I got winded pretty quickly.

One summer when I was ten, my brothers got an opportunity to deliver a bunch of papers to apartment houses. I think the papers were mostly classified ads, but if we delivered a bunch of them, we got paid for it. They got me to help them, and gave me a little bit of the money. (Which I probably spent on gum or candy at the corner store!)

We were walking outside the apartments, between the apartment houses with my mom's friend Lynn. We walked across this one driveway, and there was some cash lying on the ground. I picked it up and fingered through it, it was ELEVEN dollars, that was a lot of money back in 1983. ;-D I gave it to my mom's friend, and she said she would see if she could find out who it belonged to, and return it. Well, after several days, nobody claimed the money. So Lynn gave the money to me!

I felt so lucky! I had not been alone when I found the money, but just happened to be the one who found the money! I don't remember what I spent the money to buy, I may have put it into my savings account. My parents placed an importance on saving money, so I bet that's what happened with all or most of the cash.

I told my kids and nieces and nephews, it pays to look down! ;-D You never know when you will find some money lying on the ground, even if it is only a penny. You save your pennies, someday you'll be rich!

What about you? Have you ever found money? Share about it in the comments!


This post is linked up with Mama Kat's writer's workshop
#5. Share a childhood story about a time you got lucky.


Matthew 17:27
“But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Luke 15:8-9
[ The Parable of the Lost Coin ] “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

My favorite teachers

As a student over many years of my life, I remember many moments in the classroom, with all different teachers. I can remember being praised for my good penmanship in 3rd grade, learning to mix colors in kindergarten, learning about the state of Delaware in 5th grade, and much more. I remember laughing in classes, and being frustrated at times too.

While I remember many of the great teachers that I had, a few of them stand out in my mind.

1. Mrs. VS (4th grade)- I remember enjoying 4th grade. I don't remember anything particular now, but I remember that my younger sister was born while I was in 4th grade, and my teacher was pregnant toward the end of the year. I remember the teacher's smile and how she listened to us. I remember she made each one of us feel special, even though we were different. I remember where my classroom was in the building, and where my desk was. It was a fun year.

2. Mrs. W- I had this teacher for a few years, as she was in my junior high for the first few years and moved to the high school when I was there. I remember diagramming sentences in her English class, and enjoying writing that year. In high school, she was our super-cool drama teacher and directed us in many plays. I never had a huge role or did anything too wonderful, but I had lots of fun in her classes. I enjoyed reading plays. One time I even had a short one-act play where I got to play a teenage boy! I remember pulling my hair up in a hat, and a friend told me that I looked like my older brother! I remember working with our director/ teacher on costumes, selling tickets, gathering props and more. I remember during my senior year, my parents separated for a time. It was very hard on me, being the oldest child at home. It was just weird having my parents be apart. I held things together a little bit at home, but at school I vented a lot to my friends and teachers. Well, my amazing drama teacher heard my unfortunate news, and wrote me an encouraging note, which I treasured at the time. When I travelled with my drama club to New York City during the summer after graduation, it was this teacher who was our chaperone with her husband. I have many wonderful memories of that trip, which I still enjoy remembering. We got to see "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway! How awesome is that?!

3. Ms. P (college)- During many years, I struggled in math. In high school, I took as little math as I could, including omitting Algebra II, which I regretted later. I had to take Basic Algebra and Intermediate Algebra for a year before I could take College Algebra. I began College Algebra with a teacher that was a little challenging for me. My friend Angie had a great teacher, and encouraged me to switch classes to be with her. I did, and I never regretted it! Her teacher was Ms. P, who became one of my favorite teachers. I passed College Algebra, and went on to take Probability and Statistics with, you guessed it, Ms. P! One day in class, she was working on the board, and I was totally lost. I must have had a confused look on my face, because the teacher stopped, looked at me, and said, "Jill, where did I lose you?" I was mildly shocked, as I had not said anything! I explained what I didn't understand, and she went back in front of the whole class to explain the problem again! I never forgot that moment, and the time that she took with me in her office explaining homework problems. She really cared for students.

It is interesting to me that while I don't remember exactly what my teachers instructed me, I remember how they cared about me individually and about my progress. I remember feeling encouraged, cared for and special in their classrooms. I hope to be a teacher like that each day in my home classroom, and when I teach other children.


Proverbs 6:23
For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life...

Proverbs 7:2
Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

Luke 4:15
He (Jesus) was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

Luke 4:32
They were amazed at his (Jesus') teaching, because his words had authority.
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