Food Inflation Expected into 2011

U.S. food companies have already started to raise prices to blunt price spikes for a number of commodities, including corn, wheat and coffee.
“Although inflation has been relatively weak for most of 2009 and 2010, higher food commodity and energy prices are now exerting pressure on wholesale and retail food prices,” USDA food economist Ephraim Leibtag said. Read details here.

It's a good time to stock up on sales. If you canned during this past year, pat yourself on the back. You'll have saved yourself some money in the coming new year.

Flexible Spending Account Changes for 2011 and Beyond

"Starting in 2011, OTC medicines will no longer be eligible for reimbursement unless you are expressly directed by your doctor to use them.
Looking a bit further ahead, another big change will be a federally-mandated $2500 cap on FSA contributions starting in 2013. This new limit is part of the healthcare reform legislation that was passed this past spring."
Read details here.

I Thus Warmed Myself by the Still Glowing Embers

In Walden, Henry David Thoreau tells us:

"Like the wasps, before I finally went into winter quarters in November, I used to resort to the northeast side of Walden, which the sun, reflected from the pitch pine woods and the stony shore, made the fireside of the pond; it is so much pleasanter and wholesomer

to be warmed by the sun while you can be, than by an artificial fire. I thus warmed myself by the still glowing embers which the summer, like a departed hunter, had left."

Image from the northeast sitting area of my backyard in mid-September .

The Kindle eReader - Old Fashioned Learning with New Technology

We've been using vintage public domain texts, published before 1924, for ancillary learning since my son was in kindergarten, and I use it with my five year old daughter. The Robinson Homeschool Self-Teach Program, using vintage texts, has always interested me; however, I'd like to begin having the children read e-books(free) on a regular basis for school. The Robinson CDs are set up for printing, per Dr. Robinson's no computer learning philosophy, and are not ebook friendly(older TIFF versions). I like the new ebook technology, so we won't be ordering the Robinson CDs, but I will use his book list as a resource.We have a mini-laptop with which we currently read ebooks, but its backlit screen is hard on the eyes. I looked at the Kindle ebook reader; it is not backlit and uses electronic ink. Excerpt from Amazon on the Kindle:

Reads Like Real Paper, Not a Computer Screen
Kindle's wireless reading device uses an electronic ink display is ideal for reading because it does not create the same eyestrain as reading on traditional backlit LCD tablets or laptops.
Clearer Text and the Sharpest Display
Electronic ink uses actual ink to create crisp, print-like text similar to what you see in a physical book. Kindle's proprietary, hand-built fonts take advantage of the special characteristics of the ink to make letters clear and sharp.
No Glare, Even in Bright Sunlight 
Kindle's screen reflects light like ordinary paper, eliminating the glare created by backlit LCD displays on tablets or smart phones. Kindle can be read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room.

Kindle also has a USB port, so I can download books from my PC, if needed. There is a native PDF reader in all new versions of the Kindle. The first generation Kindle had a SD card reader for external storage, but the newer Kindles do not. Current Kindles hold 3,500 books, but I still wish I could transfer books via a SD or stick memory. Supposedly PDF downloads from my favorite Google Books(free public domain texts) download easily and view well. In addition, there are a good number of free classics for download at the Amazon Kindle book store. Project Gutenberg public domain texts have always been fairly ebook friendly.  

I'm thinking about using vintage texts for Reading, Religion, and History. Math and English will probably be via Christian Light Education, and Science is still up in the air.

I'll wait for Black Friday to purchase a Kindle. They are likely to go down in price; however the least expensive version without the Wifi or 3G is relatively inexpensive at only $139.00. I'm looking at the Kindle DX for its larger screen and 3G, although it is not as reasonably priced. My husband prefers ebooks, and may be borrowing the Kindle for the text-to-speech option which is a standard Kindle feature. If he likes it enough, we'll probably be purchasing one for him as well.

Homeschool Humor

Tips for Frugal Grocery Shopping

Something new I learned:
"Weigh everything. A ten-pound bag of potatoes might actually weigh up to 12 pounds and a three-pound bag of apples might weigh four to five pounds. You get more for your money. "

I love learning new tips!Too bad my daughter isn't taller(or the scales lower); she'd like weighing the bags to compare weights.

Read more tips here.

Printable price book for comparison shopping(PDF)

Free Thanksgiving Children's Activity Print-outs and Stories

See more activities at Kaboose

Children's Thanksgiving Crafts

Cardboard cut-out of Miles Standish

Grow a yam.

See here for directions.

Inexpensive Company Pork Roast Recipe

Pork Shoulders are one of the least expensive roasts due to toughness; however they have a fabulous taste and texture when slow roasted. The outer layer will be deliciously crispy with a tender center. This recipe uses cream sherry; however cider vinegar is very good as well:

Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder from Sunset Magazine.

Image from site

Homeschool in Transition

We have had it so good for these past seven years. My son has sailed through the Rod & Staff curriculum, loving most of it. We also used Climbing to Good English and the Pathway Readers. There is something about those Amish/Conservative Mennonite texts and workbooks that really appealed to him. All were very much to the point, yet thorough and without a lot of distracting color or illustrations. Topics flowed well and were logically organized. It also blended well with our vintage Catholic texts because of it's generic Christian tone. Once he learned to read well, he was able to work through these books with minimal instruction. Rod & Staff texts are good for independent learners - they pretty much self teach, each grade builds upon itself in a fluid manner.

Rod & Staff texts only go through eighth grade(full curriculum), and the last grade begins to lean heavily toward Mennonite doctrine and history. So, I've been exploring options for eighth grade and beyond. We'll most likely transition to mathematics with Christan Light Education, similar to Rod & Staff. We may even use their Bible study if it's free of doctrine. Rod & Staff Bible study(K-7) has been excellent - so interesting with many bits of ancient history and culture. Since my son has been leaning in the direction of self directed learning for a while now, I've decided on the Robinson Self-Teaching program. He's an independent learner who likes to research things which interest him. He also loves to read, so I think this reading heavy curriculum would be a good fit for the rest of his schooling.

Robinson uses vintage texts in public domain. We have used these sources for ancillary learning. He seems to prefer the mature tone of the older books. We will probably be reading most of these on our mini lap top as we have in the past with public domain texts. I download them to a Sansdisk compact flash memory card(AKA: Thumbdrive) stick for easy access. We don't have the Kindle ebook Reader; however, I think you can use this device to read the books as well. Best of all, it's a very good value with only a one time purchase for all twelve grades(doesn't include math).


Robinson Self-Teaching main website

From phonics to physics, these 22 CDs and a set of Saxon math books are all that you need to give your children a superior education. You can use this curriculum to supplement your children's current schooling or as a stand-alone education using the included self-study methods.
The Robinson children teach themselves (as do the 60,000 children now using this system) ­ so well that their 11th and 12th grade work is equivalent to high quality 1st and 2nd year university instruction in science, history, literature, and general education.
They also teach themselves study habits that do not depend upon planned workbooks, teacher interaction, and other aids that will not be available later in life.
They teach themselves to think.
Dr. Robinson has spent less than 15 minutes per day teaching all six children...
Many home schools are limited by the burden of teaching that is placed on parents. Dr. Robinson has spent less than 15 minutes per day teaching all six children ­ ages 6 through 18. Yet, both of his oldest students scored over 1400 on the SAT (over 1500 on the new SAT) and received two years of advanced placement in college. The younger children are doing as well.
Teach your children to teach themselves and to acquire superior knowledge as did many of America's most outstanding citizens in the days before socialism in education.

Independent Robinson Resource Site - freebies, tips, links, etc.
Books Sorted by Reading Level 

Happy Hearts Homeschooling Library

Reviews:
Personal review
HomeschoolReviews.com 

An Old Fashioned Education has a similar approach using public domain books, only all the lesson plans and helps are free.

Samizdat Express has a mind boggling amount of books by subject on CD. I purchased the children's set for my niece years ago. His prices have gone up quite a bit; I think he has realized the value of his collections, especially with the popularity of Amazon's Kindle. Samizdat lists all the books in each CD collection, all are in public domain, so it's a good reference as well. If you'd like to pair this will some auditory learning of a dramatic flavor,  OTR Cat offers old-time radio show collections on CD at a very low cost, a super time saver. Some are live recording of wartime coverage, others are historical shows. Free downloadable versions here at Internet Archive, Old Time Radio. Also see: Librivox Free Audio Books.

A huge archive of children's history books organized by reading level and historical period. Free to read online, or order collections of CD. Some of these books may be found online in public domain as PDFs - try a Google search as well.

Update: I just noticed that Robinson files are actual scans of book pages(not PDF or plain text), so we may go another route, but still using the vintage texts. They are serious about not wanting the curriculum to be read on a computer screen.

Horseradish, Pork, and Potato Dish Update

This casserole was fabulous! My husband especially liked it - it's all gone.

A few changes:

• Shredded pork instead of diced(about 6-8 ounces)
• Added caramelized onions and garlic(one onion and two spoons of chopped garlic from a jar)
• Added hot sauce, sage, and allspice to taste
• Used a little bagged shredded cheese - sprinkled on top

I had some frozen pre-baked(skin on) potatoes - forked down(lightly mashed). This went in the bottom of a small casserole with the onion and garlic, then came my pre-made shredded pork(crispy top pieces), a small jar of horseradish, and lastly some milk poured over the top. I mixed it lightly with a fork, seasoned it, and baked uncovered for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees. I added the shredded cheese, and baked for another 10-15 minutes until it was melted and crispy.  My version of the casserole served four.

It has got a slight kick - a twang and some heat, but really tasty. The ingredients were frugal as well. I get a pork shoulder for .99 cents a pound, and cook it down to shredded pork. It gets frozen in 6-8 ounce packages. I do the same with the potatoes - buy many bags of them on sale, steam them, and freeze.

Horseradish Ham and Potato Casserole Recipe

Somehow I ended up with two bottles of horseradish, and I only use it sparingly. I'll be using it up with this recipe for Horseradish Ham and Potato Casserole. I just prepared a huge pork shoulder and have a few bags of potatoes(on sale) to bake and freeze. Although not a part of the recipe, I'll toss in some sliced radishes for a little color and taste. Hopefully this will be good.

Here is another for chicken which sounds very good: "Flat" Chicken. It uses balsamic vinegar, orange juice, and the horseradish - yum!

DIY Grout Fixes

This is on my list of things to do soon: Fix Minor Grout Cracks This idea using latex will fix the cracked grout caused by the moving floor issue in my bathroom. Other fixes also mentioned.

Make Your Own Acorn Coffee

See here for recipe. Just watch out for your competitors.

Advice for Student Writers from John Steinbeck: Write Freely, Edit Later

John Steinbeck's "rudimentary suggestions for the beginner":

"Don't start by trying to make the book chronological. Just take a period. Then try to remember it so clearly that you can see things: what colors and how warm or cold and how you got there. Then try to remember people. And then just tell what happened. It is important to tell what people looked like, how they walked, what they wore, what they ate. Put it all in. Don't try to organize it. And put in all the details you can remember.

You will find that in a very short time things will begin coming back to you, you thought you had forgotten. Do it for very short periods at first, but kind of think of it when you aren't doing it. Don't think back over what you have done. Don't think of literary form. Let it get out as it wants to. Over tell it in the manner of detail--cutting comes later. The form will develop in the telling. Don't make the telling follow a form."

More here.

DIY Greenhouse Window

Grow herbs, salad greens, etc. all year round. See here.

Recycling and Reusing - Bottle Top Bag "Clip" Food Saver

See here.