YouTube Early Education Videos

Here's my link to our YouTube favorites for early education. I'll be adding more as we find ones which appeal to my daughter. Some of the Indian(SE Asia) ones are really good, even if the English narration is a bit different. So far we have added videos for math, English, and science. Most are animated, and fun, much like Starfall or Reader Rabbit.

Vegetable Garden Gone Wild

I've neglected the vegetable garden this year, and it's gone wild. I've decided I like it because of the interesting and helpful butterflies, bees, and other insects it has brought. My garden insect pest level is way down, probably because of the flowering carrots and onions, and mix of wild flowers. They seem to be attracting "good" insects which is providing a nice balance. I've got some random broccoli(or maybe collard greens) that came back from last year, which brings in the cabbage butterflies which in turn attracts the parasitic wasps who feed on the larvae. I figure this is an excellent sacrificial lamb for the rest of the plants, so I let the pests ravage the broccoli. The radishes are faring better.

I think this(below) is cucumber. My daughter pulled a Curious George and mixed all the seeds together in the starter pots and planting beds. I have no idea what's growing anywhere! Our mint has spread everywhere and smells lovely when I step through it to weed. It's all mixed up, but very pretty to look at.

Here's a nice chart for companion planting(and antagonists) for your garden. My meandering  mint seems to be a good deterrent for many pests. But, it looks like my cucumber should not be near my potatoes. They are both doing well, so maybe there is enough distance. Maybe I'll separate the two with a row of marigolds, a companion plant for both.

Line Drying Saves Me Money

Harness the sun's energy by running a line outside in your backyard or use individual wooden drying racks on your porch, or a sunny room. We have a line across two fences in the backyard for sheets and towels, and use two drying racks for the "smalls" both inside and out, depending on the weather. For items that need to be hung to avoid wrinkles, I have a portable hanging rack on wheels which holds an entire load of hangable laundry. On bad weather days, I dry sheets by hanging them on the ends of this portable hanging rack. I dry them overnight this way, and they are ready to be put away the next day.

Reportedly, line drying saves me on average $150.00 a year in electricity.

Other benefits include less wear and tear on your clothing(last longer, don't shrink as much), and the natural bleaching action of the sun, if you hang laundry in the sun. Drying my clothes on a hanger negates the need to iron most clothing. By not using the dryer, I don't need to clean a lint trap or worry about the exhaust line needing a clean-out.

Drawbacks - colors can fade in the sun, so should be dried in the shade or indoors. Sometimes turning them inside out helps if the fabric is medium weight. Line drying outside in spring is sometimes not feasible due to pollen. Drying clothes inside the home in a humid climate takes a long time, especially if you don't have a dehumidifier. Drying overnight works best for me.

Free Summer Fun: Canoeing

At our city nature center, free canoe rental day.

Free First Grade Reader

 Reposted from 2007:

A neat little first reader(mostly boy and dog themed) from 1888, New National First Reader. More at my library.






LESSON I.



dog it is a dog


It is a dog.






SCRIPT EXERCISE.

Complete Old Time Radio D-Day Broadcasts

From my inbox today:

"June 6 is the 68th anniversary of D-Day--the invasion of Normandy by Allied forces in World War II. OTRCAT.com has two "complete broadcast day" collections available:

* D-Day Complete Broadcast Day 1944 (CBS)[$4.50]
* D-Day Complete Broadcast Day 1944 (NBC)[$4.50]

Buy both of these in the special bundle savings and save 25% this week!

A fascinating listen, you'll hear exactly what listeners heard on D-Day including filler and rare radio programs. On D-Day 1944, radio programs such as Bob Hope, Fibber McGee and Molly and more are interrupted with news bulletins updating listeners to the progress of the allied invasion.  President Roosevelt leads the nation in prayer in for our nation's soldiers.

D-Day Broadcast Articles
Enjoy the D-Day article by author Eric Beheim which is a detailed account of the broadcasts this fateful day.

Also read about a fellow old time radio listener who was in the Army in 1944 and participated in the invasion that day. Lee contributed this insightful article on his memories and role in the invasion on D-Day."

Click here, to listen to free and paid old time radio at OTR Cat.

Stagnating and Slipping Back

I remember in 2001, when I first began homeschooling my son, he was kindergarten age, and we were setting out on one income. Despite this significant change to our household spending money, we were able to enjoy a vacation every year, and take inexpensive plane trips to see friends and family. We enjoyed low property taxes, decent food prices, inexpensive utilities and services, low out of pocket insurance costs and premiums, and a dinner at a restaurant twice a month.We earn more now,  and yet we can no longer swing those special vacations, we almost never eat out, and our food budget has become a juggling act. Our real estate taxes more than doubled with bloated housing values, and the city services and utilities have all gotten more expensive. My out of pocket expenses for medical testing and diagnostics has greatly increased. Insurance premiums are hefty, but you pay it, because you need it with the increased medical charges.

The drain on our money has been gradual; it didn't just happen during the recent recession. I haven't looked at the numbers, but I could swear we are worse off, as far as disposable income, than when we started a one income family in 2001! We are blessed to have employment and a roof over our heads, but even that isn't guaranteed these days. One smart thing we did was to pay off our mortage in about ten years. We plan to live in our current home forever, so it was worth it for us. We'd be struggling if we had a mortage on top of everything else. We'd do it, but it would be just scrapping by.

I pray something will change soon for all the families in America. I'm not bitter, and I love my life. It is the simple things in life that are important, but if we are struggling, what about people who earn less, or haven't the time to do extreme household budgeting? It takes a good amount of time and research to live frugally, and if you are working to keep your head above water, you don't have time or the energy to look for ways to cut corners. Many people are resorting to second jobs to get by. So much for time with your family.


I look back at our disposable income in 2001, and I think we were spoiled; it was nice while it lasted. It's amazing how quickly the new normal becomes an accepted part of life.

Now that my husband and I was in our forties, we are planning retirement and thinking we'll really need to save every bit we can now, to survive in the future.

My advice is to live way below your means, and sock away as much as you can for the future. Be careful about purchasing a house, as the market prices for homes are still bloated in many areas of the country. You don't want to purchase a home that will devalue. Get out of debt, and stay that way. Cut corners and make it a way of life to cut expenses in every area of your life. Cutting back small percentages here and there all add up to big savings. Personally, I think personal wealth will continue to decrease before it gets better. Our current economic state is still lousy. Our country has big debt, below-average GDP growth. and slow job growth.  When we have an upswing in the economy, and we will because these things are cyclical,  that will be the time to kick your savings into high gear.  Save, save, save, or the prospect of eating dog food in retirement might not be too far fetched.

Summer Homeschool Plans

I'm homeschooling my six year old year-round, so I'll continue to post homeschool items for early learning throughout the summer. She's now enjoying Bob Books and Christian Light Education's first grade learning to read program. We also use story telling via art and words. Much of it is her drawing pictures of her stories, and me helping her to incorporate the words she has learned. Weekly trips to the library are anticipated with joy. They have children's computers, a play area, and all the books and videos she could ever want. Inevitably, there are little girls there for her to play with and share the learning computers. The girls always seem to want to "help" each other and work the Reader Rabbit games together, giggling and just falling into the flow of working together. The library is the best of both worlds - free of charge and free unstructured time in a wholesome environment.

 My teenage son is entering high school next school year! How fast time has gone. He has been homeschooled since kindergarten, and now does self study homeschool(Christian Light Education[CLE] workbooks, "Light Units"), which is the way he learns best. He prefers this style over all others, and is a happy clam when he can self direct and met his goals successfully. With all the self help books and internet tutorials, he does very well when we hit a rough patch of learning. During the summer, he'll continue to read classics and Newbery Medal award books. There's a good biography section for young people at our library, so we've pulled a few books from this category throughout the year as well. I like the way our library puts these books, the award winning books and biographies, aside in their own special section, so that I don't have to go searching for them off a list.

My son will be working toward an academic degree via CLE Homeschool Plus, and then he wants to enroll in CollegePlus for his college degree. He has no idea, as of yet, which degree path he'll choose.

Our city parks and recreation department has a few nature classes and swim classes for which we'll be signing up. We've got a beach nearby and the city pool to enjoy. Hopefully, we'll be able to get up to the mountains for hiking again this summer. I've got to get some varicose veins operated on, so it all depends on how fast I recover.

What are your plans?

Printable Vintage Cut and Paste

Source: books.google.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

Vintage Printable Early Learning Math Sheet

I found these over at Google Books(free). To print, click on the source, then right click on the image. Early learning printable - 1920 number chart "The figures may be used by laying sticks or other counting material in groups containing the same number as those on the cards. Sticks may be laid to show a different combination in each group. Two combinations can be made for 4: 2 and 2; 3 and 1. Four combinations can be made for 8: 7 and 1; 6 and 2; 5 and 3; 4 and 4"

Source: books.google.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

Memorial Day:Children's Book and Activity Ideas

Source: notwiddletwaddle.com via Bethany on Pinterest

Mushrooms of America: Edible and Poisonous(Free E-book)

  Some mushrooms from my garden. :)

Title    Mushrooms of America: Edible and Poisonous
Editor    Julius Auboineau Palmer
Publisher    L. Prang & Co., 1885
See here for reading online and/or free download

Red Clover Tea Recipe

Recipe:

  1 cup red clover blossoms
   2 tablespoons mint (spearmint or peppermint)
   4 cups water
   Honey, to sweeten (or use sugar)

Read rest here.

Spring Garden Progress

Every year I try different vegetables in my small side garden, but predictably the same ones thrive: cucumbers, green peppers, carrots, onions, and mints. Still, I enjoy experimenting. I tried beans again, but they usually shrivel away by summer. They are doing it again, shriveling in a different part of the garden. I'm trying potatoes again in a mulchy unused part of the garden next to a fence. I throw a lot of garden refuse there, so they may thrive in the decomposing bits. We'll see how these do.

Staving Off Homeschool Burn-out

See pages 8-9.

Open publication - Free publishing -

Dress a Llama

Source: blogher.com via Heidi on Pinterest

This pin cushion made with a plastic animal is so clever. I couldn't have this at my home because it would be a lure for busy little fingers, but I really like the idea of making authentic folk costumes for plastic animals. This one with ribbons and pom-poms looks fairly easy to make as an extension for a study of Latin American mountain animals. A decorated elephant would be fun for a study of India. Maybe dress up a camel for North African or Middle East studies. They put interesting patterns with dye on camels in Pakistan(and India), and have colorful packs, rugs and bridles.

Source: photography.nationalgeographic.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

Source: likies.tumblr.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

My Favorite No Fuss No Liner Hookless Shower Curtain

My Hookless 71-by-74-Inch Fabric Shower Curtain, White hangs on a standard rod with flexible plastic rings which pop on and off the rod easily, and requires no liner. It stays fairly clean; however, we live in a very humid area, so I do have to wash it in bleach for minor mildew on the bottom about once every 4 months.I added another rod in the shower to throw it over for better drying, up and away from the tub sides which has really helped.

Anyway, I won't buy any other curtain now. I love not having to change a liner, and these come off the rod so easily for cleaning. I can do it with one hand. They are machine washable and last a long time. I've had a white hookless shower curtain for the past five years. We stayed at a Residence Inn hotel recently, and they had the exact same shower curtain.