Frugal and Small Footprint: Shipping Container Cabin

Strawberry Rhubard Pie Recipe

We had this in Amish country recently....soooo good:

Getting Ready for the New Homeschool Year

My eldest will be entering 10th grade, our eleventh year homeschooling. By now it has become old hat and an established way of life. I barely think about living any other way - it just is. My daughter begins second grade which is hard to believe. Her childhood seems to have rushed by much more quickly than my son's did. It is like a blur, but then she is like a blur - in constant motion. To quote Beatrix Potter's Squirrel Nutkin, she "danced up and down like a sunbeam". This is my daughter's walk through life. It's wonderful and exhausting all at once.

Jeremy will continue with Christian Light Education which he does on his own. Periodically, I'll add to the curriculum as an extension to his interests or comprehension. We talk a lot about his studies and use the Internet daily for free study resources. YouTube has a great many interesting documentaries and math tutorials which we use a lot.

Olivia, my little sunbeam is learning with Kindle educational apps and YouTube educational videos.Her attention is limited, so a full structured curriculum does not fit her. She is very curious and a natural learner. She pursues knowledge with gusto which makes it very easy for me! I read to her a lot, and we spend time learning by doing. We do use some structured curriculum. We are using Climbing to Good English(about 170 pages), Pathway Readers, and MCP math. Last year we finished about 80% of Christian Light Education's learning to read program. It was a good program; she just got a little burnt out on it.

Some of Our Resources:

Christian Light Education(Son - full curriculum)
Climbing to Good English(Schoolaid)
Pathway Readers
MCP Math(check Amazon as well)
YouTube (my channel)
Pinterest Homeschool Pins
Kindle/Android Learning Apps
Library
Nature Centers and Museums
Field Trips and Travel
Learning By Doing
Recreation Center for P.E.

Tutorial Children's Play Fort/Treeless Tree House

See here.

Naturalish DIY Home Acne Treatment

My son has mild acne with sensitive skin. I've had him use a zinc based wash and honey masks, and they seem to be working at keeping the acne at bay. He still has red areas that don't seem to heal. I'm still working on this, but the weekly honey masks bring down the redness quite a bit. Honey has gentle antibacterial properties which seems to work well with sensitive skin.

Our Gentle Acne Treatments:

-Zincplex Shampoo 8 oz - shampoo that he uses as a facial wash.

-Salux Nylon Japanese Beauty Skin Bath Wash Cloth(exfoliating cloth/towel)

-Honey from the grocery store
- BC Powder(aspirin) mask...takes away redness and promotes healing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just ordered: Enessa Clove Acne Control 0.5 fl oz. Review to follow...update: Not effective, but nice scent. I use it as a perfume.

I try to order natural based products for us, and we are avoiding prescription medication because of the side effects.

I've been using this for scalp blemishes: Dr. Kaufmann Medicated Sulfur Soap . I've not gotten any new blemishes, but the old ones are healing very slowly. I have not had my son try this yet, but will soon. 

I bought this to keep my head cool through the night: Organic Buckwheat Pillow - Japanese Size (14" x 20") It's breathable and has helped a lot! I get some night sweats due to menopausal symptoms. The sweat inevitably results in blemishes, and I'm not hot with this new pillow. This and two fans at night!

We wash pillow cases every week which keeps an oily face cleaner. I flip my son's pillow over half way through the week.

I'm also using at-home acidic facial peels which have worked well at abating age spots and blemishes on my face with extreme exfoliation: Skin Obsession 40% Glycolic Acid Peel for Acne, Scars, Age Spots & Lines . This would probably be great for my son's skin, but he can't take the stinging feeling. When I use it, it feels more like an itchy sensation, but it is not painful at all.

Tobacco Farming Stories

My blogger friend Debbie has a facinating post about her childhood experiences helping with tabacco farms in North Carolina. She shares details of the entire process. See here.

Frugal Tent Homes

Thrift Store Shopping for Fall Children's Clothing in June

We got a new thrift here which now sells clothing by the pound. I thought I'd try it for some early back-to-school shopping, and was pleasantly surprised to find some decent items in the bins! I got two pairs of like-new Levi jeans and a good quality striped long sleeved top, all for my teenage son.

Check the thrifts NOW for good deals, before the stock is picked over in late July and August. I plan to return throughout the summer to build his wardrobe for the fall. I don't mind digging through bins for good deals, especially when they are .50 cents a pound!

Yardsales are good too, although I don't do them because of high gas prices. If a yardsale is on my way, I'll stop, but otherwise I like to go to a one-stop source.

Frugal Summer Plans

Gas prices have reached almost to $3.50 a gallon in our area! This year we are staying closer to home. A few frugal staycation plans  for us this summer:

- An overnight stay or two at a local hotel which has a free buffet breakfast and a fabulous pool.
- Visit state and federal parks for the day within an hour or two from our home.
- Go fishing locally.
- Visit the library.
- Take a swim class with the city recreation center.
- Learn handyman skills together as a family from free resources online and at the library.
- Go bowling.
- Garden
- Craft and learn to draw.
- Walking tours of the area's more pleasant places.
- Read and relax in the backyard.
- Hang out together with no plans .

DIY Portable Greenhouse From Recyclables

See here for tutorial.

Awesome Thrift Store Curriculum Finds

See here.

How to Fold To Towels Tutorial

June Homeschool History: Flag Protection Act

"The flag-protection movement regained national momentum during World War I, and on June 14, 1923, the first National Flag Conference was held in Washington, D.C., to establish a set of rules for civilian flag use. The U.S. Flag Code, first published in 1923 and adopted by Congress in 1942, is based on the belief that the American flag “represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.” It proscribes any use of the flag that could be construed as disrespectful, including using it for advertising and to decorate clothing and other goods. While the U.S. Supreme Court struck down flag-protection laws as violations of free speech in 1989, the Flag Code is still maintained as a code of etiquette, enforced not by law but by tradition....In the 1920s, when the U.S. Flag Code was created, teaching respect for the flag was considered an essential part of 'Americanization', the process of assimilating immigrants into loyal, English-speaking citizens."

Read more here at the Smithsonian National Museum of History. Link to classroom resource.

Build Your Own Small House Frugally

I think this is so innovative and resourceful. Much of the items were purchased secondhand or were free, costing them only $5,900. See here.

Nature Study: Gentle Giants, Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

I showed this to my children this morning. So amazing! I hope these beautiful creatures, a marvel of God's creation, are protected.

Also see National Geographic for Kids - games, and other online educational freebies.

Kindle Fire for Homeschool/Early Learning

I finally decided to try the Kindle Fire android after our laptop broke. I liked it so much for reading, browsing the web, and keeping up with social media that I bought two. My husband uses one for audiobooks and movies. The other was for me, but I quickly discovered many educational apps that were free or very low cost for homeschool. I saw many Amazon apps for older children, but I am primarily using the first grade apps for my daughter.

I found apps for read-along books, math, science, spelling, phonics, and reading. A few of my daughter's favorites:

How to Count Coins (For Kids Ages 3-10)
Starfall Learn To Read
Monkey Word School Adventure
Monkey Math School Sunshine
Abby Sight Words Games
Flash Cards vol 1: Kids Learn to Read - Learning Reading      Adventure
Reading Rainbow (Kindle Tablet Edition)
Peter Pig's Money Counter
MathOpen Cool Math Kids Game.
Preschool to 5th Grade Kids Learning Games : Preschool,      Kindergarten and 1st Grade
Math Bugaboo
Montessori Phonics Long vowels, Blends and Digraphs for      Kindergarten Kids
Butterfly Math
Bubble Words
Phonics and Reading With McGuffey
First Grade Learning Games (Full Version)
First Grade Kids Word Play - Word Find, Sight Word Memory,      Phonics & Spelling Games
Fox In Socks - Dr. Seuss
Sight Words Sentence Builder
iStoryBooks
Let's Do the Math
Body Organs 4 Kids
My First Money Tablet
Math BINGO
Pink Pig (Miss Rhonda's Readers Set ONE)

I also got a subscription to the FreeTime Unlimited app on Kindle Fire which is wonderful! It's a children's program with video, read-along books, and learning apps protected with a password so that the child does not wander off the FreeTime page. A time limit can also be programmed. My daughter's reading has greatly improved with the read-along books. We worked on a phonics and a learning-to-read program that worked for my son many year ago, but she is learning much more easily with computer based programs. We've ordered so many wonderful read along books, easy readers, and mom- read books since having this Kindle. I never have to ask her to do school work; she does it willingly, and throughout the day and evening.

Now my teenage son wants one. I'll wait until Christmas and pick out the larger Kindle with 4G for him. Academic school books and Classic books are free or low priced via the Kindle. If it breaks, the replacement is free with the one year warranty, and an optional two year extension for $49.99.

We got this Kindle Fire(below) for $159.00 with a subscription to FreeTime via Amazon Prime for $2.99 monthly. I just noticed this sale for Father's Day: $20 off Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HD 8.9", or Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G. Enter DADSFIRE at checkout.  Expires 6/8/13.

DIY Repair a Damaged Garden Hose

I had no idea you could do this! And there is even a way to fix a leaky hose at the attachment point to the faucet. See here:

Frugal Summer Creative Writing Course

I'm thinking about using this course($12.00 download), CTT Creative Writing I – Start Writing from CurrClick for my son(rising 10th grader). He has an interest in creative writing and wants to polish his skills over the summer. He'll probably be able to zip through the first course, but I want him to begin with the first course to make sure he doesn't miss anything - to make sure a good foundation of understanding is laid before he moves into the more advanced sections.There are five courses in this series:

"What is Creative Writing? How does one write?  How does one write creatively? How do you teach writing to a nine year old, or even an adult?

 Our Creative Writing I course has been successfully completed by many hundreds of students, and has been proven for well over a decade to jump-start students in the direction of being able to fully express their creativity in words.

Learn the basics directly from a lifelong educator with 40 years experience, as well as an Emmy and Dramalogue award-winning, often produced and published author.

Complete with test and answer guide, and a very useful teacher's guide with thorough advice and exercises to help the teacher assist the student through any difficulties…no matter where in the course they are encountered!

Our Creative Writing I course is called "START WRITING", and that's what it accomplishes! There are no additional purchases needed to do this course as the course materials are self-contained: the Study Guide, Teacher's Guide, test and answer guide. This course has proven to be remarkably effective with students of all ages nine and above who are reticent to write, and is a tremendous success with students already interested in writing!

Once the student has written a work he or she is proud of, we provide a free service here on our site where they can “publish” the work for the world to see, surrounded in appropriate art work and ready to share with family, friends, and admirers around the world!

Generally, students take between 25-40 hours to complete this course.  One of our most popular and best-selling courses!

_____

Creative Writing is the "crown jewel" of our curriculum. Starting with the most basic basics which explain what "writing" is, the student rapidly develops a complete understanding of the elements of great story telling, including plotting, characterization, dialogue and action. These are thoroughly detailed, and the student is always given many exercises in order to truly improve their understanding and skills, and to demonstrate expertise."

DIY Modern Minimalist Handbag

I love this minimalist ultra modern bag. I could make this very easily. See here for tutorial. 

Significant Savings on Pet Vaccinations

I found a wonderful blog for learning to live on a shoestring(frugal minimalism). In fact, I just finished her book,The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and YOU Can Too before finding her blog, Annienygma. While reading through her blog, which is a book in and of itself, I read something that I had never thought of - vaccinating your own pets to save money! The rabies shots need to be done by the vet for recording purposes, but others can be done at home for less than $10.00 each.

I already purchase dog Frontline Plus flea and tick control and portion it out to the cats at .5 ml for a significantly reduced cost.* So this is just one familiar step closer to reducing my costs by doing it myself.

* Talk to your vet first. This particular brand has contents safe for grown cats at a lower specific dose. Not all products for dogs are safe for cats(and vice versa) and can cause them harm. I have used a carefully measured dose of canine Frontline Plus with a syringe on both my cats for years without problems. Animal shelters have been known to use this as well. There are websites that warn against this, and others that mention that it is okay. Educate yourself, talk to your vet, and choose wisely for pet in this matter. 

DIY Inexpensive Adirondack Chair Tutorial

See here.

A Super Tutorial on How to Wash Pillows and Get Them Extra Clean

See here

Blog Update

I know I'm not posting here much, but I have been posting items to my Pinterest pages. Be sure to check out the Homeschool Helps and Children's Art sections. I've been posting pictures with links fairly often. My Gardening pins are here.

 We continue to use the same money saving ideas that I've listed throughout this blog. The only new items are an ongoing DIY powder room remodel which I'll update when we finish. 

Both children are still being homeschooled, and loving it.

The only thing that I wish for is money to travel. Otherwise, we have a roof over our heads, food, and love. It's all good. :)

Video Recipe Tutorial: Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry

Concrete and Wood Deck Resurfacer

What a great concept for saving money! I may try this on my concrete floors, if I can apply it over the paint.

Art and Math Coin Counting Fun

Cute idea for learning coins, counting, addition, and even subtraction . Give child a specific number of coins, have them design shapes or things while counting the total. Art and math!  For subtraction, maybe this caterpillar could eat shapes that you've made with coins. Make it fun and imaginative.
Source.

Spring Bird Songs and Hatching Eggs

Alternatives to a Grass Lawn

Our backyard has a good number of oak trees, which is wonderful during our hot summers, but means growing and maintaining a grass lawn is quite labor intensive. We gave up watering the lawn years ago, and now there are bald sections due to droughts. I decided to grow something green that would be helpful to the wildlife and be low maintenance. I chose white clover . I put down about a pound of the seed two weeks ago and already, with all the spring rain, it is coming up.

 There is also an "estate lawn" mix - grass and clover that looked interesting: Ecology Lawn Seed- 10# Low Grow- No Mowing

Free Vintage Notebooking Paper: Spring Children

Source: lilac-n-lavender.blogspot.com viaAlexandra on Pinterest

See here.

Preschool/ Kindergarten Counting Easter Eggs Game

This is an interactive YouTube video.

Young Children's Easter Read-along Song

Free Elementary Art Project: Peacock

Source: artprojectsforkids.org viaBri on Pinterest

See here.

Food for Thought

Although, it should read, "What if Money Were No Object".

Free Food: Eat Your Weeds

Source: bhg.com viaAlexandra on Pinterest

Great photo identification slide show for "weeds". Identify them and then find out if they are edible. See here.  See here too.

Weeds have many vitamins and minerals, and they are free for the taking. See here: Five Healthiest Backyard Weeds.

   The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants

The Longest Sun: American Indian Cultural Studies

Story in Tewa language with subtitles. Tewa is the dying language of Pueblo Indians in northern New Mexico.

Restore and Clean Grout Product

Something to try, maybe. Check out the link here.

Source: middleclassmodern.com via Tracie @ MiddleClassModern on Pinterest

Slow Cooking Outside

With found curbside logs from downed trees, leaves, twigs, cardboard boxes, and a little charcoal to get it started, I was able to cook an 11 pound turkey and 10 pounds of chicken outside in my cast iron lidded pot. I found it cooked better after I added rocks up around the pot to keep the heat in(not shown in picture). I made this fire pit with chunks of found concrete and an old oven rack. The bottom is lined with pebbles and smaller concrete chunks.

It took many hours, but while it cooked I was able to clean up and compost all those leaves! ; ) The fresh air and sunshine was nice too.

The turkey turned out moist and delicious! If you have a day to do this, it's fun and produces a great result. You can't leave this like a crock pot and come back. The fire and food must be tended and watched the entire time. It certainly makes me appreciate the labor that goes into cooking on an outdoor fire for a family.

A more efficient and environmentally friendly option would be a rocket stove which maximizes combustion requiring very little fuel.This one is portable, but you can build one too with 16 bricks. Rocket stoves burn without smoke which makes them better for maintaining air quality. That's a project for another day. 

In the Garden

Broccoli! A volunteer found in the back of my garden. I've already cut off a few florets to eat.

Hugelkultur Low Irrigation Garden Progress

Working on my Hugelkultur garden today! I've been throwing composting material in it as well as leaves, twigs, and some rotting logs. I'm going to make a run to a Starbucks to see if I can get a bag of used coffee grounds before they throw them out. This makes the soil so rich!

Inexpensive Powder Room Remodel Progress

We ripped out the tile instead of keeping it. It was too difficult to figure out how to marry the concrete that needed to be poured in the area of the old vanity with the existing tile floor. We are going to lay concrete over the entire floor rather than skim coating over the tile and filling in a small area.

A bag of concrete was five dollars, and we will probably need two 80 pound bags. I also got a black color additive for a few dollars. We'll need to purchase a concrete sealer as well.

Other plans include paint for the wall, making a faux concrete floating counter with the existing sink, and the addition of a large mirror after the  hole in the wall where the medicine cabinet was  is filled.

We were quoted $900.00 for the remodel of our powder room, so this is by far a much less expensive way to go.

DIY Seed Starter Window Insert Shelves

Source: manditremayne.blogspot.ro via Alexandra on Pinterest

See here.

Inexpensive Wood Plywood Plank Floors

Source: diyandcraftideas.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

See here.

Wise Old Owl Vintage Bookmark

Old book plate which would make a cute bookmark!

Source: aquieterstorm.tumblr.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

Frugal DIY Concrete Overlay for Floors and Countertops

We are remodeling our downstairs powder room and decided to try a skim coat of concrete over the existing older cracked tile. The substrate is solid, the tiles are just old, 40+ years old. We took out the vanity, sink, and mirror. I kind of like the old sink, so I'll use the old counter off the vanity as a template, cut out some new MDF board,  and skim coat it with concrete. The vanity could not be saved; it was falling apart from water damage and old age.

The concrete that we plan to use is a resurfacing polymer concrete that will resist cracking. You can't use acid stain with this, but can add color.

I plan to use products from a big box store: a concrete resurfacer and a concrete bonding agent, sold by the gallon.

This is will be a very inexpensive remodel with nice results.  I'll share when we are done.

Here's a video on how to do the floor:

And one for counter tops:

 

Healthy Make-And-Go Refrigerator Oatmeal Recipes

See here.

Source: theyummylife.com via Lori on Pinterest

Hugelkultur Low or No Irrigation Garden Beds

"Hugelkultur is a German term that roughly translates to “mound culture”. The hugelkultur gardening method has been used in Eastern Europe for centuries and is essentially a sheet-composting method that involves burying woody debris (logs, branches, sticks) and other organic matter under a mound of earth. This gardening method mimics nutrient cycling that occurs in nature. When trees and branches fall to the floor of a forest, they act like a sponge as they decay. That sponge-like property allows the wood to soak up rainfall and then release it slowly into the soil use by surrounding plants. Hugelkultur beds are designed to take advantage of this natural water-retention cycle – so much so that some gardeners who use this method claim they never water at all." Read more here.

Source: arcadia-farms.net via Jan La Claire on Pinterest

Dollar Store Organization

Source: madincrafts.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Huge link list with examples!

Frugal Cooking: Charles Mattocks,The Poor Chef

Cheri Sicard: What’s a common myth about frugal cooking that you want to dispel?

Charles Mattocks: That people who cook frugally are poor. I think an educated shopper can be very frugal in a good way, they may use coupons and take more time in the grocery store but they save money.  The way the world is now, I think all of us are trying to save a few dollars.

I have had single mothers that are successful business women that raise families share with me their secrets of cooking or shopping.  With planning they bought fresher food because they used a budget, and that they got more for their dollar when taking time to really shop. So being frugal can be a great thing when it comes to eating healthy and saving money. Read more here.



Eat Cheap but Eat Well

A good book for beginning cooks, and/or cooks who are looking for healthier foods with a little international flavor. Some of his recipes are here, free online. These are his higher priced $7.00 meals, but I could make these for a lot less! If you shop meat sales and use frozen veggies, or veggies from your garden, the price per meals goes down. It's a good jumping board for making your own versions...great for ideas.

Here's one of them:
I'd use a cheaper cut of chicken. I get mine for .69 cents a pound, bone-in. I cook it, take the skin off, and separate little pieces(shredded) to use in the curry chicken. You can make your own yogurt and leave out the almonds.

Granny’s Curry Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/4 cup toasted, slivered almonds
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow curry powder, or to taste
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves (1 to 1 1/2 pounds)
1 cup yogurt
Minced fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish

Television: Content Matters, No Kidding

It seems morally wrong and abusive to expose preschool children to violence for the sake of a study. This is nothing but common sense; however, it puts the "science" behind it, and we value and put great emphasis on the social sciences in our society :

When preschoolers watch educational programs instead of violent TV shows, they tend to be more compassionate and less aggressive, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. 

The study

About 600 families were recruited and assigned to one of two groups. Parents in the first group were encouraged to substitute violent shows with educational and pro-social ones - shows that stressed compassion and cooperation. 

Families were given monthly TV guides listing educational programming for their area: shows such as "Dora the Explorer," "Super WHY," "Sesame Street" and "It's a Big, Big World." Parents were also encouraged to watch TV with their kids.

The children went from watching a half-hour of violent programming a day to 23 minutes. Parents then increased educational viewing from about 30 to 43 minutes a day. 

Families in the second group did not change their viewing habits. 

"This is the first study to try to modify the viewing habits of preschool kids," says Dr. Vic Strasburger, spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. "That's one of the significances of this study."

After a year, researchers found that children watching less violent and more child-appropriate shows scored better on tests that measured cooperation, a willingness to share or compromise. They also had fewer incidents of aggressive behavior such as yelling and hitting.

"Although television is frequently implicated as a cause of many problems in children, our research indicates that it may also be part of the solution," the study notes.

Read more here.

Great Depression Cooking : Pasta with Peas

More of Clara's recipes here.

Financial Lessons from Great Depression Cooking Host Clara Cannucciari

Her book: 

Clara's Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from the Great Depression