Misadventures: Experiments in frugality

Hmmmm....now what might this eclectic grouping be doing in my kitchen? Well, let me 'splain.

In my pursuit of simplicity, frugality, and health, I spent a day gathering all manner of 'recipes' from the internet for homemade cleaners and toiletries. I'll start right off telling you that baking soda and vinegar are the king of natural cleaners. Olive oil and pure castille soap rank big in toiletries (with baking soda yet again making a strong finish).

Here's a brief listing of products I've made and am currently testing, none of which includes any of those 'unpronounceables':
shampoo
conditioner
soap
shower gel
hair gel
hair spray
deodorant
liquid hand soap
bubble bath
bath salts
body powder
foot soak
toothpaste
lip balm
facial scrub
facial mask
body scrub
mouthwash

Cleaners include:
laundry detergent
laundry softner
dishwasher detergent
dishwasher rinse aid
scouring powder
liquid dish soap
carpet cleaner
antibacterial all purpose cleaner
window/mirrow cleaner
tub/tile cleaner
toilet cleaner

So far the only 'bombs' have been the liquid hand gel and the dish soap. They work fine, but they didn't 'gel'. I'll give them another try next month. My favorite has been the shampoo, which is so fabulous that I didn't need conditioner, styling products or hair spray after using it! Plus my scalp doesn't itch and flake anymore. The soap is also a keeper...can't wait to try new scents and textures. The toothpaste is just plain nasty-tasting, but works wonderfully.

All told, so far I've spent about $100 for the supplies to make all this, and the priciest items were the essential oils. (Lavendar and tea tree are must-haves, but I also got cinnamon and lemon). I think in the long run, it will save us tons of money, be safe for the environment, and give me the satisfaction of being 'crafty'. As I get more experience with making and using these things, I'll be glad to post recipes, all of which can be found different places on the 'net so will be thoroughly plagarized. :o)

I feel like Ma Ingalls.....sans the cheerful disposition.

Misadventures: Christmas Season

Well, howdy-do. Not much going on in the homeschool front these days as Christmas is upon us and there's always a million things to do. Even though I told myself this year would NOT become the harried season full of over-activity and over-spending, it has indeed become that once again. All my good intentions to sit cozily on the couch each evening and read favorite Christmas stories with the kids sipping homemade cocoa and nibbling freshly baked cookies have been trampled under shopping lists, receipts, phone calls, school activities, etc.

There's so much to love about Christmas, yet this year I've been overly sensitive to the spending frenzy I see around me...and how easily I give into it. It really gets me down. I'm sad that the things left to do such as christmas cards and holiday baking are simply 'have to's' that I look forward to simply checking off my daily list of obligations. Buying gifts this year has been no fun as we are spending money we don't have due to overspending thru the past 11 months. I desparately wanted to help the needy this season, and we have where we could, but not in the ways I wish.

I did manage to make a homemade advent calendar this year (we're 5 days behind as I type), and I enjoyed decorating the house with homemade touches here and there....but even Johnny Mathis crooning 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...' can't seem to pull me out of my funk.

It's so hard to create the magic that descended without effort growing up. It's hard to see the suffering in the world, the idiocy of some people, the frantic pace of life....and hunker down to focus and meditate on the tiny Prince of Peace who came to dwell amoung us. What a beautiful story. And to appreciate the harmony of nature as it gets itself ready for it's winter solstace...the quiet nights, the falling temperatures, the promise of downy snow and crystal icycles.

I long for simplicity especially this time of year. I see all the 'junk', and the piles of things I don't need or want cluttering up my life. My heart sighs deeply as I think of Ma Ingall's little cabin or Tiny Tim's shabby bungalow or a small cave in the Middle East that sheltered a new life, a teenage girl and a bewildered man.

>It's the time of year to reevaluate what's important...and when your life doesn't match what you value, then mental stress, physical exhaustion and discouragement follow. I'd like for once to stop this pattern in my life. For once to hear the bell ringing again and watch for reindeer in the sky. To glory in red and green life savers and tins of cookies stashed in the pantry. To sit under the lighted tree with the room darkened and Mr. Mathis singing on the record player. To hope for a white Christmas.....and to believe for peace on earth.

Misadventures: American Public High Schools

This article is a sobering look at what kind of students the public high schools of America are turning out. Here is an excerpt:

"Writing skills were singled out by survey respondents as especially lacking, as 72 percent of incoming students were viewed as deficient in basic English writing skills, including grammar and spelling, especially when applied to written workplace communications such as memos and reports.
While 58 percent of responding employers said that critical thinking and problem-solving skills were very important, 70 percent rated recently-hired high school students deficient in these areas."


This is so sad. It sounds like a great piece of writing to wave in front of our public-schooling counterparts while repeating the mantra "I told you so, I told you so, I told you so". Granted I've homeschooled mainly because I don't have much faith in the institutionalized schooling options in the US, and this article fits nicely in my arsenal of weapons to use when confronted with homeschool nay-sayers. But I've decided that tooting the homeschool horn in the face of millions of children who are released into society basically illiterate is at best cocky...at worst it's prime evidence of a shocking lack of love for our neighbor.

Pulling my kids out of public school was so easy. I never again had to think about what was going on with the majority of young people inside the hallowed halls of our country's classrooms. It wasn't my business anymore. It was so easy to look down my nose at the horrible system, to rise above the masses as proof of the superiority of homeschooling.....until I had to put my kids back in the system. Funny how your perspective changes when you must embrace that which you have been so adamantly against.

I don't want to be known for what I'm against anymore. I want to be known for what I'm for. I'm for children getting a quality education no matter where they're schooled. I'm for teachers getting paid WAY more than they do currently. I'm for communities coming together to spread their talents and abilities so that no schools are left out. I want to see our schools succeed. Not just because my older kids attend public high school, but because I want to be a Good Samaritan, not a Pharisee.

Homeschoolers are going to need to grabble with depressing articles like the above because we are part of the community, regardless of how stringently we strive to protect our little offspring from the 'scary world'. I want my kids to go out and be agents of good, of kindness, of mercy in that world, not isolationists hiding behind their superior educations and supposedly fail-safe morality. Until this movement can embrace ALL the children of this generation with grace, mercy, compassion....until it stops pointing fingers, defending itself, and fighting for its 'rights'......we are no better than the aristocracy of by-gone England. The 'us against them' paradigm must be eradicated completely. If not, children will continue to suffer.

So although I've ranted and raved against the public schools only days ago (and I still shake my head and spit when I think about what my daughter went thru), I won't take my kids out of their school. Separating and isolating my family from the 'village' surrounding us will never bring a Goodly Kingdom of Love. Trying to find a 'good' school in the area isn't an option either...what of all those left at the 'bad' school? They just aren't my concern anymore?

There are many things to fear about the public schools, but the response should not be to simply abandon it, shake our finger at it, and forget the millions of other kids still working their way thru. What could happen if the homeschool families went to local school board meetings or PTA meetings and offered to tutor at-risk kids? What if they rallied politicians for better schools? What if they were active proponents of ALL children getting a quality education? Methinks we wouldn't need to defend ourselves anymore. Why can't we all work together? Why must it be 'them' at all. Why can't it be 'us'?

Misadventures: "Tut tut...looks like rain"

I've branded my little band of homeschool friends "die-hards". Let me explain...

Our beloved leader Angie planned a fabulous excursion to the apple orchard for our little people. Weather report looks good all week. This mornin' a big, ugly storm dipped a *wee* bit further south than expected and dumped gargantuous drops of wet stuff on our parade.

But ONWARD we say. We're doing this thing no matter what (last two outings were cancelled due to rain). We bundle kids and head out to the country, hoping we've seen the last of the downpours. As we pull up to the parking lot, the rain begins pounding down once again. Not to be disuaded, we get umbrellas and huddle underneath, determined to wait out this 'last hurrah' from our unwelcome companion in the sky. We just knew it couldn't last forever....besides our very trustworthy forecasters are never wrong. Ahem.

Minutes dribble by, horses glare at us from the barn as if to say "Yeah, y'all look really stupid" and we realize we're just gonna have to bite the proverbial bullet and pick apples in the torrent. And mud. And lightning. And thunder. Well, by golly we did it. And we made a memory for our kiddos....they will NEVER forget *this* fieldtrip!

We gathered back at my place afterwards for some comfort food....oreos, doritos, hot chocolate, teddy grahms, purple grapes (does it get any better than that?) And low and behold, Mr. Sunshine decides to make a cameo appearance.......the little people were able to play outside a bit, and we devoted homeschool mamas chilled out on the couches.

Today's lessons for the record book are as follows:
Rain is wet. It comes from big dark clouds in the sky.
The man in the stiff suit on TV who stands in front of a map is a liar.

Oh, and oreos and hot chocolate are nectar from the gods.

I'm lovin' this journey. Many thanks to my other die-hards (A, A, and B) and their fabulicious kiddos for making this Monday one for the history books. Y'all are great!

Misadventures: Latin for 'fish'

Yes. Another post on opening day. I've now moved into obsessive compulsion about my new blog. Oh well. Send me a Little Debbie oatmeal pie, and I'll recover by morning.

So how about a homeschooling moment? For the last few weeks S,B, G and I have been trying our hand at learning some Latin. If you want to know why we're doing this, your options are:
a) we're gluttons for punishment
b) I'm ignoring my own advice (see previous post) and producing Trophy Children
or
c) I became convinced of the benefits after reading A Latin-Centered Curriculum by Andrew Campbell.

No hints. But I lean towards 'c'.

Anyway, part of our course is learning Latin prayers. Our first is The Sanctus. It goes something like this:
Oremus (Let us pray)
Sanctus, Sanctus, Santus (Holy, Holy, Holy)
Dominus Deus Sabbaoth (Lord God of Hosts)
Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria Tua (Heaven and earth are full of Your glory)

(I'll stop there, as the rest isn't germaine to this post, and really, did you want to read the rest?)

Now because life is quirky in ways that escape me, my children have very little difficulty pronouncing these ancient words. I, on the other hand, foam at the mouth trying to spit these syllables out in a coherent fashion. Nevertheless, I put my heart into it and chant along with them, kleenex close at hand. So last week I was feeling pretty confident about my efforts up to that point, and as we reverently and respectfully moved toward the last line, I loudly proclaimed,

"Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria TUNA."

(insert several long moments of my wicked children gafawing in peals of hysterical laughter)

Hmmm. So perhaps we'll just skip ahead to the Doxology. I'm hoping that prayer won't reference anything having to do with noodle casseroles, pickle relish, or mayo. But just in case, I'll be mouthing it, all the while harboring bitter feelings toward the Romans who came up with this unpronounceable verbage.