Some Spring Homeschool Encouragement

Hard to believe it is April already! Many of you are heading into the last leg of your school year, while others homeschool year around. Spring fever has probably got you wanting to play outside rather than hit the books. This is a great time to focus on nature journals, outdoor activities and outdoor science experiments. This is also a great time to study water – all kinds especially if you can play in it, too!

As the days are beginning to heat up, it is hard to focus. This is a great time to reevaluate your goals for the year, see what you have already accomplished and restructure your plans for the rest of your school year. Here are a few things to keep in mind and to help alleviate some possible frustration. First, the curriculum is only a tool. It should work FOR you, not frustrate you. Second, did you ever actually complete a textbook before the end of the year when you were in school? And third (and this especially applies to math), the first part of the next grade level is usually review, so your kids won’t miss out on anything if they don’t complete every page in the book.

Begin thinking now about what you would like to use next year. That way you can begin to gather your materials at the best prices either at used curriculum sales, yard sales, home school conventions and conferences, or online resources. Take advantage of opportunities to expand your home school horizons like workshops, conferences, magazines and other home school families. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, especially at homeschool get-together days, where you can reap from a wealth of experience.

Most of all, relax and enjoy your kids. The time you have with them will pass all too quickly, they will be grown and on their own. Rest in the arms of He who is our all in all and allow Him to lead and guide you through this home schooling adventure and make it a treasured time for you and your family.
(photo courtesy of freepixels.com)

It Feels Like Spring, So Let's Make Salad!

Ok, I realize that most of you are still in the peak of winter with plummeting temperatures and snow. But we live in the Sonoran Desert and our winters are usually beautiful. These last two months have been quite cold for us and I have been making hot stews and soups alot to keep us warm (we do not have heat in our house, so temps in the 40s at night is really chilly for us inside the house).

But yesterday felt like spring with a gorgeous 78 degrees and, of course, sunshine! We only see clouds a few days each year, so our weather is pretty monotonous:-).

Now that some of you want to beat me with a stick, I will share my recipe for this delicious pasta salad I threw together. I started with some whole grain penne pasta, cooked and drained. I left it to cool while I chopped what I had in the frig: carrots, celery tops (I used to throw them away), onion, tomatoes, cucumber, baby spinach, and broccoli. To this I added about 1/3 of a piece of turkey ham (very frugal meat - about 3 meals for $2.00), chopped into cubes. When the pasta was cool, I tossed it all together with some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and topped with some Parmesan cheese.

Everybody loved it! And my hubby took the leftover (not much) for his lunch at work today. Since most of the produce I got from our community food bank, the whole meal probably cost me about $2.00! That fits my frugal budget, how about yours?