If I Choose to Homeschool My Kids, How Will They Get the Socialization They Need?

The socialization question has been asked probably a million times. It is probably one of the first questions that is asked when it comes to seriously considering the route of homeschooling. I even asked it.

"If my kids are home with me everyday learning, how are they supposed to meet other kids so they don't end up with bad social skills." It's a good question, but it's a question I think parents worry far to much about.

Yes, you're kids are home with you doing school and chores, but interacting with you, as their parent and teacher is just first step in teaching children how to respect other individuals, and respect will go a long ways when becoming friends with other people. Starting with you, they begin to learn authority and how to talk to adults. That does indeed filter down to their attitudes and relationships with their friends.

How do they make friends if they are homeschooled? Here's what's worked for us...and if you've met my kids, they have no qualms about making new friends. You should enroll your kid in some sort of activity, whether that be sports, music, or a youth group type enviroment. If you do shelter your children from the world, then yes, there will probably be some social  holes for them. My daughters attend a Christian kids club during the school year that meets once a week and then my oldest is taking music lessons as well. (Well, she will be soon. We had to drop it for a few months when the baby got here). We also attend church every Sunday which gives them more opportunity to be with their friends, but to also mingle with the older people of our church. Grace even takes it a step farther and writes one of the sweet ladies in our church letters.

You are not confined to your house when you are homeschooling. When you are in public school, your kid is stuck in one spot all day long. Sometimes with people they get along with and sometimes not. But they are stuck there. Homeschooling gives you freedom to help your child explore their interests. My daughters love to read. So occasionally, we will go to the library during story time. They can do crafts there and hear stories being read a loud and pick out more books. It's not only a fun field trip, but it also gives them to meet other kids in our town.

Back in my day, it was Discovery Zone and Super Play for fun hot spots for kids to play. Nowadays there a lot of other options for kids to play. We have several areas in our neighboring towns that offer places much like those of my day for kids to play with other kids. And it's good simple, clean fun!

As much as I don't like to eat fast food, Mcdonalds does offer up a nice treat for the kids and bonus points if there is a play land!

The point is, your kids can get the socialization they need if given the opportunity to get out there and make friends. Homeschooling is freedom from so many things and it really gives kids a chance to flourish in different environments with a lot of different people.

If it is something you worry about, I can't stress it enough...don't! Your kids will make friends and learn the people skills they need if given the opportunity too.

How to Remove that Pink Stain from that Accidental Red Item in your Washing Machine

For the second time in my life, I've accidentally thrown in a red towel in some of our beloved white shirts. The first time this happened, it was with one of Josh's red rags that he uses to clean our cars with. His brand new Old Navy White shirt that he had just bought was in the washing machine and out it came pink. I was so upset by my mistake that I bought him a new shirt from American Eagle. To this day, I still feel awful because he really loved that shirt and Josh doesn't get new clothes that often.

The second time this happened was just this week. But this time, it was one of my shirts that was ruined...by me, again! My brand new white scoop neck t-shirt from The Loft, which I actually bought from Goodwill, with The Loft tags still on became victim to my absentmindness. Once again, Josh's red rags (this time a different pair that hadn't been washed yet) became the culprit. ( At this point, all of his red rags have now been washed. I think.)

I didn't even think about it, I just threw them in, started the load and went to bed. That could of been part of the problem. I was tired and and starting a small load of laundry was obviously the wrong thing for me to do. The next morning, I woke up to check on the clothes and imagine my shock when I pulled my new pink shirt out! My mouth literally hung open, and then I found Grace and whined to her and then I said," YOUR DADDY IS SOOOOO BUYING ME A NEW SHIRT" and off I stormed off to send him a text that read, and I quote,"I want to strangle you right now!"

Yeah, not my finest moment of speaking to my husband. Poor guy! So what did I do next? Well, I did what any girl would do and took it to Facebook! Thankfully, one of my dear friends who was also on Fb told me about this thing called the Rit Color Remover! She said that it would probably save my shirt and to give it a try. Josh ran over to Joanne fabrics and picked up the remover for me which was like $2.00 and said if it didn't work, that I could buy a new shirt. Sweet guy, huh? Yeah, I totally don't deserve his undying love.

Here's my shirt, all pretty and pink! It is still pretty damp from me taking it out of the washing machine. So...would you like to know how I got all of this PINK out of my shirt? Read on, dear friends and I will share with you, the best kept secret ever!

You need a big pot. Something stainless steel or porcelain enamel like a dutch oven would work too. Bring the pot to a simmer-NOT BOILING!

Once the water is simmering, pour and stir in the contents of the packet and stir until dissolved. Your kitchen will now smell strongly of a bleach-like scent.

Throw your shirt or whatever it is into the pot and stir for 10-30 minutes. You have to stir the entire time to make sure the powder can get into every pore of your shirt and retrieve the offending color. This is what my shirt looked like after 10 minutes of stirring. At about the 10 minute mark, my shirt was pretty much back to it's white color, but because I tend to be on the paranoid side, I stood there and stirred for an additional 20 minutes.

I wasn't risking it kids-I loved that shirt so much that I wanted that PINK color OUT! I mean, you girls know how it is. Finding the perfect white t-shirt isn't an easy task. It takes work and time, and countless tries of trying on different shirts, cuts, and styles! This one works for me because it has a band at the bottom of it, make it loose and not tight. It was flattering and I can never find flattering white shirts that make me look decent.

So after the stirring party is over and at that point your shirt or whatever should be saved. I swear, my shirt looked whiter than it had ever been! Then you carefully drain the water into the sink and wearing rubber gloves, rinse the shirt real good under hot water. Which is actually harder than it sounds because hot water is, well, HOT and trying to rinse something out, while using your hands is not an easy thing. Just do the best you can. My mantra quickly came, "grin and bear it, grin and bear it." After using the hot water, switch to warm water and give your hands a temperature relief...keep rinsing. There is no excuse for not doing a good job now! When you are done rinsing, gently squeeze out the excess water and throw it in the washing machine and wash as usual.

The directions on the box are a little vague at this point because obviously, they don't want you rinsing with cold water in your sink after you dump the pot of water...so to error on the safe side, I washed my shirt in the warm/cold setting and then dried it as usual.

My shirt is now white as white can be. A bit wrinkled from all of the trauma...but that will come out and is perfectly wearable. The best part- I didn't have to go on that "find the perfect white t-shirt" hunt again and I saved my husband some money.

Make sure, if you ever have to go through all of this work, that you rinse real good so that you don't get any streaking from either the pink stain or the powdery stuff that takes it out!

So here ya go! My shirt is saved and all thanks to my friend, Karen! Thanks girl!!! You are one in a million!


This post is linked to: Time to Sparkle
 

30 Day Shred-Completed!

Last Saturday morning, I did my last 30 Day Shred workout! It only took me 3 months. Yes...3 long months. I started it back at the beginning of March, but due to an injury, being sick a few times, being out of town, and taking about 2 days off a week...it led me to the 3 month mark.

I loved this workout! It was a super fast 28 minute workout (including the warmup and cool-down) and I sweated my butt off, and I'm usually not a very sweaty person. I loved the timeline aspect of it. It gave me something to look forward to or dread, depending on how I was feeling that day. Some days were easier than others and other days were harder than others. But I didn't cheat. I did the workout and I gave 100% of myself to it! I feel accomplished!

I can now do some pretty snazzy pushups! I can do a lot of the advanced versions of the workouts. And I loved having Jillian push me through the workout, even if I have already heard the same garbly-gook a million times.

Here's how I've changed- I've gained muscle. I'm not sure how much, but I know it's there. My body is a heck of a lot more toned than it was before. I can now fit into ALL of my post baby clothes (YAY) and I've lost 7 lbs! For the record, let me say that I am proud of that loss and that is in combination of going to the gym and eating a 1200 calorie meal plan too. Of course there were days I were over, they weren't often but I didn't stress it, I just made up for it later.

The shred is a dvd I will go back to probably a lot when I feel like I need to change it up or need to squeeze in a quick workout.

So what's next? Well, now that I'm only a couple pounds away from my post-baby weight, I'm going to start focusing on the areas that need more toning. Starting with my abs. I already have pretty strong abs, it's the skin on my stomach that needs to be tightened and toned and I love the idea of increasing the power of my core. So today, I got the six weeks 6 pack from Amazon. I plan on starting it next Monday because I'm still recovering from a cold and the the cough I have really winds me. When I start the workout, I will of course keep you all posted. Since Grace, Eden, and I watched the dvd today, I can tell that it's going to be fun and I hope it will help improve the toning in my stomach so I can be a bit more confident and comfortable in my clothes, in my appearance, and in my life!

Cat Tales Zoo in Spokane, WA

Last Thursday, we departed from Jennifer and Travis's home (my Sister and Brother in love) in Cusick, WA and made the one hour trek to Spokane to spend a few hours in the city before leaving for home for good. When we had come through Spokane on Saturday on our way to Cusick, I spied the Cat Tales Zoo and told Josh we had to go there, mainly because it was a zoo that featured Cats (my fave animals) and because zoos are always fun.

We got there Thursday morning about an hour after they had opened and we were all thrilled at how nice the weather was and how empty the zoo was. Aside from a few other cars in the parking lot, we had the place to ourselves. I was excited to find out that they do indeed except zoo memberships! We just purchased a membership to the Oregon Zoo back in March and because of this perk, we only had to pay $5.00 I think for Eden. It was quite the steal to enter the place.

The zoo itself is pretty small, only taking up a portion of the property, but there are animals on all sides of you. They have Bobcats, Tigers, Pumas, Leopards, Bears, and Lions. A lot of the animals were orphaned in the wild and brought to Cat Tales to live out their lives, others were part of zoos or magic shows who are now living out a retired life. Some, were even born there, like the lions and a few of the tigers.

Every animal has a name and a personalty that certainly comes through. They have nice enclosures and they all seem to have beautiful relationships with the keepers. I heard that when the zoo is closed, the animals get put on a leash and walked around inside the zoo for more exercise.

One of the really awesome things about this zoo is how close you get to the animals. They are all of course in their enclosures with a fence that goes along side them, but it's the closest I've ever been...except for when I held a baby lion in Mexico. I know, my kids and I make a big deal at the zoo when the animals are out and we can actually see them over all the heads of people, here, you are staring into their eyes. It's a completely moving experience that brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion.

The experience alone is worth the money to get in and it's extremely educational. The keepers are full of information and answer questions and even feed the animals in front of you to get them to perk up if they are being lazy so you can see them closer. You don't get that kind of information from a zoo either unless you are a behind the scenes zoo member and even then, it's certain animals, and normally, they are not cats.

The best part, you can feed the animals. Obviously, you don't get to go inside their pens. That's just a lawsuit waiting to happen. But you can choose from a few of the selected animals to feed and you go up to the cage, that is guarded by plexi glass and a red cage and you can feed the animals through a little hole. It is amazing and it is cheap! It only cost Josh $10 for me to feed Nala, the lioness. It was an incredible experience. She understood what I said to her, her eyes convey all sorts of hints to her personality and she is gorgeous that close.

The next time that you are in the Spokane area of Washington, I highly recommend stopping by this zoo. It's a nonprofit organization, so your money is helping them stay in business, but it's educational, the animals are beautiful, and it's a once in a lifetime experience. Go check them out! I highly recommend going in the morning soon after they open. All of the animals are out and in good spirits and when we were leaving about two hours later, it was getting really busy and I noticed some of the animals looking tired.

Cat Tales Zoo
17020 Newport HWY
Mead, WA 99021
(509) 238-4126

Grace's State Testing Scores Are In!

I felt pretty bad last Saturday, May 11th, because Grace had to take her State Testing Test! May 11th was her birthday and kids shouldn't have to test on those days, but because we are leaving to go out of town this weekend and wouldn't be back for almost a week, we thought it would be best if she got her test out of the way, before she started to forget the information she had been learning.

This also meant that she had to get up early too because Josh likes to take the kids out to breakfast. Just him and the Birthday kiddo (a tradition that was started by Josh's dad). So early, Saturday morning, Grace got ready and the two of them left for breakfast and the testing. Grace chose to go to Burger King for breakfast and Josh dropped her off at Basic Skills around 8:45am, (which is conveniently located behind Josh's bank, here in town) with the testing starting at 9am!

Josh had to run back home for a few minutes to grab the checkbook and informed me that the class for the testing was really small. Just Grace, one 10th grader and supposedly, one other person, who failed to show up. When Josh got to the bank, he let me know, that Grace had already started her test and the guy who was in charge thought that she would be done around 10:30am by the way she was cruising through the test. The test is actually scheduled for two hours.

At 9:38am, I was in the rocking chair in Christian's room and I had just finished feeding the little guy when I got a phone call from Grace. She was DONE! ALREADY! She was calling to let me know that someone needed to pick her up, so I went ahead and called Josh at the bank, who said he would go get her and keep her at the bank till my mom got there. My mom was going to show up for Grace around the time her break was scheduled so she wouldn't be alone and stick around till it was over and then bring her back home to me and help me decorate for the party. But Grace finished so fast, that my mom came and got Grace from the bank and brought her home to me early, where they decorated for the party and I worked on Grace's Birthday Cake. We weren't supposed to get the test results back for at least two weeks.

We got the test results back last night when Josh went to get the mail on his way home from work. The State tests on 3 areas: Reading, Language, and Math. There is also a Science portion, but it's not required by the state and since Grace didn't take science this year, she didn't have to take the test.
On her test, there was a total of 80 questions. She answered 71 of them correctly! According to the test and her learning level, she is at a 6th grade level right now! Which is very very impressive for a 3rd grader. Her overall score was at an 82% which means, she is smart and I get to keep homeschooling her! If you rank at a 15 or below, then you have to redo the year and be put in public school, so there is quite a bit of wiggle room.

So now, all we have to do is send her test scores off, so it's on record that she's completed her 3rd grade state testing and we're good to go for a few more years till the next test.

As a homeschooling mom, you always kind of wonder where your kid is at academically and if their learning is on par with where it should be. I knew Grace was smart and very capable in the classroom, but seeing her scores on paper just kind of reaffirms the choices we've made as a family and how well my child is thriving in her environment. I'm so proud of her! Way to go Grace!!!

Happy 9th Birthday to My Gracie!

Today is my eldest daughter's Birthday. Grace turns 9 years old. NINE, PEOPLE! I tried to remember what I was doing yesterday, nine years ago. My mind drew a blank. I can only assume that the night before she was pushed into the world, we were home getting ready. I was probably going a bit out of my mind with nerves.

The day she was born was a day, a moment, I'll never forget.  The labor passed rather quickly, and was painful up until the epidural and then, I was pain free until the drugs wore off. The Dr. placed that perfect little sweetheart in my arms after she was cleaned off and I fell in love. I couldn't believe that my body grew something so perfect. She had all 10 fingers and all 10 toes, Josh's cleft chin and my chipmunk cheeks. I remember breathing in her fresh newborn scent and thinking,"there is no better smell than a brand new baby."

Nine years later, my darling daughter still has Josh's cleft chin, my heart shaped face, and is still one of the most perfect creations on earth. She has the best smile. It lights up a room. Her laugh is infectious. She is very tender and somewhat fragile with her emotions (very much like me) and poised. Grace is very much definition of a young lady in the making.

I'm not sure if it was my being pregnant and her having to pick up the slack in certain areas and take on responsibility or if it was the simple act of bringing a brand new baby into the family, but over the past several months, she and I have begun to connect on a different level. She is still my baby and I'm still her mother. We are still friends. But our bond, our connection is becoming deeper and aspiring to what I believe is the making of what a mother-daughter best-friendship looks like. We confide in each other. We comfort each other. We have long talks in the mornings in my bed while Eden colors and Christian babbles away. There is a new closeness that I'm experiencing with her and I think it must also have something to do with her age. Grace is growing up. She is no longer my little 5 yr old girl. She is still my baby and I'm not in any rush to help her grow up, but she is growing up. And she is living up to her name, because she is doing it with such a grace. A beautiful pureness. I'm in awe of her.

She is such a beautiful person, inside and out. If this is just a glimpse of the young woman she is to become, I'm so proud. Grace loves the Lord with her whole being. I've never heard her once doubt him or what he is capable of. She loves reading the Bible, and is often found sitting on the living room floor reading to Eden, while Christian plays on his mat. It is times like that where I wish I could stop time. I don't want her to lose that. I don't want the world to change her. I want her to be able to stand up to the world and show Jesus's love. Grace could do it too. I believe she is strong enough, and it takes strength to have that kind of loyalty and faithfulness to the Lord.

When people complain about how the world is over-populated or how that to many people are having to many children, I want to say to them,"have you met my daughter? The world is a better place because she is in it. She is a blessing!" It's true. The world, my world is better because she is in it. She makes me want to be a better person. For some reason, kids see their parents a certain way. They look up to them, admire them. Consider them heroes and role-models. I don't want to disappoint her. By having her in my life, she is constantly helping me try to evolve into the person she sees me as. I want to be as good as the fantasy she's made me into. I will fall short, daily. But, she helps me strive to be better.

It's amazing how one person can inspire so much! She wanted me to stop working so I could be with her all the time. So I did. She thanks me daily for giving her a sister and a brother. She is an amazing person and I pray that one day...a very long time from now, that she finds a man who is worthy of her. I'm praying for them both now. I'm praying for her now. That she will continue to grow and fall in love with the Lord and stay as sweet and pure as she is today.

She has already made me so proud. She has given my life meaning. She is my baby girl, who is almost what she would call a tween. Time is going by too fast. I wish I could stop it. I can only embrace it and not waste a moment of it.

Happy 9th Birthday to my darling girl! I love you more than you will ever know. I'm so proud you! YOU ARE A GIFT FROM OUR GOD! A BLESSING! PERFECTLY PLANNED BY OUR HEAVENLY FATHER!

Thank you Lord, for allowing me the honor of raising her.

Art projects can be fun, simple, and cheap!

I am not one of those moms who is all craft city. I'm the type of mom who prefers to bake in the kitchen and have my kids assist me. But my kids love crafts. Seriously, one of their favorite things to do is just sit there and color. I was never the coloring type. I think I lacked the creative juices and the patience for it. My girls are super talented in that area though. They will sit there and color for hours and each picture has beautiful colors and it's beautifully done.

As a homeschooling mom, it can become challenging to always come up with something new and exciting for them to do. Let me be honest, I don't have them doing artsy crafty projects every week in school. For one, I lack imagination. (Good thing there is Pinterest to give me ideas.) For another, I lack time and or preparation time.

Last week, I saw these cute face masks at Joanne's for $1 and I thought it would be so much fun for the girls to paint them. They love painting and it's not something I let them do often because it can be messy and I always recycle my newspaper as soon as I've gutted all the coupons out of them. So I made a plan to hang onto the paper so they could paint their masks. Grace chose a lion, and not surprising, Eden chose a monkey, because it's her favorite animal.

I ended up having to set a few guideline rules because I made the mistake of asking which color of paints she wanted to use for her mask. By the time she was deciding her 8th color, I knew I had to pull back the reigns a bit. I decided that 4 colors were enough. So she chose the 4 colors she wanted and Grace chose hers.

The girls found their aprons while I got the table set up. Since we have a ton of leftover party cups and plates leftover from various parties, I used plates for their paints and plastic cups for the water so they could clean their brushes.

The girls had a blast. I let them do their thing while I worked out and did my 30 Day Shred and it was awesome! The girls did a beautiful job and this is something that will allow their imagination to run wild with them. The best part, it only cost $2 because I already had all the paints and supplies.

I think this is something I'm going to have to let them do more often. They proved to me that while mommy is busy doing other things (like working out) they can have fun and not make a mess. Honestly, I think there was only one drop of paint on the newspaper and none on their clothes. So now, I think I'm going to invest in some more paints and stamps for them so they can continue to have fun with art!