Spelling- Help for the Afflicted

Not everyone has a gift for spelling. I know I struggled through grade school, but this was more likely due to the fact that I REFUSED to write those words ten times each every day! Stubborn.

So, as a homeschooling mom, I do empathize with my reluctant spellers. And although grammatical spelling is cute in first grade, it no longer holds quite the charm for say a fourth grader. I've ordered various spelling curriculums and researched different methods over the past few years. Finally have come up with one of my own. It's been relatively painless and completely free. Best of all, it's been working!

1) Using this list of the 1000 most commonly used English words, each Mondays I give my student a quiz and stop when she has misspelled 10 words. It's been a confidence booster for her to see that there are many words she already knows. These 10 words become her spelling list for the week.

What I like about this list is that it is alphabetical and is in three different levels in regards to difficulty. Currently we are working through level 2.

2) Next she enters her words at Spell City where a very calm and patient spelling teacher engages her in practices quizzes and games. There is a section where the nice lady spells the word so that it is heard and the letters appear. There is an area which has ten different games and methods for learning the words. And there is also a place for the student to be tested and scored. LOVE IT!!

3) At the end of each six weeks she takes another test over all of the words that have been learned so far. Any that are still being misspelled are then placed back on the list.

She has never been prouder and more motivated to spell. I feel like she's getting caught up to speed with the other kids and I have never been so not stressed about teaching spelling.

Find other ideas that are working over at Works for me Wednesday. Also, this along with other wonderful frugal ideas can be found at Biblical Womanhood's Frugal Friday.

Amazing museums for free

A few times a year we travel with Sean to his various conferences. Sometimes we are in a big city and other times in out of the way places. Regardless, a night in a hotel with a pool and free breakfast is a big occasion. I'm always looking for ways to make our little trips affordable and educational as we make ourselves busy during the day, so we often hit the nearest Science museum.

Several years ago I realized that many of these museums are connected through the Association or Science and Technology Centers. Their Passport Program allows a family membership at one museum to be equivalent to a family membership (or at least a deep discount) at all the others! That's about 500 science museums.

We purchased our membership this year in Ft. Wayne's Science Center for $55 and will use it to enter museums with memberships much higher in cost. With this program we've been able to visit the Toronto Science Center, Science Central (Ft. Wayne, IN), Nashville's Adventure Science Center and U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. Without this reciprocal membership we never would have been able to pay for nine admissions each time. This summer we plan to stop by several of the museums that Michigan has to offer while Sean is busy with his conference.

There's nothing like a day in a museum with seven kids. Trust me.

This Works for Me and I hope it will work for you, too. Find other great ideas at WFMW.

Packing

Packing a family of nine for one month is no small feat, I say. Eighteen pairs of shoes, swim shoes, sports equipment, beach towels, pillows.... all take up awkward space. These items usually get shoved under seats and then are strewn all over the van.

No more. Meet the mammoth Ziploc bags. These had to have been invented by a mother. This is so working for me.

There are many more ideas over at Works for me Wednesday today. Take a look!

Joseph with his packing list drawn like hieroglyphics. He made a list of what Rebekah, Elizabeth and he have packed in their backpacks. I love "R"'s line of blank paper.

In need of inspiration

This hutch was given to me by my childhood friend, Carrie, a few years ago. It was originally in her parent's home. Her father was a farmer and I don't doubt that it came from a farmhouse many years ago. Her family is very dear to me and I am honored to have it.

I don't have fancy china, but I do have several items that were given to us by our grandmothers that I store in here. It's fun to pull them out as serving pieces. They are not of much value, but they are precious to us. I like having a safe place to display them.


Currently I keep linens in the drawers and homeschool books underneath. It's very useful, but not all that it could be. I see the word "potential" written all over it, but I lack inspiration.

Carrie painted it white to match her home before it came my way. I taped wall paper on the back of the shelves for interest. But it's not very interesting.

Help me out here. My kitchen is a nice yellow (not greenish like picture). The counter tops are green. I have a lot of reddish accents around. I'd say the style is "want to be like Pottery Barn" but far from it.

Inspire me. What do you envision? What would you change? What would you do to do to accent up this great piece of furniture?


There are a lot more people like me who need help over at Works for me Wednesday Backwards Edition!! Check it out.

Decorating International Style

I am not a collector of things, nor do I enjoy decorating with knick-knacks. That would require extra dusting and monitoring my children. However, I really admire these things in other people's homes, but it is not my personal style. I'm more a bold color, keep-it- simple kind of girl.

However, I have found myself with a small eclectic mix of items from around the world. Some of these are from missions trips or gifts from missionaries or international students we have worked with. There are items from Spain, Latvia, Ukraine, Chile, Korea, China, Haiti, Thailand, Mexico and Russia.

When my friend Cindy decorated her guest bathroom a few years ago so wonderfully I stole her idea and went with it. I blew up some of my favorite pictures and placed them in black frames. We installed an inexpensive glass shelf to display some small items. Ever since we have continued to add to our collection.It is always a conversation piece for guests and a reminder to continue praying for those around the world.

Visit Works for Me Wednesday for lots of great ideas!

Fire Station Fun

Did you know that you can schedule a birthday party at your local fire station for free?

A fire station is considered a community building and oftentimes has a meeting room that you can reserve for the party. Afterwards a real fireman will provide a tour of the station and a truck. They even have hats and coloring books for party favors! You just need to call and get on the schedule. Of course your party could end quickly if they have a call for a fire, but wouldn't that be exciting for a group of little boys to see?

Check out more ideas at Works For Me Wednesday!

*Just to note, the meeting room can be reserved for other purposes as well.*

Budding Artists

Want to keep your preschooler busy? Want to inspire the little artist in your midst? Want to do it with minimal mess and no money out of your pocket?

Here's what I did years ago and it still one of our kid's favorite quiet activities. I went to the paint section of a store and asked if I could take as many paint sample cards as I wanted. Of course, they said yes. I grabbed a large handful, took them home and cut out the individual squares then placed them in a small shoe box.

Whenever I'm looking for ways to keep little hands occupied I get out the box for them to play with. Sometimes I ask them to make separate the colors into groups. Other times I ask them to place them darkest to lightest. But most times I just wait and see what they can come up with on their own.

It's intriguing to see how think about color and the small differences in hues and shades. Each child sees it differently.

Head over to Rocks in my Dryer for other great ideas!!

Hand-me-down Mahem

It's backwards day and just in time!

We are so blessed to have many people think of us when it comes to hand-me-downs. My husband is a private school teacher so there is quite the exchange going on over there between the staff. My mother in law purchases children's clothing from her co-workers for the kids. And my sisters and I are constantly passing back and forth all kinds of things. These clothes are barely worn and are usually even in style! It really is such a relief to not to run out shopping every time someone grows around here.

However, I am not mananging it well at all! I can barely get my own laundry done and off the couch let alone handle another box full of clothes to sort through. Currently these boxes and bags (people must be purging right now) are in my bedroom glaring at me to take care of them.

What do you do to manage to flow of clothes coming in and out of your homes? I need a workable system here that won't take over my life and space. What system do you have in place? Because I have none at all. Help!

Preserving family recipes

A few years back my sisters and I realized that every time we wanted to make an old family favorite in the kitchen we were having to place a long distance call to my mom. We'd pick her brain and get things like, "Stir it till it's thick but not too thick", or, "Add about half a handful of flour". She had all these great recipes stored in the recesses of her mind from helping her grandma in the kitchen and then making it herself hundreds of time. But somehow we had missed the boat and knew nothing.

So we sat her down one day for an official interview. We thought of all the standard meals we ate as children and those special dishes that appeared each Thanksgiving. We quizzed poor Mom until she about threw the book at us. "Well, how much do you think is half a handful? Would you say 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup?"

After we had extracted all the information we could, we typed up the recipes, pasted them on 3x5 cards, laminated them and bound them together with a ring. Of course we couldn't resist animating each cover with a picture of of mom's head saying things like, "Get to work girls!!" and other famous phrases.

It took a little work to get this project done, but it was so worth it. My little recipe ring is kept right next to my stove in the recipe box and I use it regularly. I'm glad to have access to these simple recipes that are such an important part of heritage. I smile when I think of my great grandma standing over her stove stirring noodles made just the same way. I think it will be time soon to add some more.

Our recipes include:

Homemade noodles
Fresh Peach Cobbler
Kidney Bean Salad
Cranberry Salad
Pie Crust
Apple Pie filling
Pumpkin Pie filling
Turkey Tetrazinni
Bologna Salad
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corn Bake
Corned Beef and Noodles
Curry Chicken Broccoli
Snickerdoodles
Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
Blueberry Torte

Breakfast time

Hmm... Seven kids are begging for dinner, I've neglected to thaw out any of my freezer meals and nothing in the pantry seems to add up. It's time for breakfast!!

My favorite quick meal is scrambled eggs, bacon (cooked in the microwave) and cheese wrapped in a warm tortilla shell. I serve it with some sort of fruit (usually a banana) and chocolate milk (to make it extra special). The kids always love it and it takes literally less than 10 minutes to get it on the table. It's great for lunches, too.

Other breakfast foods have crept into our dinner routine as well. Since we eat the standard oatmeal/cereal in the morning, the kids are thrilled whenever they can get pancakes,sausage, hashbrowns or the like. Tonight, even, at the request of the Birthday Girl we ate breakfast by candlelight.



Be sure to check out Rocks in my Dryer this week for lots of quick meal ideas!

Digital Scrapbooking

I have the albums, the paper, the pens, the stickers, the embellishments, the memories to fill an endless amount of scrapbooks. What I do not have at this moment is the energy, free time or space to even begin such a project. Someday I will. But for now I don't.

However, thanks to my husband and his computer savvy we have been having great success digitally sharing and arranging our pictures with Shutterfly Studio. Here you can watch an instruction video and download their free software to begin creating a digital collage or scrapbook. There is even an option to get your collection bound into a book. You are under no obligation to purchase. You can send it along to whomever you like. Just download your pictures from your camera, choose from a plethora of layouts, drag and arrange to your heart's content.

No more getting out all the supplies, rushing through a project before the kid's wake up, loosing the scissors, misspelling someone's name in permanent ink or having to pick up little shreds of paper. Now that's working for me!!


Be sure to stop by Rocks in My Dryer for more ideas!!

Giving Thanks

I have always loved receiving yearly updates from friends and family via the "Christmas Letter". I look forward to catching up on the happenings in their lives and the growth of their children. However, our family never seemed to quite "get it together" enough to send out that year end letter.

Of all the holidays, Thanksgiving is our very favorite. It is a foundational part of our country's history, it commemorates the fruit of year's work, it focuses on people (not things) and it is a time of grateful reflection toward God. So we've decided to take our thankfulness and form our family letter from there.

We have a set of four questions that we ask everyone in the family that hopefully will give the reader a snapshot of our past year as well as reasons to be thankful with us. We also take a family picture in the same spot every year to include. My newest vision is to take the letter and begin a scrapbook around its content. This would be a place to chronicle in pictures the highlights of the past year.

For more Works for me Wednesday ideas go to Rocks in my Dryer.

The Baby Tire

Okay. This may be a sensitive subject for some of you, but I need answers. I promise to leave pictures out of this lest I become family unfriendly:) Or at least it would be a sure way to offend some new friends.

Having 7 children has left me with this ring of fat below the bellybutton that just won't seem to budge. I liken it to a tire. I'm back in my pre-baby jeans at this point (thanks to the combination of denim and spandex) , the scale is not offending me, but this extra bit of jelly on my belly isn't volunteering to go on its own. I'm not looking to be a model here, just someone a little more well proportioned or at least with something that resembles a waistline.

I need ideas. I need solutions. I need a plan.

I want it gone by next June.

Tell me about yourself. What has worked for you? How long did it take? How did you kick the baby tire to the curb?

Need solutions? Got answers? Go to Shannon's for Works-for-me-Wednesday Backwards Day!

Caring for Curls

I inherited my curls from my dad. Guys have the option of just cutting their curls as short as possible so that other people are fooled into thinking it is "thick". Girls, however, are faced with the daunting task of creating a style from what can easily become a haystack. When people see our family one of the first things they comment is, "Wow, look at all that hair!" Our drains are saying the same thing for a completely different reason!

Curly hair can not be changed, but it will behave differently depending on how it is treated. So for you moms out there with curly headed kids here's the low down.

1. Never (I repeat, "Never!") brush, pick or tease curly hair when it is dry. If you do each individual hair will leave its friends to have a party of its own. There's no going back when that happens. Your only options are to put it up or wash it. Only wet, well conditioned hair should be brushed.

2. Curly hair is by nature dry. I myself was a church camp phenomenon when I could go under the water at the pool and come up with completely dry hair. You must allow the hair to be saturated before applying shampoo. Then let the conditioner have a little extra time. You must teach your daughter (and yourself) to be patient.

3. Use a good gel product applied to the ends first, but don't over "scrunch". (Creating volume is not likely a problem). To read about my all time favorite products look here. A good rule of thumb is that the gel should be watery, not sticky in your hand.

4. Curly hair is also more porous so it sucks in whatever it comes in contact with. This means that it needs some protection before getting into chlorine. Wetting hair and applying conditioner before swimming goes a long way to keep curly hair healthy.

5. Never, never, never blow dry or apply heat to curls. It is disastrous.

6. Run quickly from any hair stylist that says, "I can thin your hair" or "Let's texturize it here". This is done with special thinning scissors that remind me of pinking shears. Or they may use regular scissors and run the blade across the hair to "shave" back certain areas. This is a tragedy that is not easily undone. (I'm speaking from experience here). When curly hair is cut in this manner the individual hairs have varying lengths. This only serves to thicken the hair from underneath and create terrible rats. Also, the next time the same technique is used there is no way to tell how the hair was thinned the last time to repeat the same layers. It's very bad and can take years to undo.

7. Find a good stylist and stick with her. Preferably she would be a curly head, too. Thankfully, curly hair can go longer without being cut, but a consistent hair stylist will be able to tell what is and is not possible with one's hair. She will learn the patterns and quirks of your child's curls and be able to teach you both how to care for it.

8. Consider it a blessing. Once your curly haired girl learns to care for it herself she will be a low maintenance gal.

The Basket

In my quest to disguise my home as one well ordered and not ruled by seven children, I have devised yet another handy tool. Meet my friend, the Diaper Basket.

For the past 11 years I have been changing diapers. I quickly realized that diaper changing tables are unrealistic in my world for several reasons. One being that I am too lazy to go all the way upstairs to get a diaper, let alone carry the baby with me. Besides, I prefer to change my children on the floor where they are easier to wrestle and will not fall to the ground.

Years ago my mother-in-law purchased a beautiful Longerberger picnic basket for me. Since I had never owned something so expensive, I naturally wanted to display it. However, what good is a basket if you are not using it? Placed conveniently in the living room it became the Diaper Basket. Stored inside is a package of diapers, wipes, ointment and a hand towel to protect the carpet. Everyone (even guests) has full access to the diaper basket and, being at kid level, little ones are eager to help.

Someday (in possibly the next 18 months) the Diaper Basket will be retired. It truly is hard to imagine not hearing the wooden lid slammed shut 6 or more times a day. Maybe then we'll go on a picnic.

Find great Works for Me Wednesday ideas at Rocks in My Dryer

The Amazing Screen

Don't ask me why, it must be a law of the universe of something, but my kid's toys always end up all over the living room floor. No matter that they have their own designated box. Never mind that they may have a whole room dedicated to their existence. If my children are playing, the toys must be in front of the door and all over the living room.

It is my goal that anyone coming in our home (assuming, of course, that I knew that they were coming) would be shocked that so many children and their toys inhabit the building. The carpet stains might be a clue, but we're working on that.

Introducing, the amazing screen. It was purchased by my sister at an auction and passed on to me a few years ago. I stretched fabric over the back to match our decor and placed it in a corner out of the way.


Behind ours we store: two bouncy balls, a riding tractor and car, Lego's, Lincoln Logs, a kid guitar and Kinnex.

Come to think of it, I don't want any of these things out of my sight anyway or I'd have kids tumbling down stairs and tiny toy pieces who knows where. Besides, I'd miss them running over my toes while I fix dinner.

Check out other Works for me Wednesday ideas here.

Carpet stains and solutions

Here's my issue.

My carpet is about 5 years old and is admittedly not the highest grade, but not the lowest, either.

We clean our carpets ourselves twice a year but the same (and new) spots keep showing up and never seem to go away.

These spots are not serious stains like juice or blood. I think they are likely drips from sippy cups or just dirty feet.

Any ideas of how or what to use to clean away these spots for good? Or better yet, anyone want to make a donation towards some new carpet:)?

Large Family Laundry Room

Okay, those of you who know me or have been in my house are going to laugh at this entry because you've seen my laundry room and usually you can't walk through it without climbing a pile of laundry.

But there is a system in place that I've been tweaking for years and it works well when I'm working consistently.

If only there was an invention that would wash, dry, press and fold clothes all by itself, but there is not (sigh). So this is how I handle clothes for 9 people.

Having to change my three youngest children often twice a day, I've purchased 3 drawer plastic bins for their clothes which are under the folding counter. I undress/dress them in the laundry room. That way I can get their clothes (often stained or wet) right into the washer. Likewise I can take their clothes right from the dryer and put them away without taking a step. No more going up and down the stairs or "folding"but never putting their clothes away. No more finding the drawers emptied by little hands all over their bedroom. On top of their dressers I place their little shoes and a basket of socks to be matched.




The other children keep their dirty laundry upstairs in small individual baskets (Okay, they are supposed to do this). They are responsible to bring their basket down first thing in the morning if they need clothes washed. I return the basket to them with clean clothes for them to fold and put away. This ideally happens on a weekly basis.

We've slowly been doing away with dressers. I think they take up space and end up being a big mess anyway full of clothes that don't get worn. So we have hanging dividers in the closet (we affectionately call these "holes" for some reason) in which we place a "match". A complete outfit or sometimes two is placed here. It makes dressing easy and thoughtless. So when they cry, "I don't have anything to wear", they're not kidding. Time to do laundry.

Of course this does limit the number of outfits that they have, but that's not such a bad idea either. What do they say? "People where 10% of their clothes 90% of the time" I believe it. I stash away clothes in totes in my closet and will replace what is worn out or outgrown. They think they get new clothes all the time:)

I purchased some shoe storage (we also refer to these as "holes") at a garage sale. Each child has their own row in which to keep their shoes. This is helping to keep the front door clear of 18 shoes.


We use inexpensive wooden peg hangers purchased Menard's for their jacket and swimsuit in the summer and coat in the winter as well as purses, book bags and the like.

Gloves, hats, and scarves are on the back of the laundry room door in a hanging shoe organizer.

There is no area for ironing because I believe ironing should be reserved for special occasions only.

My laundry room is also serves as our pantry and craft/game storage. I'm still working on that.

Grandma's Recipes

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that I am not a gifted interior designer or rarely have an original idea of a creative vein. However, I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite, one-of-a-kind, inexpensive, yet very special decorating ideas.

Sean and I both have a fondness for our grandmothers with memories centered closely to food and the kitchen. I can distinctly remember my great-grandma's kitchen and the way she served each item individually in a pretty, delicate dish. Pudding never tasted as good as when chilled in a little saucer with whipped cream. My favorite memory of my Grandma Click involves her teaching me to bake and use the electric mixer on her lap board (she was in a wheelchair). She had many a blouse with a streak of batter across the chest because I lifted the beaters out of the bowl without turning the mixer off. Oops. Yet she always let me try again. Sean's Grandma had a knack for making animals or shapes out of food. I believe bear pancakes were his favorite.

In memory of these great ladies I have been able to collect a few of their recipe cards and have them framed in my kitchen. We have buttermilk pancakes, ginger snaps, biscuits and "green fluff" of the pistachio pudding/whipped cream/marshmallow/crushed pineapple variety. My favorite quote on the card comes at the end with the famous words, "Its always good." I used scrapbooking paper for the backgrounds in kind of old fashioned print. I found the frames on the clearance rack at Meijer. All in all I spent less than $2 for each.

Our Grandmas have all passed away, but I love looking at their handwriting every day when I'm cooking. I think about the hours they spent working in their kitchens without the dishwasher, or microwave, or radio, or air conditioning. I think about my mom or dad running around the kitchen in their pajamas asking for breakfast. I think about the dinners that they burnt (I know it's genetic) but ate anyway because it was all they had.

The other morning I found my oldest daughter, Hannah, hard at work in the kitchen. Following the recipe on the wall she was making Grandma Ahart's buttermilk pancakes. She was taking requests for shapes.

It just makes me smile.