Creation Resource Lending Library

Want a cheap, frugal homeschooling resource or great material for a family night?

Many Christians would like to teach their children Creation Science rather than the public school standard evolution. In this economy, there doesn't seem to be any extra money in the budget to buy those extra homeschooling resources.

I would love to include many of the resources of Answers In Genesis, Creation Ministries, and others, but I haven't had the time or money to invest in these resources.

My solution, I came across Creationism.org. There are many articles you can read and learn from for free. You can even download some books. There is a kids' section, as well. But the best part is that you can "check" materials out of the Creation Science Lending Library. They will mail you a select number of materials for 2-4 weeks. They only ask that you pay the return postage, and of course, it would be nice to include a donation at least for the postage amount, but they do not require this.

There are many resources to choose from. We really enjoyed a movie about dinosaurs. Although it was a children's movie, I have to say I enjoyed it and learned from it.

For more frugal ideas, visit Life as Mom.

Meet Duke - Frugal Friday

Another addition to the family? NO! Shayla affectionately named our wood stove "Duke." Silly girl.

Anyway, our family loves Duke for many reasons. He is a definate multi-tasker. Not only does he lower our electric bill by being a cheap heat source, but he has many other uses.

I also use him to dry my laundry on days that aren't fit for hanging it outside. I have a metal rack and my hubby hung an old shower curtain rod across the doorway to hang clothes on hangers.

Ugly? Yes, definately! But the difference in our electric bill is worth it. Especially if I hang them before bed, they are dry by morning and can be put away.

As you can see in the picture, I also use the top of old Duke. I cooked our dinner of chicken rice, crockpot baked potatoes, and soup. I also put kettles of maple sap ontop and cook down to maple syrup or sugar. As you know the real, organic stuff is expensive. Very frugal and easy to do your own.

When our family has the sniffles, I put a pot of water with tea tree oil in it. This helps relieve the sinuses. I have used other essential oils or apple peels with cinnamon in the pot for a safe, pleasant aroma.

Sometimes being frugal means thinking outside the box? What are some of your frugal ways?

For more ideas, visit Life as Mom

Saving Money on Homeschool Curriculum

I did this money saving method a lifetime ago, way back in 1998, when I homeschooled my middle daughter.

Back then there weren't nearly as many curriculum choices, but there were teacher stores with consumable workbooks and books telling how to play games in your curriculum, educational games (like Boggle Jr. for reading/phonics, candyland, chutes & ladders, and lots of games made up using cards and dice). We used computer games, like the jump start series or reader rabbit.

The internet is a hugely, unexplored treasure trove.

For kindergarten, I bought the Abeka first grade curriculum. One day we did the curriculum, and the next day, we played learning games, wrote Bible verses for handwriting, read library books for reading, etc. Even playing with playdough or taking more time to do a science experiment was considered schoolwork. It also allowed us more time to go to the local YMCA for homeschool gym and swim classes, and the state park for Outdoor School, or plenty of other field trips.

Don't buy more than you need! In the early grades there is much repetition, so although the Abeka was pricey, we were able to make use of the curriculum for two years! And believe it or not, I hoped we would have more children, (and we did 7 years later!) I saved that curriculum and am doing the same thing with my youngest daughter! Well worth the investment!

What are you doing to save money in your homeschool? Please share!

For many frugal ideas, visit Crystal's.

Weekly Wrap Up

I'm going to try to participate in Jennifer's Weekly Wrap Up. Here are some of the ways our family has been frugal this week:




We stayed home alot more. The weather has been yucky. Morgan's games and practices have been cancelled so we're saving on gas, admission, and food $.

When I did fill the car up with gas, I went to Kroger. I earned 20 cents off a gallon for buying groceries there (which I do anyway). Your gas points are your before coupons dollar amount.

My CVS trip from last week. I got about $125.00 worth of stuff (which we actually use) for $3.70 and got $28.00 ecb back.



I hung all our laundry on racks in the house. Estimated savings $15 - $30/mo.



I made chicken broth by adding water and leaving chicken in the crockpot. I freeze the broth and use it later for chicken soup or chicken rice. I will also be putting a beef roast in the crockpot and making/freezing beef broth before I cook the roast for tomorrow's dinner. Menu planning is definately money saving!



I make my own floor cleaner. I fill up an old dish soap bottle, add about 1/4 c. vinegar and fill the rest with water. Then I use my Libman (it's like a swiffer, but with washable pads). I mop every room in our house daily because of allergies, but rarely get on my hands and knees to do it anymore.



Our girls had to have a guinea pig several years ago. Their interest in this pet is about gone. We have tried to find a good home for him, but no one seems to want the expense and burden of taking care of him. If you use the cedar bedding and buy the food in the store, it costs a minimum of $10/month. We use newspaper or catalog pages in the bottom of the cage and he is eating almost exclusively veggie scraps (with some grain).



I used newspaper to clean my windows, instead of paper towels. We are down to our last two rolls of paper towels (after about a years supply - thanks to CVS). I am determined to make these last.



I found a cheap acne help for my teenage daughter. She has been having bouts of facial acne. We have tried about everything (again, thanks to CVS & Rite Aid), but nothing really seemed to help. We even tried Pro-Active. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to help, and I know it didn't help my budget - at $40/month for home delivery. Anyway, she uses baking soda. Just apply it all over face, let it set awhile, and wash off. Now, I will tell you after you wash it off, it will burn your face for awhile. She tried this the other night and we could see visible differences after the first time.



I ordered my digital prints. Now how can this be $ saving? I ordered through snapfish. Used a free shipping code and got 50 prints for $1.80. Then I bought these through memolink (earn points for buying - get gift cards)and put on my card (which I also earn points on, then pay off).

We ate breakfast for dinner one evening this week. Fried potatoes and eggs with biscuits. This was $ saving because we get our eggs from our chickens (which we have to feed, anyway - they also eat alot of kitchen scraps). And potatoes were on sale last week at Krogers. I cooked them in organic bacon grease leftover from our traditional Saturday - bacon day.

Lastly, my Meijers trip. Now one of my resolutions this year was to avoid shopping as much, but my family made an exception and allowed this trip. Here's what I got:

• 16 cans of grands biscuits
• 8 boxes pizza rolls
• 8 boxes green giant frozen veggies
• 3 cans chef boy-r-dee ravioli
• 7 boxes betty crocker specialty potatoes
• 1 box hamburger helper
• 1 bag of chex mix
• 4 bars of Johnson's buddies soap

Grand total. Drum roll please! Meijers paid me 20 cents to take these items - and I got another $3/3 Johnson's products.

All in all it was a pretty frugal week! How did you do?

A Handmade Gift for Grandma

What Grandma isn't proud of her grandkids. I think our kids' grandma will be pleased to wear this hoodie that the girls put painted handprints on.

Total cost $15 for sweatshirt. We already had the paint.

If $15 is a little steep for your budget this year, last year we made sweatshirts for the grandmas. We took a regular sweatshirt and cut it up the center, then stitched both sides to prevent fraying.

What kind of gifts are you making this year? For more ideas visit Biblical Womanhood.

Smores Mix

My tip for Frugal Fridays is how to use up all the extra cereal I have scored at Krogers and Meijers lately for next to nothing.

We don't use cereal often because two of us are on a gf/cf diet and the other two prefer other things, but they will eat cereal when I make it into a snack.

Our family's new favorite is Smores Mix. I don't know if someone already invented this, but I didn't know about it if they did (I swear!) So here's the recipe for my concoction:

Smores Mix

Mix together:

1 box Golden Graham cereal

1 bag mini marshmallows

1 bag chocolate chips

Serve. Yum!

Sorry I don't have a picture, it went too quickly!

This is a cereal recipe that went over well with the kids at Bible School:

Trail Mix

1 box cheerios cereal

1 family size bag m&m candies

1 can of nuts

raisins

Here are some of our other favorites:

Rice Krispy Treat recipes

Chex Mix Muddy Buddy and other recipes

Chex mix ranch recipe

Do you have any other ideas for using cereal up? Visit Crystal for more frugal tips!

Handprint Tote Bag

I'm trying to get a head start on Christmas this year. My hope is to make more homemade gifts, but my time is just as tight as my $$$.

This is a present we made for the Grandma's and others in our family. The gift seemed to be enjoyed.

First, I used the plain tote bags from Hobby Lobby, using a 40% off coupon or when they are on sale 50% off. They are called Me & My Bag denim. My kids put their handprints in paint. You could use the little bottles of craft paint or leftover house paint. Anything that will not wash out!
The end product.

It came out to be less than $5/bag.

Are you making any homemade Christmas gifts this year? If so, what? Do you know any good homemade gift websites?

For other great frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Spaghetti Painting - Who Says You Can't Play With Your Food?

As a child, I always remember getting in trouble for playing with my food, instead of eating it. Maybe that's why I encourage my daughter to play with food "at appropriate times."

She used the noodles as a paint brush


Now, she's really getting into it



Tada! The finished product!





This is good for fine motor skills and overcoming sensory issues with the texture/feel of the spaghetti and paint.

This is for all of you that are upset that I am wasting food and will tell me that there are many children starving in the world. That's what my mom used to tell me. This spaghetti was going to be thrown out anyway. People can only eat so much spaghetti! Besides all the sauce and meatballs was gone, so it wouldn't have been eaten, it would have sat in the back of the refrigerator until it was more suitable for a scientific experiment on mold.

I have been trying to have "face-time" with my youngest daughter everyday. For more ideas click on the homeschooling link in the categories section.

Being Thankful

My frugal Friday tip is changing your attitude or mindset. It's easy to think, oh, poor me, I can't have this or do this, but when you're thankful and grateful for the small things it's easier to live frugally. Whether by choice or necessity.

This poem was not written by me. I read it somewhere and saved it. There was no acknowledgements on it, if anyone knows who wrote it, please let me know and I will acknowledge them.

Being Thankful

I am thankful for the wife who says it's hot dogs tonight,

Because she is home with me, not with someone else.

For the teenager who is complaining about doing the dishes,

Because that means she is at home and not on the streets.

For the taxes I pay,

Because it means that I am employed.

For the mess to clean up after a party,

Because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug,

Because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me at work,

Because it means I am in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing,

Because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining I hear about the government,

Because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot,

Because it means that I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill,

Because it means that I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off key,

Because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing,

Because it means I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,

Because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours,

Because it means that I am alive.

For more frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Magnetic Paperdolls

Another fun and frugal thing for the kids!

I had bought these paperdoll templates for my scrapbooking hobby several years ago. I also bought sheets of magnetic paper for another project. (You could also use those free magnets you get from the dentist and insurance companies every year).

So I made magnetic paperdolls for my daughter.

The finished project. These would make a great gift, too.

They can be used on the go, too. Just use a cookie sheet with the magnets.

If you don't have templates lying around and you don't want to draw freehand, you could google paperdolls. There are some great Dora ones at www.nickjr.com. There are some girl scouting ones at www.makingfriends.com and lastly Marilee's paperdolls.

Write Your Own Unit Studies for Homeschooling

All this week, I have been doing my summer lesson plans, so my frugal Friday post is about writing your own homeschooling unit studies.

How is this frugal? Well, I enjoy the Five in a Row unit studies series and I found a couple books at my library that I really love to use. They are called Literature Activities For Young Children. I like to use these, but sometimes I just have more ideas to use with them. Sometimes we do something and it just works for my daughter, so I customize it for the next lesson.

I have found that I can really "connect" with my child when I use her favorite books to learn with. One summer we spent the entire summer doing activities based on Blue's Clues books, another summer it was Dora the Explorer, still another it was Arthur. This year I am just doing Shayla's Favorites. It's really an easy thing to do, my child loves it, and it keeps us in the homeschool mindset all summer long. She doesn't even realize she's doing school!

Here's an example:

Thursday

-Reading: Read aloud Bread and Jam For Frances

-Spelling: Use letter magnets to spell the word "food" on refrigerator

-Health: Talk about being a picky eater. Discuss food groups and how many servings per day is recommended from each group. Use plastic play food to demonstrate food groups. Put play food into correct food group.

-Math: Play grocery store to buy plastic food. Mom makes price tags and we use play money. (No, we haven't played using coupons yet! LOL!)

-Home Ec: Prepare muffins and jam and tea for family story retelling show.

-Creative Writing: What kind of jelly will we pick for the muffins? What kind of jelly is Frances' favorite?

I also make paper or other manipulatives for many stories. I draw many of these by a character or idea from the story, but you can also google the name of the book and see if there are other ideas out there.

Then several times a week, my daughter retells the story to the family using a felt board or whatever. This is good to see if she is understanding and retaining the literature and good for her communication skills.

Other ideas include: Doing internet searches or library books for mice/If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Using playdough to make monster faces/There's a Nightmare Under My Bed. An indoor beach party (in the middle of winter)/Dora's Beach Party.

I try to do the same story for 2-3 days. And I cover subjects such as: Reading, Spelling, Writing, Math, Bible/Character, Art, Speech, and Music and Movement. Sometimes it even involves a field trip!

Most of all, just have fun with it! Children don't stay little long enough!

I also do a similar program for learning Bible all year long.

How do you do summer learning? Would you be interested in seeing more ideas? Please share what works for your family.