Price Busters, Plaster of Paris, and Pointe Shoes–Our World this Week

 Have you ever had a neat blog post written in your head, but when you sat down to type it out, you couldn’t remember one thing?   I’m sure it’s because I don’t blog on a daily basis, but tend to carry “blog-worthy” information in my head.  Well, I’ll start typing and see what comes up.

 

Thanks to several of you who are joined with me spiritually to cover Andrew and his family.   This was his first week at his new school, so I thought I’d at least give them a couple of weeks to settle in before calling.  I will be sure to post an update.

 

This week started out much better than last.  Perhaps all we did need was a good night’s sleep.   Personally, I’d fallen behind in my housework again and then began to beat up on myself as if everyone else’s house is immaculate and mine is the only one with stuff everywhere.   One day while catching up on what I’ve missed of the CM Blog Carnival, I found a very candid, humorous post by Jacci regarding her own inability to keep up with housework.   I loved her tale about speaking with an older woman regarding the teachings of the Fly Lady.  In a way that only old people can, the lady looked at her as if she had three heads and said, “You need a list to tell you when you have dirty dishes in your sink?”   I laughed out loud thinking about the older people in my own life, and how lovingly direct they can be.    I have looked at the Fly Lady’s system, and I’m not knocking those who use it, but I can’t grasp the concept of writing down cleaning instructions.   It seems to me that in the time that I spend writing  out how to clean, I could be cleaning, just as in the time I spend blogging about life, I could be living it, you know?   At any rate, I did find value in the 15-minute-cleaning-idea list.   So on yesterday, I had a number of 15 minute intervals while the older one completed her study guide and the younger ones fossilized their plastered shells and birds by staining them with tea.   In that time, I…:

  • Cleaned the master bathroom
  • Washed, folded and put away loads of clothes
  • Peeled and marinated shrimp
  • Washed dishes
  • Cleaned all the toilets

 

Whew!   Maybe I need to go back and read Fly Lady’s suggestion on when to take a nap!   Another revelation that I had on yesterday was that one of the reasons I fall behind is because I don’t have things in a convenient place to clean as I go.  So I made an investment in additional supplies so I could put everything in a natural path for me to use it—no more “I’ll get to it later” because I’m upstairs and the appropriate cleanser is downstairs.  It’s not a well-laid out notebook, but it works for me.

 

Finally, I wanted to share a couple of great curriculum finds for those with middle school aged kids.   In perusing lindafay’s blog for high school suggestions (I can’t believe we’re getting close to that time), I found a very doable schedule for completing Apologia’s science series.   Science is the one subject that I’m always behind in, usually because I’m never equipped with “common household items” that must be common in everyone’s household except mine.   I’ve been well pleased with Apologia, but I think both my daughter and I have had a rude awakening that she’s no longer a baby.  The general science text is the size of two years of elementary courses, and my 1 or 2 days/week schedule wasn’t working for either one of us.   So I sat down to figure out a schedule that would allow her to learn without dreading the long hours, bigger words, fewer pictures, etc., that seemingly came with the territory of ‘big girl’ books.   So, like I said, through lindafay, I found donnayoung.org.    We are now able to attack science in daily, bite sized pieces, and she is working through much of it on her own.  The time is cut tremendously, and she is learning.   Before, I would hear, “Mom, I just don’t understand.”  (Now say it with a slllllooooooooowww whine).

 

The other great find was greatbooks.com.    The first sentence says it all:  ‘No man is an island…and no Christian educator should feel marooned when approaching the Great Books.’I was beginning to think homeschooling in high school came with an automatic price tag that had several zeros behind it!   This is a Christian curriculum that walks student and parent through the “great conversation.”   Minus the purchase of affordable study guides and the books (if you don’t care to use the library), the schedule is already online.  I like the idea that we can learn and discuss together, because my public school education didn’t take me through many of these books, either.   Like many of its kind, there is very little mention of descendants of Africa until post-slavery era in the U.S.   As an aside, Phillip preached to the Ethiopian eunuch as one of his first sermons; the Ethiopian Church is dated as far back as 4th century A.D, not long after Paul traveled to the mission field of Europe.   Why then, must we wait until Harriett Tubman to be included in the Judeo-Christian thread?  Anyway, it has enough flexibility to allow you to add or take away, so I am looking forward to delving into it further in the weeks and months to come.

Oh, I forgot to say to please keep lindafay in your prayers as she moves back to America after years in Turkey.   They will need a home, a livelihood, and most of all, God’s peace that passes all human understanding. 

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8 thoughts on “Price Busters, Plaster of Paris, and Pointe Shoes–Our World this Week

  1. I enjoy yours post so much. They are so educational in one way or another. From the Spiritual to the Homeschooling, I am always learning something new from you. You are an awesome inspiration. I always feel so Blessed in reading your posts. Thank you so much for sharing this information with us.

    Blessings,
    JEN

  2. Oh, I LOVE the donnayoung.org schedule for Apologia! It's been a real life-saver for me this year, which is my first year using Apologia. Not only does she schedule everything by day, she also adds helpful hints and warnings.

  3. Howdy Friend!! I've been away on vacation the last several weeks and am catching up with everyone in the Blogging World!

    I had to LOL at the whole cleaning thing. I think we all have times like that. And I too looked at FlyLady, but didnt really work for me — the only thing I do daily from her is SHIEN MY SINK! Love when my black sink is shiny. What helps me is to clean one big thing each day, as well as do the daily pick up/tidy. So I'll do the kitchen ( appliances, fridge, counters, stove/range etc ) one day, bathrooms another, mop & sweep another, big laundry day another, dust another, vacuum entire house another – then by Friday, the entire house has been cleaned. That way I am not cleaning for 2/3 hours daily. But tidying, picking up daily and getting one big thing done ( M- F ) so the house is clean for the weekend and we can relax.
    As far as science, I use Young Explorer Series. You can purchase a box with EVERYTHING in it for all experiments. Its really nicely priced and has been great for us. It can be for older high schoolers or you can gear it down for younger kids. We're doing Swimming Creatures of the 5th Day – zoology 2. Maybe check that out??

    Have a super day!

  4. What a great post!

    Thanks for visiting over at my blog, I always love hearing from you! It brightens up my day. I don't always get right back to you, so I am two comments behind. I am sure you will forgive me though! LOL

    I hope the rest of your week goes well.

    Blessings,
    Nancy
    Blessings,
    Nancy

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