Back to School??

As you know I get frustrated this time of year because EVERYONE is talking about Back to School AND I'M NEVER READY THIS EARLY.   Others keep asking my children, "Are you ready to start school again?"  Otto just looks at them and tells them "We homeschool and are already doing history."   He doesn't really know it but he's been doing more than that all summer long.

So, it's back to school time and I KEEP TEARING MY SCHOOL ROOM APART in effort to "Get it Ready".  *sigh*

Tonight I moved EVERYTHING from one side of the room into a messy array on the other side.  I have some beautiful carpet that ALMOST fits and I am trying to figure out how to fix it (maybe CUT it) in order to make it work.

So, in those moments when I get frustrated upstairs I find myself thinking about something FUN we can do this year in school.  Which usually drives me to my computer to FIND something educational and fun to do this year.

One sight I have gotten a LOT of helpful worksheets from is KBTeachers.

I included diagrams from their PLANT & MICROBIOLOGY section in my Pre-test for the Botany Co-op course that I am teaching this year.

I also nearly ran out of ink printing off the AMAZING Astronomy pages!  

I CAN NOT wait for the fun we will have this year with those knowledge packed pages.

Otto has also latched onto several books on Ocean Life so I might have to dig into THIS section

as well.

KBTeachers.com offers math worksheets, social studies worksheets, science and reading readiness as well.  There are many worksheets that YOU control what prints.  You can create copywork or decide what type of money you want displayed on the money counting worksheet you print.

This is a wonderful resource that I learned about last year while on the TOS Homeschool Crew. 

There are lots of free resources as well, check them out today.

KBTeachers.com


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This post was motivated by a request from KBTeachers.com to help promote their new website.  It makes me eligible for a free Starbucks gift card, although everything I have typed above I would have typed anyway.   :)

Happiness is....

A friend who gives up her corn stalks and silks after putting the corn away.

I'm NOT READY YET!!!!!!

Everyone talking about "first day of school" this and "back to school" that is REALLY FREAKING ME OUT!

I just finished a 3 day garage sale.

I am trying to transition a very FILLED large office space into a very comfortable schoolroom.  I have a personality that likes to go to the project, dig in, declare war, and work without eating or sleeping until it's done but this project is testing me.  I think it is God developing my stamina and my patience because I can work for about 30 minutes before I get bogged down, overwhelmed, confused and just want to cry.

IT WILL HAPPEN....SOME DAY.

Then there are the tomatoes that are ripening out there and will need to be canned.

Then there are the thermal curtains that I will need to sew before the cold comes so that we don't have to wear duck feather down undergarments while we school.

Then there is the botany class that I am teaching a homeschooling co-op that is only sketched out.

Then there is the education of my own dear children.  I have lots of books that all flow sequentially but I can't remember where we left off nor how to begin the new books that I am adding on this year (All About Spelling and Heart of Dakota's Drawn Into Reading).  Then I have a 4.5 yr old who wants to learn how to read and write and a 2.5 yr old that thinks she can do anything her big brothers can do.  I have a 7 year old who needs help on his writing and his letter reversals and...  and.... and.....

Oh and I have a garage full of tables covered with baby clothing that need to be boxed away and I have about 10 loads of our current clothing to fold and put away too.

I CAN'T TAKE THE BACK TO SCHOOL TALK.

Tomorrow my kids are going to Our Lois' house.  Lois is a retired farm wife who has adopted our family as her own.  She watches my kids when I need a sitter.  :)  Love her.   While she has my kids I will be:

1. Volunteering with our church at a Free Meal Ministry Kitchen.
2. "Just Looking" at a fancy kitchen bath place doing research into the replacement of my kitchen sink which is about to fall through it's counter!
3. Stopping by the church who sponsors the co-op to make copies for my first class in a couple weeks!!
4. Stopping at 2 maybe 3 fabric stores to purchase fabric for the thermal curtains in the new school room (I forgot my measurements the last time we went to town).
5. Picking up a free phone along my way since I stupidly forgot ours outside on a chair just prior to a 4 hour rain storm.  **doight**
6. Hitting up a Greenhouse/nursery with questions and the need to purchase plant seeds and maybe bulbs for my botany class.
7. Stopping at Menards to purchase or order my counter top and new sink.  We ONLY have Menards.  He is a townie here and has some "FABULOUS" strings tied onto the city board here that will allow NO competition for his stores into the area.   So "we spend big money, spend big money, when we shop Menards!!"
8. Praying to sell a handful of nicer outfits at Once Upon A Child that did not sell in my Thrift Sale.
9. Then I will be hitting up a couple of office supply stores buying a few supplies for us and my Botany Class.
10. Finally it will be off to pick up the crazy kids and get them home and to bed.

I'm already exhausted and NO!!!!   
I AM NOT GOING TO START 
SCHOOL ANYTIME SOON!!!!  
And I don't have to because I am a homeschooler!

In all honesty, our local school districts don't start until September 1st!  :)

This blog post has been linked to: 

Please Vote for Hubby --- HE WON!!

Hi.

Hubby has found these really cool fabric head wrap thingy's.  They wick the sweat away from his head while he is working and he loves them dearly.  They are like $30 each and he soaks one with sweat at least once a day.  The winner of this facebook contest wins a treasure trove of Buff Wear.  I'd love for him to win this.

Would you be willing to take a few seconds to click the link below and vote for the coolest farmer around?? 

Voting is now over..... HE WON!  HE WON!!  :) 

It took only 17 votes to tie for 4th place but he won and that is worth some free UV Buffwear!  Whoo hooo!!!!

Thank you if you voted for Hubby.  :)

Week In Review: The Thrift Sale Week

While I sit here writing I am wondering if I will EVER have energy or a clean house again!

This past Thursday, Friday and Saturday I had my first ever Yard Sale.

Over the many weeks leading up to my sale I spent much time thinking about where to put signs, what I wanted my signs to look like (or NOT look like).  I asked around to borrow tables, I thought about how I wanted my tables arranged. I was purging our home like a mad woman. If we had not touched it in 2 months it was likely tossed in a box.  I decided I would only mark a few items and that everything else would be 50 cents.  The mission was PURGE, PURGE, PURGE!!!

Last week started with me prepping for my first ever yard sale.  By the way, in my neck of the woods they are called *Thrift Sales.*  I made my signs by printing my words really large on paper, sticking them onto a white poster board template and using an exacto knife to cut out the letters making a huge stencil.  I then colored in the stencil holes with permanent black marker.

They looked great and best yet..... people told me the same thing.  :)

Wednesday found me cleaning up the garage and then cleaning a rich organic compost like debris filled with dirt straw & manure off from our concrete pad.  The barn and chicken yard is up the hill and every rain washes such debris down the hill and onto my driveway.  (Yep, I know, kinda gross.)  THREE wheel barrows FULL of debris and the concrete was clear.  Ugg.

At 3:15 pm on WEDNESDAY (sale was to begin Thursday at 10am) my first EARLY customers arrived.  I had not even one thrift sale box down stairs and into the garage.  They were all towering mountains in the upstairs spare bedroom and the office/soon-to-be school room.  I had to bring the elderly, early shoppers into my house and up the very uneven stairs to dig out the stroller and the guitar they wanted.  I shake my head over this but am not complaining since their purchase was big enough to PAY FOR my advertising!!! :)

Wednesday night, Hubby and I put up tables, covered them and unpacked as much stuff as we could until it was too dark to see.  A baby bat, who was NOT afraid of humans, joined us making our work a bit interesting.  I told him we had plenty of bugs and that he could move over the yard a bit.  :)

Thursday morning I was up at 5:30 am to shower and go place signs.  Then I came home and THOUGHT I had enough time to finish setting up before my 10 am start.  I have learned MANY, MANY things throughout this sale.  I had been given very good advice before hand but had not been prepared for the HUGE RUSH of (blood thirsty) PEOPLE showing up at 8am for a 10am opening!!!   Next time, if there is one, I will have the GATE CLOSED on the driveway with a sign prominently place stating that the sale begins at 10am and ends at 6pm.... and I will remember to CLOSE the gate until I am ready!

I was also not prepared to negotiate prices.  I had NO experience negotiating prices.  When these early birds arrived I had not marked many of my bigger items because they had been buried upstairs in the mountains.  I had an older, second rate rocking chair out that was not marked, when I was asked my price I felt obligated at the time to keep my word that "Anything unmarked was 50 cents."  As my words came out I immediately regretted my choice but felt I couldn't take it back.   I had not had any think time and had not known that I could have announce that the sale started at 10 and we were not quite ready and not everything was marked.  Thankfully, despite her ruthless negotiating on other items the woman who snagged that 50 cent chair overpaid me and told me to keep the change.  She also made off with a super old antiquish cultivator for $5.  I think she would have bought it for $25 but alas it is now out of the brush and Hubby will now no longer come in with pretty bruises on his shins as he runs into it hidden in the weeds.  :)

Pricing:  the most tormenting part of my sale.  I found myself in this internal debate the entire three days of my sale.  I REALLY just wanted stuff to go and was only having the sale so that I had less to transport and could make a few bucks along the way.   However, there were several items that I COULD have held out on and made much more money than I did.  I felt this internal struggle between getting excited over watching someone take 4 plastic grocery bags of baby clothes away (so I didn't have to lug them somewhere else) and then lamenting that I only made $4 from ALL THOSE CLOTHES.   I had to keep reminding myself that YES they were getting a *Steal* but letting this happen most often blessed many people (and I was told this directly) and it also blessed me by getting rid of my stuff.

Overall, if I lived in town I would have made more but considering that I live out in the country I did pretty good.  I think the money I made should either completely pay for or will make a large dent in replacing my kitchen sink and counter and will allow us to do that project sooner (you know, before the sink falls THROUGH the counter top)!

There were other benefits as well. 
* The scale is showing me at lower number after all my running around.  :)
* My calves are NICE AND TONE, or at least more tone than they have been in a VERY long time!
* I will not overwhelm the bi-annual clothing distrubution that I donate my unwanted stuff to.  :)  Twice a year people working with the Social Services of my county get to come to a distribution point and may take anything they could use for free.  They are so needy and so thankful.  I LOVE taking my stuff there.  Each Spring and Fall they fill a HUGE room full of tables that are piled near shoulder high.  At the end of the one day giveaway they usually are only left with 1 partial car trunk full of leftovers that they then give to Hope Gospel Mission.  Yep!  It's a cool thing to be a part of. :)
* As a woman who no longer receives a paycheck there is just something about being able to make money that helps out.  Hubby selflessly works hard both in his paying job and doing physical labor around the homestead.  I know I don't need to but there are just times were I feel bad that I can't help out.  This little chunk of change will be a great help and I am so excited to be able to help pay for the one repair in my home that I will get the most regular use out of.  :)

I am sure there are other benefits as well.  Currently I am too exhausted to think or type any more.  Those of you reading my posts on email on your lunch break are saying "WHEW!! It's about time she stopped yapping!"  :)

It was a fun experience.  I am not sure I want to repeat it anytime soon but it was fun, I enjoyed it and I learned much about the process and about myself along the way.

Now it's back to life:
1) re-coup QUICKLY
2) go harvest the tomatoes that DESPERATELY need to be attended to.
3) get my Homeschool Co-op Botany course planned (At Least September 4th's class)
4) Pack up the clothes in the garage and figure out if I will save them all for the Clothing Distribution (see below) or give some away on Free Cycle.

5) Take all my trash (mostly plastic and stained clothing) to the dump.
6) get the school room finished now that the box mountains are out of the way and I can access it.
7) Thursday I am volunteering at a meal service place ("soup kitchen") and then running errands.  I will be looking at sinks, counters, buying curtain material for the school room, picking up needed supplies at an office store for my class and for homeschooling, stopping by Once Upon a Child to see if they will buy some of my nicer kid outfits and stopping by Sams to pick up a few needed items.  I suppose at the end of my day I should pick up my children from My Lois' house. :)  LOVE HER!
8) can tomatoes
9) sew thermal curtains for the 2 MONSTER windows and 5 other smaller windows upstairs
10) plan our school year
11) finish purging the last 3 spots in the house that I did not get to and sell some of my items being stored in those spots on ebay.  (Side note:  If you get the urge to try to sell on ebay..... 1) KNOW there is a HUGE learning curve and 2) DON'T have your sales come off of auction DURING your very first THRIFT SALE.....just sayin.....)
12) start teaching school
13) pass out.

So, what does the end of August and beginning of September look like for you?

Wishes Sometimes DO Come True...

All my life I have wanted a real, wooden, non-electric piano.

I do not know how to play but am pretty good at messing around on the keys and picking out tunes by ear.

I have ALWAYS wanted to learn how to play the piano. Five or six years ago, I even purchased a highly recommended "Learn to Play Piano, for adults book" and I MIGHT even know where to find it.

Last year when I was reviewing homeschool curriculum for The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool Review Crew my family received KinderBach to review. My children (especially my oldest who is now 7) LOVED this curriculum!  They learned so much and had so much fun learning.

Hubby in the past has had respect for pianos and for those who play them but was never sold on the need for our family to have one. After all, bluegrass doesn't play very well on them and you can't sling one on your back and carry one where you want to go?

Earlier in the summer, Hubby watched as the kids had a BLAST with KinderBach.  He was impressed at how much they had learned and how much they were able to do on our keyboard that didn't really work.  After some thought he told me that after watching the children he realized how much the family could appreciate and use a real piano and that in time we should look into purchasing a nice used one.

A few weeks ago, I was skimming through my local freecycle email.  I NEVER find anything on these emails and often have asked myself why I waste the 3 minutes looking it over every day.

That day I skimmed and saw FREE PIANO. I texted Hubby (my email to his phone) and asked "Free Piano, what do you think?"  He texted back and said "Try to get it."  I emailed right away thinking for sure it would be gone already.  When a few days had passed and I did not receive a response I KNEW it was gone.  Then I received a phone call.  I was told she was taking people on a first come, first serve basis and *I* was first. :)

I could barely contain my excitement and she could tell that.  I was thrilled.  I asked what might be wrong with it and she stammered and said "Well, there is one thing."  My heart sank.  She said, "Last winter someone set a glass that had ice in it on the piano and it left a round mark where the condensation hit the wood."   I WANTED TO SCREAM FOR JOY!!!!   THAT is the worst you can come up with!!!!   It had not been tuned for 2 years but she told me that prior to that it had always tuned very well.

I was estatic.

The next challenge was trying to figure out how to get it to my home.  Through many phone calls, A WONDERFUL NEIGHBOR FAMILY, a rented piano dolly, some brute muscles and determination to make it happen we got the piano into my living room.  The finish on the entire piano shows a bit of wear.  I look forward to asking the tuner if he might guess how old it is or if he knows how we could find that out.

Meanwhile, I have a piano.

My children can't wait for everyone to be awake in the morning so that they can play. Gracie likes for her stuffed Smurf to play tunes, Abram makes "a joyful noise" and Otto plays as many of his KinderBach songs as he can remember.

Otto still in Spidy PJ boxers.

Singing the Blues.

Which reminds me, I need to tweak his song sheets so they fit the correct way in that 3 ring binder so he can actually SEE the music.

I am so excited about the music that will fill our lives in the future.

Music is where God reaches and touches my soul. I am SO THANKFUL.

The 2010-2011 Schoolhouse Planner Winner is.....

RaeAnne

Here is her winning entry...

RaeAnne will have 24 hrs to contact me for prize dispersal.  If she fails to do so I will have random.com draw again.

Hope you enjoy the planner RaeAnne.  :)

I hope to have a chance away from my purging and thrift sale to get you all a post of how I am using this planner so far.  :)

Have a great weekend.

"I want my hair like Daddy's"

Last week at church I was ruffling Abram's (4.5) hair.  I realize he had a lot of heat rash and flaky skin under his 3 inch hair mop.  I felt super bad that the heat had gotten to him.  I had seen him itching but had NO IDEA it had gotten so bad.

So we did haircuts to lessen the heat on the scalp.

As I was pulling out the clippers Abram announced he wanted hair like Daddy's.

My husband shaves his head with a razor.  Hubby announced that we couldn't do that and Abram began to pout.  With this pout I realized that Hubby had not shaved for several days and had a nice velcro-like fuzz layer on his head.  THAT IS WHAT ABRAM WANTED!  

So a buzz cut (Guard #1= 1/8 inch) he got.

Here he is before:

and here he is with Daddy after.

Are they cute or what??

He then proceeded to ask us (wearing a look of pride) if we liked his hair about 30 more times that evening and again about 15 times before lunch the next day.  

A few days later he was at VBS and I had a hard time finding him with the other kids ... until I realized he was the one with the buzz.  :)

Curriculum: 2011 NOT Back-To-School Blog Hop

So, I am behind in the 2011 NOT Back-to-School Blog Hop....

and that's okay.

I've been super busy purging my home, deep cleaning corners, packing stuff up for my Thrift Sale (that would be YARD sale to any of you not from my Neck-of-the-Woods) and turning a neglected office into our new school room (while finding a place for all the stuff being stored there).

We have been doing some major fixing up and cleaning up around the homestead all the while canning, harvesting and purchasing all my curriculum this year with the proceeds of book sales.

Yep, been purging the books and selling them off as well.  I am so excited to have this whole year paid for by extra books that were just collecting dust.  :)

Anyway, BACK TO THE BLOG HOP!!!

WEEK 1: CURRICULUM

Otto= 7= 2nd grade

Math: Finishing up Saxon 2 and moving into Saxon 3

Handwriting: Review while the youngers learn.  I use Hand Writing Without Tears Techniques and $1 consumable books from Target, chalkboards and copy work for materials.

Read-A-Louds: We will continue to read through the Circle C Beginnings and Circle C Adventures series' and then we will work our way into Caddie Woodlawn (a local pioneer hero) and likely into Laura Ingalls Wilder after that unless the follow the flow of interest leads us somewhere else.    I will be using Heart of Dakota: Drawn Into Reading to help guide us as we begin to start thinking about literature from a more academic point of view.  I also have First language Lessons.

Reading: We will finish the last few lessons in Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, will read through the Primers from Veritas Press' Phonics Museum, will work through some shorter workbooks on comprehension and will essentially keep building his confidence and skill so that by Christmas he will be sitting down to read entire picture books without much assistance.  We are a bit behind in reading but that it okay.

Spelling:  I purchased All About Spelling Level 1.  I look forward to using it.  Last year our attempts at spelling were horrific.  I look forward to this program reinforcing spelling rules, thus helping his reading improve as well.  I hear it is a GREAT program and I look forward to starting it.

Writing:  We will continue to work in our science journal and with copywork.  I also hope that as his reading skills boom and his spelling improves that by mid-year he might be able to begin writing on his own some without having to copy.

History:  We will finish reading Story of the World Vol. 1 aloud and will continue to memorize facts for each chapter. We will then move into Vol 2 and will take side tracks along the way with library books to supplement topics of interest as we find them.

Social Studies:  We *might* start learning about different countries. As I have reorganized my school stuff I rediscovered some great information on various countries that we could do something with.  You know IF we get bored (*cough, cough, sputter, mwaaahahaahahahaaaa)

Science: I've decided we are going to Space Out!   Errrr, I mean study space, stars, constellations, planets and other out of this world items.

Art: We will work through Artistic Pursuits book 1 and if we finish it we will move into book 2.

Music: Kinderbach will continue to teach music and music theory.  Hubby and I have not really discussed piano lessons yet but we shall see how Otto progresses with the "new" piano that he loves.  Otto actually asked me if we could start at the beginning of Kinderbach and do it again from scratch.  I now own everything they make, thanks to some AMAZING deals!  :)

Abram= 4.5=4 yr old Kindergarten

Reading: We will continue to move at Abram's pace through Ordinary Parent's Guide.  He was doing very well and is very motivated but his attention span is closer to 2 minutes when his brother's was closer to 20 minutes at this age. I also have letter tiles and will pull out books and sliders with simple words when he is ready.

Pre-K stuff:  Last year Abram kept asking me where HIS school book was or when HE could DO SCHOOL.  I had a partial copy of this book.  I would use it to test Otto to see what he could do.  I'd open it up do a verbal quiz and then put it away.    For this year I have decided to purchase Abram his own book and have him do a few pages each day.  It will be enough for him to *DO* school, it will help him learn to sit and be still and stay on task for small periods of time and although I don't see it being too terribly challenging I do see him learning from it.

Math:   I MIGHT pull out Saxon 1.  MAYBE.  We shall see.  I started Otto in Saxon 1 in Kindergarten and Abram will be 5 in November but emotionally is VERY 4.  I plan to just ride the wave with him and wherever the surf takes us that is where we will go.  He is after all the age his older brother was when I announced "My BABY is TOO LITTLE to send off to school 5 days a week for 1/2 days in a classroom."  I need to remember to let him be little still. :)

History:  He listens to SOTW with us and sometimes does the memory.

Writing:  I have a few early phonics $1 writing books from Target.  One on the alphabet, one on numbers and another on short words.  I bought one for each of my kids.  Otto will practice with the goal of being HIS BEST.  Abram will learn his letters and numbers the correct way (I will also do some air writing with him  and some Wet-Dry-Try with him) and Gracie will show me what she can do.   She is so advanced with fine motor skills I MIGHT be teaching her how to write.........or maybe she will just pretend.

Read-A-Louds:  He will usually listen in.

Art:  We will do this together.

Science: Spacing Out with the rest of us.  :)

I also need to find some MECHANICS for Abram.  Perhaps a board with holes and bolts and nuts. Or some hinges and bolts on a board or something like that for my little mechanic.  He was building the dog a dog house treat house earlier this week with cattle panel and scrap boards.  I REALLY need to get this kid working on mechanical arts in some fashion.

Gracie= 2.5=Preschool

I hope to pick up some special "school only" books for Gracie.

I will basically be keeping her safe and occupied while the big kids do school. I have accumulated pre-school like activities and eventually I will figure out where and how to store them in my new school room.   I can say for sure it will be interesting to see what kind of messes she might make while we are upstairs and we are downstairs.  *sigh*

I do have lots of small activities to pull out to help her fine motor skills (as if....).

 I suspect by February she will have a few letters down!

My overall goals for her are: potty training (which she has recently REALLY turned a corner in), teaching politeness and manners, getting her to use REAL words and not ALIEN TALK, keep her safe and happy and expose her to fun tasks that allow the older kiddos to get their work done.  I am sure I will be visiting my favorite toddler sites (Confessions of a Homeschooler & 1+1+1=1) often for ideas.

I am also certain I have forgotten several things here as well.

Those who read my posts know that my state only requires me to promise to teach a certain amount of hours in a certain amount of topics in a sequential order. I personally enjoy text book formats and so does my "Mini-Me" (Otto) so life is super easy in the way of planning around here.  We pick a text and we do a lesson every day or so and keep the momentum moving forward.  As long as we keep moving we are fulfilling the requirements and it is honestly NOT HARD to exceed them.  We work in a steady way and we stop to veer off the text book path when a fun topic hits that we want to study.

My curriculum list is obviously reflected in this path of organization, now if I can just pull our life together so that we can get started we will be doing GREAT.

This blog post is linked up with the Blog Hop.
Please click on this button to find more 2011 NOT Back-to-School Blog Hop Posts.

DIY: Dry Laundry Soap

There are a ton of recipes out there for making your own laundry soap.   Most of them for a pseudo-liquid variety that needs to be shaken before each use.  I like dry detergent.I wanted to make my own but didn't want the hassle of the gloppy liquid stuff.

Then Money Saving Mom featured HER experience with dry detergent making and I thought, "Okay, I can try it too."

My first batch was clumpy. I used the shredded cheese section of my grater (like MSM shows) and in my washing machine that only has cold water (currently) the clumps just never dissolved.   USUALLY the wind knocked them off the clothing on the line but I was worried about winter and how those clumps would do in the dryer.

So I tried the tiny prickly section of my 4 sided grater.  IT WORKED DREAMY!  It grated my soap into a beautiful fine powder.

So I decided to do a double batch and I grabbed another bar of soap and it DID NOT WORK DREAMY!!   The soap clung to the prickly grater and did not break into a powder fine substance.

Hmmmm.....   I realized my first bar of soap was over 3 years old and the second bar of soap was a new, nice and creamy bar of Ivory.  NOT HELPFUL when grating into a powdery fine substance.

Hmmmm.....   So how could I speed up the drying process of my soap?

Microwave?  Nope that would melt it.
Air Dry?  Not enough time.

Hubby suggested that in the freezer the freezing action would draw out the moisture.

So I unwrapped my bars.  I wrapped them with a paper towel.  I put them in a wide mesh orange bag and into the freezer.

I was hoping my detergent would last long enough for the moisture to draw out but alas here I am needing more.  What to do?  What to do?

So, today I NEEDED more and figured I had no other choice but to TRY a bar from the freezer.

Here is what I found........... when frozen the bar grates powdery fine like I need it to.   :)  YAY!!

This is good news.  I figured if I could get it grated powdery fine while frozen and get the other two ingredients mixed in before the soap flakes thaw and clump I would be good to go.

This was a great plan and worked well but I continued to learn today.

Lessons learned:
1) Frozen soap bars are REALLY COLD to hold onto.  I wrapped that paper towel around the end I held onto.
2) Setting down a partial bar of soap while tending children means that you will need to place that section of the bar into the freezer to re-freeze.

Grating after just a minute or so with the children is like grating a room temperature or luke warm bar of soap..... soft and too gooey.
3) Frozen bars of soap are REALLY COLD!
4) The soap still cakes onto my grater much more than those ancient bars did which tells me that even though frozen...the moisture content still makes it a bit clingy and soft.  But.....
5) IT ACTUALLY WORKED!!!  and that is all that matters sometimes.

My recipe:
1 bar soap
1 cup WASHING soda
1 cup Borax.

I put 2 Tablespoons in the bottom of the washer before my clothing (when I remember to put it in first).  I also use a small dose (Maybe 2 Tbs) of fabric softener in a ball to appease my addiction to that pretty laundered smell.  Someday I will be able to cast that addiction away but for now it remains. 

I keep looking for Fels Naptha or Zote or Dr Brunner's when I am out and about.  Someday I will find them in a store and I will be able to see if they have a drier moisture content (assisting with grating to powdery fine).  The first two are made with laundry in mind so one MIGHT think they would be drier.... I will let you know what I know when I know it.  :)

Do you make your own detergent?  Has anyone every tried to make homemade powdered detergent??   How about dishwasher detergent??   That might be in my future, although I have read a bit about how some think it is unsafe for the appliance.  We shall see, we shall see.

First I need to get my school room finished and my house purged before my August 18, 19, 20 yard sale.  :)

The 2011-2012 Schoolhouse Planner Review & GIVEAWAY.

One thing I really miss about being on The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew is receiving REALLY COOL homeschooling products for free.

Something I miss more is when I received products that I fell in love with and wanted to run out and tell all my friends to go out and purchase for themselves.

A short time ago, while talking to a friend at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, I was given a free copy of The 2011-2012 Schoolhouse Planner to review

AND ANOTHER ONE TO GIVE AWAY!!

Last year I was able to review The 2010-2011 Schoolhouse Planner and loved it. You can read here and here about last year's planner.

This year's planner is EVEN MORE AWESOME!  

There are over 175 new forms, new articles, new recipes.  The cover is newly designed and super groovy and they have even included pages that I MYSELF recommended.

How's that for super cool!

Any of you ever had a planner redesigned in any way based upon YOUR own  suggestion??  Huh??  Huh??

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine listens to suggestions and desires of those who use their planner and they mold each new year into an even better product than before.  I find that pretty amazing.

As you have read before, I don't get into detailed planning.  It stresses me out and I find my plans never work out anyway.  With my past record of expressing how silly it seems to me (with few state requirements and really young children) to spend so much time planning, some of you might be scratching your head asking WHY THEN IS SHE SO EXCITED ABOUT A FREE PLANNER??

I am so glad you asked!  :)

The 2011-2012 Schoolhouse Planner is NOT just for PLANNING school.

It is jam packed with tons of useful pages ...  to help you:

• Plan and record all of the dynamic aspects of your homeschool year from top to bottom.
• Schedule your social activities effectively. 
• Organize your technological resources. 
• Manage money wisely (and teach your kids this important life skill too).
• Be the queen of your kitchen.
• Foster family pride by establishing family goals and recording family tree information.
• Record important medical information including medications and family medical history.
• Run a successful home business.
• Get ready for the holidays. 
• And so much more!

The Old Schoolhouse Store says: The 2011-12 Schoolhouse Planner is a list maker’s dream! You’ll find lists for everything from blog post ideas to childhood memories. Enjoy endless brainstorming with 50 list-style forms designed to inspire you the whole year through. It's a tool that will help you maintain a well-organized home and homeschool.

 Now, in answer to your earlier question of why does the NON-PLANNER want such a huge planner?????   It's because I am a list maker!  I am not a great planner but I have lists all over.  I LOVE to organize.  I LOVE to fill out forms and shuffle papers and make my own smaller books of planning pages to fill out.  I might not plan in advance but having the forms in this product to fill in and file makes my heart sing.  :)

OVER 800 PAGES or info and Blank Lists!!!!

There are two sections of forms, one for homeschooling and one for household planning

There is something in this planner for everyone:

• Calendars and Scheduling Pages
• School planning sheets
• Tracking sheets for school topics, unit studies, field trips, reading lists, technology tracking, etc.
• Family budgeting, household management forms
• Must know lists
• 17 Homeschooloing articles on topics like  read-alouds, tight budgets, science in the early years, literature, incorporating Bible activities.
• There are PRESCHOOL forms and multiple child homeschooling forms.

If you DREAM it...........

Likely you will find it.
If you don't find it email The Old Schoolhouse Store and they might just include it in next year's product!

The Old Schoolhouse has also designed STUDENT PLANNERS as well.

There are student planners for Primary Students, Intermediate Students, High School Students and Special Needs.

You can see more here.

The Schoolhouse Planners are great because you can purchase the e-version which downloads directly to your computer or you may choose the CD version which comes free in the mail with free shipping.  The planners allow you to individualize many of the forms and print as little or as many as you choose.

Now, I must admit. At first glance I am IN LOVE with all this planner has to offer.  However, in the time since I received the planner and when I had promised to get this review and giveaway into cyberspace I have had family visits, a printer change, printer issues after the change, a major household device malfunction, major homestead tasks needing my attention and a trip out of state.  I am SURE the Schoolhouse Planner would have made all those situations MUCH LESS STRESSFUL and I look forward to now being able to print to my hearts desire.

I promise, dear loyal blog readers (and those who are here merely to sign up to win) that I will post again soon (in my current life that is in the next couple of months) about how I have USED THIS PLANNER TO MY HEARTs DELIGHT!!!

IF.... you sign up for email notices OR .... IF ... you sign up for Networked Blogs you will find that post immediately after it posts AND you will get extra entries while doing so.    :)  (Life is so swell, isn't it??)

And now that you all have heard how awesome I think these planners are HOW WOULD YOU LIKE A FEW CHANCES TO WIN YOUR VERY OWN???

Leave a separate comment for each entry and in each entry please leave me your email address so that if you do win I am able to notify you and let you know how to obtain your free copy.  

This contest is for the electronic download version of one Schoolhouse Planner of your choosing.   :)  (Are they not awesome at The Old Schoolhouse or What??)

Mandatory Entry:   Visit The Old Schoolhouse Store, investigate the planners, then TELL ME WHICH PLANNER YOU WOULD LIKE TO WIN AND WHY.

EXTRA ENTRIES

1) Tell me the qualities you see in the Schoolhouse Planners that you find most alluring or intriguing.

2) Like The Old Schoolhouse Magazine on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me you did.
3) Like Clothesline Musings on Facebook and tell me about it.
4) Sign up for email notifications of Clothesline Musings on the right side of my blog and tell me that you did.
5) Follow clotheslinemuse on twitter and tell me you twitter name.
6) Follow Clothesline Musings with Google Friends on the left side of this blog and tell me about it.
7) Follow me via Networked Blogs on the left side of this blog and tell me about it.
8) Post this contest on your Facebook and tell me you told all your friends.
9) Tweet about this contest and give me the link about it. (Daily Tweet) (1 entry per day)
10) Blog about this contest and give me you link (3 entries) – Give me your link and enter three times in the comment section.

Don’t forget to include your email for each steps. No email means I will have to pick someone else. I need to be able to contact you if you win! Random.org will be use to determine the winner. You will have 24 hours to contact me so I can send it to my contact!

Deadline to Enter: Friday Aug 12th , 2011 @ 11:59 PM CST.