And Then There Was One

Avril was part of our church's production of the play "And Then There Was One," a spoof on Agatha Christie's famous murder mystery. 

The play was a fundraiser for the youth missions trips next summer. 

She and a team of other teens made funny sound effects for the play as the cast was on stage from start to finish. You can see her with one of the other teens on the team in the photo above. 

Being even a small part of a show for the larger grown-up cast was a lot of work for the teens- hours and hours and hours in the weeks leading up to the play. 

But the play was so fun to watch, so it was more than worth it.  

Avril's big sister, Norah, brought her flowers on the last evening of the show. 

We're all so proud of Avril for being willing to do something so challenging.

 

Keep Extra Supplies in Your Pantry and Plan Your Meals

We do the household and grocery shopping only once a week- usually on Saturdays. 

Shopping only once a week saves a lot of time and effort and allows us to just focus on homeschool during the week without any interruptions. 

I suppose I live too far away from the store to ever just "run to the store." 

Running to any store usually takes up at least an hour when it is all said and done. 

So it saves us time and effort to shop once a week, but when all is said and done, we find that we actually save money, too. 

We are never using extra gas, never shopping based on mood or impulse, and we are never in the stores mid-week seeing more and more stuff we want to buy, so it really saves to simply go into the store less often. 

To make it possible to go to the store only once a week, we have learned to do two main things:

#1. We have to plan all our meals for the week on Saturday before going to the store, and we make a grocery list based on those meals, buying little to no extra food, which means we save money.  

#2. We also have to have extra products on hand to be able to "shop" from our own supplies that we have in the house when we run out of something mid-week. 

Keeping supplies in the house-

It will take a while to figure out the products you use all the time and need to have on hand. 

It will also take a while to buy the extra portions over time. 

But it's a great idea for any homeschool mom to try and keep a limited supply of all of the products, food and non-food, you consistently use, and these can be stored in your pantry, storage closet, or freezer, depending on the product.  

For example, in the freezer, I keep chicken breasts, ground beef, ground turkey, ham, sausage, etc. in meal-sized portions and each week, as I plan meals and as I fill in the grocery list, I "shop" from the freezer, bringing the meat I want to use up to the fridge in the kitchen to begin to thaw in time for me to use it in the next few days for meals. 

In the pantry, I always have somewhere between 1-12 cans diced tomatoes, tomatoes and chillies, beans of all varieties, refried beans, enchilada sauce, etc. -things I use all the time. I also need to keep extra oat milks, rice cakes, nut butters, tortilla chips, etc., because we burn through those products quickly. 

In the closet, I also keep at least one container of all the necessary household supplies like trash bags, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, ziplocks of all sizes, personal hygiene products, cleaning supplies, etc. 

Now that I have extra food and supplies on hand like this, I literally never have to take time or effort mid-week to run to the store. 

We can simple "shop" from our storage. 

When we run out of paper towels, we "shop" from the paper towels in the closet. 

When we run out of laundry detergent or dish washing soap, we "shop" from the closet. 

When we need beans for dinner, we run down to the pantry and get what we need. 

If I use the last of something mid-week, or if I notice that inventory is getting too low on an item, I add that to the shopping list for Saturday, but in the meantime, we still have whatever we need, because we got it from our excess in storage. 

Having supplies means our home just keeps moving on with our school day, day after day after day. 

Plan Meals-

We keep a shopping list and add things through the week as we notice we are out of something or running low. 

But on Saturday morning, I also take a more careful inventory of everything in the house- the fridge, freezer, pantry, and closet- and based on what I see, I add needed items to the list. 

I also decide all the meals I'll be making that week (including snacks, breakfasts, lunches, and desserts), and I check to see if I have all the ingredients, or if I have them in storage, and if I don't (or if I'm running low), I add those items to the list, so I can make those specific meals.  

When we come home with groceries, we open the garage and honk the horn, and the kids know to come down and help us carry everything up and put it away. 

We teach the kids where to put things and that way, they can run and get it mid-week when we're in the middle of doing something like making dinner. 

We definitely expect our kids to help with all the household chores. 

It's part of their homeschooling. 

By keeping supplies on hand and planning our meals, we have all we need once the homeschool week begins again. 

Every decision has been thought through and made and prepared for. 

This means that during the weekdays, we hardly have any errands to run- not even one. 

Of course, there's still the dentist and orthodontist and pediatrician, but generally speaking, having meals planned and all supplies on hand means that we are just free to do our homeschool work or read, etc. 

 

Arcus Loves Showers

Our pet sun conure, Arcus, loves to take showers in the kitchen sink. 

He sits on his perch on the counter while I wash dishes. The sound of the falling water is usually irresistible to him. Once the sink is empty, he knows it's his turn to use the sink and he often can't resist walking over and hopping down into the sink and under the running water. At that point, I usually turn down the water and transfer his perch to the sink, so he has a firmer place to sit. 

When he's all done, he flies up to my shoulder- a very messy affair, since he gets me all wet. 

After that, he is content to sit on his perch again on the counter, shaking himself out, fluffing out his feathers and drying as I continue my work in the kitchen. 

 

Paint Your Way Through Latin

Adele is in Paint Your Way Through Latin, an online art class hosted by Delightful Art. Co. In her most recent class, they painted a mural found in Pompeii. 

Homeschool Science Fair (without the fair)

Adele is doing a science fair project without the fair, since we are no longer a part of a homeschool co-op that does a science fair. 

We still aren't sure what Adele's specific science fair question will be or what her experiment will look like. 

That will come later. 

For now, Adele is interested in preserving cut flowers, so that's the topic we are researching everyday more and more in depth. 

As we sit together and search for sources and read through information, we naturally ask more and more questions about the specifics involved with the topic, and we write those questions down, too. 

So, after only a few days of research, we already have several questions to answer. 

So at this point, we aren't afraid we won't know what to do next; We have enough questions already to keep us busy for days, and I'm sure more questions will arise.

This research portion of the project may take weeks. 

Adele has started keeping handwritten research notes (and she also records all the new research questions that come up) in a composition book. 

After a Google search using a few key words or phrases about the topic or questions, we click on articles or sites that seem promising and legitimate. 

After a brief scan of the website or article, I can usually tell if a source has valuable information that answers all or even part of one or more of our questions about her topic. 

At that point, we read the content together and we discuss it and I explain complicated things (if I can.) 

Note: If I can't explain difficult content, I just tell her I can't explain it or I don't understand it (yet), and then I have the opportunity to model to her how to keep going in the face of uncertainty. 

Once we have read a source and we know what content applies to her research topic directly, I will either print the article and highlight the content that needs to go into her notebook, or I will copy and paste words and phrases from an article or website into a word.doc that I print for her. 

Then she hand copies all the important notes and info into her notebook. 

She's also keeping track of the specific sources and the relevant website addresses, so she can make a bibliography. 

It's a very time consuming process! 

And, as you can see, I help her a lot. 

Part of what I am doing is showing her how to research, and that is something that needs to be modeled elbow to elbow. 

After the first day of research, after more than an hour of taking notes by hand, Adele still said, "This is fun!" 

I agreed with her that it is fun, indeed!

It's fun to learn about the specific content she wants to research- flower preservation. 

But it's also fun to learn that you can learn about anything that you are curious about by simply being willing to ask and answer questions about the topic. 

One of the main things I want her to take away from this project is the knowledge that she can learn anything if she's willing to do the work. 

Visit to The Met

We met up with our friends at The Met. 

The Met is one of the only field trips we ever take, and we like to take it a few times a year. 

We like to find works of art that are our old favorites. 

And we always something new that strikes us. 

I recognized this head across the room, because I'm reading Aristotle for grad school right now! He is taking up all the extra space in my head, and I couldn't be happier about it! 

And I'll be reading Socrates soon! 

Illuminated manuscripts are always some of my favorite things to see. The vibrancy of the colors is astounding. Even the best printers can't match these colors after hundreds of years. 

Taking a break after walking around for hours

Avril recently painted her own imitation of this painting in her Art History class through Delightful Art Co. 

We met this lovely artist named Dwight and purchased one of his prints, which he signed and dedicated to our family.

This is a photo we've been taking and retaking for years now- the three girls in front of the three graces. 

This field trip of all field trips never is a waste and never grows old to us. 

 

Best Part of the Day

Lately, one of my favorite parts of the day is cleaning the kitchen after dinner. 

I'm aware of how sad that sounds, but hear me out. 

Tonight, Adele helped me clear off the table, put away leftovers, and hand dry all the pots and pans and put them away as I loaded the dishwasher and hand washed the things that couldn't go in the machine. 

We listened to worship music and sang as worked around one another efficiently. 

This habit of cleaning up the kitchen started with Fly Lady. She says to go so far as to shine your sink every evening. That's a bit too much for me. But I certainly empty mine. I'll only take out the stainless steel cleaner once every week or two. 

Leaving the kitchen clean at night was something I aspired to for years, but it's finally become a very happy habit. 

It makes a difference that I don't have babies or toddlers who demand more time, but instead, I have grown daughters that help. 

And, at this point, it's a real (albeit mundane) joy to work in the same space with them so efficiently.  

Having an empty sink to start your day can make to big difference to your morning. 

It's easier to brew coffee and prepare healthy foods if everything's clean and out of the way. 

The Best Christmas Movie Ever

We have been reading "The Best Christmas Pageant" aloud at Christmas time on and off for ten years or more. It's hilarious and heartwarming. You will laugh. You will cry. 

It was made into a movie, so we took the family to see it this week. Dwayne and I tried to surprise the kids, but they figured it out when we turned toward the theater. We don't do many out-of-the-ordianry things, so I guess we are quite predictable after all. 

It was a great movie! It has a very different pace than most movies these days- much, much slower- but if you love the book, they've honored the book, so you should love this movie. We did! 

Gather and Display Homeschool Work

I like to display my daughters' homeschool work on our mantle. 

I purchased a few display stands, and I use them to display the most recently finished essays, visuals, artwork, etc. 

All the artwork from a certain class goes in the same folder with the newest art on top. 

All the history essays and their visuals go in another folder. 

All the literature essays go in another. 

All the science research reports and visuals go in another. 

This way, by the end of the year, in almost every subject or class, there's a "book" worth keeping and rereading, and as you turn the pages, you step your way back to beginning of the school year. 

Gathering their work into "books" and displaying their work is a wholesome way to encourage healthy pride in their work.  

It also provides a means of accountability.

If your homeschool students know their work will go into a book that they will keep and look at again and again, and if they know others will see their work and engage with them about it, they tend to care more and do a better job. 

This is also a practical way for the whole family to share in what they are doing and continue enjoying their work long after it is complete. 

One of my daughters' favorite things is to go find and read through the book that their older sister has made back when she went through a subject. 

Their dad is usually at work all day, but this way, he can take down their essays at his leisure and read them and discuss the ideas with them when it is convenient or interesting for him to do so. 

Displaying their work, too, is a way to fill our home with "rare and beautiful treasures" like Scripture says. 

Artifacts made by our own hands make some of the rarest and most beautiful treasures in my opinion. 

The mantle works best in our home, but you could choose another location that works better for you if you like this idea and want to implement it, too. 

Homemade Hand Soap with Essential Oils

I bought the Young Living Thieves hand soap once. It was $16, which is almost unbelievable. Sorry, Young Living fans. That's expensive. 

But I had a plan in mind.  I didn't have a soap dispenser like this. So when the soap ran out, I simply refilled the same dispenser with two tablespoons liquid Castile soap, approximately 6-8 drops of Young Living's Thieves essential oil, and 2-4 drops of their Citrus Fresh blend. Then I turn the water on to a trickle and gently, slowly fill up the rest of the space with water directly from my faucet. I put the lid back on securely and turn it over a few times, so that the ingredients can mix. Viola! Homemade hand soap! 

Note: Some people use distilled water. I find that to be "a bridge too far," so to speak. If I had to use distilled water or boil water to purify my water, I wouldn't make my own soap. It's obviously better to use sterile water, but it's not something I am overly concerned with at this point in my "crunchy mom" journey. 

Note: My friend gave me a gallon of Castille soap when she moved a few years ago, so that was a huge blessing. A little goes a long way, so I am still using the soap she gave me.  

I use the same "recipe" for my bathroom soap as well. I purchased the Ever Spring soap from Target once. It was only $3-5, making it much more affordable. I do the same thing described above. I fill the empty container with two tablespoons of liquid Castille soap, then I add 7-10 drops Bergamot and Lavender blend of essential oils. Then I turn on the water to a gentle trickle and fill the space in the rest of the container. I turn it over and back a few times to mix it. 

I'm saving a ton of money on hand soaps by reusing the containers I have and making my own. I also save a ton of time and effort. I can replace a soap container in minutes- no shopping required. 

 

Taylor Leonhardt

We attended the Taylor Leonhardt concert at the Community Coffeehouse in Danbury last night. It was surreal to hear the songs we have listened to for months sung live. Since the girls are guitar students, it was fascinating to watch her play the guitar with such mastery. The Taylor gifted the girls her set list and even signed it! 

How to Do Science Fair At Home

We are no longer a part of our Classical Conversations group, but I still want Adele to complete a Science Fair project for the sake of all the great things she will learn from the process. 

We often buy the cheap bouquets of flowers at the grocery store and have them around the house, usually in the center of our kitchen or classroom tables, sometimes in the hallway like the photo shows above.  

Fresh flowers don't need to be fancy to add an exponential amount of beauty and joy to your home (and homeschool.)

Adele expressed curiosity about the powder we add to the water to keep flowers fresh. 

She wondered what it is made of? 

Could we make our own with stuff around the house? 

Could we make something that works even better than what comes with the bouquets we buy at the store? 

So that's where our research will begin. 

I'm not sure what her research question, hypothesis, or experiment will be yet, but maybe after enough research and information, those things will come forth naturally. 

This is how my older daughter, Avril, went about doing Science Fair. 

She researched something she was interested in at the time (invisible ink) until she had enough information and made enough connections to form a hypothesis and design a custom experiment to test it. 

 

Greek Bowls

This has become one of our favorite meals, and it's so easy to throw together as long as you have all the ingredients. 

Ingredients:

Ground beef (or ground turkey) 

Greek seasoning

Fresh tomato, chopped

Fresh cucumber, peeled (mostly) and chopped

Purple onion, chopped

Tzatziki sauce and/ or Tahini Lime dressing 

Basmati rice

Directions:

Boil the water and start cooking the rice. I make two cups of rice for my family of five, and we have leftovers, which we like to eat the next few days for lunch. 

Brown the meat. I use two pounds of beef for my family of five. We buy ground beef in bulk on sale and then we portion it into smaller quart freezer bags and freeze them in smaller sizes, usually just enough for one meal. I thaw one freezer bag of beef in warm water an hour before dinner, of if I am thinking ahead, I  put it in the fridge to thaw a day or more ahead of the day I cook it. Approximately two pounds of ground beef fits in a quart bag. 

After the meat is brown, drain it, and then return the meat to the skillet. Add Greek seasoning and toss to coat. Turn the heat down so it doesn't keep cooking, but the meat remains warm until the rice is done and all the toppings are prepared.  

While the meat and rice and cooking, chop the fresh vegetables. 

Take out the sauces and/ or prepare those, too. 

For the Greek seasoning, you can buy some pre-made or you can make your own using a recipe online. Sometimes, I just Google "Greek Seasoning Recipe" and then throw all the ingredients in the beef without being exact. It still tastes great. 

For the tzatziki sauce, you can buy a pre-made version or make your own with plain greek yogurt, garlic, lemon, cucumber, and olive oil, etc. Just Google a recipe and use it if it looks good to you. We usually have all these ingredients in our fridge and cabinets as staples, so I can just make some if we are out of it. But if you don't keep Greek yogurt around, just plan ahead and buy some premade. Note: There's a dairy free tzatziki at Trader Joe's for those of you who need that option. 

There is a delicious Tahini Lime dressing at Whole Foods near the fresh vegetables on the refrigerated shelves.  But you can also Google a recipe and make your own Tahini Lime sauce with hummus, tahini, lime, garlic, salt, etc. 

I like to keep the meat in the skillet and the rice in the pot on the stove.We serve ourselves rice and pile on the beef, then we go to the table where the fresh toppings and the sauces are out in the middle of the table. 

Enjoy! 

Nice Cream

Nice Cream. 

Google it. 

You blend frozen banana slices with flavors like vanilla or honey or maple syrup, and you can add frozen fruit or sprinkle on chocolate, etc. 

I got my berry nice cream recipe from Downshiftology's Healthy Meal Prep cookbook. 

Here's a recipe for mint chocolate chip nice cream. 

I put our berry nice cream in little jars (lids very loosely on until they are frozen solid). 

I put these in the freezer so we can enjoy them in single servings. 

Gluten, Dairy, and Sugar Free Nut Butter Balls

Shout out to my friend Wendy Musarella for giving me this recipe a while ago, even before we had to eat gluten, dairy, and sugar free. 

Now I make these nut butter balls once every one or two weeks, so we usually have some on hand for snacks. 

Ingredients-

1 cup of rolled oats

2/3 cup of shredded coconut flakes

1/2 cup any nut butter (I have used cashew, peanut, sunflower, and almond.) 

1/2 chocolate chips or chunks (I use a sugar free dark chocolate bar and chop it up)

1/3 cup agave nectar or honey

1 Tbsp. chia seeds

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. pink sea salt

I mix everything together using my Kitchen Aid mixer with a coated flat beater attachment. Then I use a small thumb press scooper to shape the balls. Note: I actually use the same scooper to make smaller and larger balls so that we have a choice for a smaller or larger snack. I line a plastic container with wax paper and cover it with an air tight lid and store this in our fridge. 

Homemade Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free Caramel Pumpkin Spice Coffee

Ingredients-

Plain Oatmilk (Barista Version)

Sugar-free caramel syrup

Stevia

Pumpkin Pie Extract

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

Equipment-

You will need your usual coffee maker and a milk warmer/ frother. Note: A milk frother takes non-diary milks like almond or oat and turns them into something magical. If you are transitioning away from dairy in your coffee, a milk warmer/ frother will make this transition 90% easier. 

How to-

Pour a tablespoon or two of sugar free caramel syrup into the bottom of your favorite mug. I like to make this in my Ember, so it stays hot the whole time I drink it. 

Add a spoonful of stevia if you want it even sweeter. 

Brew or pour your favorite coffee into your mug. We like the Starbuck Holiday Blend K-cups right now. 

Froth and warm 1/2 to 1 cup of oat milk. Note: I like barista version oat milks, because some of the regular oat milks don't froth well in my experience. 

Add a few drops of pumpkin pie extract to your coffee. 

When it's frothed to your liking, add the milk to your coffee right to the top. 

Stir. 

Then sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice on top. 

Enjoy! 

 

Les Mis

We coordinated with our dear friends to see Les Mis together yesterday. The parents took up four seats in one row. Our kids took up the four seats right in front of us on the next row. Afterwards, we all went out to dinner. We left our little kids out of this event, since we knew that the content of this musical was too grown-up for them. 

Some of the songs were very familiar, and I had a basic story line in my mind, but it has been years since hearing the songs or seeing the film, and I had never seen the whole story played out on Broadway. Therefore, I was totally blown away by the spiritual elements and all the redemptive messages. 

From the first note of the orchestra, I was captured and transported. Les Mis is going to be competing with Hadestown as a favorite musical. 

And having just read about justice and equity and forgiveness in Aristotle's Rhetoric this week and then rereading it all yesterday morning before leaving for the play, the timing of the story could not have been more perfect. 

Obviously, I believe in mercy and forgiveness in my mind, because of what Christ has done for my soul and all the Scripture I have read through the years. But interestingly, after reading Aristotle this week, something huge and monumental shifted in my heart. Aristotle actually demonstrates through argument how mercy is quite reasonable given all the reasons why people do what they do, and the fact that we all commit injustices. No one is without sin, which leads back to Jesus and the Scriptures and all I know, because of God's forgiveness to me and His goodness in my own life. So this musical contrasting justice and mercy really landed for me yesterday in a way that only God could orchestrate. 

The wonder of God's perfect justice and mercy astounds me!  

New Cookbook

I am loving my new cookbook- Healthy Meal Prep by Lisa Bryan. 

Every recipe is gluten, dairy, and sugar free, and everything is made from scratch with whole ingredients. 

I've already made the sheet pan eggs (shown above) and the steak and pepper stir fry. Both were delicious, enjoyed by all who tried them, and they will definitely go into my rotation. There isn't a recipe in the book that I probably won't try (except for the shrimp recipes, since I'm allergic.) 

The best part of this recipe book is there are several dessert options. Dessert is something we have just been living without, basically, since having to cut out all dairy, gluten, and sugar. So it will be nice to have some dessert options, especially for the coming holidays and special occasions. 

I have had to provide three meals a day for two decades basically, and I have to say, I am finally learning to love what must be done, but there's nothing like a new cook book to take the mundane and make it exciting again. 

 

 

Sort Your To-Do List

How do you manage all the housework and homeschool at the same time?! 

Here's a tip that's been working well for me. 

Keep a to-do list. 

When something comes to your attention and it needs to be done, write it down! 

Don't necessarily do the thing right then. 

Just write it down. 

I write everything down all day long! 

It all goes on the same list on my phone.  

That way, I don't have the burden of remembering anything/ everything that I have to do, because it's all written out. 

I can move on with my regular routine and refer to my list later when I have more time. 

Next, as I go through my day and refer to my list, I naturally sort the list, moving the things I really want or really need to do next to the top of my list, and letting the other stuff that can wait fall to the bottom. 

The sorting happens as I delete, add, and refer to my list a few times everyday. 

I can refer to this list when there's free time throughout the day and the decision about what to do next has already been sorted out. 

Today, the main goals that had risen to the top of my list included: 

Call the lab back and pay my bill

Read the next debate chapter with Avril 

Make bone broth 

Refill the soap container in the downstairs bath 

Clean the bird cage and bird perch

Now, I've done about one million other things today in addition to these half-dozen things. I'm constantly doing all the usual stuff like dishes and laundry and all the usual homeschool... 

but these were the things that came to mind, that weighed me down, that I really needed to remember to do and needed some help to deliberately focus on getting done and/ or fitting into all the in-between moments. 

As I complete an item on the list, it gets deleted, and that's an awesome feeling, watching the top of the list disappear. 

Now that I'm done with the extra stuff I decided to do today, I'm putting my feet up and enjoying the feeling of accomplishment. 

The things I decided to do today are all done! 

Obviously, there's more regular work to do today like dinner prep and clean-up and more laundry, but that's all the regular stuff. 

More items are being added to the list all the time...

But I've decided that all those items can wait until tomorrow or even the next day. 

Note: Another major benefit of keeping and constantly sorting your to-do list is that over time with more and more experience, you learn what you actually can and can't reasonably do in one day. 

I've learned to give myself a break for all the stuff that amounts to "too much" and can't be helped until tomorrow. 

So sort your to-do list. 

It's a mental and emotional game-changer. 

Artistic Daughters

Avril painted the leaves surrounding the October quote. Adele made the mosaic of fall leaves. These are currently being displayed on one of the floating shelves in our homeschool classroom. They make me so glad I live in a home where there are artistic daughters. 

Worship

Music has been an essential part of our homeschool curriculum for many years. I make it a priority to ensure that girls have time to practice piano and/or guitar every single homeschool day. They may not be doing Latin their whole life, but they'll probably be playing music and singing forever.  At this point, they are both on the church worship teams. Sometimes they are even assigned together on the same week. They often practice together, and this always brings me joy.  

Coconut Chicken Curry

Coconut Chicken Curry Recipe

(This recipe has been adapted from Sally Fallon's Coconut Chicken Curry. At this point, I make it without referring to the recipe. And as long as the chicken is thawed, it comes together in about thirty minutes.)  

Ingredients:

Olive oil

One half onion, sliced into long pieces

Two large chicken breasts, sliced in half and then sliced into pieces  (Note: This serves my family of five with some leftovers)

Two carrots, peeled and chopped

One can of diced tomatoes

Chicken broth (1/2 to 1 cup) 

One can of unsweetened coconut milk

One-two cups of frozen peas

Optional:

1 cup of fresh spinach or kale, chopped up 

Spices:

Tumeric powder

Curry powder

Coriander powder

Jalapeño powder

Onion powder

Salt

Serve over:

Cooked basmati rice 

Directions:

1. Spray or drizzle olive oil into a large pot. Saute the onions, carrots, and chicken in the oil for a few minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink. 

2. Next, add a little (1/2 cup-1 cup) of chicken broth to the pot, and then add the spices. I do not measure at this point. I just sprinkle and stir and smell. But if you need to know where to start, I suggest adding 1 Tbs. of curry and turmeric each, 1 tsp of salt and onion powder each, a sprinkle of coriander, and just a pinch of jalapeño powder. After you have made it a few times, you will know how much of each spice to add to suit yourself and your family. 

3. Then add the can 1/2 can or the whole can of coconut milk. Drain the diced tomatoes and then add those. Let this simmer on low while the rice cooks. 

4. To make the rice: I use another medium sized pot with four cups of water. I bring that to a boil. Then I add two cups of basmati rice and stir and cover and turn the rice down to simmer for approximately. 15-20 minutes. Stir the rice once or twice to see how much water is left and gauge when the rice will be done. 

5. When there is just a few minutes left before the rice is done, add the frozen carrots, stir, and turn the stove top off. Let the curry sit and thaw the frozen peas as the soup also cools a little. At this point, you can also add chopped spinach or kale to this curry, too. It will also soften as the curry sits on the stovetop. The curry can sit from up to ten minutes and still be warm/ hot. 

6. Turn off the rice when there's no more water in the bottom when you stir, and it's done. Serve the curry over the cooked rice in shallow bowls.  

Enjoy! 

The Secret Garden

I heard her laugh to herself several times today as she read The Secret Garden silently to herself. I stopped the quiet work I was doing and said prayer of thanks and snapped a picture. This is one of the primary reasons we homeschool- to provide access to great books and time to simply read them. 

How We Do Debate Without a Homeschool Community

We decided not to be a part of our beloved CC community this year, but I still wanted my teen to learn debate. So how would we do debate without a homeschool community? After all, one of the major benefits of CC community was that it kept us accountable to do all the things that we weren't naturally bent to do like debate, and Latin, and logic... This had been true for years, so would we find a way to do debate on our own?

I did some research on debate curriculums, then previewed, and finally purchased the NCFCA handbook for Value Debate and my tenth grader and are working through it together. We have chosen our own issue to debate and work through both sides of it, learning as we go. 

We definitely need to practice self-discipline and do this ourselves without the support (and compulsion) that community provided. But it's working. We work through the lessons together, reading aloud, and taking time to talk everything through. We research and discuss ideas and research some more... 

It's nice not to be rushed. In previous years, we were working on a community schedule rather than our own. Debate was always a hectic pain. So it's nice not to have my teen stressed out about debate. She used to consider my questions and advice an imposition, delay, or hinderance to getting all her work done in time for community, etc. Now that I'm my daughter's only debate partner and teacher, and now that her work doesn't have to be done by a certain day next week, we are both relaxing, embracing and even enjoying the time spent wrestling through the issue mind to mind and heart to heart. 

The NCFCA handbooks are amazing resources, and I wish I had found them years ago instead of struggling through debates in previous years with the resources we had then. I thought we all just hated debate for years, but I think we just hated being asked to do something without enough information. 

Obviously, without a community to join in debate, my daughter may never have the opportunity to debate another student live. But I'm not sure I consider that I huge loss. My major goals for doing debate are to practice seeking truth, thinking through both sides of an issue, researching, organizing thoughts, and applying what we find out to our own hearts and minds first, and all that is happening on a deeper level now. 

I trust that this authentic practice in debate will bear fruit, and when my daughter finds it necessary to stand up and speak up, she'll have what it takes.  

Now, we practice debate simply for its own sake, and we are finding it truly worthwhile. 

 

How to Manage Housework While Homeschooling (with some advice on life in general)

Lately, I've been killing it as far as my housekeeping goes. I'm just saying... 

I'm on top of things like I've never been before and my husband keeps saying things like, "I love our home," at the same time I'm thinking that I love our home, too. 

Or he says, "You have made this home so beautiful. You know that?" at the same time I'm sipping coffee with my feet up contently enjoying the work of my hands. 

This post has been two decades in the making. So here are some hard-earned tips to take your housekeeping to the next level. 

But don't keep reading if you already have no idea how someone with a brain might want to talk about cleaning or hear about cleaning. Go watch a make-up tutorial video or something. This post is not for you. 

But if you've moved to the edge of your seat and maybe even leaned in closer to your screen to hear what I have to say about housekeeping, this post is for you. 

First, you have to establish a routine for basic housework morning and evening-

I have had a morning and evening cleaning routine that I've kept for almost two decades. The basis of my morning and evening routines came from Fly Lady.  She offers suggestions for what housekeeping jobs to do and when to do them. If you don't have any cleaning routines established at all, I suggest that you begin with Fly Lady's morning and evening routines (and a few other jobs she suggests) until you establish your own morning and evening cleaning habits. 

Next, try to create a plan for ALL the other housework that needs to get done so you can do it before it gets totally out of hand-

I do not suggest following someone else's schedule for the big housework jobs-not even Fly Lady's. I have never had success trying to follow someone else's schedule, because I always found I was cleaning something that was already clean while something else that was dirty had to wait till next week if I was working according to someone else's schedule. I just couldn't do that. Also, I do not suggest making a list of everything you aspire to get done and trying to meet your own ideal goals. The list you make will probably be too big and unreasonable. Instead, simply start paying attention to when things really need to be done and then do them, but then, right then, make a note of what you did and when you did that job. I use my phone to make these notes. Do you notice the toilet is looking gross and it's time to clean it? Pull out your phone and make a note. Write something like "Clean the toilet." And if it's been at least a month since you did that, write "Once a month." Then clean the toilet. (And maybe wipe off your phone, if needed.) By taking these notes of what needs to be done and when you do it, you will eventually create a routine for ALL the housework that needs to be done at a time that really works for you. 

Give yourself lots of grace-

For almost twenty years, just the basic housework was getting done everyday with my morning and evening cleaning routines. But those other, bigger cleaning jobs, like scrubbing tubs, washing sheets and blankets and curtains, and mopping floors, etc. were getting done at random times throughout the weeks and months when something was so dirty or dusty that it could no longer be ignored and simply cried out for attention (or we were having company and we were panicking to get things presentable.) This was because I was nursing babies, working a part-time here or there, or I just really needed to start our homeschool day, so I just couldn't do as much cleaning as was actually needed. 

Consider what else might be taking time, attention, and energy-

Are you actually wasting lots of time? I used to be spend an inordinate amount of time on Facebook. I never planned to spend a lot of time on there, but without fail, I'd usually ended up staying longer than I sat down to stay. "Just five minutes..." was usually more like twenty minutes before I realized it. I justified this use of time, because I was "seeing" friends and "connecting" there. But, when I finally gave it up, I found that I actually answered the phone and talked when people called instead of letting it go to voicemail, or I called people and talked live and in real time. In my experience, those have been more meaningful connections, and I have felt much less isolated and lonely, more loved and loving towards others. Now, I usually call someone daily and text several, specific friends or relatives throughout the day. I even have more time to actually plan to go to lunch with people. So consider how something like Facebook (or something else that you might be dong to "relax") is actually stealing precious time, energy, and attention that you really desire to give to yourself, or your family, or your friends in other ways. 

Are you trying to do too much?

Are you doing too much to still manage to have the time, energy, and attention to simply clean your house? If you are type-A like me, you probably want to do it all. For many years, I was leading and teaching at our beloved co-op. I liked the job. It was way more interesting than a million other things I could or maybe should have been doing, so I didn't mind the hours it took from me away from other things (like housework). At some point, after one million small and a few really big internal shifts, I perceived that the job had become far too costly to me. Of course, I should have known that every "yes" is a "no" to something else, and I think knew that, but I wasn't really conscious of what the job was doing to my life. I realized I had been saying "no" to some of the most basic things like friendship and housework to say "yes" to something more appealing. I suppose the appealing choice could be the right thing for you, but if you can't manage your home or homeschool well, I suggest things might be way out of order. they were for me. I know that I stayed home from a career, so I could actually work in my home and homeschool my children. When I couldn't even do that (and finally realized I really wanted to), I killed the job that gave me meaning for the job that is more meaningful.  I just did not have any margin for these good, simple, human things when I was spending my time, energy, and attention on other (arguably good) things instead. 

So after all those tips, here's my recipe for housework: 

Sundays- 

I have found that Sunday afternoons are for perfect for mopping and speciality laundry. 

I only make one meal after church. It's either lunch or dinner, and it's usually on the simple side. Today, it was grilled cheese and made-from-scratch tomato soup for lunch. After that meal, we all clean up the kitchen from lunch, empty and load the dishes, and then we start picking up the chairs and (most of) the stuff on the floors. Then I set the Roomba to clean all the floors, because Dwayne bought me one as a gift. (We call our Roomba "Alice" like the housekeeper from Brady Bunch.) At that point, I also gather the bath mats, or pull some curtains down, or gather up all the dirty towels from all the bathrooms, or gather the blankets from the girls' beds and the couches, and I wash a load of something "special" that isn't in the dirty clothes baskets that we wash throughout the regular week. Then I go put my feet up or take a nap or read and enjoy the rest as I listen to the hum of the machines as they do the work. I try to limit the housework I do on Sundays to the basic morning and evening chores and these two jobs, so that I can observe a day of rest and deliberately cease the usual amount of striving that I do during the week. 

Daily in the morning and in some cases, again in the evening-

Feed and give fresh water to Arcus (our parrot)

Sweep kitchen 

Unload and load the dishwasher

Recycling/ Trash

Rotate the laundry- fold or hang what's in the dryer, put anything that's in the washer in the dryer (or hang it to dry), start a new load of dirty cloths, and put away all the clothes 

Make master bed

Every other day- (In addition to morning chores, every other day, we add some of these and so, these chores generally get done every other day)

Sweep living room, hall, downstairs bathroom, and/ or classroom

Change Arcus's (our parrot's) cage liners

Empty little trashes and replace their little trash bags

Gather hangers from the closets and bring them to laundry room so they are ready for more laundry

Once a week- (We add one or more of these chores to our morning routine and so, we get them all done at least once a week)

Empty stuff baskets (little foldable, cube-shaped containers on every floor where I throw all the stuff the girls leave laying around the house)

Wash cage or bird perch

Sweep upstairs hall and stairs

Sweep stairs going to basement and the basement living room

Water plants/ Weed garden path and/ or beds (if needed)

Deep clean one bathroom 

Vacuum all the rugs

Once a week as I cook dinner- 

While I am cooking dinner one night a week, I'll cook other foods like boiled eggs or quinoa salad or chicken salad, etc. (These are foods that are nice to have on hand for snacks and for healthy food on-the- go. Since I am already cooking, I just cook these things once a week while making dinner.) 

On Friday-

Inventory the fridge, freezers, and cabinets (So that I know what I already have and need to use up)

Plan meals for the week and make a shopping list for groceries (I usually plan at least four meals, sometimes five, knowing that some night, I'll choose to breakfast for dinner or cook egg sandwiches or something simple in place of a more formal meal.)

On Saturday- 

Clean out the fridge (as needed)

Organize the groceries into the fridge, freezer, or cabinets

Do any special loads of laundry that need to get done

Clean a special room that isn't normally cleaned 

Every two weeks on Saturday-

Wash everyone's sheets

Once a month-

Wash comforters and quilts on everyone's beds (Usually this happens on Saturday/ Sundays)

Wipe off all screens in the house

Dust everywhere

Every three months-

Wash curtains

Twice a year-

Clean out each closet or cabinet or drawer and purge old and unused stuff and reorganize 

Notice that I don't have every job here yet. So this is still a work in progress. But I am enjoying unparalleled success in my housekeeping and peace and joy in my housework, so this plan of action is really working for me. 

It has honestly been a delightful relief to work out this schedule for myself. 

This is what is working for me, but I hope sharing it will bless you. 

Aristotle's Rhetoric

My second eight week class for graduate school has begun. I get to read (and reread and reread again) Aristotle's Rhetoric and Plato's Gorgias with suggested reading that includes the Orations by Cicero. This is still pure joy! 

Images and Notes on Our Homeschool Days

Here is a random sampling of some real-to-life images of our typical homeschool days in this season. 

Note: I didn't rearrange anything to make these pictures prettier. I wanted to capture images of what our days actually look like right now. 

And I did not manage to capture images of every single part of our curriculum, but here is sampling taken as I moved through the house this week. 

In this picture, my 10th grader is reading a portion of "Classical Music for Dummies" for a short paper on a composer while she's eating her lunch. She and I had both been working on various other things at different chairs at the table, so you can see that it gets quite messy. We clean up in time for dinner. 

Since the girls are old enough to work independently and make their own lunches, we don't always eat lunch together. But when we do, we usually listen to a podcast or an audio book. We started listening to Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson the other day.

The girls are in a few art classes through Delightful Art Co., and I find that adding so much art to their lives is breathing life and meaning into all the more academic work they do. So they are constantly making new art, and naturally, it usually always applies directly or indirectly to something they are learning in another subject. I've put these floating shelves in the classroom. They serve a dual purpose- their art has a place to rest and dry, but it can also be displayed and enjoyed for a few days at a time. 

The oldest is watching a Devotional Biology video in this pic. She's actually working through two biology texts this year- Apologia with labs and Devotional Biology- reading the text and watching the lectures. 

The youngest is reading The Secret Garden and eating her lunch of choice. She'll end of practicing rhetoric with the content in this book and writing an essay using The Lost Tools of Writing. 

Here she is drawing a map step by step with the help of "How to Draw -" by Kristin Draeger on the iPad. She's learning to draw all the countries of the world by memory. 

One of the my oldest daughter's art classes is "Paint Your Way Through Biology," so this is a beautiful painting of an animal cell and its parts sitting up to dry. 

The girls practice piano and/or guitar daily. They are helping on worship teams at church, so that often means they have a lot of practice to get prepared. Music is another thing I am very consciously letting them make the time for. Interestingly, they always manage to get the more academic work done, too, eventually, no matter how long they practice music. 

More painting, following a live teacher on the laptop. Here's that painting of autumn leaves finished and on display. The mosaic is my younger daughter's art project in her online art class for this week- a mosaic of an autumn scene, too. 

 More reading

These images certainly don't represent everything they do. 

There aren't any pictures of the girls doing their Latin, Math, Logic, Writing...  but that happens almost daily, too. 

I hope these images demonstrate that school doesn't have to look anything like traditional school. 

And learning can be done anywhere for its own sake and as a way of life. 

Arcus, our sun conure, supervises all from one perch or another throughout the house. He likes to add elements of chaos to keep the girls from getting too bored, too focused, or too comfortable at any given time.