Is Homeschooling Right for Your Family?

Is Homeschooling Right for Your Family?

Have you been thinking about homeschooling but aren't sure if it's a good fit for your family? Here's a great way to figure out - Aimed at the Heart

 

Have you thought about homeschooling but are still trying to figure out if homeschooling is right for your family? I came across a website that made me think about my reasons for wanting to homeschool and actually put them on paper. This was an awesome exercise for me to go through because not only did it make me evaluate my reasoning (part of it is because I just can’t stand the thought of sending my children away from me for 8-9 hours a day) and expand on that, it was also good for my husband to see what some of the reasons were. He was initially a little more skeptical of homeschool but fast forward a few years and he has turned into a homeschooling advocate. This is a great exercise to go through if you have ever wonder is homeschooling right for your family.

Here are the thoughts that I put on paper as I followed the outline on the aforementioned website:

Our Educational Beliefs

1. We believe children should love learning.
2. We believe a parent’s main goal for a child is to teach him/her to:
a) Love God wholeheartedly
b) Love others as they love themselves
c) Love him/herself (confidence/self-esteem)
3. We believe all children learn by different methods and learning should be tailored to suit the child (not vice versa)
4. We believe children are naturally curious and should not be discouraged from pursing those interests.
5. We believe education should not be restricted to a certain subject or method.
6. We believe a parent/teacher should only ever have enthusiasm about a child learning, not disappointment over what they haven’t learned.
7. We believe that if we work on our weaknesses, we end up with strong weaknesses and weak strengths. Instead we should focus on improving our strengths.


Life Goals for Our Children

1. We hope he learns to listen to his Heavenly Father in all things.
2. We hope he shows commitment to what he starts and is a man of his words.
3. We hope he becomes a wonderful, loving, involved husband and father (if God leads him that way).
4. We hope he does everything to his best ability.
5. A man of impeccable morals and ethics, We hope he always does the right thing, no matter what others do.
6. We hope he takes care of the mind and body God has given him.
7. We hope he is not afraid to be who God made him to be. Not ashamed of who he is.

Why we are going to home educate our children:

1. No one has a better vested interest in their education than we do.
2. To give us flexibility of time to pursue life instead of grades.
3. To stay close to our children – emotionally, mentally, and physically.
4. To take the money we could spend on school and use it for education instead.
5. To be the favorite and respected teacher that they think about when they grow up.
6. Because we want my kids to learn in a way they enjoy.
7. Because kids learn better/more if they are not restricted by grades/curriculum.
8. Because we will not allow anyone to make my child feel stupid or inferior.
9. So our children will learn with, intereact with, and appreciate children in all age groups.
10. So we can learn right alongside our children.
11. Our school systems do not recognize the uniqueness of our children and their specific needs/interests.
12. To know what our children are learning.

I highly recommend that all parents fill out the first two parts of the activity. Then take a step back and figure out if the conventional school system will be able to meet those goals. If so, then you know what to do. If not, perhaps it is time to look at an alternative for your child’s future.

So how did you answer the question of is homeschooling right for your family?

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Homemade Vanilla Extract

Simple recipe for homemade vanilla extract
I would venture to say that the majority of people who know me know about my love-affair wtih vanilla. Whether it is in food, or body care products, or candles, I just can’t help myself. It is delicious and beautiful all at the same time! I used to wear vanilla perfume every day and apparently it was seen as “my” scent. Other people would wear it and people who knew me would tell them they smelled like me. My sister’s friend even found a bottle of vanilla perfume while they were in the drugstore and told me sister, “it’s Tessa in a bottle!” So it would make sense that, after seeing all the wonderful vanilla recipes floating around on Pinterest, that I felt compelled to try one.

So today my biggest boy and I made some vanilla extract.

homemade vanilla extract helper

Helping Hands

The ingredients were very simple:

  • Vanilla beans (I purchased mind from Real Raw Food in BC, Alberta). I have had the beans for a few months and have been waiting for jsut the right recipe to use them in. They are very precious to me so I didn’t want to waste any.
  • Vodka (recipes called for 35%-40% alcohol, I got 40%). I had the pleasure of supporting a local business for this purchase. Chateau Wine and Spirits in Lacombe, Alberta, is a fabulous place to deal with. They offer everything from cheap to specialty beers and wines and vodka and every other kind of alcoholic beverage that tickels your fancy. As I never (read: only once in my entire life other than this time) purchase alcohol, the customer service was great to a newbie like myself. I bought almost the cheapest kind of vodka. (The only reason I didn’t get the cheapest is because I decided to spend the extra couple of bucks to get a glass bottle. Plus it is Alberta-made so I can support local two-fold.) They also do regular wine tasting evenings, bulk orders for weddings or other catered events and can order in special requests! I should also mention that Chateau Wine and Spirits is owned and operated by my sister-in-law and her husband.

So here are my directions:

1. Use about 6-8 beans per cup of vodka.  Some recipes called for whole beans, some for split beans, and some for chopped. The most in depth recipe I read called for splitting the beans, scraping out the seeds and then chopping the pods. I figured I’d go halfway and split the bean and then chopp into about half to 3/4 inch lengths. Tip I found while reading comments of the aforementioned recipe: use scissors. It only took me a few minutes to cut my little bundle of beans.

2. Put them in the vodka. (Kids can be a great help if you have a lot of pieces and a very small bottle opening to put them into) Be careful not to overflow your bottle. I poured a bit out of the bottle and put into a glass jar so I have two containers of extract in my cupboard. If you bought a plastic bottle of vodka then use a glass jar or bottle to make it in because you don’t want plastic yuckies leaching into your vanilla over the next months.

3. Shake it up and let it sit. Shake it up every day or so for a week. Then just give it a shake whenever you remember it. Another tip: label your jar/bottle. I used a black Sharpie to write the date on it so it is easy to see how old it is.

Homemade vanilla extract vodka and vanilla beans

Homemade vanilla extract with seeds floating around

You can use it as early as 2-3 weeks but it is best if you let it sit for about 6 (or more) months. I know that I can’t wait that long though so I’m going to try it in a few weeks. In the meantime, I’m going to use up the vanilla that my sister brought back from her Mexico vacation. And then I’ll use my Costco stuff up. And then, finally, I’ll be able to dive into my homemade vanilla extract! Coffee creamer, cake, muffins… I can smell them already! Actually, I can still smell the vanilla on my hands. Have I mentioned how much I love vanilla?

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Baking from the Garden

fresh Mint in cookies

My mint plant started to look like it was feeling a bit crowded so I trimmed a few sprigs off the top with a plan to dry it and put it into one of my new (to me) glass canning jars. I was already picturing it in my pantry as I gently washed and dried my mint. Caleb had different ideas.

“Mom, we need to bake something with these.”
“Like what? I don’t think that the chicken thawing for supper will taste good with mint.”
“No, we should bake cookies. It has been a while since we baked cookies and mint cookies would be so yummy.”

So I went off to my trusty laptop to find a recipe for mint cookies. Chocolate and mint just go hand in hand so we found a great recipe for mint chocolate chip cookies. There were a ton for mint extract but that was the only one I found to use with fresh mint.

We started mixing the ingredients and I soon realized that I didn’t have an egg. So I called the neighbour (aka my mom) to ask if she had one (she pretty much always does!). I sent Caleb over and he walked back very carefully cradling our missing ingredient.

Mint chopped, dough mixed, beater licked and we waited. My kitchen started to smell better and better!

Mint chocolate chip cookies

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fresh out of the oven and garden!

The cookies have now passed the official taste test and it’s all I can do not to eat them all right now. I’ve already had two of them. Or maybe it was three?

I made a few subsititions to the recipe because I try to make cookies a little more healthy for my family: I used about 2/3 of the sugar (looking back I should have also substituted the my organic raw sugar for the white refined stuff); I used organic whole wheat pastry flour; I only put in half the chocolate and part of that was raw cacao nibs. So now I feel a little bit better about the fact that I’ve eaten a few extra cookies.

Things Caleb learned: measuring/counting ingredients, we talked about why we chop the mint (more surface area to infuse the mint flavour), and we counted the total number of cookies made (2 dozen, though it would have been one more except I ate the extra dough!). He also learned about how to harvest mint and the purpose of pruning. We talked about how we are going to dry it to save it for another day. Lastly, we ate some of the fruits of our labour.

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A Fresh Look at Snow White and Other Fairy Tales

A Fresh Look at Snow White and Other Fairy Tales

why the good guys always winSnow White was as good as dead. Her friends had all given up hope. Then along comes Prince Charming and her whole reality changes. One kiss and she goes from the coffin to the castle.
It often seems that people think “happily ever afters” only happen in fairy tales. Perhaps that is why there is a recent influx of movies and TV shows that revolve around a fresh approach to many traditional fairy tales. I have seen countless previews for movies about Snow White, Cinderella, and Red Riding Hood.
I like movies that are easy on the mind. Movies with happy endings. The girl gets the guy, the cop gets the villain, and the orphan gets his family. Maybe it is sappy. Or maybe I’m realistic.
Another thing I love is reading and listening to the Psalms. They are full of happy endings. There is a lot of talk about how God will punish the wicked and raise up His people. I don’t so much like to think about the wicked being punished (most of the time anyway; to be perfectly honest, sometimes I can’t wait for people to get what’s coming to them) but it is more the reminder that good will win. God will win.
Everything in Scripture points to the fact that God triumphs over all.
David was in the wilderness running from King Saul when he wrote:

I am in the midst of lions;
I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.

(Psalm 57:4)
I don’t know about you but I can totally relate! So often I have felt like people and circumstances around me were poised and waiting to attack me. If I make one wrong move, or word something wrong, the enemy takes the opportunity to attempt to tear me to shreds.
Yet David sings on. The Psalm continues and David ends with:
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
David knew that there would be a happy ending. He would become king because God said so. And I sing on too. Even though my faithfulness to Him is imperfect, His faithfulness to me is infinite and perfect. He never falters.
So I’m going to continue enjoying movies and stories with happy endings. Not just because they give me warm fuzzies, but because it reminds me that good always wins. God always wins.
Stop Drinking Water

Stop Drinking Water

tips for staying hydratedWe are in a bit of a hot streak so many people are trying to figure out how to drink enough water. There are various methods including: put lines on a bottle to mark how much water you should be drinking every hour; fill mason jars every morning and drink them throughout the day, carry a water bottle on your hip everywhere you go, add slices of lemon to it to make it taste yummier, and I’m sure there are plenty more ideas. I’m going to add mine to the mix: stop drinking water!

Here are some quick facts: New studies have shown that there is no specific amount of water that every individual must drink every day. Rather, our daily water requirements vary depending on out health, weight, activity level, and where we live. Signs of a good amount of water intake include not feeling thirsty through the day, adequate amounts of saliva, and light yellow or clear pee.

So now that we know how to make sure we are hydrated enough, let’s stop counting how many glasses of water we drink per day. It was about 30 deg C here today (that’s about 86 F for my American readers). Pretty hot for this part of the world. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. I’m also breastfeeding which means I should technically drink an extra 2-3 cups of water per day.

I had a total of one cup of water.

Eeek! I must be dehydrated, right? Um, no. I also had a cup of coffee, a few cups of milk, a popsicle (okay, maybe I had two!), steamed veggies, and some iced tea. My mouth is watering (possibly because I’m thinking about popsicles), my pee is light yellow (just what you wanted to know about me, right?) and I’m not thirsty. Adam pretty much never drinks water but he is the most hydrated person that I know. He drinks iced tea. Unhealthy amounts of sugar-filled iced tea. (I’ve been trying to convince him to try homemade iced tea but his iced tea is an area he is not willing to compromise).

So stop drinking water. Or at least don’t drink 8 glasses per day of it. Here are some options to try instead:

  • Milk (my personal favorite)
  • Fruit or veggie juice
  • Iced Tea
  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Fruit (or veggie) smoothies or milk shakes (yummy simple recipe: frozen strawberries, and Costco’s forzen fruit medley clended with cold milk or grape juice. Add a banana for sweetness)
  •  Fruit and water-filled veggies (watermelon, lettuce, grapes etc)
  • Popsicles (fill a mold with OJ for a refreshing treat)
  • Yogurt

What is your favorite non-water way to stay hydrated?

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