The road to success is always under construction.

This was our first week of our second year of homeschooling.  I have to tell you guys, it has been AMAZING.  I know it is just the first week, but I'm thrilled with our new schedule (and I'm sure that is going to blow up in my face for bragging about it).

I'm the type of person who wants to work on one thing, until I'm completely done and then move on.  Last year, I was trying to push the kids to "get done, get done" and trying to convince them to multitask and read during breakfast or practice math facts during lunch.  We were all stressed and angry and we staggered across the finish line in May, beaten and bloody.  

This year, I've decided to be much more intentional with our schedule.  I've always known that homeschool doesn't need (and probably won't) to take as long as a public school day, but I felt really rushed that we HAD to get done sooner.  I created a Google calendar and blocked out our school hours.  I've scheduled breakfast time, lunch time, a study hall, and assigned periods to all of our subjects. 

I decided that the kids should get up at different times, to prevent a bottle neck in the bathroom and kitchen each morning.  This kicks the day off without the sibling squabbles that have plagued us in the past. 

I've also blocked off an hour of time for morning activities, including breakfast, dressing, pet care, etc.  They can chose to take that entire time and eat a leisurely breakfast or watch TV before school or whatever or they can chose to get right to work and get on with their day.  I don't say a single word to them about school until the scheduled start time.  That also gives me time to work one on one in subjects that require it, while the other is eating breakfast.

I've scheduled each subject for 45 minutes.  If the kids get done with something early, they have the option to take the rest of that time as free time or move on to the next subject.  Spelling is a particularly good example of this, because I've scheduled it for 45 minutes but it hasn't taken more than 15 yet.  So far, they've been choosing to move on to the next subject and get done, but if they don't that's fine too.  

The other thing I've done is schedule an actual lunch break.  For 1 hour, they can do what they want (no electronics), except for 10 minutes, that I made them go outside and do something that isn't sitting on their butt in front of a screen, I've been calling it "recess".  I don't ask them to do other things or try to work during that time.  They can take their time and cook their meals, eat a reasonable pace, and spend the rest of the hour relaxing, if they want. 

At the end of the day, they have a study hall time, where they watch  CNN Student News and do 30 minutes of free reading.  They can use the rest of the hour to continue reading, complete subjects that didn't get done earlier or do an art project or study (spelling words, math facts, upcoming tests). Basically, it is quiet time and takes the place of "homework time" from public school. 

Their days start at either 8 or 9 and if they decide to take all the free time, our day would end around 4.  It is a long day, but includes a lot of down time, if they want or need it.  Because they've been choosing to keep working, our day has been ending around 12:30. That is about when I'm happy ending and gives us plenty of time for afternoon activities and classes.  

I know when I started looking at scheduling our days, I read dozens of blogs and none of them had a schedule.  They all talked about the "flow of the day" or their "routine" but nothing that said "here is our schedule" so I'm saying "here is our schedule, for your inspiration". Homeschooling doesn't have to be "school at home" but I need a solid schedule I can count on and my kids do so much better with clear expectations for their time.  This puts them in charge of how much or how little they get done, in a time frame I am comfortable with. It is the illusion of choice, like when they were toddlers and I'd tell them they could wear either outfit A or outfit B!

MT's Tuesday/Thursday schedule looks like this:

8-9 Breakfast

9-9:45 Spelling

9:45-10:30 Science 

10:30-11:15 Social Studies

11:30-12:30 Writing

12:30-1:30 Lunch

1:30-2:15 Math

2:15-3:15 Study Hall

Monday/Wednesday/Friday switches French and Reading for Science and Social Studies.

WF's Tuesday/Thursday schedule looks like this:

9-10 Breakfast

10:00-10:45 Spelling

10:45-11:30 Science 

11:30-12:30 Writing

12:30-1:30 Lunch

1:30-2:15 Math

2:15-3 Social Studies

3-4 Study Hall

Monday/Wednesday/Friday also switches French and Reading for Science and Social Studies.  

So far, everything has gotten done, with no fussing or fighting.  The kids are in charge of their time and I'm not constantly rushing them to hurry and get finished.  I've said several times that they have the choice to keep working or take a break, so they are reminded that I'm not the one forcing the issue.  

Reintroduction post

I've had this blog for a long time and in that time, it has been a lot of different things.  It started out as just a place to share pictures and stories about my kids.  Then, it became sort of a group record of all the things we did with friends and it was SUPER boring.  Like, "we went to the park today and had so much fun and then we went to the store" level boring.  I'm not even sure that my mom was willing to wade through all of that! LOL  Then it became a chronicle of our home projects and all the cool DIY stuff we were doing (I had a wild idea to start a cable access show about women DIY home projects and get picked up by the DIY channel and get super famous for making things and being snarky.  It didn't happen, sadly). Now, I've decided that I need to add to the already crowded homeschool blog network and will be trying to keep up on that for at least a little while.

I'm hoping to provide a unique perspective, as a new, secular, organized homeschooler of older kids, with a sense of humor.  I'm going to start promoting my blog a little bit more and hopefully pick up some new traffic.

For anyone new here, let me give you a quick introduction.
I'm the Fearless Freak.  I started homeschooling in November of 2014, after we had some terrible problems with public school.  Prior to that, we had been all in with public school. I'd been the PTA president, class mom, school volunteer, field trip chaperone, committee chair, fundraiser organizer, etc.  Basically, you name it, I did it.  I taught preschool for a number of years and worked as a lunch lady until I came home to teach them full time.  I like to make things, I've taught myself how to knit and sew and I'm working on learning crochet.  I've also spent a lot of time learning how to do home repair things, so we can remodel our house on a budget.  I never used to be very organized, but over the years, I've had to learn how and I've been a little nuts about it.  I'm also pretty cheap and hate spending money if I don't have to.  I have an attitude problem and a smart mouth, a sometimes lethal combination.

Hubs is Radioactive Freak (RF).  He works long hours to support our homeschooling choices. and likes to play video games in his spare time.

Son is Wild Freak (WF).  He's nearly 14 and in 8th grade.  He has some learning challenges, including dyslexia and ADHD and, I suspect, some Executive Functioning Disorder.  Since it doesn't matter to how we teach him, we've never had it formally diagnosed.  He loves video games, paintball, and bowling and doesn't like his sister or doing school work.

Daughter is Magnificent Freak(MF). She's 10 in 5th grade.  She is a pretty typical preteen, will all the accompanying attitude. She has recently discovered a love of Harry Potter and fan fiction. She also loves One Direction, cats (all animals really, but particularly cats), and talking to her friends.  She does not like getting up in the morning or her brother (sensing a theme?)

Dark Freak (DF) is my step daughter. She is 18 and doesn't live with us, but might make an occasional appearance here.

Additionally, we have Charlie, a perpetually stupid chihuahua who is pretty sure he is a cat and Princess, a gray cat who loves people and is pretty sure she is in charge around here (Somedays, I'm inclined to agree).

Going forward, I'll try to do more pictures and less walls of text, but no promises.  I've got way too much say, about most everything! :)

Welcome aboard, gang.

Hat's cool knitting pattern

This is my first foray into writing my own knitting pattern! This should knit up quickly and be an easy project, if you are familiar with in the round knitting.  I use the Magic Loop method of circular knitting, so I don't use DPNs to bind off.

Materials:
two skeins worsted weight acrylic yarn (I used Vanna's Choice from Lion Brand), one each in two different colors
one size US 10 / 5.5 mm 16" circular needle (You can actually use any length, if you use Magic Loop)
darning needle for weaving in ends

Size:
18" circumference unstretched.  Made for a teen but fits an adult as well.

Gauge:
4 stitches by 6 rows = 1 inch

Directions:

With color A, cast on 80 stitches. Being careful not to twist stitches, join for working in the round.

Rows 1-20 K2, P2 around.  Carefully carry yarn along inside of hat

(If you don't mind weaving in ends or carrying yarn freaks you out, you can cut it and start new with each color change. I hate weaving, so I carry)

Rows 21-25 Change to color B and knit each row. Carry yarn

Rows 26-40 Change to color A and knit each row. Carry yarn

Decreases:

Change to color B and work the following 8 rows.

Row 1: knit all stitches.

Row 2: (k2, k2tog) around.

Row 3: knit all stitches.

Row 4: (k2tog, k1) around.

Row 5: knit all stitches.

Rows 6: k2tog all stitches.

Row 7: Knit all stitches

Row 8: k2tog all stitches.

Finishing:
Cut yarn, leaving a 12-18" tail.

Weave yarn tail through live stitches on the needles, pulling them off and tight to make the top of the hat.

Turn hat inside out.

Weave in all ends.

Turn the hat right-side out and you're done!!

Chicken recipe

Slow Cooker 'Crack' Chicken
Ingredients
2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese (I got a little crazy and added a package of BACON Cream Cheese. AND Philly happens to make Jalapeno Cream Cheese too, which would make this a little spicy, which would be fantastic!
If you do use a flavored (savory) cream cheese, use only one flavored with one plain, otherwise it’s just too much. Trust me on this)
2 (1 oz) packets dry Ranch seasoning
8 oz bacon, cooked crisply and crumbled Instructions
In a slow cooker combine place chicken, cream cheese, and Ranch seasoning.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours, until chicken shreds easily.
Once chicken shreds stir with a large fork or spoon, so the chicken shreds and all the ingredients combine.
Add in crumbled bacon and stir to incorporate.
Serve warm.

Homes Cool

We started homeschooling in November. It was a perfect storm of badness for both kids and we decided that, rather than fight it out on both fronts, we'd pull them and homeschool.  We had been dedicated public schoolers before, even though I kind of joked about homeschooling every year, when I got tired of getting up at 6:30 or packing lunches or going out in the cold every morning. I was PTA president, vice president, committee chairs for numerous activities, room parent, etc.  I BELIEVED in public school, until I didn't.

Because the kids are home full time, I also quit my job, so I could be here all the time.  That left very little money left over for curriculums (despite my parents' very generous offer to purchase anything we needed for school, because even when I'm pretty sure I'm screwing up entirely, they are all in) so I'm making due with free stuff from the internet.  It's been fine and I don't feel like I'm really missing anything, but I needed a system to organize everything.

I use Evernote and DropBox for all of our downloaded materials. I use drop box to store anything I've downloaded, plus our lesson plan and things I've created (I'm a HUGE nerd and I love making PowerPoint presentations for the the kids).  I use Evernote to store all of the bookmarks to all of the millions of webpages that I might want to use one day.  This is the only thing I've found Evernote useful for, since I was never able make it work for actual note taking. So digitally, we were covered.  I've organized all my files and I can whatever I need, easily.  The paper were a different story.

Because so much is online, I end up printing a lot of stuff, like writing sheets, math practice worksheets, Social Studies maps, etc. I read blogs all over the place about how people organize their stuff and none of them really worked for me. I thought about workboxes , but they take up so much space.  I looked at modifying them with hanging folders, but space was again an issue.  I also don't like the idea that I need to do something with them every single day.

I eventually settled on 2 inch ring binders.  Partly, because we had them on hand and partly because they are big enough to hold everything easily.

I started with a plain binder (they can decorate them however they want to personalize them).



Then I put in tabbed dividers with pockets, left over from the public school supply list.  They are just a few dollars at Walmart, though.  There are seven tabs in this folder, one for each day of the week, plus a couple of extras.



I sat down when we first started and planned until Christmas break, because my brain was totally overloaded and I couldn't think past that.  Over Christmas break, I planned out the rest of the year.  We'll be done before Memorial Day! I use Excel because, as much as I like Powerpoints, I like spreadsheets even more.  There are plenty of planner sites and downloads out there but Excel works for me.  Every Sunday, I sit down with my computer and I go through that week's lesson plan.  I add the math (I have a space for it, but I stopped putting it in early because we kept having to edit the lesson plan when a lesson took more days than I thought it would) for the week, I go to my links, that I save in the spreadsheet and print out anything they will meed for that week.  I create my Powerpoints, etc.  Then I take all those printouts and I put them in the folders in the binder.  So Monday, they sit down at the table at 8 (because I start school at 8, because we need to get it done), they get out their planners and they copy down Monday's work.  Then, they are free to do as the please. If they are really feeling math, they can get a jump on it, if they are kind of dreading it, they can do writing or reading first.  I'm here, if they need help or have questions, but they can work on their own, for the most part.

A couple of weeks ago, my mom had knee surgery and needed help getting around for a couple of days.  WF went and stayed with her on Thursday and I sent his school stuff with him.  I got a call Thursday night, wanting him to stay another day.  She said "you'll have to bring his school stuff out for tomorrow"  I said "Nope, that's all there in his binder"  It has been important this week as well, because I've been sick and I haven't felt much like teaching, but we have got to get stuff done.  I opened up a couple of things on my computer this morning (copy work, writing prompt, and an editing worksheet) and left for the doctor's office.  They worked, on their own, for the hour that I was gone and now, I can go lay down.  They have everything that they need, for the whole week, right at their finger tips.

I put a "turn in" folder in the back, for them to put their completed work that I haven't collected in every day.  I also don't collect papers every day.  My kids need to learn to hold on to things for more than 5 minutes, so I collect papers a couple of times a week, but I do look at them at the end of each day to make sure they are done.



In the front, I put cheap three ring pouches, that, again, are left overs from school, but are super cheap at walmart.  I check every day to make sure that it has three sharpen pencils, an eraser, a pencil sharpener, a highlighter, and a pen.  I do that while I'm checking assignments each afternoon.

I also put in their planners, and a three ring notebook in the binders.

In the front pouch, I put the printout of the week's work so they have a reference for what they are supposed to be doing each day.  I'm pretty strict with our schedule, but we don't do every subject every day.  We do Math, Writing, and Spelling everyday and we alternate reading (M,W,F) and Science and Social Studies (T, TH).



I sewed them bags to store their binders in, with webbed straps that fit over the back of their desk chair (Backpacks or string bags or anything big enough to fit the binder in would be fine. I just had some cool leftover fabric, so I zipped some bags together).  That way, when I say "Come work at the table" or "I'm sick of this house, lets go work at the library", they only need to grab their bag and they have everything they need at hand.

Lofty ambition

We have a smallish house, with smallish rooms and kids who are only getting bigger. Since an addition to the house isn't feasible, we decided to make use of the space above by building the kids loft beds, with built in dressers and bookshelves and space for a desk underneath.

We started with this plan for a twin sized loft bed. We decided to scrap the desk part, because it is kind of small and the kids have pretty decent desks already. We also made both sides be full shelves, instead one being short. Additionally, we went with full sized beds instead of twin, since the kids are only going to get bigger.  Making it full sized added 15 inches to all cross pieces, because full sized beds are the same length, just slightly wider, than twin sized. 

We started by buying piles of wood, screws, and gallons of polyurethane. Seriously, save yourself the headache and buy the gallon size. I went back 4 times to get more because I kept saying "nah, I've got enough, it's totally fine" I did not have enough and it was not totally fine! 

And getting the kids started early on learning how to make things.  

If you buy the better quality lumber, you don't have to do nearly as much sanding. Of course, that costs more money. For us, I had more time than money, so I bought the cheap stuff and sanded it smooth. We ended up spending about $200 in material and two solid weekends building it. Probably a minimum of 20 hours, between the two of us. But, the comparable bed from <a href=http://www.pbteen.com/products/girls-sleep-and-study-loft/>Pottery Barn</a> cost $1500, plus shipping, so I feel like we still came out ahead. 

Then we built two boxes

And added shelves. 

Then we built the head and footboards. The plans call for 1x3s and if you can afford decent lumber, they are fine. We bought the cheapest crap they had and I was disappointed in the final product. For this bed, we talked about getting better 1x3s, but they were a lot more per board and we ended up going with cheap 1x4s and they were much better and cheaper. 

We had to make sure to leave spaces for the cross brace pieces, which took forever, to get each piece lined up and flush and then attached and then spaced correctly, etc. You can see at the corner of this picture some spacers that RF made. They were really useful and made it go a lot faster. 

Then we attached the headboards to the bookshelves and took the two pieces into the bedroom. We attached the rails and cross brace pieces. 

The pieces that hold the slats and the mattress are supposed to be 2x4s but that makes the mattress too tall and puts the kids right into the ceiling fan, so we decided on 2x2s instead. 

Then the slats are attached and trim is added above the rail pieces. 

This picture doesn't have the ladder on yet, because using the 1x4s makes the ladder easier to climb and makes it feel more secure but proved to be a problem to cut with our 10" radial arm saw. The blade just wasn't quite big enough to cut all the way through. We eventually got it but it took a lot more finagling than the rest of the bed. 

We decided to use fabric baskets instead of drawers for the dresser end, because they have to be custom fit and cost a fortune! The shelves each hold 4 baskets, so they could conceivably have 16 different baskets, if they needed them. WF had a chest high four drawer dresser and everything that came out of it fit in these four baskets, so they hold a lot more than you might think. It does get kind of dark under the bed, so I'm hoping to not fill all the shelves so at least some light can get in rio round the shelves. 

His desk that he already had fits perfectly under it and my parents had a chair (not that monster in the other picture. It's a cute little club chair) that fits in the corner, by the tv and eventually, we will get them wall mounted TVs, so the only thing on the floor, will be the bed. 

The only problem is, they have a lot more visible floor, so they have less place to stash junk and I'm on them to keep it clean a lot more! 

We still need to get his mattress ordered.  We got her's from Walmart and it is super comfortable. It cost $150 and comes shipped like this:

And you'd really expect it to be junk, but she loves it and says she sleeps so well on it. We'll be getting him one as well, it will just be a little bit before we get it ordered. 

We will also add "ground effects" to the underside of the bed, to act as a nightlight and to add a little light in the desk area. These are on her bed. An 18 foot string of white rope lights from Big Lots fits perfectly around the inside. 

Sew adorable

I got a sewing machine last year, on the logic "I'm out of needles for hand sewing Girl Scout patches and machines come with needles, so I should just buy a machine". Since I managed to slide that one by RF,  I decided I should probably actually learn to sew. I've gotten fairly decent at it, though by no  means any kind of professional. Several weeks ago, a friend mentioned that she wanted to convert her step son's baseball jersey into a dress for her preschooler's birthday. I told her it would be super easy and I see stuff on Pinterest like that all the time.  She decided that I should probably go ahead and handle that, so I did. She brought me the jersey and I made THE CUTEST DRESS EVER!

Step one: get a large shirt. Depending on the size of the child, you can use anything from a youth medium, up through adult sizes. Fit the shirt to make sure the neck line isn't too large.  If it is, you'll need to refit the neck, which will add a lot more fiddling to your project. Fortunately, I didn't need to, so I don't have a tutorial for it.




Step 2: get a shirt that currently fits the child. If you can get on with straight sleeves and sides, this is best. Ruffles will mess up your cutting and the shape the of the final product. Lay the larger shirt out smooth,ironing if needed with the smaller shirt on top. Match up the necklines and shoulder seams. Trace around the smaller shirt with your tailor's chalk or fabric marker, leaving about a half inch for seam allowances. (You notice in my pictures that I left more than that and that is because the template shirt I used was getting a little short and I wanted to lengthen it slightly).  



Step 3: take your rotary cutter and zip around the lines you just drew.






Step 4: toss the sleeves and the sides and set the bottom aside. Then turn the shirt inside out, so the right sides are together and sew from the bottom up, turning carefully and sewing along the bottom of the arm. If you are doing a short sleeve shirt, hem your sleeve, then turn your shirt and do the same on the other side.   If you are doing a long sleeved shirt, you might be able to preserve your cuffs and can avoid having to hem the sleeves. 



(I didn't get pictures of the next several steps, because I was busy sewing! :) )

Step 5: now is your chance to adjust the length of the skirt. If it too long, trim from the cut edge until it is the proper length. Leave the finished edge alone or you will have to re-hem it and no one wants that.  Once your skirt is the desired length, stitch all the way around the top of the skirt with a loose basting stitch. Don't back stitch on this step!

Step 6: once your skirt is basted, scrunch the fabric of the skirt until it is the same size as the bottom of the shirt. If you are making major size changes, it will be very scrunchy. Minor changes will produce less scrunches. 

Step 7: attach your skirt to your shirt. Start by turning the skirt inside out and the shirt right side out.  Put the shirt inside the skirt and match the seams.  Pin the skirt to the shirt and begin sewing.  You will want to sew over the scrunchies, to create a ruffled effect.  

Step 8: Trim excess fabric at seams and admire your cool new dress!



Step 9: Have the adorable birthday girl model her new present!