Homeschool To Us - FAQ

Below is a list of questions that Anthony and I are asked on a consistent basis regarding homeschooling. 

Do I have to have a degree?

No, you do not have to have any type of training or degree to homeschool.

Is homeschooling legal?

Yes, it is legal in all 50 states. You just need to find out the laws in your state. Here in Utah you have to send a notarized affidavit to your school district each year notifying them of your intent to homeschool. They can not tell you no, they can only send back a letter telling you that they received your affidavit and that your children are exempt from school. {Starting with 1^st grade… Kindergarten is not required here in Utah}

For sample affadavits and more info go to http://uhea.org/

How much does it cost?

Homeschooling can cost as much or as little as you want. The library is your BEST FRIEND!! ;)

How do I make sure my kids are on track?

This can get tricky for some people. We don’t worry so much about our kids staying on track with the kids that go to school. I would rather see progress rather than making sure they are ready for a test or making sure they get through a certain textbook within a school year. 

Do my kids have to be tested?

It depends on where you live. Here in Utah, no! You can choose to have your kids tested at certain points. We choose not to at this point.  Below you’ll see a couple of illustrations.... this is exactly how we feel about tests!

 

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Babblin' on Pinterest

 

Source: classroomcollective.tumblr.com via Babblin' on Pinterest

 

Do I have to keep a log of what we do?

Again, it depends on where you live. Here in Utah, no! Some states require a log and that you keep attendance.  And some also require that you show which curriculum you are using. 

What about SOCIALIZATION?

This is the #1 biggest question people ask.

We believe that the socialization in the schools, for the most part, is negative. Public schools are, in our opinion, an artificial environment anyway.  And I find it interesting that this is the most concerning question for most people.  Are we sending our kids to school to be ‘properly’ socialized or are we sending them to get an education?  Funny that the burning question isn’t, “**Gasp!** What about their education??” 

What curriculum do I use?

This is absolutely a personal choice! What works for one child may not work for another. In that case you may need to try a different approach or an entirely different program to help certain children understand what’s in front of them.  More on this later.

What should our day look like?

It’s going to be different for every family. Our day starts with devotional and chores. Then we move into individual work while mom works with and plays with the younger boys. Once the boys are down for quiet time/naps we start on group work.

How do you teach multiple children at multiple levels?

I suggest doing as much as you can together. At our house History, Science, Nature Study, family book reading, etc. are all done together. Other things like math, spelling, individual reading, etc. are all done separately at each child’s level of understanding and comprehension.

Roughing It?!

This past Friday our ward had a campout.  We were excited to be able to go this year.  In years past it’s either been too far away for us to afford the gas or we had something else going on. 

Ever been to Heber Valley Camp? 

BEAUTIFUL!!!

It’s now home to many a girls’ camp every summer including our stake. 

Seriously?  THIS is what you call camping?  This is so not roughing it!!!

Back in my girls’ camp day for our stake (which by the way happens to be the SAME stake I live in now) we went clear to the middle of nowhere… almost… and there was none of this electricity crap or sleeping in cabins! 

CABINS!!  For real!??  Our shelter back then was a tarp tied to trees during the day for shade and our tents at nights.  And one year we even had to go home early because it was storming so bad.  Psshh!!  Oh and days were so hot you could hardly stand it and the nights were so cold you had to make hot rocks in the fire to keep your feet warm.   

Toilets??… Yeah, there was no such thing.  We had ‘crannies’!  I’m sure there’s a more technical name for them but seriously, who wants to call them anything prettier than CRANNIES.  They were disgusting and filthy!  Each ward had to take a turn cleaning them… EW!  It was basically two holes in the ground in an enclosed spaced with toilet seats.  And there were no lights.  You took your flashlight.  You could see everything that everyone else had done and you just hoped and prayed that the deep breath you took before running in there was enough to last the duration of your visit…. otherwise, you got to TASTE what everyone else had done.  And you hoped that what everyone else had done wouldn’t come back up to splash your bum either.  I shudder to think…

Cleaning the crannies consisted of those same deep breaths, running in as fast as you could, sweeping whatever needed sweeping (or whatever needed wiping… etc.) and getting the heck out of dodge before you needed that next breath! 

Good times!!!  Unfortunately, the girls now have FLUSHING TOILETS and SHOWERS!  Showers for crying out loud!  I grew up braiding my hair in teeny tiny braids all over my head because I knew it would be pointless to try and brush it out every day during camp with all the dirt and smoke that it would collect. 

Cabins… Nonsense I tell you!  I think Anthony was right when he said, “’Roughing it’ for the girls these days is getting only 2 bars on their cell phones instead of 4!”

How would it be?

Well, our visit to the cabins wasn’t all roses… everyone had to bring their own pads to sleep on.  Otherwise you were just on the hard wood bed.  We only have one camping mat so we took that for me, being pregnant and all.  Everyone else just padded up on blankets. 

Let’s just say that the camping mat did NOTHING in the way of comfort for me.  And the fact that the boys (who don’t do well away from home anyway) were NOT having the whole sleeping in the cabin thing.  So, after annoying all the other families in the cabin with us for about an hour, Anthony and I took the boys out to the car, strapped them into their carseats and waited.  About half an hour later they were out and we were able to carry them back in and lay them on our bunks.  Me with B and Anthony with C. 

B IS A WILD SLEEPER!! 

He took up pretty much the whole mat all. night. long.  And I was too afraid to scoot him for fear that he might wake up and start crying. 

I didn’t sleep a single wink!  Not an exaggeration at all!  I kept checking my phone for the time hoping against all hope that the sun would be coming up soon.  I wouldn’t have to lay there on that uncomfortable bed any more.  I heard every snore, every whisper, every time someone rolled over, ever toot (yes, there were a few ;)) and every time the baby in our cabin woke up.  It was the WORST NIGHT’S SLEEP EVER! 

Had it not been for the girls being so stinkin’ excited to be there and finally have the ‘sleepover’ they’ve never had (we don’t allow sleepovers except with cousins) Anthony and I would have been out of there!  With the boys in tow of course.  But I couldn’t very well go and ask ward members to please bring my girls home with them… at 3:30 in the morning.  They’d likely forget that I’d even asked! 

And so… we ‘roughed it’! 

We had a really great time.  And it was a pretty great turnout. 

C won an award for ‘The Most Questions Asked’.  Pretty cool!

And we got to see some deer really close.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me at the time and my phone was charging.  We all had a blast, despite the whole sleeping fiasco.

 

Homeschool To Us–Who, What, Where, When, Why (but not necessarily in that order ;))

I mentioned that Anthony and did a homeschool workshop for some people in our ward and family that were interested in learning more.  Now I’m going to post all the details here for anyone else that may have missed it but is still wanting to learn in a series of posts. 

Below is a picture of my girls’ interests for the year.  Obviously the lists grow as time goes on and K’s list is obviously a bit longer than A’s or H’s.  The picture isn’t too terribly relevant to this post, I just wanted to add a picture and that’s what I had ;).  We’ll go over the lists along with some other things a little later in the series. 

Following you will find a list of five questions along with mine and Anthony’s answers.  We did this packet together and you will notice our opinions of homeschooling are heavily peppered throughout.  Does that mean that our way of homeschooling is the only right way? 

Definitely NOT! 

Does it mean that we look down on others for doing it differently? 

Absolutely NOT! 

It simply means that we have prayed and come to certain conclusions and received answers as to how we need to educate both our children and ourselves in our home.  Your home is different!  You have different children, different parents, different circumstances, different ideas, different backgrounds, different learning styles, etc.  Your school should definitely NOT look just like ours!  So, before we begin, I encourage you read this article that I wrote about schedules. 

Our homeschool opinions are just that… opinions… things that have worked in our home and things that we strongly believe in. 

Let’s get on with the show… :)

 

What is homeschooling?

Homeschooling is a lifestyle! It is NOT school at home… or at least we don’t believe that it should be. 

Who am I teaching?

Ideally you will be mentoring, not teaching. And in the process you’ll be learning along with your children. You are your child’s greatest example.

Where do we ‘do’ school?

School is done wherever you feel comfortable. We like the comfort of our living room or dining room table. Sometimes we even prefer to be outdoors on nice days. Some prefer a designated school room.  The reason we choose NOT to have school room is because, as I said before, we don’t believe that homeschool should necessarily ‘look like’ school.  You’ll read more about the reasons for that in the ‘Why’ answer below. 

When do we ‘do’ school?

In the interest of ‘Structure Time, Not Content’ (A Thomas Jefferson Education) we have designated times of the day that we are learning. Friends are not allowed until after 3:00 on ‘school days’. As far as the content, nothing is required… ‘Inspire, not Require’. I (Brooke) tell the kids that I will be studying {whatever subject} at such and such a time in whatever room I choose. They are welcome to join me. In the past it has been required but they fought it. Once I stopped requiring them to join me, it was voluntary. They enjoyed it.

They will value their education if they see that you value yours!

We want our kids to develop a LOVE of learning rather than a HATE of learning.

Why should we homeschool?

Here is an article that is definitely worth reading (very LDS {Mormon} based but I still think it applies to just about anyone)!!

In addition, we believe that our children can and should LOVE learning. It should happen every day without even thinking about it. We love that we are able to tailor each child’s education to what they want out of life. This lets them know that their ideas and opinions are valued. Children have very valid points of view.

You are able pinpoint strengths and weaknesses that you might otherwise miss. Children are able to move at a pace that is comfortable for them. They don’t get left behind if they are struggling in one area. Likewise, they aren’t bored like they might be in a school setting where some of their peers are lagging. A teacher can only move at the pace that is already predetermined for them.

My Sweet Little Man

Before I launch into the first of (probably many) homeschooling posts, I have to document the happenings of this little guy.

I know it’s not the greatest picture of this little stink, what with crumbs all over his face and all but gosh darnit!!  He’s still just the cutest little thing!  He’s at one of my favorite ages where he’s trying to say new things, trying to put sentences together, and just figuring out how to be the cutest little stinker around.  It just has to be documented or I’ll forget it. 

So, in no particular order, here are a few of my favorite things that he says or does:

• First and foremost… the F BOMB!  That’s right, he says the biggest, baddest cuss word of all.  And we laugh every time.  You would laugh too if you heard it because although it sounds like the F bomb to everyone else, I know that he’s really saying, “Look!”  It always sounds something like, “F***, Mom!”  And it doesn’t matter how hard I try to correct it, it still comes out naughty.  Recently it has started to sound a little more like, “Fook”… rhymes with Look.  So that’s happy!
• He calls dinosaurs, “Rrawr”. 
• His favorite movie is Toy Story and wouldn’t you know, Buzz Lightyear is his favorite character.  He calls him ‘Buzz *pause* Er’  and Woody is ‘Oody’ (rhymes with Foodie), and Jessie is ‘Jessies’.  B is always walking around pretending he has a laser on his arm just like Buzz.  And we have to tell him he ‘can’t fly’ when he’s wearing the Buzz costume we have that is 3 sizes too big.  Then he gets up on the fireplace ledge thing (what is that called anyway?) and jumps off to prove that he can, in fact, fly!
• B’s belly is also a baby… just like mom’s.
• He’s learning to fight with his big brother.  C is very aggressive towards B sometimes and B is finally learning to defend himself.  Is it bad that I’m ok with that to a certain extent?  However, lately he has resorted to biting C… which I am NOT ok with. 
• “Owsh” … that’s his word for shower
• “Oosh”… shoes
• “Choo choo”… train
• B will walk into a room and say, “Dooo – een?”  That’s his way of asking, ‘What are you doing?’
• When asked what he is doing, his answer is always the same… ‘Farting!’  I believe this is because a few weeks ago we were at an ice cream place for my mom’s birthday.  B got a funny look on his face at one point and started (excuse the bluntness) pooping.  My mom asked him what he was doing and he said, “Farting!”  We all laughed really hard.  He got a reaction so that’s his answer every time now.
• B is very sensitive when it comes to others feelings.  If he sees someone crying he always asks if they are ok.  “Ok?” as he is nodding his head.
• This kid is a jokester!  He loves to laugh and he loves to make other people laugh.  He’s always doing silly things trying to get people to laugh. 
• Pillow biter!  This one is so cute and yet it drives me NUTS!  He’s always been a biter… ever since I first started nursing him on day one!  The reason I quit nursing him was because he had teeth and he bit me so hard that I bled… TWICE!  And not just a little bit, a LOT!  That was only with 2 bottom teeth.  I knew once he got the top ones in I might end up without a nipple!  (Sorry, TMI, I know).  He’s always fallen asleep with something in his mouth from the time he was teeny tiny.  Usually a wad of blanket.  Now he sees the corners of pillows as chew toys.  His own pillow and a couple of mine and Anthony’s are now crusty hard from him chewing on them.  And yes, I’ve washed them but they’re still crusty.  And he just keeps chewing.  Silly boy. 
• “Ups”… straw (I have no idea how he got ‘ups’ out of straw)
• He is a momma’s boy.  Though he idolizes his daddy also. 
• “Beep-ee-you” … Grandma (my mom)
• “Pops” … Grandpa (Anthony’s dad)
• “Hen” … C

Homeschool, according to us!

Anthony and I hosted a Homeschool Workshop last week for a few friends and family that were interested in learning more. 

We’re not experts.  Let me just put that out there right up front.  We are NOT experts by any means but we are asked a lot of questions so we figured it would be fun to answer them all at once in a group setting. 

I invited anyone in my ward that might be interested.  What I wasn’t expecting was to have a former (retired) teacher show up.  I assume she was just curious and wanted to know more about homeschooling and what it might look like in our crazy home.  Her presence made both Anthony and I just a little uncomfortable only because I know at one point she wasn’t too keen on the whole idea.  And trust me, I knew when we said something she didn’t like or didn’t agree with because I could see it written all over her face and body language. 

But don’t get me wrong.  She’s a very sweet lady and she’s actually given us a TON of stuff to use in our homeschool.  She was getting rid of all her old teaching supplies.  Score for us! 

Anyway, I thought maybe some of you might like to know more about our reasons for homeschooling and the way it is done in our home.  I’ve written a little bit about our reason here and here but this time I’m going to go over some Frequently Asked Questions (the questions we hear all the time) and cover some things I didn’t go over in my last two rants about homeschooling.  (Part 1 and Part 2)  There were a couple things we just didn’t have time for in the workshop either so this will be done in a series of posts over the next couple of weeks or so. 

But first I’d like to know if there are any questions that YOU have so I can make sure and cover them as I go.  Even as a current homeschooler I find myself asking questions of others so don’t be embarrassed if you already homeschool. 

And please note that as we go, many of the answers to the questions I will go over are our OPINIONS!!  This does not make it right… or wrong.  It’s just the way that we feel.  And yes, we do have some pretty strong opinions… which may be why the former school teacher didn’t particularly enjoy all aspects of our workshop.  But hey, she’s entitled to her opinion just like I am entitled to mine.  :)

So, ask away! 

 

Runnin’ Fools!

It’s been said that children tend to follow in the footsteps of the parent with the same gender.  They look up to that parent as the role model and emulate traits that he/she has.  And it comes naturally.  No one has to tell the child which parent they should pattern after. 

I absolutely agree! 

And I’ve also heard it said that all of the above is true… EXCEPT when it comes to fitness and physical activity.  I really like Dr. Phil and I remember him saying once that when it comes to that aspect, children tend to follow the activity level of the FATHER! 

Maybe I wasn’t completely sold on that one.  Until now! 

My kids are turning into running machines and it all started when Anthony began running last year.  Ever since then, the girls have gone on a few shorter training runs with him (I say short but for me they would be long runs… 2 miles… that’s long when you’re a Brooke ;)) and have all loved it.  But over the summer little K had nothing going on in the way of dance.  Dance was taking a break and the other two girls were doing gymnastics.  So, Anthony and K decided to use the summer as a training for K and celebrate the end of summer with a 10K race. 

That’s 6.2 miles!!!!  My little K couldn’t possibly….

But she did!  Today, in fact!  Her fastest mile is quicker than any mile I’ve EVER done. 

Alright, I admit that’s not hard to beat but still, she’s only 10. 

Well, we all woke up a little earlier than usual to make sure we were there at the end of her race to cheer her on and congratulate her.  Poor K had to wake up at 5:00 am (ick!) to get ready and make it to the bus that shuttles them up to the start line. 

A and H had made cute little signs.

Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) met us up there as well. 

Once we could see Anthony and K rounding the corner to head to the finish line I have to admit that I got a little teary eyed.  It’s a race for cryin’ out loud!  Moms aren’t supposed to cry!  I was just so stinkin’ proud of her for accomplishing something she had worked so hard for.  What an accomplishment!

And on top of that she received a belt buckle for being first place in her division and another award for being the youngest participant.  She came in 34th overall which I thought was pretty darn good being her first race and all.

 

And do you know what she said when she was done?  “Next year I want to do the half-marathon!” 

WHAT!?!

And she can’t wait to be 14 so she can run a full marathon.  I think I gave birth to a NUT!  

Anthony is determined to one day make the Logan to Jackson Hole Relay a family event so I guess K is just right on track to be the first recruit.  This relay was run last weekend by Anthony and a whole bunch of other running psycho crazies!  A few people in the ward and some family members of one of the guys along with Anthony’s sister were all on the team ‘No Charge for Awesomeness’. 

Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming!!  200 miles!!

I was able to ride up with a couple of the wives to meet up with the runners at the end.  It was such a fun little road trip!  I got to know them a little bit better and we laughed… a lot!  My favorite part was when we all had to use the restroom going through this teeny tiny town called… well, who knows… but the only place that we could find was a bar.  I swear the rest of it was like a ghost town!  So we peed… in a bar.  I think the owner was offended that we didn’t buy a drink ;).  I’m pregnant!!  I can’t drink!  Well, that and I wouldn’t do it anyway.  The end. 

So anyway, we got to the finish JUST before the team did.  Whew!!  That was close! 

**Umm, shouldn’t you be writhing on the ground in pain and agony?  Why are you jumping!?  200 miles couldn’t have been ‘FUN’!  Not possible.**

Oh, and today (the 18th, same day as K’s race) was our anniversary.  12 years!!  We celebrated by being there for K’s race, took naps, Anthony went to the temple, we put the kids to bed, then we enjoyed ourselves a root beer float. 

We’re broke!  What can I say?  But it was still a great day! 

12 YEARS!!  GO US!  I love you Mr. Head!

 

Millie Fierce!–Book Review

It’s book review time again!  This one is NOT about a mouse ;). 

This time we received Millie Fierce by Jane Manning. 

It’s about a little girl who is quiet, mindful, and almost invisible.  She always receives the smallest piece of cake at birthday parties and is hardly noticed at all during show and tell at school or anywhere else for that matter.  Until one day, some girls from school walk across her sidewalk drawing and smudge it. 

THAT is when Millie becomes fierce!! 

And everyone around her notices.  She is loud, rude, trouble-making, and mean!  She likes the attention.  Finally they all start to ignore her and then Millie feels bad.  This is when she realizes that she enjoys being nice far better than being fierce. 

Cute book, really and there is a message there though I didn’t feel it was quite as bold as it could have been.  Maybe I would have liked to have seen more details, maybe I could have known a little more about Millie.  I think it’s definitely targeted to a younger audience, maybe 4-6 years old.  My girls liked it but thought it to be a little young for them. 

I really appreciate TLC Book Tours allowing me to review this book. 

And Dinosaurs Say ROAR!

This kid…

Oh man he is so hard for me!  He pushes every button that I didn’t even know I had.  Some days I really just want to pull my hair out because of him.  I know I’ve said it before and I’m about to say it again:  I am more than positive that he had ADHD even without an official diagnosis. 

But despite the fact that he is bouncing off the walls for the better part of every moment that he’s awake, I sure do love him!  He has the sweetest way of saying little things like, “Mom, I sure like you.”  And when I respond with, “I LOVE you!” he gets offended.  Then I say, “I like you, too,”  he’s happy as a peach. 

Another of my favorite C sayings is, “Mom (or Dad), you’ll always be my friend.”  This is always said as he’s latching onto my (or Anthony’s) arm, squeezing with all his might.  It’s an arm hug, I suppose. 

One thing C does almost every single, solitary day without fail (ALMOST!) is call my mom for a chat.  It always goes something like this…

Grandma:  Hello?

C:  Are you Grandma?

Grandma:  Yes, is this C?

C:  **giggle** Yeah.  Can you come over my house?

Grandma:  I’m at work right now.  But I’ll be over on Friday (or whatever day she plans to be here).

C:  Ok, do you have gum?

Grandma:  **answers accordingly**

C:  Ok.  Bye Grandma!

After which he proceeds to tell me all about his conversation with Grandma.  Such a funny little guy!

But the real reason that I’m writing this particular post is because I do NOT want to forget his very first Primary talk.  When he was asked we thought it would be a lost cause.  We thought there was no way he would get up in front of everyone and give a talk. 

Umm, hello!  This is crazy microphone boy we’re talking about. 

Anthony and I had both left our classes (Priesthood and Relief Society) early… Anthony so he could help C with his talk and myself because I wanted to hear it.  It was so cute to watch C walk up to the microphone holding Daddy’s hand.  He even looked shy for half a second and then…

“Okay!  **Some weird C-isms that no one understood** … and dinosaurs say ROAR!” 

He was as confident as could be.  And loud.  Everyone laughed!

At that point Anthony whispered his talk into his ear, one line at a time and he recited them perfectly. 

VICTORY!

Just needed it documented. 

 

Pinterest Challenge: Day 5–Cranberry Chicken Crescents

Yes, I’m a couple days behind.  Forgive me!

Well, a couple of days ago my kids and I were at home wondering what the heck we were going to eat for dinner.  It was one of those days that we had practically nothing in the house, a trip to the grocery store was MORE than overdue, and Mom (that’s me) refused to take all the kids to the store so…. we had to do some serious scrounging to figure out what we were going to eat. 

Never mind the fact that we had already done the scrimping and scrounging for lunch.  It was time to do it again.

The only thing we knew we could have for sure was corn on the cob.  We have some awesome friends/neighbors who left to go out of town for 12 days and they were worried about the produce in the fridge going bad.  And we were the lucky recipients of their food!  Woohoo! 

So, the search was on for the main course.  So glad there is Pinterest in my time of need!  First I searched my own boards but for every recipe I found that might work I was always missing a few key ingredients.  I finally resorted to the Search Bar (it still counts for my Pinterest challenge, right?).  I had crescent rolls in my fridge and a couple of cans of chicken.  I searched for ‘Chicken Crescents’ and a whole bunch of things came up. 

Then I saw one for Cranberry Chicken Crescents.  PERFECT!!  I had a can of cranberry sauce downstairs in our storage room. 

This was probably the simplest of simple recipes.  First preheat your oven to the temperature noted on your 2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls (if you’re afraid of opening the tube {like I am} your kids will be happy to do it for you ;)).  Mix together 2 cans of chicken (drained) and a can of cranberry sauce (whole or jellied).  Put a large spoonful into each crescent, roll, and bake for amount of time noted on package. 

TADA!  Now you’ve got what makes for a GREAT… lunch.  Except that we had it for dinner and everyone loved them!  I was surprised.  Even Anthony (who claims to hate cranberries) loved it! 

 

Pinterest Challenge: Days 2, 3, & 4

It probably looks as though I completely abandoned the Pinterest Challenge since I posted day 1 and then never posted again… until now.  Here it is, DAY 6, and I’m tripling up on my post.  Day 5 is coming but it’s a recipe so I didn’t want it in this post.  And Day 6 is still in the process so… it’s coming later. 

For Day 2 of the challenge I decided to read an article about Parenting Your Strong Willed Child.  I won’t name names here but let’s just say that I’ve got myself a couple of those children.  One that starts with an A and another with a C ;). 

Whoops!  Did I give it away? 

That article really had some great advice.  What I got out of it more than anything is that I need to give them more choices.  Sometimes I am overbearing in the fact that I think I know what’s right for my child at any given point and I feel that making them do something that they don’t want to do is in their best interest.  After reading the article, and also a book called Parenting With Love & Logic, I realize that I am not doing them any favors by parenting in this fashion.  If it’s cold outside and I think they need a jacket but they don’t want one… what’s the harm in letting them figure it out on their own?  I’m creating rebels doing it my way!  

Day 3 was the good ol’ GUNK around the faucets of the sinks.  Who knew that vinegar was a such a powerful cleaner?  I’m sure I’m not the LAST one to figure this out… right?  I’m a little embarrassed to show you what my faucet in my bathroom looked like before.  But in all fairness I have tried almost everything I could possibly think of to get rid of that nasty hard water, dirty gunk that builds up between where the water comes out and the handles.  And around the base of the faucet as well.  Not even an old toothbrush after letting cleaner soak it would do much. 

Then I pinned something to my Chores and Such board on Pinterest that said soaking paper towels in vinegar, wrapping it around the gunky parts, and letting it sit for ONE HOUR would do the trick.  Hmm… I wasn’t so sure. 

Since we were out of paper towels (because we are ALWAYS out of paper towels) I just soaked a rag. 

And 45 minutes later (because I’m too impatient to wait another 15 minutes… TORTURE!) this is what my faucet looked like after wiping only one side.  I mean, I know it’s gross but you HAD to see the before and after in order to fully appreciate the after, right?  Just don’t look too hard… EW! 

It doesn’t get much cheaper than vinegar and the fact that it’s completely natural and safe is a winner in my book!

Original Source:  HERE!

Day 4 was another article from my Parenting board.  This one wasn’t nearly as great as the one I linked to above.  I didn’t really feel that I learned anything new.  Maybe a reminder here and there but nothing that really grabbed me.  Yelling is one of my weakest points and I need to learn to control it.  Patience… NOT one of my virtues.  Somehow I got skipped on that one.  **Sigh**

 

Woodrow for President–Book Review

Once again I was asked to do a review for TLC Book Tours.  I figured we liked the last book so much, why not? 

This time we got to review Woodrow for President.  It’s about a mouse nation and Woodrow Washingtail who runs for President. 

What a darling way to present the process of how candidates become candidates, how the different parties choose their delegates, and just the entire process of how a President is chosen.  But my favorite part is that throughout the fun, poetic charm of the text it is repeatedly talking about how it is our duty and responsibility to vote.  And not only that but become educated about the candidates and their different positions.

At the end there is even a contract for both the parents and the children to sign pledging that you will uphold your duty to your country by taking part in the voting process.  (I must admit that I have never voted… EVER!  I’ve never felt educated enough about the delegates or their stances to vote.  But after reading this book I’m feeling more of a sense of pride and obligation to find out these things and make my vote.)

It’s very similar to the last review I did in the sense that the main character is a mouse and the fact that it’s written in the fun poetic way.  There’s even a ‘spy mouse’ to find in each image.  Kind of the Where’s Waldo thing again which the kids love.  This time, however, there were no similarities to real life events or characters.  They were all fictional and yet it got the point across very well.

I’m so glad that we were able to review this book!  Highly recommended!