Co-schooling: spelling mnemonics & practicing letters

In Brady's 2nd grade class, every few spelling tests each child is tested only on words they missed on previous tests. It's called their "word bank."

Out of four tests - a total of 48 words - Brady missed five. Of those five, three were simply because he wrote a 'b' instead of a 'd' or vice versa. He knew how to spell the word. He just wrote those letters backwards.

Overall, he's doing really well at spelling, but we needed to address this problem. We did it in two ways:

1. Mnemonic

I had to look up the spelling of this! In a spelling post! That seems ironic.

Anyway, according to Merriam-Webster, a mnemonic is "assisting or intended to assist memory." For now we use it only for spelling, but I'll bet down the road it will be useful elsewhere.

We did this a lot last year. For example, "together" was to-get-her. He spelled it right and still knows how. And "enough" is eno-ugh (sounds like eeno-ugg). This worked wonders for Brady, especially coupled with the letter scramble and repetition.

This year, 'b' and 'd' were vexing us. So I came up with another mnemonic which capitalized on his love of Star Wars: "Death star to the left, Boba Fett to the right." It took him awhile to get it down pat, but soon he could say it and knew it meant D was to the left and B was to the right.

2. Practice

Every night for two weeks I wrote a capital D and capital B at the top of a paper and then 1. 2. 3. under each one. So he'd practice writing each one in lower case three times.

When he was tested over his word bank, he didn't miss any.

I thought these simple techniques might help someone else with spelling woes as much as they helped us.

Small town Tuesday: Why I couldn't get my mail

It's time for the weekly installment of Small Town Tuesday. If you have a small-town story (with pictures is even better! ) please send me a message at vash_ii@yahoo.com or on Facebook.

In larger cities, mail just happens. It shows up in your box or on your doorstep every day. You don't have to think about it much or do much to get it. You just go and look for it.

Even if you live in an apartment and a box is too large, you usually have between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to pick it up at the office.

That's not the case here. Awhile back I signed up for a free 39-week subscription to the Wall Street Journal. My hubby's been loving it. I had no idea the problems it would cause.

You see, we don't have curbside delivery. Since it's a small town, we each have a post office box instead and have to go up town to get it.

Lots of PO boxes. The bonus is getting to see people you know at the post office!

Not a big deal. Unless you get the Wall Street Journal every day.

That paper is HUGE. Geez, I wonder what it was like before the journalism downturn. And our box is really small. Even that one paper the mail lady has to really stuff in there. Half the time I tear it trying to get it out.

A stack of our Wall Street Journals. They're bigger than I thought!

Anyway, if I don't pick the mail up EVERY single day or if we get a little more mail than normal, I get a yellow slip in my box. Oh I hate that yellow slip.

It means my mail is inaccessible until the mail lady is back in the office. And she's only there 4 hours a day. There are a few key boxes where she puts packages sometimes but for some reason she never puts my overflowing mail in there.

So the other day I *GASP* forgot to pick up the mail on a Friday. Oh no, now it will really get backed up because she's only there 15 minutes on Saturday and I never EVER can remember what time that is. 

No mail for Friday. 

Being an optimist, I check Saturday morning (after the 15 minutes is over of course). No luck. Yellow slip.

No mail for Saturday. 

Aw, dang. I missed her again.

Monday comes around and I totally forget the post office is only open 4 hours (It changed from 5.5 to 4 hours back in May). I got there ONE MINUTE past closing time and, sure enough, another yellow slip.

Sigh. No mail for Monday.

So Tuesday morning I had to take the yellow slips to the lady and had a HUGE pile of mail, three days worth with, of course, three Wall Street Journals. This deal drives me crazy.

Don't tell my husband, but I'll be glad when the free subscription ends because then I can go back to my nice peaceful mail routine. Unless... what if he likes it so much he wants to pay for a subscription!

Then I guess my life will just stay interesting.

Easy peasy way to peel tomatoes

There are these wonderful little moments in life - infrequent as they are - when you learn something that is very useful to you and also very simple at the same time.

That's how it was about a year ago when I saw a You Tube video on how to peel tomatoes. I tried it and it really actually worked. Wow. 

This one little thing has made whipping up salsa or stewed okra and tomatoes or any diced tomato dish super easy. So I thought I'd share it.

First step, cut an X on the bottom of the tomatoes.

 

 Step 2, boil some water and let the tomatoes boil for only 30 seconds.

Step 3, put the tomatoes in an ice bath for a minute or so.

Step 4, the skin peels off very easily.

Step 5, here are your beautiful peel-free garden tomatoes ready to go. The possibilities are endless!

Garlic Parmesan pull-apart bread

I made this fantastic bread for our country Labor Day supper and everyone loved it. The recipe came from Facebook and I think the original source is Pillsbury.

It is easy and quick and good.

Garlic Parmesan Pull Apart Bread

1 can refrigerated Grands biscuits
1/2 stick of butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350. Throw the cold 1/2 stick of butter in a bundt pan and let it melt in preheating oven. While butter melts, cut the Grands biscuits into quarters. In a bowl, toss the biscuit pieces, garlic, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese together.

Once butter is melted, add biscuit mixture, sprinkling any cheese and garlic that gets left behind in the bowl. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Turn out onto a dish. Yum!

We were made to persevere

I got 17 cukes - including these 11 in 1 day - in a week.

I learn a lot from my garden. Lately, one plant in particular has become a metaphor for perseverance.

Let me tell you his story.

My garden started this year with 10 cucumber plants (all planted late after a failed attempt at using last year's saved seeds). Within a couple weeks, rabbits reduced the number of fledgling plants to 3.

Shortly after, golfball-sized hail took out 2 more.

That left 1.

This one plant only had a few leaves left and beat up by the hail at that. I thought, sheesh, might as well forget it. No cukes this year. But I thought wrong.

Little Mighty started to grow. And grow. And grow. I began to collect a good 6 cucumbers off of him a week. Not bad for one plant, I thought. We've had marinated cucumbers in the frig solid for at least two months.

Then he started taking over the garden. One day as I watered a tomato plant, I noticed a strange yellow flower in the middle of it. What's that? I looked closer. It was one of old Mighty's tendrils climbing up the tomato plant! Baby cukes were growing up there!

Little Mighty has several vines in many directions.

My father-in-law stopped by the other day. "Is that a squash plant?"  he asked.

"No, it's a cucumber."

He paused and really regarded it. He's been gardening for decades. "I've never seen a cucumber plant with leaves that big."

In one week, I picked 17 cucumbers off that one plant. Enough to share, which is my ultimate measure of garden success.

Here's what it means to me. This plant was the last in a long line of others that succumbed to various pressures. He had lots of chances to get beaten down and shrivel up. But God didn't make this plant to give up. Life fights and fights and fights until it dies or catches hold.

Gosh, if that one little plant can produce so much, if it can persevere after the elements took out so many others, then what's my excuse for giving up? That plant doesn't know about failure, about the odds, about giving up.

It was made to do its best to thrive as long as possible.

Truly, that's how we as humans are made as well. I need to remember this simple lesson from nature when times are tough.

I'm not made to give up. I'm not made to lay down in defeat. I'm not made to lament my situation, but to get up and keep trying, over and over if necessary.  Even if it's hard.

God made me to keep doing my best, to keep getting up and moving forward, to keep trying to catch hold. Tomorrow's a new day. No matter what today brings, I will wake up with the will of a cucumber plant.  

Co-schooling: reading help for 2nd grade

Brady's ever-expanding "library."

Gosh, we love books.

Brady has several crates in his room stuffed with books that he calls his "library." I like that he thinks of it as his own personal library. We're always adding to it.

The things is, Brady may LOVE books, really love them, but he's still a little hesitant about reading. (And writing will be our next goal)

He's improving. He looked over my shoulder the other day and easily read an entire reply I left to someone's comment on one of my posts.

And he didn't even HAVE to do that. He just did it because he could. Now, either he's getting better, or my comments aren't all that complex. Ha! Maybe both.

The other night he brought home a "Step 2" book. "What does that mean?" he asked. I told him: "It says, 'reading with help," to which he said proudly, "I don't need help! I can read it myself!"  

Eureka!

The school sent home a note that he was getting further reading assistance at school. That's great. But I didn't want to leave it at that. I want to help from home to alleviate his hesitancy, motivate him and help improve his skills.

Here are the ways we are achieving that:

Communicate with teachers & support the school

First and foremost, I want to understand what they are observing, and both get and give suggestions. I immediately emailed the reading teacher and we exchanged a few emails. I also encourage Brady to participate in the reading groups and do his best. I ask him every day how they went, what he learned, what was good or bad about it and we talk it through.

Read things other than books

Notes, words on TV shows or commercials, boxes at the store, signs when we're out. I want him to see reading as practical as well as fun. And the more practice the better. At the dentist's office he read this cartoon on the wall, after which he cracked up: 

 

Get new books regularly 

We order books from school every time they send an order sheet home. I work it out so they are usually both cheapy and interesting, so it is usually less than $15 for 4 or 5 books. It tells Brady I think it's important and keeps him excited about reading. You could also have a regular library time to check out books or trips to the Goodwill or used book store.

Alternate readers

Sometimes I read to him, sometimes he reads to me. I don't want all the pressure on him, but I don't want to let him off the hook either. He gets challenged but then gets to relax and enjoy the story too. 

Feed the passion

We choose books he's really excited about, like Star Wars or Transformers or Little Critter. If he's not into a book, we don't read it right then.

Make it a routine

Reading has been a part of our daily routine forever, always at bedtime, and sometimes throughout the day too. No day goes by without reading at some point, even in the summer. 

Why is it important

I remind him reading is the basis for everything - the math he loves so much, the books he enjoys, becoming an inventor, going to college, finding a good job. I show him the ways in which I have to  read every day to be successful in my life.

Speak your attitude

Lastly, I tell him if he changes his attitude he will enjoy reading more. That if he speaks good things about it, he will feel good things. Doesn't always work, but slowly I think we are changing his perspective.

Small Town Tuesday: Grocery store fun

This is my weekly installment of Small Town Tuesday. If you have a small-town story (with pictures is even better! ) please send me a message at vash_ii@yahoo.com or on Facebook.

  

We're very fortunate in our town of less than 1,000 to have our own grocery store. If we didn't, we'd have to drive a ways to get anything! 

Not only that, our grocery store is open every day and is rather known as a gourmet store with unique and specialty products delivered from towns throughout Kansas. 

I try to shop there at least once a week and of course it is my last-minute shopping place, even for Christmas presents! 

Doesn't it look quaint? We often see local residents sitting in these chairs drinking coffee and chatting.

A lot of times we get a pop and sit in front of the grocery store and see people we know go in and out. 

The grocery store owners are really wonderful people. Brady used to be afraid of the guy because of his big mustache (and because he was always chopping meat) but he seems to have gotten over that. 

The woman though, he has always loved. She treats him like a little prince in there. See the date below? Brady got a whole box of conversation hearts for free from her if he'd only try a bite of the date which he did. (It was a small bite. I ate the rest). 

And lately Brady's sitter has been using fun ideas with him from a book the grocer lady gave her to help  work with kids, both as a sitter and also as instructor of a weekly Good News Club and summer Five Day Club.

But the best time we ever had was when she dropped whatever she was doing and took us on a 30-minute, impromptu tour of the entire place. She showed him the freezer, the refrigerator, the butcher shop, the back door where deliveries are made, the fork lift they use, the bathroom, the downstairs, the stock room, everything.

What a treat for a curious 7-year-old! He loves going to the store. I've never known my grocer in such a close way. It's a blessing. 

And lastly, her daughter has gone on an 11-month, 11-country mission around the world to bring Jesus and the Word of God to people in all sorts of impoverished and unimaginable situations. Our town has championed her efforts and raised money through our church and Brady's school, providing cattle and other supplies to a school in Africa as well as helping to fund her mission trip. 

Brady seems to know she is doing something special and always asks her mother about her. I love the spider web network of connections in this town. 

In this place, even a trip to the grocery store is cause for joy.

New challenge: Record everything I spend

I just read this post at Moms are Frugal and it inspired me to - starting Friday - record everything I spend my money on in a two-week period.

Who's with me?

I only pay with cash unless it is an online purchase, so I don't spend beyond my means, but sometimes it seems like the cash just disappears! I wonder where it goes and why it didn't last longer.

When I first started changing my spending habits about 7 years ago, I did this with grocery store receipts and was SHOCKED at how much I spent a month on groceries. I have gone from $800 a month at that time to about $300 a month now.

Maybe I can do the same with general spending - on eating out, treats, clothes or toys or movies or whatever. Anybody who is in the same boat and wants to do this challenge with me, hop on and we can compare notes two weeks from Friday.

I am really curious to see what I learn from this, what trends I discover or things I didn't even realize I was doing. And the goal is to be more intentional with the cash I have and perhaps start a little cash savings fund for a special trip or something I really want. 

Guest posting: A financial fresh start

I'm guest posting over at Colleen's Mommie Daze today. She's started a neat feature called Fresh Start Mondays and I am excited to be her first guest poster!

Here is a little information about Colleen:

"I'm Colleen, the creator of Mommie Daze, a blog meant to encourage moms to have faith and remember to laugh. I'm a SAHM of two boys from West MI. I thought I was really screwing up my kids. Then I realized I'm just giving them good material for their memoirs."

My story is about a financial makeover when my ex-husband and I made the decision for me to stay home with Brady and then later, when we divorced, making ends meet until I could find another job in a tough economy in south Florida.

You can find the post here. 

Bloggers are a supportive group! Thank you!

There's a wonderful phenomenon among bloggers. We're pseudo strangers, have never met "in real life," yet we do little things to lift each other up in support. 

We give advice and answer questions on technical and content issues. We share each other's posts on Facebook and Pinterest. We collaborate on blog hops, link ups and giveaways. We interact daily and help motivate each other.

Well, as a blessed recipient of Blogger World Generosity, I get to report three additional award nominations. Bloggy awards are so fun. The recipient links back to the person who nominated them, tells a little about themselves and then points to other blogs they like. 

That's my task today! 

The first is The Liebster Award (I wonder who Liebster was?).  

This one was kindly given by Michelle at The Paper Vine. Michelle's blog is a wonderfully crafty place where you can learn so much about digital scrap booking. She even offers a class on it as well as free downloads. I am truly in awe of her creative abilities. Go check it out!

Thanks so much for this nomination, Michelle!

The next is The Sunshine Award, received by both Stephanie at Bee Tree Studios and Regina At the Lake. I'm humbled these two cool ladies sent the love my way. Thank you both. (And just this week another wonderful blogger friend, Growing Up Madison, added another Sunshine nomination! But I'll do hers separate post a bit later.)

Stephanie's blog is also very creative. Reading what she writes (as well as Michelle above) really makes me want to find time to do scrap booking. She has amazing ideas and beautiful layouts. Please take a moment to see what I mean. You won't regret it. 

And Regina just opened an Etsy store for her handmade jewelry and scarves. She creates the most beautiful things. She also blogs about weddings and homemaking and family. I have learned a lot from reading her posts.

For both, the rules are:

1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger. 
2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you (my nominees, you can just answer the same ones!)
4. List bloggers (one says list 10, the other 11) that you believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love, usually newer or up-and-coming blogs.
5. Let all of the bloggers know that they’ve been nominated.

I'll put the nominees first, some for one award, some for the other, because I think that's most important :)

I only chose a few since I had nominated several before here and here, and because I know a lot of the blogs I follow have been nominated by other people. So I am nominating blogs I have recently come to know. All of these blogs are fun and fresh and offer something unique. 

Nominees:

Sunshine Award 

1. Joyful Thrifty Home
2. Flourishing At Home
3. Mom Body Revolution
4. Aimed at the Heart

Liebster Award

1. Kneaded Creations
2. Blessed Learners
3. Rochelle Barlow
4. The Cooking Challenged

Questions:

1. What’s your favorite meal of the day — breakfast, lunch or dinner? All of them! I get hungry A LOT, really hungry. Hubby comments on it, even, so I need them all.
 2. What’s your favorite fruit? Blackberries, I see them as a treat.
 3. When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up? A poet :)
4. What quality do you find most attractive in others? Upfront, straightforward honesty.
 5. What’s your favorite sport? Soccer cuz my kiddo likes it. 
6. Gold or silver? Silver! 
7. What’s your favorite candy? A Zero candy bar and/or peanut butter M&Ms.
 8. What’s your favorite online shopping website? Amazon, hands down fav.
 9. What’s your pet peeve? When people leave shopping carts in the middle of parking spaces. ERGH.
 10. Winter, spring, summer or fall? Too tough, but probably spring because I get to plant, although fall is great because I get to harvest :)
 11. How many pairs of shoes do you have? Oh a good 12, it's Kansas so you have to have sandals for summer, boots for all kinds of winter weather, tennies for bike riding and walking and playing soccer, a few dressies and a few middle of the road for spring and fall.

11 random facts: 

1. I can make an origami bird that flaps its wings in under a minute.

2. If I ever went back to school I'd want to work with children or computers.

3. I don't want to ever go back to school as I've been to four colleges in my life. That's enough!

4. Kohl's is my favorite in-store shopping place. They have the BEST deals.

5. Chips and salsa are my favorite foods.

6. I talk to my mom several times a day most days.

7. My mom reads my blog. Hi mom! (I'm just checking to see if she's paying attention.)

8. I love "Triple D" also known as Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Super awesome show, usually lulls me to sleep.

9. I remember the moment I began to worry about the environment, the actual moment. I was fishing with my then-fiance (later ex-fiance and now husband, very confusing) about 22 years ago. We were at the spillway of a lake and I saw trash floating by and it made me sick to my stomach. I never littered again.

10. I have a strict no littering rule with my kid too!  I think a person should take care of their own mess.

11. I think dolphins are as smart as people :) Seriously, have you ever read the stories of what they can do? They also are one of the few species to recognize themselves in a mirror. Check it out. They're amazing. Here's a cool CNN video too. Side note: It is my super pet peeve if someone says a dolphin is a fish. I randomly ask Brady: "What's a dolphin?" To which he hollers back: "A mammal!"