Homeschooling and Chores

A part of every kids' day should be the chance to learn how to help around the house by taking responsibility and completing chores. In our homeschooling household, we feel strongly our son should work around the house just because he is a part of the family. Heaven knows, he sees me working enough that it should be second nature. But I think it's important to instill the work ethic early so that it will continue on throughout a child's lifetime.

A very experienced homeschooling mom told me when I first started out that I should have my son do any chores I want him to do at the beginning of the day. It was her experience once the homeschooling day was finished, her kids just wanted to run outside and play.

If you're a homeschooling family you know you have to gather and listen to others' advice but ultimately find the way that works best for your children's personalities. My son studies best during the first half of the day.

Money is a huge motivator for him. But I didn't want to hand out money for every little chore. We tried something along those lines but that just made him ask how much he was getting paid for each job I asked him to do. Not ideal.

Following the wise advice of author and financial guru Dave Ramsey, I also didn't want to label the weekly money as an allowance. After all, no one pays me just for breathing and existing.

So, we've created a chore chart that rotates weekly. There's a  Tier One set of jobs that he has to do just because he is part of the family. Tier Two jobs are what he must do to earn his basic weekly "commission." If he doesn't do them, I don't pay him. Simple.

Tier Three jobs get him really excited. Those are the optional jobs that he can choose to do or not to do each week for an extra $1 each. I just require that he complete Tier One and Tier Two jobs for the day first before diving into any optional jobs.

Here's a sample chore chart:

Week of January 3, 2011

Tier I Chores (every day):

     Make Bed in morning

     Pick up and put away all toys at end of day

     Set table for supper

     Feed/water dog and cat at supper time

Tier II Chores:

Monday:            Change kitty litter

                         Dust your bedroom

Tuesday:            Clean your bathroom and bathtub

Wednesday:      Vacuum entertainment room & your bedroom

Thursday:          Dust all downstairs furniture

Friday:               Help with laundry or other chore mom needs

Tier III Chores (optional):

 Wash all doors and doorways downstairs                  ______________________________

 Wash all doors and doorways upstairs                      ______________________________

My son is excited to do his chores now. I post the list on the refrigerator at the beginning of the week, and he gets to check off the job once it's completed. The Tier Three chores also need a signature from me signifying a job well done.

My house is becoming a lot cleaner...and well, I just love that!
TCB

Poor Man's Lunch

Have you ever experienced a point in your life when everything seems to hit at once? Troubles here and there come in threes and fours, and they all have a price tag?

Once, we had three (yes, three!) mortgages going at once. And we were building a house. Needless to say, I had no extra time and no extra money to spare.

In those less-than-wealthy days, I "invented" a meal that was fast and cheap. That was pre-kids, but my "Ham and Macaroni" happens to be something my son loves now, too. Enough to ask for it.

Here's how it goes:

Cook elbow macaroni and drain according to the box's directions (about 10 minutes). I usually cook about 3/4 of a box. In the meantime, open a small can of ham (two if you cook more macaroni) and break it apart with a fork so it resembles hash.

After draining the macaroni, put it in a large mixing bowl and add enough mayonnaise to give it some flavor. Here's where I like to pretend I'm being a little bit healthy. I add half "real" mayonnaise and half light mayo made with olive oil.

Stir it all up. Then add the ham.

Stir in the ham and sprinkle to your taste with seasoned salt.

Wa-la! It's done. Eat right away while warm. And if you want to be a tad healthier, just add a green salad.

Why did I remember this concoction from so many years ago? Maybe it has something to do with the outside painting, plumbing leak, wall repair, and new HVAC unit we've had to tackle at our house in the last three months. But don't feel sorry for us. My boys say, "Woo-hoo, it's ham and macaroni! Why haven't you made this lately?"

I just smile and say I've been busy.

TCB

Drink Lemon for Good Health

As I mentioned in my December 29th post, One Resolution at a Time, I make it a habit to squeeze the juice of one and one-half lemons per day, drinking 1/3 of the juice periodically throughout the day after each meal.

Here's about how much juice that amounts to:

I just squeeze it in the morning and leave it out in a glass container I sip from throughout the day.

The lemon juice aids in digestion and has helped me kick the acid reflux medication I had taken for many years. I've been using the left lemon system for eight months now and am not looking back.

If I feel a slight case of heartburn coming on, I reach for a little lemon juice now instead of an over-the-counter antacid. Works like a charm. Sounds counterintuitive, but from my understanding, reflux problems such as mine result from too little stomach acid, not too much acid as I previously thought. So lemon juice is helping out the body's natural acids to properly digest foods.

Hope this helps you, too, in your quest for good health.

Love, TCB

Of Birds and Boys

Remember when I got bit by the spring bug last weekend when we had a stroke of warm weather? I put new bird seed in the feeder. I had forgotten to do this for about a week, and all the birds left. I miss the birds, so I pulled out the safflower seed. They love it, and the squirrels hate it because it's bitter on their taste buds. A win-win. I get to see the birds, and I don't have to spend a fortune replacing seed the squirrels dig through and throw around everywhere.

So I got to see this little one today.

A Carolina Chickadee? That's the best I can tell from our booklet of South Carolina birds. If you know better, I'd like to hear.

Then this fellow came along and scared away everyone else.

Male and female cardinals swarm around the safflower seeds. They really love them.

And there was a beautiful Yellow-bellied Sapsucker but he was too skittish for me to take a photo. Next time.

And then this happened.

Do you know what is going on here? I'll give you a hint - the birds didn't like it.

Look closely. See the sparks? Shooting BBs at the feeding birds is EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED in this household. But someone found a way around that with leftover firecrackers from New Year's Eve.

Boys.

Don't understand the thrills. Still gotta love them.

TCB

Winter Yard Maintenance

One week ago today, snow covered the ground here in the South. Quite a feat for South Carolina. My son was happy, just like this all day.

But the good Old South. Today, we had a sunny 65 degrees, which got me wanting to actually venture outside long enough to do a little winter yard maintenance.

Like turn the compost bin.

I started a bin in the fall so we could re-use what we had been throwing away. And I have so many flower beds I am thinking this will be a more economical way to feed all my plants.

I've learned that I have to turn under the discarded vegetables on top, not just for composting sake but to keep them out of the hands of that pesky racoon that comes out at night. Two nights ago, I caught him hanging on one of the bird feeders with one hand, the other reaching for the bread crumbs my son had added to the seed.

I thought I was going to have a little help with the composting. After all, it's not just my project but my son's project too.

Or so I thought.

Oops. Caught!

Might as well keep going now.

But  back to composting.

I found this great composting bin at one of my favorite sites http://www.gardeners.com/.

It has individual slats so you can take off one or a few to easily get at the contents inside to turn them with a pitchfork. It makes the job very easy.

If you can keep a good ratio of materials - about 75% brown material such as leaves and 25% green material such as grass clippings and vegetable peelings - the results will be good, rich compost to add to your flower or garden beds in the spring.

Why not give it a try? There are much pricier and fancier bins, but this one does the trick beautifully.

Happy gardening,
TCB

One Resolution at a Time

When I was young and naive (ha ha), I made a list of 5 to 10 new resolutions at the beginning of each year. Now that I'm older and wiser (har de har), I know that's a really futile activity on which to spend my time. But I do spend some time each December reassessing my goals and what I most want to accomplish. Then I try to write JUST ONE resolution for the New Year.

In 2009, my resolution was simply to spend the year decluttering my house, and ultimately I hoped, my everyday life. I did accomplish some of this, but I will admit the decluttering continues throughout 2010 and will ramp up in 2011. I don't see it as a failure, however, because isn't that what a real resolution is all about?  A lifestyle change and not just one check box in the course of your life?

In 2010, my one resolution was to get healthy and get myself off the reflux medication I have been taking for years. I wanted to get educated about what was best for my body so that I could keep kickin' it into high gear even when I am 95! I am optimistic about traveling when I'm old and gray!!

I will admit I floundered for the first few months of the year, but then I started getting some great reading recommendations from my healthy friends and trainer at the gym where I work out. The books I read are about using food to heal your body. Then I met a wonderful alternative physician who worked with me to determine what was going on with my body. With his help, I stopped eating just a few foods that did not agree digestion-wise with my body and gained energy I was missing. With the addition of drinking juice from 1 1/2 lemons per day (to aid in digestion), I was off the medication! That was seven months ago, and I haven't needed anything since.

Although I did not set out to lose weight, I happily dropped nine pounds and two pant sizes and got back to pre-pregnancy weight! All without dieting, but just eating whole foods that were right for my body. Now don't be mistaken, I splurge with my sweet tooth and country cooking all the time, but with overall healthier practices, my body handles it all much better. Resolution achieved!

So what about 2011? This will be my year of forgiveness. TMI would not be appropriate, but there are a couple of people I have been struggling to forgive for things I feel they have wrongly done to me. So I am giving myself a year of forgiving, to heal myself and move on. I call it decluttering the mind and soul. Vive decluttering!

Hope you have a resolution in mind that will leave you happier and healthier at the end of 2011. Go easy on yourself. I've learned it takes a lot more time than what I was giving myself to accomplish the things I really want to achieve.

Flax Attack

Looking back over the year, 2010 was defined by my quest to be healthier and more energetic. And although there are lots of products being marketed out there, I've found that food and food supplements are the best ways to increase my energy level, good overall health, and (bonus!) even weight loss.

One of my new and easy-to-use friends is milled or ground flax seeds. I buy them in packets and pour them into my recycled spice shaker. You don't even have to have a nearby health food store for flax seeds; I find them in my local grocery store.

Flax seeds need to be ground for maximum benefit. I often buy mine already milled, but you can grind them in a coffee grinder.

It is easy to sprinkle on my morning cereal or my lunch salad. Honestly, I can't taste it so I don't have to worry about it altering the taste of my meal. That means I can sprinkle it all over my son's food, too, and he doesn't even know it!

But oh, the goodness it adds. An extra dose of Omega 3's and more fiber to my diet. And what woman doesn't need that for good health on the inside of our bodies and better skin on the outside!

Plus, flax seeds help reduce inflammation in the body. And inflammation is linked to all kinds of chronic illnesses and the negative toll cholesterol wreaks on your body. I'm thinking it will help me be as active as I am in my 40s as when I'm in my 80s. Hallelujah!

Sometimes, when I'm feeling bold, I'll just drink a tablespoon of flax seed oil instead. I may not get the fiber, but I get all the other goodness and probably more of it.

My goal has been and continues to be to add one healthy change at a time. For me, that's the way I can accomplish increasingly good things without becoming overwhelmed by too much change at once. Try it for yourself!
Love,
TCB