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Home schooling doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. It only gets costly if you begin buying a lot of curriculum packages. I received an email from Ann last week asking how we did our home schooling and saved money. I thought I would turn it into a post!

First, some background. We began home schooling Brandon three years ago. Aioden has always been home schooled. I don’t believe home schooling is the only right way to educate a child, I just believe it is the right way for us.

I don’t use a packaged curriculum. Many of them have a Christian focus, which doesn’t match up with our family’s beliefs. I have never found a packaged secular curriculum I thought worth the expenditure, so we build our own.

We primarily combine Montessori and Charlotte Mason learning philosophies. We use Montessori methods primarily in the younger grades for teaching math, grammar and reading. We use Charlotte Mason’s living books philosophy for science, history, geography & art.

There are plenty of free Montessori lessons and printables online. For our CM materials we primarily depend on the library and used books. Home schooling works especially well for my kids. Brandon is way ahead of grade level in reading, history and science, but he is about one year behind in math. Aioden is the opposite — he’s way ahead in math but struggles with reading. I can tailor their education to strengthen their individual weak areas.

I’m going to post today about Brandon’s curriculum. I’ll follow up with Aioden’s tomorrow!

Brandon (5th grade level)

Math: We use Kahn Academy, a free math program that overs K through college level. Bran also enjoys their science video lessons.

History: We have a huge DK history of the world book that we use as our main history spine, which we supplement with library books and movies. Bran also started a book of centuries this year.

Geography: We aren’t currently focusing on geography, although we have in past years so Brandon has a decent grasp. We’re going to begin a 50 states study in January with both boys.

Science: Our family, especially my husband and the kids, are very science hungry so I don’t worry too much about this. We do nature studies and use a variety of library and thrifted books for the rest. Brandon is focusing on the human body, tidal forces and simple machines this year.

Literature: Brandon reads voraciously, so I am sneaking some great books into the rotation. Currently he is reading “Hans Brinker & the Silver Skates.” He starts on “Tom Sawyer” next. He writes a few paragraphs about what he has read each week.

English: We used the Montessori grammar boxes with him quite a bit, so he is pretty proficient in grammar. He still pulls them out occasionally to review. We supplement with writing exercises, making our own books, and creating spelling lists from words identified during reading and writing exercises.

Art: The boys get plenty of hands-on art time since they have an artist for a dad and a mom who likes to craft! We also do some Mason-style picture study and mix in a bit of art history.

Extras: He’s practices his typing using a variety of free online typing courses. He decided he wanted to learn German this year. We’re using Live Mocha in conjunction with a book and tape set we bought at a library sale. Andrew also speaks German, so he helps a bit. Brandon is also very active in Scouts and he is planning to start a martial art after the winter holidays!

Brandon works on academic work for three to four hours most days. Some days he finishes much earlier! He’s my little Type-A personality, so he is really easy to educate. He makes his own daily checklists of assignments and works through them on his own, coming to me or dad when he needs help.

Aioden is a much different type of learner, and as you will see tomorrow, we are still working on the best ways to help him!

Another busy week in the evenings. Boy Scouts on Monday, Cub Scouts on Wednesday and I have a conference on Thursday. We didn’t order from the co-op this week, so I’ll be trying to use up the last of those veggies and fruits before next week’s order!

Saturday: Beef & Cabbage Soup, bread

We were supposed to have this yesterday, but the day ended up being so busy that everyone just ate leftovers. I’ll start this off in the crockpot in the morning so I can have an easy Saturday with minimal cooking.

Sunday: Bacon & avocado panini, salad or leftover soup.

Sunday is usually our leftover day, but the house is free of leftovers because of Friday. I make paninis in an ancient Foreman grill, but you can use a grill pan instead.

Monday: Spaghetti, salad & bread

Pasta is always a quick and easy choice. I’ll be doing some afternoon baking (mainly our breakfast breads) so I’ll make some rolls or garlic bread then.

Tuesday:  Pot Pie and a veggie side

It’s supposed to be cold Tuesday so I want comfort food on the table. Pot pie also lets me use up any veggies that are starting to head south. I make mine with a biscuit crust because it’s easier!

Wednesday: Spinach & sausage quiche casserole, roasted veggies , rolls

I love this quiche for a quick meal. I modified a Bisquick recipe to use my homemade Bisquick mix. It makes it’s own crust and only takes a minute to mix up and pop in the oven. Not quite like real quiche, but tasty!

Thursday: Crockpot Mac & Cheese, salad

More comfort food that cooks all day. A must since I won’t be home until right at dinner time today!

Friday: Steaks, mashed potatoes & green beans

I have a couple of big steaks left from our last meat order. I’ll bake them in the oven because they are too big for the stove top and these two never made it onto the grill this summer.

If you see anything in my menu plan you would like the recipe for, drop me a note in the comments!

…to finish up those gifts and perhaps start on a new project or two! Next week I’ll begin showing off the winter gifts we’ve been making at chez Turnip and sharing some ideas for handmade gifts that don’t require a lot of time.

Handcrafting, cold evenings and hot tea must mean winter is near!

I started planning out our weekly menu several years ago out of desperation. At the time, things were really tight. I had 30 days ahead of me and $70 to feed the four of us with. I plotted out an entire month of meals — breakfast, lunch and dinner — for that $70. We made it through and things got better, but I was sold on the power of a menu plan.

I’ve perfected it for our family over the years. The same method of planning may not work as well for you, but hopefully my method will give you a few ideas. I can honestly say that the menu plan alone saves us the most money on groceries. That’s money we can then put toward other goals, like our little urban homestead!

First, I don’t plan breakfast or lunch. We always have eggs, homemade breads and goodies and fruit on hand. We each assemble our own breakfast from these items. The kids usually have a baked good or toast with some fruit, while Andrew and I have eggs and fruit. I also don’t plan lunch. Leftovers, salads and sandwiches (especially grilled cheese!) make up our typical lunch and solve the bulk of our leftover problems.

I begin planning for the week by first going through the fridge, freezer and pantry to see what we have on hand and what needs using up. This usually gives me inspiration for  couple of dinners. Next, I check the evening schedule for the week. I know I need quick, simple meals on busy nights or after a long, busy day. I also glance through the last few weeks of menu plans to see what we’ve had recently to avoid repetition.

Finally, I write out the plan. My menus are pretty loose. I pencil in each meal but I might not give specifics. For example, I may right down pasta but I don’t specify whether it’s quickie spaghetti or fancy homemade ravioli. That’s because it depends on my mood when I finally begin to cook.

Although we usually eat every single meal planned for the week, I (very) often move them around. I may move an easy meal from the end of the week to the front of the week if I’m too tired to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on a Tuesday, or flip meals around because I forgot to thaw out something on the plan. I purposely include a few low-effort meals, usually vegetarian or close to it, in each week’s plan for just this reason. So my plan isn’t so much a day-by-day plan, but a list of seven meals to be served in random order that week. I arrange the plan by day, but I look over the entire week’s meals before choosing the one I will make.

So how does a menu plan save money?

Simply put, we are less tempted by dining out or buying ready-made food. There is also no last minute grocery store trips because with a plan I can ensure we have all the ingredients on hand at the start of the week. Less grocery trips saves gas money and eliminates the chance for impulse purchases.

If you have any tips on making a successful menu plan, please share them!

Every September I begin grilling the boys on what they want to be for Halloween. They each have a $5 budget, so that rules out most store-bought costumes. Anyway, store-bought doesn’t look this good!

Aioden had decided months ago on an Astronaut. A little felt, paper mache and a fortuitous thrift store find of a NASA kid’s backpack brought his costume in right at $5 (I had to buy the felt, but it was on sale for $1/yd).

Check out those patches. We printed them right to the fabric. I’ll share a tutorial soon!

Brandon went as a “rogue assassin.” Think fantasy or renfair-style thief and you got it. I altered a thrifted men’s dress shirt into his tunic and used items from my fabric stash for the rest. Total cost: $1. (For the sake of honesty, I also spent $4 on the snow boots at the thrift store. But I’m not counting them as part of the costume because he needed new boots for this winter!)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!

The boys decided the front of our home wasn’t spooky enough, so we quickly churned out these little ghosts Sunday afternoon:

Supplies:

• White fabric scraps or trash bags (we used fabric)
• Pom-poms
• Yarn
• A black marker

Assemble as in the photo collage then hang them around your yard to greet the trick-or-treaters!

Have a happy and safe All Hallow’s Eve!

We have a couple things going on in the evening this week. Monday is Halloween and Brandon’s Boy Scout meeting, Wednesday is Aioden’s cub Scout night (I’m his Pack’s Cubmaster, so it’s actually “our” meeting night!), an Friday evening we have a field trip to the museum. We are having a late lunch and a few hands of cards at my parent’s on Sunday, so that will be our left over day!

We pick up our co-op vegetables and fruit on Saturday (today!), but I still have some lettuce and broccoli to use up from our last basket. I’ll adjust the recipes used in this week’s meals to use the produce we get in our basket this week.

Saturday: Broccoli, cheese & rice casserole w/a side salad

A great use for slightly yellowing broccoli! I’ll make scratch cucumber-ranch dressing for the salad. I think a rich dressing helps mask lettuce that’s slightly past prime.

Sunday: Fend for Yourself aka Leftover Night

Monday: Scalloped potato casserole w/a vegetable side

I can make this ahead in the morning so papa can toss it in the oven while the boys and I are out trick or treating.

Tuesday: Calzones & oven fries

I love calzones! They use less cheese than pizza but are twice as filling.

Wednesday: Baked Pasta & rolls

Wednesdays are usually pasta days since this is our busiest night of the week. Loading up on the carbs gets us through the day!

Thursday: Enchiladas, cheater’s Spanish rice & a vegetable side

Enchiladas are a little more involved since I make my enchilada sauce from scratch. We having nothing going on today, so this is my “fancy” meal this week.

Friday: Crockpot soup & homemade bread.

This will be warm and ready when we get back from the museum if I remember to make the bread in the afternoon. (I’m not sure what kind of soup yet, we’ll see what leftovers need used!)

If you see anything in my menu plan you would like the recipe for, drop me a note in the comments!

Fall is a fleeting season in the Inland Northwest. Some years, we never even see fall in Eastern Washington. One day, the weather is warm and the trees are green then the next the streets are covered in ice and snow.

This year we have fall. The trees have burst forth in a riot of red and gold. The mornings are cold but the afternoons are brisk yet sunny. We enjoy this season, knowing we may have to wait several years before being graced with a true autumn again.

We have the fortune of having a collection of small, pick-your-own farms near our town. The area, called Greenbluff, is a favorite place for our family to spend summer and fall days.

In this season, we wove our way through the corn maze….

…and found the castle in the center.

The boys rode the farm train, proving even 11 isn’t too old to laugh with your brother.

Pumpkins were selected with dreams of the pies, puddings and breads they will become.

Tired and happy, we savor every bit of fall we are given.