01/05/2016

SchoolHouseTeachers {Review}

I was given a complimentary membership of this product in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own. Please read my full disclosure page.

I was recently given the opportunity to review the SchoolhouseTeachers.com Yearly Membership. I feel honored to have the ability to share with you all about this awesome resource for homeschooling families. It is the time of year when many of us are re-evaluating our homeschool. We might take a good long look at what is working and what isn’t. I was very excited to see the variety of courses offered on Schoolhouseteachers.com! This is the perfect time to check this out for yourself!

What I Love

What I love about SchoolhouseTeachers.com are the many online classes in addition to the ease of use. There is a record keeping section along with homeschool planners. I can’t stress enough how awesome this section of the site is. They even offer a planner for special learners (which includes a section on IEPs, therapies and food and behavioral charts). I fully intend to utilize these features for use with my oldest son who has special needs.

They also offer core curriculum and electives aimed at all ages but I especially am fond of what is offered as an elective in the elementary grades. These include home economics, music theory, art techniques, photography and a few other classes! I quickly noticed the incredible amount of preschool oriented classes, as well, which fit well for my 3.5 and 5 year old. They also have numerous nutrition classes, math & science and even classes aimed at parents of special needs children. Once you are a member, it is all right there on the computer screen for you to use!

Once you log on, you’ll see the courses are divided up into subjects like art, electives, foreign language, science, math, language arts among others.

After picking your subject matter, you can see what is offered for each grade level. It is divided up between pre-school, elementary, middle school and high school.

It couldn’t be any easier. So many awesome classes are literally just a click away!

How I’m Using SchoolHouseTeachers

I plan to use the Charlotte Mason Preschool lessons with my younger kids. I love that they include specific topics to study and outline of the books that are needed. This goes hand in hand with my educational philosophy and I think it is a perfect fit for my young kids. Character training for Young Princes and Princesses also looks great for the little ones in our home. This is a character training course in video format.

We are just beginning to use Home Economics with my older three kids. This course covers topics such as personal hygiene, cleaning and money management. It also covers cooking, measuring, party planning and hospitality. I knew my daughter would especially enjoy this but I think it is beneficial for the boys as well. I was searching for a course exactly like this before I found SchoolhouseTeachers.com I’m so excited to use this with my 3rd, 5th, and 7th grader.

I’m enjoying the Daily Grammar and Daily Math! These are excellent to use for extra review to what my children typically use for these subjects. My 8 year old especially needs some extra review, so I’m happy to have this for her.

I want to also mention there is an excellent looking homesteading course for those of you interested in it. It includes recipes and ideas on making homemade cleaners, using essential oils, canning, gardening and more along these lines. It looks like an excellent resource for anyone interested in making these types of changes to their lifestyle.

Right now for a limited time get half off a one year subscription! Use coupon code:
CREWFOLLOWER The coupon is valid through 1/31/2016.

01/04/2016

What You Need to Know about Cleaning up the Stomach Flu

I lay on the side of the bed, my large pregnant belly hanging over the edge, as I faced the wall. Although I was sleeping, it was a light sleep. Even though my eyes were resting, my ears were listening for any peep of noise.

Seconds later, I sat up with a jolt seeing my son standing at the edge of my room. “I’m sick,” he mumbled. “I just threw up.” I hopped off my bed as fast as any 9 month pregnant woman can as I grabbed my gloves and wipes.

This sickness had taken down it’s fifth victim of the last week. What if I get sick? I pushed the thoughts away not wanting to think about dehydration or not being able to hold food down. I was in survival mode, cleaning mode. I needed to make my nest clean for this next little birdie.

How is this happening? I thought. I was doing so well. My diligence to clean should not be overlooked here. I wasn’t just nesting – I was nesting in a viral-war-zone.

I’ve written before on stocking up for Winter “sick season” but I wanted to come back here and share what I learned about our little journey with Norovirus (aka stomach flu).

I hope and pray that this year isn’t as bad for that nasty little virus. I was 36 weeks pregnant last February when it first struck our home. I quickly went into obsessive-compulsive overdrive.

It started when someone (apparently having just gotten over the dreadful yucky disease) contaminated the food they were serving at a catered event. About 60 of our friends came down with it and within days my 7 year old daughter had caught it, too.

At first, we thought it was some sort of food poisoning but quickly realized it wasn’t when others in our home came down with it who hadn’t attended the first event. After hours of vomiting and diarrhea, our daughter was sick in bed and resting. Hoping to contain it, I brought some books and fluids to her in her room – I was trying desperately to keep the other children from becoming exposed.

About two days later my youngest daughter had it. I did my best to clean up after her and keep her away from her brothers. I started realizing that this wasn’t food poisoning and it must be a stomach flu virus. I started searching and the department of health and the CDC both confirmed how to clean to destroy this virus.

The more I read, the more I realized I was cleaning all wrong. I was using Lysol or Clorox wipes which don’t contain bleach.

I was washing dirty clothes in the washer machine with ordinary detergent. I had been washing dishes in the dishwasher along with everyone else’s dishes. I suddenly saw that cleaning up the stomach flu germs wouldn’t be easy. This is a hardy virus. Water doesn’t kill it. Household cleaners (other than bleach) don’t kill it. It would resist all my efforts.

In my attempt to clean, I was, in fact, contaminating our entire household. A few days later my youngest son complained of a belly ache at dinner time. Suddenly, the sickness hit him and I gave a speech to our oldest two sons at bedtime. I told them if they felt sick to run to the bathroom, without delay. I instructed them to wake us if they felt ill. As I was cleaning up after my youngest, my husband began to feel ill. It was moving as swiftly as the flu had through our family, a few years before. Sure enough, in the middle of the night, my 10 year old was sick as well. We had 5 of us severely sick all within days of each other. I write all this to say that if the nasty Noro bug or stomach flu hits your family don’t make the same mistake I did.

10 Things You Need to Know about Cleaning up the Stomach Flu

1. Chlorine Bleach

Bleach is the only thing that should be used and the product that cleans it effectively.

It is best to use chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite-NaOCl) as the main disinfecting agent (other types of disinfectants are not effective at killing the virus). Use a new, unopened bottle of chlorine bleach and prepare the cleaning solution as indicated below under “Concentrations,” using fresh bleach each day.source

I used Clorox Cleanup with bleach for sinks, toilet seats, and showers/tubs.

2. Check your dish detergent

Most dish detergent don’t detergents bleach. Most are enzyme based – which does not kill norovirus. I did find one at Target which does. Please use caution: many cleaners you CANNOT mix with bleach! Please be careful and always read the labels!

3. Sanitize Your Dishwasher

I used heated dry in the dish cycle. If you have a sanitary cycle – use that, too.

4. Steam clean the carpet (and hardwood floors)

Steam-clean the carpet to 170 degrees Fahrenheit for five minutes or 212 degrees Fahrenheit for one minute to completely inactivate the virus. source

5. Check your cleaners – Make sure they ALL have bleach

I learned that Clorox Wipes don’t contain bleach. Read Labels. You are only pushing around the Norovirus germs, otherwise.

6. Sanitizing Your Toilets is a must for cleaning up the stomach flu

Where are most (not all) of the virus particles found? Where people are throwing up. You need to use a bleach based cleaner in your toilet, too. I used Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner which includes bleach on the label for the inside of the toilets.

7. When in Doubt – Skip the Cleaners and Use Bleach

I used diluted bleach to clean household surfaces like stair rails and flat surfaces/light switches.

8. Let the bleach solution sit for a while.

For the best results, let the bleach water or cleaner sit on the surface for about 10 minutes before wiping it clean with paper towels or other disposable products.source

9. Don’t drag germs down the hall

I put any contaminated sheets/towels/clothes in a trash bag and walked it to the laundry room (don’t contaminate hallway/rooms)

10. Kill germs in the washer

I washed any contaminated sheets and clothes separately from non-contaminated with bleach on hot (preferably sanitize cycle if available)

Use gloves to handle soiled sheets, towels and clothes, and keep them separate from other laundry if possible.source

I really hope your family doesn’t get struck with the stomach flu – Norovirus…but if they do – please be prepared!!! What are your tips for cleaning up the stomach flu?

Don’t forget you can download our printable winter planner that has tons of guides and trackers for medicine and symptoms!

01/01/2016

Changing our New Year’s Resolutions

Changing the Pattern of

Our New Year’s Resolutions

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

Ahhh….New Years. The time of year when we reflect on the year past. We look back with sentimental eyes as we remember the good days. We might imagine what the new year will bring. This is the time of year when we decide how we are going to change…how we will be better.

The truth is, none of us can know with certainty what this year will bring. I can guarantee you that there will be surprises and there will be heartbreak. There will be things you never expect. 2015 brought so much change to our family. Some anticipated change and much more which stayed invisible until it was upon us. It delivered for us a new beloved baby, many happy days, new friends, a new church family, a sudden lay-off & job loss, anxiety over the future, much prayer, selling our home to prepare to move, learning to live without our wonderful ABA therapy and lastly a greater understanding of the weight of medical issues which affect our oldest son. There was no way to prepare for this year. There really wasn’t. Especially when you are like me and are a perpetual planner. I love to know what is coming every step of the way. The truth is we can’t know…and that in itself is hard.

This morning as January 1st begins, our rollercoaster continues as we wait to see where we will live. It continues as we wait for more medical tests to come back. It continues as we scramble to figure out how to homeschool our oldest without outside help. But you know what? For those of us who are followers of Christ we shouldn’t just accept that this is inevitable and we shouldn’t just expect it. We shouldn’t play the victim. We should instead choose to live everyday in anticipation of how we can best serve Him. So that when these bad things come our way, we know that they aren’t just part of the plan but that God is doing a new thing. He is making us a new creation. He is preparing us and delivering us through this not inspite of it.

Today as we make our New Year’s Resolutions we just might need to question what our hearts desire. We might need to question what we think we need. We might need to question the level of control we think is necessary. We might need to question what the next best step is. We might just need to question our New Years Resolutions. Sometimes the things we think are making us better people are pulling us further from Him.

Are we focusing on how to make ourselves better apart from the only one who can transform us? What are our motives for any decision we are making right now? If we are looking to our hearts desire, one thing is for certain – our expectations will fail us. Every single time. Our hearts are failable – they seek only for themselves. We are to intentionally submit our lives to Christ. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

I pray that as this New Year unfolds, that we seek God. If we seek His will not only in our decisions but in our thinking – in our mind – in our everyday, this year will be a success. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. “Ephesians 4:22-24

12/29/2015

Life Skills to Teach Your Kids

Teach Your Kids New Skills

In the New Year

It’s almost New Years and I was just thinking of what some of my New Year’s Resolutions will be. I decided to start a new tradition for this new year. I want to teach specific life skills to my kids. My hope is to be purposeful and intentional in what we teach them. We have already been doing this on a smaller scale with our oldest son who has delays and autism. We go through a list of skills and when he completes one we start the next. However, in my other children, I want to strive to teach them skills that they should learn. In addition to chores and habits which we implement, we can also teach a specific life skill that we hope they will master by the end of the year.

In thinking of how to implement this, there are a few key strategies and questions to ask:

What is the age of your child?

As you think about what skill to choose, this one will be important. There are some skills that should wait until the child is older.

What is their developmental level?

What is the child’s maturity? How are their fine motor skills? Gross motor skills? How hard of a task with this be for them?

What are their interests?

Is this something they are interested in? Is this something they will need or want to know when they are grown? Will this benefit them now?

As kids get older, there are more tasks that they are able to learn. I think, in the new year it would be great to pick one and really place an emphasis on teaching the child the new skill. They can feel that sense of accomplishment – and you can also have more one-on-one time with them.

Ideas:

Crafts/Hobby

(Sewing, needlepoint, woodworking, engraving, cross stitch, knitting, crocheting, weaving, drawing)

Culinary Skills

(Cooking, Baking, Cake decorating)

Housework

(Completing laundry from start to finish, doing the dishes from start to finish, planning for a dinner party/guests)

Yard Work

(Gardening, Mowing the lawn)

Music

(Playing: Piano, Voice, Violin, Guitar, Writing music, percussion)

What life skills are you teaching your kids this year? What are your New Years Resolutions?

12/16/2015

Be prepared for cold and flu season – 10 Things You Need to Have

It’s that time of year again…and I don’t mean Christmas. I mean it’s time for cold and flu season. Everybody knows that so many of us are carrying around nasty germs – infections viruses – hearty bacteria, yet it always seems to take us by surprise when our household comes down with one of these vile illnesses.

Be prepared for cold and flu season – 10 Things You Need to Have

Three years ago, the week of Christmas my then 5-year-old came down with the worst flu I think I’ve ever seen in my life. High fever, cough, body ache, belly ache. What’s worse is that single virus made it through every one of us. Two days after my 5-year-old woke up sick, I woke up feeling that I could barely get out of bed. Nausea and body aches, chills – I knew at once we would all be staying home through the holidays. What made it even harder was when my husband was also sick – none of us could leave the house to even grocery shop. I remember Christmas Eve coming around and all of us home sick on the couch.

Last winter a similar thing happened. At 36 weeks pregnant, my daughter woke me up in the middle of the night because she had a belly ache. Norovirus swiftly made its way through our house. Somehow, I was spared this time. Changing sheets, towels, bath mats, cleaning toilets, tubs, sinks, sanitizing every surface of our home became my job for almost 3 weeks straight. That ordeal taught me a thing or two. I learned that during the cold and flu season we must be prepared.

What to keep on hand during cold and flu season:

(Contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.)

Stock up

Oral Rehydration Solution

There are various types but Pedialyte for kids and Gatorade for adults. There is a way to make your own, but I think it is easier to just keep some of this on hand – especially for the little kids.

Vitamins

We like to take Emergen-C when exposed to sickness or when first coming down with a cold or another virus. Emergen-C has large quantities of vitamins so please check with your doctor before taking.

Soft Drinks

Non-caffeine drinks like Sprite or Ginger Ale are perfect during and right after coming down with Noro or any other stomach bug.

Crackers

Saltines are a favorite for the same reason as above. These settle the stomach after a stomach bug hits.

Chicken Broth

I prefer homemade, but like to keep a few cans on hand to make some chicken noodle soup.

Thermometer

Invest in a good thermometer like this one. We keep this in our first aid kit, but a good thermometer is a must during cold/flu season. I prefer a forehead thermometer, but an ear or old fashioned one works, too.

Fever-Reducing Medicine

We keep infant, children’s chewable and adult on hand. You don’t want to be searching for this if someone wakes up with a high fever in the middle of the night!

Popsicles

These look yummy and popsicles are so nice to have for sore throats and belly aches.

Bleach

This is a must for cleaning Noro. Nothing comes close to killing that virus, other than bleach. I don’t typically keep this on hand, but learned my lesson last year.

Face mask and cleaning gloves

You will need these for cleaning up messes, giving out medicine, to protect you and other family members. I like these vinyl gloves. We also tried these face mask last year.

What do you keep in your medicine cabinet for cold and flu season?

You might also like our Smart Mom’s Guide to Surviving Winter:

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SchoolHouseTeachers {Review}

What I Love

How I’m Using SchoolHouseTeachers

What You Need to Know about Cleaning up the Stomach Flu