Corn Starch Goop
Okay, this one's not science. But, what is cuter than Clifford, a soldier, and little sis helping with chores?
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Life of Fred- How's It Working For Us?
I bought 4 of the 10 new Life of Fred elementary math books a while back. My 7yo reader, does NOT enjoy any of the math programs we've used, and LoF is different. The student reads a short chapter and then answers just a few questions (called "Your Turn to Play"). I can't really explain the approach, he does a good job of that in his website.
Instead of dreading DREADING math lessons everyday, my son races to do them. The books are written as a continual story about a boy professor named Fred. My son loves stories- perfect match. Well, because LoF is so different than any other math program I've seen, I am quick to think it will not be adequate. The author claims that it is NOT a supplement, but a stand alone curriculum.
In my doubts, and because 7yo was almost done with the 4th book, I was looking at a website of another math program that may be an option later, to see if 7yo could handle it yet. As I was searching, he came up and said, "You're NOT thinking of getting a different math curriculum, are you?!?"
I decided to go ahead and get the final 6 elementary books from LoF and not be too hasty to judge. The author suggests to finish all the elementary books, take a 6 month break and go through them again if the child is not yet ready for the upper math books. SINCE my son enjoys these so much, I am willing to be a guinea pig and see if he ends up being a math genius. What I can tell you is that I never imagined this child saying such wonderful things about math, and begging to do more! The author recommends doing one (short) chapter a day...I haven't been keeping that limit. But I can see that it may be a good idea so information can sink in before moving to the next chapter.
Just thought I'd throw out this little curriculum review for a new elementary math program (the upper levels are not new, though) written by a math professor. Be warned, it will NOT be what you think math "should" be. When we are finished with all ten books (twice) I will try to spread the word as to whether this is a s successful as I had hoped. It shouldn't take us 6 moths to finish the first round. Its my attempt to not pull teeth to get math done.
FYI, this is a self-learning curriculum, there is no teaching needed. DID YOU HEAR THAT? You do not need to be good at math to use this! The student just has to read well. I don't mean you shouldn't get involved or think of interesting ways to review the topics. I like to read the books first, so I can help direct the few questions he has, and try to enforce the areas covered. You are not supposed to give the answers, but to encourage them to look back to find it...and they really feel good when they've found it.
P.S. They (I) learn way more than math in these books.
P.P.S They are very silly, but fit for all ages.
Instead of dreading DREADING math lessons everyday, my son races to do them. The books are written as a continual story about a boy professor named Fred. My son loves stories- perfect match. Well, because LoF is so different than any other math program I've seen, I am quick to think it will not be adequate. The author claims that it is NOT a supplement, but a stand alone curriculum.
In my doubts, and because 7yo was almost done with the 4th book, I was looking at a website of another math program that may be an option later, to see if 7yo could handle it yet. As I was searching, he came up and said, "You're NOT thinking of getting a different math curriculum, are you?!?"
I decided to go ahead and get the final 6 elementary books from LoF and not be too hasty to judge. The author suggests to finish all the elementary books, take a 6 month break and go through them again if the child is not yet ready for the upper math books. SINCE my son enjoys these so much, I am willing to be a guinea pig and see if he ends up being a math genius. What I can tell you is that I never imagined this child saying such wonderful things about math, and begging to do more! The author recommends doing one (short) chapter a day...I haven't been keeping that limit. But I can see that it may be a good idea so information can sink in before moving to the next chapter.
Just thought I'd throw out this little curriculum review for a new elementary math program (the upper levels are not new, though) written by a math professor. Be warned, it will NOT be what you think math "should" be. When we are finished with all ten books (twice) I will try to spread the word as to whether this is a s successful as I had hoped. It shouldn't take us 6 moths to finish the first round. Its my attempt to not pull teeth to get math done.
FYI, this is a self-learning curriculum, there is no teaching needed. DID YOU HEAR THAT? You do not need to be good at math to use this! The student just has to read well. I don't mean you shouldn't get involved or think of interesting ways to review the topics. I like to read the books first, so I can help direct the few questions he has, and try to enforce the areas covered. You are not supposed to give the answers, but to encourage them to look back to find it...and they really feel good when they've found it.
P.S. They (I) learn way more than math in these books.
P.P.S They are very silly, but fit for all ages.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Homemade Laundry Stain Remover
We mostly use homemade laundry detergent, vinegar, and no dryer sheets to avoid dangerous chemicals in our laundry. During my times of investigating if the expensive detergents worked better than the homemade soap, I found the only thing to mattered was whether stains were treated with stain remover or not. So, my stain remover, I have kept...until now!
I thought I was going to have to use ammonia or some other harsh ingredients due to all the stain remover recipes I had found. Somewhere, I came across this suggestion. Oh, and how simple it is! Why...do I not think of these things on my own?
What you'll need:
1 bar of soap (I chose a plain white natural homemade bar)
water -2-5quarts depending on your preference
What to do:
1. Grate the soap.
2. Put it in a pan along with the water. If you're not sure how much, start with 2 quarts. You can dilute it more later. I recommend going ahead and using 4 quarts 'cause uts going to be thick.
3. Heat up the mixture until all the soap is melted.
4. After it has cooled a bit, pour it into the container of your choice.
In a day, this will be a gel (a very thick gel if you use 2 quarts of water). Use it like it is, or dilute it more.
Here, on the right is the stain remover before I diluted it. You can see that, after a few second, the middle is oozing down to the lid. On the left, the gel has been diluted more and it flopped down to the bottom as soon as I turned in upside down. Its still thick, but squirtable.
I will dilute the jar on the right when I need to. That means I will have made over 4 quarts of stain remover for the price of a bar of soap. AND- we'll avoid the cancer causing ingredients in store bought stain removers! The measley spray bottle of stain remover I've been using costs more and it only has 30 ounces in it. Compare that to over 128 ounces for less money.
Does it work, though? It has been working for me. I squirt some on the stain, smear it around or scrub it with a brush. I will let you know if, in the long run, it turns out to be dissapointing. So far, I've had great results.
Another thing to make from scratch!
Update: Our son's nose bled on his pillow one night. (He has frequent nosebleeds depending on the weather and his health.) We meant to soak it right away, but we were in a hurry and forgot. The blood had set for two day on the pillow- we finally covered the spot with this homemade stain remover. After a few hours, rinsed it off with water and the blood rinsed right off! TOTALLY! We have cleaned many spots of blood with zero results- now we have a winner!
Update: Our son's nose bled on his pillow one night. (He has frequent nosebleeds depending on the weather and his health.) We meant to soak it right away, but we were in a hurry and forgot. The blood had set for two day on the pillow- we finally covered the spot with this homemade stain remover. After a few hours, rinsed it off with water and the blood rinsed right off! TOTALLY! We have cleaned many spots of blood with zero results- now we have a winner!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Easy Sewing Projects
If I'm going to do a sewing project, it better be pretty simple. For Christmas presents, I took the opportunity to learn to sew a few new things. If you need any gift ideas, I have some. I learned most of them by doing quick internet searches.
Fleece scarves. There are many variations- including "no sew" fringe scarves I was planning on making. I decided to do something different, though, because I could only get plain, single color fleece. I got some applique pattern ideas and learned about reverse applique (where you sew a shape in two layers of fabric, then cut the top layer away just inside the seem.)
I also learned about the fringe "boa" scarves that only involve one seem- they are the pink, white and gray scarves in the picture.
These baby aprons/bibs were really fun to make. And very easy. I learned how at this link. I never knew bias tape was so neat.
I also used bias tape making this apron. I searched a bunch of apron tutorials 'til I finally just combined a few ideas and winged it. I like the wide ribbon for ties.
I also stumbled upon the idea of decorating a Sonic drink holder as a gift box. I don't eat there much, but the children and I happend to have lunch there one day- and I remembered this idea, so I ordered 4 waters in a drink carrier! It also made me wonder what other kinds of boxes would look neat covered with pretty paper.
I needed some good ideas for the unfilled slots in the "gift" carrier, so I found a Cowboy Cookies in a Jar recipe as well as a Cranberry Hootycreeks Cookies in a Jar recipe. I don't know if people really like cookies in a jar recipes, or if it is still just as much work to make the cookies. What do you think? Anyway, they look pretty.
The pillow didn't turn out exactly as I had planned (I think I was crossing that line between easy and slighty difficult with this project.) Maybe it was because I wasn't following any pattern or tutorial- but it ended up alright. I got to use my kanzashi flowers. My mom liked it, I made it to match her living room- thanks for the vote of confidence Mom.
Finally, this bag (A-line purse) took a surprisingly short amount of time to make considering I've never made a bag before AND I didn't quite understand the instructions at first. I learned how to make it here. If you're like me, you may have to triple review the tutorial for some details, but if you know anything about sewing, you'll probably get it right away.
Who knows if I'll be doing any new crafts until Christmas! It sure was a good excuse to do some! I would do any of these projects again (except, for the pillow, I would start with a better plan, first.) I hope you get some good ideas for special occasions- or next Christmas.
Fleece scarves. There are many variations- including "no sew" fringe scarves I was planning on making. I decided to do something different, though, because I could only get plain, single color fleece. I got some applique pattern ideas and learned about reverse applique (where you sew a shape in two layers of fabric, then cut the top layer away just inside the seem.)
I also learned about the fringe "boa" scarves that only involve one seem- they are the pink, white and gray scarves in the picture.
I also used bias tape making this apron. I searched a bunch of apron tutorials 'til I finally just combined a few ideas and winged it. I like the wide ribbon for ties.
I also stumbled upon the idea of decorating a Sonic drink holder as a gift box. I don't eat there much, but the children and I happend to have lunch there one day- and I remembered this idea, so I ordered 4 waters in a drink carrier! It also made me wonder what other kinds of boxes would look neat covered with pretty paper.
I needed some good ideas for the unfilled slots in the "gift" carrier, so I found a Cowboy Cookies in a Jar recipe as well as a Cranberry Hootycreeks Cookies in a Jar recipe. I don't know if people really like cookies in a jar recipes, or if it is still just as much work to make the cookies. What do you think? Anyway, they look pretty.
The pillow didn't turn out exactly as I had planned (I think I was crossing that line between easy and slighty difficult with this project.) Maybe it was because I wasn't following any pattern or tutorial- but it ended up alright. I got to use my kanzashi flowers. My mom liked it, I made it to match her living room- thanks for the vote of confidence Mom.
Finally, this bag (A-line purse) took a surprisingly short amount of time to make considering I've never made a bag before AND I didn't quite understand the instructions at first. I learned how to make it here. If you're like me, you may have to triple review the tutorial for some details, but if you know anything about sewing, you'll probably get it right away.
Who knows if I'll be doing any new crafts until Christmas! It sure was a good excuse to do some! I would do any of these projects again (except, for the pillow, I would start with a better plan, first.) I hope you get some good ideas for special occasions- or next Christmas.
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