• Homeschooling

    All About Spelling – review

    For spelling this year we have been using All About Spelling. I was really impressed when I received the package to see how much was included, and how much of the work had been done for me. I did have to pull the cards apart (they were perforated) and cut apart the letter tiles and stick magnets on the backs…

  • Heritage

    Vintage Baby Cards

    I’ve been scrapbooking as long as I can remember. Of course, early on, it was really my mother who kept the scrapbook. My childhood scrapbook is very fragile now with brittle pages, but it is one of my special treasures.When I was a little girl it was a special treat to get to look at my scrapbook. I always had…

  • Homeschooling

    Our American History Scrapbook

    Awhile back I mentioned that we were taking a notebooking approach to American History. Shawntele @ Saved by Grace asked to hear more about our notebook so I promised to post about it. It’s actually more of a scrapbook. I’m not sure if or how that differs from what other homeschoolers calling “notebooking” but it’s more cut-and-paste than it is…

  • Lifestyle

    A Blustery Walk

    It’s the dark time of the year. I always have a hard time adjusting to the shorter daylight hours after the time changes in the fall. Sunset today was at 4:22p.m. and it will continue to set earlier and earlier for another 6 weeks. Then the days will gradually start getting longer again! This afternoon I went for a walk…

  • Heritage,  Homeschooling

    Making Butter – a tutorial

    When I was growing up we almost always drank raw milk. We didn’t own a cow but we would buy fresh milk from a neighbor who did. We made our own butter, too. Recently I bought a half-gallon of whipping cream and then didn’t end up using it all before the expiration date, so I decided my children could learn…

  • Heritage

    A Love Letter

    Dearest Lyle, Today is Marriage Monday over at Chrysalis… and the assignment is to “write a love letter to my husband.” I wasn’t going to do it, because I knew it would embarrass you… but since today happens to be the 24th anniversary of our wedding… well, I couldn’t just let it pass without writing something, now could I? I…

  • Adventures

    Fall Beauty

    We went camping this past weekend in central Washington, near Grand Coulee Dam. Steamboat Rock campground is open year round and we thought it might be a little warmer over there for perhaps the last camp-out of the season. It was. But it was also gray and drizzly……however, as I’ve mentioned before, we don’t mind the rain. The scenery was…

  • Adventures

    Grand Coulee Dam

    This past weekend we had another informal family field trip to the Grand Coulee Dam in central Washington. We were camping in the area, so took the opportunity to visit the dam while we were over there. It doesn’t tie in with anything we’re learning about currently… but it was built in the 1930s as a Public Works Administration project,…

  • Homeschooling

    Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

    As we’ve been studying the American Revolution this year, I have wished we had the opportunity to visit some of the historical sites — Boston, Philadelphia, Williamsburg, Washington D.C… Living “way out west” is kinda unhandy for field trips to such places, though we do hope to make such a trip before too long, possibly next year. In our history…

  • Adventures

    Simple Woman’s Daybook

    It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these. I always love the way this particular meme causes me to slow down and reflect on the simple things of life. I see that the “thought prompts” have changed up a bit since the last time I did it. I like that. I’d love to read your “simple” reflections, too! Be…