I realize that summer doesn’t officially start until June 21, but my kids only have one more week of school. I need to get planning for the summer! Actually, I should have been planning for a while, but as usual, I’m a bit behind.
It’s hard to believe that in a week my kids will be home for the foreseeable future. No more three month countdowns to the start of school. But you know what? I’m ok with that. One of the things I’m looking forward to is a schedule that’s my own. A schedule that’s not dependent on bus routes, teacher inservice days, and random days off due to budget cuts.
So what am I going to do with our newfound freedom? Well, I have a few goals for the summer.
Goal #1: Prepare for Homeschooling
My number one goal this summer is to prepare for school next year. As a new homeschooling mom, I’m a bit nervous. I have most of my curriculum. I need to get my math curriculum yet, but I know what I need. And my good friend is going to let me borrow math curriculum for my daughter. Is that frugal, or what? (Thanks Julieanne!)
I’m also heading up to the OCEANetwork conference in a couple of weeks. I figure it can’t hurt to be inspired by those who have been homeschooling for years. The conference itself isn’t too expensive, and my in-laws will be watching the kids, so it will be a fairly frugal trip.
Goal #2: Establish Family Reading Time
This goes along with goal #1. The curriculum I picked for next year involves a lot of reading aloud. To get into the reading habit and make the transition to school easier, I’d like to start reading aloud to the kids after lunch each day.
I’ll probably start reading some books from the first grade curriculum, like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Capyboppy. I’ll add other books as the summer goes on, letting each kid take turns picking books.
Goal #3: Change Our Eating Habits
Sound familiar? It seems like this is always my goal, and I always fall flat. I’m hoping that a break from our busy schedule of school, sports, and church activities will afford me the time to really study the changes I need to make. If I were a great cook, it probably wouldn’t be too hard to make the switch. But I’m the type of person who needs a recipe for everything. So swapping ingredients doesn’t work well for me.
I’ve been studying sites like Gnowfglins, The Nourishing Gourmet, and Sue Gregg’s website. I have a catalog from Azure Standard, a semi-local supplier of whole foods. I’d love to buy Nourishing Traditions and the complete set of Sue Gregg Cookbooks, but I think I’ll wait a while. I don’t want to make any hasty purchases.
I actually plan on checking Nourishing Traditions out from the library, but there are a couple of holds. If I put it on hold now, it will come available right about the time we’re in Disneyland, so I’m going to wait until right before we leave to place the hold.
That’s my plan for the summer in a nutshell. It’s exciting to think about the changes ahead!
Do you have any advice for me in meeting my goals? Particularly in changing our diet…I could obviously use a lot of help in that department.
Be sure to catch Frugal Coast2Coast tonight (8:30EST/5:30 PST)! Linsey Knerl, one of the authors of 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget will be guest hosting with me. And there *might* be a giveaway on the show tonight. Just sayin’.
Photo by The Wandering Angel.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I homeschooled my Kiddos for two years and I can say that the one thing that excited all of us was the start of the new year – new books, new materials, new schedules. It was all so…new!
I still have the same feeling even though the Kiddos are in Public School.
Hey, if you have a Staples near by, keep a lookout for their penny sales. You can really rack up some good deals. Also, they have a teacher appreciation day. You count as a teacher – go get your free tote!
Iva @ Horizontal Yo-Yo’s last blog post..First Day of Hurricane Season – Eleven More Days Until My Birthday
Great photo!
I think you have the right idea getting the kids started on the homeschooling (reading) over the summer– good luck with that.
DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad.com’s last blog post..Words of Wisdom: Robert Kiyosaki
When your garden starts producing lots and lots, try the online recipes at supercook.com…. just plug in what you have on hand, and it will spit out the recipes.
Enjoy summer :)
I’m excited about summer too. I know you’re going to do a great job with your kids. Looks like some good resources in this post. Will check them out.
Angie’s last blog post..Energy Boosters
Yum…your picture is mouthwatering. I’m enjoying your blog…just found it this morning!
Here’s another cookbook I’d recommend: Mark Bitman, How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food.
We love this cookbook. I am a terrible cook (I have to check the recipe for how to make rice and boil eggs, and no I’m not joking). My husband is a great and adventurous cook. This cookbook helps both of us and is really the only one we use on a regular basis. It’s won a ton of awards and has an emphasis on simple recipes – making pancakes, cookie dough…really EVERYTHING.
Let me know if you try it, and good luck with your summer plans!
Lynn
Please check your e mail…
Angelsong’s last blog post..Finances are looking up
Being a “good cook” and “needing a recipe for everything” need not be mutually exclusive. According to my friends, I am a good cook, but I get all my recipes from the Epicurious website (www.epicurious.com). Whatever I need to use in the pantry, I type in and search for recipes that use that ingredient. Unless I don’t find what I need there, I try not to use other recipe websites because it can get overwhelming. Just stick with one or two recipe websites you like.
I have found that one of the keys is to buy vegetables even if you don’t have something in mind to do with them. Then, when the kids need a snack, tell them to eat a carrot, or celery with peanut butter on it. Just don’t buy unhealthy snacks in the first place, and the family will have no choice. If you worry about vegetables going bad in your fridge, toss them in the freezer at the end of their shelf life and save them to make chicken stock. (Put a $5 whole chicken in a pot with the frozen veggies and simmer for multiple hours. Strain and use the chicken meat for enchiladas. Refrigerate stock overnight, skim fat, freeze.)
L. Ottaviano’s last blog post..Friends, Romans, Countrymen…
We buy a lot of produce at the local warehouse club. There, I can purchase six heads of romaine lettuce for about $3.59. At the grocery store, you’d pay $3.99 for half of that. Bananas are $1.32 for a 4lb bunch.
For meal ideas that don’t require recipes…
1. Fruit plate with yogurt or cheese. Simply prep your fruits, arrange them on a plate and add a side car of your favorite yogurt or wedge of cheese. For the kids, you can arrange the fruits in shapes or happy faces (my Neatnik still loves this). To make the process even easier, prep your fruits ahead of time where possible. When I buy melons, I make cubes or balls and store them in resealable containers in the fridge. Also makes healthy snacking quick and easy.
2. Chef’s salad all the way. We eat lots of salad here. Usually a chef style salad for lunch and dinner. I keep the salad spinner’s crisper loaded with lettuce; diced green pepper in resealable containers, too. Around here, we like lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, chick peas, tomatoes, broccoli… your mileage may vary. For the “chef” part, sometimes I roll up cold cut meats and cheeses into little spirals and slice them before laying them on top of the veggies. Other times, we’ll have shredded chicken off of a rotisserie bird ($5 at the wholesale club and we get 3+ meals out of it before making stock), or tuna salad, or even steak or hamburger or tilapia on the side. Just because it is a “chef’s” salad doesn’t mean it all has to be in the same bowl. Great way to finish up leftover protein in the chill chest: nobody has to have exactly the same meat on their plate.
trek’s last blog post..Portmanteau
One idea I have: When you find or create a recipe for yourself, make notes as to how your family likes it, when it is used, and similar information. Also, when you are substituting or creating new combinations of ingredients (and it’s wonderful to do that, by the way), think about which flavors and textures complement each other or contrast pleasantly with others. Give yourself permission to experiment, and to think outside the box.
Angelsong’s last blog post..Finances are looking up
One idea I’m trying is to go online and find some free math, spelling and writing worksheets or projects and put them together in a livebinder. that way my kids can go online and open the one binder, work on a project and move on to a fun outdoor activity. I like the online binder because it keeps the kids focused on the pages I want them to see and doesn’t make it easy for them to search for something else. Feel free to check it out.
http://livebinders.com/play/play?id=1778
Tina’s last blog post..Lower School Summer Review
Hooray for family reading time! here’s a tip that really helped me and my family save money, not just on clothes – RENTING BOOKS. We found the Netflix of books, Bookswim, and it’s been amazing to save money for required school reading in addition to my personal reading. we rent instead of buy – genius!
Nourishing Traditions is an absolute must! Though it took my wife and I several years to really get into it. Azure Standard is a fantastic Tool as well, we’re always amazed and what we can find on there. We live here in the Northwest also, and each summer we try to make a weekly trip to our local farmers market a habit. Like Ottaviano suggested, we always try to buy a little bit more than we think we need, end up with some surprise meals, and always run out anyway.
Homeschooling is so exciting! I am so excited for you guys.
Rebecca Rivera’s last blog post..Mother’s Day
This is a simple piece of advice concerning eating habits. My husband always says that the way God made it is not only the best for you but tastes the best. One example he uses is ice cream. Which one tastes the best – the one with the least amount of ingredients, such as Breyers – not the one with all the stabilizers and chemicals in it.
So, if you’re looking to start off gradually, maybe you could start there. Just ask your self questions about everything. Did God make sugar? No, no refined sugar. Did he make yellow cheese? (Why do they have to dye it?) Did he give eggs or Egg Beaters?
I hope this makes sense. I’m a little tired right now and feeling kind of fuzzy!
Elisabeth’s last blog post..Farewell, Granny Smith
The ‘changing our eating habits’ is a goal of mine as well, and like you, it seems to fall flat every I decide to try. My biggest challenge isn’t the cooking, I’m actually pretty decent with that. My biggest challenge is that I’m sort of lazy when it comes to cooking for one. When I get the opportunity to cook for others, I absolutely love it. But, cooking for just myself is kind of boring and lonely, lol. But, I’ve gone three months in a row on blowing my budget in the grocery and eating out categories, so I’ve got to start reining that in. I’m definitely looking forward to the tips from others, as well!
Kristy @ Master Your Card’s last blog post..The Cost of Owning Pets