While looking for sites that could help me, I came upon a really interesting one called “Kelly The Kitchen Kop.” It is a site that offers lessons on how to get real food on the table without going broke. Ha! An answer to every mom’s prayer!

See her links below for more information:

Here is what you don’t want to miss:

A One year subscription - new, renewal, or a gift for a friend for a price of only $7.95 (US and Canada). This new subscription will start with the Winter 2010 magazine.

If you don’t want to wait till Winter to get a hand of these great magazines, you can choose to get a one-year + current issue subscription for $12.95 (US and Canada). This subscription starts with the Fall 2010 magazine.

One other great subscription they have would be the digital one-year subscription for $6.95 - new and renewals.

They are also offering a really great deal for their home and school planners which is jam-packed with freebies. If you purchase from now until September 13, buy an E-Planner, Planner on CD, Planner E-book, or Planner CD with Student Planner and you will be able to get the 2008 and 2009 Planner Modules and the WeE-book insect bundle for FREE-which totals to 27 free E-books!

Here is their Sales Page

]]> http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/08/31/tos-labor-day-special/feed/ http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/08/30/review-sherri-grahams-intentional-planner/ http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/08/30/review-sherri-grahams-intentional-planner/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:33:11 +0000 Christina http://www.homemaking911.com/?p=1286

September is RAPIDLY approaching. Do you already have your plans made for the upcoming school year? When I start a new school year, I like to think through all my plans and try to lay them out in a logical way so that I can see where I need to make adjustments, add or subtract activities.

In addition to creating my new school schedule, I also examine my meal plan, our chores, our spiritual and business goals, etc.

I just had the pleasure of reviewing Sherri Graham’s Planner called:

The Intentional Planner.

I am always interested in seeing how other women organize their homes and schools so that I can see what I can glean from the wisdom of others.

This planner was not only very pretty (important!) but also very functional. She has included all the typical things you would expect to see in a home management binder. There is room for regular calendar functions, but also has the additional features of:

Prayer lists, book lists, reading lists, curriculum lists, places to plan your home school curriculum, grocery lists, menu planning forms, birthday lists, etc.

A unique feature of her calendars and forms are that you can type into the forms on your computer and then print the form pre-filled in with your typed notes. This is a fantastic feature if you have recurring events or a set schedule.

I especially liked how she shared examples of her own day, so that you can get an idea of things you may not think of on your own when planning your day. This was very helpful, but also could be edited to add or change things you think are important.

This is a meaty planner, with over 240 pages, but do not let that intimidate you- you only print out the forms you need, and some are very similar forms done in different formats to meet the diverse needs of home managers.

Sherri’s planner is a real bargain at only $5.00! Here is her post about it:

http://www.school4jesus.com/its-here-the-intentional-planner-2010-2011-edition

My answer:
I cannot stand it when my kitchen is a yucky mess. As you will see in these pictures, my house has a kind of open floor plan so that a messy kitchen is visible from the main part of the house and really can’s be ignored. If your kitchen is a mess, here is where I suggest you start:

From Cleaning the Kitchen

1. Gather all the dirty dishes and put them in piles near the sink (not in the sink). Dump any beverages down the drain as you gather them. Drag your trash can over there as well, if possible. This is where you can throw away all food remaining on dishes.

From Cleaning the Kitchen

2. Clear the counter space to the right of the sink and wipe it down, then place a nice, clean towel or dish drainer there to gather clean dishes.

From Cleaning the Kitchen

3. Clean out the sink thouroughly of all food and debris.

From Cleaning the Kitchen

4. Fill the sink with soapy water and drop the silverware in there to soak (not the sharp knives).

From Cleaning the Kitchen

5. Begin washing your glasses. If the water gets too dirty at any time, drain it and start again.

6. Pile the soapy washed dishes on the right side of your sink. Once it is full, stop and rinse all the dishes and set them on the towel or the dish drain to dry.

From Cleaning the Kitchen

7. Continue washing, saving the dirtiest dishes like pans until last.

From Cleaning the Kitchen

8. As your dishes are drying on the counter, throw away all trash, put away all clutter, and wipe remaining counters and tables down. Gather all paperwork and move it to your desk area. Remember your kitchen is a food factory, not a paperwork holder. Take all toys and clutter and set them in a laundry basket to put away when you are finished.

From Cleaning the Kitchen

9. Clean the inside of your microwave. To clean it, take a large microwaveable bowl with two cups of water and bring it to a boil inside the microwave. The steam will loosen dirt. You can often take out the glass turntable and clean it in your sink.

10. Wipe down the fronts of appliances.

From Cleaning the Kitchen

11. Dry and put away all the dishes.

12. Sweep the floor and mop it. Make traps for your children with the chairs and ask them to “Please be my prisoner.”

From Cleaning the Kitchen

13. Clean any glass windows (at least on the inside where grime and grease may gather).

From Cleaning the Kitchen

14. Clean out your sink, actually polishing it this time.

From Cleaning the Kitchen

15. Take all towels and cloth napkins and washcloths to your laundry area. Replace the towels and washcloths and paper towels if you use them.

16. If time and temperature permits, set your self-cleaning oven to clean itself. Mine takes over 4 hours and will make a burning smell in your house, so keep that in mind when you consider cleaning it.

17. Set out a pretty candle or some flowers and enjoy.

18. As you can see in the pictures, see which tasks you can delegate. You can do something creative like put some brownies in the oven before you start, so that you have a fun reward at the end. Don’t forget to set a timer!

From Cleaning the Kitchen

19. Take pictures of your children while they are working and tell them, “I’m blogging this!” and they will work harder and more happily than you could ever imagine. If you do not have a blog, feel free to send me a picture of your clean kitchen and I will blog it for you!

]]> http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/08/26/go-clean-your-kitchen/feed/ http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/08/26/the-notebooking-pages-treasury/ http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/08/26/the-notebooking-pages-treasury/#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:35:39 +0000 va http://www.homemaking911.com/?p=1270 The Notebookingpages.com has a great announcement. They are having a wonderful promo - converting their Notebookingpages.com site into a MEMBERSHIP site! They are officially calling this the Notebooking Pages Treasury.

This wonderful new site will contain a collection of all the notebooking pages that you love, all in one place. Even better news is this - they are offering a special kick-off promo by offering a special coupon and free gifts for all of us.

Here is the promo code for a $10 off the sale price - treasury10

Click below for more information:

]]> http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/08/26/the-notebooking-pages-treasury/feed/ http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/08/20/school-house-expo-tickets-on-sale/ http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/08/20/school-house-expo-tickets-on-sale/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:14:42 +0000 va http://www.homemaking911.com/?p=1265

If you have gotten a chance to be a part of last May’s School House Expo by the Old School House Magazine, then you definitely don’t want to miss this fall’s Expo which will be held on October 4-8. Great news is, they are offering a $5 coupon for all of us. Tickets are limited since they have pre-sold quite a number of tickets so you may want to hurry. The sale of tickets starts August 16-midnight of August 22.

Here are some of the things you may not want to miss:

Be inspired by their line of speakers including:

Zan Tyler, Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright, Carol Barnier, Diana Waring, Todd Wilson, Davis Carman, Kim Kautzer, Lee Binz and many more. They will be speaking about topics dealing with the highly distractable child, special needs, writing for profit, scholarships etc.

A freebie package worth over $200 and plenty of fun.

Click Here For more information

Here is the list of freebies up for grabs

Freebies

Here is an article written by Deanna L. Carmichael, the founder of the curriculum.

The Lost Skills of Home Making

In 1985, the year I graduated from high school, my school had a department named “Home Economics”. It was equipped with two teachers, a kitchen and a sewing studio. Inside these walls students learned nutrition, cooking, baking, meal planning, many levels and facets of sewing, budgeting and shopping for a home.

I confess, I rarely stepped foot into this department. Then again, I didn’t need to. Unlike most of my friends, I had a mother and sister that practiced these skills and willingly shared all of their knowledge and talents.

The year I graduated from high school I also learned of another way to educate children: Homeschool! I remember well my reaction, “That is great, I’m doing that!” A few years after my graduation, the high school Home Economics department closed forever leaving decades of girls (without domestically skilled mothers) out in the cold; or at least out of the kitchen, sewing room and often out of the home in general.

As time went on, I went away to college where I sewed on-the-side for friends and to make a little money. I graduated from college, met my husband, got married and began having children.

Roughly 2 decades after my high-school graduation I found myself still sewing for friends. Now, however, these were other home-school moms who had NO idea how to sew. They often would lament to me about how immodest clothes in the stores were. I was surprised at how few of these ladies thought of sewing as a viable alternative or even an aid in altering clothes off the rack.

One day I was sitting outside with my neighbors watching our children play in the cul-de-sac. My dear friend Jen was telling me how annoyed she was that she could not find feminine dresses for her daughter like my girls wore. I suggested she try to sew them. Her response was “SHOW ME!” So she came over and I made a dress while she watched. She agreed that she could do it, especially if I came over to her house and showed her again while she sewed with me, like on a video. Hmmmmm…

Over 20 years since Home Economics was removed from public schools, Modesty Matters, LLC is striving to provide home educators with the means to teach themselves and the next generations these valuable skills through video, text and patterns. From an array of single titles including teaching dresses, swim wear, bloomers and more, to an entire 65 lesson video course, text and projects called “Home Economics, you Can sew!” Modesty Matters can teach YOU too!

In the future Modesty Matters plans to develop video courses on cooking, baking, cleaning, advanced sewing and more. You can visit us as www.modestymatters.net to learn more.

Deanna L. Carmichael

Modesty Matters, LLC.

This is NOT a schedule or a strict list, but rather a tool to help me help him have a consistent sense of direction.  In case you are interested, here is the first pass at a draft for this list:
David’s Activities
1. Wake up
2. Eat breakfast
3. Morning chores and Chore Training (Play Suzuki during room clean up)
4. School work with mom (calendar, reading, time and money)
5. Puzzles (Classical CDs)
6. Story time (listening)
7. Outside playtime (bike, walk, chalk. water, plants, gardening, nature walk)
8. Snack
9. Box time (bean, rock, sand)
10. Art time
11. Educational video
12. Lunch
13. Rest time
14. Prayer / devotional
15. Cars / blocks/legos/Lincoln logs
16. Cooking / kitchen skills/play dough
17. Math activities (ex. money counting, matching game)
18. Snack
19. Audio book/CD/music time (instruments)
20. Clean up all activities
21. Wii

The Mom’s Home Journal has:

• beautiful cover & spines for each season
• emergency & contact info pages
• year at-a-glance, week-at-a-glance, and other “at-a-glance” planning pages
• divider pages (could also be used as cover pages for individual journals - like a recipe book) for each season
• calendars for July 2010 - June 2011 (eight styles for each month)
• lists: shopping, gift planning, goal setting  for each season
• a variety of to-do list pages  for each season
• household forms for menu planning, housecleaning, & financial work  for each season
• pages to build and plan your routines  for each season
• a variety of journaling pages (some with “notebooking flair”)  for each season

What’s great about this is that they are offering this Journal along with a one year membership site for Mom’s at 19% off, which means they will only cost $12.95 altogether, instead of $15.95. This offer is for a limited time only because once the membership site opens officially mid-July 2010, the price will go back up.

To view samples and more information on the Mom’s notebooking Journal, kindly click on the picture below:

]]> http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/07/09/moms-home-journal/feed/ http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/07/09/homeschool-bloggers-free-classes/ http://www.homemaking911.com/2010/07/09/homeschool-bloggers-free-classes/#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:48:49 +0000 va http://www.homemaking911.com/?p=1233 Homeschool Blogger has organized a really inspiring and new opportunity for homeschoolers - HomeschoolBlogger.com’s Free Classes. They have great topics scheduled for mid-July and August and there are also topics being scheduled each day for this summer and fall.

Some of the classes offered this July includes:

Level With Me About Math - Can I really Teach It?

Babies and Sign Language - Give them their words (learn the benefits of signing and why it works, and why is it important to give babies a language)

Homeschooling: Teaching a Love of Reading (Get an overview of the Spalding method)

To get more information on the Free Classes. Check out below.