More Montessori - some handmade materials

I have been learning as much as I can about Montessori in a short amount of time.  It is very overwhelming at first because it is so opposite of how I think.  It really slows me down which is a good thing.

I bought and read a book - Basic Montessori.  It is great for a beginner and has helped me know where to start and what to do.

With Montessori there are so many materials that are used because it is hands on and many of them are very expensive.  I really had to look to see what we would use, what I could buy and what I could make. 

The Pink Tower (you can read more about it here)

We have been using this quite a bit.  I did not buy this though - my dad made it for me.  I am so thankful he did!  I gave him the dimensions and he made it.  I painted it so don't look too closely at the paint job.

The thing I like about this is that it uses both fine and gross motor skills.  You have the child graps the blocks with both hands and carry them one at a time to the mat.  I store it in our dining room and have them put the mat into the living room so they have to carry it several times.  It gets in a little exercise too. 

It is self correcting - the child can see if they put a smaller block where a larger block should have been.  You can do other things with it and you can use it with the brown stair (which my dad is also making) to do some pretty cool structures.  The baby likes playing with it too.

Sandpaper letters (See more about it here and other DIY ideas)

Sandpaper letters are used to teach sounds of letters - you have the child run their fingers over the letter and then say the sound.  They are also good for writing and the best part - they are used with the Orton Gillingham approach to reading - which is what I basically use with my dyslexic son.  So these letters serve a lot of purpose.

I bought a cheaper version of the lowercase print letters from Lakeshore Learning and then I made my own cursive version using this basic tutorial.

I did the vowels in pink using Modge Podge.  I have been having my older son (who is learning cursive) trace the letters with his  hands and then write it.

I also have been having him write it in salt to help remember it too.  I need to get a bigger salt tray though.

When I do reading with him I have the "b" and "d" out because he does still get those confused at times.  If he mispronounces one of the letters I have him trace it with his left hand (writing hand) and even close his eyes and then re-pronounce the word.

We've also changed up our science a little and added in geography - thanks to the Montessori method and we have enjoyed this a lot this week.  I'll write more about that this weekend when we are done for the week.

Frugal tip - Before you buy, try DIY

Today we ran out of hair detangeler.  Before I put it on my list to buy more I am going to make this recipe.  I have all the ingredients so why not?  I will let you know how it goes.

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What I Hope to Accomplish during our long spring break

With the school my son goes to we are on a calendar year that gives us 2 weeks off for spring and fall plus the week before those breaks we get a flex week where we can catch up on any lessons that we are behind on.  Since we are caught up we have an almost 3 week time frame where we don't have to do any schedule lessons.

We will still be doing calendar time and also some other learning things to help us not forget what we have learned so far.  We may even work ahead in math some but I have plans to get some sewing and other projects done.  I wanted to list them here so I have some accountability to get them finished.  I may add to the list as the week goes on but this is my starting point.

1.  Redo my recipe binder - split it up into a few binders and make it prettier.
2.  Make curtains for my laundry room shelves (I have had the fabric forever).
3.  Make Alphabet bean bags or stenciled Alphabet bean bags

From Mama Mel Loves

4. Make number bean bags  (Stencils to download)

From Crafting a Green World

5.  Make sandpaper letters

From the Moffatt Girls

6.  Make a few child's aprons
7.  Check into DIY Montessori
6. Make an indoor sandbox
7.  Work on some freezer cooking
8.  Think about the idea of a breakfast bar and how to implement it
9. Try out mason jar meals
10.  Try out more easy lunch ideas 
11.  Make my daughter this sewing kit and work with her on it

 

If you have any more ideas for me let me know!

Homemade Ketchup

Last year I tried to make homemade ketchup and I did can it but it was not good.  This year I wanted to try it again but I did not want to waste my own tomatoes in case it did not turn out again.  So, I bought this 6 lb. can of diced tomatoes from Sam's Club for $2.53.  Hey - they were Red Gold and were at least processed in Indiana.

I used Mrs. Wages ketchup mix.  It tasted like . . . ketchup!   Success, of course next year I will try it with my own tomatoes (and maybe I might do it again this year), but I need to wait to make sure my family will like it.  We are big ketchup fans here.

With the 6 lbs. of diced tomatoes I ended up with exactly 12 half pints (jelly jar size) of ketchup.

Here is the numbers - I paid $1.50 for Mrs. Wages mix and $2.53 for the tomatoes.  I did have to add tomato paste, sugar and vinegar all totaling about $0.75.  It is about $0.40 per half pint.  Of course, if I would have used my own tomatoes it would have been about $0.20 per half pint - definitely worth it!

What are you canning?

Frugality 101 - Make it instead of buying it

I am trying this little experiment with myself.  I have done this off and on for a few years, but because there are bigger things that our family wants (like land) I'm trying to save money with the little things.  Now when I run out of something, I do a little research to see if I could make an effective replacement.  This time when I ran out of wipes I decided to finally try to make my own.  I do have some cloth wipes that I use from time to time with a spray bottle.  This time though I used paper towels. The recipe is from here:

Paper towels
2 cups of water (I boiled it first)
2 Tablespoons of baby shampoo
1 Tablespoon of baby oil

1. Cut the roll of paper towels in half with a knife and remove the inner cardboard core.
2. Mix liquid ingredients in container.
3. Place the paper towels in the container with the cut side facing downward.
4. Secure lid tightly and allow to sit until all liquid is absorbed into the paper towels.
5. Turn the container upside-down and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
6. Open container and 'start' the roll by pulling a towel from the inside of the roll.
7. Wipes are now ready to use.

This was really easy to do and they work pretty well.  They are smaller and thinner than regular wipes, but they do the job.

You can do this with almost anything.  If you run out of ranch dressing - try some recipes online.  It is actually kind of fun.  Of course you have to be careful because there are some things that are not worth the time to make at home.  The Simple Dollar has a neat series called Saving Pennies or Dollars concerning frugal tactics that might not really save that much money.  It is pretty interesting.  I quit making homemade dishwashing detergent and he did a comparison that found that it really did not save you that much money to make your own.   So that is one thing I do buy.

What about you?  What things have you decided to make yourself instead of buying?

A list of things I no longer buy at the store

This is a list I have wanted to start for a long time. I'm a fan of not going to the grocery store.  I prefer to stock my pantry and be able to make what I need.  This is a list of things that work for us that I have tried and liked.  It is in no particular order.

Groceries:

Homemade Vanilla
Sandwich Bread

Applesauce
Peaches
Corn
Green Beans
Peaches
Ranch Dressing
Tomatoes

Household Products:
Mirror Cleaner
Shower Cleaner
Oven Cleaner
Dusting Spray
Dishwashing Rinse Agent
"Fabric Softener"

Personal Products:

Lip Balm

To Try (soon!):
Pizza Sauce
Pasta Sauce
Ketchup

I will be adding to this list on an ongoing basis.

What things do you no longer buy at the store?  I would love to try some things out.

Testing Homemade Cleaning Products that REALLY work!

 At times, I need some motivation to clean because it is not my favorite homemaking task.  I had been wanting to test some new homemade cleaning product recipes because I have been LOVING my homemade shower cleaner!  I use my shower cleaner as toilet bowl cleaner as well.  I just spray down the inside of my toilet and let it sit for a little while and then come back in about 30 minutes and clean it.  I also wanted very simple recipes that work and that don't require a lot of ingredients I don't keep on hand.  I have found them!

I guess I should note that I keep my baking soda in a glass jar in my fridge because I use it for baking as well and I buy a huge bag of it so this is easier than keeping the huge bag in my fridge.

Vinegar works really well, but I don't like the smell so I put several drops of essential oil in all of them.  I like fruity smells so I use orange or tangerine.  It really does work to cut the vinegar smell.

I have tried A LOT of different homemade glass cleaners and none of them worked really well.  I have also used all natural ones and also Shaklee's Basic H.  Yesterday I decided to to do a side by side test of the following Mirror Cleaner with Windex.  My husband loves Windex and so I keep it around for him so I made him come and try to figure out which side of the mirror I used the Windex on and which I used my mirror cleaner on and he couldn't tell!  It was that good.  Now I tried using cloth baby diapers, paper towels and coffee filters and by far, the coffee filters did THE BEST JOB of keeping the mirrors streak free and free of lint.

 Mirror Cleaner

1 1/2 cups of vinegar

1/2 cup water

8 drops of essential oil (I used tangerine)

Mix in a spray bottle.

Stephanie from Keeper of the Home actually just posted this recipe as an air freshener but I saw it listed somewhere else as a mirror cleaner - so I guess it could do both!  One last thing - it will look cloudy for a minute until it dries - but do not worry - it will dry very nice and clean!

Homemade Dusting Spray from Homemade Mothering

 1 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
3 cups water
8 drops of essential oil (again I used tangerine)

Pour all three ingredients into an empty spray bottle. Shake well and spritz on furniture. Wipe with an old cotton t-shirt. Done!

This homemade dusting spray is really good.  It also works really well.  I have also tried a few homemade dusting sprays and this is the best one I have tried.

Oven Cleaner

Baking Soda
Vinegar

I use a baking soda paste and then I pour a little vinegar on it.  It takes some elbow grease but works really, really well.  I find that if I leave it sit on there and walk away for a while it is much easier to scrub clean.

Before the cleaning

After - still has a few stains but MUCH better

Dishwasher Cleaner

Baking Soda
Vinegar

Sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of your dishwasher.  Fill a cup up with vinegar and put it on the top of the dishwasher.  Run a cycle.  My vinegar spilled a little before I started it but it came out very clean.

Finally, check out my homemade shower cleaner that I mentioned above and here is how I clean my shower head and it works every.single.time (thanks MJ for the reminder):

I just fill up a plastic baggie with vinegar and put it around my shower head and rubber band it and let it sit there for a few hours and I just rinse it.  If you have some hard water you can scrub it with a tooth brush (used for cleaning of course) but it will be gleaming!

Sink cleaner

I use a baking soda paste as my sink cleaner and I love it!  Just sprinkle baking soda and add a little water to it and rub it in with your rag.  Rinse well or you could have a white film from the baking soda - but if you rinse it well it will be very shiny!

Dishwasher Rinse Agent - I always just fill up my rinse agent resevoir with vinegar.

Fabric softener - I never use fabric softener or those dryer sheets but I do use vinegar as my fabric softener.  I don't always measure but usually I just use 1/2 cup (thanks for reminding me Katy).

Also, I use vinegar as my coffeemaker cleaner.  I just fill up my coffee container glass thing about half full with vinegar and water and pour it in and run it through.  Then I run two more cycles of just water and it works great!

One last tip - I recently bought a steam mop that only uses water so we don't even use anything else on our floors.  And we love it - even my husband likes to use it!


Please try these homemade cleaners and come back and comment and let me know how you like them or leave me a comment and tell me your favorite homemade cleaner!

Also, here is a great article about the disinfecting powers of bleach versus vinegar - so you can decide!

Homemade Shower Cleaner

You may already know that I only buy the original blue Dawn and I use it as my hand soap and my soap for washing dishes.  I stock up on it when it is on sale for $0.97 at the grocery store then use my coupon or I will just buy a big thing of it at Sam's.  There are a LOT of ways to use the original blue Dawn.

I also use vinegar a lot.  So when I saw a homemade shower cleaner recipe on my friend's Facebook page I knew I had to try it.


This is her recipe:


4 ounces blue Dawn dishsoap (ONLY use the original blue Dawn) 
12 ounces plain white vinegar

Mix it all up in a spray bottle. Once per week, spray your entire shower, bathtub, and fixtures with this stuff. Wait 1-2 hours then rinse. That's right - no scrubbing. Your entire shower and tub will be sparkly clean and shiny - and your grout will stay mildew free!  **I used  my Pyrex cups to measure out the ingredients.

Verdict:  Um, yes, it works!  My fixtures are brighter (I have hard water).  It is so easy to do!

Drawback:  The smell of vinegar is so strong.  I am going to try to some drops of essential oil next time to see if that will help.

Make it Yourself . . . Monday

I had this grand idea of hosting a "Make it Yourself . . . Monday", but someone beat me to it.

I could use that verse in Ecclesiastes here:


"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9

So, anyway, I am going to join with her in her "Make it Yourself Monday" and tell you what I have made myself.



I made my own applesauce. My children love it and I have a friend that bought a freezer specifically for all the applesauce that she made. So there you go! You can also check out my post where we made our own strawberry jam.


I would also like to try to make this homemade toothpaste recipe or try this recipe. What homemade things have you made?

Homemade Strawberry Jam

Tonight I hosted our Monthly Cooking Club. I invited my great-aunt over to show us how to make and can strawberry jam (oh so delicious). She came over and explained to us the process of making the jam. She also told us the difference between jelly and jam. Jam has fruit in it and jelly does not. Anyway, she gave us very good instructions. It was so fun getting together and learning! We exchanged meals, corralled children and had a good time of fellowship. Some of the meals that were exchanged included Krista’s Thrown together Black Beans and Chicken w/ Cornbread, Cheesy Garlic Chicken, Tex-Mex Chili Cheese Enchiladas, Sloppy Joes and Pepperoni Lasagna Roll-Ups. Can’t wait to try these!

Here is the strawberries cooking on the stove.

We used small jars. It was funny to hear them pop when they were sealing! Here is the recipe for the strawberry jam:

4 -16 oz cartons of strawberries
8-9 cups of sugar
enough water to make the strawberry mixture about 8-9 cups

This can be altered to make smaller amounts as this makes about 14 half pints of jam.
The important thing to remember is to is to measure equal amounts of strawberry mixture and sugar. Example 1 cup of strawberry mixture needs 1 cup of sugar.

Clean and slice the strawberries into small pieces, or you can mash them with a potato masher. Add a small amount of water to each carton as you slice them. Each carton will yield about 2 cups of strawberries and add a little water to this. Place the strawberry and water mixture in a good thick bottom pot and cook them until the mixture comes to a boil. Let them simmer for about 5 minutes. Measure the correct amount of sugar and add slowly, stirring until mixed well. Once the sugar and strawberry mixture is back to a boil turn the heat down until it is simmering. Cook and time in 10 to 15 minute intervals. Place a small amount in one of your canning jars or a small clear container and place this in the freezer to cool quickly. The jam will begin to thicken after about 45 minutes to an hour. Once it begins to thicken when cooled in the freezer you can start canning. Turn the heat down to just keep the jam hot and begin to fill the canning jars. Be sure there isn't any liquid on the rim of the jar and then place the flat on and then the ring and tighten. Turn the jars upside down for about 10 minutes and then back right side up. Listen for the "pop", which means the can is sealed. Once opened, store left overs in the refrigerator.