stocking up for $5/week

With all the recent things going on in the world, I decided its time to seriously stock up our shelves and prepare for an emergency.  We live in a tornado area and also could get blizzards, so I need to be prepared.

I found a list on pinterest on stocking up your shelves for only $5/week.  I had a couple of issues with the list.  First, if food and meals are a top priority, I certainly didnt need 180 pounds of sugar by the end of the year.  Second, my hubby and I are the only ones who eat tomato soup and so 12 cans was a little extreme.  Thirdly, they didn't have any water on the list.  We live on a well and if it freezes, no water, so that is a priority for us.

I made myself a new list and put in things that I thought we would need and eat.  I also upped the amount to $7.50, I know I'm a wild woman.  And I added on $5 a week for non-food items.

Next week is the first week and I'll be getting:

5 gallons of water

3 lbs of salt

1 package of toilet paper

 

 

 

Doesn't look very exciting does it?



Weekly Wrap up

This has been one busy week.  We had homeschool co-op on Tuesday.  The big girls are taking a class to learn to build a bookshelf and then a creative writing class.  Miss Trouble is taking a science class and then a craft class.  TL has opted not to go.  At 14, he is the oldest there and the next oldest are all girls.  Monkey gets to hang with me while I visit with the other mommies.  I hope to do a class next session to teach the older kids about the iditarod for two classes and then some information on American Indians.  It should be fun.

I just found out I may have to take an extra college class to graduate.  They changed a required upper level class to a lower level leaving me one class short of upper level class requirements.  Since I never received and email or letter about the change, I'm going to fight it tooth and nail.  Being from NY has some advantages, at least I hope in this case.

For our school:

Reading:
TL and I are reading The Hobbit.  He is several chapters ahead of me and I need to catch up this week.  The girls are both reading my mom's old Barbie books (they are from the 50s).  Not really educational but fun to read and for the girls to see the comparison between then and now. 

Math:
The big girls have finally finished memorizing their multiplication tables.  I hope to have division done by Christmas.  TL has started Algebra 1 (I had ordered it and then realized when it came in that I ordered the wrong one so it took longer than expected.)

Science:
TL is still working on his Agriscience.  Its a little dry right now and should improve after the next few chapters.  The big girls have just started and astronomy unit and I'm using a bunch of files from Homeschoolshare right now.

History:
We are still working on Lewis and Clark.  Its been a really fun unit to explore.  I hope to have it done the first week of December.

Writing:
TL is working on a unit from IEW.  I plan on finishing this up by the end of Jan and moving onto another unit from there.  The girls are working on writing for their creative writing class so I haven't touched their other stuff.  I think I'm going to start IEW with them in January.

SPelling:
All the big kids are using All About Spelling and making vast improvements with their spelling.  I'm really happy with this program.

Grammer:
Only the two big girls are doing grammer and they are doing really well.  We're finishing up our book from last year and then will dive into a new book later this year.

TL
Is going Spanish, Government, and Computers.  Spanish is okay.  Im not really sure I like the program we're using but I think its because we're in the intro discs and not the actual program yet.  Government is going quite well and I really like the program we're using.  I couldn't find a computer program so I grabbed the books from the class I had to take in college and putting TL to work with Word right now.  He'll work on Excel and Powerpoint this year.  He's also working hard on Taekwondo and Boy Scouts.

Art:
Art is going okay.  Could be better.  I'm not an artist at all so this I really struggle with.

The big girls
Are working hard on the Bible Quiz Team.  They have had two competitions so far and improved a ton from one to the other.  They have also picked out badges to work on for American Heritage Girls.  The girls are also working on Geography and its going well so far.

My goal this week is to get caught up grading and recording.  I need to work on science and history lesson plans.  I also need to work on  my blog.  These pictures are really old and I haven't posted this year's curriculum yet!

I'm also working on painting the big girls' room.  I tried to remove their wallpaper with everything known to man.  Apparently they used superglue to hang the wallpaper.  I'm finishing up one little section by the door and then priming over all the wallpaper and calling it a day.  I don't have time to spend removing this wallpaper and the girls are anxious for a little color.

I can't even post pictures because my camera has decided to die on me, well actually the battery.  Its a rechargeable battery and about ten years old.  I need to get a new one but can't find one anywhere so I'll need to look online.

Have a wonderful and blessed week!

The garden.....planning phase

While growing up, we had a huge garden.  Lots of canning was done each year.  I haven't planted a garden or canned in over twenty years.  This along with the fact that I live in a colder climate zone has encouraged me to buy the following:

I have just drawn out the garden area.  I plan on growing two apple trees (more will be added later), two pear trees, a peach tree, and a plum tree.  If I have space, I want to do a cherry tree too.   I plan on planting strawberries and blueberries this year.  Raspberries and blackberries will be added next year.  Although I'll be spending alot of money on plants this year and not receiving any yield, the yield in years to come will certainly make up for it.  We also have two apple trees on the property that haven't been sprayed or taken care of the last few years. 

I've also been planning out the vegetable garden.  Sweet corn, potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, lots of tomatoes for canning and spaghetti sauce, pumpkins, beans, peas, and cucumbers.  I plan on canning pickles so lots of cucumbers.  We also have an asparagus and rhubarb patch on the property.  There is also a small strawberry patch, but I don't know the yield on that yet either.  I need to see how much we get from that patch, not that it really matters, my kids could eat quarts each day.

I've also got this book:

And also this:

TL and I have started planning out the chicken area.  Only egg chickens for us right now, so I'm thinking about a dozen, which should give us enough and some to share.

I may think about a milk cow too, seeing as how expensive milk is getting.

Take care everyone!!  Happy reading!!