Couponing Tips

So for those who coupon, you know the difficulty that occur in regard to the storage of said useful pieces of paper. So how does one solve those pesky issues of properly storing them or more plainly-keeping them safe and snug in the binder? Fear not-I have some quick fixes to help you out.

The Issue:

The 3-Ring holes are torn and my pages fall out!

Well I have mentioned keeping them in a binder (zippered) in the lovely plastic sheets usually used for photos or sports cards.  But these were not designed to be flipped, stuffed and handled so frequently.  The 3-ring holes tear quickly from the constant flipping of the pages. Now what good are a bunch of pages that fall out of the binder every time you go to look for your coupons?

Enter duct tape. Yes-and now thanks to some very creative person or persons-we now have duct tape that is hip, stylish and/or all snazzy with designs for your taping needs.  I bought (of course with a 40% off coupon at Joanns) a Hawaiian style one to secure up my ripped up pages.  I had already had these pages, so they were somewhat stressed to begin with, and then from the wad of coupons and my use they were tearing at an alarming rate!  I needed something very strong and durable-the duct tape was the perfect solution.

yes, I had to fuzz out all the bar codes

So I grabbed my binder, the tape, scissors, and a hole punch and went to work.  All you need to do is simply tear or cut the length needed and tape onto the hole side of the page.  Do not cover over too far on the side that that has the openings or you'll cut down the size with which to stuff those coupons in it. Then simply feel for the area that you need to punch the hole out and whallah!  Pop back into your binder and they are good to go. Mind you-this is tape so they may not swoosh over the rings as nicely, so you have to take a bit of 'not-so-cool it kind catches/sticks' with the keeping them in the binder part. Give it time, as I have found that with frequent use they don't stick as much and I can flip 'em a lot easier now.

What about those printed coupons I have-they are huge and 

I don't want to mix them with the insert coupons?

Since I began seriously couponing-the printed [via online] coupons have always been kept separate.  I put them in envelopes labeled by general categories.  These expire a lot quicker than most insert coupons and they are generally a lot larger too-so it just made sense.  But that got old real fast....flipping thru those trying to see what I had.  I finally found a lovely solution at Michaels and only because the clerk was slow.  For once it was a good thing.  As I patiently waited-I looked about and saw behind me on the scrapbook end cap [the shelves at the end of the isle] a display of smaller-sized scrapbook supplies [insert stars, music and glassy eyes] where this two-pocket, clear-paged doodad beckoned me.  Mind you these are not full size like the sports page inserts but are  8.5"  x 6.5" (not including the 3-ring part).  Problem?  I didn't have a binder for 'em.  Or did I? 

OK so it hangs out over the edge. 

Not pretty but efficient.

I do not pay full price unless absolutely necessary (oh and yes-I used a 40% off coupon I hadn't used to buy the pages)...so I didn't want to purchase a binder right now since it is not Back-to-School time. Those babies are full price right this time of year, and man do they over charge for those! I also wasn't too sure they would work since I didn't have any coupons on me to visually see if they would fit. I bought one packet. I wanted to be cautiously optimistic they would work before even thinking of going on a binder purchase spree. Of which I have yet to do.  Waiting for August to do that.

  

I thought I took a pic of the pages, but cannot

find it right now. Will get the name brand for ya soon.

When I got home, I found that yes, they would fit if I clipped them very close to the edge of the coupon (or just stuff those puppies in) and lo-and behold they have a lovely home til I pull them to save money!  I had a smaller 3-ring binder from my Stampin'Up! days.  Well almost-it isn't as 'fat' as it needs to be. I am not picky and it will work for now.  So I typed up a cute label, put my duct tape on and punched out the holes.  I also cut up some old, and kinda ugly in color card stock to provide double side storage too.  Ah.  I have solved my problem.  I was near the Michael's store a week later and used yet another coupon to get another pack.  I may need more but prob'ly not since those coupons are less reliable and I can have sections with nothing in it or have it over flowing, depending on what is available at the time.

Pre-paperclipped

The first two pages are where I put those store catalinas.  Now those kinda want to jump ship so I have just put a paper clip at the top to help hold em in.  It works.  

What was that about inserts in the sections?

I cannot recall where I saw this, I believe on one of the sites where a lady who sells kits for coupon binders but it is really quite elementary.  I have copy paper [actually from the scraps from printing coupons] in my main binder to separate the pockets giving me two sides to use, instead of one without them.  Problem is the paper tends to slide out a lot when I pull coupons.  I will be switching those out with card stock soon.  The printed coupon binder has them already.  They seem to stick better when I am pulling coupons which is a huge blessing.  I do have a nice paper cutter so making them was a snap-if I had to cut them with scissors-well gosh I dunno.  If you don't have a paper cutter, use one of the Joann or Michael coupons to get one or better yet ask a pal who does have one if you can borrow it.  I just eye balled the size and went with it when I found it fit.  I have been scrapping long enough to do this but you may need to properly measure to be sure.  

Yes the dividers are too small-on my 'to get' list.

And there you go.  Nice and tidy ways to keep those precious coupons safe.  And even tho my printed coupon binder is not zipped, I find it works well for this application.  I wouldn't suggest it for one with tons of coupons because as the pages get more stuffed they tend to want to pour out the contents a lot more too. 

Look for another post soon about what kinda coupon gal I am...a flipper or a clipper (as the Krazy Coupon Lady gals labeled it).  Love that site! 

Supplementing Heart of Dakota-Creation to Christ Poetry unit and Human Body unit

If you are a follower or if you just pop by to read up on the Heart of Dakota [HOD] program we have been using this year, you are probably familiar with my feelings on it by now, but I wanted to highlight a couple things we have done that has taken outside the box.

I found we (personally-as this may not be for every family so keep that in mind) needed to do something different regarding one recommend book for science; and that one area definitely needed a more in-depth investigation-the poet Robert Frost.

I have the Considering God's Creation [CGC] curricula (which I have been plucking units from for about a year and 1/2 now) that has a section on the body. After we read the book Exploring the History of Medicine (very good book!) we simply have moved into this study.  I ditched the An Illustrated Adventure in Human Anatomy book that was scheduled (I had received it via the library inter-loan prior to the Exploring History one...and it needed to be returned before we came to this section-I didn't feel it was worth trying to re-hold/check out again as I have enough human body books on our shelf that are very similar to this one) and that is why I chose not to follow that part. Plus, being we are lapbooking/notebooking sorta folk-the CGC fit the bill perfectly. So we have been working our way through this unit and are just about done.  I am very satisfied with it and find it is just the right amount of info/work for our boy.  Again-this stresses the need for the instructor to look at what does and does not fit the student or situation when using an all-encompassing type of guide such as HOD.  Just because it is listed and recommended does not mean it must be used.  Esp. when you are at the mercy of library loan books, and other circumstances that require tweaking. [image from eagleswingsed.com]

As for the lack of any biographical data/study on the poet Robert Frost...well here is where I was sadly disappointed with this section.  It is very Charlotte Masony to study the person and not just their work.  So being that I am versed in scrounging up data-I found a few things to offer the boy as a backdrop into who this dude was. The one I got via the library is older-so not everyone will be able to find it.  It is Robert Frost: America's Poet by Doris Faber. I have to say it was a very nicely written book that hits all the key points a book should when following the CM method for choosing books-it was twaddle free. :)  Anyhoo-I saw the other listed book below via Amazon, but was not able to get a hold of it...so not sure how great it is but looks to be written for children and looks lovely.  If I do get my hands on it-I will come back and update my thoughts on it.

Robert Frost: America's Poet by Doris Faber

Papa Is a Poet: A Story About Robert Frost by Natalie Bober

image from Amazon.com

I also downloaded these free notebooking pages on Robert from 

The Notebooking Fairy

to give him some opportunities to jot down 

some essential data and such.

I have also pulled those noted human body books from the shelf and we refer to them when needed. Again-I am using what I have to wrap up this unit and it is all good.  Just not what was originally outlined in the study.

And now for one of my favorite projects the Boy has done so far...and yes, it is a fav because he put some personality into it.  Our floating-head skeleton boy with a Barber of Seville curly mustache and a rocker dude goatee. [I say-if you do this study-dry place the pieces prior to the child gluing unlike us. Otherwise, you too will end up with a lovely floating, non-connected skull]

And that my blogger peeps is how we tweaked our HOD study to fit us and our current needs.  

Ultimate Blog Party 2013!

 

Hi and welcome to my blog. Well, I actually have 6 blogs, all created to highlight different aspects of our life/education methods, but am working toward putting them into one soon. My main blog is this one-Homeschooling on a Wing and a Prayer. I post about our home education projects/adventures, but also about various other things-like couponing, being a mom and other life stuff. I am a crafter by nature (scrapbooking, various projects and sewing) and have become a big fan of Pinterest.

I have been married 25 years to my best friend, and we have four wonderful (bio) kids (OK, well 3 are adults now) and we're working toward adopting a special needs child (or two) from Eastern Europe or Asia-hopefully very soon.

That is me-us-in a nutshell (and because I know you have lots of other blogs to visit-wanted to keep it short and sweet).  I hope to come across your blog soon, as I work my way thru this year's Blog Party!

And if you have time-come back and visit!  You can also see my other blogs by clicking the links below.

Blessings-
Sheri

My Workbox Blog

I am retired, but I have several (like a hundred or so?) 

reviews about homeschooling material

My Review blog

HOD C to C History Project: Ancient Roman Meal

As we are winding down in the study of the Romans, we were to partake in a mock "ancient" Roman meal.  We managed to find some similar foods (we avoided other kinds the kids would not touch with a 10 foot pole) and we think it came out lovely.  The only big thing we didn't do were the togas.  Just couldn't get the fam to go that far.

We had the yellow bowls with water and the blue cloths for wiping one's fingers clean between food changes. They didn't use flatware. We had cucumbers, almonds, salami, provolone cheese, grapes, mango (OK, not sure if they had that-probably not but I had one we had to use and it went well with the selection...we were progressive thinking Romans); also olive oil/ feta cheese/Italian seasoning together with hot bread to dip in it. I didn't make a suggested dessert they listed b/cuz I had just made brownies the day before...and we did not need any more sweets around here, but there is that option if you choose to do so. I wanted to get some sparkling grape juice to represent wine but I simply forgot to go down the isle when I was shopping for this stuff..ooopsies.  All in all-it was a fun activity that even dad was able to partake in with us!

This was a part of the Heart of Dakota Creation to Christ study.  But if you are going on your own or with another curriculum and are studying Rome, it is an easy and fun way to bring history alive.

Rose Dissection

So my precious husband gave me a lovely red rose for Valentine's Day.  But alas, it is now crumbling and so-being the clever homeschooler I try to aspire to be (but fail to be actually, a lot of the time), we are going to dissect it today.  Yes-my rose will have served two purposes. One as a token of love and affection-the other as a great botany specimen.  So the table has been set with the goodies needed to disassemble it so the boy can see the parts of the plant we have been learning about for the last several weeks.  Since it is winter here, finding plant life to investigate has been a challenge. Thanks to Valentine's Day-we're going to have a real live, up close and personal view of a flower and its seed boxes, stamen, pistols, dust bags, etc.
Of course, the boy will be drawing what he finds in his plant book we have created for this study.

Using the ebook: Plant Life in Field and Garden by Arabella Buckley (thru the Yesterday's Classics collection which I reviewed a few years back-you can read about that program here), we have discovered a lot of interesting facts and along with the study notes provided in the Heart of Dakota program for the Creation to Christ program, this is shaping up to be a fun study.

Hey, if you are interested in the Yesterday's Classics, they have a sale going on until February 28, 2013 at half off! That is an awesome price for all those books!  I use it all the time-and I don't have an eReader, but just have uploaded the free Kindle PC app to my computer.

Ancient Greece and Archimedes study continued

As previously noted, we are moving through the Heart of Dakota study: Creation to Christ. We're currently up to our laurel leaves in ancient Greece.  Here are some notes and projects on what we have done these past few weeks. I put the name of the study in ( ) for those who are new to the abbreviations.

Reading:

images from Amazon.com

MTH: Ancient Greece   Hour of the Olympics

With HOD (Heart of Dakota) we have been able to substitute a few of the suggested books under the historical reading area.  I came across the Magic Tree House books (again-I sorta forgot about them but my older kids liked them way back when) and found they have one devoted to the Olympics/ancient Greece. I reserved it through our local library and also found they created an additional book to go along with it to give more info on Ancient Greece! Score. So These two books served as our mystery book selection.  If you decide to use these two just look for them via your library or maybe you already have them on your shelves. It was not a difficult read or challenging to say the least, but the additional info book served to rehash what he was learning throughout the study itself.  [They are: Magic Tree House #16: Hour of the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne and Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #10: Ancient Greece and the Olympics]

Art/Projects:

Sorry it is blurry. I found this idea via a MOH (Mystery of History post...sorry not sure where it is tho...). Basically the student colors with yellow crayon a wide area all over the paper. Then colors over it with black. This is the tricky part-if your paper is not higher grade, when you etch, it will rip or not work right. So anyway-yellow then black over. Press very hard to get a nice thick coat of black. Then etch out a vase shape, and then design.  We tried many things and found-get this...the Pampered Chef scraper tool to work the best. I know-go figure.  If you don't have one, try a sculpting tool used for clay projects or Play-Doh (seriously, check your kids stash) or an edge of something sharp but not dangerous.  They will get that black shavings everywhere so I had the boy do it over a spread out sheet or two of newspaper.  Messy.

He decided on an octopus and waves for his. We had a book open with various pics showing different art/vases found from that era.  The people [very popular theme] would have been too complicated so the four legged [must have been in an accident or something and lost a few limbs] octopus made the cut (or in this case 'etch'). Be careful about what books you use.  I keep thinking of the movie The Birdcage.  I silently chucked when thinking back on that moment in the movie when the dude's dad and his mate had the table set with their dishes that were Greek inspired (cough...dudes playing 'leapfrog' not).  Yah. Go thru the material first unless you want to explain how the Greeks were very, very free with some things.  I found these books to be safe enough [some may want to cover a few images if they seem a bit too racy]...and again-got them via the library:

The Nature Company Discoveries Library:  Ancient Greece  

(this is a Time Life book and shows no official author)

 Uncovering History: Everyday Life in Ancient Greece 

by Cath Senker

(images from Amazon.com)

Science:

We did an experiment found in the Science Projects Ideas in the House by Robert Gardener.  This is noted as a part of the BFB HOS (Beautiful Feet Books History of Science)  program that I am piggy backing with HOD.  I didn't think it would work but it did. 

                                     

Games:

I spotted this beauty on Ellen McHenry's site some time ago, then had to wait til we were into the Greece study.  Just look under the free downloads icon, then Geography/Maps.  You can find some ancient China, Rome and Japan stuff there too. This does take a lot to print so be sure your ink and paper levels are good to go.  This is fun once you get the hang of it.  Dad, the boy and I managed our way thru it by mostly guessing, but learned along the way. And he was getting (well us too) some geography lessons in there too. Score again. 

And there you go.  Some more ideas on studying Ancient Greece.   

Archimedes project

Here is a fun project we did as a part of the BFBooks History of Science guide/curriculum.  The boy wasn't being super neat but he was also using a big, chunky charcoal pencil from our art supply so that probably didn't help.  I just taped the paper to a dowel and we stuffed it in the labeled paper towel tube. I still have to scrounge up some yarn for the carrying strap, but wanted to share with ya now.  I will get pics of the notebook up soon-once we have more stuff in it as it is pretty sparse yet, since we just started it this week.

Again-as the other post noted:  I am piggy backing this unit with the HOD study to beef up the Greek section    because it is fun :) and adds a bit of spice to it.  It is just my way, nothing against what is already in the HOD program.  I also found a neat art project to do via the Mystery of History website and will share that once we have completed it.

HOD: Creation to Christ updates on projects

If you have been following the Heart of Dakota posts, I guess you'd appreciate an update right?  It's been a while.  Sorry about that, but here is a snippet of some of the projects.  Mind you-I failed and did not order the notebook that goes with this program, so I have had to create a lot of my own stuff.  I am still considering it but with only 16-17 weeks left, I dunno if I can now justify the expense.  I may just continue to make my own pages and call it a day.  I will let you know what I do, but for now-here are some of the poetry and history things we have done so far (we're at week 18).

Poetry:  

As stated in earlier posts, I am not super impressed (sorry Carrie, not meant to be a slam-it is just me I guess, I like variety) with the likeness of the art projects.  I would love to see some revision with a  few more techniques taught for this area.  Since I do love art, I have been able to bring in my own flare here but for those who don't have such an artsy background-well it could prove to be too monotonous for their student (as it was with mine) but they may not know how to fix it. I suggest getting a few art books or programs and adding in projects that closely relate to the original if possible [yes, I am aware this defeats the purpose of an all-inclusive program.  Since no one curriculum is going to hit a bulls-eye every time, it goes without saying..you're gonna have to add your own personality here and there in order to keep the boredom and ho-hum away] .

Anyhoo-in the leaf one, we did splatter painting on top of the leaves (quite close to her instructions) so that is not a new one there, but the blue one has salt added over the watercolor to give it texture and a different look.  It is one of our favorites so far.  The bottom one with the tree is OK, neither of us were liking that look too much.  My son actually begged me to not make him paint so much these past few units. I agreed, so I have only required the copywork for a lot of them-hence the lack of pics to show you.  The reason I am even going down this bunny trail here is that  it totally illustrates the need for you to remain in control of your curriculum. If it doesn't fit your student or needs help-well by all means TWEAK away!  The coming months should prove to provide more opportunities to add in some projects that may not be included in this program. Once we encounter that, I will be sure to post. But for now, thought I would share that little tidbit.

History Projects

This is the salt dough project we did.  I had trouble finding a good map, so it is probably not super accurate. Oh wellers, he got the gist of it.  LOL....

I believe this has it's own page in the notebook, but obviously without it-I had to improvise. It illustrates how the tribes were divided and the student can take the cloth strips and place them into the appropriate sections, like the prophet Ahijah did, as described in the bible.  I do like a lot of her history projects so that area requires few changes (would be a lot less around here if I had just bought that darn notebook when I got the guide..but hey, money was tight and I had to get the minimum...lesson learned)....

Supplemental:

Seen now this is where I cannot leave well enough alone.  I have loved (since I pretty much began homeschooling) the Beautiful Feet books programs (I have a much older version, I am sure it has been updated since I bought mine many moons ago).  The History of Science is no exception.  I like to have the student focus solely on this program for their science either in 5th or 6th grade...but with the HOD program...I let it slide....until now.  I knew it covered Archimedes.  I wanted to beef up what is in the program because the boy just isn't doing (too much and over his age/abilities at times) of the rest of the program so I knew I could add some stuff, yet keep it from being overwhelming.  So we're going to at least do the Archimedes lessons in the BFB program along side HOD's reg. schedule (the Archimedes and the Door of Science is a part of the HOD program as well).  I have  created his science notebook that he will keep his notes, pictures and discoveries in (as per required in the BFB program), along with the timeline and the books for this unit.  I also reserved a boat load of books from the library on ancient Greece, scientists and such too.  I will probably have him cover this 2-3 times per week.  I will see how it goes and obviously, post once I have a good handle on it.

Right now that is pretty much all I have considered and am working on. I will hopefully start the artist study soon and composer. We're still working on the reading and writing so I have to keep that as his main focal point but all these things should prove to make this coming month more exciting.  Now if I can just get the gumption to post more frequently.  :)