College class questions + finding a balance with "natural" living
Kristen,
Thanks for blogging! I have an 8th grader next year that's been homeschooled except for k-2, and am trying not to mess up his schooling/his future so any input would be great.
How did you cover the requirements for your kids to take college classes? What age did they start taking classes? What age is Joshua now? How do you decide what college classes to put them in? Thanks!
Carina
Hi Carina!
I imagine this varies some from college to college, but at our community college, kids have to take a placement test, or they can use their SAT scores to get placed in classes.
In order to get the 50% off high school student discount, we have to get some paperwork from our county homeschool office, but that's pretty easy to do.
Joshua started taking classes his junior year of high school, and that's what Lisey will start doing this fall as well (her junior year starts this fall). She's 16, and that's how old Joshua was as well.
As far as what classes to take, we've just been focusing on General Ed. requirements and also keeping an eye on what high school credits they still need.
For example, Joshua needed two more English credits and one more math credit for high school, so we made sure that he signed up for classes that covered those needs.
Of course, for the electives, we're taking into consideration what our kids' interests are. Lisey plans to take some Spanish classes, while Joshua took a music class and is doing extra English/Lit. classes.
To set your mind at ease, you could always talk to someone at your local college to ask specific questions about the intake process for homeschooled students. Then you'll know for sure what you'll be dealing with.
Something I have been wondering, and may have even asked before, is how you balance the cultural 'thing' of being 'all-natural' and being secure and content with the products you use. Maybe a shorter way to phrase it, is how do you overcome the pressure of doing the 'best', or live without fear of the 'bad' stuff.
I know you cover this somewhat in the FAQ tab when it comes to diet, but I'm thinking conventional laundry detergent, Suave shampoo, etc. More and more there is a huge push to go toward natural stuff that costs a TON. My experience has been that it doesn't make much of a difference and really just causes fear of anything we consider synthetic or less-than-natural.
What are your thoughts on that?
-Brittiny
I'm a middle-of-the-road person when it comes to eating a clean diet (I try to mostly feed my family healthy food, but I don't buy 100% organic food, we do eat some sugar, etc.) and I'm the same way when it comes to household products and toiletries.
I've tried natural laundry detergent 123102948 times and it's been a total failure, so I just gave up on that altogether. Conventional detergent for me, thanks.
On the other hand, I don't clean with bleach, except on rare and desperate occasions. I frequently use plain old water and a wet washcloth to wipe down counters and floors. I don't buy harsh toilet cleaners, I use the self-clean feature on my oven instead of the sprays*, and I use natural concentrate to make spray cleaners.
*to be honest, I rarely clean my oven. (!) But when I do, I wipe up spills with water, or I use the self-clean feature. Mostly my oven is just kind of messy, though.
While I do use conventional shampoo and conditioner, I'm pretty picky about stuff that stays on our skin. Like, for lip balm and skin moisturizer, I prefer to use coconut-oil based versions, like what Third Day Naturals sells.
And I really love this ThinkSport sunscreen, which smells like fruit loops and actually works.
So, I'm kind of all over the place, which is probably not super helpful! I wish I had a more organized approach to offer you, but all I can say is that you should do the best you can to avoid the things that seem the most harmful for you and your family, and then not stress about the rest.
We live in a broken world where nothing is going to be perfect, and if you make peace with that, you can have a freedom to stress a little less about trying to make things perfect for your family.
_______________
Fun and very un-mainstream fact: You can actually wash most of your loads without any laundry detergent at all. Just hot or warm water will do it unless you have something really greasy. The agitation of the machine is what gets dirt out. I've been doing this for about six months now--only using an unscented detergent with greasy kitchen cloths and so on--with no bad effects at all.
Though I still use some pretty strong toilet cleaner, because of the iron in our water that's impossible to get off. So, you know, natural all the time, except when, uh, not. 🙂
that is fascinating! I should try a load and see how it turns out 🙂
Interesting! Never thought of that before. I might have to try it!
Re #2 and natural products: There are several things to know about "natural" products before you buy.
1) "Natural" is not a regulated term. It means whatever the manufacturer wants it to mean. You have to read the ingredients list. You have to educate yourself as well, so you know what' you're reading.
2) Some long chemical names are for perfectly normal and non-dangerous substances (most vitamins fall into this category, they're now more likely to be listed by chemical name than common name). While some short or common-language names are for scary things (evaporated cane juice is just a fancy name for sugar).
3) There are a lot more truly natural, prepared foods than there used to be. Many of the Big Ag and Big Food Manufacturers are making foods with only stuff you'd find in your kitchen. Right now I'm looking at a can of Yes!-brand soup from Campbells, whose only remotely weird ingredient is carrageenan, a seaweed used to thicken liquids. (It's cheaper than gelatin, which does the same thing.)
4) Some plain-name cleaning products are dangerous. Bleach is an obvious one. But these have a role in cleaning. Elbow grease, baking soda, and vinegar don't disinfect; and there's nothing like bleach to deal with shower slime.
5) It doesn't have to be perfect to be better than before.
#5 is one of the hardest lessons I've attempted to learn in my life.
Maybe I'm wrong but I consider bleach to be a pretty safe heavy duty cleaner. I mean you can drink the stuff when it's diluted. I do hate how it seems to always get on your favorite clothes, but I really LOVE using bleach for select purposes. You KNOW that something is sanitized when you use it. I mean it even kills Ebola . Plus it whitens. So there is my shameless plug, and no I don't sell it . I do try to go more natural with my all purpose cleaner though(vinegar) and am in a long-term relationship with hydrogen peroxide (it is great for literally everything!)
Thank you for sharing the homeschooling tips and your thoughts on natural products. It's definitely not easy taking care of your children's education. I send our baby to daycare and still feel overwhelmed with the extra education we give him at home. You're such a great mom!
Thanks for sharing the info on homeschooling! I've never considered homeschooling personally, but I do believe that every moment with children is an opportunity to teach them a life lesson.
I noticed you have a picture of Tandil laundry detergent. Could you tell me how you like it and if it compares to other brands. Thanks for your blog.
Yep, I do like it! I think it works just as well as the name brand laundry detergents I've tried, so I'm a happy customer.
Smell induced migraines run in our household so I tend to stay away from cleaners with harsh smells. Personally, I like Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap and for floors and countertops I use a mixture of half alcohol and half water. I'm with Kirsten on the laundry soap. I used to make my own using Borax, Fels Naptha and baking soda. The year I did this it cost me less than $80 in DIY laundry soap the entire year, but I concluded that nothing gets our clothes clean like store bought
so I use Lavender scented Ecos Plus from Sams Club. This article about DIY laundry soap explains it http://butterbeliever.com/homemade-laundry-detergent-soap-diy/
It's amazing what you can clean up with a micro fiber cloth and plain water. I usually find the cloths two for a dollar.
Fruit loop smelling sunscreen?? Sign me up! I recently discoverd that coconut oil can combat mild to moderate eczema, in addition to being a safe moisturizer for little ones who like to put their hands/arms/toes/etc in their mouths! 🙂 I do a lot of googling about what is safe/effective and then ususally decide for myself. Since we have a little one who goes to day care, I do a lot of disinfecting lately. But I also stopped using bleach: I recently learned that it doesn't kill mold! You know what does? Ordinary vinegar! I don't love the smell, but I do love a mold-free shower in this humid climate!
Many hospitals use vinegar for cleaning, rather than bleach.
Do you mean mold in the biologic sense, or slimy stuff in general? I ask because I just ran an experiment in the shower, using bleach on some of the slimy muck and distilled vinegar on the rest of it. The bleach killed the muck in an hour, the vinegar did nothing.
I clean exclusively with baking soda, vinegar and Castile soap. Sometimes I use fresh lemon and sea salt, depending on the job. None of these items are expensive and they are versatile, you just have to know a bit about science and not mix certain items together. All of these things are "natural" too.
I too, walk the middle of the line on so many things. When I discovered your blog years ago it was so refreshing to find someone as articulate as you.
Thank you for sharing your journey with your readers. Having another mom who homeschools, cooks from scratch and just does the best she can is a sanity saver for me.
People who live full time in RVs tend to be environmentally conscious. Blue Dawn is the preferred dish soap. It works even in cold water yet does a good job of removing grease. As for body care I wet a wash cloth and scrub the important bits every day which lets me shower just once a week; after all, water is the universal solvent for most everything except grease. My bathroom is a wet bath which means the whole room gets wet when you shower so I dry everything with a microfiber cloth and never have to clean beyond that. The forty gallons of fresh water in my RV's tank lasts four weeks being used for cooking as well as cleaning.
Thanks for answering my homeschool question! It helped a lot. I kept reading how you have to make sure credits transfer etc., how to make sure your child takes the right classes, so I was obviously overwhelmed. Your answer of General Ed classes keeps it nice and simple. I know it can vary, but I didn't realize it could be as simple as taking a test when taking college classes in high school. Somehow I thought I'd have to go through our local public school. I forgot all about our county homeschool office. Thanks again! I don't know if we will homeschool for high school, but reading how you homeschool has made it very appealing.
Yes, definitely check with your homeschool office. I'm certain they'll be able to answer any questions that you have!
I'm glad it feels a little less overwhelming now. 🙂
Carina, just call the admissions office of the very best school you would consider for your child and see what they require for admissions and work from there. I was set on a top school for mine so I made sure she had everything they wanted to see and beyond. By following those requirements, my oldest did get into the school of her choice (they do not offer merit aid but she did get full scholarships at two other schools) and my younger two received full merit scholarships.
Thank you! In addition to the General Ed classes, I will start thinking of what schools to consider for him and then call for their admissions requirements.
Also, congratulations on the scholarships!
On the natural living issue:
I have recently explored the options of making my own lotions, and its easy peasy!
Its lovely, because they make frugal gifts and you can customise the smells with essential oils
Its just as easy to make other body stuff too.
Take a look at Ela Gale on Youtube 🙂
I have found that "natural" detergent, dish soap and laundry detergent doesn't work. I use Gain which is the only thing that seems to work. I use Dawn, tried Norway dish soap and laundry detergent didn't like either one. They were so expensive. I have Norwex dish rags and dish towels and I'm being told they won't work if I don't use Norwex detergent. HELP, any ideas? Just joined this group and I am looking for help! I waste tons of money of stuff that doesn't work or use the stuff like Gain, I know that's not good for skin but it works great. Thank you, I look forward to learning a lot from this group