Science Project: Growing all natural crystals
January 11, 2010 by Nikowa
I’ve priced those crystal growing kits and WOW they’re expensive. So I searched online for a homemade alternative. After getting together all of the chemicals, we were ready to go.
One. Two. Three times we tried to grow these chemical crystals and nothing happened. (and I must say that the ammonia smell stayed in the house! EW!)
Back to the ‘ol drawing board. I did another search after remembering rock candy are essentially crystals and it’s natural! (Although we can’t eat them because the boys are diabetic.) So we started over and success on the first try!
Here’s what we did.
- First I decided what I’d grow our crystals in. We used a glass (so we can watch them grow) carafe.
- Then I decided what the crystals would grow on. I knew we wouldn’t eat them, so I decided to make cool color shapes with pipe cleaner. We molded them into desired shapes and placed them into our glass carafe. If you want to make rock candy you can use wood skewers or heavy-grade yarn/thread dangling by a pencil. But make sure they don’t touch the bottom…more on why later.
- Then we started cooking! Boil some water and dissolve loads of sugar in water by cooking it. I didn’t measure I just poured away! You know you have the right consistency when it starts turning grayish-white and it’s carmelizing (getting thick). You can add food coloring or flavoring if you’re making edible rock candy.
- Pour your syrup water into your container. You will barely be able to see your shapes because the water is so murky but as the water evaporates, it clears. We placed our container in the windowsill to help the water evaporate more efficiently. As the water cools and the water evaporates, the crystals start forming right before your eyes! The longer you leave the project, the more crystals you’ll have.
Once we were satisfied with the size of our crystals, we took them out of the jar and laid them on wax paper (which was hard to do because they stuck to the bottom). Tip: Use gloves or a kitchen tool if they touch the bottom because those crystals are sharp! We studied the crystals with our magnifying glasses and discussed accordingly.
Edible rock candy would make a great homemade gift and promote homeschooling too!
Nikowa is a quirky homeschooling mom to a special needs son, co-schooling mom to a son that’s a handful, foster-to-adopt parent, Cub Scout volunteer, music lover, frugal lifestyle livin’, 2x cervical cancer surviving wife. She enjoys social media, photography, knitting, gardening, reading, cooking, and teaching. You can visit Nikowa at The Adventures of a Quirky Mom.
The Story of Our Adoption Part 2: Starting the process
November 24, 2009 by Nikowa
Journey with Nikowa and her family as she shares with us her path through adoption.
Since we initially wanted to have our own baby, that’s what our hearts were set on– having an infant. We also knew that we wanted a girl, since we already have 2 boys. So we researched the internet and found a local private agency that specializes in open adoptions. This is where the entire adoption process is open to all parties involved, the birth mother and the adoptive parents. Most especially the child is made aware from the start.
We anxiously attended the agency’s free weekend seminar and was eager to begin the process. But after seeing the cost, we struggled for months with how we’d afford it. With this particular agency, they have a sliding scale fee schedule according to your annual salary. This adoption would actually cost twice what our new car did! After much prayer, we decided that this just wasn’t the path that we were supposed to take.
But we still wanted a daughter. So we then prayed about our other options.
Lord what do you want us to do? I know that it was Your Will for me to not have any more children from my own womb, are we not meant to have more than the 2 boys? Lord please show us the path that we’re supposed to be on. You know that we desire more children, but if that’s not what You have planned for us, so be it.
We continued on with life, continued praying and watched for “signs” of His answers. (We’re true believers of signs.) We soon got notice from our homeschooling group that they were holding an informational adoption seminar. “WOW“, we thought, “we’ll attend this meeting and see what happens“.
The meeting went wonderfully. There were about 4 families there with quiverfulls and ironically we were the only ones that showed up that wanted more information. It was like the class was specifically for us! What a sign! We went home very encouraged and hopeful.
Our hearts began to feel burdened for children that need a home. We started to see more of those “help the children” commercials on t.v. We’d see on the news about children being taken from their parents or abandoned.
I hear you Lord. We will feel the need that is already there in our community. We want to help.
Not long after that, we contacted our local Department of Family and Children Services to submit an inquiry. We just wanted information on the process of adopting through them. After all, Kevin was out of work at the time; surely they wouldn’t consider us in this situation at the moment! I got a call back that they were having a class in a few months and that we could attend, but because I submitted an inquiry they had to put us in the system within 30 days. We immediately started getting up all of our required paperwork for background checks, physicals and preparing our home for the home study.
We knew that we wanted our daughter to be younger than our youngest…so we decided 6 years old and younger, also so I could homeschool from the start. We purchased drawer and cabinet locks, made sure all of our pets shot records were updated, and even bought a fire extinguisher! Also, slowly we’ve been buying “a little here, a little there” on sale, at yard sales, borrowing, and taking people’s hand-me-downs. We have everything from infant formula to booster seats all read– waiting for her.
Over the summer we took our required classes (and even infant/child CPR). We were given several websites and a book to view currently waiting children that are in the system. During the class, they explained that you’ll have an epiphany moment when you see “the one”. You’ll be looking through and you’ll catch your breath when you see the child. We were so excited to start looking!
Nikowa has been homeschooling since 2007. With her “learning never ends” philosophy, they have an eclectic year-round approach to learning. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys photography, organizing, cooking, and reading. She is a #1 LOST fan and watches UGA football too! (Go Dawgs!) You can visit Nikowa at Knowledge House Academy.
Learning to say “No”
October 18, 2009 by Nikowa
Growing up as an only child, the pressure was always on me to answer “yes” to everything. After all, there was no one else to split the responsibilities or chores with. It was all me – all of the time. After years of saying “yes”, I’m now finding it hard to say “no”.
Women by nature are great multi-tasker’s. I think God made us this way for a reason. That’s smart design! We can fold laundry, talk on the phone, & nurse a baby all at the same time. I’m sure you know what I mean. Our to-do lists are a mile long and we’re always adding more to it quicker than we cross stuff off.
Do you stay stressed out even over the “small stuff”? This probably means that you have too much on your plate. Assess everything that you’re doing at home and away from home. That’s right. Just for a moment, take the time, write it down. Everything.
Then assess what’s necessary for you to complete and what you can delegate. Surely your children can help clean the house. They can also pick up after themselves. Teach them to be proactive. Delegate as much as you can. After all, you do so much more behind-the-scenes work. Once you’ve delegated all that you can, mark those things off your list.
Next we should evaluate those things that we want to keep in our life versus those things that really aren’t fulfilling us. You can determine if something is no longer fulfilling you by asking a few simple questions.
- Do I get joy from this task?
- Is this task helping me?
- Is this task helping others?
- Am I being a blessing by completing this task?
- Does this task cause me or my family grief?
- Is it more of a chore than something that you like to do?
- Did I just agree to do this to make someone else happy?
Basically you should get your priorities in check. You priorities can change all the time. What was important to you 6 months ago might not be so important to you now.
You should also reevaluate your tasks if you, like me, have problems saying “No”. Practice this, not just at home. “No I cannot do that right now.” “No thank you. It’s a great opportunity, but it’s not the right time.” It’s better to turn down opportunities than become overwhelmed with all of your duties. After all, how effective can you be at your tasks if you’re only able to give 10% to each of them? I don’t know about you but I want to give my best in everything I do.
Nikowa has been homeschooling her two boys since 2007. With her “learning never ends” philosophy, they have an eclectic year-round approach to learning. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys photography, organizing, cooking, and reading. She is a #1 LOST fan and watches UGA football too! (Go Dawgs!) You can visit Nikowa at Knowledge House Academy.
The Story of Our Adoption Part 1: Why?
October 5, 2009 by Nikowa
Adoption is one of the biggest decisions anyone can make, just as in having a biological child. And each family is unique in choosing how they expand their family. Some may not have children at all. Some may only have one. Some may have a dozen.
Generally people whom want to adopt, do so for a variety of reasons.
- fertility reasons
- other medical issues
- a desire to help fill a need
- religious reasons, etc.
Sadly, most people that are “on the outside looking in” think that most, if not all, people who adopt are doing so as a last resort. This is simply not true at all!
We have already gone through one adoption (step-parent) and will soon be going through another adoption using our local Department of Family and Children Services. Just as there are many reasons people adopt, there are also many types of adoption. This is by no-means a full extensive list, but a few of the more common adoptions are:
- International: adopting from outside of your own country
- Relative: adopting a relative of your own or your spouses
- Open: adoptive parents having some/full contact with the biological parents
- Private: adoptive parents having no contact with the biological parents
- Step-Parent: a step-parent adopting a step-child(ren)
You can even have a variation of these such as an international-relative adoption. Adoption is somewhat complicated and here’s our “Why”?
In a nutshell, our reason is for “other” health reasons, not infertility.
Tip: Never assume that just because someone wants to adopt, that they are experiencing infertility.
The first time I ever went to the gynecologist, I was 14 years old. My menses were so painful that I’d often miss school. So my dad (who I lived with at the time) took me to the doctor. Ladies, let me tell you I was so scared! In order to get a complete physical, they performed my first ever Pap Smear and found suspicious cells. This is not the best first experience! Then I had to go back so the doctor could perform a colposcopy (biopsy). They found bad cells in it too! (This biopsy also serves as a method of staging the cancer; basically telling you how far it’s spread & how “deep” it is into the tissue.) It was then decided that cryotherapy (freezing) would be the best option for me since the cancerous cells weren’t spreading yet or very deep. The bad cells were only superficial. After undergoing the Pap, colposcopy, and cryotherapy, I had another follow-up Pap and after all was ‘normal’, I was ordered to have my “annual” every 6 months for the rest of my life. So now not only did I have a bad first experience, I’ve gotta come back twice a year!
After I had my second son, who was born in 2003, I had my ’semi-annual’ and the doctor again found suspicious cells. Oh no, here we go again, I thought. Another colposcopy (biopsy) was performed. But thankfully, the colposcopy came back OK. We received a false positive. I’ve heard and read this happens more often than you might think, so if you get a positive try not to worry. Notice I didn’t say ‘don’t worry’ – that’s truly hard to do. I know.
Continuing on with my “semi-annuals”, I went into the office in June 2007 to inquire about having my tubal ligation reversed so that I could have children with my husband. The doctor performed the Pap and yet again the doctor found bad cells. Hey at least I know what to expect! Then I received yep, another colposcopy; this too came back positive. But this time, the tissue showed that it had spread to the surrounding tissue and was “deep”, more specifically a stage IIIA. Because of this, the LEEP procedure wouldn’t be effective. My doctor recommended that I undergo a radical hysterectomy. Now this I haven’t been through! I was so scared. I didn’t realize the enormity of the situation when I was 14, oh but I did then! I went in for the possibility of carrying another child only to be told that because of cancer, that’d never happen again. It was a hard time in my life. I was thankful and wanted to be cancer-free, but I also desired more children. I felt betrayed by my body, yet I knew this must be God’s Plan. Oh so many mixed emotions! After my hysterectomy, the doctor sent “everything” to pathology to insure that all of the cancer was contained. Praise God it was and I didn’t have to undergo chemotherapy.
Everything went well and I feel good now, other than going through menopause (starting) at the age of 26.
Another tip: Don’t assume that menopause is only for those ‘experienced’ women.
It’s been years since my journey started in women’s health. I am giving my testimony hopefully to save lives. Keep (or make) your appointments. I know these types of doctors aren’t fun; believe me, I wish I didn’t have to go back either. But it really does save lives! Please join me next month as I share part 2 of our adoption journey.
Nikowa has been homeschooling her two boys since 2007. With her “learning never ends” philosophy, they have an eclectic year-round approach to learning. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys photography, organizing, cooking, and reading. She is a #1 LOST fan and watches UGA football too! (Go Dawgs!) You can visit Nikowa at Knowledge House Academy.
When sacrifice hurts
September 15, 2009 by Nikowa
sac-ri-fice (noun): destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else; something given up or lost (the sacrifices made by parents)
Sacrifices are a common occurrence in virtually every American household nowadays. Whether it’s sacrificing eating out in order to pay off debt or sacrificing your time to volunteer, sacrificing is now commonplace.
Generally we think of sacrifice as something that we do that will help our family in one way or another. But what if your sacrifices are hurting instead of helping?
Here is an example where our sacrifices were hurting our family more than it was helping us. I hope that sharing our story will help those that are sacrificing too.
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Recently my husband went back to work after 6 months of being unemployed. We were so thankful; but this job is 100 miles away from home, one way. In order to save money on gas, time traveling, wear/tear on our new 2nd vehicle, and decrease sleep deprivation for my husband, we decided that he should stay with my father. My dad lives approximately half way between our house and the job site.
Problem solved, right?
Not quite.
It seems that we were all sacrificing things to save time and money.
- I was sacrificing sleep, because quite honestly I cannot sleep without my husband at home. I had fears of break-ins (oh the noises you hear at night). Add in the stress from running a household as if I were single again, and this did not have me in a good mood. Little things that normally wouldn’t effect me, got on my nerves. I was overwhelmed and sick. Literally.
- The boys are stressed because of fear that Daddy’s not home and in their minds, he might not come back. Separation anxiety was making them defiant, clingy, irritable and this makes Momma even more stressed. In complete honesty, I got tired and would more often than not let them have their way. I knew this was wrong but I was only one person. I can’t do it all. I re-evaluated my priorities and making sure the clothes were hung up properly wasn’t on the top of the “to-do” list, ya know?
- Daddy’s stressed because when he *is* home, the boys are testing their new boundaries. They were more “sassy”, demanding and he felt like he was constantly getting onto them when he wanted to be hugging them.
Our whole life was flipped upside down because of sacrifice.
But what do we do?
We had to take a long hard look at our sacrifices and ask ourselves, “Is it worth it?”
In our particular situation: “Are all of these problems that our family is encountering worth Daddy staying away from home 4 days a week?”
Not to us.
So in our situation the sacrifices that we were making as a family was actually hurting us more than it was helping us. Now my husband is coming home every night and the stress is gone. Sure, we’ve had to change some things around (ahem, making some different sacrifices) like earlier bedtimes, but *this* is a sacrifice that we’re willing to make.
Nikowa is a 3rd year homeschooling mom to two boys. With her “learning never ends” philosophy, they have an eclectic year-round approach to learning. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys photography, organizing, cooking, and reading. She is a #1 LOST fan and watches UGA football too! (Go Dawgs!) You can visit Nikowa at Knowledge House Academy.
6 Tips for Making a Homeschool Yearbook
August 18, 2009 by Nikowa
You can make your own yearbook! That’s right; you don’t need to be a member of a co-op or spend a whole lot of money. All it takes is a little planning and creativity.
Here are a few tips that help me to create wonderful memories that they’ll cherish for a lifetime.
- Take pictures & take them often.
Take pictures of projects, field trips, and even working on everyday subjects.
- Start planning immediately.
The yearbook should be a part of your “Back-to-School” planning. Decide if you want to display your pages in your yearbook by month, subject or season. Do you want a paper yearbook or would you prefer a hard cover? Do you want it bound in a particular way?
- Organize your pictures as you take them.
Make folders on your hard drive to store your photos. Some ideas for folder organization would be by month, subject, field trips,quarter 1…etc. You can either use copies of the photos or the originals, it’s up to you.
- Don’t forget about the folders!
You want to add to them frequently. Life get’s busy but you can’t forget about your yearbook project. Make a note. Have the kids remind you. Put time to work on it into your schedule. Add to it frequently.
- As the year comes to an end, go through your photos and pick your favorites.
Store the ones you won’t use (if they’re originals) or delete those that are copies. Get the kids involved. What are their favorite pictures/memories? (Psst…this is also good academic practice, but we won’t tell them that.)
- Get to work on making your yearbook.
There are several different ways to make a yearbook. You can print out your pictures or have them printed; then make a scrapbook-style yearbook. You can go digital and hire a company to create your yearbook. Or you can even print your photos on photo paper and take it to an office supply store to have it bound yourself. It’s all up to you.
Don’t forget your yearbook when planning your new school year. Already started the year? No problem! It’s never to late to start. Make it a family project, and most of all have fun with it!
Nikowa is a 3rd year homeschooling mom to two boys. With her “learning never ends” philosophy, they have an eclectic year-round approach to learning. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys photography, organizing, cooking, and reading. She is a #1 LOST fan and watches UGA football too! (Go Dawgs!) You can visit Nikowa at Knowledge House Academy.
Most Common Supplies for the Homeschool Household
July 21, 2009 by Nikowa
Each homeschool is different, yet similar. We all have a common goal of educating our child(ren) at home, but our methods vary from household to household and even child to child.
Along with different methods, come different tools. But there are some common supplies that are typically found in every homeschooling household.
Here is a list of items that you might want to always have on hand:
* ibuprofen
* construction paper
* glue
* scissors
* pencils and erasers
* Bibles
* art supplies such as markers, color pencils, paints/brushes & crayons
* writing paper
* measuring cups/spoons
* food coloring
* coins
* boards for writing
* books
* library card
* stickers
* clocks (analog and digital)
* tweezers
* media (such as stereos, tv’s, dvd players and computers)
* tape
* and let’s not forget creativity and enthusiasm
What other common items do you always have on hand in your homeschool?
Nikowa is a 3rd year homeschooling mom to two boys. With her “learning never ends” philosophy, they have an eclectic year-round approach to learning. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys photography, organizing, cooking, and reading. She is a #1 LOST fan and watches UGA football too! (Go Dawgs!) You can visit Nikowa at Knowledge House Academy.
Back to School Ideas
July 7, 2009 by Nikowa
Going back to school elicits different feelings for different people. Some are excited with the promise of new adventures. Others are happy to continue with the lazy days of summer. But what’s true for everyone is that learning can be fun. You just have to get creative.
Here are a few idea’s to jump start the fun for your back-to-school crew. Tweak these as necessary to best work with your family.
- In general, start the first day off lighter than usual. Ease back into learning/teaching.
- Take your “yearbook” picture.
- Read some “First Day of School” books like: The Berenstain Bears Go to School -Jan and Stan Berenstain, The First Day of School -P.K. Hallinan, Curious George Goes to School -Margaret and H.A. Reys.
- Give a small gift to each child such as a pencil, a special folder, or notebook with their name on it. They’ll enjoy having something all their own & it will teach them the responsibility of keeping up with something themselves.
- Make a list of “Firsts”. It can be common things like “first foods” or “first friends”. Or it can even be more along the lines of educational things like “first leaders” or “first cities”, etc.
- Have a “Back to School Scavenger Hunt”. Make a list of common school items such as paperclips, chalk, etc & hide them beforehand. Print up sheets with “clues” to each item and/or it’s location. Have fun!
- Start learning a Word-A-Day. Include the part of speech, pronunciation & even example sentences. Introduce your new word at the beginning of the school day & see how many times you can use your new word that day. You can use these words for dictionary & grammar work. At the end of each week, you can even have the children put the words in alphabetical order.
- Ask your children what they want to learn about on the first day. You might be surprised at their answers!
- Suggest that you start a family newsletter. This can be whatever time frame you want, weekly monthly etc. Inquire on what each child would like to contribute to the newsletter. Let them show you what they know! If their strong suit is art, let them draw the highlight of your week (or month). If their strong suit is reading, have them list the books or other articles that were read during the week (or month). Taylor the newsletter to your family’s learning & make it personal. It’d be a great addition for your homeschool yearbook!
- Have a “Back to School” party! Invite family and/or friends. This is a great opportunity to promote homeschooling and share your resources with those who might have doubts. Have gifts if you’d like (educational of course) & party decorations. Don’t forget the cake!
Check out my article on page 28 of the funky flipbook edition of Heart of the Matter Magazine.
Nikowa is a 2nd year homeschooling mom to two boys. With her “learning never ends” philosophy, they have an eclectic year-round approach to learning. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys photography, organizing, cooking, and reading. She is a #1 LOST fan and watches UGA football too! (Go Dawgs!) You can visit Nikowa at Knowledge House Academy.
The Dress
June 24, 2009 by Nikowa
When I was a child I was sneaky. Being an only-child and not having anyone to tell on me, I thought I could get away with more. This wasn’t always true. My mom seemed to know the truth most of the time! Did she really have eyes in the back of her head? Were there hidden cameras? How did she know? My mom used to tell me “Momma’s know” and she was right! Momma some how did know!
Well not long after we got married, Momma told me that we’d have a daughter. She often spoke of her “grandgirl” and once even gave me a whole bunch of stuff she’d been collecting & making. Dresses, booties, blankets, etc. She crocheted and crocheting for her “grandgirl” was no different. She handed it to me & told me, “This stuff is for your future daughter. Put it up.”
“Oh mom! This stuff is beautiful! WOW look at this dress. I can see a little girl wearing this dress for Christmas……But mom, you know that I just had a hysterectomy because of the cancer. Unless we adopt, and that won’t be any time soon, I won’t ever have a daughter.” I told her.
“Yes you will. Put it up.” She assured me. “Trust me, I WILL have a grandgirl.”
Thinking she’d gone crazy and not wanting to disrespect my Momma, I acquiesced and brought the stuff home-packing it away in the attic. I wanted more children, but in the back of my mind I wondered if the reason I’d gotten cervical cancer again was God’s way of ensuring that I didn’t have any more children.
I prayed and prayed. In my heart, I’ve always wanted a lot of children. But ultimately, I knew my life was in God’s hands. It’s all up to Him. If and when He wanted me to have more children, the doors would open.
Well now that we are getting ready for our adoption (of up to 2 girls I might add), I’m going through some of our packed up things. And I came across the dress.
I hugged it.
I cried.
I want my Momma here with me to share in the joy of having her “grandgirl”.
How can one piece of clothing mean so much? How could she have known?
Now we are getting a daughter (or two)…and Momma knew.
Momma’s always know…
Nikowa is a 3rd year homeschooling mom to two boys. With her “learning never ends” philosophy, they have an eclectic year-round approach to learning. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys photography, organizing, cooking, and reading. She is a #1 LOST fan and watches UGA football too! (Go Dawgs!) You can visit Nikowa at Knowledge House Academy.
Blogroll Update
April 30, 2009 by Nikowa
I realized this morning that the code for the blogroll did not appear in the feed. So those of you who read us via feed were probably scratching your heads saying, “what code within the box?”
So, please please visit this post and follow the instructions to join our blogroll.
