The Sparrow's Home: Life is hard. God is good. We need each other.

Sleepy Time Tincture

May 4, 2016 by Susan 4 Comments

Before I became interested in herbal remedies, I had never heard of a tincture. Maybe you haven’t, either.

A tincture is made by using alcohol to extract the medicinal qualities of a plant or herb. Think of it as a concentrated herbal tea…but with vodka.

Don’t let the alcohol scare you, though. It’s so concentrated, you only take a teaspoon of it at time. And if the alcohol is a real issue for you, tinctures can also be made with glycerin. I’ll give you instructions for both.

The general rule is that a teaspoon of tincture is equivalent to a cup of brewed tea.

Although I enjoy a good cup of tea now and then, it’s not my preferred method of taking remedies. I’d rather just git ‘er done, as they say.

Plus, with this Sleepy Time Tincture, I am usually using it or giving it in the middle of the night. When you’re trying to get to sleep, quicker is better.

Homeschooling High School: Curriculum That Works

May 3, 2016 by Susan 16 Comments

This series is getting down to the real nitty-gritty of how we homeschool high school. I promised that for this third post, I’d tell you about curriculum we’ve used specifically in some of our courses to prepare for credit by exam.

I’m going to cover these courses: World Religions, Psychology, Environmental Science, Economics, Government, Human Development, Analyzing Literature, and U.S. History I & II.

If you haven’t read the first two posts in the series, I encourage you to go back and do that.

The first post tells about how we are homeschooling high school by working towards college credits for free or cheap, and gives some detail about the huge financial savings of this method.

The next post laid out step by step how we prepare for CLEP/DSST tests. There are loads of links there, be sure to Pin it or bookmark it for future reference. If you’re looking for links to practice tests or how to register for the exams, it’s all there…and a lot more!

One of the resources I cover in detail is the Instantcert website. With every subject, we use the flashcards at Instantcert heavily, as well as the discussion boards (to see what topics others have noticed on their tests). If you register through my link, you can save 25% off your first month by using the discount code 100109.

Curriculum We’ve Used

*Note to Parents*

As with any curriculum that is secular in nature, we encountered information presented at times that was contrary to our worldview. Be sure to use those opportunities to have some discussion with your student. It’s always a good reminder to us that we’re glad our kids are learning these topics with us instead of on a college campus.

Easy BBQ Pulled Pork

May 2, 2016 by Susan 2 Comments

Who doesn’t love The Pioneer Woman? There was a period in which I could expect the question, “Is this a Pioneer Woman recipe?” whenever a new menu item appeared that my husband loved. We are taken with her Braised Beef Brisket (minus the liquid smoke and less soy than called for), and Steak Bites (which, with a little Worcestershire added, are something even my not-overly-excited-about-meat son gets excited about).

The third member of this meat trifecta of love is Pulled Pork.

The original recipe is called Spicy Shredded Pork, and as written is to be served in tortillas … Tex Mex style. I changed up the seasoning a bit and serve it with BBQ.

A Class for Pre-School and High School?!

April 29, 2016 by Susan 2 Comments

Whether you have preschoolers in your life or you are planning a Child Development class for older students, this is for you.

Every Tuesday morning, my 15 year old son and I lead a small Nursery School at our church for 2-4 year olds. I structured it as part of a Human Development course he’s taking. It’s just a couple of hours, but it gives him lots of hands on experience, and we hope to be a blessing to the families as well. You can read more about his curriculum below.

But first I want to share some activities and songs we’ve done this year that have been an especially big hit with the Littles we work with at Pre-School. If you have Littles in your life, give these a try!

11 Disney Live Action Remakes

April 28, 2016 by Susan 12 Comments

Did you see last year’s live action version of Cinderella? It was a lovely rendition of Disney’s animated classic.

We really enjoyed it, with one only one complaint – We would’ve preferred less cleavage. Modesty is something we appreciate. And notice.

Nonetheless, the movie sold over 24 million tickets, so clearly we weren’t the only ones that enjoyed it.

Well, Disney has taken notice, and has plans in the works to release a number of live action remakes of other animated films.

There are a couple out this year, even. Jungle Book was released on April 15 and Alice Through the Looking Glass on May 27.

It’ll be awhile before many of these come out, but it’s definitely a trend to watch for.

Beauty and the Beast – Release date March, 2017

This is already in post production, and the cast looks stellar. Harry Potter star Emma Watson is playing the heroine Belle. More of the cast includes: Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Ian McKellan as Cogsworth, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Josh Gad as Le Fou, and Dan Stevens as the Beast. (If you watched Downton Abbey, you’ll recognize Dan Stevens as the actor who played Matthew Crawley).

Freezer Recipe: Homemade Texas Toast

April 27, 2016 by Susan Leave a Comment

I wrote recently about some bread recipes that I keep on hand to fix for dinner. One that I didn’t include on that list is this one for Freezer Texas Toast. That’s because it’s not really much of a recipe.

It is, however, an incredibly convenient staple to have on hand in my freezer.

It is also incredibly popular at my dinner table.