1. Walk at least 500 miles this year (360 miles walked and 140 left to go)
We had beautiful weather last week so I walked six miles outside and then did two Bodyfit by Amy videos on Youtube to finish out my ten miles.
2. Read more classic and nonfiction books
We are reading Prince Caspian, Which witch?, Plutarch’s Lives, and Twelfth Night during our homeschool days, so I am bursting with classical literature right now! **Which witch? is not really a true classic, but it is a children’s classic that I love to read almost every year. If you haven’t read it yet, do it! Its a fun story.
3. Keep a gratitude journal
- So thankful that we did not have Covid last week. We had a scare, but it turned out to be just a random virus. **Lucky us, this week Ben has the stomach virus…..I guess our luck has run out. We didn’t get sick at all last year and now it looks like the universe is trying to balance itself out again.
- Both of our co-ops started back last week and they both ran smoothly. My kids are bursting with the happiness of being around friends and feeling somewhat normal again.
- Emma finally took the ACT!!!! We had put it off due to the Covid pandemic and then she got sick on her scheduled test day in July. But thankfully, now when we get the results she will be all ready to apply to Troy University. **My brain works like a checklist and not having an ACT Score in the books was driving me nuts.
4. Try new foods and recipes
We found a new GF brand of brownies to try out and the kids really like them. There was no weird texture which is almost never the case with GF products. Apparently oat flour is the game changer because its smooth and delicious, now rice flour…..not so much.
5. Do more things as a family
We have spent a lot of time together driving to co-ops and play rehearsals, does that count??
6. Buy more used items
I have been buying a ton of used books lately for homeschool and I think its a great way to save money. Sometimes we just borrow from the library or find a book for less than $1 at the thrift store, but then other times we have to bite the bullet and buy a new or gently used copy somewhere that is not as cheap. After years of primarily borrowing from the library, you can get quite the sticker shock when you go to buy a book. But if you look on Amazon or Ebay, sometimes you can find a good deal. For example, I just ordered a set of five Edgar Eager books off of Ebay for $20 (including shipping) The cheapest I could find them online were $7.99 for each book and those were ebooks! So basically I saved $20 by buying used on Ebay from a real person and not a corporation (win!). **If you haven’t read Half Magic to your kids, you are missing out!
In addition to my eBay finds, we got a Sleepy Hollow/Rip Van Winkle combo book (the illustrations were amazing), A Tale of Two Cities, The Crucible, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes all from a local used book store for really great prices (around $17 total I think)
**All together we spent $37 on used books over the past week and I’m sure we easily saved the same amount by buying used.
Total saved buying used so far in 2021: $267
7. Take each child on a monthly outing by themselves
-Emma and I went to a used book store and she got to pick out several books.
-Ben was my walking buddy on Saturday and we enjoyed listening to Metallica and a selection of punk rock while we walked at the park. Then we headed over to pick up doughnuts to celebrate Emma’s completion of the ACT.
8. Finish my 2019 NaNoWriMo novel
No progress
9. Work on my bullet journal skills
I have had a lot of fun doing monthly bullet journal themes this year. Besides keeping up with my day to day stuff, I have been writing down all the books I am reading and I am already over 60 books read for the year!
10. Eat 5 fruits and vegetables each day + drink 96oz of water
I did not keep track this week due to illness and busyness, but I think I mostly averaged 3 fruits/veggies most days. I hope to do better this week.
Have a great week!
The Thrifty Educator 