Author Archives: Jamie Oliver

How To Prep for Summer Storms, Emergency Preparedness Checklist for the Homestead

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Well, we’ve passed through the first “named storm” of the season in our location. Isaias was a hurricane when it hit NC, but a tropical storm when it got up the coast to us. That’s normally the protocol for us. We focus our emergency preparedness on a hurricane, and we get a tropical storm–which is fine with me! I’ll take “only” 40-70 mph sustained winds over 79+ mph! There’s more than enough clean-up to do afterward regardless. With Isaias, we lost one porch fan, a piece of siding, and a … Continue Reading…

Reading Log Book Selfies Printable for Summer Reading

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Do you have a daily reading requirement for the kiddos over the summer? Or even during the school year? We do. So after reviewing a ton of book lists and reading log options on Pinterest, I came up with these fun printable Reading Log Book Selfies for our kiddos to use. Based on Instagram and good old-fashion Polaroids (which are all the rage, again!) they are snapshots with either book spines to be completed or blank to insert an “actual” selfie or draw a picture. Then they can be posted … Continue Reading…

Daily Learning Routine for Non-Homeschooling Moms

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Boy, the world is quite a mess lately, hmm? Our kiddos are home full-time until September and Mr. Fix-It and I are both Essential workers at our off-homestead jobs, so our house has been kinda reeling lately. A little bit of organization goes a long way! We have always done summer home-learning activities, but I had to look over my previous activities and make some adjustments for this new phase of Crisis-Schooling. It’s not really the same as homeschooling. I’m not trying to cover a complete school year or curriculum. … Continue Reading…

Coal Mining Communities Unit Study for Middle Grades (5th-8th)

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Resources for a Unit Study on coal mining communities, including FREE Amazon and YouTube video list, website links, book lists, and templates for student projects and reports. Perfect for grades 4-8, but could easily be aged up or down to suit a general family unit study as well. via Walking in High Cotton

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Hot, Dry, and Dusty…the Daily Farm Adventures {127}

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October is apparently coming in with a heat wave this year! We’ve been in the 80s and 90s for a week now and not a speck of rain on the horizon. The fields are looking parched instead of lush with that late Fall rush of green. A few of the trees pretended to turn leaves, but really, Fall is coming in about the same as June. We even have enough humidity that we have foggy mornings without clouds! We spent the weekend at football on Saturday and my phone overheated … Continue Reading…

Books and Jets and Tired Boys…the Daily Farm Adventures {126}

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We went from 60s and barely 70 degrees last week to the first week of Fall jumping back to the mid-80s. Ugh. The nice thing is that the weather has been dry since Hurricane Dorian blew through so it’s been easy to be outside. Even mid-80s isn’t too bad if there’s a breeze. And the evenings are definitely cooling off. Being out at football practice 3 days a week I’m noticing the daylight slipping away earlier and earlier too. We had a bit of a rocky start to the school … Continue Reading…

Football, Fairgrounds, and Finding Lost Socks…the Daily Farm Adventures {125}

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Fall is in high gear around here. The sheep are moving into breeding season and doing all kinds of crazy, unpredictable things like getting stuck upside down on the compost pile and accidentally locking themselves in the chicken house while trying to steal chicken food. We’ve been checking on them more than normal lately to try and keep up with their shennanigans. Football and Volleyball season are also rolling along for our two oldest and this week we also had the local county fair going on. The Ladybug is in … Continue Reading…

School Days, Hurricanes, and Chickens in the Mist…the Daily Farm Adventures {124}

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The start of September means the start of the official school year around here. We’ve got a 10th, 7th, and 6th grader here this year! It’s also the start of all the fall sports, back-to-school events, and launch into the holidays time. My 2-year planner ends in December, so the start of school was a good time to switch over to a new one. This time I went with a 5 year planner and I’m very happy with it. I spent $4 to add spiral binding at Office Max and … Continue Reading…

Packing Light for Scotland in Spring…a Plus Size Capsule in a Carry On

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We’ve been asked several times what we packed for Scotland and how wet we got–especially since we packed light and went carry-on only. Well, we didn’t get wet at all. {smile} They had an amazingly clear, dry, spring heat wave while we were there. We packed for chilly, soggy, weather and ended up needing more tee-shirts and zero rain coats! Packing light for Scotland in the spring can be extra daunting for plus size travelers. The unpredicable weather and bulkier clothes can seem impossible to fit in a backpack! But … Continue Reading…

15 Great Non-Fiction and Classic Literature Graphic Novel Series for Grades 4-8

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Do you have a kiddo that loves comic books? Or a kiddo that hates chapter books? A reluctant or struggling reader–easily overwhelmed by page after page of text? I do. I have 2 actually. And I am SO GLAD we discovered a variety of clean, appropriate, quality graphic novels on the market today. Fiction, non-fiction, and even adaptations of classic literature that use Shakespeare’s original text! They’ve been a huge help in keeping our dyslexic and reluctant readers engaged in independent reading–when standard chapter books were failing in a flood … Continue Reading…

50+ Recipes for Summer Squash to Use Up Your Garden Overflow!

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I have to admit, we did not eat summer squash very much growing up. Ok, can I be honest? Actually, never. I don’t remember my mother ever cooking yellow squash. I do remember having it with other people, but not at our house. Mr. Fix-It’s family grew it and they ate it all summer long, but he doesn’t remember much variety in the recipes. So I guess the good news is that we don’t have any old family recipes we have to throw out or overcome to try something new! … Continue Reading…

5 Easy Tips to Start Using Essential Oils When You Don’t Know Anything About Them!

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Consult a Doctor for health advice! For the love of green grass, use common sense and all the health care professionals available to you (meaning NOT ME) when making healthcare choices for your family! Do you find essential oils and natural health care interesting, but totally overwhelming? (I did!) Do you want to get started but feel paralyzed by all the choices, recipes, and jargon? (I did!) Are you worried about having to buy all. the. things. to get started and every recipe or idea you see seems to include … Continue Reading…

30+ Mulberry Recipes for Wild-Harvested Berries

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We’ve been harvesting mulberries lately in the evenings. We have 3 big mulberry trees on the edge of our top field that get loaded with berries every spring. It’s a bit of a fight to get them before the birds do! Over the years we’ve used different methods to collect berries–from the kids eating them all without telling me, to focused foraging efforts. The easiest way is for someone to climb the tree and shake them all out onto a tarp. I’ve seen folks also use a sheet, but then … Continue Reading…