For families that home educate, this presents a challenge. Many parents have concerns about the negative influences that exist in a middle or high school environment, but aren’t left with many other choices. Kids can do activities outside the home, like lessons or sports, or independent study online, but often this isn’t enough to fill their personal needs.

I want to tell you about a new kind of school that fulfills many of the needs our children have at this time of their lives in a highly positive way. It’s called a New Commonwealth School.

Some years ago a mom noticed that her teen had needs that weren’t being satisfied by their homeschool. She wanted her teen to interact with other teens who could provide friendship, commonality and positive peer pressure in a wholesome, uplifting atmosphere.

She got together with some other parents who shared similar values and goals. They organized classes, hired teachers and established a weekly day of school for the kids, who then studied on their own the rest of the week. They were able to tailor the classes to the interests of the families involved and it was a success.

After a few years of directing this program, the mom just couldn’t do it any longer. She got the parents together and told them she needed to quit. She expected the group to discontinue, but the other parents were so happy with how things had gone, they insisted on finding a way to keep it going.

They elected a new director and several parents volunteered to be on a board of decision makers. They established bylaws and structure that could continue year after year, thereby creating a pattern that could be duplicated.

The mom that directed the school found another mom that had done the same thing in her community. These two got together and wrote about the experience and shared instructions on how to do the same thing in any community. Together, Aneladee J. Milne and Tiffany Rhoades Earl published their story in The New Commonwealth School.

My own son attended a local commonwealth school last year and loved it. He took Shakespeare and a class called “Key of Liberty” which was developed by the authors of the above book and is based on American History.

Nathan (with sombrero) in the Shakespeare production of Love's Labours Lost--an Old West version

This year my son is taking an upper level Shakespeare class and the next class after “Key,” called “Sword of Freedom” which is based on Civil War history. My daughter will also be old enough to attend, and is taking Shakespeare I and “Key.” They will both also take a ballroom dance class. I am serving on the board as the parent-to-teacher representative.

The curriculum that has been developed by Milne and Earl are designed to teach and inspire youth to:

• Study for extended periods of time out of personal choice
• Start doing the “hard things”
• Learn time management
• Discover more about who they are
• Understand their duty as a citizen
• Write independently and with insight
• Think deeper, study things that may not interest them at first

Milne and Earl have also founded a support organization called the Leadership Education Mentoring Institute, which offers training and continued help for parents and others who plan to teach in a commonwealth school, or just want to be better mentors to their children. Their trainings are 1-3 days long, and webinars are also offered occasionally. I participated in a webinar last year and it helped me understand how to be a better parent-mentor to my kids.

We don’t need to force our children into a compulsory education system, just because we feel there are no other acceptable options. There are alternatives. A Commonwealth school is one of these.

First day of Nathan's Sword of Freedom class

Our children are our future. If we don’t help them learn powerful skills and values relating to their education, what kind of future will we have?

Let’s seek out the best opportunities for them, fulfill their needs in a positive way and enjoy more freedom in the process.

*Top photo-credit http://www.buzzle.com/articles/negative-and-positive-effects-of-peer-pressure.html

Recently I’ve been studying essential oils and how they can help with these women’s pelvic issues. From what I’ve found, many of the same oils are recommended for these different issues. I’m also including information on herbal and dietary help.

Synergistic Essential Oil Blend for Women*

• 1/4 Cup Carrier Oil (Fractionated Coconut, Olive or other)
• 20 drops Geranium
• 20 drops Nutmeg
• 10 drops Ginger
• 10 drops Clary-sage
• 5 drops Cypress

This blend can be massaged on abdomen and bottoms of feet twice daily and should be for at least 2-4 cycles. Only about a teaspoon is needed for one application. A hot compress or washcloth applied over abdomen will increase the absorption of the oils.

Pictured are essential oils of Cypress, Ginger, Clary-Sage, Geranium and Fractionated Coconut oil.

Vickie’s PMS* essential oil blend, 3 drops, rubbed over the uterus,  will also help dissolve cysts. The next couple periods after using may pass some tissue or smell funny because the uterus is detoxing.

If pain is especially bad, the amount of essential oils may be doubled in the carrier oil and applied 3 times a day the week before period is due. Also, add 15 drops of clove essential oil to the above blend.

Clove Essential Oil

Baths are excellent for increasing circulation, so in a hot bath add 10 drops of the above recipe without the carrier oil. This can be done daily and may speed up the healing process.

Herbal Aids

• Vickie has an excellent formula called Cramp Relief that works well for managing pain and cramping.
• Dr. Christopher’s Female Reproductive Formula AND Hormonal Changease Formulas OR Vickie’s FemEase, 2 capsules, 2-3 times a day, to rebuild and cleanse reproductive organs and balance hormones.

FemEase Capsules

• Evening Primrose oil, 2 capsules morning and night, helps with hormone production and balance.
• Red Raspberry Leaf, tea or capsules, 1 cup or 1 capsules taken 3 times a day to strengthen and nourish the female system, reducing pain.

Whole Food Power

• Cut out white sugar and processed foods as much as possible while dealing with these problems, at least for a few months. Limit meat and dairy with hormones (buy organic) because the estrogen based hormones in these products cause the cysts to grow.
• Feed your body whole, raw foods, lots of greens and super nutrition (see my post on Pregnancy Nutrition).
• For ultra nutrition and fastest results use fresh wheat grass juice. Drink it (2 oz a day) and even douche with it. Douche with 4-6 oz in a tub with towels under hips. Remain with hips elevated for at least 10 minutes. This is potent nourishment to the cervix and uterus, and is especially helpful in cases of heavy bleeding.

Some of these suggestions seem so simple, and the reality is that there are simple but effective (and much cheaper and less invasive than surgeries and other conventional treatments).

Dr Christopher taught over and over, cleanse and nourish the body and it will function as it should. Drugs don’t do this. Sometimes they can alter something in the body to achieve a desired result, but they generally don’t cleanse, nourish or heal.

These natural products from Mother Earth can aid the body in overcoming many obstacles, including those genetic and environmental, so that it can work as it was created. Trust them, use them. If they don’t seem to be making a difference, be patient. Unlike drugs, they take time to do their jobs–usually a few weeks to a few months, at least.

After years of our imperfect lifestyles, how can we expect anything less? The good news is, there’s hope. The body knows what it’s supposed to do. When given time, the proper tools and nourishment it can often repair itself and function the way it should. Give it a try!

*Please contact me if you’d like to order any of the oils mentioned.

*Pictures by Emili Whitney

First I peeled and cut cucumber slices in half. I use a fourth to a third of a cucumber.

Then I diced up  about a half a large tomato or more of a medium one.

Then I diced and scooped out half an avocado.

I added 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Then I added some Italian dressing with an extra dash of balsamic vinegar.

Anyone want to share their favorite recipe for Italian dressing or veggie salad?

Pregnant for the second time.

I became determined to get the best nutrition possible and decrease my chances of problems. I am convinced that diet and nutrition before and during pregnancy is a key factor in mother and baby’s health and well-being. My fifth baby was born (at home) 3 weeks early, weighed 5 lbs, 14 oz and was absolutely strong and healthy. I attributed that to my diet as much or more than genes.

Now that I’m pregnant at age 40 with our seventh child, it’s on my mind once again. We’ve all heard how depleted our soils are, and even though I grow and buy about half our food as organic, I still believe smart supplementing is vital.

Greens are crucial. The cheapest, healthiest way to get enough greens is to grow them yourself and eat them daily. I try to have one green salad or smoothie everyday. Blending up chard, spinach or kale with fruit, juice, yogurt or ice and a shake of stevia is the easiest way to consume sufficient amounts of greens.

These greens are the best kind because they are alive. Living cells from living plants enter our bodies and give us extra energy and vitality. This is especially important during pregnancy when fatigue is more problematic.

When I don’t have fresh greens I use green powder.

Christopher’s Jurassic Green is pure, dried wheat, barley and alfalfa grass juices. It has a naturally sweet taste, so I can hide it easily in fruit drinks. I even add a shake of stevia to the powder and spoon it into my mouth to drink down with apple juice. I love it!

Vickie’s Emerald Essence and Christopher’s Vitalerbs have some of these greens, along with other powdered superfoods. Christopher’s comes in powder and capsule. I recommend the capsule because his contains a little cayenne and doesn’t taste so good. Vickie’s comes in a powder and contains stevia leaf, so it tastes fine in juice.

The last green supplement I use is liquid chlorophyll. The dose is 1-3 TB a day. It is like plant blood and is the fastest way to build the blood, especially after childbirth. I usually go through a couple bottles within a few days after I have a baby. If I experienced a high amount of blood loss during the delivery, I would drink a whole bottle in a day.

I believe it’s hard to have too much “green” in your diet (the stuff in the toilet will turn dark green). I always have a few bottles of this on my shelf. I buy apple juice for our fruit drinks, but my kids end up drinking some as well. I always add 1-2 TB of liquid chlorophyll to each bottle of apple juice I open.

The next most important thing is good oil, the omega oils that we hear about so much. Excellent sources of this oil are found in fish and seeds, such as flax, pumpkin, evening primrose, wheat germ and others. This oil is like glue for building a strong placenta and baby. The optimal amount to take during pregnancy is 2-3 TB a day, and only 1 TB a day the last month. We want to cut down on the oil at the end so the placenta doesn’t have too strong a hold and will come out when it’s time.

I recommend taking the wheat germ oil in capsule because it doesn’t taste so good. Flax oil and flax oil blends are much more palatable. For my family, I squirt them in fruit drinks and on our cooled dinner foods, like rice, potatoes, etc. In addition, I take Doterra’s omega oil supplement. It’s more expensive than the others ($30 a mo/it’s cheaper on autoship), but it’s worth it because it contains essential oils as well, which I highly value for digestion and added nutrition.

Red raspberry leaf has been used for hundreds of years to ease the pain of childbirth, nourish the body and strengthen the uterus. It’s one of the several beneficial ingredients in Vickie’s Mother’s Tonic, but I also take red raspberry leaf in capsule to make sure I’m getting enough.

When I’m taking Vickie’s Tonic I take 2-4 capsules of raspberry leaf per day. If I wasn’t taking the tonic I’d take 4-6 capsules a day. The cheapest way to reap the power of this valuable herb is to drink a quart of the tea each day. It tastes fine when mixed with peppermint or lemon and a shake of stevia.

Prenatal vitamins come in a whole spectrum of being nutritious to being toxic. Many of the ones at the grocery store or doctor’s office contain synthetic copies of actual plant vitamins. Even though these compounds are similar chemically, they are not natural, which is why they are toxic in large doses.

Plant based vitamins such as Vickie’s products, contain natural compounds from real plants, not chemical copies. These natural compounds are much easier for our bodies to absorb and assimilate. For instance, Vickie’s Prenatal contains more iron than an over-the-counter product, which could make your doctor have a conniption fit. But because hers is from a plant, it poses no danger and the body can use it appropriately.

Speaking on the topic or iron, a natural iron product for anemia or post-birth use is Floradix. It is made from herbs and plants high in iron. This is so much better for the body than synthetic iron products, which are labeled to be toxic in high doses. There’s a better way!

Minerals are also easier to absorb when they are from a plant source versus a rock or shell source. Have you ever had one of those excruciating leg or foot cramps in the middle of the night? I have. They are a sign that the body is short of calcium or magnesium. This product is derived from whole foods.

The label actually lists under ingredients, whole brown rice complex, figs, dates, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, broccoli and spinach. You can be sure what you’re getting here is from a plant source.

I take herbs to prepare for childbirth. There are specific herbs that help rev up the uterus and get things ready to happen correctly. Christopher’s Prenatal Tea (capsules) and Vickie’s 5 Week formula (liquid) contain these herbs. The dose is small to start and increases over the last few weeks. I also insert (vaginally) a soft gel capsule of evening primrose oil every night for the last 2 weeks. This helps soften up my cervix so the baby comes out easier.

Avoiding drugs, alcohol, junk food and eating as many whole foods as possible is a solid foundation on which to build a healthy baby. The baby will take everything it can from the mother’s body, even to the point of depleting the mother’s body. Getting enough nutrition (and don’t forget exercise) for ourselves and our baby helps us achieve healthier bodies for both, an easier labor and delivery, easy recovery and energy to care for our newborn.

Can you put a price on that?

Here’s the nutrition in a nutshell:

• Green drinks and lots of whole and raw foods
• Green powder or chlorophyll
• Good omega oils
• Red raspberry leaf
• Plant based vitamins and minerals
• 5 or 6 week herbal formulas

You don’t need to use everything in this article in order to have a healthy pregnancy. These are general suggestions about the things I’ve done that I feel are the best. Every woman needs to educate herself and go by her own feelings as to what and how much.

A guy came in, and to put it lightly, was very uncomfortable.

He had “bear spray” (which is essentially pepper spray) in his backpack and somehow some had sprayed onto his clothes without him knowing.

Later when he put on his jock strap, he started feeling some intense heat in a very sensitive area.

His wife called ahead of time so the ER staff had a good 20 minutes to joke a bit before he got there.

Because the spray is made of cayenne pepper, they knew it wouldn’t cause a chemical or damaging burn. It’s just very irritating.

There wasn’t a whole lot that could be done to help him. The ER staff was doing their best not to laugh.

If it had been me, I would have suggested he rub himself down, at home, with lots of olive oil to dilute the intensity.

Moral of the Story: Make sure your pepper spray is well contained, and learn how to handle a situations yourself so you don’t have to endure embarrassment.

Photo credit

I enjoy watching them with my children and discussing the events and dilemmas they present.

I found our first FFF movies at a yard sale. I brought them home and my kids really enjoyed watching them. I started keeping my eyes open for the brand and found more at thrift stores. I liked how they had a summary of the story on the video cover, along with suggested questions for family discussion.

After we finished residency and Mike got a “real” job, I ordered a few movies directly from Feature Films For Families. I had never paid full price for a movie before that, since I was used to getting ours at yard sales, but I wanted to support a company that was creating wholesome entertainment.

I’ve long been dissatisfied with the appropriateness of what’s coming out of Hollywood. For a long time we didn’t go to the movie theater more than once a year. We didn’t feel there was much worth watching or spending our money on. As we started to have kids, it seemed even harder to find shows we felt were appropriate for them, not to mention inspiring.

As I collected and watched FFF movies I realized they were appropriate entertainment for our family, and they were also inspiring us and building our characters. This was the type of educational material I searched for when we made the decision to home school our children.

It wasn’t enough anymore for something to not be “bad.”  If we were going to spend our money and time on media, I wanted it to build us, help us learn the difference between right and wrong and motivate us to be better people.

Every year or two since, I have bought another batch of movies for our family. From time to time, outside media does capture our attention, especially as my kids get older. I’ve been getting lots of movies and classic shows from Netflix.

Sometimes my kids aren’t as interested in watching our FFF movies. In order to beat the competition, I just plan to put one on when not much else is going on.  Family trips in the car are perfect opportunities. Not only are my children a captive audience, but my husband and I can hear the story and talk about it when it’s over.

Most these movies are available for $12.95 on the Feature Films for Families website. Amazon has many for $5 including shipping from individual sellers. (Click on the DVD pictures if you want to read about them.)

It’s easy to be passive about media. If we are aware of how much our children learn (good or bad) through this medium, we as parents can be proactive in using this powerful tool to reinforce the principles we’re trying to teach at home.

I am currently taking an aromatherapy course through Dr Christopher’s School of Natural Healing, and one thing I’m learning is that the same plant can have different compounds and constituents depending upon what variety it is, where it’s grown, how it’s processed and what parts of the plant are used.

Usually, there is one specific part of a plant that contains essential oil of the highest medicinal value. Many producers use additional parts of the plant because they smell the same, but they don’t have the same amount of compounds or potency.

Many essential oils are extracted with chemical solvents. It’s hard to remove these solvents completely and makes the production process more expensive. As a result, most companies in the past have not been willing to pay the extra expense to do this extra step or buy more expensive oils extracted a different way. And some companies dilute or adulterate their oils to make more money.

In fact, the FDA requires that only 10% of an actual oil be present for a company to claim it as being 100% pure. Don’t be fooled!

This is why it’s traditionally taught that essential oils should not be taken internally. And it’s true that many brands of essential oils are unsafe to take internally.

I’ve been asked many times why I recommend one company in particular. It’s because I’ve never found another organization at all like them. The company is Doterra, and they are absolutely committed to having the purest oils possible. They go to great lengths and spend the money it takes to do so. Not only do they outside-test all batches of oils to make sure they are pure, they also measure the oils to verify they have the correct amount of medicinal compounds. They call their oils CPTG: Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils.

As a result, their products are safe to take internally within recommended guidelines, which is the same as herb and drug usage. I’ve used Doterra’s products for a year and a half, and have been amazed at the power and purity of their essential oils. My nose has gotten better at detecting differences in quality between brands. Some are so obvious when you have something really pure with which to compare.

Doterra is definitely a pioneer in the field of essential oils. They promote scientific research, and have already had success in the areas of cancer and diabetes. It’s exciting stuff, and I’ll be learning more at their convention this September.

There are other reasons why I love Doterra. They offer things I couldn’t find from other companies.

• Beautifully printed educational materials (even their catalog has usage charts)
• Free videos and webinars
• A generous rewards program for monthly auto-ship ordering
• An opportunity to pay for my oils by sharing them with other people
• A wellness philosophy I heartily support

This is why I am so loyal to the Doterra brand. They’ve raised the bar of quality for essential oils to a very high level.

Go ahead. Try some. You’ll be able to tell a difference too!

I start out making a mix. This saves tons of time in the long run, because you only have to measure the dry ingredients once. The mix batch is big, so you’ll need 2 huge bowls like this or a big soup pot.

Peppermint Brownie Mix

Makes 11 batches, 8×8 pan size. Each batch makes 9-12 brownies.

• 9 cups white whole wheat flour
• 2 TB baking powder (non-aluminum)
• 2 TB salt (sea salt’s the best)
• 12 ½ cups sugar (I use evaporated cane juice crystals)
• 12 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (these make all the difference!)
• 5 tsp vanilla powder (or use 1 tsp extract when baking)

Directions

1. Sift first 4 ingredients into large bowl. Mix well.
2. Add vanilla & chocolate chips. Mix well.
3. Measure 2 cups into quart freezer bags (for 8×8 pan recipe, or 4 cups for 9×13 pan size recipe). Makes 11 bags.
4. Label each bag (8×8 size) with the following: Add 2 eggs, ¼ cup melted butter & 4 drops peppermint essential oil or flavoring (may need more than 2 drops). Add extract if you didn’t use vanilla powder. Mix with beaters. Batter will be SUPER thick. Just spread it like frosting in your greased glass or stone pan (never aluminum) and it will rise up.
5. Bake at 350 ° for 30-35 minutes. Test with a knife. For slightly fudgy brownies, take pan out 5-10 min early.

I put a couple batches in a gallon size bag to have on hand for social events when I need more brownies. Label your bags!

So tonight we made a double batch. We dumped a big bag in a bowl and added double the wet ingredients with the oil.

Using peppermint essential oil gives the flavor so much zip! Beat ingredients with a blender.

The dough will be very thick. Spread it like frosting in a glass or stone pan. Pampered Chef stones are my favorite!

Be forwarned that while these are baking, your home will smell so good everyone’s mouth will be watering!

This brownie recipe is great because the sides don’t rise higher as in many other recipes.

Slice brownies before they are completely cool, as the crust will harden and make them harder to cut.

We are planning to take these to the closing social for Raquel’s summer art class.

When you use unrefined ingredients, the taste you get is so substantial and real. I love this taste so much more than cheap food varieties.

These brownies are always a big hit!

Come check out my article and enter the giveaway for a free essential oil kit & bottle of Breathe.

Photo from Black Cat Pages

During my college years I developed the firm idea that I was not artistically inclined, and I shouldn’t even waste my time trying to do art.

When I began to home educate my children, I started understanding the power of my example in their eyes. Little by little my mindset changed, and I moved out of my comfort zone to do activities with my children. Sometimes I even take a class before they do, so I can teach them or at least inspire them.

So when my friend put together a watercolor paint class for a group of my daughter’s friends, I jumped on board. This was the first picture I painted, with a little help from the teacher. I had to look at her examples a lot as I did mine.

Next we traced a simple picture with carbon paper.

Then you paint a grey wash, leaving some parts white. After that dries you paint a darker coat on certain parts of the picture.

When that dries, you add more details. Each layer only takes a few minutes to dry.

Here’s Raquel’s. She wasn’t very pleased with her work, but I thought she did a fine job.

Then we made color wheels, which helped us learn to mix the colors correctly.

Here’s my finished wheel.

Then we tried a few more exercises and ended with a couple harder projects. We drew a scene of fruit.

Then painted it. I didn’t quite finish this one. I probably should have done a cream background wash first.

Here is our teacher, Jennifer Lineweaver’s painting. I love it!

Then we drew candy and painted it. This is Raquel’s painting.

She got frustrated a few times and probably would have quite the class if I wasn’t doing it with her.

Here’s mine and it’s pretty much finished. It could probably use a bit more background color.

I’m a perfectionist when it comes to art projects so I’m inclined not to do them, but when I do finally try I usually enjoy myself. And I create something beautiful in the process.

I like being able to say, “I can do that.” It’s empowering.

I’m so grateful for the way that home educating my children has changed my own perspective on learning. It’s made my life much richer and educating my kids more fun.