What I Have Learned About Maintaining a Pool in Florida!

I am not from Florida.  I grew up in upstate NY where you might use your AC three weeks out of the whole year.  When we moved to FL in 2005 one of the first things we noticed was that we needed a pool.  Now, in 2020 I have noticed with Coronavirus and all that goes with that, lots of people who never wanted or needed a pool now do.  I read an article in The NY Times from a woman who was opining about how expensive and difficult it was to maintain the newly bought pool she got.  I will give you my best tips, and no they don't have to be expensive.  Obviously, you will have to spend some money, but it doesn't have to be a money guzzler.

First off the writer purchased one of the large blow-up pools.   You know the ones with the top is filled with air.  We owned one of these for many years, and it was extremely hard to keep clean and the water clear.  Why?  1- the pump sucks, literally.  It is small and not very powerful.  It is only meant to run a few hours a day, and most pools need at least 8 hours of filtering per day in the hottest weather.  The filters for these little pumps are often out of stock and they are not cheap either.  It is recommended that you replace them every time they are dirty, consider that money slug.  So, what can you do if you purchase one of these pools and that is what you can afford?  We actually finally invested in a larger more powerful sand filter pump.  This ended up paying for itself after only a few years.  We didn't need the cartridge filters anymore and it could run for more than just a couple of hours per day.  If you absolutely can not purchase a larger pump, don't worry I have more tips.  Make sure you skim it every day with a large net.  At least once a week, vacuum the pool and at the very least after each time you put shock or algae control in it, more about that in the next paragraph.  At least once a week, more if it needs it, wipe the sides of the inside walls with an old cloth.  Before you set up your pool put the side with the pump to the least amount of sun.  If your pool is already set up when you read this, only run your pump at night, it will save you on your electric bill too.  I run my pump only at night unless it has a lot of junk on the surface when I get in, then I run it for an hour when I get in and then turn it off.  Also if you absolutely must use the cartridges in the smaller pump, rinse them or spray with bleach.  I cleaned and reused mine all the time.  I hardly ever bought those stupid cartridge filters. 

Those tips all apply to any above ground pool, not just the blow-up ones.  But, chemicals are also extremely important.  I have owned a pool now for 15 years.  It took me 14 of those years to finally figure out how to keep the pool clear.  It would be clean, and free of algae but it always had this cloudy appearance.   Oh, there are tons of chemicals you can put in the pool that are supposed to help, but most of them are useless.  So, now I will give you tips on what I have learned about pool chemicals.  Do not buy your pool chemicals at Walmart or even Amazon.  These chemicals are simply not strong enough or fresh enough to do the job.  Just trust me!  I am sure you have seen the brands sold in these stores, so I will not name them here.  You need to find an actual pool supply store to get what you need.  When I started actually going to the pool supply store to get my chemicals is when my pool became crystal clear and easy to maintain.  I do not really pay any more, and probably less, because I am not wasting useless chemicals.  I do have to travel about 20 miles farther but it is so worth it.  Some pool supply stores may have online ordering, this one does not, but still, I am willing to go.  Ask the pool experts to be sure you purchase the correct product.  I will share the images of the two products I buy every time now.  These are the only two products I buy besides chlorine tablets.  Speaking of which I have two floaters with one tablet in each.   This seems to help maintain the proper balance.  I also throw a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser in my skimmer.  If you don't have a skimmer it can just float around your pool.  You would be amazed by the invisible algae it catches.  I shock my pool and use the powder algaecide once a week.  If it rains, which will wash out your chemicals I do it twice a week.  Don't put your chemicals in the pool in the day time.  Do it in the evening close to sunset.  The sun deteriorates your chemicals.   

If I forgot anything, or you have any questions, please leave them in the comments, and I will answer them the best I can.

Final Week of Grade 10

This is the final full week for Grade 10 for Caitlin.  This post will count as our portfolio for evaluation purposes.  We were going to do the PERT this year, but since her Language Arts still needs some work, I will have her take it at the end of 11th grade.  Below you will see the classes completed and the final grades.  I have not tallied all of the grades, yet, so some will be added later.  We are going on a family trip soon, and then my son is getting married.  So, I am anticipating a very busy Summer.

Math:  Algebra 1A 0.5 credit.  I am unsure how to find a grade on Aleks, but she did the work to get the credit.  She is still doing Algebra 1B and will do it over the summer until the school year begins again in the fall. 

Language Arts:  1 credit with an emphasis on Grammar and Writing.  She got an 84 on her final exam.

Science:  Oceanography:  1 credit.  She completed this course and got an 80 on the final.  She will move on to Biology in the fall. 

ASL:  1 credit.  She completed the course and her final grade is:         She will need to take another year of sign language for college credit of 2 foreign languages in the same language.  ASL counts towards that now. 

History:  I already shared her final in another post, I will have to look, but I think it was 86.  She got 1 credit for Civics and Government

Driving:  0.5 credit through FLVS.  I will probably use FLVS again for her Junior year for some classes.  She is still studying to take her learner's permit.

She continues to volunteer every Tuesday morning at Williston Animal Group and will continue into the foreseeable future.  This is something she enjoys very much.  She has been doing this since January of 2020.  I would not mind her taking on a job in her Junior year, especially if she chooses not to do Drama.

For PE she gets 1 credit as she did at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week, for the full year.  She will be starting a rigorous physical fitness routine in the fall, in order to prepare to be a Cop, the profession she has chosen.  It is grueling and I hope to do it with her. 

Photography Challenge: Orange

We have one month until our evaluation, and I have to really get going on putting it together.  I don't usually procrastinate like this, so I am feeling lazy.  If you missed the Democratic Primary Debates last week, like we did because NBC is having a fight with DirectTV, they are on Youtube.  We will be watching them there.  It will probably take us a few weeks, because they are like 6 hours long, all together, and well it is Summer Vacation.  After we watch them, Caitlin will have to pick the candidate she likes best, and follow them.  If they get kicked out of the race she will have to pick another. 

This week or photography challenge was for the color orange.  I took the lovely sunset photo, and she took a picture of a freshly picked tomato from our garden.  Next week will be yellow, and if you have been following along, yes these are the colors of the rainbow ROYGBIV.  Come on and join in.  Share your pics in the comments. 

Bring on Summer Vacation!

Last Thursday was our final full day of the regular school year.  My son will be doing a research paper, topic of his choice, for World History, next week.  I will be giving him a 1/2 credit for the year, because he just didn't have the time to do enough hours to get a full credit.  But, I think he is going to do an online FLVS for World History next year.  He has to finish up Geometry over the Summer as well.

Caitlin will also be doing a final writing assignment next week.  I let her pick the topic, and she will be posting it to her blog when completed.  She will get the option to proofread and edit it one time, before I grade it.  She knows what the Rubric is, and if she gets a grade of 75 or above, I won't make her do any Writing over the Summer.  If she doesn't she will have to continue practicing.  She will do Math, on Easy Peasy Homeschool, and Reading Assessment, a few days a week over the Summer.

I have to start getting portfolios done.  Well, actually only one this year, because DJ is taking the SAT in August, and that will count as his evaluation this year.  It doesn't save me any money, though.

In the coming weeks you will see me start to post curriculum for next year.  DJ will be mostly doing FLVS, so his will be very easy to arrange.  Caitlin will be in 8th grade, so it will be my last year to really have some fun with her, and her lessons.  You may also see me post ideas for homeschool graduation, and college readiness.

Oh, before I forget, DJ read Dracula, and Caitlin read Ann of Green Gables, plus watched the movie, and is currently reading Gentle Ben.

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Last Day of Our Regular Homeschool Year

Today, was the last day of our regular homeschool year.  Sniff, sniff, I can't believe it is over.  This whole month, has been basically half time, and tightening up things that needed completing.  DJ has now moved into Math review mode, as Caitlin will also continue Math over the summer months.  Caitlin's is more of catch up, than review.  Catch up to where I want her to be.  After my Mom was in a awful car accident this year, it made me realize how much I had to pay closer attention to Common Core, and if I ever had to be forced to put my kids in public school.  While we still will go at a relaxed pace for Math, it can't be as relaxed as they like. 

DJ has just a few chapters of Marine Biology to finish, and some labs which are always fun.  Caitlin will also continue to work on her Grammar and Writing over the summer. 

Now, I have the daunting task of putting together their portfolios.  We don't do our evaluations until August, so I have plenty of time. 

Division Made Easy

It is just about Summer Vacation, here at Melissa's Homeschool. The kids are still doing lessons, but Caitlin has mostly half days, and DJ has finished up a lot of his lessons as well. So, we are in a more relaxed mode until the end of June. So, that means I get to share stuff I find, and others might find interesting. If I have actually used the items I share, I will let you know. Sometimes I just find things interesting, and this is a convenient and easy way to save them for further use. When does your Summer Vacation start? Our local public schools are already done. The kids hate that, lol.

Last Weekend Of Summer Vacation

Ah it is the last weekend of Summer Vacation. We start school Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. Ever wondered what the history of Labor Day was, watch the short video to learn. Here in the South school starts the second, or third week of August. Being from the North, I follow a similar schedule to what I did as a kid. I probably will not post this weekend, but just relax, and enjoy before the school year starts. I hope everyone has a safe, and happy Labor Day Weekend.

Fun Friday Island Pond, Vermont

Today's Fun Friday topic, for Blogging For Fun, is favorite vacation spots. When I was a young girl, every year my mother took us to Island Pond, Vermont on vacation. We had very good friends that lived, very close in NH, and we would visit with them while there. It is a small resort town, with mainly camping, hiking, and general nature activities. It is a not a place to go, if you do not like to relax. Sometimes we would tent camp, or rent a cabin, depending on finances, and such. I have such lovely memories of going there, and would love to be able to take my kids someday, when they get a bit older. My mother used to love the many moose you could see, and we would go out at dusk to look for them. We were very close to a place called Moose Alley, where the moose were abundant, and easy to see. I tried to find some of my pictures to scan, but they are packed away. I will try to dig through them this weekend, and post a few. It is a beautiful place. We never went in winter, always in summer, but I did find two videos on youtube of the area, one in summer, and one in winter. I hope you enjoy them, and can see the beauty of the area. Have a great Friday, and weekend, everyone. By the way our playgroup yesterday was a blast. Everyone had so much fun.

A 24 Hour Vacation

I actually took a full 24 hours off, something I never do, unless I am sick. I did no dropping, no blogging, no email, no ChaCha, no housework, cooking, or any other work. I just relaxed, and enjoyed a whole day. I took Caitlin shopping to spend the rest of her birthday money. Then we went to visit my mom, and had a great time, with just the girls, no boys allowed HaHa. While we were gone, there was a bit of excitement back home. My husband called to inform me that a wicked thunderstorm came through, and a tree fell next to the drug dealers house. Yes you saw that, the drug dealer. I am not being slanderous that is actually what he is. The town knows he is there, and all they say is they know he is there, and they watch him. The joys of living in a small town. Anyway the tree missed him, his car, and his house, no offense but he must be the luckiest SOB. So today, I play catch up, and work my fingers to the bone, both online, and housework. But that 24 hours was so nice. I am probably a bit too high strung, to do that very often, it did pretty near kill me, not doing anything. One more note, my husband and I watched the Simpsons movie last night. It was very disappointing, and I was glad when it was over. Have a great Sunday, everyone.

Summer Vacation, Blogging, Kindergarten Curriculum

I have had a few people ask me, if the new logo, means I do not blog through the summer. The answer is no. We will be on Summer Vacation, from lessons, but I still blog all summer long. I do some paid posts, and may explore other topics to discuss.

DJ is not feeling well today, so he is just going to read his Harry Potter book. We need to finish it up by the end of the year. He will make up todays work tomorrow, which is test day.

This time of the year, is when I start doing my curriculum for next year, and finding the info to cover the lesson plans. I am posting Caitlin's kindergarten curriculum, with DJ's to follow soon. Because I do my own, I add or remove things I do not want in there. Some of the kindergarten stuff was kind of dumb, and I took it out. If you are looking for a free curriculum for your kindergarten child, please feel free to use it.

Kindergarten Mathematics:

Simple counting to 20
One to one relationships
Concepts of less, and more
Sequence of events
Recognition of basic sets
Simple addition, and subtraction
Introduction to a number line'
Shapes- elementary geometry
Introduction to a calendar, and clock
Basic money skills
Basic problem solving strategies

Kindergarten Health:

Personal hygiene
Good eating habits
Care of teeth
Major body parts
Physical fitness
Safety

Kindergarten Science:

Observation of everyday, familiar things
Common animals, and plants
Classification of living/nonliving things
Farm Animals
Care of Pets
The sun, our principal source of energy
Weather, and seasons
Temperature
Light
Colors
Senses
Same/different
Simple measurement

Kindergarten Social Studies:

Meanings of Holidays, traditions, and customs
Understanding and appreciating other cultures
Individuals role in family, community, and church
Work and jobs
Safety rules, and symbols
Basic human needs
Self respect, and self awareness
Location of home

Kindergarten Language Arts:

Phonics
Sight words
Listening to music, literature, and poetry
Nursery rhymes, fables
Social listening
Constructing visual images while listening
Oral communication skills
Role play
Following and giving directions
Organizing ideas
Relating events, and experiences using complete sentences
Beginning handwriting

I also add Music, Art, and Spanish. These are add ons, and we try to do them at least one day a week.

Prehistoric Planet On Discovery Kids

With summer vacation still going on. I try to encourage my children to still learn, even through the summer. Anyone who has kids, knows this can be a challenge. Discovery Kids, an afternoon set of shows on The Discovery Channel, has a show called Prehistoric Planet. We spent a great deal of time, in second grade, learning all about Dinosaurs. This show reinforces what we learned, and teaches so much more than we did. It keeps my son, and even my daughter, enthralled, and not just wasting time lounging around. It is on every afternoon, during the week, at 2PM, on the Discovery Channel. Check it out.

The first 30 days of Summer Vacation

It is hard to believe, that 30 days of summer vacation, has already passed. The first 30 days have been good, somewhat quiet. My son DJ, who will be starting 3rd grade in Sept, has read 3 Magic Tree House Books, and is working on his drawing skills. I have to say he is pretty good. He borrows books, on Dinosaurs, Fish, and Birds from the local Library then he draws them. He still plays on his favorite sites on the computer Funschool, and Funbrain. He also used the Leapster L-max for math and word learning games. My little one, who just turned 4, conitnues to mostly learn through play. She did just learn to write her name however, and she was so proud. She has a Barbie computer for learning activities, and also uses the Leapster L-max, she is learning to draw as well. Yesterday we made tissue paper flags, you can find the instructions in my archives. They were a little time consuming, but came out nice. We swim everyday, or almost every day, library every two weeks, and making plans for some of DJ's baseball friends to come visit. I dont force my kids to continue school work over summer vacation, however I am glad they like it enough to do it on their own. As for me, I am tweeking my 3rd grade curriculum, for DJ, and starting Caitlins preschool curriculum. I work every weeekend, on the night shift, working on my blogs, and learning to make extra cash online, and of course my jewelry making. We also have cleaned out closets, and donated a bunch of stuff to Another Way. A non profit group that helps battered women and children start a new life. So how has your summer vacation been so far?