Make Your Kids Play Outside- Every Day I can almost say, “YES!” to this one. A fellow homeschooling mom shared an article about schools in Finland comparing them with our wonderful educational system in the United States. Interestingly enough, Finland’s kids have the highest test scores, yet their kids spend much less time in an actual classroom each day. News Flash: In Finland, the kids spend a short amount of time studying a subject and then they are sent outside for a 15-minute recess. Rain or Shine. I immediately tweaked this to apply to my household of boys. Multiple times a day during “school” I send my boys outside to play. At first, there was almost a full-scale revolt. I didn’t realize how much I had chained them to the kitchen table until I began sending them out during school. Benefits: They are getting plenty of exercise. They are starting to get along better on a more consistent basis. (Except right this second. One child is copying one of his younger brothers and it has caused some drama, but no one is perfect). The boys are basically best friends most of the time. The rest of the time they act like little tyrants, giving me plenty of time to practice patience and creative parenting. Anyone else in my boat? That healthy glow is not photo-shopped. The kids not only seem happier, but they look healthier as well. There’s nothing quite like a daily dose of fresh air. Surprisingly Challenging: I found that over the years this is one of those areas that I overlook and neglect. There is always one more book to read, one more paragraph to write, a few more math facts to perfect, chores to be done, and errands to be run. The simplicity of letting the kids get outside and play wasn’t a simple thing for me. I have to purpose to let the kids play. Its so very important, not just for their ability to get out some of that energy, but for their problem solving, creative, and eager little minds. They are better when they have played outside (OK, usually). Quite honestly, I am better when they play outside. It allows me a few moments to form an individual thought, make dinner, or simply regroup. It’s so very important, not just for their ability to get out some of that energy, but for their problem solving, creative, and eager little minds. They are better when they have played outside (OK, usually). Quite honestly, I am better when they play outside. It allows me a few moments to form an individual thought, make dinner, or simply regroup. How about you? Do your kids get enough outside time? Evaluating What Works and What Doesn’t. Click here to read “Spring Fever” to help you take a good look at what you are doing. More from Bekki So, God made YOU a homeschool mom Choosing a chore system that works for your family Inside Out Homeschooling A Better Way to Homeschool
Let’s Be Honest: When I Walk Through My Home, Do I See Order or Chaos? Let’s Be Honest: When I Walk Through My Home, Do I See Order or Chaos? I definitely have some spring cleaning to do! At a quick glance my house is tidy, but I’d never pass a white glove inspection! As I do a self inventory of my home I am fighting the urge to clean everything so I can tell you I have stayed organized this year. Nope. I said Let’s Be Honest, Right? I see multiple areas that need attention: School “Stuff”I have an eclectic homeschooling style. I love to tailor the books and materials I place in front of my children based upon their passions, talents, gifts, weaknesses, and my own curiosity. I also am blessed and cursed with an embarrassing short term memory. I have no idea what I wore yesterday, what chapter I am on in any of our current readers, or even what color my own house is unless I write it down in my journal. (See, anyone can homeschool as long as they are determined to learn and never quit!) I have piles of projects, worksheets, books, readers, lapbooks, books, and more books that I simply leave visible so I do not forget them. What does that look like? Embarrassing photo #1 Yes, that right. This is our school area.Although I have created worse messes in the past, currently everything is piled and mixed up. Sure, that closed door hides more of the mess, sure my high-schoolers supplies are not in this picture, sure I have a bazillion reasons why I stack and not file. Being Honest: I need to go through everything in my school zone and purge what is unnecessary. It’s amazing how chaos creeps in, isn’t it? Do you collect curriculum and art supplies throughout the year? How do you deal with these intruders? More School Stuff. Well, more like art supplies… Embarrassing Phone #2 I am not a shopper, so I do not have tons of supplies pouring out of my cupboards, yet what we do have is a mess! My 7-year-old is like a tornado through our supply cupboard. I have to admit this is a bit humbling. Since my kids have a laminated chore chart posted on my fridge, I fully and naively assumed that I’d have a clean child’s bedroom to report: Embarrassing Photo #3 This is our 3 Musketeer Room. Apparently, a bomb went off because there is no other explanation as to why I should be tormented through the necessity of sharing this disaster with you. What a mess! The issue goes back to the title of this post, Do I see Order or Chaos. Yes, I see chaos. It’s late in the school year. We need to fix that broken picture frame (casualty of the latest Nerf battle), purge a few thousand toys, and pull out summer clothes with the goal of getting rid of torn pants, donating things that are too small, and somehow convince all the young boys that being handed down their older brother’s clothing is a blessing. This chore is way over-due, but always nags me at this time of year. That’s all the “Full Disclosure” my time (and pride) will allow. My honest answer to this question is that I can see through the piles of chaos. I know with a few days of hard-core organizing and purging and a reward of something sweet and wonderful we will soon whip our home back into shape. The order/chaos battle never ends and effects more than my pride.I find it hard to think straight when the home is in disarray.I am less patient and easily distracted when the piles grow faster than I can sort them. It’s a wonder we get any school done in an atmosphere of disorder… Yet, somehow or other, we do. Your Turn:What condition is your home in right this second? [leadpages_leadbox leadbox_id=141f60546639c5] [/leadpages_leadbox]
Apple TV and Homeschooling Apple TV and Homeschooling is a post from Bekki @ A Better Way to Homeschool where we learn to train our children to become lifelong learners. If you have enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Bekki on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+! My husband was right. There I said it. Go to Code.org and watch the short video on their home page and see what caught my attention and made me decide he was right. Years ago, my brilliant husband began talking to me about computer programming. I refused to listen because just the thought of software code gave me a migraine. He had just bought one of the first iSomethings that had games on it and said we should learn to develop applications. I nodded and walked away with honestly no intention of ever looking beyond a pretty internet site. Funny how things change over time. About a month ago, my husband and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary by blessing each other with his and her iPads and while at the Apple store he threw an Apple tv unit into the pile. Apple tv is this little box that plugs into our current telelvision and allows us to share whatever we are looking at on the computer right there on the big screen. Netflix, websites, YouTube: anything. I fell in love with this $100ish device. I began using it for homeschooling videos and games. I do not receive anything for telling you it is worth the $100, but I have to warn you. It may cause you to change your mind. I had resisted computer programming for well over a decade, up until that little Apple tv entered our home. I didn’t see it coming. After a few weeks of sharing his favorite YouTube Videos, this past week he crossed the line. He (brilliant husband mentioned in sentence number 3) made all 7 of us sit on front of the television on a beautiful sunny morning to watch videos.on.Python programming!! Yes, I protested internally (which means I left to clean the kitchen and start laundry), but eventually I caught glimpses of what was being shared on our big screen and began to wander closer. (you can read and watch on code.org.) There are currently 400,000 computer science students projected to be employed by 2020. Modest estimates say there will be 1.4 million computer jobs open by 2020. Computer Science is one of the highest paying degrees 9 out of 10 schools do not even offer computer programming classes. By this time I came into the room to watch some of the interviews. Seriously. GO watch the video on their home page with an open mind. Want to dabble in coding? There are a bazillion coding languages, where should you begin? Here’s a great visual of some popular computer languages. What computer code should you learn? Did You Enjoy this Article? Subscribe to receive our latest and greatest: right here
Notebooking Testimonials If you’re like most homeschooling moms I meet, I bet you’re tired. I WAS TIRED. Tired of chasing after the perfect homeschool method, curriculum, and schedule. Tired of worrying about whether my kids are behind or ever going to catch up. Tired of endless hours spent preparing, teaching, and grading lessons no one enjoys. For six years, we did school right up to dinner, trying to check all the right boxes. Of course, my day didn’t end there. After dinner, I had piles of worksheets, workbooks, and tests to grade FOR MULTIPLE CHILDREN. It was exhausting! It wasn’t working. It certainly wasn’t sustainable. I WANTED TO GIVE UP. I wanted to give up the boring textbooks. I wanted to give up the complicated curriculum. I wanted to give up the busywork that was sucking the life out of my kids. I was in a constant state of self-doubt. What is homeschooling supposed to look like? Am I doing enough? Am I ruining my kids? How long can I keep doing this? Am I good mother? On-and-on the spiral went. I WANTED MORE FOR OUR HOMESCHOOL. I wanted more than just checking off boxes. I wanted more than just grades on a report card. I wanted more than just doing “better” than public school. I wanted to simplify our homeschool, make it more engaging, more life-giving. I wanted to cuddle on the couch with interesting and inspiring books and have engaging conversations. I wanted to follow rabbit trails and my kids’ interests. I wanted to to develop thinkers, writers, lifelong learners. More than anything, I wanted the freedom in our homeschool to enjoy the journey wherever it led us day-to-day with no regrets. AND THAT’S WHEN I FOUND THE PERFECT HOMESCHOOL TOOL… Notebooking Pages LIFETIME Membership I am a homeschooling mommy of four children, ages 4-14. I am also a missionary in a remote African village. I have been teaching my children for 10 years, and haven’t yet found my fit in the curriculum world. I have my kids creating binders for Bible history and geography with pages I create & they fill in & decorate. I had no idea that what I was doing was called notebooking or that anyone else did it. I stumbled upon your site a few days ago and can’t get enough! We only have internet access three times a year when we’re in the capital city, so I’ve ordered your CD with ALL your pages. I am really excited about incorporating your pages into my kids’ binders that they started last year. You have blessed our family tremendously. I plan to tell all the other missionary – homeschool moms here about your site. Most here use Sonlight, and these pages would be fabulous for the kids to use to keep a record of what they’ve learned from the books they’ve read. Tina Gebhard West Africa My kids and I absolutely LOVE your notebooking pages! They look incredible and are so easy to use! I love that you can use them for older or younger ones also! All the options for each product page is wonderful!!! Thank you so much for such a helpful and affordable creation! Julie Tennessee Product: Nature Study Pages Wow! Notebookers and Charlotte Mason fans pay attention! Here is a great resource for you. And for those who don’t fit the above descriptions, you may very well like this, too. I think everyone from unschoolers to the classically minded could make good use of this nature-journal facilitating software. The first part of this computer CD contains a slew of nature notebooking pages. At the beginning there is a Nature Study Notebook Cover and suggestions for using the pages themselves, which are categorized in eight sections. First comes the “7 Days of Creation,” with several templates for journaling and illustrating. All of the pages that have writing space include pages with primary-style lines (with a dotted line between two solid lines) and pages with standard lines for older students. Next is “All about Animals,” which has six sub-sections: Amphibians, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Mammals, and Reptiles. Among the myriad options, there is a page for drawing animal tracks, an “observation jar” page for drawing little captive creatures, and lifecycle pages. The spider page has a place for sketching the web, and there is an arthropod page with a sectioned template for drawing the head, thorax, and abdomen. A nice feature found here and in the plant section is a “word bank” where specific terms are printed at the bottom of the page for student reference–good for building vocabulary and spelling skills. The “Habitat” chapter is most comprehensive: arctic, beach, creek and pond, desert, forest, jungle, mountains, plains, prairie, rain forest, streams and rivers, rotting logs, savannah, sea and ocean, under a rock, underground, and yard. I especially like the last one, as that is a familiar and convenient habitat for children to explore! Rotting logs and under a rock sound like fun too. The “Nature Log and Journaling Pages” are lined with “date,” location,” and “notes” column headings. There is a generic page and one for each season as well as various template pages with space for writing and drawing. “Plants, Flowers, and Trees” come next. The flower pages have places for leaf and flower/petal detail. The tree pages have spaces to illustrate the bark, leaves/needles, and the flowers/fruit/nuts/cones. There is also a place for bark rubbings. The last three sections are “Rocks and Minerals,” which includes igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks as well as minerals; “Seasons”; and “Weather,” with all kinds of daily, weekly, and monthly weather logs among other things. There is even a page for the water cycle. Each section contains a cover page for separating each category and organizing your nature notebook. The template pages are most attractive, with beautiful illustrations and pleasing layout. At the end of this Nature Notebooking half of the CD is a bonus section. It is an amazing assortment of nature-themed fun frames and borders. These could be used as additions to your children’s nature journal or would be perfect for letter-writing or stories. The author also suggests using them for copywork and dictation. There are rainbows, birds, flowers, leaves, seashells, snowflakes, frogs, and butterflies to name a few. Some are black and white, most are in color and range from quaint to “cartoon-y” in style. In general, they lean toward “girly” in their appeal. Whew! Okay, so now comes the second half of the CD, which is North American Birds Notebooking Pages. There are 680 notebook pages for 97 types of birds, and there are blank templates for adding other birds. Again, you will find both primary and regular-style line options for all the pages that have journaling space. Seven different page templates are available for each bird. Some are full-page illustrations for coloring. Where it applies, male and female species are shown. Many of the pages have a space for the common and scientific name. One template has a range map printed on it. We usually school year-round, trying to plug in some fun stuff in the summer months along with the usual catch-up. I’ve added “Nature Notebooking” to my summer to-do list, and the kids are 100% behind me. I will also make sure we take pertinent pages (animals, habitats, birds, frames, and borders) with us on our family vacations from now on!
Favorite Family Games Family Game Night!! Jenga Settlers of Catan Risk Scrabble Chess Make it memorable! Why not make homemade pizza?
Budgeting for Beginners- 1o Easy Budget Tips Getting a hold of your money is a key step to having peace of mind. Great news! Budgeting for beginners isn’t that hard. There are simple things anyone can do to get their budgeting under control, even if you’ve never learned how to handle money. If, like me, you want to stay home with your children during their educational years, then getting your budget under control is super important. Let’s do this! 1. Learn how to budget from a Preschool Teacher! 10 Simple steps to Becoming Financially Whole This book introduces financial wholeness, the 10 aspects of your financial life that work together for your greatest good, your biggest benefit, and your richest life. Tiffany is a former preschool teacher and brilliant educator. This is the first budgeting overview that makes sense to my teacher brain. She covers the 10 Aspects of financial life and teaches you how to get each one under control. Like a great teacher, each chapter is laid out as a lesson plan and contains: Objective: basic overview of what you’ll learn The DO: actionable step by step lesson The Review: She circles back and makes sure you understand 2. Write it down! Budgets can be fancy computer programs, or simple budget journals. The idea of a budget is to understand, track and plan for every penny that flows into and out of your life. Even that five dollar bill you found in the empty parking lot yesterday. If you really want to save some serious cash, establish a budget and stick to it! My husband always wants our budget in a spreadsheet, since he’s computer saavy. But, if you’re a paper girl like me, you’ll want a pretty journal. It makes it easier to face budgeting when the journal itself is fun. 3. Teach your Kids about Budgeting The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone. Because you get to learn it twice. Even if you don’t understand all the areas involved in budgeting yet, teach your kids what you are learning. This will help set them up for their financial future! Plus, it counts as a math unit! Related: Printable Personal Financial Literacy Project for Kids 4. Food Spending Cook at home. Bummer, I know. But making meals from scratch is cost effective. Cooking in bulk and freezing meals can save you valuable time and money on those days that you barely have time to eat dinner, let alone prepare it!. Here are some freezer meal ideas! 5. Organize your recipes. Take the time to make a list of all the recipes you know how to make. (this is easier if you brainstorm with the whole family). If you are like I used to be, you may be staring at a pretty short list. Make it a goal to add 1-4 new recipes a month. I made this commitment when I was 24, and now have dozens and dozens of amazing family/budget friendly meals! 6. Make a 2 week- one month menu. Cooking according to a plan will save you. period. It saves you time and money. I make a bi-weekly menu every pay-period and stick pretty close to it. I love knowing what I am making for dinner before lunchtime. It is amazing how stressful it can be to look at a clock reading 5:00 and have no idea what’s for dinner! 7. Plan shopping around your menu. Again, it is all in the planning! I organize my shopping list according to my menu. I eat before I shop and I have dinner planned before I leave for the grocery store. (This saves me from ordering pizza after buying $300 worth of groceries!) Buy in Bulk, but compare prices. 8. Look for deals on clothing This is not a huge issue for me since I HATE shopping and have a bunch of boys who have no idea what a name brand is. I cut costs with clothing by purchasing everything I can from a second hand store. I have no issues buying used clothing and dress shoes for my boys while they are still growing! Ebay is an amazing place to get great deals and save hundreds if not thousands a year. 9. Clip Coupons There are coupons for almost everything! Many moms can shave their grocery bills in half by using coupons. Before you buy anything, hunt for coupons and discount codes! 10.Discount Gift Cards Did you know you can buy discounted gift cards online? At Raise.com you can search from a gazillion cards that others are offering for sale. You can save money by buying these cards online and then buying what you need with the gift card. This is a new discovery for me! Super exciting! 11. Electricity Unplug any appliances that are not in use. They drain electricity even when they are powered off. Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms. Better yet, install motion sensor switches! You can spend close to $150 a year simply by leaving your bedroom light on all day. Turn it off and buy a new outfit instead! More ways to lower your bill! 12. Evaluate Extra Spending. I make the personal choice to stay at home rather than require manicures and highlights. I do my own hair and nails. I also cut all my boys hair. If you add all that up, I am saving anywhere between $160-$300 a month because I choose to be the hairdresser/barber. Granted, I have all boys and I wear my hair long, but this is a conscious choice. 13. Cars We traded in our fun sports car for a gas efficient model. We now have a gas guzzler and a Prius. When the whole family needs to be there, we drive the Guzzler. When I go anywhere else, I drive the Prius. The difference is 14 miles to the gallon vs. 50. It’s a no brainer. The difference is spending $120 on a full tank or $30. We drive a Prius: Add it to your wishlist for later. Standing at the gas pump, a crotchety old man snorted as he glanced at my car while filling his truck. “I can tell you exactly how you vote by looking at your car.” I took the bait. “No, you can’t.” “YES, I CAN.” The poor guy had nothing better to do than to harass a woman pumping gas. As I finished filling my car and paid my $24.37 for a full tank, he kept pumping, and pumping and pumping… Sir, all you can tell from my car is that I like to spend my money in a different place other than at a gas station. My little car will go over 500 miles on that $24.37. His jaw dropped. How far will your truck go on your, I glanced at his rising cost, on that ‘over $73’? He shrunk. “Not far.” I smiled sincerely. “Don’t judge me based on my car. This was purely a wise economic decision for my family. Have a nice day!” And now we’re thinking about getting a new one. Which color should we get? Bonus tips Simple Living Quite honestly, we simply try to live within our means. That means we try to look at any new purchase with the “is is a need or a want” mentality. Technology My husband works from home and we homeschool. Technology is woven into our loves more than most, but we do try to make very wise careful decisions. Our four kids each have chrome books. But they are older and need the ability to work online. I create and sell teaching materials and use a Mac. I saved up to buy it. Bottom Line By making some very intentional choices, over time I have been blessed to stay at home with my children. These choices are not always easy, and often we choose to go without a want to satisfy the need. But it is worth it! Did you take your financial wholeness quiz? How about YOU? What are your favorite budgeting tips and tricks? Were you taught budgeting skills? Have you begun teaching your kids about money? Let’s do this!!