Woo Hoo… GRACE! First, Grab your checklist here. Before you go… If you made your way here without joining the series, and don’t quite know how to begin. Just begin here.
Woo Hoo!! Welcome FIRST, Grab your Make and Sell Printables Cheatsheet here. Before you go… If you made your way here without joining the series, and don’t quite know how to begin. Just begin here.
Homeschooling Is A Beautiful Thing! As a parent educator, you have the freedom to weave your family’s values, your educational goals, and your children’s passions into the living journey of homeschooling. You get to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. You do not need to become entangled or even burdened with what the school down the street is up to, because you have the ability to design a program that is perfectly suited for not only each of your children, but your entire family as well. To be a successful homeschooler you need a foundation, a plan, and sheer determination. Foundation This is the most essential piece to the homeschooling puzzle. You need to lay a solid foundation for your children and your family. What does your ideal homeschool environment look like? What do imagine your daily routine to look like? How will the house run in the midst of your homeschool day? Will your children help around the house? What part will both you and your spouse play in their education? Will you incorporate your faith into the school day? If you are a new homeschooler, you should take a few days to consider what your foundation should look like. If you are a brand new homeschooler, understand you may laugh at your ideas a few months from now, but that should not stop you from laying an idea of your foundation. Plan It is true, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” The good news is, in homeschooling the plan is fluid and changeable. You do not need to stick with plans that are failing, but you do need a plan. What grade levels are your children? What subjects are required in your state? What topics would you like to teach your children? Will you design your own teaching materials or acquire them from a big curriculum company? How long will your school day/year be? Where will you find coaching, mentoring, and encouragement? Sheer Determination Homeschooling is wonderful, but it is also wonderfully hard. It is a huge undertaking to not only educate your child, but keep your home from falling apart simultaneously. There will absolutely be days when you question everything. There will be more than one day, week, or year that you fear that you are ruining your child’s education. This is normal. Before you go any deeper into this thing called homeschooling, you should: Determine that you will stay the course. Determine to never quit out of frustration. When those days come that cause you to believe you should quit, declare it a free play day, go to the library, visit a veteran homeschooler, or go to the zoo. Just determine to never quit out of frustration. Understand that homeschooling is hard, but that just because it is hard does not mean that you are unqualified. Honestly there is no one more qualified to teach your children than you are. You know their strengths, weaknesses, and passions better than anyone else. Homeschooling can be extremely fun, rewarding and exhausting. It is worth every bit of effort to be able to see your child blossom into a curious learner. If what you are currently doing is not working, go back and look at your foundation and plan. As a veteran homeschooler, I can assure you that it is very common for homeschoolers to go on tangents. It is also common to throw out topics or whole curriculums that are not a good fit for your family. Change is good. Homeschooling is good. It is not for everyone, but it is good! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8403195 (Yep, that’s me!)
Sword Play: The Boyhood Dream “No! My boys will not play with weapons.” That’s right, I spoke those words long ago. Probably when I was a new mom and had only 1 boy so far. It was back in the days that we had no TV, no guns, and no idea what we were doing. Fast forward to today. Ladies, I have 5 boys. That’s a lot of testosterone! Boys love to play very differently than you and me. I came to this realization reluctantly, but have finally crossed over to what they call “the other side”. Why our boys Play with practice swords: Because they are awesome! That’s right. There is an absolute coolness factor that speaks volumes to every single male person that we come in contact with. Swords are just cool. They cannot kill themselves. (Well, I guess they could if they tried hard enough, but these practice swords are not meant to cause mortal wounds.) Just watch boys at play. Every boy needs a sword, even if it is a nerf sword! Hand-Eye Coordination. These swords are meant to be real training swords. They are heavy and are balanced like the swords they resemble. Pretty cool huh? They are learning history. Each of our boys has chosen a different style practice sword. Each is a slightly different length and weight and each has its own history. They boys are delighted to learn about their swords place in history. Our Safety Rules: Do not kill each other. Never pick up any weapon if your heart is not right. If you are frustrated or angry, you are done for the day. Period. No exceptions. Practice is about discipline. Practice. Practice. Practice. (The Japanese practiced with wooden swords to become expert swordsmen before they would wield a razor sharp blade!) When you get hurt, take a deep breath. If you practice with a sword, your fingers will get hit. Play in slow motion until you master the moves. Moms, you cannot take the warrior out of your sons. Embrace that. There is something primal and beautiful about a strong man with a sword or bow. Think Joshua (Biblical), William Wallace (Braveheart), Legolas (Lord of the Rings). I want my sons to be like them. Don’t you? Are you ready to join me as a mom of sword-wielding, arrow shooting, and courageous sons? Here is how you begin. Click here.
Solving Percent Problems Made Easy I have a new Activity packet for You! Are you trying to teach your kids percents? I hated teaching percents until recently… I do not know about you, but I would always get confused: Which way do I set up the problem if I know the percent? OK, but what if I am looking for the percent? Ahhh! That’s right. I would scream, “Ahhh!” (In my head) Last week I had a wonderful teacher friend explain solving percent problems to me in less than 2 minutes. No, I am not that smart. Her way is THAT easy! Her way is a “One size fits all” solution to these math problems. Problems like: what is 20% of 100 20 is what percent of 350 5 is 15% of what number All became easy to solve!!!! I made a quick YouTube video to explain it to you and explain it again to myself so I wouldn’t forget. I just completed a packet that will help you reinforce this cool concept with your kids. (Yes, I am an 80’s kid. I said “cool”) Here is the video I made. Be sure to scroll to the bottom and check out the packet. The first one to comment on this post wins a free copy:). Solving Percents Made Easy Perfect First Laptop
Chromebook Perfect Laptop for Kids Sign up here to receive freebies, deals, and resources!! This post contains my referral link which helps support the work of this site. Here’s my full disclosure policy. There are never enough computers in our home! We have a computer scientist, a professional blogger, a sophomore in high school, and a 6th, 5th and 3rd grader here. We are always in competition for use of our computers! We finally bought a Chrome-book for the kids and I am really excited to share our experience with you! This light weight little ditty is perfect for school! Why? It is connected directly with Google Drive. “Google Drive is a cloud storage service that allows you to store your documents, photos, videos and more online in one place. From Drive, you can also access Google Docs, where you can create, share and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations and more from anywhere while online.” (gcflearnfree.org) I was personally slow to buy into the idea of writing and storing documents in the “never-never land of the cloud”, but it has been a life-saver more than once this past year. We can access any of our work form any computer (as long as we have Internet connections! Create and Store all your kids documents safely on the cloud. No more storage issues. No more, “I need “that” computer issues. Create reports, spreadsheets, and presentations. Even work together with people in different locations. This past week, our high schooler completed a power-point presentation with drive for the first time. All 4 students were able to work simultaneous on the same presentation from their respective homes! They were all so excited! Learn to type This may be a no-brainer in your home, but with limited computer access the boys were not able to squeeze in typing enough to learn. They are all excited to jump in again! We use typing tutor. Learn basic computer programming (like Scratch!) This one is very important to our family. My husband has inspired us all to learn basic programming. The boys are jumping in by learning scratch, our oldest is learning Python. Best News… It is ONLY $249!!! We are test piloting our first chrome book right now. Honestly, for this price we are likely going to get a couple more so we can have our kids work online simultaneously. Click on the image to check it out for yourself. What kind of computers do you have at your home? Do your kids have their own computers? Sign up here to receive freebies, deals, and resources!! Perfect for work at home moms.
Notebooking Pages Giveaway!! Want some secret sauce? Add notebooking pages templates to your homeschool toolkit!! Tears. BIG ugly tears. I had four kids at my kitchen table and I was desperately trying to teach four different history curriculums. Don’t ask me why. It was a strange year and I had decided I follow what someone else suggested we do. I think I lasted 3 days, before breaking down crying. I solved that drama by hiding all the history books and activities. “How can I do this smarter?” Please tell me I’m not the only one who stops mid teaching to declare, This isn’t working. Go outside and play while I figure out what to do!” My easy button for teaching came right about the same time I was crying. I’m not sure where I learned about notebooking pages, but I never stopped using them after that! Easy to usePerfect for adjusting lessons for multiple agesChild leadGorgeous keepsakes Once or twice a year the creator of Notebooking Pages templates gives away a LOT of her goodies April 26 Anniversary Giveaway Details!! Over $800 in Prizes include: 20 Notebooking Pages LIFETIME Memberships2 ProClick Binding Kits (tool + spines + covers)4 Amazon.com Gift Cards ($50 each) I hope you win!! Yes, there are free pages to try!!
My Kids Do Not Drive Me CraZy! As a homeschooler, when you see me in public you will likely see one to five of my children at my side. It doesn’t matter if it is 10:00am on a Wednesday at the grocery store or 11:30am at a busy doctors office. The kids are always with me. What baffles me is the reaction of the adults we come in contact with during our day. Many are dumbfounded that I am wearing ironed clothes and have my hair styled. Most think I should be going crazy. ***News Flash*** My kids Do Not Drive Me Crazy. (most of the time) I always have 1-5 children (ages 8-20) at my side no matter where I go. They are my buddies. I am blessed beyond words! I find my children to be amazing individuals. Unique, creative, and interesting. I want to spend time with my boys. They are quirky, fun and entertaining. I love being the one who gets to hear about all those crazy ‘imaginings of childhood’. Why should I be in the dark about what brings them joy? I appreciate that my boys work side by side with me to manage our home. They understand that we are a team. Family is the focal point of my children’s life. My kids spend their time around people of different age groups and can readily relate to almost anyone. They are a joy to be around. I spend so much time with my kids that they are not clingy and needy. I do not feel like I am missing out on their childhood. I am there to witness the quality moments encapsulated in the quantity of time. If my kids are hurting, they come to me. They know I can be trusted. If my kids are afraid, they come to me. They know that I will reassure them. My children do not question my desire to be a part of their lives.I am “all in”. Why Do Children Drive Their Parents Crazy? They are not used to having their children around them; they are usually at school or daycare. The heart of their kids life is lived out away from them.During the school day, kids laugh, cry, and are amazed.At the end of the day parents ask their kids, “What did you do today?”The kids say, “Nothing.” They do not know how to relate to each other. With working parents, public school, and extra-curricular activities. Families shuffle from one destination to the next, often marinated in tension because the kids cannot find their shoes, backpack, or sports equipment. Families are fuelled with anxiety. Children capitalize on their parents time. They need attention. When parents and their kids live their lives away from each other all day, they try to squeeze in their quality time. You rarely get quality time without quantity time. While special moments can be created, spontaneous moments are missed. They do not know their kids the same way that they would if they spent all their time together. This is a quantity thing. Best friends seek each other out. They invest their best in each other. Next to our spouses, our children should get the most of us. School is the focal point of the child’s life. Kids spend most of their time surrounded by kids their own age, so they do not readily relate to people of other age groups. They believe “me time” is essential for daily living. (I believe “we time” is essential. So do my kids) Bottom Line?I think our society has been seriously misled. Our children should not be shuttled off to a classroom where they are surrounded by their peer group and force fed information that does not inspire them to learn more. I know that homeschooling is not for everyone. Honestly, homeschooling is hard. Very hard. Parents should do everything they can to refocus their kids so that family is the center, not school. This may mean turning off the tv, quitting sports, and renting a rv. I think that kids need to know their parents are “all in”. It may take some convincing, but our kids need this! I think parents need a mindset reset. It is good to be around your children. It is ok to have many, many, many moments that are unstructured. That’s where quality time lives!! It is good to snuggle and read together. It is good to cook with, clean, and create with your children right by your side. It is good to drag bring your kids to the store, to the doctor’s office, and to the zoo. It is good for your kids to see you laugh. Kids are entertaining. Kids are a blessing. Family time is more important than me time. Almost. Always. You may be thinking, but you do not know my kids. They want nothing to do with me. You do not need to pull them out of public school necessarily, but your time is ticking. This is one of those mountains worth dying on. Your family is everything. Reclaim your family. It will take time and energy you do not think you have, but it is worth it. If you know that you cannot homeschool your kids, you can still reclaim your family…Turn off the TV at least one day a week.I am not against television, I am just more into my children. The TV stops kids from building, creating, and talking. Its true your home is cleaner and quieter with the set on, but at what cost? Start eating at the table. Re-establish family dinners. Have the kids help plan and prepare at least one meal a week (or month). Need some recipes? Clear the calendar and establish a Family Game Night. (here are some great games!) Wake your kids up early and go watch the sunrise (once a month). Make sure you bring or pick up a yummy breakfast. Let the kids stay up late and put a telescope in the yard. Sit outside and look a the stars with your kids. Read aloud to your kids. No matter how old they are. Find a gripping story and stop at a hanging point. Let them enjoy a bowl of popcorn while you read. Need a few suggestions? Learn to ask questions that cannot be answered with a yes or a no. Learn to wait for kids to answer. We can be so busy that we do not have patience for our kids minds to form answers. Teach your kids to do something hard: change a tire, use a weed-eater, unplug a drain, reprogram a computer, build a fence, ANYTHING. Make this a regular habit. Expect your kids to help around the house. Kids need chores, but they are not slaves. Work alongside them. Put them in charge of background music (Maybe only once a week if you cannot quite stomach their choices). Set boundaries. Kids need to know you will keep them safe. This means different things for each family. You are the parent. You set the standards. TURN off YOUR smart phone, laptops, iPads or any screen that pulls your eyes away from your kids. Make it a policy that during your short time together, you will be “ALL IN”. Turn off the house phone during the evening. Family time is sacred! Read a Proverb every day to your kids. There are 31 Proverbs so you look a the calendar and read that Proverb. If you really want to reclaim your family, you need more of God. Period. Start where you are. Ask God to help you and start reading your Bible. Proverbs is a good place to begin because it is filled with incredible wisdom for your family. No it is not outdated. Cut out any activities that do not strengthen your family. This can be REALLY hard. Be honest with yourself. There are no One Size Fits All families. What I need to cut in my family will absolutely be different for yours. Just be real.Family time is precious. Cut back expenses. This may seem obvious, but it is not. If you cut back your expenses you can carve out more and more time for your family. With some creative financing, maybe you can even afford to stay home! Here are some budget cutting ideas. Start Slowly. Set your kids down and let them know you are reclaiming your family. Implement one new habit at a time. If you have older kids, let them pick one thing to change first. Be consistent. Set a reminder in your calendar and re-evaluate your efforts at least once a month. Which mom would you rather be? The one who loves being around her children, or the one who is driven crazy by them? Make any changes necessary to make the right choice. It may not be easy, but it is still worth it! [leadpages_leadbox leadbox_id=141f60546639c5] [/leadpages_leadbox] [leadpages_leadbox leadbox_id=142a79846639c5] [/leadpages_leadbox]
Tolerate uncertainty Sign up here to receive freebies, deals, and resources!! This post contains my referral link which helps support the work of this site. Here’s my full disclosure policy. “We need to tolerate Uncertainty”. I was reading a book review done by Laura Lee at switching classrooms. This was my first time at her blog and she was sharing about the book Raise a Gifted Child by Carol Fertig. Honestly, I have never seen this book before. Have you read it? What struck me were two words in Laura Lee’s review. Tolerate Uncertainty. I love that. We need to tolerate uncertainty in our children’s learning. That dead space between their saying, “I have no idea…” And the lightbulb moment of “Oh! I know!“ We need to tolerate our kids uncertainty. We need to give them time to process, think, test, reevaluate, test again and form their own conclusions. We need to resist the temptation to fill in the blanks, spoon feed them the correct answers, and give them unearned rewards. Uncertainty is not a bad thing. Actually it is necessary, critically necessary for our children to grow to become free thinking intelligent individuals. We need to be quick to ask, “What do you think?” We need to be painfully aware that the uncomfortable silence is the space and time necessary for their minds to process the question. This was a profound two word phrase to me. Tolerate uncertainty. Today, tolerate uncertainty in your life. In your kids. In general. It is a good thing. Frustrated homeschoolers click Here
A Woodpecker has Tongue 1.5 TImes its Body Length! Sign up here to receive freebies, deals, and resources!! Did you know that a woodpeckers tongue is 1 to 1.5 times the length of its body? Did you Know that the impact of its pecking is so intense that if it turned its head just slightly it would snap its own neck? Or did you know that every time the woodpecker hit the wood with its beak it closes its eyes, but then immediately needs to reopen them to aim? Listen to the woodpeckers in your neighborhood as they open, close, open, close, open close their eyes! My husband blessed us with a set of lecture materials from the Creation Education Center this week. The boys and I are hooked after the first DVD! I love science! I especially love how looking at creation through a very scientific lens clearly shows that this universe did not happen by accident! Here is a picture of the DVD’s and book my husband got for us. Today at lunch we broke into the “Creation vs. Evolution: The Case for Science” disc. Set up as a professional lecture, I was surprised that even our 8 year old was fully engaged. The information is laid out simply and in a beautifully visual presentation. We are hungry for more! My plan is to go through one DVD at a time. We will watch it through, get excited, and discuss our first impressions. Then we will go back and dissect it bit by bit. Taking notes, drawing pictures, and doing further research where we are inspired. The speaker Jay Seegrert is engaging and has a quirky sense of humor. The boys loved the way he taught. As a devoted Christian he shares about why his ministry is focused on creation rather than just Jesus here. I feel like we are finally on track with where our family needs to be scientifically. Looking at the actual scientific evidence and then determining if it lines up with our belief that the Bible is true. I am thrilled! How about you? How do you handle the evolution vs. creation study? What do you use to support your belief? Before you leave: Sign up here to receive freebies, deals, and resources!!
Celebrate Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! March 2, 1904 Hi everyone! Today is Dr. Suess’ Birthday and I love Dr. Seuss! I Worked really hard to pull together a visually stunning post to help you embrace all things Seuss with your kids today… But my computer will not cooperate! You can find more activities than you can handle on my Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Board on Pinterest! Have a Wonderful Day with Your Kids Today!
Swords for Boys Start them off right! Teach them about the armor of God! Ephesians 6:10-18 Free printable I believe every boy needs an armory! We love the Cold Steel practice swords. Please understand. Not everyone can handle the responsibility of a practice sword. These are meant as real trainers. Use discretion! If my husband wasn’t such a Godly man who instills self-control and safety in our boys I would never have been OK advancing past the nerf weapons! Our boys love these training swords: Hand & a Half Training dagger Gladius Chinese Martial Arts Blade Not quite ready for trainer swords? Nerf swords are a fun place to begin! More Goodies for moms with BOYS How to throw an army man with a parachute You will need some great army men to do this fun activity!