Parenting Tip of the Day: 3 Strikes Rule Inside: The secret to teaching kids how to judge their own behavior. Plus a nifty Three Strikes Rule {printable} The glare I gave my son was a huge clue that he was doing something wrong. He looked confused- like maybe I was the one who had a problem. I took a deep breath, counted to ten, then took another deep breath. Was it really as bad as I was making it out to be? Walk in my shoes for a second. Your 7-year old son is laughing. What do you think? Good or bad? Oh, it’s not just ‘any ole laugh’, but the silent loaded kind. You can see his face turning redder by the second, his body jiggling. His eyes are squeezed shut and tears start running down his face. At any moment, that joyous sound will escape from his body. Loudly. So what’s the problem? You are at a funeral. … Read More »
Ants and Homeschool Nothing makes my skin crawl faster than crawling ants. Kaiser rolls are tasty. Imagine a hot ham and cheese sandwich on a kaiser roll. I even like those little black poppy seeds as long as they do not get trapped between my teeth. Yum. When I was in high school, I worked at a wonderful shop. It was like working with family. Only this family never got under your skin. Until they asked me to do the unthinkable. Photo by Skitter We had a five-gallon bucket of poppy seeds. That’s a lot in case you are wondering. … Read More »
How to Put $1200 of Homeschooling Supplies on Your Shelf for Free Pinch Me Now!! Food, Boys, and a Homeschool Treasure Grocery shopping is one of my least favorite things to do, but cramming four sons in a Prius and grocery shopping qualifies me as crazy! Nothing makes my boys play the “stop touching me” game fast than putting them in that car. After barely making it home with all my hair, we put the groceries together and I sent them to their own corners of the universe. Sometimes, mama just needs a break. I had a few minutes to kill before making dinner, so I quickly peeked at my email. I had to look a couple of times before I saw it. NO WAY! “Guess who” got chosen to have her book be a part of the $1200 GRAND Prize in this years Back to School Giveaway? That’s right! Yes, I’m standing in my kitchen grinning and doing my happy dance. But, a $1200 Giveaway? … Read More »
Healthy Marriage While Homeschooling: It Can Be Done! Inside: How to avoid damaging your marriage while parenting. Four habits you can begin today to put your marriage first plus “Ways to Say Yes” {printable} “Not now,” I told my husband for the fifth time today. That’s right. Five times I pushed him off, shoved him aside, ignored his advances. Five times. You love them so much that you miss it when they wedge themselves between you and your husband. Why Did I Ignore My Man? … Read More »
Media Kit Guest Posts, Product Links, and Social Media Share Requests? We do offer opportunities for guest posts, product linking, product reviews, and targeted social media and email marketing. Please download our Media Kit below for current pricing. Freebies {no cost to you if accepted} Do you have a great freebie that you’d like to share with homeschooling families? Are you a blogger, author, speaker, or company who would like to bless homeschool families while getting your product and brand before thousands of individuals? You can submit your freebie to A Better Way to Homeschool/ PLEASE NOTE that ABW receives dozens of submissions each month. Submission does not guarantee publication. ABW reserves the right to not publish submissions for whatever reason. All chosen submissions will receive a link on this site in our Freebie Round-up, and social media promotion. FREEBIE Submission Guidelines: You may submit any homeschooling or family friendly freebie. No affiliate links, please. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE SUBMITTING. Thank you for your interest in submitting a homeschool or family freebie to A Better Way to Homeschool! We accept quality freebies covering the following topics: homeschooling, DIY, and crafts. Please remember to include an image and direct url within your freebie descriptions. Please DO NOT submit round-ups if they do not include an original free printable within the post. Thank you! Submit your freebie at abetterwaytohomeschool@gmail.com Subject line: Freebie submission
13 Last Minute Educational Gifts Your Kids will Actually Love Inside: Ammunition to help you win the Holiday Gift Giving Battle with Kids. Keep your camera ready.Unfortunately for her, the ugliest facial expression my mother ever used was captured on film. Oh, I wish I could find a copy of the picture. Just the thought of it makes me snort. This is not the “Red Shirt Face”. Photo by Veronika Balasyuk … Read More »
Dozens of Simple Activities for Kids to Do During the Holidays Inside: 5 Steps to Homeschool through the Holidays plus dozens of learning activities wrapped in turkeys and trees.The day after Halloween is like the trash compactor scene from Star Wars. The Christmas fairies have completed their magical decoration party. Every square inch of retail space is covered with tinsel and eggnog. Commercials promise Christmas joy and the Holiday toy of the year lures your child every time they watch a show. The Holidays beg us to slow down, sip cocoa, and find a new gadget to make gift wrapping less stressful. Photo by Luis Llerna But we are homeschoolers. … Read More »
9 Simple Ways to Immediately Protect Your Kids from the Internet Inside: Protect Your kids from Porn and other Online Dangers. Steps that any parent can take. Huge eyes reveal something is not right. The pale color of his face, the quick breaths. He opens his mouth but cannot seem to find the words to tell you. And then, through sobs, he begins talking so fast you can barely catch what he is saying. And then it hits you like a brick. Your heart sinks into your stomach as you realized what he is saying. “Oh Dear Lord, No!” Nothing melts the heart faster than hearing your 8-year old describe what he stumbled upon on the Internet. His shame, confusion, guilt, and sobs break your heart into a million pieces. … Read More »
Astonishing! What Does a Spoon Have to do with Science? Inside: How simple household items can be the breakthrough you need to teach science. My son was staring at his spoon. It was strange. “Mom, I’ve always wondered why my reflection is upside down in my spoon. What’s even more confusing is that when I turn it around, my reflection is right-side-up.” I laughed aloud. Not at him. … Read More »
3 Proven Ways to Homeschool LAZY Boys without Losing Your Mind Photo by Agnieszka Bladzik Sitting by a warm fire. Drinking coffee. In my jammies. Jealous? Don’t be. I just don’t feel like doing anything today. I have my lazy turned up to high. Since I am not characterized by being lazy, my family is simply pleasantly surprised that I am “chilling”. They are curled up with books or movies in this same room. Heaven. When dinner comes around, I will not win friends and influence people if I say, “I forgot to make dinner” though will I? Not in my house full of men. They want to eat:). Laziness is one of those strange things. It is so appealing on a rainy afternoon, like today as I write this. But laziness to the point that responsibilities are neglected is simply intolerable. photo by Seth Doyle Now three things personify laziness: A male lion lazing in the shade, An overfed house cat, And a 12-year-old boy…. Read More »
Rant of the Day: The Pencil that Broke Mom’s Back! Some discussions with my children make me want to throw a hissy fit. Big ones. I’m not sure why I have such an emotional response to ridiculousness, but I do. My blood pressure rises. I huff. I puff. And I declare with all the patience of a two-year-old, “That is NOT a pencil.” All five of my boys have mastered the skill of destroying a pencil and then declaring it their most prized writing utensils. Why? Why does one have to destroy a perfectly beautiful number 2 pencil? Why does the pencil only become valuable if you can only measure it in millimeters rather than inches? I don’t know. But these questions keep me awake at night. There are kept company by other boy related questions like: Why is farting in a brother’s face the proper response to being wronged? Why do socks need to be worn inside out? How will boys learn to lift the lid if no one will confess that they are the ones who pee all over the seat? When is it ok to pull the wings off of bugs? We work hard training our sons to be kind, considerate, and hard working. We consistently remind them what godliness looks and sounds like. I swear, some days I wonder if it will all work out in the end. Will they grow up to be kind hearted, considerate hard working men? Or will they be pencil destroying, toilet peeing, face farting fools? This is why I need God. Because nothing unravels the peace in my home faster than when I throw a fit. Download your FREE “Raising Men” Cheatsheet {printable} Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets.
What do comic books have to do with learning? Spiders and bug spray were meant to be introduced. Don’t you think? Sure, we need spiders. Lots of them in fact. Why? Because spiders eat flies. That’s why! I hate flies almost as much as these 8 legged wonders. OK, I don’t HATE spiders. I think they are pretty amazing. I just do not want to share the same space with them. Is that too much to ask? But what do spiders have to do with anything homeschool related? My boys would roll their eyes at us and scream, “Spiderman!”. While I try to teach them the abilities of arachnids, they would be trying to invent that cool webbing stuff that comes out of Peter Parkers wrists that enables him to swing through New York above rush hour traffic. But now that I have the boys’ attention, I’m going to try to keep it. Why not find some way to science and comics? When I heard there were comic books that could help my children learn science, I was excited. My kids love comic books and the magic of Manga learning tools seem like a perfect fit! What is Manga? It’s a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels, typically aimed at adults as well as children. Why does it matter? And what does it have to do with learning? I’ve discovered this tremendous resource for teaching kids science and all about the human body. Rather than a dry text and diagram textbook, concepts are covered in a story-based format that’s also visual, so learners of all kinds have more to glom onto, and it’s easier to recall. Sort of like our trusted and true pal Ms. Frizzle of the Magic School Bus, but for a slightly older children depending on the book. Last but certainly not least – it makes learning fun! Imagine if your child requested to re-read a science text book. That’s what these amazing books can inspire. We started on the Survive! Inside the Human Body series, and even I am learning! Topics covered in this book series about the human body: Human Body (anatomy), Digestive System, Circulatory System, Nervous System, Personal Wellness, Effects of Food on the Body, Medicine & technology, and Genetics. But there are also advanced topics in this format like the Universe, Physics, Linear Algebra, and more available from Shockingly Awesome Learning on Educents.com. See inside the books in this cute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmpxhYmBAaM (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]=’EMAIL’;ftypes[0]=’email’;fnames[1]=’FNAME’;ftypes[1]=’text’;}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);
“What I Have Learned Teaching” Guest Author- (Me!) What if our smartest kids are lazy, egotistical, thieving brats? What if they ace the test, but bully the kids next to them? Jessica with “What I Have Learned Teaching” writes, As a teacher, we often focus on what students know, the facts, details, the content. But really, what is our goal? What counts when raising up the next generation? It’s about how our children live and learn. Can we create lifelong learners? Bekki from A Better Way to Home School is here today to help us consider our focus when teaching and homeschooling. Her broader, bigger perspective is refreshing in this world of standards, test scores, and always meeting the next tangible goal. Read how to avoid raising brilliant brats here. Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets.
Our First Day of School was a Disaster From my past… Praying I have a better first day of school this year! What I wanted to share with you was how amazing our first day of school was this year. This was especially true since I was getting ready to teach a class to homeschoolers this week about “homeschooling More than One Student”. I am supposed to know what I am doing… Dream with me… The kids get out of bed bright eyed and bushy tailed. They eat breakfast and do a few chores and meet me at the table at the pre-determined time. We work through all of our lessons and they all stay focused and work diligently… (Can you hear my bubble pop?) Nope. That was not our first day of school. … Read More »
Homeschooling with Babies and Toddlers- It Can Be Done! Let me introduce you to my greatest secret for homeschooling with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers: Scheduled Crib-time, Play-pen time, and room time. Why? Without a safe place to play, and a routine, my boys literally climb the walls… Parenting Vocabulary: Room time: a block of time ranging from 5-60 minutes built into your child’s schedule where they play alone in a safe and secure environment. Alone: child is in a safe, and confined play space just out of sight of parent. Out of sight: baby/child cannot see mom, but mom is fully aware of what child is up to. Parent: the one in control of child’s routine. Child: little person being trained for future success as a functioning adult. Parent guided: parent decides what child will do. Period. Choice: the opportunity to enjoy the activity or go without fun time. Neglect: never a part of healthy child rearing and training. Controversial: Talking about parenting techniques that put the parent in control. … Read More »
Bible Studies with Kids I love studying the Bible. God is truly amazing and wonderful. He faithfully takes whatever I am reading about on any given day and gives me very practical ways to apply what I am learning. Is anyone else with me here? I know that some of my readers are not Christians, and I respect your beliefs. Me personally, I love teaching our kids about the Lord. Funny, we have very few formal learning materials so far. We rely on the Bible itself and then life unfolds and makes it practical. I am in the process of writing and creating units to share with my children, my future grandchildren, and all the sweet faces I am blessed to teach during Sunday School. It’s a lot of fun. How do you teach your kids about the Word of God? More Bible Studies for Kids: Bible Study Printables: Romans 15:13 Days of Creation Board Game Days of Creation Printables Days of Creation Food Ideas (free) Sunday School Activities: Fruits of the Spirit Bible Study BUNDLE #1 Daniel 1: Bible Study and Children’s Ministry Activities Bible Object Lessons for Kids: Waterfalls Bible Fun for Kids: ABCs of God’s Character Advent Activities for Kids: Freebie Advent Activities for Kids- Complete Bible Study: What Can I Learn from the Camel Bible Study: Pearl of Great Price- Matthew 13:45-46 Bible Study: Transfiguration of Jesus- Matthew 17 Daniel 4: King Nebuchadnezzar’s Tree Dream Sunday School Lessons on Prayer for Preschoolers Bible Study for Kids: What Can I Learn From the Ant? Memory verse for kids: Exodus 14:14 My personal statement of faith: I believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God. I believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. I believe “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and that we are saved by faith in Jesus. My favorite Bible teachers are my husband (Craig Sayler), Pastor Jon Courson, Pastor Chuck Smith, CH Spurgeon.
Ready for Geology? We are going to have 1 or two kids studying geology this year. We haven’t quite decided yet. In preparation I’ve been studying all about rocks, minerals, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes and the like. Can I just confess that science isn’t my subject. Well, I love science, I just don’t do so well at teaching it. And then I created an Oreo lab for plate tectonics. OREOS. You know, the cookies? Ok, I’m in now. (As long as there’s milk too…) Although I am nowhere near ready for school, I am ready to jump into geology with at least one son. That’s a start! Are you ready for school? Are you teaching geology this year? You may want to take a look at this resource. Download your FREE “Science is Curiosity” {Printable}
Lewis and Clark: Following in Their Footsteps Lewis and Clark What an amazing journey! My boys and I spent far too long studying Lewis and Clark this past year. That’s what happens in our home when mom falls in love with learning about something… We camp there a while. I never paid attention in school when we learned about the Louisiana Purchase and Jefferson’s desire to know all about America’s new land. It wasn’t until I picked up the book Undaunted Courage that I became enthralled. This book intermingles the journals of the explores with “just the right amount of narrative” to draw you into the expedition. I loved every word. To top it off, my husband thought it would be fun to explore some of their actual journey. Since we live a few hours from the Columbia River, we planned our vacation as a retracing the footsteps of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. What a delightful trip! Here’s where we explored: The Dalles. This is now home to a great Dam, but at the time of the expedition was a treacherous stretch of the river that was riddled with waterfalls. Clark was appalled by “the horrid appearance of this agitated gut swelling [water], boiling and whorling in every direction.” (They couldn’t spell) It was such a dangerous stretch of water that they sent all the men who could not swim by land carrying all the heavy and less valuable items with them. This was a Class V rapid, meaning it could not have been run by modern experts. The natives of the area were sure the white men would die and so they lined the banks to watch them fail, ready to scoop up all the abandoned equipment. To their astonishment, the Americans made the run without incident! We stopped at the Dalles Dam/Museum and enjoyed learning all about the dam as well. It is interesting to see the river today. The dam quiets the rapids quite a bit but you can imagine the torrents of yesteryear! Discovery Center Museum There is a fantastic museum that we explored which included quite a bit of information and some artifacts from the expedition. Fort Rock Camp We visited the site where the expedition spent three days regrouping- repairing canoes, drying their gear, and hunting. It was surreal to stand where they stood! The Columbia River We drove west along the Columbia. I was stunned that there were over 70 waterfalls! Nursing a foot injury, our family only explored the more famous falls which were easy to access from the road. Multnomah Falls was my favorite. Vista House Up a windy road we found the Vista House. At the turn of the century, this area was declared a wonderful excursion spot for motorists in the “horseless carriages”. The roads were groomed for pleasure driving and the vista house was a destination for travelers to take in the incredible view, picnic, and simply refresh themselves. Stunning view!! Before leaving the Columbia, we stopped at the Bonneville dam to see the hatchery and the giant sturgeon. Worth the detour! In the main building we could see into the fishladder (bypass which keeps the fish safe as they swim upstream). It was incredible to see the amount of fish fighting their way upstream! We then travelled west until we reached the city of Seaside. Seaside is the place where the expedition first reached the Pacific Ocean. They also set up a salt harvesting team there as well. Fort Clatsop After exploring the west coast for a place to camp for the winter, the captains decided to build a fort with the Clatsop Natives. There were plenty of trees and resources and the hunting was good. Our family loved exploring the recreation of the winter camp. The original camp was long gone, having rotten away from the elements, but the recreation is considered to be very close to the original. What a fun family adventure to walk in the footsteps of famous explorers! Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets.
Reading and Hammocks- A Match Made in Heaven My brilliant husband is in the process of outfitting all five of our sons with hammock for relaxing and backpack camping. What a delight these hammocks have been. The biggest benefits of hammocking so far have been: Fellowship. The Boys LOVE hammocking and will spend hours together “hanging” out. Relaxing. Nothing defines chilling out better than a hammock. Reading. This one caught me by surprise. The hammock has become the favorite reading spot at home. Big brother has turned it into special cozy and read-aloud time too. My husband has hooked the boys up with Special gear to make their hammocks easy to hang. Here’s his gear list so far: The Ultimate Hang (book- Because we homeschool… There’s a book for everything:)) Hammocks- Hennessey Hammock Expedition Asym Straps- To extend the distance between trees Carabiner hooks Snake Skins– These make set up a synch! For kicks and giggles, you can enjoy all about hammocking with our favorite hammocking YouTuber Shug Emery. Former Ringling Brother Clown and all around funny guy, he loves to share all about the art of hammocking. So if you, like me, are always on the lookout for new ways to encourage reading, I would suggest looking into getting a hammock for your kids. What a fun, quiet place to curl up with a great book!
Losing Our Beloved Dog Silence. Dead silence. Just over three weeks ago we unexpectedly lost our beloved Australian Shepherd Buck. We were all completely unprepared for how much his loss would impact us. Buck was 7 years old and a big ball of fluffy. Two days before he died my 18 year old son was petting him and playing with him and I said, “Boy are you going to miss that dog someday.” He said, “I know, right?” I don’t know why I said it. In the moment I was simply keenly aware of the bond between that dog and the boy. We had no idea Buck was so sick. We knew we loved him, but we had no idea how much “life” he brought to our home. When we came home without the dog I was overwhelmed with the knowledge that the unconditional love giver was gone. All five of our boys went to the dog for hugs when they were sad or down. Buck was a hugger. He would wrap his paws around your leg and use his neck and head to engulf you in his fluffy hug. It’s been a hard three weeks. Lots of tears. Lots of hugs. Lots of big sighs. I never bonded with a dog before Buck. Our boys never bonded with a dog before either. We learned so much from our fluffy friend: unconditional love prancing makes everyone smile smart dogs understand your language it’s fun to play hugs and cuddles are never outgrown love is the core Here is a tribute from our son to his dog… There are different types of friends. There are friends who you talk to every once in a while and are able to catch up with immediately no matter what has happened. There are friends who will do everything with you: goof off, go to the movies, read books… Then there is another kind of friend, the one that adores you despite your flaws, the one that gives you hugs at random intervals, the one that constantly wants to play and hang out with you and your family. In fact, this type of friend is so loving and so close to you that he or she is a member of your family. My dog, Buck, was a beautiful example of this kind of friend. For the past seven years we laughed at his goofy and energetic attitude, his loving cuddles, and his passion to stick with his pack in any situation. Yesterday, Buck was being as ornery as usual: giving us hugs, pawing to play, and running around the house (which always drives my mother crazy). At around lunchtime he came up to me and gave me a paw and a look that said he wanted attention. As usual, I couldn’t refuse those gentle brown eyes. Then dinner came and Buck threw up his dinner. He wasn’t doing well, that was clear: shaky body and pink rings around his eyes. So naturally we brought him to the vet. Once we arrived, he started to act better out of mere excitement, tail wagging and all. But of course we knew he still wasn’t feeling himself. A couple of X-rays later, we discovered what made him feel this way: a tumor. Oh the irony! Out of all the people in the family to love on the most, out of all the dogs my family could get, we got one with a tumor and he was sure I was his master. We were the tumor buddies without even knowing it. But different from my situation, Buck was in pain and there was very little we could do about it. With one look at those X-rays I think we all knew what was coming. We talked with the vet, who was very supportive and understanding. She agreed it was probably the best and most loving option. He was brought in, tail slightly wagging when he saw us not understanding my our eyes were getting teary. We had a couple minutes to say our reluctant goodbyes. He walked over and laid down, putting a weak paw in my hand as I lay next to him and looked into his beautiful eyes. Then, when we were as ready as we were going to get, we called over the vet. Buck peacefully passed away last night at around 10:45, knowing that we loved him very much. Though I am still saddened from watching one of my best friends pass, I am more thankful than I thought I would be. This experience made me remember all of the little things, the little memories that we love about our dog. We wished we had named him “Prancer” because he would constantly do just that whenever he played or got excited. Buck would sneeze whenever he got excited about something. Buck would smile by curling his lips away from his front teeth whenever he got nervous or really excited/relieved. The goofy dog would shake his butt whenever he relieved himself. He drove us all crazy at times, but he still loved us and we, him. But the best memory I have of him is his love for my family and me. He adored us no matter what and was always there to make us smile when he tried to love on us. This dog was a hugger: he would walk up to me, sit down at my feet, and rub the side of his head against my leg. What I am getting at is that Buck was a beautiful example of the type of people we should be: people who love everyone around them and have a passionate love for their Master. Everyone agreed that Buck considered me to be his master, something I tried not to openly agree to because he was such a wonderful family dog. You see, we could all learn from Buck. He loved his family, was excited and loving to any new person he met, and he adored and wanted to please his master. My friends, we are called to do the exact same thing. We are meant to be like Buck: loving everyone we meet, loving on our family and the Body of Christ, and following and adoring our wonderful Master, Jesus Christ the One True God and the Creator of Everything. To you who believe, I challenge you to love as my dog loved my family. I challenge you to not be afraid to show your love and passion for Our Perfect Master. To you who do not believe, know that I am praying for you and know that you are missing out on the greatest Gift anyone can ever give you: Salvation. God is Our perfect and loving Master and He sent His Only Son, whom He loved, to pay the penalty of our sins. Jesus Christ died on the cross for this purpose and rose three days later as a promise of eternity with Him if you accept His gift. Also know that I do love you, despite your imperfections and flaws because you were beautifully and wonderfully created by God. And above all else, know that God loves you and me more than we can possibly imagine. Thank you Jesus for Buck’s life and love that You fabricated into his being. Thank You for showing Your love and life through him. Thank you Father for the past 7 years. Even though he was taken sooner than we wished, thank You for loving Buck enough to let Him pass before he went under more pain. Lord, thank you for Buck. And though my good friend has passed on, I am very grateful for the spirit and example he left in our hearts and minds. I love you buddy and I miss you very much! Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets.