How to Homeschool When that First homeschool Year is a Flop Sifting through my emails over coffee reading through questions form homeschool moms. How do you get kids to read? How do I teach kids respect for others and themselves? How do teach a child to write? And then my heart sunk. This one wasn’t a question, but an exhale of defeat from a mom who just began my free Homeschooling with confidence class. “My homeschool year was a flop”. In the quiet of the day when my entire house is still sound asleep and my coffee is still hot, I want to look this young mom in the eyes and smile. “Breathe… You’ve got plenty of time.” Related: Our first year of homeschooling isn’t what we expect We all have BIG expectations for our homeschooling journey. While expectations are where we begin to help us set our master homeschooling goals, they can easily become stumbling blocks perfectly designed by our own hearts to make us trip and fall flat on our faces. You smile and nod, when an older homeschool mom says, “focus on the heart of your kids, spend extra time building their character, and enjoy their company. Mama, relax about academics.” …but then like awake at night discouraged, as I did. I worried because all five of my sons were delayed readers my youngest son didn’t learn to read until he was ten years old my 15-year old couldn’t hold a pencil correctly until he was about 13 because his fingers are freakishly long one of my sons spent more time in the hospital than doing “school” between kindergarten and 2nd grade (at least it felt that way) my oldest son hated history until eighth grade one of my kids would sound out words like this: C-A-T… then he’d say “dog!” But my husband and I kept our eyes on our Master Homeschool Goals, taught them how to be a part of our family-team, concentrated on their heart and character, and pressed forward. I searched for grey haired successful homeschool moms who had kids that made my parenting heart drool and I pressed forward. Character and attitude first, ABCs and 123s second. Every day for over 20 years. Do you know where all five of my boys are now? All five are ahead of their peers My youngest, most delayed reader devours books by the dozen and is writing an epic novel two of the boys are in college and close to their bachelor degrees one is a gifted musician who is writing the score for his brother’s screenplay (Yes, a different brother) All of them are the first to arrive, last to leave kind of helpers They’re all kind, compassionate, stubborn, hard-working, diligent, men who will make amazing husbands one day (The oldest is married) We are nothing special. The kids are all “normal” sinners like you and me who sometimes fight and complain, but we see the fruit from years of focusing on their foundation. It works mama. Focus on heart, attitude, and character as a priority over academics and the ABCs and 123s take care of themselves along the way. I’ve had “flop” years in homeschooling, just like my student, have you? This is me taking a minute to smile and to let you know, it’s gonna be ok. You have time. Focus on the BIG things first and relax and enjoy your kids.
Short Homeschool Funny Videos: Hilarious, Free and Fun A reader challenged me to make short homeschool funny videos. “We need these fun, joyful videos! Just make sure they’re short and sweet so that we have time to watch them!” ~Ericka Video Challenge accepted! Because Life’s too short to take yourself too seriously! Homeschooling and juggling The Secret Sauce to Teaching kids to write essays and research papers isn’t what you think! Mothers Against Cardboard Crossbows, Legos, and a Bouncy ball Homeschooling with Confidence {free} Homeschooling with Laundry More added each week!
Homeschooling when all the kids want to do is JUMP on the sofa Inside: Free 70 Creative Ideas for Homeschooling when the Kids would rather JUMP on the sofa Now, when I say “Indians” I mean my three youngest sons, not the wonderful Native American people of this country. Just Sayin’. The boys were bouncing off the walls. I tried to get them to sit and listen to the story of Native Americans from a book they affectionately called the Boring Book, but they would much rather pounce on each other like cats with those red “pointing lasers”. Desperate to get their attention, I said… “Let’s make ketchup cookies!”. … Read More »
Homeschooling Beyond the Fear of Messing up Your Kids I could sense the tear stains in her email. This young mama talked about all the normal homeschooling things Where to begin How to set schedules How to help her child succeed Choosing the right teaching style to match her son But her real fear jumped out from between the lines. She is terrified. She’s so concerned about all the little details about teaching and what society believes that she’s paralyzing herself from the inside out. I think our fears about messing up surface when we put our noses too close to the picture. We need to back up and get a better view. … Read More »
Your Boring School Day Gets a Magic Makeover Just by changing the way you present your homeschool “to-do’s”! {Yes, this works great in a classroom as well!} On a whim, I declared it a no screen day. Our sons looked a bit stunned because most of their school work needs a screen of some kind to complete. “Finish breakfast, do a few chores and meet me at the table in an hour,” I said as I waved off their questions. By the time they came to the table, I had this written on the whiteboard: No-No Doesn’t Add Up Don’t Get Stung Red Sand Gets Everywhere Nerf Balls Once Upon a Time Okie Dokie The guesses began pouring in immediately. “No-no is obviously no screen-time” “Doesn’t add up” has to be math” I cut them off. “Before we get to the list, let’s talk about screens in general.” … Read More »
Homeschool Conference 2018: Right at your Kitchen Table Inside: a personal invite to a homeschool conference in your yoga pants! About 20 years ago, five homeschool moms jumped into a van and went on a journey to our first homeschooling convention. Leaving behind husbands, babies, and small children we were convinced we needed this conference to set us up for success in our school year. I still remember my favorite parts of that FIRST Conference Getting a breath of fresh air. I LOVE my children, but I am a much better mommy when I can steal a few moments away from home a few times a year. Laughter. I’m a pretty quiet girl. But these women knew how to laugh! Curriculum fair. In between the classes, we took the time to walk the exhibition halls. Boy, if you really want to be confused about which curriculum to use for homeschooling your kids… go to a homeschool convention! Since I’m not a shopper, I didn’t buy anything, but I did enjoy touching, feeling, and smelling all the curriculum. Classes. Wow, it is incredibly helpful to sit in a room and listen to someone is further down the path you just decided to take! I decided right there, at that first conference, that I’d become a professional student of learning and teaching. Related: Six Reasons to Attend Your First Homeschool Conference Homeschooling is such a personal journey. Some parents resist gleaning wisdom from others because we want complete and total control over our kids’ education. Not me, I became a collector of wisdom, tips, and advice from the beginning. Check the Fruit: Don’t just accept everything you hear In all areas of life, you want to check the source of information, but in parenting and homeschooling, it’s critical. My favorite pastor calls it “checking the fruit”. Before you adopt teaching techniques, parenting tips, or homeschooling advice, check the source. Everyone is an expert, right? You can find 1001 tips for helping your baby sleep through the night teaching your 2-year old how to read how to homeschool your three kids All on the internet. But is the information TRUTH? True, Right, Useful, Thoughtful, Helpful Heaven forbid that you ask a simple question in the wrong homeschooling facebook group. Not only can you get all kinds of crazy advice, but trolls creep out from under the internet bridge and tear you, your parenting, and your core beliefs to shreds. Psst- This Facebook group is different. Check the Fruit before adding it to your life: This applies to all areas of life, but let’s focus on homeschooling. Does the advice come from a homeschooling parent? Is she calm and confident, but NOT arrogant? Are her kids content, helpful, energetic, and eager? Do her children complain, grumble and fight against everything? How does she measure success: academics, attitude, effort? Does she judge the way others educate their children? Does she honor her husband and protect her family? Does she listen? Are you standing on the same foundation in your faith? When I began my homeschooling journey, I was incredibly lucky. Ok, blessed is a better word. I found myself surrounded by a handful of like-minded homeschool moms who all happened to be relaxed, certified teachers. They encouraged me to breathe, trust the Lord’s leading, respect my husband, trust my gut, listen to my kids, and to be creative. As a writer, I began documenting my own homeschooling journey for many reasons. I think better on paper. My sons may choose to homeschool my future grandbabies. I wanted to create a lasting resource to help them remember my mistakes and duplicate things that worked. I take Titus literally. As my hair gray, I realize I have become the older woman and I have a heart to come alongside and bless younger women. The Homeschool Huddle is Born. I think every homeschool mom should try to attend at least one homeschool conference. A huge gathering of like-minded families mixed with amazing teaching does wonders for boosting homeschooling confidence. But what about moms who can’t physically get to a conference? Recently, I began organizing a homeschool huddle membership group. It’s an online spot for 2-3 monthly video meet-ups where we will go through topics like: Back to school: vision and goal setting Getting your home to “hum” Projects homeschooling through the holidays writing, math, history, and science ideas ideas for homeschooling without paper and pencils and much, much more. The Homeschool Huddle Online conference happens 4 times a year: August, November, January, and May Everything is waiting for you here. 4 Magic Seeds of Homeschooling to Help You Teach Your Kids with Conference, Peace, and Joy Catch the Replay HERE. What? Bekki (hey, that’s me) will offer 4 homeschool sessions {About Bekki} 9:00 am Casting vision for your homeschool journey and school year 10:00 am Inside out homeschooling 11:00 Homeschooling multiple ages/stages 12:00 Magic and keeping it fu The huddle Includes: Workshops by Bekki, a 20-year homeschool veteran, mom of five sons, and a woman crazy for coffee and Jesus Free Printables for each session to make your homeschooling journey easier Just want the printables? You can grab those here Related: Looking for a physical homeschool conference? Try one of these! Hope to see you there! Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets. Enroll in the sneak peek class here.
Dear Mom in the “Tent Next Door” at the Campground Inside: FREE Camping Supply list, hacks and Easy meals to make your next trip easier. At 8:00 in the evening I marveled at how quietly your two young sons went to bed. Enjoying the smell of the campfire at my feet and the sound of the wind blowing through the trees, it made me smile. As the night went on, I could hear you talking and laughing with friends. What a wonderful escape from day to day life. With my Taj Mahal tent erected and my husband and sons’ hammocks hung, I crawled into my sleeping bag on top of TWO air mattresses, blessed that our families were able to spend time within 100 feet of each other while enjoying very different seasons of life. My youngest son, Stephen is now 12, and your sons Noah and William Parker are both under 6 years old. I want you to know that even though I’ve never met you or your sons, I am praying for you. I learned your sons’ names at about 6:30 am. … Read More »
Why you should teach your kids to gossip Inside: Good Gossip Rules to read with coffee, teach your kids, and hang on your fridge. Did you hear the one about Kelly? Something in our heart either leaps or panics when we hear someone whisper those words. Gossip is delightfully delicious, contagious and bad. Right? I love what John Courson has to say on the subject of gossip. “between friends”, by Seth Doyle A gossip, or talebearer, hurts three people: the person he talks about, the person he talks to, and himself. First, in a very real sense, people are who we say they are, regardless of whether what we say is true. People will either be lifted up or put down in the estimation of others by what we say about them. Jesus draws a direct parallel between murder and the tongue because we have the power to kill another person’s reputation with our words (Matthew 5:21-22) Second, telling tales, or gossiping, hurts the person who listens because it affects the way he or she will view the person being talked about. Finally, gossip hurts the talebearer himself because every time we gossip, we become smaller and smaller. As has been wisely said, great minds talk about ideas or ideals; good minds about events; small minds about people. In which company are you? But there is another type of gossip. The good kind…. Read More »
22 Simple Manners Every Kids Should Know By High School On his big day, our son sat in a pile of gifts. He had that, “Oh my goodness look at all the gifts for me” daze. BAD MOMMY. I hadn’t learned the lesson of prepping kids ahead of time for situations like this. I hadn’t given him the skills to succeed. He didn’t even know he was set to fail and worse, let down a good friend… It makes the blood drain from my face as I remember Jay. Our son tore into his presents like a lion who had taken down a gazelle. Jay’s body stood a little taller when our son grabbed his gift. He cut grass, pulled weeds, and did odd jobs that spring. All so he could bless his friend with the Lego set he knew his friend, my son, would want. Jay was so excited. All that hard work, all that careful planning. You could see Jay had invested more than money into that carefully wrapped Lego. Our son tore through the wrapping, glanced at the Lego and declared, “I have this already”. Without a second glance, he tossed the Lego aside and broke his friend’s heart. Has this ever happened to you? You beam with pride with joy at how wonderful, caring, and thoughtful your kids are- -and without warning, they prove your heart wrong. Before you beat yourself up for being a terrible mom, Before I drag my ungrateful son away from his new pile of gifts, I need to tell us something. They’re kids. Kids are not born with good manners. Children are not gifted with social graces. Actually, it seems as though the opposite is true. Our kids need our help. They need loving, patient, and consistent training to help them learn how to love and be kind to others. Sure, some kids are born ready to help, serve, and love. Most need a bit of help, or in some cases a total overhaul. And that’s ok. Actually, it should be one of our central parenting to-dos. MANNERS ARE A LOST ART. When our son tossed Jay’s gift aside, he wasn’t trying to hurt his friend. He lost himself in the moment and became consumed by the excitement. As his mom, I could have prepared him better. A simple two minute role-play session before the party would have set him up for success. “Opening presents can be thrilling. What should you do after you open each gift?” “What happens if you see that you already have that toy?” “How can you show each of your friends that you are thankful?” 22 Manners for Your Kids {Printable} This lesson needs to be reinforced all throughout life. One of our college-aged sons recently did an act of kindness that blew up in his face. Her arms were full, and he raced to open the door for her as a courtesy. He held the door open and smiled. Imagine his shock when the young woman he tried to help she cussed him out! I can’t even share the things she said. Horrible. All because he opened the door… AND YET, HE STILL OPENS THE DOOR FOR OTHERS- WITH A SMILE. “Because it matters, mom. It’s kind, and it’s the right thing to do…” Yes, it matters. According to Family Time, Good Manners Are Good for Your Kids. Good manners are attractive. Other parents and adults prefer kids who are polite and so do school teachers. So do future employers. Good manners build self-esteem. When you respect others you respect yourself and that makes a person more confident. Good manners make others feel good. We all benefit when the people around us are more caring, respectful and compassionate. Good manners impress people. Your children will get positive attention and respect. Politeness is a sign of strength, not weakness. So What’s a Mom to Do? Take action. Let’s decide that Our Kids, Our Family will be different. Incorporated manners training into our everyday lives; as a part of homeschooling. How to Teach Manners Effectively Start where you are. It’s no use teaching your daughter to say, “It was so nice of you to visit today” if she hasn’t mastered the art of saying thank you. Pick one or two manners to focus on with your kids. Set up a “let’s practice” area and take turns exercising the new skill. Keep the practice sessions short and fun. Before a playdate, outing, or family visit- Do a Quick Review of manners you want them to practice. SO WHAT MANNERS SHOULD YOU TEACH YOUR KIDS? It’s completely up to you and your family. The most important thing is that you pick a few and get practicing. This world needs people who: Say thank you Open doors for strangers Remember people’s names Offer to help And give and receive with kindness and grace. Manners go a long way… 22 Manners for Your Kids {Printable} Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets. Enroll in the sneak peek class here.
Free Class for Bloggers: Get more traffic with fewer posts In this FREE 5-day email course, you’ll get powerful science-backed strategies that will bring you more traffic with fewer posts. And they work for every niche. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS *FREE* CLASS… Research shows all you get is 10-20 seconds before readers decide whether they should keep reading your post or leave forever. Publishing more blog posts won’t do you any good if you don’t know how to keep the reader longer than 20 seconds. When you enroll in this course, you’ll discover: The powerful secret to coming up with headlines that readers can’t resist The magic ingredient that will make readers share your content (but most bloggers are missing it) How to convert your reader to a loyal fan who keeps coming back for more But let’s be real. You’re already up to your eyeballs in advice for what you should be doing to grow your blog. Write more! Pin more! Network more! More, more, more! You don’t need more tasks on your blogging to-do-list. You need to find out which tasks will give you the biggest and best results for the time you spend. Results in the form of new subscribers, more traffic, and higher earnings. Claim your seat in this class, and you’ll get 3 lessons over 5 days, with each one taking 15 minutes or less. After one week, you’ll know how to step off the hamster wheel of cranking out more and more content that doesn’t go anywhere. You in?
Will You Kids be Ready to Leave Your Nest? Inside: If you’re hoping your kids will live with you forever, don’t read this. In the old days, children were given a suitcase for their 18th birthday. That’s right. “When you graduate, be ready to hit the road, Jack!” photo by Mike Birdy Take my dad.… Read More »
But What if “I HATE” Poetry? How can I Teach it? Inside: 7 Steps to Accidentally Teach Your Kids Poetry. I promise it won’t hurt. Recently, I was talking with our local librarian and I chuckled. OK, I laughed at her. photo by kazu end I know it’s not nice, but she had set a fishing book out for all to see. FISHING. Her eyes twinkled as she told my youngest son about one of the funny snippets between the covers. Nope. He didn’t believe her either, but we checked it out anyway. … Read More »
The One Skill Your Homeschooler is Missing As a homeschooler, I can struggle with pride. I can become so puffed up about the skills that my sons have developed under my watchful eye. It’s an easy challenge. We’re right there guiding them from crawling, to walking, to reading, and eventually to solving quadratic equations. We even require that they keep their art supplies neat. But, honestly… Sometimes I miss the mark entirely. Yes, I’m actively teaching my kids to cook. Sure, I’ve made sure my older sons never text and drive and even created a game for teens. Absolutely, my kids love to read as much as they love mud right before church. I’m guessing I’m not alone in my quest to teach kids life skills while homeschooling. I believe parent homeschool their kids. Some of us also include math, English, history, and science in our teaching. We teach them to wash their face, brush their teeth, and eys, fold laundry. Sometimes we even become the world’s greatest parent of the hour by creating games to make chore FUN. Related: When chores suck so you try to make ’em fun We work really hard, don’t we? Homeschool moms spend a lot of time cooking, cleaning, and teaching. Many of our lesson plans are filled with math activities, read-alouds, and reminders about ballet. But most of us fail to have our kids master a critical life skill. I know I’m Not alone! Are you so tickled that your kindergartener can write her name, that you forget to teach her to tie her shoes? Are you so focused on your son’s math problems that you neglect to encourage him to say please and thank you, or better yet,”Help!” Do you sometimes wonder if they will ever learn to write an essay using proper grammar because you lose sleep at night worrying if you should have used an apostrophe in that last email? (Psshhh. Not me. I sleep like a dead horse at night) I can get distracted by grades, curriculum, and progress too. Laundry can consume all of our free time. Do your kids see an empty laundry hamper as a challenge to create dirty laundry in record time? Related: 21 of the Greatest Laundry Hacks I don’t think my hamper has stayed empty for longer than 15.3 second this year. The school year clicks on. Boys are solving equations, writing resumes and reading complex stories. Just about the time I start to feel like I’m rocking this homeschooling thing… I see it. Not the coolest way to hang a towel, but something so subtle… so simple… So small, so basic, so obvious hits me in the forehead like a nerf dart shot by a guilty husband. (Yes, my husband delights in using me as target practice when wielding a nerf weapon). But this. This makes me feel like a loser, a lousy parent and completely drives me crazy. Like, lose a gasket, crazy. How could I have neglected this important life skill? (Click on the image above to stop the madness of missing the most basic of life skills) Comment below when you suddenly realize you’re a part of this club… Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets. Enroll in the sneak peek class here.
My Kids are Slobs! How to Look Beyond the Mess Sometimes going up the stairs is enough to ruin your day. … Read More »
Homeschooling Magic: Lessons From A Stranger’s Purse Inside: 8 Steps to help you create a plan for house management, meals, routines, fun, and homeschool. The first time we flew across the country with our then 3-year old, we thought we were ready. The flight was only supposed to be a few hours long- how bad could it be? We made sure our son slept well the night before, we ran him ragged before the flight, we packed some of his favorite toys and snacks, and we boarded the flight with a smile. We were sure we were ready. I was sure I was ready. Ha. Flying with young children is not for the faint of heart. Oh sure, if you happen to time everything correctly and all the planets are aligned, then you (and all the passengers on board flight 247) will be excited to spend a few hours locked in a pressure controlled environment with your cute tot. But I am not that lucky. Apparently, my 3-year old could make grown men cry. To say he was energetic is like trying to describe high voltage electricity with words like “slightly shocking”. The kid was like the Tasmanian devil personified. The funny thing is that, until then, I thought I was a great mom. I thought I had this parenting thing all under control. I thought I could handle him in public. He is my son, right? And then I took him onto a plane. … Read More »
Kindergarten: The First time I Got in Trouble in School Inside: Warmth for your taste buds and your soul. When I was in kindergarten, my teacher got mad at my mom. When Mrs. House asked me what I enjoyed for my healthy breakfast, I cheerfully replied, “Cereal and a cup of coffee!” Yep. Mom got a call that day. Of course, that is also the day the Mrs. House learned that my mom wouldn’t tolerate anyone telling her how to parent. Go, mom! Do you have a gold membership to the “I drink Coffee” club? I began drinking coffee before my first birthday, so I am a platinum member. … Read More »
How to Teach a Topic You Hate Inside: The 6 things you need to remember when teaching something you think you hate. Plus a nifty {freebie} Trajectory is one of those concepts grouped in the “Who the Heck Cares” basket in my brain. “This guy cares about trajectory” Photo by NASA. It’s right there all snug as a bug in a rug next to solving algorithms, the chemistry of photosynthesis, and what age someone else’s toddler learned to drive their family car. We all need a “Who the Heck Cares” basket in our brain. … Read More »
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 »