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! Building with Legos: Yes, he made a Drum Foot Pedal 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!
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 »