How to Turn Homeschool Frustration into Joy and Learning Dear homeschool mom, Don’t homeschool. I’m not kidding. Yes, kids need to read and write and solve basic math problems, but they don’t need school at home. They need to have plenty of time to run, jump, slide, swing, lay, laugh, build, and rest. Related: building toys Give them time to be bored, time to think, time to day dream. Don’t give them workbooks, worksheets, and hours of assignments. Instead, give them LESS. …Read More »
Your Brilliant Dyslexic Child Will Surprise You The Most Homeschool Hack: Grammarly is free. This is one of those “no-brainer” add-ons for your devices. “Mom, can I sit next to you and work on my story?” Sure kiddo! Enjoying the warmth of his shoulder resting upon mine as he typed away at the computer, I glance at his screen and almost spit out my drink. … Read More »
What You Really Need to Homeschool Homeschool Supplies at Your Fingertips When we had our first son, we had all the gadgets. Bassinet, stroller, carrier, car seat, bouncy seat, playpen, baby gate, huge diaper bag, and a baby monitor for our 425 square foot apartment. By the time we had our fifth son, we had narrowed down what we really needed: a crib, a car seat, a diaper in my purse, and a fun toy for him to play with (my car keys). Homeschooling is like that. … Read More »
97+ Amazing Ways to Make Math Fun for Our Kids Inside: A master list of simple, inexpensive, and fun ways to teach all the basic math principles your kids need to thrive. PLUS- Free Math Roadmap Most homeschoolers overcomplicate math with fancy curriculum, worksheets, quizzes, stop-watches and tests. We choose to be different! Stripping math back to its basic foundational core, we can set our kids up for success in life by giving them a solid foundation with allows them to add, subtract, multiply, divide, count, measure, weigh, and estimate. Pickin’ Cute!!! Most kids are not mathematicians hiding inside little bodies. They are dancers, chefs, architects, designers, farmers, mechanics, bankers, writers or yet-to-be-decideds. …Read More »
Make every day a Read Aloud Day I’m here to remind us both of something very important. There’s something more beneficial for our kids’ education than that curriculum we’re beginning to understand. …Read More »
150 Educational Gift Ideas Kids will Love Inside: Over 150 recommendations for educational gifts and a free printable gift list!! First words out of hubby’s mouth this morning. “If the kids don’t get on their Christmas lists, they’re gonna get cans of corn for Christmas.” Me: “And they’d be blessed!” Christmas is always a zoo at the Sayler home. A big happy zoo full of my own personal band of monkeys. The boys pull names out of a hat and then they are responsible for the three gifts that land under the tree for that person.This year? Back in the early days of homeschooling, I took FULL advantage of Christmas sales to stock up on goodies for school. Pencils, erasers, paper, books, great games, and even a good microscope were always on the list. But experiences always made the biggest splash. This year, I expect the holidays to be crazier than usual. So I am refining our Gift Ideas. Over 150 Education Gift Ideas Your Kids will LOVE Top Game Pick Ticket to Ride Board Game!! Related: Yes, they may still play with the box, but they’ll love what’s inside as well! Your free Cardboard CONQUEST Kit Just don’t tell them they’re educational toys! If you’re looking for recommendations for fine motor skills, gross motor development, STEM, games, outdoor activities, and of course, books, you’re in the right place! PRINTABLE: Free Educational Gift Organizer printable {download here} …Read More »
How to Make Learning Fun: EASY! She lays awake at night tossing and turning. She tries to rest, but when she closes her eyes she sees the slumped over image of her son burned into her memory. “I failed again.” She is confused. She read all the latest and greatest articles on how to teach her child, but when she tries to follow the advice, her son closes down and she becomes frustrated, discouraged and depressed. “I’m messing up my kid!” …Read More »
4 Tips to Homeschooling Multiple Grades Simultaneously Inside: 4 Tips to help you homeschool Multiple ages and grades without losing your sanity. When I entered the water bumper boats with my boys I had no idea that I had a big target on my back. My husband decided to sit this ride out and let me take all five of our sons onto those little boats with water guns mounted on the front. What the heck was I thinking? … Read More »
Raising Independent Learners You stumble into the kitchen to start your coffee and you find your 8th grader already plugging away at school. You rub your eyes and look again. Sure enough, there he sits quietly working on his math for the day. Can you imagine?… Read More »
The Beauty of Leaving Kids Hanging in a Story Inside: The Secret to Hooking Kids into the Habit of Reading- Teaching Kids to Read “I hate that book!” I couldn’t believe my then 3rd grader was turning his nose to a book I loved. Especially since he hadn’t even cracked the cover. “That’s OK,” I said. “But, you may not move from your seat and I will simply read it aloud to myself because I love it…” I began to read and read. Just when I could tell he had fallen in love with the story, and just at the height of excitement I shut the book. … Read More »
Inspire Kids to Read by Hanging Them My son is terrified of needles. And swarms of bees. And sour cream. Strange boy. But I am not exaggerating when I say nothing makes that boy of mine run faster than presenting him with a book that he needs to read. You see this is a problem. … Read More »
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 »
10 Things I’d LOVE to share with New Homeschoolers So here we are, just you and me. For the moment, my 4 youngest boys are all wonderfully occupied and I thought I would write to you, the new homeschooler. (if you are a seasoned homeschooler, please read and then add your 2 cents at the end of this article). What Advice Would I Give a New Homeschooler? Here is my top ten list of Unsolicited Tips and Encouragement from Me to You… … 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. … Read More »
What Does Relaxed Homeschooling Really Look Like? Inside: Homeschooling can be rip-your-hair-out hard. These Tips will help you hold on to your sanity and all of your hair. I almost hit my goals with homeschooling. I know, “Almost doesn’t count except in horseshoes, hand grenades”, and homeschooling. Grandma always said, “you cannot hit a goal unless you have a target.” I aim for being a loving wife, a cool mom and a relaxed homeschooler. That is my target. Relaxed homeschooling. Yep. I try to hit that one every day, week, month and year of homeschooling. Sometimes, I even hit my goal! It has taken me years to realize that relaxed homeschooling is not lazy homeschooling. … 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 »