Peel Duct Tape: Place strips of duct tape onto surfaces like the sidewalk, garage walls, or the floor. Your child simply peels the tape!
Squishy Sponge: Give your child a sponge and bucket of water. Have them water plants by squeezing the water out from the sponge!
Tongs and tweezers: Give your child a pair of tongs, and egg carton, and a bin of small things (pom poms, beads, pasta, etc). Have them fish out objects with tweezers and sort them into the egg carton.

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Classic Games are the perfect way to sneak in Pincher Grasp Development

Don’t Spill the Beans

Medical schools are noticing a decline in students’ dexterity, possibly from spending time swiping screens rather than developing fine motor skills through woodworking and sewing.
The New York Times

The great news is Pincher Grasp Development is easy to weave into your child’s day. A Little less swiping of screens and a little more of old fashion fun and these intricate hand muscles can get a good work out!

For Older Kids

Crocheting and knitting

Embroidery

Tin Foil Art

Using a sock to improve pencil grip (Brilliant)

Print this free homeschool mom reminder.

This post comes with a free printable reminder list to help keep your heart focused on the heart of homeschooling. I always have the hardest staying focused. This printable simplifies it!

Here is a sneak preview…

Download Your Free Printable

Download the checklist. You’ll get the printable, plus join 9,000+ homeschool moms who receive my weekly parenting tips and ideas!
Print. Any paper will do the trick, but card stock would be ideal.
Place it on your refrigerator as a helpful reminder.

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.

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7 Easy Thanksgiving Desserts that Kids Will be Proud to Make

Inside: Thanksgiving Desserts for kids and made by kids.

Important: Keep kids safe in the kitchen!

When teaching kids to cook, don’t forget to make sure they master Turkey Tetris.

Seriously.

Nothing makes you aware of how blessed you are like having to move a bunch of food around so you can fit an over-sized bird in your refrigerator.

Remember- Your kids WANT to help when they are little.

I think one of the the biggest mistakes we make is how we respond to the question, “Mommy, can I help?”

“No, sweetie, go play while mommy cleans up/makes dinner/folds laundry.”

When kids are 3-years old, we know that “let me make eggs” means they run to the fridge, open the door and break 11 eggs on the floor before we can stop them.

But, this stage- the “can I help” stage is where the magic of raising wonderfully helpful teens happens.

Answers to the question: Can I help?

Absolutely!

Yes! Here are your very own rubber gloves to protect your hands while you do dishes.

Oh, thank you! Go get your apron.

Pretty please! I need help making dinner.

Of course! Many hands make light work!

How would you like to help me?

I was hoping you’d ask!

Which job should mommy do, and which job should you do?

Sure! Do you want to be the boss or the helper?

Helping around the house should be fun, natural and expected.

Create a special playlist that tune in kids to the fact that it’s time to cook, time to sweep, time to fold.

Relationships aren’t built over coffee at a cafe; relationships are built over piles of dirty dishes and mounds of laundry.

Food.

It’s a BIG deal.

We have encouraged our five sons to help in the kitchen from the time before they could walk (think-rolling high chair).

I remember the first time my oldest son decided to make eggs for the family.

“I make eggs!”

I tried to beat the little squirt to the fridge, but the 3-year old had broken a dozen eggs on the kitchen floor before I could stop him.

He beamed with pride.

While I always had kids open cans, dice veggies, and stir pots of delicious foods, my husband is truly the brilliance behind teaching my sons how to run a kitchen.

Kids love to help in the kitchen.

All five of our sons can cook to some degree or another.

We even have their favorite “fails”- like chili.

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Dad’s Role in Homeschooling: The Powerful Man Behind the Scenes

Inside: Six homeschool lessons to glean from your kid’s dad. Even if he never picks up a red pen to help you grade a math test.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. But when the going gets tough in homeschool, moms across the globe search for answers.

We corner teachers to glean classroom management skills.
We laugh and cry with our girlfriends about our kids as we sip too much coffee.
We pick the brains of other homeschoolers we happen to bump into at the grocery store.
We Google in desperation. “Which curriculum is best for a dyslexic science-minded girl who refuses to wear matching socks on Tuesdays?”

But ask the man in our lives his opinion about how to teach his children or how to manage our lives, No way Jose….

How to Teach Kids about the Mob Mentality

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

It was like stepping into water filled with piranha. Shaking and shivering with disbeleif I stared at my screen.

How on earth did that question unleash the mob?

Looking for materials to share with my little corner of the internet, I asked a group of creators on Facebook if they had any amazing resources on a certain topic.

And then it happened. Someone took a bite at me for asking about that topic and then the mob moved in and attacked me.

I was stunned and it paralyzed me for half the day.

First I deleted the question, because I wanted NOTHING to do with the situation. And then I tried to repair the damage, but posting an apology and a few words about how much I appreciated the group.

The second wave was worse.

By the middle of the day, I went LIVE online to share this.

Teaching Kids about Mob Mentality

Identify an incident.

Unfortunately, they are all around us.

1. Talk about the inciting incident. What exactly happened. Be careful to not bias your kids. Just state the facts.

2. TOGETHER: Identify 3-10 ways to handle the situation. How can it have been handled differently? What can you and your kids do to make a difference.

3. Explain about mob mentality.

4. Explain that you are going to look at how some people reacted to the situation and together you’re going to identify why it was good or bad. The goal is to identify wrong behavior.

5. Brainstorm ways to get away/ avoid mob mentality.

Repeat often.

Ways to find examples:
-Text messages gone bad
-Social media comment threads (be careful)
-News feeds
-Real life.

We need to teach our kids how to think through these crazy situations and give them the skills to identify when the mob mentality steps in and how to stay out and stay safe.

avoid mob mentality — Get your free copy here

Math with a Deck of Cards

Quick round up of all the math games I can find that you can play with a deck of cards.

Total of 10

Lay out 20 cards on the table (leave out face cards or change them to equal 0, while aces equal 1). Kids remove sets of cards that add up to 10, ultimately trying to remove all the cards from the table. It’s harder than you think! Learn more at First Grade Round up

Nifty 50

This game is great to develop logical thinking and problem solving, review two digit addition and subtraction regrouping, and is fun! The object is to come up with a math equation that has a sum or difference closest to the number 50. First player to five points is the winner! Learn more at Scholastic

21

This game is a simplified version played in casinos, with no gambling involved. Object: be the closest to 21 without going over! Learn more at Scholastic

Place Value War

Turn over 1, 2 or 3 cards. Place
them in any position to make the highest
number possible. The higher number wins all
of the cards for that turn. Learn more at Newark Schools

Once through the deck

Shuffle the deck and place it face down on the table in front of you. Flip the cards face up, one at a time.

For each card, say out loud the sum (or product) of that number plus (or times) the number you want to practice. Don’t say the whole equation, just the answer.

Go through the deck as fast as you can. Learn more at Denise Gaskins

Closest To

Starting with two digit numbers, deal out two cards per player. Each player takes the cards in their hand and rearranges the digits to create a number that is closest to 50. The players show each other their hands and the player who is closest to 50 wins the set of all of the players’ cards. Learn more at Math engaged

Math Memory

Lay all of the cards down on the table face-down in a grid. Players take turns flipping over three cards and seeing if they can make an equation with the face-up cards. Younger players can try using addition and subtraction, and older players can also try using multiplication and division. Players are challenged to remember what cards every player has flipped to help them create equations on their own turn. The player with the most amount of cards at the end of the game wins. Learn more at Math engaged

Here’s a game similar to the one described above, but this version allows students to compare fractions instead. You will need two pencils, one for each player, to serve as the fraction line. Learn more at Super Teacher Worksheets

Guess My Number

Place a student at the front of the room and give him or her two playing cards. The cards can be ordered any way the student wants. Be sure the cards cannot be seen by the class!

Take turns around the room guessing what the number is. The types of questions asked have to use math vocabulary, such as, “Is it even?” “Is it odd?” “Is it greater than 10?” “Is it a factor of 20?” and so on.

The student can only answer with a “Yes” or “No”, until the actual number is guessed at. Learn more at K5Chalkbox

More math with a deck of cards!

More math goodies

Math Picture Books Breath Life into Arithmetic!

97+ Ideas for Making Math FUN

Homeschool Math: Grab your Roadmap to Success

Teacher Appreciation DAY!

Whether you studied to be a teacher or SUDDENLY woke up a teacher today, or you have gray haired educational experience… you are a ROCK STAR!!

This is for YOU!

collage of kids in educational settings, building blocks, playing peek a boo,
reading, science, and math — What’s on Sale?

Homeschooling from the Inside Out

I want to wish you a very Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
In this season of craziness I have talked to classroom teachers, administrators, parents and homeschoolers and we all agree: Being a teacher is hard work, and it is so much harder now. I’ve seen parents/teachers go above and beyond during these times that are so unreal and unthinkable. I know how exhausting this is and you definitely deserve all the teacher appreciation love, this week and always!

A SALE? WHAT SALE? WHEN?
To kick off Teacher Appreciation Week, I am excited to announce that TpT is celebrating YOU with a special Teacher Appreciation SALE! Save 20% off all my resources (including bundles!) this Tuesday and Wednesday (May 5th & 6th). Save an additional 5% off by using promo code THANKYOU20. VISIT MY TPT STORE HERE!

Give a shout out to your FAVORITE Teacher friends and family on FB

EVERYTHING is ALL on Sale

Is THIS site on SALE TOO?
YES! I will mirror the TpT sale on this website! website. Use the same code, THANKYOU20, to get 25% off everything I’ve personally created on this website. (click on the product drop down menu in the tab bar)

What about all the masterclasses?
Yep! On sale too, with the same coupon, THANKYOU20, to get 25% off everything! Yes, that includes the homeschool classes, Pinterest, Business, and Selling printables classes!! Visit my academy here.

I have some AMAZING Creator friends who are also joining Teacher Appreciation week to help CELEBRATE YOU!

Gail, with Maestro Heights, has the most creative graphic printables that bring biographies and music to life! My top pick for this week? Morse Code for Kids! Gail’s sets make perfect “Unit study of the Month”

Holly, Will take your kids on a virtual world tour of some incredible sights as they “Unlock” some amazing destinations!

Renee has the first role play set for your little midwife I’ve ever seen! So cute!

Mary Beth has STUNNING cursive practice and scavenger hunts that will tickle your child’s imagination.

Debbie is here to help you teach your kids ALL ABOUT NUTRITION!

Tricia has ready to go Bible Lessons for your children.

Mission Mummy has all sort of goodies for your preschoolers who need better fine motor skills!

Practice Bullying with Kids

When my friend’s husband (Anthony) called and asked for me to bring my son to their house for a few minutes, I happily loaded him into the car and drove over.

There was a heaviness in the room when we walked through the front door and I began to sweat.

“Please, sit down,” Anthony motioned to their sofa.

Within 34 seconds I realized what was going on.

My son had been bullying their son during play time and I was clueless.

I opened my inbox yesterday and read a note from a mom asking for advice. She is friends with a sweet mom and while they are visiting, her son is watching her fiend’s son bully and hurt his younger sibling… And now her son is acting out at home.

“I’ve decided to give the friendship a break for a while.” She wrote. And then she asked me how I would handle the situation.

Suddenly I was back on the sofa listening to Anthony.

So I shared…

One of our sons really struggled with bully behavior.

He was sarcastic, aggressive and had a mean streak when his pride was challenged.

His favorite target?
–> My best friend’s son who was a couple of years younger than him.

Honestly, I had been blind to it, and then my friend and her husband invited me and my son over.

The parents, explained that this type of behavior would not be tolerated. Their son adored my son, but often felt bullied and had begun to take on my son’s habits.

Not gonna be allowed.

“Buddy, we love you. We are giving you a chance to learn and correct your behavior, but if you do not our son will not be aloud to play with you.”

Gulp.

They were so loving, united, clear and determined to help my son while protecting theirs.

Related: What does Bullying Look like?

I was horrified of course, but we only grew closer as friends…

Not all friendships survive this kind of family coaching and correcting.
But that would be my advice.

Get together and explain.

Mom, sometimes it’s our kids who are the bullies.
Other times it’s our kids who are being bullied.

I needed to witness how my friend and her husband addressed the negative behavior head on.

And so did my son.

There are consequences for bad behavior, but we are to extend grace.

***If my friend has simply stopped hanging out with me because of my son, we never would have learned this lesson and her son would simply learn to avoid problems rather than lovingly deal with them.

Plus, we would have missed the sweetness of a friendship that has grown into a lifeline over the past few decades…

How to Address Bullying

Open our eyes. We need to see the world with clarity.
Watch for opportunities to show kids good, bad, wrong, and cruel behavior and then talk about how to properly handle the situation.
Practice. Find a 5 minute pocket of time and play-practice.
Address it head-on. No one wins when we put our heads in the sand and run. If our kids are bullies, invite the parents over and lovingly ask for forgiveness and correct the behavior. If our kids are being bullied… do the same
Protect our kids! We were blessed our friends address bullying head on. But if your kids are in danger, protect them. If necessary, get the authorities involved.

What would you add?

How have you witnessed bullying behavior dealt with that WORKED? We need to learn from each other…

Rubik’s Cube (TM) Top Secret Mission

A reader asked if I could create her son an activity to add to the Rubik’s Cube she bought him.

Nothing excites kids like the words “Top Secret”.

These activities make the perfect pair with a Rubik’s Cube(TM) and make excellent math centers, bell work, party activities or just plain fun.
Included:

Top Secret instructions
18 Mission Cards
Mission foldable folders
Laughs and curiosity

*Rubik’s Cube sold separately

Rubik's Cube birthday parti — Get yours in my TpT Store

For Student: Prepare Top Secret Envelope and Mission Instruction cards.For longest life, copy onto cardstock paper and laminate.

Student comes to “Mission Commander” for 1-3 Missions to complete at a time. They must show the completed tasks to mission command before getting their next set of orders.

For Mission Command(YOU): Prepare Top Secret Envelope and Mission Instruction cards. For longest life, copy onto cardstock paper and laminate.

When Student comes to receive their secret mission give them 1-3 mission/tasks to complete. When they return with a successful mission they can receive a new set of “orders”.

These missions do not need to be completed in any particular order, but may be carefully selected by mission command to ensure success!

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.

…

Fall Jokes Solved with Single Digit Multiplication

If you need awesome multiplication practice for your kids, you’ve come to the right place. Just print and go!

With all of my youngest kids in high school math now, I can assure you that one of the foundational skills your kids need to master is their math facts.

I like to make learning these fun with hands-on games, jokes, and fun activities.

Math mastery for the win!

Additional Math FUN

90 Thanksgiving Jokes to Make Your Kids Laugh

Inside: Thanksgiving jokes and a printable cootie catcher for kids.

I sauntered into the kitchen. That 30 pound bird smelled so good. Opening the oven door to baste the turkey… I had a mini heart attack.

My Thanksgiving turkey had imploded.

Sitting in 3 inches of juice, with black charred ribs showing from under the skin, I panicked.

I ran to my dad.

“I need to show you something.” I whispered. “NOW.”

The holidays can be quite stressful.

Shopping for all the fixings, preparing for all the wonderful family and friends, and dealing with imploding turkeys.

Make it a point to laugh a lot this year.

If you’re anything like me, you might need a few bad (clean) jokes to add to your toolkit.

How about 90 Jokes?

Here’s to a smiling and belly-laughing Thanksgiving week!

The first 30 giggles are From Childhood Beckons

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Thanksgiving Writing Prompts: Yes, Writing!

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts for Homeschoolers.While we do break free from our regular homeschooling routine during the holidays, it is important to continue writing:).

Grab your free Notebooking Templates and have your child choose one of the Thanksgiving Writing Prompts Below

(source: Alpha Omega Publications)

Download Thanksgiving Printable Paper

homeschool helpers printables

Grab your pencil and put on your thinking cap!

…

77 Easy No-Prep Thanksgiving Activities Entertain and Teach

Inside: Thanksgiving Ready to go Activities and Thanksgiving coloring pages.

Just in time for Thanksgiving!

Kids love the holidays!

They feed off the energy and excitement that surrounds them.

Even kids that may not usually enjoy coloring, may find inspiration from a holiday themed coloring activity.

Just for FUN: Thanksgiving Jokes- Cootie Catcher {Printable}

Here are links to loads and loads of coloring and activity pages!!

Add them to your toolbelt.

Kids love the holidays! They feed off the energy and excitement that surrounds them. Even kids that may not usually enjoy coloring, may find inspiration from a holiday themed coloring activity.
Here are links to loads and loads of coloring pages!!Add them to your toolbelt.

Single Page Activities

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Biology Study of Mushrooms that Captivates the Imagination

When teaching biology, don’t open that nifty science book until your kids gasp and whisper, “wow!”

…

The Carl Angel 5 Pencil Sharpener- My Top Pick

Worth every single dollar.

Bonus points if you can name the movie he’s quoting!

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popular

Here are some DELICIOUS ways to spice up learning.

8 Hands-on Toys to Help Kids Develop Pincher Muscles

Sewing Buttons!!

More Pincher Grasp Activities!

Simple Activities to Improve Pincher Grasp and Help Your child Hold a Pencil