My First Link-up! Sign up here to receive freebies, deals, and resources!! This post contains my referral link which helps support the work of this site. Here’s my full disclosure policy. Hi Everyone! I have a special treat for you! I am co-hosting this weeks “Home School Link-Up this week! That means you will be able to meet some amazing homeschoolers, educators, and moms right at the end of this post! My new blogger friend, Lisa with Squishable Baby is the fabulous coordinator of these Link-ups. Thanks Lisa! Here we go… Hello Good morning homeschoolers, educators, teachers, friends, family and whomever I’ve missed. Welcome to the 9th homeschool link up hosted by Unschooling Momma and Moi. Last week’s link-up was awesome. I learned a great deal from all of you, and look forward to reading your posts this week! The purpose of this link up is to provide fellow homeschoolers, past homeschoolers, eduction buffs, want to be homeschoolers, parents who want to supplement, or whomever – with a variety of fantastic educational resources. Feel free to link up to 3 education posts. We would love to hear about educational projects, crafts, schedules, curriculum, alternative learning ideas – whatever you like that has to do with the education of our children. Feel free to be creative! This link-up is broad for education. If you have an education related giveaway or education related deals and freebies, please link them up. Here are a few guidelines… Link up any education related post or resources or homeschool project or post – old or new. We will pin our favorites to our homeschool Pinterest board. Let your imagination soar. If you are not a homeschooler and have a craft or project that you might think homeschoolers would benefit from – link up. If you link-up an old “deals” please make sure they are still valid at the time of linking. When linking up, please tweet about the link-up to help us grow. Tweet // When you tweet, please use #homeschoollinkup Grab a button and place it in your sidebar and help us grow! Enjoy the posts of your fellow homeschoolers and education experts! This weeks Blogger feature is Tracy at A Learning Journey Written by Tracy, A Learning Journey is an excellent blog for finding new resources for your homeschool. Last week, wrote about Homeschool Legacy, a shop that offers a variety of unit studies. She conducted a very thorough review and is running a giveaway. Personally, we don’t do a lot of unit study stuff, but I always feel it’s good to try new things. You never know what will work and what the children will enjoy. Definitely check out this product and enter the giveaway! Just click on the graphic, and it will take you to the review and giveaway. Our Cohost – Bekki Follow Bekki Blog YouTube Facebook Pinterest Twitter This week, we have a wonderful giveaway that is being offered by our co-host, Bekki Sayers at A Better Way to Homeschool. Bekki is a veteran homeschool Mom of 14 years, who creates wonderful fun packs and lesson plans for all grade levels. Her blog is a great resource for all homeschoolers. This week she is offering 21 fun and engaging Thanksgiving math activities for Preschool-Grade 1. Enter the rafflecopter below to win this great pack. a Rafflecopter giveaway I am searching for co-hosts in an attempt to grow this link up – if anyone is interested in hosting the homeschool linkup for a week, email me (Lisa) at lisa {at} squishablebaby {dot} com. Without further ado, it’s time to… // Since next week is Thanksgiving, I want to wish you all safe travels – wherever life takes you. I wish you a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving. I will be looking forward to seeing you in two weeks!
Let’s Be Honest: When I Walk Through My Home, Do I See Order or Chaos? Let’s Be Honest: When I Walk Through My Home, Do I See Order or Chaos? I definitely have some spring cleaning to do! At a quick glance my house is tidy, but I’d never pass a white glove inspection! As I do a self inventory of my home I am fighting the urge to clean everything so I can tell you I have stayed organized this year. Nope. I said Let’s Be Honest, Right? I see multiple areas that need attention: School “Stuff”I have an eclectic homeschooling style. I love to tailor the books and materials I place in front of my children based upon their passions, talents, gifts, weaknesses, and my own curiosity. I also am blessed and cursed with an embarrassing short term memory. I have no idea what I wore yesterday, what chapter I am on in any of our current readers, or even what color my own house is unless I write it down in my journal. (See, anyone can homeschool as long as they are determined to learn and never quit!) I have piles of projects, worksheets, books, readers, lapbooks, books, and more books that I simply leave visible so I do not forget them. What does that look like? Embarrassing photo #1 Yes, that right. This is our school area.Although I have created worse messes in the past, currently everything is piled and mixed up. Sure, that closed door hides more of the mess, sure my high-schoolers supplies are not in this picture, sure I have a bazillion reasons why I stack and not file. Being Honest: I need to go through everything in my school zone and purge what is unnecessary. It’s amazing how chaos creeps in, isn’t it? Do you collect curriculum and art supplies throughout the year? How do you deal with these intruders? More School Stuff. Well, more like art supplies… Embarrassing Phone #2 I am not a shopper, so I do not have tons of supplies pouring out of my cupboards, yet what we do have is a mess! My 7-year-old is like a tornado through our supply cupboard. I have to admit this is a bit humbling. Since my kids have a laminated chore chart posted on my fridge, I fully and naively assumed that I’d have a clean child’s bedroom to report: Embarrassing Photo #3 This is our 3 Musketeer Room. Apparently, a bomb went off because there is no other explanation as to why I should be tormented through the necessity of sharing this disaster with you. What a mess! The issue goes back to the title of this post, Do I see Order or Chaos. Yes, I see chaos. It’s late in the school year. We need to fix that broken picture frame (casualty of the latest Nerf battle), purge a few thousand toys, and pull out summer clothes with the goal of getting rid of torn pants, donating things that are too small, and somehow convince all the young boys that being handed down their older brother’s clothing is a blessing. This chore is way over-due, but always nags me at this time of year. That’s all the “Full Disclosure” my time (and pride) will allow. My honest answer to this question is that I can see through the piles of chaos. I know with a few days of hard-core organizing and purging and a reward of something sweet and wonderful we will soon whip our home back into shape. The order/chaos battle never ends and effects more than my pride.I find it hard to think straight when the home is in disarray.I am less patient and easily distracted when the piles grow faster than I can sort them. It’s a wonder we get any school done in an atmosphere of disorder… Yet, somehow or other, we do. Your Turn:What condition is your home in right this second? Download your FREE "Master Chore List" {printable}