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? … Read More »
Homeschooling Through the Holidays Inside: Five Secrets to Homeschooling During the Holidays. My boys will be thrilled that I am reminding you that there are only 26 days until Christmas. But there aren’t. There are actually almost 12.75 days until Christmas. But who’s counting? … 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 »
5 EASY Ways to Deal with Homeschool Frustration Inside: Real solutions for the Frustrated homeschooler You woke up ready to rock this homeschool gig. You even had it all together. Until… You find the baby decorated her wall with her diaper contents and your middle schooler needs help with math. You begin to cry. When 5:00 rolls around you look in the mirror and realize the person staring back at you not only looks like she fought a battle and lost but she forgot to plan for dinner… again. So you cry again and pour cold cereal for dinner. I bump into home-school moms all the time who are frustrated.Are you one of them? … Read More »
Homeschooling Resources and Encouragement Homeschooling is a living breathing thing. Just when you think you have it all figured out, your kids change on you. Life keeps you on your toes this way! Homeschooling moms can lead pretty isolated lives at times. Homeschooling can be challenging, and sometimes downright difficult. We all need encouragement, creative idea boosts, and sometimes a swift kick in the pants (That one is for me). We need to be learning and growing right alongside our children. We need to model good learning and studying habits. There all kinds of “how to homeschool” and curriculum guides out there. This is where I will share my own resources or years of homeschooling experience and wisdom. Click on these links: Start Here! Where do I begin? Homeschooling is a Beautiful thing! Teaching with Toddlers and Babies Why is it “A Better Way to Homeschool?“ Amazing Notebooking Templates for Journalling
Experience First: Flight Every time the Space Shuttle launched I cried like a baby. “Mission Control, This is Endeavour are we cleared for launch?” “Endeavor you are cleared to launch in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…” I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Now, teaching kids about aerodynamics is another subject altogether. I get a headache just thinking about it. For me, this is a dry and dull subject (if you are an aerospace engineer who may visit this article, forgive me). Related: Your preschools don’t need to sit still, they need to move! So how do I teach my kids about things I find dull and boring? I find someone who is passionate about the subject and get my kids in front of their enthusiasm! The funny thing is when I am with my children I catch the enthusiasm. In our “who you know” world, our family was invited to watch the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour as it made its California Tour. (My husband worked for NASA at the time). I have to say this was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. We were able to have a front row seat to view the shuttle fly by on the back of its 747 and then land and park directly in front of our family ( and a few thousand other blessed people). Wow. I still cannot believe we were able to see this. Now let me ask you. Do you think my boys are going to be interested as we learn about flight and aerodynamics? You tell me… While it is true that not everyone can get an invitation like this, everyone has opportunities all around them to explore something amazing. Seize every one of those opportunities as you homeschool. I hear of homeschoolers that farm, raise chickens and cows, build an organic homestead and store, visit local (and not so local) museums, participate in living history days, attend plays, play musical instruments, attend art shows, shadow professionals to preview jobs, design and build computers, and more. What do you have available to you and your kids? Maybe it’s fishing. If you want your kids to learn about the fish of the sea, begin by taking them fishing. Don’t know how to fish? Ask around. My hubby took two of our sons out with a friend today to participate in their first fishing derby. Look at that King Salmon! You can bet that boy will be primed and ready to learn about the life cycle of a fish, and the impact of the Salmon on the health of the Pacific Northwest where we live. He’ll likely even be ready to help protect fish to ensure that his kids can experience this same thrill. It could be anything, but usually kids don’t say, “Hey, I’m passionate about this thing I’ve never done before!” Kids need to experience first, become intrigued and then they’ll be excited to learn. Always lead with EXPERIENCE Ask a neighbor or two for their top ten sites in your town for their top ten list of places to see Visit your local chamber of commerce Order your national parks map and visit 3 parks this year Read your local paper and attend things that you may think are boring (just do not say that aloud to your kids) Then stand back. As your kids taste and see this amazing world, they will be primed and ready to receive the “educational” activities rolling in your imagination. Just be sure to hook their curiosity before you blast off into learning! https://abetterwaytohomeschool.com/how-to-make-learning-fun-easy.html https://abetterwaytohomeschool.com/hebrew-for-homeschoolers High School Electives for Homeschoolers