Successful Homeschooling: What if… What if by the time you finish teaching your kids… They are kind. They are confident. They look people in the eye when spoken to. They befriend the new kids. What if: They put down their phone when others are in the room. They are strong and hard working. They know how to cook, chop wood and change the oil on a car. They are compassionate and caring. They LOVE to read and devour the written word. They never text and drive What if: They hunt down information when their interests are piqued. They can balance their checkbook and manage a budget. They can break down a project into a workable timeline. They can manage a calendar. They can create powerpoint presentations and present their ideas to a group. Related: Download your free “WHAT IF” printable What if: They know how to receive instruction. They can add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers, fractions, and decimals. They can measure accurately using various tools. They can take a disappointment in stride. They lose with dignity and win with humility. Follow me on YouTube What if: They pass on compliments (…”my dad taught me that”) They can manage their own small business, like lawn care. They put things back where they found them. They acknowledge that a great team is worth its weight in gold. They master the art of harmony– working together blending talents and abilities for the greater good. … Read More »
Choosing a Chore System that Works for Your Family Inside: Age Appropriate Chores {printable} We have always believed in the philosophy that children are a welcomed addition to our family. We love, eat, live, play and WORK together as a family unit. We also make messes faster than the chicken can cross the road to prove to the opossum it can be done. … Read More »
Easy Survival Tips for Living with a 12-Year Old Boy Inside: The secret to surviving life with your hormonal 12-year old boy and 3 must reads if you’re raising boys. {PLUS Free Raising Sons Cheatsheet} My 12-year old boy almost died today. That’s right, I almost killed him. … Read More »
Homeschool and Delayed Reader I spent about 30 minutes searching for my then 10-year old. It was cold and rainy, so I doubted that he had adventured outside. I looked everywhere. We lived in a big home then, so it took me a while to go back and forth while calling his name. Silence. I couldn’t find him anywhere. I walked faster toward the back door so I could begin looking outside. Movement caught my eye as I called again from the kitchen. The little squirt was hiding in plain sight, as still as a statue, curled between a black bean bag and our fluffy black and white dog. “What the heck are you doing?” I asked. He lifted a Magic Tree House Book in the air without making eye contact. I almost spit out my gum. The boy’s reading!!!! Did you catch that he was 10-years old? That’s old enough to thoroughly enjoy the sight of me walking right by without seeing him. It’s also way beyond the “normal” reading age. I get messages from frantic mama’s often about: how to teach their 4-year olds to read What language curriculum to buy for their kindergartener and suggestions for chapter books for 5-year olds Meanwhile, my own kids took their sweet time learning to read. As my son grew into the, “I’m starting to wonder if I am the right teacher for this child” age I began to leave him hanging in a story. My goal became leave him begging for more… And you know what? It worked. We never stressed about his lack of reading skills (out loud). We just kept reading. All five of our sons were delayed readers. Our youngest was the most delayed. His brain had too much going on to be troubled with the task of decoding the dancing syllables on the page. This extra busy, brilliant, and wiggly son couldn’t be bothered until that day he disappeared in plain sight. So how did I get him to read? I didn’t. I just kept reading to him. I read his math instructions, his history and science lessons to him and marinated him in exciting read-alouds. Sure, I pointed to words, tracked with my finger, and read slowly and carefully, but I kept reading without adding pressure on him. That day he curled up in the beanbag with our dog and read his first chapter book launched him from not reading, to devouring books almost overnight. Some may be tempted to roll their eyes. A 10-year old reading Magic Tree House? Big Deal. I think that’s where so many people miss the point. The point is not to rush your kids through the easy readers and into the ocean of “Big Kids Books”, the point is to get your kids to love to read. I mean head over heels in love with reading, reading. I make it a point to never roll my eyes at the book choices of my kids to their face. Instead, we embrace the fact that they love to read. Magic Tree House for Big Kids? You Bet! My son burned through 1-3 books a day when he discovered he could read. I even sat him down and picked his brain. Together, we created learning activities to go along with the books he was reading. Excited, overjoyed, and proud. That’s how those silly little kid books made him feel. Related: Don’t panic if your kids aren’t reading yet. Just keep reading to them. It will click eventually. The goal is NOT when they read, but THAT they LOVE to read. When that cold rainy day comes and you are frantically searching for them, just be sure to check the beanbag in the corner! Do your kids love Magic Tree House Books? Click here to grab some fun activities for books 1 and 2. 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 PrintableDownload 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.
71 Easy Adorable And Inexpensive Mothers Day Crafts Inside: A treasure for you to tuck away for your kids’ teenage years. She gave you heartburn while you were pregnant. photo by Inna Lesyk He ran you ragged for hours on end when he was three. … Read More »
Gifts from Heaven: Gifts and Letters from the Past About 10 years ago, great grandma came to visit for about a month. It was a delightful time! We baked, read stories, made tape recordings, and homeschooled the kids together. While she was there it dawned on me that this precious woman would not be there a few years down the road. She was already about 90 years old and was not in perfect health. Gifts from Heaven I encouraged her to do something amazing: Make each of her grandchildren a wedding gift and to pick out a card and to write them each a personal letter that they would receive at their wedding. Well, grandma has been in eternity for a few years now. I am so blessed that she did not get offended at my suggestion, but rather took the task to heart. Sitting in my home, nestled away in a safe place are five handmade wedding gifts and cards; one for each of our sons. …I call them gifts from heaven. Someday each of the boys will receive one of these precious, priceless, handmade gifts…I am blessed beyond words.A Fun and Future Writing Assignment Because anything can be turned into a homeschooling lesson I recently began having the boys write themselves letters to the future as well. How fun will it be to receive advice from their 10, 14, 18 or 23 year olds selves?Ok, some of the letters are hilarious, but they are all precious. I would encourage you to capture pricelessness today: Do you have an aging parent or grandparent? Encourage them to invest some time into the future by hand making a gift, handwriting a card, or setting something aside for the kids. They will never regret setting aside something special, and the kids will be blessed! Have your kids write to their future selves. Then, put a reminder in your calendar to prompt you to gift it to them at a future date (21st birthday, wedding, etc.). Be sure to place these priceless things in a safe place! As homeschoolers, we have the ability to focus on the most important things in life. Embrace that gift today! More from me: Bible Studies for Kids:Bible Study Printables: Romans 15:13Days of Creation Board GameDays of Creation PrintablesDays of Creation Food Ideas (free)Sunday School Activities: Fruits of the SpiritBible Study BUNDLE #1Daniel 1: Bible Study and Children’s Ministry ActivitiesBible Object Lessons for Kids: WaterfallsBible Fun for Kids: ABCs of God’s CharacterAdvent Activities for Kids: FreebieAdvent Activities for Kids- CompleteBible Study: What Can I Learn from the CamelBible Study: Pearl of Great Price- Matthew 13:45-46Bible Study: Transfiguration of Jesus- Matthew 17Daniel 4: King Nebuchadnezzar’s Tree DreamSunday School Lessons on Prayer for PreschoolersBible Study for Kids: What Can I Learn From the Ant?Memory verse for kids: Exodus 14:14My personal statement of faith:I believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.I believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.I believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.I believe “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and that we are saved by faith in Jesus.My favorite Bible teachers are my husband (Craig Sayler), Pastor Jon Courson, Pastor Chuck Smith, CH Spurgeon.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 PrintableDownload 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.
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 … Read More »
Secret to Successful Homeschooling: Simplicity Inside: 9 Secrets of Successful Homeschooling from me to you. I was a new homeschooler once. I had a 5th grader, a kindergartener with major medical issues, a toddler and I was pregnant. Ah, those were the days. Trying to manage two of different grades of school Trying to keep the baby safe Hoping to get dinner on the table at the right time. Trying to walk without pain from a very difficult pregnancy Voila! I was a mess. A pregnant hot mess. I was so concerned about the academic part of homeschooling that I almost buried my poor 5th-grader in schoolwork. I stressed I worried I panicked What if I messed his education up? … Read More »
I Challenge You to the Best Game EVER! I’m standing in my kitchen waiting for an equal opponent. Someone to challenge my speed, my agility, my ability to rule the universe. Free printable for you here!!! Alas, everyone is still sleeping at 6:30. So I will wait. … Read More »
5 Magic Steps to Rescue Your Mind During Homeschool Inside: 5 Things you can do today to conquer your homeschooling frustration. (This content may contain affiliate links) Somedays are so hard we pack a backpack and run away. Photo by Jeremy Bishop Have you ever seen those old carnival performers that spin plates on poles? To be awesome at this trick, you must: · Spin a plate fast and place it on the end of a pole. Keep it spinningAdd more plates on poles. Keep all plates spinning: the more plates spinning the better Oh no! Plate one begins to wobble. … 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 »
What does a Penny have to do with Homeschool Survival? Have you ever tried to put a penny on train tracks? We used to joke about living in a town quoted by Bugs Bunny. Apparently, this little town was where “Goldilocks was serving time for breaking and entering”. Ah, Tehachapi, Ca. A friend made up this little giggler to help his kids say the name of our little town: Q-“Why did the chicken sit on a pea pod?” A-“To Hatch a Pea!” … 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 »
Product Checklist Free Printable Product Checklist Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets. Enroll in the sneak peek class here.
Free! Super Charged Science Experiments for Homeschoolers Like all great scientific discoveries, this one was an accident. On a whim, I signed our three very different sons up for an online science class. I was skeptical, but not enough to hide my email address. … Read More »
Your Ultimate Community of Homeschooling Supporters Let’s stop trying to be perfect homeschoolers and realize that we need each other on this crazy journey. Okay? photo by Lisa Fotios Come here: When you’re at your wit’s end and need advice from someone who’s been there. When you’re having a hard day and just need to know you’re not alone. For ideas, tips, and lesson plans. When your kid does something unbearably sweet, incredibly brilliant and you don’t want to annoy all your Facebook friends by gushing. … Read More »
How to Homeschool Successfully: Get Your Practical Guide Homeschooling: one of the most rewarding, challenging, frustrating things I have ever done. I personally have five children. All boys. Yes, It’s as overwhelming as it sounds! Sometimes all I need is a little space, and a bag full of Oreos. Other times I need a homeschool ally. My homeschooling journey began when my husband said, “Give it a try for a year and we will talk about it again.” … Read More »
How to Homeschool Your Preschooler- Kindergartener “How can I get my 4-year old to sit long enough to do school?” “What is a great curriculum for a really busy 5-year old?” “My son’s handwriting is terrible. What program can I use to help him? He’s 6-years old.” Mama, Slow down. … Read More »
How to Organize Your Life in the Midst of Homeschooling Perfect Family project during the virus social distancing! Just 10-minutes a day (2-3 songs on your favorite playlist) and watch your house get in order! Join the FREE 10-minute challenge! Being Organized is not on the top of my skills list. Neither is shopping. Oh, I sure wish it was, but alas, I fail in these areas. What I have discovered is that I do not have to be the best of everything. I just need to be the best “asker of help”. … Read More »
What You Really Need to Homeschool Homeschool Supplies at Your FingertipsWhen 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.…Read More »