Homeschool

Bad Handwriting-Why The Paper Matters

  So, you have a child with bad handwriting.  Maybe it’s sloppy or maybe it’s huge.  What do you do?  How do you help them?  Today we will be discussing how to improve handwriting. One way to really help a child with poor handwriting is paper. Yes really!  The paper you use matters and today we are going to talk about why. Paper is something no one really thinks about.  We use it constantly.  But we never really stop to consider its value.  Having the right kind of paper can make the difference between illegible handwriting and beautiful, clean writing for years to come. Why the Paper Matters My child has always had trouble writing neatly.  In kindergarten they gave the kids special lined paper, but the next thing you know, they are moving them to standard, wide ruled paper.  Smaller handwriting allows a child to write more without tiring the hand as much.  However, what I found was that it is extremely hard for a child to go from writing really big to really small.  I found myself just allowing the use of two lines on college ruled paper as one line and making dashes in the middle.  This actually works quite well if you are on a budget.  But it causes a whole other problem.  The handwriting, while neater, is now bigger than before.  So how do we make it smaller?     Primary Composition Books Some companies make what are called primary composition notebooks.  These have dashed lines for making clean letters.  They are also very reasonably priced, and you can find them HERE.  The downside to these type of notebooks is that they only come in one size.  Roaring Springs In my search for another option, I stumbled upon Roaring Springs Composition Books by accident.  Can I just say that I’m so excited by these!  These composition books are organized by grade. You can select grades 1, 2 or 3.  Each grade is ruled with horizontal lines and a dashed line in between.  This helps train handwriting skills in print and in cursive.  The best part is, that as the grade goes up, the lines get closer and closer together.  This ensures that a smooth transition can be made to standard wide ruled paper. Roaring Springs Grade 1 has a 1” lines, with ½” center lines & can be found HERE. Roaring Springs Grade 2 has ¾” lines, with ⅜” center lines & can be found HERE. Roaring Springs Grade 3 has ⅜” lines, with 3/16” center lines & can be found HERE. Final Thoughts These composition books make it easy to teach proper letter formation and control the size and structure of both cursive and print.  They also teach boundaries and proper control when forming letters.  After using these it’s easy to move on to wide ruled paper and then eventually, college ruled.  Don’t forget my nifty trick for smaller hands, golf pencils.  By using smaller golf pencils and composition notebooks, you will ensure neater and cleaner writing skills. Try these out and let me know what you think.  Hopefully, they will help your child smoothly transition to smaller, cleaner and more beautiful handwriting.  If you have any other amazing paper or handwriting finds, let me know.  For more tips on better handwriting, you can check out my post Writing Challenges-When Your Child Hates Writing If you enjoyed this post, check out these others: How to Choose a Cursive Curriculum 10 Ways to Make History Come to Life Unboxing All About Spelling Level 4

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Historical Re-Enactments: Making History Come to Life Part 3

  History was never a favorite subject growing up.  Sure, I had some fantastic teachers growing up.  I had one teacher in particular who taught a lesson on debate.  The subject was  “Which is better, ketchup or mustard on a hotdog?”  Doesn’t sound like much, does it?  But he went so far as to call the Vienna Sausage company and get them to come to the debate and provide food.  Then he convinced a news crew to come as well.  I can’t tell you anything about that debate, or even who won.  But I remember how interesting and fun it was.  This taught me a valuable lesson.  Kids remember valuable moments way more than facts they read.  This is why I love Historical Re-Enactments. Many people don’t realize that historical re-enactments exist.  Depending on where you live, you may have a lot of them available or just a few.  I found out by accident from a random stranger when we were discussing homeschooling.  If you have never been to one it’s really quite fun.   What It’s Like There are actually Historical groups that plan out these events.  Everyone dresses up in the time period.  This isn’t a typical Renaissance Festival (although that’s fun too). They are extremely strict about wearing and eating only what would have been available at the time.  We did both a Civil War reenactment and the Revolutionary War.  If multiple ones are available to you, I would encourage you to do more than one.  If was amazing to see the difference in periods.  We were able to learn how the time periods changed and how even the food and weapons changed.   In our case, they allowed you to walk around the camps, showed you how they ate and even the games they played at the time.  They really immersed you in the time period.  While we were their they taught us an authentic game from the time period called Shut The Box.  It’s a classic wooden math, strategy game.  My child loved it so much we ended up going online and purchasing it.  If you’re interested in it, you can get it HERE.   In addition to this, we were able to see actual printing presses making newspapers.  We got to see surgeons tools and medicines.  They had authentic furniture and timepieces.  There was even a woman who showed us how spies created ciphers and encrypted messages.  Battle Re-Enactments The best part was the actual battle re-enactments.  It’s one thing to read about cannon fire and another entirely to stand next to one as it is being fired.  It’s also fascinating to discuss how long it took to fire each weapon, reload, then fire a weapon again.  That’s something you can’t really get from a book.   Planning Ahead To really get into the spirit I highly encourage you to plan ahead.  After each one we went home and made recipes that would have been available during that time period.  We made hard tack, and bison stew.  We made hard boiled eggs, apples and bread to take with us as our snacks to really get into the day.  If you aren’t sure what to bring you can always look up recipes on the internet.  We had been doing our lessons from the Time Travelers Series from Homeschool in the Woods.  Their lesson plans include recipes and crafts from the time period you are studying which makes things so much easier. If you have time for it, wear a costume (at least the kids).  Pretending to be a part of it makes history come to life even more.  You’ll be amazed at the excitement.   Finding One Near You There are many different types of historical re-enactments all over the world.  Here is a just a small list of some of the most well known and famous places for re-enactments in the US.  If your in one of these areas or are planning a visit nearby you may just want to stop at one of these places: Arizona- The American Heritage Festival is the largest re-enactment in the Western United States and is held annually in the Southwest US. Indiana-Mississinewa 1812 is considered by some to be the largest living history event in the country.  It’s all about the war of 1812. Minnesota- Wilder’s Pageant which is a living re-enactment of Little House on the Prairie. New York-National Silver Ball Tournament which celebrates vintage Baseball New Hampshire-Muster in the Mountains is a three day colonial experience. Pennsylvania-WW2 Weekend & Gettysburg Civil War Battle Re-Enactment If you would like to find one in your area just Google “Historical Reenactments near me.”  Please feel free to share additional re-enactment websites in the comments below and I will try to update the post as I get them.   Final Thoughts Historical re-enactments are a wonderful way to make the most out of your history lessons.  They allow your children to immerse themselves in the true feeling, spirit and world of that time period.  This immersion is what really makes history come to life for kids.  It takes a moment that may otherwise be lost on a child and makes it meaningful and memorable.  I hope this series helps you to bring life into your homeschool history lessons.  Happy Homeschooling! Don’t forget to check out the rest of this three part series: Making History Come to Life Part 1: How to do it! Making History Come to Life Part 2:  The Sword Casting Guy Please feel free to share additional re-enactment websites in the comments below and I will try to update the post as I get them.  

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The Sword Casting Guy-Making History Come to Life Part 2

  History is one of those subjects that many feel is difficult not only to learn, but to teach.  Textbooks can be dry, bland and boring.  This is why when I come across a really amazing live and in person way to teach history, I am instantly excited!   This is how I came to meet the Sword Casting Guy.  If you haven’t heard of him, his name is Greg Wenderski.  He’s a former school teacher turned sword casting instructor.  I heard about him on one of my mom boards.  The minute I heard he was coming to town to teach a sword casting class for a few days, I literally booked it as fast as I could.  Boy, am I glad I did!  Every class was sold out in a few hours. The Class The class was taught outside which was great for many reasons.  He first starts by teaching you the history of the swords you are going to cast.  So you get a mini history lesson at the beginning.  We were personally studying Babylon in our homeschool lessons and he had an Egyptian Khopesh sword which was eventually used by the Babylonians for us to choose from.  So clearly, that was the sword we had to make.  But he had other options.  Some of these were Greek, Egyptian, Japanese and more!  Depending on the lesson you are teaching, he has a sword to go with it.  If he doesn’t have a sword from the history lesson you are teaching, you can request to make your own.  He will send you the dimensions and you can design it yourself.   Making The Sword Once your mini history lesson is over, your child gets to make a sand casting of their chosen design.  Gary handles all the hot metal used to cast the swords.  So, don’t worry that your child will do that.  He also made sure that everyone was a safe distance away and gave very good safety instructions before he began.  Once that’s done, he removes the swords while your child watches.  If you think your going to be bored watching someone pour hot molten metal, think again!  I had as much fun watching as the children.   After the metal cools, parents get to help by sanding the swords and grinding them down to a shiny finish.  I’m not gonna lie, this was a serious arm workout for me.  But again, don’t worry that these swords are going to be sharp.  The swords won’t have a blade put on them.  Make sure you teach good safety with these because while they are not bladed, they aren’t childproof.  I’m not going to say your kids couldn’t smack someone with these pretty good, because they could.  But they are about as safe as you can make a handcrafted sword.   Once these are ground and polished, your child will get to put a leather bound strap on them for additional hand safety and authenticity.  One of the things I appreciated most is that all of his materials are made from recycled materials.  He uses old couches for the leather and recycled scrap metal for the swords.  It’s a brilliant use of upcycling. When You’re Finished When you’re all done, your child gets this beautifully designed work of art to put up and show all their friends.  There’s not a lot of kids who wouldn’t think that’s cool.  We ordered a sword mount to put it up on the wall.  If you need one, you can purchase it HERE.  But even better than the sword, they have a memory that will last a lifetime. Who Can Take The Class The nice thing about this class is that children of all ages can take it.  I saw very young kids (around the age of 5) all the way to high schoolers in the same class.  It brought together kids of all ages in a way that you don’t often see. I also noticed that it had the effect of teaching independence in the younger kids.  I saw a younger child struggling with his sand casting and so I offered to help.  He said, “No thank you, I’ve got it.”  This is something I think children pick up simply from being in groups of multi-aged children.  They want to be successful like the big kids are.   Cost One of the most amazing things about this class is the cost.  The Sword Casting Guy only charged $100 for this all day experience.  We spent at least 8 hours in this class.  I honestly think for an experience that the entire family could go to and enjoy, it was way beyond my expectations.  Most small workshops charge more than this for an hour or two.  After spending the day with him, it’s very clear why he does this.  He is extremely passionate about what he does.  He clearly loves history, swords and working with children.  Even after the class was over and everyone else had left, he took the time to teach us and answer more of our questions.   Where to Book If your looking for a way to make history fun, exciting and engaging… this is it!  There is no better way to make history come to life, than a hands on experience.  To find out how to take his classes near you go to www.swordcastingguy.com.  If he isn’t having a class near you, you can request a class HERE.  Make sure to book quickly.   Final Thoughts When making history come to life for your children, remember that there is no better way than a hands on experience.  Even if they don’t remember all the names, dates and places you discuss…they will always remember the moments.  Don’t forget to share the ways you make your homeschool experience come to life in the comments below.  Happy Homeschooling! Don’t forget to check out the rest of this three part series:   Making History Come to Life Part 1: How to do it! Making History Come to

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10 Ways to Make History Come to Life

  When I was a kid I always thought history was boring.  Turns out, it was.  Everything I learned from history was from a school textbook.  In fact, before teaching the Civil War to my own child, the only thing I could tell you about it was from the movie Glory.  Seriously nothing else.  It wasn’t until I was an adult that I began to find history interesting.  So when I decided to homeschool I knew I wanted to make sure to make history come to life for my child.  So in this three part series we are going to start by discussing 10 ways to make history come to life for your child. 1. Seeing History Nothing is better than seeing history in person.  Going to a historical site and seeing it, especially after reading about it, can really bring life to the subject.  I realize that not everyone can do this.  However, it may be easier and more economical than you think.  Where we live there are a surprising amount of ruins, Native American cliff dwellings, archaeological sites, dinosaur excavations, meteor craters, historical buildings and landmarks.  Most of them are less than a 3 hour drive and cost less than a cup of coffee to get into.   One of the best investments we have made is to purchase the America the Beautiful Annual Pass.  The pass costs $80 for the year.  It allows four adults and all kids under 15 to get into any national park for free.  The pass includes access over 2,000 sites in the U.S.  To check it out go to the America the Beautiful Pass Website. It literally pays for itself if you only use it once or twice depending on the landmark.  So look around your neck of the woods, history is waiting! If you have a fourth grader you can apply for the Every Kid Outdoors pass.  This pass allows all kids under 16 (including your fourth grader), as well as 3 adults over 16 to get into over 2,000 national parks for free.  This includes homeschoolers.  You can also apply if you are an educator of 4th graders.  To apply go to Every Kid Outdoors. Junior Rangers Before you go, don’t forget to set your kids up with their very own junior ranger accounts HERE.  This will allow them to find parks online with interactive and printable activities. You can view special places within the parks from your living room. You can also watch wildlife, geysers, and other activities in real time. They can also download junior ranger books HERE.  In addition to this, when you visit local parks, your junior rangers will receive badges each time they go to one of the national parks (as long as they are available).  They can collect stamps and badges along their journey.   All of these interactive activities make these trips more enjoyable and fun. 2. Audio Books Sometimes school is more fun when you don’t call it school.  I started using audio books for history as bedtime stories.  Instead of calling it history or school, I named it storytime.  My absolute favorite is the Story of the World Series read by Jim Weiss (review coming soon).  These are so well received that my child will excitedly ask for them.  Another great series on audio is the I Survived Book Series (also in paperback).   A great audiobook can make history come to life.  For children, it’s like having a fantastic book read out loud by a great storyteller.  If you think bedtime might be too scary for history (history is violent after all), then just do it during the day.  I don’t give tests on this and I don’t ask questions.  We just let it be enjoyed.  Remember, if you don’t call it history or school, they will love it.  If they love it, they’ll remember it. 3. Educational Television That’s right, I’m not opposed to using television as a tool.  There is nothing wrong with high quality videos to teach kids great things.  Amazing videos keep kids engaged and can explain things in a way I am not always able to. But, I use this sparingly and with care.  One of my favorite educational video sites is Curiosity Stream.  It has hundreds of streaming high quality educational videos.  All of them are available for the price of a couple of cups of coffee per year.  What’s not to love?  If you want to read more about them, you can check out my post Where I Find Educational Videos.   4. Lap Books and Hands On Programs It’s a proven fact that connections are made in the brain when you “see, say and do” things together.  Hands-on activities are a great way to solidify what has already been learned.  My favorite is by a company called Homeschool in the Woods.  This family run company produces fantastic world and US history unit studies, lap books and timelines.   Each program focuses on a specific time period and then has hands-on activities that you can do with them.  They include everything from recipes from the time period to miniature reproductions of things.  I have used many of their units and we are never disappointed.  (Full review coming soon!). They are not the only company producing these hands-on products.  However, they produce high quality at an affordable price.   5. Museum Tours-In Person The day I set foot into The Met in New York was mind blowing.  I had no idea what a true museum was like until then.  What most people don’t know is that larger museums like The Met and The Getty have actual tours of the museum.  Different companies will tour you around the museum explaining artifacts and giving historical facts and stories.   These tours will typically have themes.  They take looking at a tiny statue that seems like nothing, and turn it into an entire experience.  It is absolutely worth looking into.  To find a tour group just google “in person tours +

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Fix It! Grammar Overview-Video Post

    Hey Guys!  I thought you might like to see the newest homeschool curriculum we are using.  It’s Fix It! Grammar by IEW.  Fix it! Grammar is an incredibly easy program that can be done in just 15 minutes a day.  The program is incredibly simple for both parents and students.  It only requires the teachers manual, student manual, a dictionary and a notebook or journal.  If you don’t have a dictionary available you can download one for free from Merriam-Webster for either Apple or Android HERE.   One of the things I like most about this program is that it incorporates vocabulary, writing skills and grammar into a simple 15 minute a day program. I also use it to build on penmanship.  So it’s a great multi-tasking curriculum. I have been extremely impressed by the simplicity of this program as well as its effectiveness.  We have had no trouble using it.  The program is good for multiple students of several different age ranges.  You only need one teachers manual, but you will need multiple student manuals.  You could also make copies of the student manual.  However, the program is reasonably priced.  So, purchasing additional manuals would be much easier and less time consuming. Here are some samples from the books. Parent’s Note This series is based on (for the most part) old fairytales and contain elements of magic.  I realize that some parents (including myself) take issue with some types of thematic elements in books and writing, so I wanted to make you aware of this.  I personally use these as a teaching element unto itself.  However, if this is not something you would want your children reading you will want to select a different curriculum. Fix It! Levels Fix It! Grammar has 6 levels.  The first level is The Nose Tree. Level 1 Nose Tree presumes no prior grammar knowledge and introduces basic parts of speech, end-mark punctuation, phrases, clauses, homophones, and more.  Level 1 is rated for grades 3-5.  The cost for the combo teacher/student editions is $29.  Each additional student is $19. Try Before You Buy You can try up to 4 weeks of this program free by going to this link HERE: If you like this video, be sure to check out these others: Unboxing All About Spelling Level 4 Unboxing Talkbox.mom Language Subscription Kits Using Spice Subscription Kits For Homeschool (Unboxing)

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Kiwico Eureka Crates Subscription Kits Overview

    Hey guys!  I thought it would be great to show you an overview of KiwiCo Eureka Crates.  We have been using the KiwiCo Subscription Kits for a long time and have a great selection of their products.  This overview will give you a large look at not only the KiwiCo Eureka Crates boxes, but also give you an idea of their entire line.  You will get to see how well made they are as well as the quality and craftsmanship involved. The KiwiCo Eureka Crates line is rated for ages 12+, but I have found younger kids can do it with assistance.  These kits start at $26.95.  However a lot of their other lines start at $18.50 and begin at ages 0+.  Also, they give great discounts on multi-month subscriptions.  The longer the subscription, the more you save.   I am such a huge fan of KiwiCo as a company.  Not only are their products great, their customer support is even better.  They make fabulous gifts for kids.  So check out this video to see a vast array of their products.  Make sure to share with me your own KiwiCo Experience.  I’d love to hear how you like some of their other lines. If you like this video be sure to check out these others: Unboxing All About Spelling Unboxing Talkbox.mom Language Subscription Kits Unboxing Barnabas Robotics Part 1

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Writing Challenges-When Your Child Hates Writing

  So if your child is anything like mine, writing is a challenge.  Sure there are those kids who were born to write, but most find it challenging.  This post isn’t going to make them great at writing, but hopefully, it will help you find out the reasons why they are struggling.  Once you find out why, it’s easier to help your child with writing challenges. Most people think that writing is simply the act of putting something down on paper.  I did.  In fact when my child started to struggle with it, I asked a trusted friend (who also happens to be an ex Montessori teacher) what she thought I should do.  She asked me which part of writing was difficult.  This was a new idea to me. Turns out writing is a multi-step process.  It involves the brain which needs to come up with ideas and thoughts.  Then that must be translated into a muscular function of the arm and the hands.  So the first challenge a parent faces is deciding which part of the process is causing difficulty.  Is it the brain struggling to come up with the ideas and thoughts, or is it the actual act of writing that is the problem?  Or both? Thoughts and Ideas The struggle to come up with your own ideas and thoughts is real.  Especially when you’re young and have had limited life experiences.  So for kids this is a real challenge.  Especially, young children. Starter Stories One of the things you can do to initiate good writing is to have starter stories, writing starters or writing prompts.  These can be found for free online by googling “story starters” or “writing prompts for kids”.  You can also purchase them online easily.  They come in books many times.  You can find some of them HERE. If your child is very visual you may want to try picture story starters or picture writing prompt books.  These books start with a drawing or picture and allow the child’s imagination to come up with a story.  It’s simple and effective and it works very well for many children.  You can find some of these HERE. Muscle Strength Muscle Strength is a real problem. Not just for kids but for adults as well.  Think of it this way.  You spend your whole life as a couch potato and one day you say, “I’m going to the gym.”  How does your body feel the day after?  Fantastic right?  When we ask children to start writing for the first time, it’s the same.  It takes many muscles in the body all working together to complete the act of writing.  If those muscles aren’t strong, the physical act can literally be exhausting.   Fine Motor Skills While Muscle Strength is a problem, for many children the real issue lies with fine motor skills.  These tiny muscles in the body that control minute movements can be very weak or underdeveloped.  Boys in particular tend to struggle with this due to the vast majority of things they play with as children.  Girls are often taught to color and do things with their hands.  Boys often play with trucks and action figures.  Different muscles get stronger by doing these things.  So in a sense some children literally have “writing atrophy”. It’s extremely important to develop these fine motor skills because they control functions such as writing, holding pencils, buttoning your clothes and more.  By working on fine motor skills you will improve not only dexterity but also the quality of your child’s writing. Hand Strengthening Exercises If writing is a problem due to muscle weakness, you will want to focus on hand strengthening exercises.  Montessori techniques are wonderful.  Montessori focuses on pincer grasp development.  Pincer grasp is the ability to hold something between the thumb and the first finger.  These movements particularly strengthen the muscles used for writing.  If you don’t know where to begin, just google “pincer grasp activities”.  Many of these simple and free techniques can help children become proficient writers.  You can also purchase toys specifically designed for strengthening these muscles HERE.   A great technique if your children are younger is to literally break all their crayons in half.  Yes, your kids will find it weird and so will your friends.  Especially when you go to a restaurant and start breaking crayons on the table.  But so what?  Think of it as a great conversation starter.  You can do this with pencils as well, although I found buying golf pencils worked much better.  Using these mini writing devices forces the hands to work in the desired way.  It requires more use of the pincer muscles, which will help strengthen the hands. Final Thoughts It can seem very frustrating when you feel that your child is not as successful at doing something other children the same age are doing.  Try to keep in mind that all children develop different skills at different times.  However, you can definitely create a more positive, successful environment by first determining what the real issue is behind the problem and then coming up with the appropriate solution.  This will make it much easier to help your child with writing challenges. The worst mistake we can make as educators is to force a child to complete a task they aren’t ready for.  They will end up in tears, hating what they are doing.  Sometimes it’s better to wait until they are ready.  So it may be that you need to put the pencils down and play with some legos, or teach your child beading.  Improve those fine motor skills, then go grab a pencil.  You will be amazed at the difference it can make.   If you have enjoyed reading this post be sure to check out some of these others: Why You Should Create a Homeschool Budget 7 Things I Wish I Would Have Known About Homeschooling While Working How to choose a Homeschool Schedule

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7 Things I Wish I Would Have Known About Homeschooling While Working

  After I started homeschooling, I began to get phone calls from moms who wanted to learn how to homeschool as well.  One of the questions I would get is, “how do you homeschool while working.”   I realized that there are 7 things I wish I would have known about homeschooling while working.  So I decided I wanted to share them with you.  I would say that I’m a busy person.  Very busy.  I’m not a full time stay at home mom.  I work 20+ hours a week and homeschool 4.5 days a week. Then I take care of household chores and scratch make most of our meals.  Not to mention volunteer work and ministry work.  In my downtime (I’m currently laughing) I write this blog.  The reason that I’m saying all this is simply to say that it is possible to homeschool while working.  So here are the 7 things I wish I would have known about homeschooling while working.   1.) Why Should You Homeschool? Homeschool allows you the freedom to educate your child in the way you want.  Not the way someone else wants.  It also allows you the ability to modify your child’s education to their needs.  If they are in need of extra assistance you can give it.  If they are above grade level in a subject, you can move them up.  You make the schedules and the rules. 2.) It Takes Proper Planning It’s important to have a plan when you are homeschooling.  It’s even more important to have a plan when you are working and homeschooling.  Having a proper schedule setup makes your life much easier.  You won’t be trying to come up with lessons on the fly. While you may not always stick to the schedule, having one eliminates stress.  Trying to homeschool while working, without a plan, is the fastest way to failure. 3.) There Are Different Types of Homeschooling The first thing you must choose when working is what type of homeschool you will use while working.  There are online homeschools that will teach your child without the need for you to do anything.  Hybrid curriculums that will do part of the lessons online and part at home are also available.  You can also choose open and go curriculums that are “all in one” where you teach with minimal prep work.  Some choose to build their own curriculum, which is what I do.  It is more work than some of the others, but it gives me the most freedom and it’s what works best for us.   You need to decide how many days you will teach.  When I first started I did 5 full days of school.  Now I only do 4.5 and I don’t feel so fatigued.  It’s amazing the difference a half day can make!  Some families only do three days and take 4 days off.  Others only teach in the morning and not the afternoons.  I teach a lot of Sundays because I work during the week.  Remember though, it’s not about what others do.  It’s about what works for you. 4.) There Are Different Types of Schoolwork There are days I have to work and I need to send school work with my sitters.  So, I have two types of school work in my home.  I have homework that must be done with an educator and work that can be done independently.  When I send work to the  babysitters I make sure that most of the work can be done independently or that the lesson has been pre-taught by me.  This allows my child to learn self sufficiency and how to work without me and allows the sitter to not be super stressed about schoolwork. When lessons need to be taught I make sure to do it on days I’m home.  I honestly prefer this.  It keeps me up to date on what lessons are being learned.   5.) Having A Great Support Team is a Must I am very blessed to have a husband who is supportive and picks up things when I feel exhausted.  Whether that’s laundry, cooking or a half day of school.  I also have the help of family and friends.  So, I can’t say enough about having a great support team.  Having even one extra person can really help you to succeed.  Whether that’s a spouse, a BFF, a co-op group, your neighbor or a relative, don’t be afraid to ask for help.  You might be surprised at who is willing to help you when you run out of energy.  If you don’t have any of these there are local homeschool co-ops and groups that you can join. 6.) Concessions Must Be Made An important thing to realize when you are homeschooling is that things are not always going to go according to plan.  This is especially true when you are working and others are checking in on your little ones.  Lessons will be missed.  Work may get skipped.  It’s okay.  It will all get done in the end.  Remember that kids miss lessons even in public school due to sickness or vacations.  Nothing bad will happen from a missed lesson or two. The other important lesson I have learned is that if you’re working and teaching and a wife and mother, then sometimes things just aren’t going to get done.  Sometimes the beds won’t get made and the laundry won’t get folded.  It’s fine.  Prioritize life in order of what’s most important.  The rest will get done.  Eventually. 7.) Know Your Limits When I first started homeschooling, I did five full days of lessons and we didn’t take a lot of time off.  I started to burn out as did my family.  Burn out is bad for everyone.  So, now we do a rotating schedule.  We do 4.5 days of lessons for four weeks.  Every 5th week we take a break.  This allows me the ability to catch up on everything from cleaning to grading papers.  It also

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Using Spice Subscription Kits For Homeschool (Unboxing)

In this post I will be unboxing spice subscription kits.  You will get to see everything that comes in the packaging.  The two kits we will be looking at are Spice Breeze and Piquant Post Spice Subscription kits. These make a wonderful and fun addition to your homeschool cooking lessons.  Not only are they inexpensive.  They are easy to use, they encourage exploration and creativity.  Your kids will get to travel the globe and learn about other cultures through food.  Best of all, they discourage picky eaters and get the family cooking together.  Even if you aren’t using them in your curriculum, they still make for great family projects. One of the things I didn’t fully talk about is that the kits will require you to purchase ingredients from the store.  I prefer this because my family deals with food allergies.  This allows me to customize the meals to my own home and budget.  On average, if you make one meal per week you will get a full months worth of cooking projects for your homeschool curriculum.  Just in time for the next kit! If you love the video and want to try either of the kits out, click on the links below.  Make sure to use coupon code 1STBOXFREE on either box to get your first subscription box for free. To check out Piquant Post you can get it HERE. If you are interested in Spice Breeze you can get it HERE. If you enjoyed this unboxing and want to see more posts like this check these out: Unboxing Talkbox.mom Language Subscription Kits Unboxing All About Spelling Level 4 Feel free to let me know which spice kit is your favor in the links below.

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Unboxing Talkbox.mom Language Subscription Kits

      So today we are going to be unboxing Talkbox language subscription in Spanish.  I’m going to go through everything that is in the kit as well as discuss the App that goes with it.  These boxes are different than most language curriculums because it is designed to get the whole family involve in learning a language together.  The boxes are meant to be used in conjunction with the App. The Talkbox is currently available in 11 languages including: Spanish French German Portuguese Chinese Hebrew Japanese Korean Russian Romanian Each language currently has a total of 9 different boxes and a phrase book.  After you watch the Unboxing Talkbox video be sure to check out the actual kits by going to the Talkbox.mom website HERE. Be sure to use coupon code: selfmademodern20 for $20 off the first box+phrasebook or selfmademodern5 for $5 off the the phrasebook Once we have spent sometime using the program as a family, I will write a full review.  If you enjoyed this unboxing post be sure to check out these others: Unboxing All About Spelling Level 4 Unboxing Barnabas Robotics Simple Robot Kit If you have any questions about the kits, be sure to post them in the comments section below.

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