Why I Homeschool - Jess’s Story
My number one reason, hands down, for homeschooling is freedom. I homeschool because I was homeschooled and it was an amazing experience for me. I homeschool to create the life I want for my kids and to build a community that will support us and grow with us.
Theme Days: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Day
“Let me just say for the record that I think middle school is the dumbest idea ever invented. You got kids like me who haven't hit their growth spurt yet mixed in with these gorillas who need to shave twice a day.” Greg Heffley cracks me up a bunch of times in The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. His “diary” hits the mark for life in middle school. Even though my kids are homeschooled, they totally related.
Unmasking the Rappin’ Mathematician: Your Math Education Questions Answered by a Real Life Math Superhero.
It’s a scary world out there! Seriously, between a pandemic, earthquakes, a tornado, and a threat of economic collapse - it’s enough for anyone’s anxiety to skyrocket. And we have big questions right now…What about my kids? What about their education, their activities, their brains? What about my time, my work, my SANITY?!? Never fear, the Rappin’ Mathematician is here!
When Happy Hour Fills Your Cup
Happy Hour is just that - HAPPY! Does it need to be anything else? Grab your Kombucha, and grab your kid and their favorite drink - and have your own Happy Hour. Right now we cannot go out on “dates” with our kids, but we can still have dates…in our home!
Real Mom Series: 5 Tips for Homeschooling as a Working Mom
So many people believe that if they are working full-time they are unable to homeschool their children. This isn’t always true! The beauty of homeschooling is that it is flexible and can be organized to fit every family. While parents who have to work full-time outside of the house may have a much harder time figuring this out, parents who can work from home can absolutely homeschool too!
Virtual Playdate: Mad Hatter Mad Libs
It’s mayhem. It’s madness. It’s Mad Libs. We love it in our goofy giggly house and it’s part of our Delightful Dailies. Sometimes my kids peacefully play them individually, or we complete them round-robin style like we did today with our Coop Group. It’s word play at its finest - actually at its silliest…especially when your kids pick tortuous toots, boisterous burps, and tumbling toilets as their fill-in-the-blank words.
Dear Corona Schooling Parents...We See You
Dear Emergency Corona Schooling Moms and Dads,
We see you. We feel you. This is hard and it’s different. It sometimes feel like a gift of time and togetherness, and sometimes it feels incredibly lonely and disconnected. Take heart, know that you are not alone. Find ways to homeschool that work for you.
Minimal Prep Tip 4 - The Delightful Dose of the Dailies
Dailies are the things your kids love to do to start off their day that is not the major curriculum. It can be songs you sing together, questions you discuss, or a specific journal they complete and share with you. It’s a time to grow together...a time to nurture character development...a time to laugh together. It’s a time to discuss big topics about life. It’s a time to remember that life is short and relationships are to be treasured.
Minimal Prep Tip 3 - Give them the Gift of Board Games
What was your favorite game as a kid? Mine was Mastermind and Speed. And, Uno, Connect Four, Operation, Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, oh, I could go on. Give the gift of games to your kids and to your homeschool.
Minimal Prep Time Tip 2 - Egg Hunt, Scavenger Hunt, Treasure Hunt
Call it whatever you want – it’s awesome any which way and my kids played it today, twice – fun cooperative learning, satisfaction in conquering the challenge, and of course, gummy, yummy treats.
Minimal Prep Time Tip 1 - The Magic of the Read Aloud
With little kids you are used to reading aloud picture books and Dr. Suess, but once our kids learn how to read well, many of us parents end up giving up that cuddly past-time in favor of our kids reading on their own. There is magic in the read-aloud, so, don’t give it up! Grow it, increase the time you spend doing it as your children get older.
Independent Activities Tip 5 - Lego Table
Hey, lego my Lego! We’ve never been a Lego family...but now we are! It’s finally happened. My kids will spend up to 1-2 hours some days just creating their “Google Town.” Of course I felt like the winning parent when my 7-year-old daughter was so excited about her first creative non-kit build...A Beer Shop! WHAT?
Independent Activities Tip 4 - Virtual Playdates
Rainy day? No problem. Sick? No problem. Out of town? No problem. Your kids can still have fun play dates with their friends through a virtual meeting space.
Independent Activities Tip 3 - Mr. DeMaio
Sometimes online educational videos are a must in homeschool, especially for working parents! Normally I will not use the LOL acronym. I just won’t. I won’t because I just don’t laugh out loud, almost never...but when we watch Mr. DeMaio, my kids and I totally LOL. My husband describes him with one word: “Hilarious.”
Independent Activities Tip 2 - The Home Art Studio
This is my favorite independent homeschooling tip. Go beyond the worksheet with creativity, invention, engineering, and story-telling by providing The Art Studio. You will get a window into your child’s heart that you’ve never seen before. After your Art Studio is set-up and you’ve laid some ground rules, this too does not require any of your time.
Independent Activities Tip 1 - Going Solo in the Morning
So, how do I get to sleep until 8am or 9am every single day as a homeschool mom? I have taught and trained my kids to work independently first thing in the morning. I call it “Solo” time.