A lot of homeschool bloggers like to post their yearly curriculum choices (like I’ve been doing in this series) for their readers. Over the years, I’ve found it incredibly helpful to see what other families are using.
But sometimes these “what we’re using this year” lists give the impression that choosing curriculum for the year is a once-and-done kind of thing.
Totally not the case!
? “I get by with a little help from my friends” ?
– The Beatles
Sing it, Ringo! So true!
Homeschooling parents have a lot on our plates and, depending on the day or our stage of life, the help we need often takes different forms.
But there are also kinds of support and encouragement that are universally helpful to all homeschoolers. The following three categories of help have been consistently valuable to me in all stages of our homeschooling so far.
I’m in big trouble.
It’s only the middle of January and we’re already getting cabin fever… what’s a mom to do?!
Thankfully, I’ve got a few tricks up my desperate-homeschool-mom sleeve. One of my all-time favorites is our homemade, indoor mini-sandbox.
Homeschooling is more than a method of education – it’s a lifestyle.
So it’s not surprising that there’s overlap with other areas of life when it comes to the best tools to use for the job. For example, when it comes to digital tools, I’ve found that all kinds of non-school-related apps have helped our homeschool.
To the tune of Auld Lang Syne…
Christmas gifts strewn all around,
Party messes still piled high,
Decorations to repack…
I think I’m about to cry.And add to this the pressure felt
– words by Sensible Homeschool
To analyze your life,
And come up with some lofty goals
That will solve all of your strife.
That’s how the song goes, isn’t it?
I pray that 2019 brings you joy, peace, & fulfillment! Happy New Year from my family to yours!
Here are some of our most popular posts and series from 2018:
In the previous post, I shared how Daniel Tiger reminded me to be grateful and stay positive. We’ve started using gratitude journals in the evenings to help us focus our thoughts on our blessings before bed. So far there haven’t been any complaints about the extra writing – a Christmas miracle!
Daniel has been teaching me other things lately, too.
Our God is so good.
He knows what we need and he meets us where we’re at… even when “where you’re at” is buried under three loads of laundry, surrounded by a hopeless mess in every direction, with a crying toddler hanging on your leg, an oven timer beeping, and older kids who are fighting instead of finishing their math.
It was in a moment like this a few days ago that He caught my attention through the (unbelievably incessant) singing of the PBS character, Daniel Tiger.
“When something seems bad, turn it around and find something good.”
It seems like every year I’m scrambling to figure out what to put in my kids’ Christmas stockings. If you’re like me, the last thing you want in your house is more plastic trinkets! But I end up defaulting to that kind of filler when I can’t think of anything better.
Well, no more!!
This time I’m making a list, checking it twice, and not wasting this opportunity to give my kids some useful, engaging, and maybe even educational stocking stuffers!
So far in this series we’ve looked at ways to save money by being…
The final 4 C’s Strategy overlaps with #3 but I’ve kept them separate since each one has it’s own main focus.
Being counter-cultural in our approach to money helps us zero in on our own goals and work towards them without being influenced by what culture says we’re “supposed” to do. Once you’re comfortable going against the cultural grain, it becomes easier to come up with all kinds of creative money-saving ideas that are unique to your own situation.
