Everyday Life Lessons
Some of the best lessons come from everyday life. Everyday experiences can teach our children, and us, so much. 
~ I discovered that I can insist that the children play while I have a quiet time. They complain and try to act up, but if I patiently redirect them and calmly explain what the expectations are, they will find something constructive to do. I also learned that I can be patient with them!
~ I was filling out a registration form today while A2 sat in my lap. She was able to recognize her name on the form and spell it. She also recognized my name. She was excited to see our last name and called it, “Mine.” We had a discussion about how family members share a last name.
~ A2 learned about the power of repentance and forgiveness. While we were at Mom and Me, our play group, A2 pushed some buttons that turned on the projector and lowered the screen. After a time-out, I made her apologize to the director of the program. Of course, she was promptly forgiven. It was difficult for her to apologize to another adult, but she discovered that she could do it and that resolved the problem. I think this is a powerful life lesson for her.
~ While playing in the pool, C4 learned many things. She discovered that she had to hold the watering can close to the container she was pouring the water into in order to actually fill it. She learned that the water splashes all over when you shake a container up and down. If you splash your friend without asking if it’s OK, your friend might get mad. Even though it is difficult to take turns with toys, my friends appreciate it when I share, and they even give me a turn with the tays. If you get water in your eyes, you will be fine. She discovered that certain toys float while others sink and if you add water to floating toys, they sink.
~ Before our nap today, I had the children independently looking at books, and I saw some interesting learning. C4 realized that she can read number books. She also tried out a few reading strategies we’ve been practicing including using picture clues and pushing the sounds in a word together to figure it out. A2 discovered that C4 can read certain books to her, and that it is fun.
Reflecting on the day, I see how much my children learn by simply living life!
Photo courtesy of christine [cbszeto]
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comment (0)I Need to Temper My Temper
Patience is required for parenting and definitely necessary when you homeschool your kids. How is that I don’t have ANY patience these days? I have to find a way to change that. My fuse blows often enough that I think that the kids are getting suspicious about whether I truly am sorry for yelling yet again. I don’t know why I do it because it really is the least effective method of motivating the children to do anything.
I have a plan, though.
- I will take the advice that I read in a devotion from Proverbs 31 Ministries today. It helped me to think about what is behind my anger, and maybe it will help you, too.
- I will go to bed earlier so I get enough rest.
- I will have my quiet time in the morning. I have been spending time with God at night, but I think I need to start the day with God.
- As I learned at Mom to Mom, I will distinguish between childhood irresponsibility and willful disobedience. They are not the same and should not be treated the same way.
- I will find a more effective way of transitioning my children from one thing to another. That is when they fall apart most often.
- I will pray in the moment and take time to listen to what God has to say.
How do you get through the day without losing your temper?
Photo courtesy of hampdenarchy
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comments (4)Homeschool Conference Encouragement
Today we went to the homeschool conference! It was so good to be able to attend a couple of workshops and shop for curriculum with my hubby. Sometimes it feels like the kids are all my responsibility so it helps to have hubby with me to make big decisions like what homeschool curriculum we should use.
God is so faithful and He provides exactly what we need. I have been feeling a bit discouraged latley because of the naysayers out there who give me a difficult time about homeschooling. Everyone has an opinion about how I should educate my kids. I really should be used to that, though. Doesn’t that start when your first baby is born and everyone tells you how you should raise your kids? I got used to that so I know that I can get used to the judgment about my kids’ socialization education.
One of the speakers today gave a great tip that I have to share with you. Perhaps you already do this, but I think it is important enough to repeat. Write down a homeschool mission statement and plan. Why are you homeschooling? Who teaches the children which subjects? What will the children learn? You get the idea. The point of doing that is that you may need that information at some point in time. Your school district may ask for that kind of information. Your family and friends might continually ask you those questions. Or you and your spouse might need to be reminded of the answers to those questions when you feel discouraged or frustrated. It is the single most important tip I came away from the conference with today!
I look forward to sharing a few more gems with you from the confernce in the next few posts!
Photo courtesy of mp_eds
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comment (0)US Geography Ideas for Your Homeschool
I recently posted about a funny song to teach US geography. Here are a few other US geography ideas for your homeschool.
~ Mom is Teaching has a link to an interactive US map that you might be interested in using with your children. I tried it out myself and had a lot of fun with it!
~ We have a US map puzzle that names the state and capital when you place the piece in. This is great for those kids who love doing puzzles. The multisensory nature of this puzzle makes it easier for children to remember the states and capitals.
~ We have flashcards for the United States with information about each state listed on the back of the card. You could make your own flashcards, but make them more like baseball cards. Research each of the states and record important information on the backs of the cards.
~ Make tourist brochures for the states that it would be most appropriate to vacation in. Include a map of the state and information about things important to tourists in it. You can even include photos of great places to visit.
~ Create a topographical map for a state. Use a large piece of cardboard as the base to draw the state on and make the topographical features with air drying clay. Paint the features, too. Create a key for your map.
Have fun learning US geography together!
Filed under How to, Social Studies | Comment (1)Heeding Advice
We are in the process of planning school for the fall. C4 is starting Kindergarten and A2 is starting preschool this year. This is an exciting time, but it is also a bit stressful. Of course we want to do what is best for our children. We also want to do what is best for each of us and for our family as a whole.
Right now we are wavering about whether or not homeschooling is the best choice for us this coming fall. The outside world is making me question what is right for our kids. Have you had this problem before? I keep reminding myself that I have to keep focused on what we think is best and to take only the advice that is reasonable. It is so hard to not be swayed by other people’s opinions and it is hard to discern when we should heed someone’s advice.
How do you discern what advice is worth listening to? How do you know that your decisions are the right ones for your family?
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comments (3)
