Simple Homeschool

Weekend Links

Jamie — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:00:34 +0000

Physicists Seek to Lose the Lecture as Teaching Tool :: NPR
If we don’t let our children play, who will be the next Steve Jobs? :: Huffington Post
Homeschool Wisdom :: Like a Warm Cup of Coffee
An open-hearted letter to moms of young children :: FIMBY
Why I’m No Homeschool Superstar :: Amongst Lovely Things

“I hated school. Even to this day, when I see a school bus it’s just depressing to me. The poor little kids.” ~ Dolly Parton

CURRENT SPONSORS:

HomeschoolingBooks.com - education in the shadow of the cross.
Oak Meadow - discover the joy of learning at home.
Great Homeschool Conventions - the homeschool event of the year.
ListPlanIt - lists to put your world in order.

Weekend Links is a post from Simple Homeschool

© 2010-2012 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Homeschool subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.

Q&A Friday: YOUR Homeschool Day in the Life

Jamie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:00:09 +0000

Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and founder of Steady Mom

January was filled with posts from each of our contributors, sharing how we fit all the pieces of life together in our homeschool day. Each day reflects much of what is going on in our lives–from work we do on the side to babies waiting in the wings.

You’ve heard us ramble on and on for an entire month.

Today, it’s your turn! So here are my questions for you:

How old are your kids? How long have you been homeschooling? What does your homeschool day look like?

Last Sunday, I invited you to write a day in the life post on your own blog to link up below. If you have a link to share, please include it in your comment here.

Even if you haven’t written a separate post, you can of course still tell us about your day just by leaving a comment.

I’d love to have the chance to read how your days unfold.

Thanks so much for sharing!

CURRENT SPONSORS:

HomeschoolingBooks.com - education in the shadow of the cross.
Oak Meadow - discover the joy of learning at home.
Great Homeschool Conventions - the homeschool event of the year.
ListPlanIt - lists to put your world in order.

Q&A Friday: YOUR Homeschool Day in the Life is a post from Simple Homeschool

Angie’s Homeschool Day in the Life (with a newborn, 3, & 7-year-old)

Angie — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:15 +0000

The following is a guest post written by Angie Warren of musings from me.

The spring of 2011 brought my husband and I to the decision that come the fall, we would homeschool our then kindergartner. Having many experienced homeschooling friends and an arsenal of online resources – I felt armed with the best advice and enough ambition to tackle this long-time dream.

Then life threw a curve ball. We were pregnant.

An exciting time, a welcome addition to our family – yet I began to worry about our first year homeschooling with a very pregnant me, and then a new baby. My well-meaning friends advised me that the first year (or so) could be a challenge and it would take a bit for our routine to fall into place. As fall approached, I prepared. Our school corner was set up, my laminator warmed, and a new board full on pinterest. I was ready and nothing could stand in my way.

We started the year out well. The creative part of me was thrilled at all the fun we were able to have while learning, and my vision was falling into place. Our first grader adjusted without issue and the unfortunate situation of an out-of-work husband proved helpful as our three-year-old began to cause all sorts of ruckus.

Another curve ball. Bed rest.

Pre-term labor reared its ugly head and I found myself forced to rest. That very same week my husband was offered a job. While wonderful news, we were thrust into a new chapter of life with challenges all their own. How would I continue at the rate I was going, would we be able to push through the frustrations of our new situation? I wanted so badly to continue homeschooling, but questioned my ability.

So I did what I felt best, and we took a break. The break went on longer than planned and though I felt guilty for not being on top of our previous routine I remembered the wise words I read here on Simple Homeschool long ago–learning happens all day long. I knew our hiatus was temporary and took heart in the knowledge that we were still making the right decision.

Now that our sweet girl has arrived, our days have taken on a totally new tone. Sleep deprived and learning life as a mama of three, I’ve finally come up for air and in her fourth week of life we have begun to find our way. We live our days from feeding to feeding, and I’m thankful for patient and understanding boys as we learn the ropes of life with a new baby again.

A few things I’ve found to be imperative as a new homeschooler with young ones:

1. Be prepared – If I can have even 30 minutes on the weekend to plan for the week ahead I feel 100% better as Monday rolls around.

2. Wear the baby – Whether it’s around the house for school or a day trip, I’m so thankful for our Moby. My hands are free and we’re able to go about our day with a happy and quiet baby.

3. Embrace the mess – Life with baby #3 can be messy. Late nights, little sleep, and more kids than parents – it’s easy to let housework fall to the wayside. I’ve come to accept my goal is ensuring our kids both learn and love each day. If there is extra time after that, it’s anybodies game.

4. Surround myself with support – I’m so thankful for my homeschooling friends. Many an afternoon has been spent in the kitchen of friends, sharing my concerns, and being nothing but encouraged by their wisdom and friendship.

5. Celebrate the small things – It could be that we finished math without a meltdown, or that the baby slept long enough for us to do art. Perhaps that lunch was made and eaten all by noon. The tiny accomplishments are worth celebrating!

A typical day for us can change and I’ve learned the art of being flexible. It now looks something like this:

7-8 Everyone wakes up, mama feeds baby on the couch while we read a chapter book. Then breakfast and we get dressed (though I’ll be honest many a morning school happens in our PJs).

8-9 We start school and get little brother set up with a computer game, show, or toys – usually Legos. Lately Danny and I have begun with our story-writing time. He writes a bit of a story each morning, slowly adding to it. Writing is his least favorite subject so we’ve tried to get creative with what he writes.

Next comes language arts, math, and history. We alternate days between art and technology, he is starting a blog soon, can’t wait to get started with that! Science is his favorite so we save that for last.

10-11 Time for another break, we all sit on the couch while mama feeds the baby and we watch a show together or read more of our book.

If we’ve not finished school by now we would finish up at this point. We’re usually able to get done what we need to in the first block of time, but again, finding ourselves flexible as we embrace our baby sister and her needs.

12 The goal for noon is lunch. Sometimes it happens, other times it’s pushed back a tad.

1-4 Our afternoons are filled with more couch time feeding the baby, household tasks and hopefully outside time – whether in our yard, a park, or visiting friends. Often the boys will play video games or with their toys during this time.

4-5 Dinner prep. Goes without saying this is all based around when mama needs to feed the baby. The goal being that we eat by 6.

6-8 Family time. The boys love daddy-time and will wrestle or play games with him while I work on photos, snuggle the baby, or pick up from dinner. A shower sometime during the day would be nice, but let’s face it, I’m not always so lucky.

8 Bedtime happens somewhere around here and I crash Morning comes before I know it!

Are you new to homeschooling this year? Perhaps you are juggling life with a new baby as you embark on this journey. How do you find balance and embrace the chaos?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

HomeschoolingBooks.com - education in the shadow of the cross.
Oak Meadow - discover the joy of learning at home.
Great Homeschool Conventions - the homeschool event of the year.
ListPlanIt - lists to put your world in order.

Angie’s Homeschool Day in the Life (with a newborn, 3, & 7-year-old) is a post from Simple Homeschool

Confessions of a Once a Month Cleaning Dropout

Jamie — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:00:31 +0000

Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and Steady Mom

Well, now.

This is awkward. (Kidding–kind of.)

You see, one day over nine months ago I had no idea what to write about for an upcoming post. Brilliant thoughts seemed scarce to come by, and I eventually decided to share how I cleaned my house once a month.

It never occurred to me that this would become one of the most popular posts ever published on this blog. Or that it would lead to three more posts on the same topic.

In fact, I still occasionally receive emails from readers letting me know that once a month cleaning (OAMC) changed their lives. So you can imagine how I started to feel when I realized that this method, which had once been a perfect fit, was no longer working out in our home.

What had changed?

1. Paper and Good Ideas

One morning I awoke to find my seven-year-old consumed with cutting paper–hundreds of pieces that can be found on the floor of his room at any time. The idea of cleaning these up only once a month was, of course, ridiculous.

Since I try to keep in mind that my job is to say yes, I didn’t want to continually put a damper on my kids’ good ideas just because they might be messy ones.

2. Working Mamas

In theory it sounded simple to take one day off each month from all other work to clean. At first, it was simple.

But I found that with both writing and cleaning, I enjoy working in short bursts. And with new books to write and blog posts constantly on the go, it became challenging to arrange nothing else for one day.

3. Moving

Last October we unexpectedly moved to the country. This represented a dream come true in many ways, but it also meant that all of our routines were up in the air for a while.

We waited to discover our “new normal” and to figure out how to best make life work in our new space.

4. Older Children

This was probably the biggest factor in my decision to change our cleaning method. My children have had regular chores for years now, but I still did the majority of deep cleaning myself.

But at the ages of 8, 7, and 6, the time began to feel right to train them in more thorough cleaning. So I started to consider the best way to involve them. Next week I’ll talk about what cleaning method we’re currently using.

I long ago gave up on formulas and labels, having learned that life happens in seasons. Our job as parents, when it comes to both cleaning and homeschooling, is to hold on to what feels right one month, while being willing to let go of it the next.

We need to enjoy the freedom of doing what works when it works, and then discarding it when it stops. In this way we allow life to flow gently from one season into the next.

What cleaning method are you currently using? Have you ever found a need to switch strategies?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

HomeschoolingBooks.com - education in the shadow of the cross.
Oak Meadow - discover the joy of learning at home.
Great Homeschool Conventions - the homeschool event of the year.
ListPlanIt - lists to put your world in order.

Confessions of a Once a Month Cleaning Dropout is a post from Simple Homeschool

Join our Day in the Life Series (& Weekend Links!)

Jamie — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:00:27 +0000

Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and Steady Mom

Today I want to pass along an invitation. You’ve read about our homeschool days–now let us read about yours!

Next Friday, February 3rd, I’ll give you the opportunity to share about your homeschool day.

Here’s how it works: Sometime this week, write a post on your blog about your day in the life. Then come here on Friday and link up to your post, so we can all take a read. (If you don’t have a blog, no worries! You can always share in the comments.)

I look forward to reading your posts!

And here is some weekend reading to keep you busy today:

The 10 Day Family Re-Charge :: Erin Goodman
Using Pinterest to Organize Ideas for Your Family :: Simple Kids
Should College be the Goal, or Just an Option? :: Five J’s
7 Must-Read Books on Education :: brain pickings
The Vitafam’s Favorite Apps for the iPad :: Vitafamiliae

“Do not let the endless succession of small things crowd great ideals out of sight and out of mind.” ~ Charlotte Mason

CURRENT SPONSORS:

HomeschoolingBooks.com - education in the shadow of the cross.
Oak Meadow - discover the joy of learning at home.
Great Homeschool Conventions - the homeschool event of the year.
ListPlanIt - lists to put your world in order.

Join our Day in the Life Series (& Weekend Links!) is a post from Simple Homeschool

Rachel’s Homeschool Day in the Life (with a 6, 8, 12, & 15-year-old)

RachelD — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00:21 +0000

The following is a guest post by Rachel DeMille, co-founder of Thomas Jefferson Education

Wednesday evening, Family Reading Time…

“Can I ever learn?” I asked, almost ready to cry.

“Of course you can,” said Leon. “You’re smart as the others, I suppose. The sevens and nines of the multiplication table are the stickers, but you ought to do them if other girls can.”

[~Laddie]

I pause my read-aloud, and ask: “Who thinks the nines are hard?” They giggle.

I had already taught them the tricks with nines.

“Which were hardest?” I ask.

Sara (18, in college), Eliza and Ammon vote for Eights. Emma (19, college) says Sixes and Sevens. Meri and Abi have no opinion; they are really more interested in the main character’s pet blue jay. We read on, but a thought stays with me: There has to be a way to demystify Sixes, Sevens, and Eights!

So lying awake early next morning, I challenge myself to find a pattern. Tangents and sidebars spring up as I make mental sticky notes to myself on vocabulary cognates between math-world and real-world, as I ponder what candies would be useful in teaching primes and composites, and…

EUREKA! I found it! But that starts me thinking about a pattern for Sixes, so I turn it over and over like a rubik’s cube, and then…

YES! This one was much easier to find. Of course I hold no illusions. These are probably the simplest of discoveries that curious minds throughout the ages have detected. I’m pretty old to be a budding mathematician, but my career was put on hold when I filled my high school schedule with choir classes once my math requirements were completed. I never made it to Algebra II back then. But I’ve been reading lots of fun math books lately, and my mind is starting to take the hint. (The kids are following suit!)

So it’s 5:07 and I’m reviewing my thoughts, retracing, trying to reiterate them in hopes that they won’t slip away like a pizza dream. I’m able, with some effort, to rewind back to the beginning and replay it. I think I got it all.

At six o’clock, I finally give myself permission to grab my notebook and download the equations and learning activities I’ve been toying with. Downstairs to make me some Mean Green juice while the computer loads my inbox with to-do’s. I start some steel-cut oats to simmer. I can’t wait to share my epiphanies with the kids!

They’re not up for a couple of hours, so I set about some chores; I’m still reorganizing the study when they wander in for their breakfast.

I soon hear a joyful noise from the other room, and go in to find them constructing “geometric solids” and experimenting with the “calculus” of catapult trajectories.

Crash, bang, put it all away, and it’s time now to start our “kidschool.” We meet in the great room around a table. There are all manner of supplies, resources and of books within a few steps. A prayer and pledge help get us in harmony, then we start with me sharing…whatever I’m excited about.

I call it “Rachel’s ‘Mine’” – a double entendre that represents nuggets from my personal study that are fun or inspiring for me. I feel strongly that the most important thing I teach is a passion for self-education; if they master this, the whole world is theirs.

In past days Rachel’s “Mine” has ranged from hearing the peasant wedding, the horns on the hunt and the raging rapids in Smetana’s “The Moldau” to deconstructing Tennyson’s “The Eagle” as the riddle that it is – admiring the images, the word choice and the sense of wonder it evokes.

Today, though, I’m eager to find out if my wee-hour brainstorming will translate. Will the kids think it’s as cool as I do?

Eliza has inherited my fascination with numbers, and she’s all in. Ammon is game and follows right along.

Meri and Abi may listen in and out as they want, and have little projects at the table to keep them busy and happy. Eliza and Ammon literally laugh out loud as I show them what I found. We play with math on the white board for a while, move on to some other things, and after an hour or so I’m feeling pretty good.

Then we split up. Ammon plays Memory with the girls while I read A History of US and Eliza works on algebra – all around the table. Then they go do their other projects.

Eliza’s in Scholar Phase, and Ammon’s in Transition to Scholar, meaning that they have contracts that define their study schedule, privileges and responsibilities as young adults in the home. They are each reading a novel from the TJEd Teen 100 Book List, and together they spend some time on my computer reviewing the resources on This Week in History.

Meri is in Love of Learning Phase; Abi is in Core Phase. Knowing about the Phases of Learning helps me ignore pressures to conform and focus on what’s most important for each of my kids. (You can access a free PDF about the phases of learning here.)

While reading with me, Meri asks, “Mom, why can’t I go to public school?” She and Abi look on expectantly for me to say something wise.

I mutter a little prayer under my breath. I want them to understand why we do what we do, but I don’t want them to assume that other parents are not making the right choices for their own kids, or that the amazing and dedicated teachers in the public schools are not worthy of our profound respect and gratitude. I attempt an answer and Meri appreciates the effort, but I can see that this conversation is not over.

We return to reading together. Lo and behold, the book is a godsend. The Boxcar Children are going on an ocean voyage, and their amazing teachers have prepared for each a notebook with personalized studies based on their journey and the kids’ individual needs.

I point out how brilliant and thoughtful these teachers were in their selections (navigation by the stars, radio communication via the ship’s system, meteorology, marine biology, etc.).

I explain that this is what Mommy and Daddy are doing for her and each of her siblings.

I tell her that teachers in today’s classrooms have limitations on how they share their deepest feelings, what books they can use, and the time they spend on each child.

In our home, we do not answer to someone that doesn’t know Meri’s interests, gifts, or personal mission. There will be no cookie-cutter curriculum for her! We select resources, projects and applications designed to help her achieve excellence in both character and competence, and prepare her to do what she was born to do.

Meri beams with gratitude and individual worth. And this time, because of the example in a story she’s loving, the words hit home, and she really gets it. I am thankful, not for the first time, that the classics do the heavy lifting for me in teaching and inspiring my kids. We read Hirsch and Fred.

Towards evening, Dad gathers the family in the great room; we read scriptures and then from our current family novel, Laddie. This is the fourth time we have returned to this favorite, and the older kids are as thrilled as we are to share it with their sibs.

After dinner, Oliver and I spend some time debriefing the day, talking business, arguing politics and watching football. Pretty soon I’m tuckered out and head to my room. But Dad’s a night owl, and he’ll get a crack at the kids while I’m settling down to review the day before bed.

He leaves a note for me to find in the morning:

He had Ammon teach the little girls about Abe Lincoln and the Civil War (with details filled in by Dad). They talked about honesty, persistence, and slavery. Meri said it reminded her of the book Dad had recently read to her, Johnny Bunko, which teaches, “Persistence Trumps Talent”. They reviewed and discussed the other five lessons from the book.
He had Ammon tell Meri and Abi the story of “A Winter’s Tale,” then put the girls to bed.
Dad found an article on Finnish Education Reform; he reviewed and discussed it with Eliza.
He worked with Ammon on Scouts for an hour.

As I take stock, here are…

The Things I Meant To Do, But Didn’t Get To, Today:

Piano lessons with Eliza and Meri
Make a clock face for use as a number line, multiplication manipulative, etc. Maybe tomorrow?
Help Ammon write his paper for Key of Liberty class, due next week
Review/update Eliza’s Scholar Contract and make sure we’re in sync on her goals and plans
Take back the library books

Tomorrow the neighborhood co-op will be at my house. We’ll learn some ASL, some anatomy, and I’ll test my math magic with the moms. I’m having some epiphanies on patterns within the set of numbers that are perfect squares…

Are you passionate about self-education? How do you share your passion with your kids?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

HomeschoolingBooks.com - education in the shadow of the cross.
Oak Meadow - discover the joy of learning at home.
Great Homeschool Conventions - the homeschool event of the year.
ListPlanIt - lists to put your world in order.

Rachel’s Homeschool Day in the Life (with a 6, 8, 12, & 15-year-old) is a post from Simple Homeschool

Sarah’s Homeschool Day in the Life (with an 11-year-old and 14-year-old)

SarahS — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:00:05 +0000

Written by contributor Sarah Small of SmallWorld at Home

The first thing I had to do when asked to take part in this year’s “Day in the Life” series was to look back at my post from last January. I wondered how much our daily life had changed in a year.

Well, a lot.

Long gone are the exhausting, bustling days of going from child to child with a little one playing all around us. Gone are the sticky crafts and, blessedly, the endless games of Candyland. Gone are those evenings spent “doing bedtime,” with baths, books, snacks, and one-more-drink-of-water. And in the not-so-distant past, my days were filled with hustling about, trying to figure out schedules for an elementary, a middle-school, and a high-school student.

In many ways, I feel as if I’m homeschooling only one this year.

Our oldest is a sophomore in college, three hours away. This year, our daughter, a freshman in high school, is taking nearly all her classes through our homeschooling co-op. On Mondays Laurel takes physical science, art history, cooking, and drama (she finished computer skills and health first semester), and on Fridays she takes British Literature and European history. Her teachers provide students with assignments to be completed throughout the week. That leaves us with only algebra at home. Since she is doing Teaching Textbooks, my involvement with her math is minimal.

For most of every day my high schooler works in her room or on the computer. She manages her time beautifully, spreading her homework out throughout the day and evening. She knows what she needs to get done and when it needs to be done. She is learning organizational and time-management skills that will be essential in college and beyond.

And so for the most part, Duncan, my 5th/6th grader (See Stepping Outside the Grade Level Box), and I are on our own. So what do we do all day?

One thing for sure hasn’t changed from last year: every day is different. We still have co-op all day on Monday and another one for Tuesday afternoons. We still have Cub Scouts and American Heritage Girls twice monthly on Thursdays. My Friday afternoons are now devoted to teaching British Literature to 20 students, including my daughter. Duncan rotates among friends during that 3-hour time period.

But we do still have some days that we are home for the whole day, and our mornings are basically the same regardless of what happens after 1 p.m.

Here’s a typical Wednesday:

7 -8 a.m.: I wake up and have my essential morning quiet hour, without which I may not function well!

8-9 a.m.: Morning run with my husband. Kids still sleeping.

9-10 a.m.: Kids wake up and get a little techno time in (computer, Wii). I shower and do housework.

10-10:30 a.m.: Both kids do math. Duncan does the lesson part of Teaching Textbooks on the computer, and then we (and an army guy) go over the exercises together. For Laurel, it’s a math test day.

10:30-11:30 a.m.:
Duncan and I head over to our school room and do:

Bible: Currently, we are going through a devotional book for boys.
Poem-a-Day: We read poems by Carl Sandburg together and discuss. I ask leading questions (e.g., what words did you like?), and we find elements like personification and alliteration.
Geography: Using Sonlight’s 100 Gateway Cities, we read about two cities in China and locate them on the map.
Literature: I read one chapter of our read-aloud, Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze.
Vocabulary: As we read, Duncan records several words with which he is unfamiliar. I briefly give him a definition; he will look these up and write the definitions later.

In the midst of our reading Young Fu, Laurel pops her head in and says she needs help with math. I ask her to work on something else until I get to a stopping point.

11:30-12:30:

Duncan does one page of Easy Grammar and his cursive writing practice.
For the next 50 minutes, he watches an episode of the documentary Wild China on Netflix.
I work with Laurel on math. She is frustrated, disappointed in herself for not doing well on the test. I go over the problems with her, reminding her of all the different steps in algebra. She knows this stuff! I leave her with the rest of her math test and insist that we are going to start doing math every single day, even on weekends. Even I, the queen of flexibility, am starting to feel behind.

12:30-1:30: Lunch break for Duncan and me. After eating, Duncan plays on the Wii and I go back to check on Laurel’s math. We discuss some of her problem spots, and I give her a few more exercises to do.

1:30-2:30:
Duncan and I head back to the school room.

Spelling: We do our weekly test in Spelling Power.
We read another chapter from Young Fu.
We look up definitions for his vocabulary words.

2:45: Duncan reads a chapter of his current book. I take Laurel to a coffee house, where she’ll study for two hours—as she does every Wednesday— with her friend. They’ll do homework from their co-op classes: today, physical science and art history.

Coffee house girls

3:15-5 p.m. Duncan and I visit with my parents, just down the road. We play a game of Quiddler with them.

5:15 -6 p.m.: It’s Laurel’s night to cook supper!
• Duncan plays the Wii (he gets a total of 2.5 hours of “tech time” per day)
• I work on lesson plans
• Dad comes home

6-6:30 p.m.: Supper. The Thai chicken curry, prepared by Laurel, is fabulous.

6:30-7:30 p.m.: Family game time! We play Quiddler with Dad.

7:30-8 p.m.: House straightening time. We can get an amazing amount of cleaning done in just 30 minutes when we all work together.

After 8 p.m.: We all just kind of do our own thing. We relish having an evening at home. Before Duncan goes to bed at 9:30 we read one more chapter together. Laurel does some more homework before going to bed at 11 p.m.

Are you amazed at how your days change from year to year? If you are a parent with little ones, can you imagine a day when they will be largely independent?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

HomeschoolingBooks.com - education in the shadow of the cross.
Oak Meadow - discover the joy of learning at home.
Great Homeschool Conventions - the homeschool event of the year.
ListPlanIt - lists to put your world in order.

Sarah’s Homeschool Day in the Life (with an 11-year-old and 14-year-old) is a post from Simple Homeschool

What holds you back?

Jamie — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:00:28 +0000

Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and founder of Steady Mom

You don’t find many half-hearted homeschoolers. Some of us stumble into this educational choice for a variety of reasons, true, but those who continue this lifestyle long-term are generally people of conviction, purpose, and belief.

And yet.

Have you ever felt like something is holding you back? Have you ever found yourself homeschooling (or parenting) through fear–that you don’t have enough resources, that you aren’t good enough, that your children aren’t learning enough?

Personally, I have been blessed with a beautiful family–three children that my husband and I added to our ranks in less than three years. I wanted to be a mother, and eventually, a homeschooler; I believed this was an important part of my mission in life.

But I also felt a huge burden of insecurity–of not being up to the task.

We all know these insecurities, having fought them a little or a lot over the course of our parenting journey.

They arise from limiting beliefs–messages we subconsciously run in our minds, which form the framework for what we think we can or can’t do. Messages that often pass on to our kids, forming the framework for what they think they can or can’t do. And on the cycle goes.

What holds us back ends up holding our kids back, too.

But we’re not stuck. We’re never stuck.

By becoming aware, we become free.

Because just as bad mental programming starts with one thought, it’s also true that new beliefs and mindsets start with one thought.

Just one.

With this conviction in mind, and having seen my own life revolutionized one thought at a time, I’ve spent the past six months working on a manual of freedom–not just for homeschoolers, but for moms (& parents) in general.

My new e-book, Mindset for Moms: From Mundane to Marvelous Thinking in Just 30 Days, contains an overview of all I’ve discovered about letting go of what holds us back so that we can boldly move forward.

Lessons that have taken me years to learn, you can learn in days. 30 days–to be exact.

I’ve consolidated these concepts into short entries–perfect for busy parents. For less than $5, you can download and begin reading in a matter of seconds.

Mindset for Moms is available for $4.99 in four formats: for your Kindle, for your Nook, on iTunes, or as a printable PDF. To buy the PDF you can just click ‘add to cart’ here:

Check out the table of contents and read a sample to find out more!

I’m thrilled, humbled, and excited to share this book with you. I hope you’ll read it and find that it brings you one step closer to the life you’ve always wanted–a life with nothing holding you back.

What do you feel holds you back from being the best parent, and homeschooler, you can be?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

HomeschoolingBooks.com - education in the shadow of the cross.
Oak Meadow - discover the joy of learning at home.
Great Homeschool Conventions - the homeschool event of the year.
ListPlanIt - lists to put your world in order.

What holds you back? is a post from Simple Homeschool

Weekend Links

Jamie — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:00:14 +0000

Homeschooling 101: What is Homeschooling? :: Parents.com (It was a privilege to write this piece for Parents!)
our housekeeping routine :: beauty that moves
How I Make Goals for My Kids :: Small Notebook
Setting our Homeschool Priorities for Two Boys, Ages 5 & 2 :: Mama of Letters
Mindful Parenting Virtual Book Club :: Little Acorn Learning

The winners of the May B. giveaway are: Olivia, Kala, Mimi, Brooke, & Pamela. Congrats–I’ll be emailing you soon. If you didn’t win, head straight to Amazon to add this incredible frontier story to your homeschooling library.

CURRENT SPONSORS:

HomeschoolingBooks.com - education in the shadow of the cross.
Oak Meadow - discover the joy of learning at home.
Great Homeschool Conventions - the homeschool event of the year.
ListPlanIt - lists to put your world in order.

Weekend Links is a post from Simple Homeschool

The Magic of Learning to Read

Jamie — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:00:30 +0000

Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and founder of Steady Mom

A note from Jamie: One year later, we’re much further along our reading journey! Fun to look back and see how far my kids have come–we all need that reminder from time-to-time, don’t we? This post originally published on January 24, 2011.

We were rounding a corner during our morning walk, when my six-year-old son paused to glance at a sign in someone’s yard.

“Look, Mommy. It says: SLOW. KIDS AT PLAY.”

This from a child who has never had a formal reading lesson. With a sharp-as-a-tack memory, Jonathan adds to his sight word vocabulary daily, learning to read without realizing he is.

My seven-year-old daughter is another story. Her knowledge of sight words isn’t her strength. But her grasp of phonics is much better.

When Jonathan doesn’t recognize a word, he asks Trishna to sound it out. When a word is too complex for her abilities, she asks him if he knows what it is.

And all the while my five-year-old tags along, still coloring in zigzags and ecstatic to have learned how to write the first letter of his name.

Three children. Three personalities. Three styles of learning.

Each one legitimate, valued, incredible.

From the very first Dick and Jane or Bob book they open, or the passing sign read aloud–we as parents are on the brink of something amazing. We’re witnesses to magic.

Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, wrote that “to learn to read is to light a fire. Every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.”

It comes in different ways, at different times, for different kids. And in spite of peer pressure from homeschooling friends or the traditional system, there is no one right way to learn to read.

You may sit down with your child and work through 100 Easy Lessons. You may have a child who is completely uninterested in the process or even highly resistant. You may be an unschooler adamant about not forcing things too soon.

No matter who you are, no matter which approach you choose–make sure you slow down. You’ve been given a great gift–a front row seat to wonder, freedom, beauty.

Enjoy the magic.

It seems that anyone who has been homeschooling long has a reading story to share. How did your child learn to read? Did you have a magical moment when things seemed to click, or was it more of a gradual process?

CURRENT SPONSORS:

HomeschoolingBooks.com - education in the shadow of the cross.
Oak Meadow - discover the joy of learning at home.
Great Homeschool Conventions - the homeschool event of the year.
ListPlanIt - lists to put your world in order.

The Magic of Learning to Read is a post from Simple Homeschool