In the Trenches...

If you've had concerns about whether you are doing enough to educate your child and whether you've covered all the bases - you are not alone.  That sentiment seems to echo in the hearts of so many mothers who have either chosen or been forced by circumstance to homeschool their children during this season of life. 

One of the best things you can do when facing the giant of fear and uncertainty is to find someone who has faced the same foe and can still chuckle about it while patting your hand and giving you sage advice learned from the trenches.  Enter Sally Clarkson.  On some of my most difficult days of battle, I'll sometimes pull up a post or listen to a podcast as she cheerfully discusses tea, memories, theology and the ministry of motherhood which gently reminds me "this is where the rubber meets the road".   Somehow in those transformative 20-30 minutes, I will often go from a battle worn mama to charging back into the fray with renewed vigor and determination.  

I highly recommend her books (no, I am not being compensated to say that), AND she has a new one coming out in just a few days about education.  You can register here for an online series of video visits this month (related to the book), FREE for a short while.  I believe they will eventually be moved to the paid membership page, so now is the time to listen in!  It is my hope that many of you who feel like you are drowning in doubt right now will pick up one of her books and be encouraged as you face the new challenges ahead.  May you have a restful and sweet year of homeschooling!  

Once Upon a Birthday in Quarantine...

Once upon a quarantine, children everywhere faced the prospect of a less than "happily ever after" birthday scenario.

Is your family facing the nefarious birthday foe - Coronavirus?  Do you fear there is nothing for it but to spend this special day in defeat?  

But wait, have you visited your arsenal lately?  With the weapons of love, imagination, and work this birthday does not have to end poorly.  It could still be a day to remember but in a good way!   Here are some suggestions to get those creative ideas flowing....

Lego Challenge Birthday:  send friends/family a Lego building challenge (related to the birthday child's favorite things of course - build a birthday hat out of Legos and wear it, build a scene from the child's favorite book, build a birthday cake, etc.) and have several times throughout the day when kids (or family members) go online to share their "builds".  You could even award online prizes (gift cards to Amazon, etc.).

Fairytale Birthday:  Be your child's servants for the day!  Plan special pampering activities or jousting (pool noodles make an unexpected comeback here) in the backyard!  Have friends dress up like royalty from different make believe kingdoms (you could even have a guessing game to try to figure out which kingdoms they might be from based on their costumes)and plan to have a royal assembly online in the evening.  Maybe friends could write stories where your child is the hero or heroine and take turns reading them out loud to the birthday girl/boy.  They could also simply draw and share royal pictures for the birthday child.

Drop-in Birthday:  Have friends/family drop presents off on the doorstep throughout the day.  They can stay in their cars to watch the birthday child open the gift.

Hourly Birthday:  Open one gift item hourly along with a phone call or video call from the giver so they can watch the birthday child opening the gift.

OR

Open a gift item hourly from just your immediate family (use items from dollar store, even party goods for that day could be a gift, or provide a card that gives them $5-$10 to spend at a store online, etc.).  Having presents to open every hour of your special day is certainly something to look forward to!

Scavenger Hunt Birthday:  Create a simple scavenger hunt to look for gifts throughout the day.  The birthday child searches for an item,  provides what you asked for, and you give them one of their gifts to open or have the gift sitting with the item they are looking for.  

OR

A technology enhanced scavenger hunt with friends could be fun as well.  Send out a complete list (or send an item hourly) and have friends hunt for items in their homes.  Meet at the end of the day on Zoom or FaceTime, etc. to share finds (or kids can send pics of their treasures via phone if doing an hourly hunt).  Prizes could be $5 to Amazon or some other store.  

Mission Impossible Birthday: Wake your child up to the theme music from the show and hand them an envelope with instructions inside written on toilet paper or tissue paper (you’ll see why when you reach the self-destruct part below): 

Your mission is to find your presents by day’s end.  This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds!

Make sure you have a water gun ready to spray the message down (to destruct it) and it can’t hurt for memory’s sake if the birthday person also gets a little wet, right?  Provide clues throughout the day to help them hunt for presents.  If you have yarn on hand, string it across doorways or throughout a room creating a "laser" field they have to get through in order to find their next clue or prize. If you happen to have black balloons - throw some surprise bombs at them which they have to dodge every once in a while.  You could even have them interview “suspects” inside your house and allow the suspects to let some clues slip out while being interrogated.

"Clue" Birthday:  Hide presents, dress up as characters from the Clue game or make up your own, and try to figure out who hid the presents, where, and with (or in) what.

Floral Birthday:  Have friends or family deliver one flower each hour (or randomly throughout the day) on the doorstep with a special note as to why they chose it for the person (the color made me think of your bright personality, etc.).  Another variation would be to possibly attach a special flower message (old custom of flowers having meanings or messages behind them.  If you search online, you might be able to find some sites that will list meanings). By the end of the day, the birthday child will have a special bouquet full of sweet significance.  

Surprise POPty (party):   Fill the birthday child’s room with balloons to wake up to in the morning. Place a small slip of paper inside each balloon with a fun activity for the child to complete on his/her birthday (play a game of choice, special movie, eat ice cream, make cookies, new game on iPad, etc.).  The slips of paper could also tell of a present they are allowed to open (present from sis or present from grandpa, etc.).  The birthday child pops balloons throughout the day.  You could even have times written on different balloons if you wanted them to be popped at a certain time.  Also have friends or family members "pop" online (Zoom, Google Hangout, etc.) to wish a happy birthday throughout the day at random times.  

Movie Night Birthday:  Pop some popcorn and call up friends to “watch” a movie together.  Start the movie at the same time and enjoy texting or Skyping while watching together.  You could send friends/family some small birthday “invitation” packages beforehand with items inside (microwave popcorn, movie candy in boxes, and a movie ticket styled invitation) to be used on the birthday movie night.

Game Night Birthday:  Play card games or other online friendly games (FaceTime, Zoom, etc.) with friends.  Send each person attending the birthday game night the name of a favorite book character, favorite historical figure, etc. of the birthday person.  During the party - let each guest give three clues to their identity or allow people to play 20 questions, etc. until someone solves the mystery of who each guest is supposed to be.

Book Party:  Surprise your child by having a themed party based on their favorite book.  Have family/friends dress up as characters from the book (those who don't live at home could do this and visit via an online site like FaceTime, etc.).  Serve themed food from the book.  Play guessing games during the day or in an online party with quotes from the book (who said this quote ____ or fill in the quote).  Have family/friends purchase a book or two as gifts and leave them on the doorstep throughout the day.  

Party in a Box:  Send a simple birthday package with fun items inside for celebrating someone’s special day – their favorite treats, or items for making a cake in a mug (or pre-made kits), party hat, party t-shirt, confetti, noisemaker, etc.  You could even make it a themed party box!

These are just a few possibilities, but there are so many more!  If none of these feels right for your child, enlist creative family/friends to help brainstorm some special activities!  Feel free to add your ideas to this list via the comment section as well!

If all else fails, give the birthday child a puppy or a pony.  Trust me, it will probably be a birthday he/she (and you) will never forget.  ;)

And they celebrated (hopefully) happily ever after!

Quick & Easy St. Patrick's Day Walk

For moms looking for ways to spice up St. Patrick's Day from home and still do some school or review. This activity is quick and easy.   It can be made with rainbow construction paper or green (make a shamrock walk) or even white with rainbow colored writing (one paper with red marker, one with orange, then yellow, etc.).

I write items on there that I want my kids to be learning or reviewing. Each time they approach the kitchen table (snack, lunch, dinner, craft, etc.), they have to call out the answers as they step on the papers. You can do this with vocabulary words, sight words, ABC's, Latin, capitals, science terms, etc. 

If you have multiple children all doing different things, you could assign each a corner of the paper and put their items there.  You could also color code (all of one child's be in blue, another child's in red, etc.) or label with an initial. Happy St. Patrick's Day! :)

Suddenly Homeschooled!

One week life was normal.  The next week it wasn't.

Has your family recently fallen into the "suddenly homeschooled" group?  You didn't choose this.  It just happened.

A virus reared its nasty head.  Stores ran out of goods.  Schools closed.  You might have even been asked to teach your children at home for a while.  Suddenly, you homeschool.

But what does that look like?!  Where do I even begin?!

Hang in there, mama!  There are many who want to help.

You are not alone in this.

 Let that concept really sink deep and take root in your heart.

You are not alone in this.  

If there is one thing homeschool moms understand and identify with - it is the vital need for support.  They understand ups and downs on a daily basis.  They understand doubt and fear and even chaos (hmm... especially chaos).

Now, let's talk some homeschool "shop".

1.  Seasoned homeschool moms will tell you - community is important!  As you begin this unexpected journey - be it short or long - try searching online for homeschool communities in your area.  Reach out to them.  Chances are, you will find moms willing to help you through this.

2.  If you are unable to find or join a homeschool group - start your own!  Reach out to other "suddenly homeschooled" families and swap stories, share resources, plan a picnic, etc.  You might even make some new friends!

3.  Another option is to join an online homeschool community or to surround yourself with a few encouraging mommy bloggers.  One of my favorite online sources for encouragement and resources is www.sallyclarkson.com.  This woman understands what it feels like to raise children with a variety of needs under very trying circumstances!  I highly recommend her books and podcasts (no, I was not paid to say this).

4.  Free or inexpensive resources are readily available online and in stores:

*Teacherspayteachers.com is an awesome resource!  This is a site where teachers (or therapists, moms, etc.) create lessons, games, STEM activities, etc. and other teachers or homeschooling families purchase/download them.  There are some seriously creative people out there who have done a lot of the work for you and made it super fun as well.  Just search for what your child has been studying, and you are likely to find much to purchase or download for free.

*Starfall.com is a great place to brush up on reading, math, etc. skills for younger children.

*Fun4thebrain.com and www.reflexmath.com are good resources for math fact practice using games, etc.

*Pinterest.  Need I say more?  Search for your child's grade level or subject and prepare to be amazed by the great ideas others have come up with.

*Dollar stores.  Not only do some have an education section with short workbooks for younger elementary/kinder, they also tend to stock harder puzzle books (crosswords, Sudoko, etc.), advanced coloring books, small games, and puzzles for only....you guessed it....$1.  If you know you are only homeschooling for a week or two, these might help keep your child on his/her toes.

*Homeschool blogs online.  There are moms out there who will share both experience AND great resources with you via their blogs.  Remember - community and support!  Here are a few to get you started:
www.sallyclarkson.com
www.readaloudrevival.com
www.pambarnhill.com

Here is also a link to another blogger who lists some websites which are offering free subscriptions right now.

3.  READ, READ, READ!  I know many libraries have closed temporarily....but maybe not the private ones.  By these, I am referring to many homeschool family homes.  Yes.  We have books.  Many, many, many, many books.  It is very possible that some of these families would loan your child books while waiting for school buildings to reopen.

Also consider checking with family members and friends.  You might be surprised at the hardback/paperback treasures you uncover when you just ask.

4.  Play!  There are so many educational board games out there which secretly (or not-so-secretly) require your children to put their education to good use.  You may be surprised at what your kids learn or skills they review by just playing a great game.  You might even suggest your children design one of their own (recycle that old pizza box)!  Imagine the education-worthy potential of such an activity:  fine motor skills, creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, math, language arts, writing, and the list goes on!

5.  Online schools.  There are many of these out there depending on what style or level of homeschooling or online schooling you are interested in.  This has proven to be an incredible resource for our family!  Our kids may take one or two classes online (live or self-paced) which allows me to have some time to work with a younger child or have some time to get chores done, etc.

One of our favorite online academies www.veritaspress.com offers amazing self-paced courses.  These are backed by a 90-day return policy.  The courses often present material via amusing characters and sometimes animation.  They spice things up with creative games and challenges which my children have really enjoyed.  These often seem to be the highlight of our school subjects.

DIVE into Math  offers graded self-paced learning in certain math and science subjects.  They also offer some live courses.

6.  Come up with a relaxed and simple schedule to start with (see a sample below).  It should be something which will allow your family to ease into this abrupt educational change, but one which will also provide a source of welcome structure for both your children and yourself.

A note about snacks:  consider having a box/drawer in your pantry or fridge or both which have snacks your children can choose from.  Limit the choices to one or two per snack time.  This allows children to practice responsibility and choice (after the first few times, they understand that they don't need to ask you what they are allowed to have for a snack but just head to the snack box).

7.  Consider hiring a part-time tutor.  There are many teachers who will be staying home right now who might welcome the opportunity to earn a little extra money while helping other families.

The list could go on....and on.....

But I will stop there.  Why?  Here's another tidbit of homeschool wisdom: too many choices may muddy the waters.  Instead of helping, an overload of information could cause you to feel overwhelmed once more.  I suggest starting with just some of the ideas above and moving forward from there.

If none appeal or meet your child's needs, then I would direct you back to #1 and #2.  Let the vast community of homeschool moms help!  So brew yourself a cup of tea or coffee, take a deep breath, and dive in knowing (all together now) you are not alone in this!