Hello Readers,
As we begin preparing for our homeschool year, I started thinking about how, as parents, we strive to help our children. Whether we are working on lesson plans that will give them the best opportunity to learn, all the way to coping with everyday stressors that arise. As parent’s we want nothing but the best for our children. As a former public school family, I knew right away that my younger boys were struggling. Not just in school, but with bullying. I fought their fight. I pulled them from public school because I didn’t want them to be afraid. I wanted them to have the ability to learn in a stress-free environment. I wanted them to know that they are loved and appreciated. That their opinions are just as important as the next persons and to be equally responsible for their actions. As I sat down this month to meditate on things, a notion popped into my mind. I couldn’t help but wonder… was my help actually hurting them?
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Dear Readers,
It’s that time of year again! Time to start thinking about putting away some of the summer fun and buckle down! Time to hit the books and hop aboard the learning train. What better way to get mentally ready than to get physically ready? The distractions that rise up at the most inconvenient time, such as cleaning out a closet, tidying up the pantry or even handling the all-too common “screen time” dilemma are the bane of my existence when it comes to getting ready for the school year. What is a mom (or dad) to do? For the most part, I am more than 80% prepared. The other twenty is getting the kids back in the habit of going to bed at a semi-decent hour, getting the house cleared of all the “distractions”. By those, I mean the things that drive me crazy, such as: Good afternoon readers,
It’s nearly the first day of summer! I can hardly wait to get the season underway. In fact, I am ready to hit up our dear friends Jacob and Jamie for some pool time! However, I must first reminisce on our most recent milestone as a homeschool family. Good (late) evening fellow readers,
If you are like me, you love the idea of starting off on a clean slate. For me, it's clean walls. In the last 24 hours, I've cleaned out our classroom closet and taken inventory of all the items that we have on hand, and likewise, created a moderate list of the items we will need for our next school year. I've cleaned our walls of all posters and in doing so, I also organized our classroom graphics and posters by category in hopes that next year, when I am searching for that one poster I just know I have, I will be able to find it before we do the lesson, rather than stumbling upon it a week after we have finished. Does that mean, it's over? Good Monday Morning to you all!
I try to make Monday's more pleasant, but that is not always the case. For instance, as I was (disinterested in) rolling out of bed this morning, I began reflecting on the last 72 hours. Our kids and I went on a camping trip this past weekend. I find that getting out into nature really does help curb the electronic addictions that many of us face, myself included. Time seems different when you are camping. Everything slows down. You can really take a moment to hear your own thoughts. All weekend, we were laughing, cutting up with each other, and despite our oldest coming down with strep throat (I thought it would miss her), we had a great time. A little campfire chat, a random proposal by my eldest son to a tree during a rousing game of Truth or Dare. All the way down to our camp neighbors running down the lane yelling "The red coats are coming" (We bring all kinds of education to our trips) - we had a blast! I even had a campfire s'more for the first time in over 14 years (I still don't like them). A blast, right!?! Yes! A great weekend. That was the beginning of the end. Good evening fellow homeschoolers,
Over the last couple of months, I have been working on getting more organized and have come to one very dire conclusion – there is never enough space! Aside from up cycling shoe boxes for storing unit study supplies to filling up the top of the closet with leveled tiers to add more shelving, there simply isn’t enough room for all that we need to store. So how does one go about making room for 12 years of completed schoolwork, projects, assignments, lap-books, etc.? Well, I had to get crafty. I had to get ready. And above all, I had to get realistic. Getting realistic was the kicker for me. If you are a parent who cherishes your child, you probably have an area that resembles a mini-bomb exploding in a filing cabinet. Papers shoved in manila folders, with no chance of remembering when it happened, but “oh, look how well they wrote their name!” to that older child essay when they “really did grasp the concept of the author’s work”. Yes! Mom and dad, all their work is valuable to you because your children worked extremely hard to earn that grade. Truth be told, you worked just as hard teaching as they did learning. But the fact of the matter is, you do not need to keep all of their work. In fact, (unless your state requires an intensive portfolio), you will only want to keep some of their best and worst work. Why the best? Because it’s the best. Why the worst? Because it shows for comparison how far they’ve advanced their learning and understanding of the subject. Hello parents, homeschoolers, and the like...
If you are a frequent visitor to our page, you've undoubtedly seen a recent post about keeping costs at a minimum. But what kind of woman/mom/teacher would I be if I told you that I only spend wisely. A lying one. But I'm telling the truth now. I did spend a little more than I should have last month. Only by $9.00 - and truth be told, I could have saved even more if I had upcycled some of the extra bulletin boards we have at home. But, I wanted this item to serve two purposes. And it does! Good evening,
As some of you may not know, our family lives on a very tight budget. Eating out is a luxury in which we seldom partake. Homeschooling five rowdy children can often times lead to parental disappointment when you see that one particular item you really want your children to have access to, but simply cannot afford it. As a parent and teacher, it weighs heavy on my mind. And being the Scorpio that I am, I become obsessed with the idea until I find a way to make it happen (or as close to the original as possible). I surf Pinterest for ideas, shop at yard sales and flea markets, and I am even on the lookout for businesses that are liquidating for general office supplies, just to save a little money. What I did not realize is that you can invest in your home-school without breaking the bank. As many of my wonderful followers may know, my oldest kiddo will soon be spreading her wings and taking flight. She will be graduating in June. My little Miss Senior allowed me the opportunity and privilege of shooting her senior pictures. Now, with income very tight and basically no wiggle room in the budge for hiring a professional photographer, I had to bust out some ingenuity and my old photography skills from my short stint as a professional to really make some magic happen. What I really wanted was a new Nikon. Granted, I've never had one, but oooooh, the pictures they can take. Absolutely gorgeous! Nope. I didn't have that.
Canon? Nope. Didn't have that either. Kodak? Ha... Nope Fugi disposable? Un uh! Nope. As fun as that sounds, I'm not really going to chase my shadow. Why, because we are going to be chasing that rascal, Punxsutawney Phil!
Good Tuesday to you! In just a few short hours, ol’ Punxy will be letting us know if we can expect 6 more weeks of winter weather, or if Mother Nature will grace us with an early appearance. I don’t think I am alone when I say, “I am very ready for springtime!” The winter chill has definitely added to our homebody experience and I am itching to pitch the tent, grill some food and enjoy those long, lazy days! However, it may be a little while longer before we get to see the blooms on the trees or even dig out the mower to cut down those pesky wild onions that seem to grow in abundance during March and April. According to these FAQ’s, there are some pretty interesting things about Punxsutawney Phil that you might not have known! There are also some very cute online games for your little ones. Disclaimer: I have not viewed all the games, please preview before letting your children online. Alas, what kind of day would it be without a family game? I have created two game cards for a little Groundhog’s Day Bingo! Jump over to the resources tab and click on elementary! Want to save some clicking - subscribe to this site and get them delivered to your inbox! Feel free to download them and start your fun today – Happy Groundhog’s Day! Ciao! LaVonda |
HELLOWelcome! My name is LaVonda. I am the wife of Rodney, the mom of 5 remarkable kids (well, 2 are adults now), an avid homeschooler, blogger, and sociologist. I am blessed with the ability to spend my time sharing our homeschool and life experiences with you. It is my hope to provide you with motivation, ideas, and some candid stress-relief through my blog - Mom's Scribe! Grab a cup of coffee, sit on down, and make yourself at home! Past Scribes
August 2020
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