It may be snowing, but Louisa is eager to use her new snorkel set!
Playing with your children and their toys: it is easy when they are little, but as they grow up a bit, we don’t play quite as often. But an 8-12 year old enjoys Mom and Dad engaging with them just like a little one does. And toys—oh, they take on magic when a parent is involved playing with them.
It’s springtime, and to little ones planting a garden, it may seem those seeds take forever to come up! My kids occasionally poked their finger impatiently into the soil to fish out a pea seed just to make sure it was actually sprouting! We always plant radishes so they get a quick reward for their labor, but it still takes a couple of weeks.
Here’s an instant garden that kids enjoy growing! They can actually see the seeds sprouting, and it only takes a few days until you can eat them on sandwiches instead of lettuce.
Some houses try to hide the fact
That children shelter there—
Ours boasts of it quite openly,
The signs are everywhere
For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the doors;
I should apologize, I guess,
For toys strewn on the floor.
Question:I am homeschooling 3 boys (11, 8, 5 years with the new baby in tow). My 8 year old is emotionally immature and gets things slower. My 5 year-old is advanced for his age, and works well in group situations. I am considering sending my 5 year-old son to the public school Kindergarten for 3 hours a day, hoping to relieve a little stress and use that time to focus on the older boys with their studies, as well as take care of the baby. One hesitation I have is, if I allow my Kindergartner to go to school now and choose to homeschool him later, will it cause confusion if he wants to continue in the public school system and not want to homeschool again? Also I wonder if it may cause my 8 year-old to feel jealous, because he has expressed an interest in going to public school sometimes? [Read more…]
Contributed by Daniel Hopkins (age 17)
“But, what about social life?” This question is one of the most often asked questions regarding homeschooling. It’s the reason many homeschooled teens go back to public school.
When I first started homeschool, I was anxious to make friends and be accepted. My Mom helped out a lot with this problem. She helped me organize activities with other homeschooled teens so I could make friends. We also had a regular “park day”—we all went to the park and played volleyball while the moms talked and the little kids played on the playground. These activities helped me feel comfortable and helped me make some friends. After that, we just did a lot of stuff together on our own. When new homeschoolers came to the activities, we’d include them in our “group” and try to make them feel welcome, too.
Homeschool mom Catherine Lamb offers these fun and silly memory clues to help other mothers teach their children the states and capitals.
The Pacific States
Washington, Olympia (Washington sits with the Greek Gods in Olympus.)
Oregon, Salem (Ore e goin’ sailin’? Are you going sailing?)
California, Sacramento (Can I afford a sack of Mentos?) (*Mentos is a candy)
Alaska, Juneau (Do you know Alaska? say with an Hispanic accent)
Hawaii, Honolulu (easy to remember, no clue)
by May Morgan Potter
Fred ate his breakfast dutifully and then slipped down from his chair.
“Now can I go over to Jimmy’s, mother?” he asked.
“But Fred,” I said, “you were over there yesterday and the day before. Why not have Jimmy come here today?”
I’m not quite sure how the tradition started in our homeschool, but for as long as I can remember, we have learned a new Christmas song every single December. Not a common song but a unique song that we may have heard the melody of, but have not learned the words.
Today I thought to myself, “If I didn’t have kids to teach, I’d go back to bed.” Ever feel that way? Teaching children really helps us to do our best—doesn’t it?
