Moms

Free Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

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Mother’s Day is one of my favorite days in the year. When I became a mom my life changed forever! Hearing my grown children say the word Mom is the most beautiful sound. What do I really want for Mother’s Day? I love receiving the gifts that cost nothing. Here are some wonderful and free things that you can do for your mom. Clean her house Cook her a meal Weed her flower bed Help her in the garden Call her on the phone or Face-time Teach her to cook a new dish Make her a video Make her a card, just like you did when you were a child Send her pictures of yourself doing what makes you happy Bring the grandchildren for a visit Have grandchildren make her a picture or craft Make her a mask with fabric you have (or she has) Help her with any technical chores (cellphone, DVD, or computer) that she has trouble with Play a board game that she loves Bring over one of your favorite puzzles and work on it with her Help her with a chore, like a dripping faucet Just spend time with her Many of these ideas are easier for older children. But, maybe these ideas will get you to thinking about ways that you could bring a big smile to your mother’s face. Moms don’t necessarily want more things. Mom-life changes in each decade, but Moms just want to be loved. Young moms may appreciate time alone and older moms may be lonely. Fresh flowers, candy, and jewelry are all classic gifts for mom, but those gifts of time are the best. Gifts of time are free but they produce lasting memories and joy. Don’t miss your chance to please mom. It would also be fun to make some of these ideas into a little coupon book to present to her. This will give her a fun way to cash in on these special times. Free Coupon Template Mother’s Day Free Coupons 12 Free Sample Coupon Book Templates What ideas do you have for your mom? Use your imagination, and come up with a special way to remember your mom. She’ll be pleased. @2020, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

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Disclosure: some affiliate links are included Where is your mother? My mother lives far away from me. Is that also true for you? With all of the time we’ve lived in quarantine, we’ve missed our moms more than ever. Whether your mom lives far away or across the street, we all want to find great gift ideas for our mothers. In this gift guide, I want to share ideas for all types of moms. What type of mom are you buying for? New Moms New moms are filled with excitement and hope. Every thing their new baby does is remarkable. But, moms also need lots of self-care time. Beautiful bath and body sets make lovely gifts for new moms. I would love to receive the Relaxing Lavandin Blackberry Gift Set from Yves Rocher. Mom may need some new shoes. After the months of pregnancy, her feet may need a bigger size in shoes. Finding a soft and comfortable pair will make her feel very pampered. All moms love new shoes. Check out the beautiful shoes at Sofft. New moms are all wanting to write down all the new and marvelous things that their little one is doing. Keeping track of every little thing can be accomplished with a wonderfully designed Baby Memory Book. I bet she would love this classic Pooh memory book from Hallmark. Breastfeeding Tea would make a beautiful gift for new moms who are breastfeeding their baby. This natural, vegan, organic tea can help moms to increase their milk supply. All Other Moms If you’re not a new mom, you’re a mom who has been at it for a while. Moms like me have even graduated to the role of Grandmom. Moms of all ages love to be pampered. These gifts will be welcomed by any mom! Many moms love essential oils. My favorite way to enjoy them is to use a diffuser. Diffusers come in so many different styles and forms, which makes it fun to find one that suits your decor and fashion sense. This diffuser from Organic Aromas comes in many different colors and prints, as well as solid colors. They also carry a variety of bases and glass shapes. I love the blue and white! Moms love to smell good and have silky, soft skin. Bath and Body Works is one of my favorites for wonderful smelling products. The gift sets are great because they are gorgeous to look at and we can’t get enough of the scents. I bet that you can find a scent that fits perfectly for your mom. Pajamas, gowns, and robes are some of my favorite things for pampering. I love a new sleep-ware item. Here are some that are cute and very girly. The blue is from JCrew. The pretty pink is from Ann Taylor. One of my favorite ways to relax is with a rich cup of coffee (and lots of creamer). It seems to taste even better when I drink it out of a beautiful mug. These mugs are so pretty and come with lids to make them travel-worthy. I bet your mom will love them, too. If your mom enjoys pampering herself out in the garden, she’ll appreciate a gift of flowering plants. Stop by your neighborhood nursery or order these from Burpee. You’ll find all the varieties of flowers here. @2020, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Homeschool Tips

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family

Disclosure: Affiliate Link Included Homeschooling has now not only become cool, but necessary! I homeschooled for over 20 years, so I thought I would offer a little help for those of you who are new to this. Homeschooling isn’t impossible, but can be hard. The way to make it easy is to have a plan. I hope most schools are giving an organized and sensible method to teach children. I see some things going on with online teaching that worry me. Watching a teacher talk into her computer camera is going to be a method that bores many students. They will probably not learn very well during this “homeschool” time. Also, many students don’t even have internet that will enable them to learn at home. Veteran homeschool moms know that it takes a variety of learning methods to help children learn well. If your children are required to watch a computer screen for all of their classes, I would encourage the parent to spend as much time as you can watching with them. After the online class is finished, spend a little bit of time discussing the information learned with your child. Ask them questions: Have them summarize the lesson orally to see if they understood it, or ask a question based on what you heard the teacher say. Encourage them to do homework soon after the class. This will help them to answer questions while the information is fresh in their mind. Try to help them stay engaged, as best you can. If they are very young, I hope you can provide them plenty of breaks. Let them do some movement: exercise routines, dancing, running through the house or backyard. Try to offer healthy snacks to keep their blood sugar steady. Make sure they have a designated space for their learning. Find a spot that is quiet and free from distractions. Make sure they have pencils, paper, and a clean desk or table. Turn off the television and put them in a separate space from siblings. Good lighting is also important. Use a planner to note time for each subject as well as schedule time for homework. Leave time for breaks. If they have projects to work on that may be stretched out over weeks, make a to-do list and calendar so that they can complete the project on time. If the child is having trouble with a lesson, find out how the online teacher goes about answering questions and giving extra help for a child who is stuck. If this is not always available, use Google and Youtube for some online tutoring or video help. If your child has options for learning, there are plenty of ways to learn topically. This is a good method for pre-school through 3rd grade. Homeschool moms call this Unit Studies. We take a topic, such as Weather, and have lessons that teach this topic. It’s important to use all of the student’s senses in the plan. Here is an example from Education.com. Free Lesson Plans on Weather. You can do this on a number of topics. You’ll find free printables, worksheets, and coloring pages on the internet. Mrs Mactivity has free and paid education lessons. Health and Hygiene Home Learning Resources Kid’s Coloring Pages Summer Journey Printables is a free set of downloadable pages that you can use as often as you would like. These are great for traveling, nature walks, etc. Here are some other links that offer Free Printables! Free Worksheets The Happy Housewife Digital Homeschool Planner Living Life and Learning Free Homeschool Planner Printable However you homeschool, I wish you the best. Feel free to contact me and ask questions. I will do my best to help you and point you in the right direction. Homeschooling was a wonderful time for me, and I’m thankful that God allowed me to be a homeschool mom! @2020, copyright Lisa Ehrman

The Best Online Homeschool Anatomy Curriculum

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female students

This post is sponsored by College Prep Science.  As a retired homeschool teacher, I can agree that finding good college preparatory science program is important. When my children reached this age, I looked for a top-quality curriculum that would prepare my students for ACT/SAT tests and college coursework. Greg Landry taught gross anatomy (cadavers) to pre-med university students for years and he now uses that passion for human anatomy and physiology to teach homeschooled students. And, does he ever have some great stories from the cadaver lab! Greg Landry’s online Homeschool Anatomy Curriculum Class offers a full year (two-semester) option for 9th – 12th grade homeschooled students, a half school year (one semester) options for 6th – 9th grade homeschooled students and a self-paced option for 3rd-6th grade homeschooled students. Professor Landry is a former college professor – he designed and ran a gross anatomy lab for junior-level pre-med college students. Over the past 20+ years, he has taught science to thousands of homeschooled students. His students love his online classes that are filled with teaching and stories from the trenches (cadaver tanks) that make anatomy and physiology come to life! The classes cover the anatomy and physiology of all human systems plus the insight that can only come from working with cadavers. His online classes also include time in his virtual anatomy and physiology lab to perform experiments and write lab reports. Anatomy and physiology is interesting to most students because they’re learning about themselves but it tends to most interesting to students who are leaning towards fields such as: medicine (medical doctor), nursing, athletic training, chiropractic, physician’s assistant, pharmacy, nurse practitioner, exercise science, massage therapy, sports medicine, physical therapy, etc. Professor Landry believes that studying human anatomy and physiology is illuminating God’s Creation and that it reveals His glory. – Human Anatomy & Physiology (9th-12th) – Two Semester Class– Pre-Anatomy & Physiology (6th-9th) – One Semester Class– Young Scientist Anatomy & Physiology (3rd-6th) – One Semester Self-paced In the words of a homeschool parent… “Greg, …what you did for our daughter will have far-reaching effects. You showed her that learning can be enjoyable…”Thankful in IndianaJim H. Professor Landry also offers homeschool anatomy and physiology/biology in-person two-day lab intensives at 15 locations throughout the U.S. These intensives enable students to complete a full year of anatomy and physiology/biology labs in just two days – while enjoying the process! ​Homeschool dad, scientist, and former college professor, Greg Landry, offers live, online homeschool science classes, Homeschool ACT Prep Bootcamp, the Homeschool Mom’s Science Podcast, in-person two-day science lab intensives nationwide, and student-produced homeschool print publications. Sign up for science freebies for homeschool moms and be entered for the monthly giveaway!

Is It Time To Plan A Staycation?

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ice cream

Disclosure: Affiliate links included. Spring Break has started here and we didn’t plan a vacation. How about you? Because the virus is spreading around the country, it has made us think about staying home and have a staycation instead. Because my chronic illness medicine suppresses my immune system, I’m vulnerable to virus complications. I’ve been careful about being in crowds to avoid getting sick. And, even though heading to Florida sounds great, a staycation can be fun, too. It isn’t the first time our family has decided to forego long days in the car to go on a vacation. Not only do vacations wear you out, but they wear down your wallet. Between travel expenses, hotels, tickets, and dining out, the expense of a vacation gets higher every year. Vacation At Home If your weather is very warm, get in the pool. Even a child’s pool can be fun. Or have a water-gun fight. Movie Night is fun! Pay to watch a great new movie or watch a marathon of your favorite movie series. Don’t forget the popcorn. Pajama Day/Spa Day is great for kids. Have a mother/daughter mani-pedi morning. Use your brightest polish. Camp out in your back yard. This is so much fun (if you live in a mild climate). Roast marshmallows and tell stories. Sing and laugh into the wee hours. Have a night when the kids cook dinner. Depending on the ages of your children, your meals should be interesting! If you live where there is still snow on the ground, have a snowman-building-contest. The most unique snowman wins! Staycations In Your Hometown Are there any local sporting events? High school sports are usually free or not expensive to attend. Play your own sports. Try a game of tennis. If you’re not very good (like me), you’ll probably get a lot of laughs with this one. Visit a park or trail that’s new to you. Take a hike or a picnic lunch. Museums can be fun, even in a small town. You’ll learn something new. Visit a new ice-cream parlor or pizza place. Have a new food adventure. It will be a treat! Scour the newspaper/internet to find a local event that sounds interesting. There may be a play or concert that may be out of your comfort zone, but you might have a blast. Whatever you decide to do on your staycation, make it a time for great communication. What about turning off the cell phones and suspending the chores for the week? Use paper plates and work as little as possible. Make this a Spring Break they’ll remember. @2020, copyright Lisa Ehrman

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