Homeschool

Disclosure: Affiliate link included. Do you analyze your life at the end of the year?  Do you create a list of New Year’s Resolutions?  At the end of a year, I always consider how life was and how I would like it to be different.  Though, I may not always write a list, there is certainly a place in my life for resolutions. As a homeschool mom, the end of a calendar year is also the end of a semester of learning.  I was very conscious of this and always wanted to improve.  When we’re in the midst of teaching, we don’t always have enough time to think through how far we’ve come.  At the end of the year, I like to revisit the semester to see what worked and what didn’t. Make Any Necessary Changes Many years, the new year brought about a change of curriculum.  That doesn’t mean I changed everything, but usually just one subject.  But, there’s nothing wrong with making a drastic change if it’s needed.  If your child can’t learn a certain way, it’s the teacher’s job to find a way that they can learn. Marriage Comes First Although I’m a homeschool mom/teacher, I’m first a wife.  There are always things I need to do to improve in this area.  It’s good to resolve to make the changes needed to have the best marriage possible.  Homeschool never will work well, if my marriage is struggling. Create a Special Beginning After a Christmas break, it always seemed like a resolution to buckle down was helpful.  The children can have a hard time getting back on a full school schedule after time off.  At our house, we would discuss how we felt, and then have a special celebration to kick off the new year in school.  It would be fun to plan a fun field trip to go along with the first week back of learning. What are your New Year’s Homeschool Resolutions?  Do you start the year in a unique way?  Whatever works in your home, don’t feel like you have to be like anyone else.  Comparing your homeschool with someone else’s won’t be the right answer.  Enjoy your family and your New Year! Here are some of my favorite Homeschool Resources! @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Disclosure: Affiliate link included. There are so many things that we want to teach our children.  We’ve got our twelve year homeschool plan, with all the courses selected years ahead of time.  We know what character traits we want to help them to develop.  It’s important to add Life Skills to our homeschool plan. Life Skills?  Yes, the basic skills needed to succeed in life (when we’re not there to do everything for them.)  I personally don’t know any homeschool moms or dads that want to raise a dependent child.  But, with our culture of babying children, I think it’s a good idea to intentionally prepare our kids with basic life skill training. I’m sure you really don’t want to have to plan more lessons or add more curriculum to your day.  But, the beauty of homeschooling is that life skills can be taught by doing life.  Yes, in our everyday living just including your children in adult tasks will begin preparing them for living on their own. The hardest thing for kids is to wait too long to let them participate in adult tasks.  Most kids learn to do their own laundry just before heading off to college.  That’s not the best way for them to learn.  Teaching life skills gradually through the years will help them to be good at the skills and confident in their abilities. Wouldn’t you rather them learn to cook with you in the kitchen?  As you include them in meal preparation, they will learn from your modeling good techniques.  Cooking will become something you hand-down to them and they’ll feel an emotional reason for cooking.  This emotional connection can be repeated in many different areas. Guys will gain so much information from their dads when he’s changing the oil or maintaining household items.  Guys and girls need to have life skills modeled before them.  Kids learn as they do and won’t forget all the training you provide.  They’ll also be thankful for what they’ve been taught at a young age. So many young people don’t have life skills, because they sit in a school desk all day for 12+ years.  They just don’t have time when they get home, because of hours of homework.  Homeschooling is such a beautiful way to have a family.  A family that learns together is the best! You may not need it, but if you prefer having a lesson plan to guide you, there are many available. Budget Planning How to Apply for a Job How to Plan A Meal How To Shop For Groceries How to Prune A Tree How To Wash Clothes Video: How to Pump Gas Huge list of Life Skills Worksheets You can easily google any life skill and find a tutorial or youtube video that teaches it, step-by-step.  Of course, the easy way is to just do it with your child.  But, it’s best to do these gradually.  It’s not fun to teach many of these skills during their senior year of high school.  They will not be interested as much at that time, and will be very busy. My children learned many life skills by helping my husband and me around the house.  Many of the skills they have learned are now saving them a lot of money.  The skills were also very helpful in college.  ex. My daughter was the only student in her master’s program that could sew.  This promoted her to lead the class in a huge project.  This occurred numerous times with her, because she had been homeschooled and learned life skills that aren’t taught to everyone.  She can also change a tire, if she has to.  These are just two examples of having her prepared for life. Do you have any great life-skill stories?  Were you prepared for life?  How are you teaching your children life skills? Check out these Homeschool favorites of mine! @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

It’s that time of year, again.  Time to pack a shoebox.  Do you pack shoeboxes?  Many of us do.  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a little video to explain it to you….compliments of Bob and Larry! Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, has collected and delivered more than 146 million shoebox gifts to children in more than 160 countries and territories.   You and your family are invited to pack a shoebox, too.  The website for Operation Christmas Child has many wonderful resources to make this easy.  They have downloadable labels and much more. You can learn how to pack the box as well as get lots of ideas for the various age/gender levels.  This page also tells you of the nearest drop-off location near you.  There is also now an option to build an online box.   The online Build-A-Box is fun.  It allows you to virtually shop from certain groups: toys, essentials and more.  You can also just click, Build A Box For Me, and then go ahead and pay.  This way you don’t even have to leave your home to shop or deliver the box.  The fee for online boxes is $25.   Well, if you get to pack a shoebox this year, you have until the week of November 13-20.  That is the drop off week.  Moms will love the wonderful activities and ideas HERE to do with their children.  There are printable lessons, coloring sheets, Pack-A-Box Party ideas, and many other creative ideas and Bible lessons.  Have fun, and send me a picture of your Pack-A-Box adventures! @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman