The post Homeschool Student Planner {plus Free Printable} appeared first on Day2Day Joys.
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This post is about helping your student to independently be in-charge of their life, at least teaching them how anyways. So I created my own homeschool planner for them.
I thought about what subjects we will be covering, what would tie in with our morning basket, what their chores and other responsibilities are and even fun things. I looked all over the internet and pinterest for ideas. I began compiling different free printables to be added to their planners.
After doing all of that I began creating the weekly pages which make up the bulk if this planner.
For the months and first page I used student planners(Click here to find them) that were offered free one month, now they aren’t free but she does offer specials and freebies each month. You can search around on the web to get other monthly printables for free too.
So this is what I did:
- Once I got everything printed, I put it all in order. I did take a LONG time, especially making sure I printed on both sides of the paper as much as possible.
- Next I looked at my year at a glance page that I had marked the numbers of weeks of school we would be doing and then added it to their planners, that way I knew how many weeks were in each month. (we are doing 36 weeks)
- Then I made the front cover. I purchased a few scrapbook pages from hobby lobby and some chalkboard paper and chalk markers. Once the whole planner was made, I took the pages to OfficeMax where I had them put on a front and back and then had it bound.
- Lastly I added sticker tabs to the months. I only did the first semester.
My kids were SOOOO excited to see this and began using it. Not only does it make my life easier, they are beginning to take charge of their life and their schedule.
Feel free to use these homeschool planner pages I have created for your student and take advantage of the free printables i found below. Or even go find some that your student likes!
**Click link below for your FREE planner pages**
- Student Planner- Green or Student Planner-Pink (editable, made on a Mac so may not work on other computers
- Student Planner-Green PDF or Student Planner-Pink PDF
Free printables I used in this planner:
- first day of school questionnaire
- bible verse coloring pages
- Starwars pages
- Starwars reading log
- princess reading log
- owl coloring page
- blank faces drawing page
- Disney coloring pages
- Easter coloring pages
- a few from this site, including the year at a glance, coloring pages, bible knowledge, piano log and christmas story
- some pages for beginning/ending of school
- some pages from a calendar notebook
- some pages from this back to school fun pack
- *calendar pages that were offered free before, they may be offered again anytime!
I hope this helps you on your journey! Happy Homeschooling!
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Written by Karen @ To Work With My Hands, Contributing Writer
Whether you enjoy it or hate it, gathering food and preparing it for our families is something we all have to do.
Sometimes I really enjoy it. At other times…not so much. But, with over 27 years of experience behind me, I’ve learned a few things that have helped make it a natural part of my routine.
It all starts with a plan.
Building The Menu:
Since I shop for groceries every other week, I plan our meals two weeks at a time. Meal planning this way has a few advantages:
- It corresponds with my husband’s pay schedule so I can do all of our shopping, bill paying, and errand running at once.
- When food items are on sale, I can stock up and repeat a menu twice during the menu cycle.
- Shopping every other week instead of weekly really does save on the grocery bill (we tested out the weekly shopping trips once and were stunned at how much more we spent.)
I begin with an Excel spreadsheet with blocks for 21 meals. On each row I list the menu for the first week, type a slash mark, then list the menu for that same day the second week. Often I will just type “x2” beside a meal and we’ll have it both weeks.
Filling in the Menu:
I follow a distinct routine each time I build a new menu. The very first thing I do is transfer meals. Nearly without fail, we will have a meal or two leftover from the previous menu that we never got around to preparing for one reason or another. Because I already have the ingredients on hand, I’m already lowering the next grocery bill.
Next, I shop the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. If we have leftovers or extras that can be made into new meals, I add those to the menu and note any additional items I’ll need to buy to prepare them.
The next step I take is to shop the sales ads. All of the grocery stores I shop have online ads, which makes it a breeze to browse their sales. I regularly shop 5 different stores for our groceries, snagging the best deals at three of them, and buying the rest that we need at Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart.
I buy nearly all of our produce at one of the stores and the other two offer weekly Buy 1, Get 1 Free sales, which I use to lower our bill for the menu or to stock up on things we use frequently. Armed with sales information, I then use those items to create menu plans.
Finally, if I still have holes in the menu, I go to my old menu folder for ideas from previous weeks that I may have forgotten about.
Making the Shopping Lists:
While checking the sales ads, I jotted down the items I planned to buy. The only remaining lists to make are those for Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart.
As much as I’d like to avoid Wal-Mart, the things that I can’t get elsewhere get purchased there, and we are still a large enough family that shopping at Sam’s Club makes sense.
I keep a master Excel worksheet for each of these stores with a list of the common things we buy.
When I realized we were often buying the same things over and over at Sam’s Club, I created a master sheet. Now, all I have to do is go down the list and decide if we need to purchase each item during the upcoming trip.
I make a list on the side of the items we need, add any additional items, copy and paste it into an email, and send it to my husband or teen son (who almost always does the Sam’s Club shopping for us).
Wal-Mart is my beast! I start with the master list, making note of the basics that we need in each department. After those are typed into my list, I go down the menu, meal by meal, noting any additional items I need to prepare them. These are added to the Wal-Mart list. Sometimes I email it to myself, but often I just print it out because nearly without fail, someone will ask me to pick up _____ while I’m at Wal-Mart and I need to add it to the list.
My Favorite Shopping Habits:
For a couple of years, I tried the coupon game. Eventually, however, I gave it up because it was so time-intensive, and I found that we were actually changing the culture of our eating habits because of them. Now, I will occasionally use them if they are easy, a great deal, and something I would have purchased anyway.
Instead, I prefer to shop for the best deals I can find. During the summer, I visit the farmer’s market and local produce farms to get the freshest produce available and at great prices. For the rest of the year, the practice of pursuing ads and gleaning the best deals has worked much better than trying to pair coupons with my purchases.
Buy 1, Get 1 Free deals are some of the best ways I’ve found to save, and I try to always stock up on things that we use frequently when they are offered in these sales.
My very favorite shopping habit, however, is using shopping apps to save. SavingStar, Ibotta, MobiSave, and Checkout 51 are my favorites. Although they are slightly different, the basic principle with each is to scan the barcodes from purchased items, upload the sales receipt, and get cash back in your account! There are various payout methods for each, but my favorite are those that offer a direct transfer to my PayPal account. Over time it really adds up and is much less time-consuming than dealing with coupons.
Finding unique ways to shop and save is as individual as each family, but with a few basic principles in hand, you’ll be well on your way to a routine that is effective, yet low-impact – even with more than a few mouths to feed.
What are some of your favorite menu planning and shopping tips?
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]]>The post 3 Things To Do When Spring Fever Hits appeared first on Day2Day Joys.
]]>Spring is still a few weeks away but spring fever has already hit at my house. I am ready for blue skies, green grass, colorful flowers, lots of sunshine, and time outdoors.
Here in Florida, we’ve already enjoyed some really nice spring-like days that have me itching to get on with it. I’ve taken long walks in the neighborhood and strolled around my yard making plans.
Whether you’re already getting a taste of spring or it still feels like the dead of winter where you live, here are 3 things to do when spring fever hits.
Freshen Up You Décor
Get ready for spring by freshening up your décor. If you have some early blooming flowers or flowering plants, cut some and bring them inside for a nice bouquet. If not, head to the store and pick up an inexpensive bouquet of daisies, tulips, or mixed flowers. They’ll add a fun, fresh burst of color to a table, mantel, or window sill.
Shop your house and see if you can swap out pillows, throws, or other décor for those with a more spring-like color scheme. Don’t have anything around the house you can use? Give these No Sew Napkin Pillow Covers a try and freshen up your existing throw pillows.
You can also add a new printable like this free spring printable featuring Psalm 100:1 to a side table or mantel.
Plan and Prep Your Garden
This is a great time to begin planning your vegetable and/or flower garden and starting the prep work. If you don’t have an existing garden choose your spot.
Grab a notebook and decide what you’ll be planting this year and make a list of what you’ll need. Get rid of any weeds and start preparing the soil.
Declutter
Get a head start on spring cleaning and begin decluttering now. Grab a box or tub and as you go through your week toss in any items you come across that you know you no longer need or want. Set aside some time each day or each week to go through drawers, closets, cabinets, and the pantry to see what you can toss.
Getting the clutter out of the way will make your spring cleaning tasks go much easier.
If spring fever hits, take advantage of the motivation and get a head start on spring.
Do you have Spring Fever? What are you doing to welcome spring?
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Written by Lydia @ Frugal Debt Free Life, Contributing Writer
Do you ever feel like you’re long on to do and short on time? I have spent so many months, years even, feeling that way. It wasn’t until recently that I came to fully understand the amount of control I actually did have over my time and how I spent it.
In fact, it seems like that is one of the things that I do have near-complete control over. Sure, I have small children and a husband, a business, and obligations. There is a mortgage and tummies that need to be fed, diapers that need to be changed. I get all of that.
But here is the thing, how much time do I spend perusing Facebook during an afternoon lull? How many times have I let a phone call yammer on when I could have been more precise and to the point? And how many hours have I wasted binge watching Netflix?
I don’t even want to consider tallying the hours. Of course, there is nothing wrong with doing any of those things. But I can’t very well call myself “busy” if that is how I choose to spend my precious time. Because time is just that… precious.
We can’t earn more of it, once it’s gone, it’s gone. So I have had to learn how to command the most out of my days. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been worth it.
How to be less busy:
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1. Determine what matters
It’s really important to determine what fulfills you and then plan your days around that. What are your priorities? It is important to figure out what your true priorities are. These are the places we seem willing to invest the most of our time and energy. If you took a good luck at how I spent my time you might see that housework was low on my list, and watching YouTube videos of people putting on makeup was high on my list.
But that’s not an accurate representation of what matters to me, so I’ve had to adjust my time accordingly. Of course, I just figured out I could stream YouTube through my television, so I just watch those videos while I clean.
Things that do matter are family time. I often say not to weekend events because I want us to spend time together as a family while my husband is home. It means less social time but more family time.
2. What provides value
Recently I had gotten sucked into a group chat on Facebook. A community function that I am a part of was using the group chat as a way to send out information. The problem was the information was getting lost in responses, thumbs up and emojis of cats eating pizza. It was both a distraction and a waste of time. And above all, it wasn’t providing a value to the group. Everyone had to sort through the responses to get to the meat of the information and there were several miscommunications as a result.
I left the group chat and suggested instead the information just be sent in a quick bullet point email. I realize that may sound abrupt on my part, but when you’re juggling a home, small children, and a business sometimes you have to be direct.
I also left several Facebook group pages that were taking up way more time than necessary and turned I down a few work opportunities because they just didn’t provide good value for my time.
3. Prioritize your to do
When I make a to-do list I like to jot down the things on my list in order of importance. I take care of the important items first. That way they are out of the way and not hanging over my head. I can better focus my time, energy and attention this way.
4. Don’t check your email.
I know this sounds counter-productive. But unless you are waiting on a very specific and important email just don’t check it until you’ve made it through your to-do list.
It’s so easy to get distracted if you jump on Gmail really quickly or your hop on Google News to scan the headlines. You can so easily get sucked into the rabbit hole that is the internet that you don’t get things done that you set out to accomplish.
5. Remove one thing
Okay, pull out your planner or your calendar app and look at your upcoming appointments? What is not necessary? What is not providing value to you? What do you dread doing?
Don’t do it. Just cancel your appointment and say no. If it’s not vital to your survival or to your family don’t do it.
I feel like in today’s society we value being busy. We glorify it and wear it like a badge of honor. And we misuse the word. I know that for me I am often not busy, I am just distracted and it’s important for me to refocus my time and energy.
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]]>The post Understanding GMO’s and What They Mean To Us appeared first on Day2Day Joys.
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Written by Kari @ Live on Purpose, Contributing Writer
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if eating healthy didn’t have to be so complicated? I love talking to my grandmother, who is 83, and just listening to how different things were so many years ago. Do you know there was a day and time when people just ate. Yep – it was that simple. They grew gardens, they raised cattle, pigs, goats and sheep. They knew how to prolong their winter supply and utilize everything they had so it didn’t go to waste. Many towns had small, family owned markets to get stuff like flour, sugar and spices. There may have been more labor involved in their eating, but they never had to wonder if the food they were eating was “real” or “fake”, if it had chemicals sprayed all over it or if they animal had been treated humanely. They just ate.
Not so much today. Unfortunately, most people spend hours upon hours every week just trying to see if the food they are buying and eating is healthy or toxic. Think of all the label reading, menu scouring, waiter questioning and google searches that go into your weekly eating habits.
One of the most misunderstood and sometimes unheard of issues with our food supply today is GMO’s – genetically modified organisms. Yes, I teach classes, do consultations and host small group challenges – and so many people still have never even heard of the term, GMO.
When I first heard about this issue years ago, I was fascinated and have researched it over the past 10 years with somewhat of a vengeance. So much so, that I do everything I can to avoid eating foods with GMO’s as mush as I can, although I found that when we travel it’s not super easy.
What exactly are GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS Or GENETICALLY ENGINEERED INGREDIENTS?
Without getting into controversy here, I want to mention that there is much debate on the ethical boundaries of GMO’s and the fact that many countries ban any products with GMO’s and it’s illegal to grow anything with GMO’s – yet The United States allows them, grows them and supports them and their health benefits. In fact, many third party studies have shown such damaging effects of GMO, so we should be more cautious about these considering they never had studies done with genetically modified ingredients in the past. It’s also good to point out that the FDA does not require labeling and doesn’t feel it’s necessary as long as the companies declare it to be
safe.
Basically, food is altered in an unnatural way that is damaging our soil, hurting family farms and is disrupting the healthy functions of the physical body, in humans and animals. When you understand that this is an area that is understudied and short term and long term effects are mostly unknown still, we need to have better diligence when it comes to consuming foods containing these.
Personally I think the biggest concern is that the government and agencies do not feel we have the right to know what foods on the market contain GMO’s. This is disturbing, so it’s a good idea to do research on these foods, which companies use them and don’t and how to know what to look for when you are grocery shopping.
Below you will find a good list of companies that are GMO-free! Although there is no complete list that I have found – these are good resources and helpful for those who don’t have the time to do the research themselves. Get acquainted with the names. Print off the list and carry it with you when you go shopping. Look for stamps on foods that say “NON-GMO VERIFIED” or “CERTIFIED ORGANIC USDA”. These simple steps will help you narrow down your selections so you know which foods are safe to eat. They may not be as safe as going to your backyard, but for those who have to buy their food at the store – these two things will make a huge difference in your food choices.
Choose dairy that states it’s from grass fed cows. Ask if your meat is raised and finished on grass – you don’t want meat from a grain-fed cow, even if it’s organic meat. When buying chicken and eggs – you want pasture-raised. This will be the healthiest and most beneficial to your body.
Shopping doesn’t have to be hard, but unless you do a little research and have some resources you can turn to – it may be a part of your weekly routine that you dread. Get informed, be proactive and shop easy!
- GreenPeace PDF Guide to NON-GMO companies – click here
- GMO-Free Foods from Nourished Kitchen – click here
- NON-GMO Companies by Healthy Family – click here
- NON-GMO Shopping Guides and Tips Downloadable – click here
A couple quotes to think on:
“As far as genetic engineering for food, that is the great experiment that has failed. They literally have the entire world market against them. All those dreams… the blind will see, the lame will walk… has turned out to be science fiction. They are basically chemical companies selling more chemicals. They’ve been able to spread these herbicide-promoting plants around because it is more convenient for farmers who can just mass-spray their crops. But they’ve given absolutely nothing to the consumer while causing more chemical pollution and contamination.” – Lawyer, Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety (USA)
“Any scientist who tells you they know that GMOs are safe and not to worry about it, is either ignorant of the history of science or is deliberately lying. Nobody knows what the long-term effect will be.” – Geneticist, David Suzuki, giving the 2008 Commonwealth Lecture in London
How will you be proactive when it comes to avoiding genetically modified foods?
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]]>The post 5 Realistic, Tried & True Ways to Improve Happiness appeared first on Day2Day Joys.
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Happiness seems such a difficult thing sometimes. I have a devoted husband, loving and successful children, a beautiful home and the kind of life I always thought would be out of my grasp. Yet some days, the failures of my life play over and over like a movie reel, reminding me of unforgivable shortcomings and casting a shadow of fear across my future.
The thing is, I’m human: a flawed, imperfect human who’s in a constant mode of figuring things out. We all are. As much as we believe we’re supposed to understand everything by now, the truth is we don’t and we can’t and we never fully will. The best we can do is accept ourselves and our lives for the amazing miracles that they are and learn to be happy, because we only have this one life.
Here are 5 realistic, tried and true ways to improve happiness.
Declutter
It seems counter-intuitive: decluttering is such a stressful activity, but the results are life-changing. Studies have shown that a cluttered area makes your brain feel like there’s chaos around. You automatically get a heightened sense of stress. This becomes your baseline and everything else piles on.
Start out small and set easily attainable goals like “By the end of January, I’m going to have my bedroom sorted”. This doesn’t mean it has to look like something off Pinterest. It simply means that clothes are neatly put away in drawers, surfaces are clear of all but a few possessions, floors are clear and cleaned. Waking up in a space where you aren’t reminded of things you have to catch up on will improve your mood from the get go.
Live Like Martha
I don’t mean have the perfect home and craft everything yourself and cook like a pro. Nope. What I always find soothing on Martha’s shows is that she frequently plays soothing music in the background. It’s the kind of music on the kiosk by the greeting cards in Target: a kind of classical with acoustic guitars and whatnot.
For the month of December, I played the “Classical Christmas” station on Pandora at a soft volume at home. It changed the entire vibe of the house. Not only was it calming, but I noticed that I became more productive. It worked so well, in fact, that I started using it during my Girl Scout meetings and it really seemed to help move things along.
Find a Problem, Fix a Problem
“My face looks old and I hate it”. “I’ve gained so much weight, I’ve let myself go”. This kind of negative self-talk will ruin you. Not can, WILL. It’s tough to fight those demons, so take a logical approach and think of yourself as a trusted friend you can give advice to.
If my friend said she hated the way she looked, I would a) tell her she’s beautiful and perfect just the way she is; and b) suggest that maybe she can make a small change with big impact: a new hairstyle or color. Maybe new makeup. For me, I find just spritzing a little MAC Fix+ on my face makes me instantly look more alert, which is transformative. When I feel fat, I go out shopping for a new shirt or two that are not oversized and hiding myself, but flattering to my figure, no matter what shape that may be at the moment. Having at least one outfit that makes you look good will do so much more for your self-esteem than thinking you look like a blob in everything.
Put Things in Perspective
A few years ago, my husband and I had a huge argument. I can’t even remember now what it was about. It wasn’t anything life-changing, but I was beyond angry. Beyond. I wondered to myself, “what comes next?”. I imagined a high-drama movie where a divorcing couple has to stand in front of a judge and state the reason their marriage is irreparable. I imagined the judges annoyed reaction when I told him that this fight was the reason for our split. I realized that in the big picture, this argument was nothing. I couldn’t hold this grudge forever, and really, I’d be terribly flawed if I did.
The point is to try to see situations in perspective. Are you being fair in the discipline of your children? Are you responding appropriately to people who are less than courteous? Is that conflict with a teacher/administrator/parent going to matter in a year? How about a month? How about a week? Are you even going to remember this happening? Probably not. Put it into perspective and respond appropriately.
Find Joy in Every Day
Whether you’re jotting it down in one of those handy line-a-day journals or just taking a quiet moment to reflect, make sure you take the time to find something positive in each day. In our family, we have a tradition: every night at dinner, we go around the table and everybody states how their day was (for better or for worse) and then they tell the best part of the day. For the kids, they also have to state what the best part of school was. This helps us to ensure that each day, no matter how tough, we all find something that brought us joy. As an added bonus: it keeps our family close and gets a lot more info out of the kids than simply asking “what did you do at school today?” which always produced a non-answer.
I hope these tips help you keep happiness close. If you feel though that nothing can make you happy anymore, please see a professional. Sometimes we need personal coaching to be reminded of how incredibly precious our lives are.
What do you do to keep happiness close?
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]]>The post 12 Days of Christmas {Day 4: Simple Beauty Minerals} appeared first on Day2Day Joys.
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Written by KT of One Organic Mama, Contributing Writer
On the 4th day of Christmas, day2day joys gave to me…
Two luxurious products from Simple Beauty Minerals. Their concealer and balancing lotion will keep you looking fantastic this Christmas season AND would make a wonderful gift for anyone on your list!!
Simple Beauty Minerals is a company run by Lisa, who has worked in the cosmetic industry for more than 30 years. She prides herself on her one-on-one personal service and care for you and your skin! Even to do this review, Lisa worked closely with me to recommend products that I would really use and that I needed. Their products are handcrafted by women with care. This family run company prides itself on featuring REAL women throughout their site because their products are for everyone!! #DontTouchThatUp
There are NO dirty toxins in Simple Beauty Minerals and they are enhance your skin making it look flawless! Additionally they offer vegan and gluten free makeup options. Unlike most beauty products, these list ALL the ingredients! You won’t find anything scary on here! Natural, organic, and good for your products for your skin!
Features of Simple Beauty Minerals Concealer and Balancing Lotion
- weightless, silky powder
- effective in the under eye area
- water resistant
- can be used as foundation if you need more coverage
- just as effective as a typical concealer
- this lotion was the perfect base to put on before the powder concealer
- it is great for normal to oily skin
- it is NOT at all greasy
- it soothes the skin and was great all over my face and neck
Now for my review:
I was given concealer and a bottle of balancing lotion. After talking with Lisa we decided on these two products since I usually only wear concealer and a little bit of mascara… as a 3rd time mom of a newborn who never sleeps – I MUST use some concealer before leaving the house! I was skeptical that a powder could provide coverage for my under eye circles but I was pleasantly surprised!
I used the lotion first right out of the shower all over my face. The lotion was thick and smooth. I only needed a tiny amount to moisturize my whole face. It felt light and great!
After it was absorbed I moved on to the concealer. Lisa recommends using a brush for the concealer but you can also just use your finger. I tried both and the results were the same. I couldn’t tell the difference between my regular concealer and the mineral based powder by looking – but the FEEL of the mineral powder was amazing!! It is light and so smooth. I absolutely loved it!!
What I Liked:
- The silky feel
- The balancing hydration
- The ingredients
- The look
- The company and LISA!!
What I didn’t Like:
- Nothing!
You can Buy It!
Go to Simple Beauty Minerals and see all they have to offer! You can get 20% off any order by going here.
You can Win it!
Enter this giveaway! If you win, you can choose to receive the concealer and balancing lotion ($40.00 value) or this starter kit ($25.00 value)!
Use Rafflecopter Below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Check out ALL of the 12 Days of Christmas here!
**ALL of the 12 Days of Christmas giveaways end on December 7, 2015 at 11:59pm EST and is open to USA & Canada residents ONLY. One lucky winner will be chosen using rafflecopter and be notified by email. The winner will have 3 days to respond with their contact information, if they do not respond a new winner will be chosen. Must be 18 to enter. No purchase Necessary.
How do you keep your makeup toxin free? Have you used mineral makeup before? Which product do you want to try?
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Last year was our very first year homeschooling our oldest daughter, Abigail. While, both my husband and I were homeschooled growing up, going from homeschool student to homeschool parent and teacher can be kind of overwhelming!
We tested the waters of homeschool pre-k and absolutely loved it. So, this September, we officially started homeschool Kindergarten! Or, Spena School, as we call it. We have been at it for almost two months now, so I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite things to use in our school days(aside from lots of coffee for Mom, a bumbo seat for the baby to chill out in, and lots of outside time to burn extra energy for Abigail)
Our Must Have Homeschool Supplies:
1. Tons of Crafts
.
If there is one thing that makes my daughter happiest, it is the ability to create something with a giant pack of markers and an even more giant stack of paper. Construction paper, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, paints, and tape are all kept close at hand and always readily available to help stretch her big, BIG imagination.
2. Books, Books, and more Books
We finally got our act together and joined our local library! It has been absolutely wonderful for our school year. We go every Thursday for story time, return our books, and check out a whole slew of new books that sound interesting, fun, and coordinate with our curriculum’s theme for the week. (Things like, Nest, Apple, Leaves, Moon, Sun, etc.)
3. Youtube
It is amazing to me all of the knowledge that we have right at our fingertips! As soon as Abigail asks a question, if we can’t find it in our books at hand, all it takes is a quick search to figure out the answer. We listen to all sorts of classical music and learn about the composers, watch videos about animals, and learn new life lessons from video shorts that appeal to both me and her! We love taking a brief break from sitting down to dance around the kitchen to music(our favorite- Eine Kleine) and youtube makes it incredibly easy for us to do that.
4. The Jesus Storybook Bible
My personal favorite book to read through with the girls is the Jesus Storybook Bible. It is written in words that the girls can understand, but it speaks to all of our hearts in incredibly profound ways. At the end of the day, it’s all about Jesus and every single story- as the book says- whispers His name. I love being able to incorporate that into our school days. One of the biggest, best, and most wonderful blessings about doing school at home!
We absolutely love homeschooling and have been so blessed by the gift it has been to our family.
What are some of your absolute must have homeschooling supplies?
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]]>The post Keeping in Touch with your School Aged Child appeared first on Day2Day Joys.
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Written by KT @ One Organic Mama, Contributing Writer
Are you back in the groove of school yet? Whether you homeschool or school outside the home I think it is important to keep in touch with the hearts of your school aged children! With dinner going and cleaning to do – especially if you have more than one child in school! I find that having a healthy snack (think fresh cut fruit, veggies, and nuts) and a notebook for each child, helps me to keep my afternoon routine in check!
Here is what we do:
For each child in school (or anyone who wants to be involved even by scribbling!) we have a composition book. When they walk in the door from school they go and wash up and come back to the kitchen table (where I am typically preparing dinner in some form). On the table is a snack and a notebook for each child with a pencil ready to go!
I (during the day) write down some questions or thoughts for each child. They eat their snack and respond. I find that this does a few things:
- it calms everyone down a bit
- lets me hear about things I might not get if I am verbally asking the questions
- gives children an opportunity to share concerns with you
- lets my children practice reading and writing to reinforce important skills
- allows us to write notes back and forth to each other – which I find kiddos LOVE!!
Some possible topics:
- favorite part of the day
- what did you do during special?
- what kind things did you do for others today?
- is there anything about school you want to share with me?
What’s your after school routine? What questions might you ask your school aged child?
The post Keeping in Touch with your School Aged Child appeared first on Day2Day Joys.
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I see a common dilemma among Christians. When I get together with my friends for coffee and play dates, the conversation almost always will hit on our relationship with God and prayer life. The dilemma being that as moms we are so busy and we struggle to have the time to spend in God’s word.
I have gotten creative in saturating my life with scripture. You do not have to set out an hour of your time to read the bible. I’m a mom, but I’m not supermom. I know the hectic schedule we have. Let’s not let a busy schedule be a stumbling block to us. Let’s not get discouraged with our overwhelming schedule, but let’s get creative!
Check out these creative ways to make sure your life is immersed in God’s Word:
- Set aside 10-15 minutes every morning to spend time with God. Get a bible study and/or a devotional to help guide you. I can see a big difference in my daily life when I make this happen. Going before God and laying down everything and picking up His peace, love and strength is the best thing you can do on a daily basis.
- Decorate your home, car and work place with scripture art. You can find plenty of them for free on Pinterest or simply do a Google search for free printable scripture. I have done this many times. I have found beautiful scripture art and framed it or taped it about my house. Every time I go into my bathroom I see the scripture art that I have printed off and taped around my bathroom mirror. My living room has a framed art piece with scripture and my fridge has several on it too.
- Use an app. There are several apps that can be set up to send you alerts to read the Bible or read a devotion. I have found several free ones. It is fairly easy to set up the alerts.
- Follow as many christian pages you can on social media in an effort to flood your feed with inspirational posts. This will help keep your mind on God’s word. As you see your feed saturated with scripture, pick one or two and let it rest in your mind and heart.
- Listen to Christian radio, music and/or Bible on CD. Fill the empty air space with scripture. While driving in your car, cleaning house or just softly in the background while you are working is a great way to fill your day with God’s Word and encouragement.
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In what ways do you find you are able to get into God’s word? What ideas do you have for busy Moms?
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