Here to help you find your "fanatic"!
Balance, Home Life, Food, Family
Ever have one of those years when the school year just starts out messy? I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but if you haven’t yet, you probably will. The good news is that if you follow the three “R’s”, you can pick back up and have success!
Continue reading “When the School Year Starts Out Messy”
I’m not the most organized person. In fact, I’m one of those people who has no set system, a little messy at times, yet can put my hands on something fairly quickly. My kids school papers are all over the place (one has even graduated), and I don’t claim to “have it together”, because I absolutely do not. BUT, when I discover something that has consistently worked, and I feel better about myself for doing it, I want to tell the world! (Or anyone who will listen to me making a big deal about it.) What am I talking about? A Master Binder, of course!
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I like simple and practical, or else I’ll never use it, just collect it. There are three things (a prerequisite that I just made up), that I strive to stick to for items in our homeschool, or things that enter our home for that matter.
It must be uncomplicated, suit my needs, and be pretty.
The Binder – I like the heavy duty ones with a front pocket, and possibly a pocket or two on the inside. It needs to last!
Sheet Protectors – there’s some important stuff in there, so I protect it!
Dividers, or some kind of binder folder with pockets and holes.
I place a title page in the pocket on the front, complete with school name and mascot. A mascot or logo sounds kind of silly, but we’ve had one for years. We’re the Stingrays. I actually put some thought into it years ago, but I’ll save that story for another time.
Our state of North Carolina has just a few requirements of things to keep on hand: disease immunization chart, annual attendance records for each student, and we also have to keep the results from our annual standardized achievement tests for at least one year.
The Master Binder is not a lesson planner, which I use daily. The Master Binder is used for administrative papers, as well as other things I may only use annually or seasonally. It’s good to have all that stuff together when you need it! Here’s what’s inside of mine:
I also have a 6 pocket binder folder that holds answer keys. The other pockets are labeled fall, winter, spring, summer. I use these for printables, unit studies, future field trip brochures, or ideas for that particular season. The extra pocket is of course a miscellaneous pocket. People like me must have a miscellaneous pocket or file! (And it’s usually full!)
You may have noticed I did not include a grade book, reading lists and logs, field trips we go on, volunteer work, or that sort of thing. That’s because I’ve been using HomeschoolMinder for years. I love it, and the platform passes my three prerequisites of being uncomplicated, meets my needs, and is pretty. Really, the reports this program can print out are both professional & pretty!
If you are just starting your homeschool journey, I highly recommend going ahead and getting things together from the start! (Take it from me!) If you are late to get on the organization bus, you’re not really late. It’s easy to put one of these together in under an hour! Customize it to fit the needs in YOUR homeschool, YOU are the master after all!
For scheduling tips/chaos control, check out this post. It contains several ideas that may help your homeschool! Also, grab those free printables! Keep those plates spinning, homeschool mom or dad – you’ve got this!
Most of the time I blog to help homeschoolers. Whether it be through a product review, an idea that worked for our family, or to offer some kind of encouragement. Once in a while, I enjoy writing about something personal, not directly related to homeschooling, but life in general. Keyword placement and SEO rules are thrown out the window, and I just write. This is one of those times.
During my daughter’s 10th grade year, I began thinking of what to do for her graduation…as well as my own little celebration. Lord knows we both deserve some kind of extravaganza! She’s not one that appreciates a lot of fanfare or attention. So, we don’t share the same dream of a huge pig-pickin’ with confetti, fireworks, and maybe a balloon bender, but I do know we share an adventurous spirit. I began to think of something special she and I could do together to commemorate this milestone.
I had an idea to cruise the Mississippi – from the bottom to the top! It was one of those things my husband or son would not really be interested in, but perfect for us. I began to check prices, and it carried a big price tag. Well, at least I had a couple of decades years to save….then 2020 came. Any and all plans came to a screeching halt. Then 2021 proved to be worse than 2020. The funds were not available, nor was I ever going to meet the health and safety requirements to board a cruise ship at the time, if you catch my drift.
I vividly remember sitting at my computer on a rainy night in April of 2022, thinking about her graduating next month. With no plans in place, I began to feel guilty that we had not been on the first field trip in two years. Oh well, at least the kids will remember I was a mama who stood her ground…and those couple of years we didn’t go anywhere but to the beach…sigh.
While I was updating my Usborne Book biz page with cutsie spring graphics, a big idea hit me. In our homeschool, we had recently finished a fun UK unit in geography, complete with bangers and mash, fish and chips, and a full English breakfast. In my little side gig, one of our slogans is “books are my ticket to the world“….(the think cloud is growing)…the company is headquartered there…and it just clicked – LONDON!
Knowing I was unable to pull off something that big in a short amount of time, I told her my idea. Of course, she was okay with waiting. I even turned the planning into an end-of-year project for her. Rather than writing a traditional senior essay, she would be responsible for planning the trip. Now that she’s been out of school for a year, I can’t wait to finally get the finished project, uh-hummm.
Before making any concrete plans, we waited for all restrictions to lift. No surprises, like “you get an extra 10 days to quarantine”, or “oops, you need that card to get back in the states”. I believe most restrictions were lifted last summer, but I wasn’t taking any chances. The extra time allowed us to save more money, and this past November we took the first step, and applied for *three passports.
Check out the cardboard Queen! She was the greeter at a new vendor event I worked at during the holidays. How awesome is that! Could it be a sign? Nah, just a perfectly fun photo op!
There have been a couple of other setbacks, one being the recent coronation the same week in spring I was thinking about going! Wow, that would have been crazy! To avoid the summer crowds, I am hopeful we will finally be flying across the pond this fall. The belated gift for the grad will be worth the wait. At least I hope so! We’ve only been 966 miles from home, so if you have any travel tips, I’m all ears! Seriously, talk to me, I would love to hear about your experiences abroad! Oh, and we did have the perfect little graduation for her in 2022 – her way.
When a worldwide pandemic takes over your big homeschool graduation plans, you plan bigger!
* Traveling to London is not on my husband’s bucket list, hence the three passports. However, he’s the biggest supporter of my crazy ideas, and I don’t know how to properly thank him enough for his support. Oh, I know! I will thank him by not applying for the next season of the Amazing Race with him as my partner.
Need cash, need it fast? I know, I know, it sounds like a line from a commercial, right? Well, let me drop you a commercial that is worth tuning in to!
I have been known to cringe at fundraisers. Bake sales are hard work (usually for mama), same for yard sales. Kid-run carwashes? Ummmm, no thanks. I’d rather just give them a few bucks and save the scratches. I don’t have the freezer space for cookie dough, fruit goes bad before I can eat it, and raffles are a just waste to me, like throwing money into the wind.
Continue reading “Fundraising: Simple & Profitable with Cards”Have you ever attended a Homeschool Convention? If not, I highly encourage you to check one out this year! There are a few things I’ve learned over the years – in person as well as virtually!
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I barely remember the first convention I attended. I don’t even know the year, but it had to be 13-14 years ago. One thing I do remember is how overwhelming it was, and oh yes, coming home with a few dissection specimens and art supplies. I had no idea how to navigate such an event, and I wish someone would have given me some tips. So here I am writing, “How to Navigate a Homeschool Convention”.
Continue reading “How to Navigate a Homeschool Convention”World Kindness Day is officially observed on November 13th. Wouldn’t it be nice if it were every day, or at least once a week? Well, it can be with these thirteen ideas!
This post contains just a few affiliate links. Anything purchased from these recommended links cost nothing extra to you, and is a great way to throw some ninja niceness my way!
For obvious reasons, I listed thirteen ideas for World Kindness Day (celebrated on 11/13). Of course there are many more ideas out there, but these are specific. Specifically stealthy, like a ninja. No one needs to know, a committee doesn’t need to be formed to carry them out, and public recognition isn’t necessary. Kindness should become habit forming, beyond just a one-time good deed. These ideas are hand-picked for teens and adults from two sources: Do Nice, Be Kind, Spread Happy – a “keeper book” my PaperPie company no longer carries, but have since kept for myself. The second is from life itself.
Remember when our kids were little, and we would remind them to say please and thank you, mind your manners, and be helpful? Hopefully, all those things stuck with them. As I was thinking about kindness day, I also began thinking about ways to go beyond the basics of being polite and having good manners. Sure, their dad and I have prepped them to be good people, but a refresher is never time wasted, especially when it’s in the form of a boost beyond the basics.
There are a ton of kindness ideas on the internet, and they are all good ones. I would encourage anyone to do them as they feel comfortable. However, several of them are just awkward, especially for shy teens. Give a compliment to a stranger? Hand out flowers on the street corner? Ummmm, that one would be a stretch for me to do, and I’m one who will talk to most anybody!
So here are 13 super-secretive ideas that no one has to know that it’s you – in fact, it’s better if they don’t.
Be sure to grab my Niceness Ninja printable in the Free Resource Library – keep it close by!
The teen years are the perfect time to review, model, and share kindness. They will soon be heading into a world that can be bitter. Make it better!
“The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.” -Charles Kuralt
“Every artist was first an amateur.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
We’ve seen them. In museums, in books, on buildings, calendars, coffee mugs, t shirts, and even socks – (I have a pair myself). What am I talking about? Famous paintings! International Artist’s Day is on October 25th, and I’ve got some ideas to last all year!
Continue reading “7 Ways to Use Famous Painting Cards”
Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.
The mission of Progeny Press is “To teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on the scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!” High school lit can be a challenge. There are often many layers to uncover from stories that may go unnoticed if you’re not looking. Progeny Press literature guides make learning high school lit easy with guides such as the Fellowship of the Ring Study Guide.
Continue reading “High School Literature Study Guide”
Alexa, clean the house. It sure would be nice if it really worked that way, right? I was fortunate enough to have a mama who did not work outside of our home, and it was always spotless. She loves to clean! Unfortunately, that “cleaning gene” did not get passed to me. Don’t get me wrong. I do love a clean home, and it’s usually presentable, but it’s top surface cleaning that I do during the week. Some might even call it “a lick and a promise”. I don’t know if most people still do this anymore, but once upon a time, people participated in “spring cleaning”. It even dates all the way back to Biblical times!
Continue reading “Clean Your Way to a Fresh Start”