Wait for the right season.

by on October 31, 2011
in inspiration · 9 Comments

Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and founder of Steady Mom

Seasons come and seasons go. I don’t know what the weather’s like in your neck of the woods, but we’re smack in the midst of a freak New England snowstorm. Snow–in October!

Am I the only one who finds the change of seasons uncomfortable? Summer, which we’d grown to wear so perfectly, no longer fits. There’s work involved with the change–piles of clothes to remove from drawers and purchases to make in new sizes.

It’s impossible to ignore what happens outdoors, yet somehow we’re not always as tuned in to the seasons that come and go in the midst of our homeschooling and parenting.

We wish we could find that magic schedule, that one routine, that we could use from now until the kids graduate. Wouldn’t that make life easier?

Easier? Maybe.

Boring? Definitely.
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Made Any Mistakes? Care to Share? (& Weekend Links, Too!)

by on October 30, 2011
in links · 4 Comments

Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and founder of Steady Mom

Anyone else feeling a bit surprised by yesterday’s weather? We had a blast sledding down our very own hill and enjoying the first fire of the season.

On the blog front, we’re almost finished with our Biggest Homeschooling Mistake series. I hope you have enjoyed reading the honest words our contributors have shared–we can learn so much from each other, can’t we?

That’s why I want to invite you to join in as well. Over this week, write a post on your blog about any lessons you’ve learned during your homeschooling journey. Next Friday, November 4th, link up your post here, and get a little extra traffic sent your way. (If you don’t have a blog, you can still share your thoughts in the comments!)

Now on to our weekend links:
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Sarah’s Biggest Homeschooling Mistake: Not Traveling More

by on October 28, 2011
in field trips · 39 Comments

Written by contributor Sarah Small of SmallWorld at Home

One of the things that really aggravated me when our son was in public school in first grade was being told that we shouldn’t go on trips that would make him miss school.

Really? So being in a classroom is more culturally valuable than going to a Greek festival? So he’ll learn music better if he’s jingling bells than if he is at a symphony? History is more likely to come alive for him within the four walls of school than at Gettysburg?

When we decided to homeschool, I knew that much of my children’s education would consist of hands-on learning that included going lots of places. I imagined us taking the Civil War trail along the East Coast, following Lewis and Clark’s adventures out west, digging up dinosaur bones in Utah, ogling masterpieces at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I even had it calculated that my husband would be eligible for sabbatical when our oldest was in high school, so we would spend six months somewhere far away (and per my husband’s career, botanically interesting), like Australia or South Africa.

The best laid plans, eh?

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Do this today and change everything.

by on October 27, 2011
in inspiration ·

Ever have that nagging feeling that you’re just a day late and a dollar short–that you’re behind? Yep, me too, and I’m writing about it over on Steady Mom.

Hope you’ll join me there!

From my post:

“A few days ago I sat down in the morning, per my usual routine, to make my daily to-do list. As often happens, there were more items to do that day than there was time for the doing.

Anxiety and overwhelm began to threaten me, though I tried to ignore their taunts.

Still the nagging thought kept creeping back, “How exactly am I going to get all this done?”

Suddenly God whispered to my heart. What He said surprised me, changed my outlook, and altered the entire direction of my day–of all my days.”

Head here to read the rest!

Heather’s Biggest Homeschooling Mistake: Not Starting Sooner

by on October 26, 2011
in a mom's education · 26 Comments

Written by contributor Heather Bruggeman of Beauty That Moves

This was a challenging topic upon first glance, as Renee already mentioned. So many thoughts came up for me – “I don’t like to focus on the mistakes… every bump in the road is an opportunity to grow… I like to stay focused on the present moment… blah, blah, blah.”

Well, let me just tell you that not only did I eventually come up with one topic for Jamie, I came up with a second topic a few days later and emailed her requesting to switch. And then? I thought of yet a third topic a few days after that! (But figured I should leave Jamie alone to unpack her final boxes.)

It turns out I had no trouble at all coming up with a mistake! Or a few for that matter. I’ll just focus on one today…

Not homeschooling sooner, that would have to be it. Maybe it wouldn’t classify as a mistake exactly, but it is a place of doubt and second-guessing that I’ve been living in lately.
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Playful Learning: An Interview (& Giveaway) with Mariah Bruehl

by on October 24, 2011
in methods & philosophies ·

This giveaway has ended. Thanks for entering!

Mariah Bruehl is an educator at heart. After receiving her master’s degree in elementary education from Bank Street College, she taught at the Dalton School in New York. She then worked as the associate director of the Ross Lower School in Bridgehampton, New York.

After years of working in the field of education, Mariah created the award-winning website Playful Learning, which helps parents support their children’s learning and development.

Mariah’s first book was recently published, and it is packed full of ideas to integrate learning in natural ways for children ages 4-8. I recently had the chance to ask Mariah a few questions about her book, her educational philosophy, and her upcoming e-course. Check out the end of the post to see how you can win!
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