Archive for September, 2008
September 30, 2008
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged free web blog hosting, free website hosting, homeschool, homeschool moms, how to make money online
Have you noticed how many homeschool moms and even dads are blogging and starting websites? I love it. It is the greatest way to network. For me, it allows a hobby, new friends, a little cash at times (when I’m lucky), a creative outlet, a frustration outlet, a place to share trials and joys and more!
Recently I have been busy writing for many websites and many blogs. I am always looking for the best product for web hosting and blog hosting but I want to do most of it for free. I love free hosting for your blog. It’s hard to find a great place for hosting for your blog.
I love any website that can tell me how to make money online! Who can’t use a little extra cash? Even with the publicly funded curriculum that I use it seems that there is always a need for extra money for field trips, extra activities, projects and more. Most parents can use more money and more ideas on how to make money.
For all of you that are like me, best wishes and happy writing!
September 29, 2008
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged e-mail, homeschool, internet, media, television, withdrawals
My children and I are completely having media withdrawals. We went five days with almost no internet and no television. They did have small handheld video games but they all three have the same machine and I only left one charger out of boxes for our move. That made playing frustrating so usually they just played. This part of the five days was wonderful.
It’s a rude awakening to realize how reliant we are on technology. It’s not that I think it is all bad. At one time I didn’t want cable in my home and then my children ended up doing a homeschool program that has virtual field trips on certain channels. So we try to take the better part of media and leave the rest behind but we don’t always succeed.
I am hoping that with this realization I can help my children to rely more on reading, playing and engaging in discussions and other forms of interaction, thinking and entertainment. One can always dream!
September 24, 2008
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged ADD, ADHD, drug exposed babies, education, family, parenting, symptoms, warning signs
Many children are being misdiagnosed every day because symptoms are missed or are missing. With ADHD this is so often the case. ADHD comes with a slew of symptoms. Some of these symptoms are obvious like not being able to pay attention or being scatter brained or busy. These are what we would consider typical I suppose.
What we must realize is that sometimes children display completely different characteristics that are easy to miss. Also, the symptoms cross over to other behavior disorders and can be hard to narrow down.
For more information on this I would suggest going to ADHD Child to find out more about the symptoms and what to look for. Keep in mind that you are the expert on your child. I know that we have done other posts regarding this but I don’t think it can be said enough.
This hits close to home for me as I have a two year old that we adopted through foster care. She was put in foster care (in our home) at birth due to her mother being on meth, marijuana, and alcohol. I will also say that she smoked while being pregnant but that was not a reason for the baby’s removal. We were told that because meth is such a new drug it is hard to get good statistics on the effects that it has on the brain of the child exposed prenatally. My baby is wired all of the time, she does have the ability to concentrate so that is reassuring. I am constantly watching for anything amiss so that we can diagnose and treat whatever comes to give her the best chance in this life. So far we seem to be okay but a parent never lets their guard down. Especially when they have been told that many meth babies are diagnosed with ADHD when toddlers or school age.
So, forgive me for bringing this topic up yet again. It just tugs at my heart!
September 23, 2008
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Boston Legal, homeschool, House, recess, season premier, television
I confess now that I do not always make wholesome choices in my television watching. Last week I couldn’t wait to see the season premier of House on Fox. I know that it isn’t the worst on television, it just isn’t something I want my children to see or hear.
Tonight I was thrilled to find that the season premier of Boston Legal was on. It is truly my guilty pleasure and I love how into the characters I get. It’s so wonderful to laugh out loud and hard! YEAH!
Just as I consider my children enjoying their favorite shows like Fairly Odd Parents a form of recess from our homeschool days, my television watching is the same. Thank heavens there is something besides reality television. After a full day of way too much reality, I need some scripted fun!
What are your favorite shows?
September 22, 2008
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged autumn, change, fall, family, family time, family trip, homeschool, road trip, seasons
Our family loves new beginnings and adventures and seasons provide the perfect canvas for such change. We were lucky enough to see the change for ourselves on Saturday by driving over a nearby mountain. It was a three hour loop that took us down through a National Park at the end of our journey. The colors were vibrant and the children were thrilled. We took my mom along and she loved the day as well.
We took a road off the highway to gather fallen leaves. My children love to get walking sticks and even the two year old was loving this one. Luckily, there were many for the taking. We gathered, ran and enjoyed the fall air that surrounded us. It was such a beautiful thing. The children begged for more time but we knew that we had so much work awaiting us at home. It was bittersweet as we all could have just stayed there frozen in time.
We drove back down the back side of the mountain and came through a nearby National Park. We let the children out there as well to run around. They had such a great time just playing on a small piece of grass we found with shade trees and tables.
Right after leaving the park we stopped at a Farmer’s market and got freshly grown Gala Apples from the local orchard. Nothing is better than a Gala Apple! They are like candy from Heaven!
At the end of the day the kids all agreed that it was “the best” day! The greatest thing in my life as a mother is how often my children say these words at the end of the day. Could anything give me more satisfaction?
For all mothers out there please know that you can’t buy a child’s happiness. They love the simplest of things but most of all your time and attention. All children love to have an adult get down to their level and have a sense of wonder about the world that surrounds us and to share that joy and wonder with them as equals. Oh, to have more days like Saturday!
Hope everyone out there enjoys their change of season as much as we are! It is truly a miracle amidst so much weirdness in the world right now! Take advantage and live it up.
Tracy, I wish I had your wonderful trendy bike to go out in the weather with! How fun! I wish you many good rides.
September 20, 2008
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged education, family, homeschool, jumper cables, lessons, life, marriage, school
I realize that most life lessons can be learned later on but today my children learned such a great one and they wouldn’t have learned it at such a tender age if they had been at school. Perhaps by the time the lesson had come their way they would have thought that they knew better than their mother. Isn’t that how it goes?
What happened was this: A month ago my DH tells me that we are going to need a new battery for the minivan. I am cheap and say that it will have to wait until it is really pertinent. He is not usually pushy but he said something like “call me when you are stranded”. Instead of taking this for what it was worth, I ignored him and thought he was a jerk for it.
Today we get in the car to go clear across town (a 20 minute drive) for guitar lessons. The car won’t start. It’s that dreaded clicking of an obviously very dead battery and no hope to be found. The worst part is that I had no choice but to call my DH because although there are hundreds of houses around me, no one is ever around. So here comes my patient DH driving his 20 minutes across town to save his damsel in distress. All the while, I am gearing up to hear the cocky attitude that is going to come my way. He simply loves to be right. How human of him!
The kids had a ball pushing the minivan out of the garage so that it was accessible for jumper cables. Then they enjoyed watching the jumper cables work. It was especially gripping because it took a bit to work, the battery was already six feet under.
So here is what they learned:
1. Dad can be right! It’s a miracle!
2. Mom can be humbled!
3. It’s okay to call for help!
4. How to use jumper cables properly.
5. Mom should have taken Dad’s advice.
6. You don’t always have to be right, sometimes it’s better to be able to drive the car than be right.
7. Couples can disagree and laugh it off (thanks to my good natured husband, what a great example!).
Good times. I would say those were great homeschool lessons learned! All that even after a full day of “normal” curriculum. Ha!
September 19, 2008
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged education, family, health, homeschool, nutrition, snack time, snacks
Like most mothers I don’t really have a problem coming up with easy lunches because some wonderful person invented sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. I hope that those people are being rewarded big time.
What I tend to forget are snacks. I am not much of a snacker and I do believe that if you are not careful, children do not eat as well at mealtimes if given snacks. I am really not a fan of fruit juice as it is just empty calories. We are water drinkers (except for me and my diet Pepsi, we have to keep fuel in Mom’s pathetic tank).
Still, I forget that my five year old has a hard time going through six hours straight with nothing to eat. I have come up with a few easy things that I am sure are not new but nonetheless, I want to share them. Please keep in mind that in general I believe in eating protein with whatever you have so that you don’t do the carb roller coaster.
Peanut butter on celery. We are really pushing the food pyramid at my house and need more veggies.
Apples – the quickest snack ever. We go through so many apples. Some children like peanut butter on apples. I am not a fan personally but my kids don’t mind it.
Cheese and crackers – and sometimes I even let them put small pieces of lunch meat on them to make them little “cracker stackers”.
Yogurt – I consider this a perfect food. I think that everyone should eat a yogurt a day, it solves all the life problems that vinegar cannot. 
This can get pricey with a family of six so I am working on being good about clipping coupons.
Popcorn – I know it’s empty calories and can be fattening but with butter salt it isn’t so bad and it is strictly something to munch on.
Chewing gum – I read the coolest study that if children chew gum while doing things like spelling words, they actually retain them better. Go figure! I always have sugar free gum for the kids.
Water – I am not a water pusher, don’t get me wrong. I just believe it should be readily available. Another study that my aunt who teaches public school told me was that children learn better if well hydrated. So, we have water bottles at the ready on our school table.
What works for snacks at your house? How do you keep costs down? Are you a fan of pre-packaged items or do you go for more traditional things? Please share.
September 19, 2008
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged education, family, homeschool, new post, thoughts on life
My newest post can be found here.
September 17, 2008
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged allowance, children, family, kids, money management, parenting, recognition, responsibility, rewards
Children have chores. This is something our family firmly believes in. Children thrive when given responsibilities and are given the room to take charge of things and rise to the occasion. This is so hard for me as a parent. Many mother’s have confided that it is hard to let go of housework or yard work so that their children can learn and reap the reward of knowing that they did a job well done.
It’s interesting to me to hear what families do as far as chores and responsibilities as well as how they recognize what a child has done and/or reward them for it. Personally, I think that recognition is huge and rewards are nice sometimes. I don’t want my kids to think that everytime they do a load of laundry or empty the dishwasher that they deserve a medal, because they don’t. I do think recognizing that someone did a good job and verbally expressing it is huge. I even know that my husband thrives on this. He glows when I thank him for working so hard for our family or for even always remembering to take his laundry to the laundry room each morning!
My children have set chores that they do every morning. These include self care. Then they are also expected to do whatever they are asked without hesitation or question. Never are they allowed to cop an attitude, roll eyes or act beligerent. Not only are they not allowed to but they don’t even try these things. We have been lucky so far. For these kinds of chores and behavior there is no reward and rarely do I remember to give the recognition that should probably follow. I do think that children should brush their own teeth without having to be applauded. I have to draw a line somewhere.
My children receive a flat rate of allowance each week. This is not really for anything that they do but it is to help them learn to manage their money and value a dollar. So far, that part seems to be working. They are like everyone else. One child likes to save and save and never feels the need to spend all that he has. Another child spends everything his has on anything he can get his hands on. He is becoming more discerning which makes me happy. My daughter is somewhere in between and the baby doesn’t care. She would be happy with lint if you gave it to her to have as her own.
What works in your family. What are your childrens rewards, responsibilities and what recognition do you give them?
September 17, 2008
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged current events, education, homeschool, natural disaster, news, opinions, politics, stock market
Some of you are like me and have children who are old enough to hear certain world news and be alarmed but are not sure why they feel worried. Most parents probably worry about what to say and what not to say. Only a parent can know what is age appropriate as well as what is the best thing for the specific child.
For my children, I can talk quite straight. I can tell them what I know. I don’t always have answers to their questions so it if nice to involve their father and other family members. I also try to not skew their thoughts. I try to ask questions that get the kids to use their own thinking, values and judgement. This creates wonderful discussions. I can talk to them about how I feel but I encourage them to make up their own minds. They are still so young and yet I am always blown away at how insightful they tend to be. The mind of a child is truly phenomenal.
While our world keeps rocking with things like stock market trouble, terrorism, natural disasters and more, maybe we should all take a little more time to be a voice inside their sweet heads. Let’s not leave it up to the news or the influence of others. I have even found that my children can make assumptions just based on the small part of a conversation I may have on the phone or with a visitor. I find it fascinating to let them into the adult world and they thrive knowing that I feel that they are equal to me even though we all know that they cannot fully understand the scope of some tragedies.
At the risk of sounding preachy, talk with your child. Every channel on television plays ads about reading with your child but in addition to it talk with them for 20 minutes. You will both learn so much!
