Get Along Jar: Creative Discipline to Combat Sibling Bickering.

We hear it all. day. long. Bickering and sibling rivalry. In my home, the common offenses include, Mom, she’s looking at me. or  Mom he’s in my room! or  She’s using my tablet! and my favorite He’s breathing on me!!! You can view the video my Nebraska.TV News segment here or read further! Whether you’re a working mom, stay at home mom, a home school mom or run a daycare. This jar will take a load off your shoulders! 🙂 If you’re tired of hearing these comments and playing referee on top of coming up with consequences on the fly–then …

Share

4 Cabin Fever Sanity Savers with Printables!!!

School at this point may be on hold for the entire country with all the crazy cold weather. And even if your oldest kids are at school and your little ones are stuck in doors, have no fear–I know the feeling and opted to share cabin fever rescues that make life fun for your brood and give you a chance to sip your coffee and smile at their imaginative play! 1. Board a Plane or Train Items needed: Homemade tickets, chairs to create rows, toys to be passengers, snacks.  DVD player–optional.  Line up your dinning room chairs and ask your …

Share

5 Lessons I Learned from 11 Years of Homeschooling

For me, I knew God was calling us to homeschool. We couldn’t afford for me not to work, but the call was greater than red numbers that tallied up without my paycheck. And somehow…once we said yes, the money was there. Not to do everything we wanted, but to provide everything we really needed. Sacrifices were made and times were tough, but God never allowed us to miss a meal or a mortgage payment. And me? Well, I LOVED every moment of homeschooling our boys! I loved it even when the boys didn’t. I loved it even when my youngest …

Share

FREE DOWNLOADABLE Praying Scripture with Your Kids

Click this link for a free resource to help make it easy to teach your children the power of praying God’s Word.. We know it’s hard being a mom. There’s a lot on your plate and the days seem to begin to run together. The M.O.M. Initiative wants to make it easier for you and help you prepare your child’s heart for the days ahead. Maybe your child is just entering kindergarten, six grade or even graduating high school this year. Wherever they are in their education, the one thing they need more than anything is to HIDE GOD’S WORD …

Share

Real moms praying for real teachers

If the sand is running through the hour glass of your summer, it’s likely a teacher is in your future. For children in traditional style classrooms or co-op groups, another adult will direct most of their school days. In the days of the one room schoolhouse, everyone knew the teacher, but in modern times, few parents have a close relationship with the educator who will invest so much in their child’s growth academically and otherwise. Real moms want to know, “Who is this stranger who will imprint herself (or himself) on the life of my child? Does this real person …

Share

Connecting with their Learning Styles

A few years ago, during one of my more challenging homeschooling days with my kids, the Lord showed me a scripture verse that has stuck with me. “Then the Lord looked over all he had made and he saw that it was excellent in every way.” Genesis 1:31  I wondered, does this mean that my kids are excellent?  I have to be honest here, I really had not thought of my kids as excellent.  After all, they were making my day very difficult.  I looked at the scripture again and knew it was true, my kids were excellent.  I just …

Share

Mentoring thru the School Year

         Subscribe today for your FREE copy of… FACING YOUR FEARS – 31 STORIES FROM M.O.M.     By now many schooling families have written or received their first progress reports. Areas of weakness emerge, the lunch menu sounds dull, and new pencils have broken tips. Moms who have a mentoring mindset will succeed, even when school year challenges stack up against us. How can mentoring give you a Grade A school year? Teacher to Student Whether the parent wears the hat of “academic teacher” or shares it with another adult, teachers have the potential to mentor …

Share

To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool in the Summer

The theme song to a popular kids’ television show sings, “There’s a hundred and four days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it.” That may or may not hold true for us homeschoolers. Since we have freedom to work with a much more flexible schedule than those in traditional school systems, we have a choice: to homeschool or not to homeschool during the summer months. I have been homeschooling since 2000. Over the years, we have worked our calendar a variety of ways. In the beginning, I worked an office job, so our dedicated school days …

Share

How Parents Support (and Sabotage) Student Success (Part III)

As parents, we want to help our children succeed in school. In my twenty-two years as a classroom teacher (twenty-one as a parent), I’ve seen parent strategies that pay big dividends. I’ve also seen well-intentioned efforts that actually cost the kids. Today is Part 3 of a series in which we explore one support strategy and one form of sabotage. (Here are links to Part 1 and Part 2.)   Support #3: Help Your Child Develop Organizational and Planning Systems One day, I came home from 4th grade in tears. I’d been assigned a “research report” on the Yokut Indians, and …

Share

Help!

Do you have a nagging feeling that your child’s development is not quite right?  Does your doctor see areas of concern?  You may know you want help, but have no idea where to turn.  Today my goal is to give you some information to help you get started! The very first place to begin is with Child Find, www.childfindidea.org.  This website will help you obtain the contact information for your specific state. By law, each state is required to locate and evaluate every child between birth and age 21 who may need special education or early intervention services.  This evaluation …

Share