Beginning Our Year Off Right

ChelseaLeave a comment

Last year was tough for everyone. People stopped working, kids weren’t going to school in person, people were getting sick, people were getting laid off, people were basically stuck in solitude. So much changed and so quickly. Certain things were easier to handle for homeschoolers, because many of us are already stay-at-home parents and our kids are already home. But a lot of people thought we had it easy.

In ways we did, but in a lot of ways we were just as inconvenienced, annoyed, and affected by the changes. Despite the stigma around homeschooling, we are not the unsocialized recluses we are usually made out to be. We go out and experience the world on a daily basis participating in classes, field trips, co-ops, clubs, groups, meet-ups, and just learning through life. By the end of the year, our family was so tired of being shut out from the world that we were all struggling just being around each other. Not being able to get away from each other takes its toll on any relationship and that doesn’t exclude homeschooling families.

So after a ROUGH end to last year, I knew things needed to change. By rough, I mean tears were involved for more than one (ok, ALL) of us and we didn’t even finish our curriculum (sorry, not sorry). However, even without finishing the curriculum, the boys did fabulous on their end of the year testing. They tested way above what they needed to show proof of progress for our state and hit much higher than their grade level.

Monster with the only part of our curriculum we did finish last year

So what was I really worrying about? Keeping up? Finishing curriculum? My children falling behind? Failing them?

The truth is, all of the above. But the biggest issue with all of that is, with as bad as it sounds, no one besides me cares. I don’t need to keep up with anyone. No one checks to make sure I have given them all the worksheets from the curriculum or that we worked 180 days or x amount of hours for the year. My children consistently test well above the minimum required to show progress in our state. I am obviously only failing them in thinking I am failing them. They are actually thriving despite my extremely high expectations. At this point I knew the problem wasn’t with them. It was with 1 of 2 things. 1) Our Curriculum or 2) Me. Let me tell you, it wasn’t our curriculum…

I had taken the fun out of learning because I was so worried that I wasn’t doing “enough”. I didn’t think we worked on Language Arts enough. I didn’t think we worked on Science or Art enough. I didn’t think we talked about History enough. But what really wasn’t enough was having fun and instilling the love of learning. I had forgotten one of the main reasons we started homeschooling to begin with. So over the summer, I really came to terms with what was enough and thought hard about our lifestyle and what would bring some joy back into our school day.

The first thing I implemented was allowing them to have a say in what they learned. Does this mean I let them choose whether they got to do math or not? Of course I didn’t. But they each picked subjects they wanted to dive into. We set up an entire basket that we sift through monthly. In our “Daybreak Basket” (AKA Morning Basket) I set up fun activities, games, puzzles, sensory activities, and more all centered around that topic. I add in lots of fun, factual books for them to explore and read to learn about the topic. For some families who use this, it is a small part of their day but for us it is almost as long as our “formal” school. We sit together as a family and bond over activities, reading, and having fun. It has been a great transition into our day and really helps keep the rest of the day on track.

Working at the table on Language Arts
Working together on Language Arts

The second is being more present. I am sitting with them, teaching them, and involved with them from the time they start until the time we are done. This seems like a simple task, but as a mom who also has a 2 year old and runs a small business out of the house at the same time, it was very easy to get distracted by other things and leave them to their own devices. Especially because the curricula we use is open-and-go. For Math, a video can teach them and they get it. Language is pretty self explanatory and a lot of learning through reading, which they both do amazingly. Everything else is similar or could, in theory, be dropped because it is not tracked. So for me, scheduling my day so I can take the time to make sure that they are on task and understanding is critical. Because they are getting what they need and staying on track, the fights are basically non-existent.

Just these two things have made such a difference in the couple of weeks that we have been doing school this year. It has allowed us to stay on track and get all of our subjects in while having fun. Some days are more stressful and scheduled than others, especially during football season. Some days are a little looser and we still take Fridays off (or we use it to catch up if we didn’t finish because that 100% happens). But as this continues, it is becoming easier and I am realizing it takes much less time to get through our day than it did last year. We are learning so much more and the joy has spilled over into all aspects of our life. It is helping us enjoy each other’s company and by the end of the day they have had so much fun and worked so hard, I enjoy letting them get extra treats or fun stuff.

Exploring chemical and physical differences for science.

What has been the best part of your school year so far?

Make It Monday

Chelsea1 Comment

I love kids art! I really do, but I don’t have space to save it all. They each have a binder they can put their paintings and drawings in. But I love to let them make things that have a purpose or will be used also. So this summer we are stepping it up and doing a lot of crafts that can be used around the house, outside, or worn. ( I will update as I can with pictures of our makes!)

  • Craft Stick Bird Feeders- Make a square using 2 craft sticks at a time (alternating between the two sides and the top/bottom) Attach to each other using hot glue. Line craft sticks up next to each other to create a platform on the bottom. Also about half way up the front add another craft stick coming out of the front for a perch. Tie ribbon, twine, yarn, etc around both sides and hang from a tree or other area where birds may visit. Enjoy watching the birds!
  • Tie-dye Shirts- This one is scary to me. Three young kids and dye that will stain anything it touches. (Ugh!) So we will definitely make this an outside project. We will also probably do it in black clothing. I bought a rainbow tie-dye kit that includes all the squirt bottles, rubber-bands, dye, etc. The only other things I will have to get is the shirts for them! You could (if you have the ability) to use Heat-Transfer vinyl and make the “Family Camp” Field Trip Shirts.
  • Dream Catchers- We are doing this because my younger son had heard about the reason for dream catchers. He gets bad dreams often and so he wanted to make one. These can be as simple as a circle cut from card board and decorated with yarn wrap in a net design around it, or as complex as macrame knots, crystals and multicolor designs. The choice is yours. We used a plastic embroidery hoop I had laying around along with some DMC Embroidery Floss. After looping it around the outside and continuing until the middle. We then used pipe cleaners and craft feathers to hang from the bottom. You can read about the lore behind dream catchers here.
  • Patriotic Slime- We are using this as a “Which Works Best Experiment” this summer. We are going to start with liquid starch recipe from Little Bins for Little Hands. Then also make their Borax Slime and Contact Solution Slime. In each I am going to add in red, white, and blue sequins. I also may buy some of the Flag toothpicks to let them play with it. We are going to see which recipe we like the most! (Look at the other days to find out all the patriotic activities we are going to do the week before the 4th!)
  • DIY Bouncy Balls- I did this in my Chemistry lab in college. Pretty sure it was a just for the heck of it day. I couldn’t remember how to do it on my own but this seems really familiar so we are going to try the instructions from The 36th Avenue
  • Terarriums- I am excited for this. I have a dragon, dino, and fairy lover so I think they are each going to get their own stuff. Once we find a little container, they can fill it with sand, moss, plants, benches, rocks, houses, marbles, gold, etc. Each can make their own habitat for their little friends and keep it in their room!
  • Marshmallow Structures- This one is very simple STEM idea. Toothpicks and mini-marshmallows. Have them do different challenges. Who can build the tallest? Can they build a structure that can hold a book?
  • Splatter Paint- This one can be done a few ways. But for ALL of them I recommend doing it outside! LOL. Use large construction paper, canvas, butcher paper, etc. Tape it to a fence, lay it on the grass, or hold it for each other (if you want to make it a really messy activity). Wear clothes you don’t care about. Using paint brushes dip deep into paint and then splatter or drip it over the canvas or other paper choice. Use as many colors as you want and just have fun. You can also water the paints down a little bit and use squirt guns to spray the canvas. Channel your inner Jackson Pollack!
  • Wind Socks- The short Pringles cans are great for this project! Wrap with white or kraft paper and decorate it any way you wish. Markers, Paint, Stickers, Gems, etc. can all work. Then using streamers or ribbon attach to the bottom using a single whole punch and tying them through the holes. Also poke holes near the bottom metal part and loop twine though it. Hang from a hook on the porch or a stick and run through the yard to show its beauty as the wind blows.
  • Name Crystals- I found this on one of my favorite places to follow on FB. Playdough to Plato has lots of fun activities but this one caught the eye of my crystal loving Monkey and so he wanted to make his name in crystals. Pretty easy with Pipe cleaners, borax, hot water, food coloring, pencils/pens, jars, and fishing line. Younger children may need help forming their name.
  • Friendship Bracelets- Any DMC Embroidery Floss from the Dream Catchers can be used for this. Mixing colors and knot types, you can make something as simple as a chain or intricate designs. Great for all ages!
  • Sharpie Painting- This works best on canvas. I found some small cheap ones at the dollar store of all places! Let the kids use Sharpie markers to color different colors and designs all over the canvas. Once you are done, spray or pour rubbing alcohol over the entire canvas. Allow to dry fully and you should get a beautiful watercolor-esque design.

Water Fun Wednesday

Chelsea1 Comment

Water play is important all through out childhood. It helps with fine and gross motor skills, eye hand coordination, it encourages sensory acclimation, and it is just plain fun. And what better time than in the heat of summer to make it a regular time each week? So this summer we are getting it in every Wednesday after being out in the heat with riding lessons in the morning, there is nothing better than coming home, grabbing a quick lunch and then going out and cooling off in the water.

This summer I started by grabbing a new sprinkler and a new baby pool. We have dogs who have no boundaries (Yeah I said it, lol) They aren’t trained perfectly and they tend to tear things apart. So we need things that are easily picked up. I would love a bigger pool (if only for selfish reasons) but this one is plenty for the kiddos. What is really great, is I can set it up with minimal effort each Wednesday morning and fill it. While we are out at riding lessons, the sun will be warming it up and getting it perfect for play when we get home.

Target.com Colorful 3 Ring Pool
Target.com Colorful 3 Ring Pool

Some other great ideas the kids have wanted to do this summer are water balloons and the slip and slide. I am not sure about the slip and slide because my kids have a tendency to hurt themselves and I don’t want any hospital trips. But I love water balloons. You can find them cheap at the dollar stores or even get the easy fill sets for not a completely unreasonable price if you want that ease. If you have young children or pets, be careful of the little pieces (we make it a game to see how fast they pick them all up).

I do plan on taking them to the beach on the river or bay. We will hit a small local beach rather than going some place more populated because with 3 kids who love the water and a husband who works in an office 5 days a week, I will be doing it on my own. That means I need to be able to keep a hold of the Mermaid while Monkey and Monster run in the waves. Bigger waves means a bigger chance of one of them wiping the boys out. I will say, I did this one last year. After driving an hour and a half to get there, precisely 1 hour and 10 minutes later, my oldest got stung by a jelly fish. (A few tips are below!)

And last but not least water guns! Anything from cheap dollar store ones to high end “super soakers” (Are those even a thing anymore? I may need a few!) This one is great as a quick cool off also. Fill it up and let them run around for 10 minutes squirting each other, and I bet 10 minutes later they will be dried off. No need to even get in bathing suits.

As you can see this isn’t a in depth list. Mainly because most weeks we will keep it simple with the pool and the sprinkler. My kids love them so I don’t see it getting “boring”. They will also get trips to Nana’s and Grandma and Grandpa’s house with big real pools. And we will try to make it down to Granddaddy’s house again so they can fish on the marina (which they absolutely loved). We also have a water table on the porch they can always play in (mainly Mermaid). Water play doesn’t have to be scary, even for toddlers. Don’t want to put a pool up or have room for one? A simple bigger bowl with a couple cups and scoops and they can keep themselves entertained for a while.

What ways are you looking forward to incorporating water into your summer? Want to see other ideas for everyday of the week? Check our my original post Summertime Fun!

Ok so for tips for Jelly fish stings: I am by NO MEANS a Doctor but thank goodness for smart phones and Former Coast Guard Dads.
– Tip 1: DO NOT believe Friends and DO NOT urinate on the area.
– Tip 2: Ice really helped him. Wiping it did not. Tylenol may have helped a little.
– Tip 3: Watch water and food intake. He got really nauseous from the pain and ended up throwing up (poor kid!)
– Tip 4: This is going to sound really weird, but he had started feeling better and we decided to stop at a Mead shop to get a surprise for Daddy and the amazing Sales Associate there said that honey can help. He popped open a jar and slathered his arm and covered it with a paper towel and Monkey said it started feeling better by the time we got to the car! (BTW if you are in VA and want to try some amazing Mead, check out Silver Hand Meadery, Glenn and his crew are amazing!)
– Tip 5: Know what kind of jelly fish if at all possible. Where we were, it was a Sea Nettle and I found out (thanks Dad!) that carrying some meat tenderizer and sprinkling it on helps neutralize it and ease the pain.

Summertime Fun

Chelsea1 Comment

As most of you know, I homeschool. So having my kids home for summer is no real change for me. But we do take the summer off and that means we have a large chunk of our time that needs to be filled. I know my kids thrive with routine. If I let them do whatever they want to, they would be sitting on the Switch or PS4 all day. And while that is fine every once in a while, I have one child who can not be on screens that much. He is definitely one of those kids that is over stimulated by them and it causes behavioral problems if we aren’t careful.

I also have promised myself and my kids that I would be more present. I know that is what they really need. But having a 9 yo boy, 7 yo boy, and 2 yo girl means I run the spectrum on interests and abilities because even the boys are on almost opposite ends. So I am going to share what we are going to do this year for our summertime fun! Most of these activities are easy. They may take planning but for the most part they will cost me less than $20 a week and will keep all of them happy and entertained.

So here is our basic breakdown (click the links to be taken to the post that breaks it down into weekly ideas with instructions and supplies by day)

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Make Something Monday
Take a Trip Tuesday
Water Fun Wednesday
Theme day Thursday
Fun Food Friday

I know what you’re thinking! How could we possibly make so many things that aren’t a waste of money? I don’t need 30 pieces of children’s art covering my fridge this summer. How could we possibly take a weekly trip and not spend a ton with 3 kids? Not to mention hauling all their stuff by myself! Water can be stressful with multiple kids. It is hard to make sure they all are staying safe. And themed activities all day? You have to be kidding me! Fun Food Friday? I don’t have enough time to make sandwiches and now you want me to make it fun?

I promise it is going to be super easy, low cost ideas that can be used over and over again or at least that will last through the summer. Mondays will be useful things or be made from a lot of recycled materials or things you can get at the dollar store (and only 2 are artwork!). Most of our trips are local and have low cost with the exception of a few that we had already planned for. For Wednesdays, I invested in a new sprinkler and baby pool at the beginning of the summer and we will use those most of the time. Thursdays are themes based off movies or shows my children all love and are easy to do activities from minimal supplies we have lying around and Fridays aren’t especially difficult, just something different that we don’t do often. We will make a lot of things from scratch but only because Mama wants to use her new KitchenAid Stand Mixer!

I’ll be updating this all weekend with the activities so if you don’t see them come back and try again!

The Perfect Life

ChelseaLeave a comment

I have been thinking about this for a week. I wasn’t sure if I was going to write it. But I think I need to. I need to for me and I need to for the mom or dad who is struggling and needs to know they aren’t alone.

A little back story. My oldest has had a rough couple weeks. Like seriously… rough. He is at the age of testing boundaries and feeling like he is grown enough to make his own choices but is still only 9 so those choices are not always the greatest. He got in trouble for a myriad of things and therefore was not allowed to participate in a play date with friends. I wanted to spend time with her and her family, so I was not about to cancel something that my 2 other kids and I were looking forward to because *he* couldn’t make the right choice, especially because I had already done that with another friend that week. While hanging out at the playground, my friend couldn’t believe that my child was in trouble. She even said that she thinks of my life as perfect and that my kids could never do anything wrong. (If you are that friend, seriously this isn’t about what you said, I love you and this is just because I want you to know your life is no less perfect than mine😘)

I am here to tell you…. it isn’t and he did.

Because I am not perfect. I am far from perfect. I yell, I cry, I am lazy and somedays I struggle holding my little life together. My house is a mess more days than not. I am horrible at communicating my needs (ask my husband). I live with anxiety and a form of depression. I read books to learn to be a better person because I am not fully the person I want to be or saw myself being. I forget things on a regular basis, like moving laundry, calling my parents back, taking stuff to goodwill, and even making doctors appointments for my children’s well visits. I rarely have a good night’s sleep and I take the weight of the world on my shoulders. I spend WAY too much time on my phone, which causes me to think I am failing in all sorts of ways (you know what I am talking about…). I have trouble letting go of things (both physical and mental) even though I know my life would be less chaotic if I did. I worry about things that I said to someone 3 years ago. I drink way too much coffee and I relax with a glass of wine or 2 a couple times a week. I let things slip through the cracks that I know I shouldn’t.

My children are not perfect either. They are good kids, don’t get me wrong. Honestly, if there is one thing I am confident in, it is being a mom. I will always do my best to aim them in the right direction. But that doesn’t mean they won’t stray. They have their own free will and they are going to make the wrong choices. It is part of growing up. My job is to show them that their actions, good or bad have consequences. They have attitudes, they don’t want to do chores, and they get their Switch taken away at least 2x a month. They have lied, hurt things and people, attempted to steal (yep, not a proud moment for me), thrown fits, yelled, got toys taken away, haven’t clean up after themselves, and pissed me off more times than I can count.

My kids are homeschooled, as most of you know. But that doesn’t mean our days always go smoothly. They get frustrated with school, just like every kid. They hate when things get hard and they don’t get it right away. They don’t like doing busy work that seems like it has no reason for it. They would prefer to play video games or go outside or play with LEGO. They hate to write, complain about math, and science and history are almost non-existent right now because I was tired of fighting about them. Some days I want to give it up and put them in public school. But honestly it just isn’t for our family. My stresses would increase 10 fold if I did and, yes, part of the reason I homeschool is because of my own stress. #callmeselfishidontcare

I aim for perfection. I rarely hit my target. But I struggle when I don’t hit it because I am a perfectionist. I want the perfect house with the perfectly groomed kids who always listen and I meet each day with a joyous attitude and everything is beautifully decorated and has a place. I want the Instagram dream life. This is a dream that will never happen. Not until they are out of the house at least, and then I am going to miss these days because it will be quiet and I will be drinking hot coffee and reading a book and missing stepping on LEGO and playing tea party.

In reality, at this exact moment, I have a 2 year old who just finished her first of probably 3 movies of the day. My 7 year old is throwing a Scentsy Scentpak around and then running after it (not really sure why) while dressed in dress pants and a torn tee shirt. And my 9 year old is getting frustrated that the 7 year old keeps running in front of his video game while wearing long sleeves and sweat pants despite being told at least twice that it is too hot for that. None of their teeth are brushed because they ran out of toothpaste yesterday morning and I didn’t want to go to the store. I have dirty dishes on the counter and in the sink, laundry in the washer and dryer that has been there for 3 days, my bathrooms are gross, our dining/school room are a mess, there is a random bag of rubber bands strewn about my couch along with a ton of Duplo. We won’t be doing any school today, just like every Friday, because I. don’t. want. to. My hair is up in the same bun since Wednesday night, I am in the pjs I wore yesterday, I’ll shower when I can (probably naptime), and I have a zit on my forehead. I can tell I am having a rough mental day, although I haven’t lost my crap today (yet)! I am behind on orders and working with my UBAM business. I still have to run to the store to get the stuff for the beach that I forgot last week and the stuff I forgot for our dinner tonight and toothpaste since I didn’t know we were out.

My life isn’t perfect. If you look at my pictures, they are cropped because of the mess in the background. I show my kids reading, because yes they like to do that, but they also like to play with swords and at least once a day someone is hurt by their brother or sister. My dogs still have accidents in the house. I will loose my temper today. You may see a picture of my little one in a cute mermaid dress with a coordinating bow, but it probably took me 5 tries to get her smiling or not blurred. I am not perfect and my life isn’t perfect. But this morning, I woke up and I kissed my husband who loves me unconditionally in our messy unmade bed (and it will stay that way). I got my 3 kids up and ready in (probably) clean clothing and fed them decently healthy breakfasts. The boys have already destroyed their room with LEGO, my Mermaid is being a great “Mommy” to her babies. They are home with me. They are learning through life. We are figuring out things together. It isn’t Instagram worthy. It is messy, tiring, and not usually pretty. But just like your life, it isn’t perfect, but it is still great in its imperfections.

April Preschool Activities: Weather

ChelseaLeave a comment

🎶🌞Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Please shine down on meeeee.🌞🎶

I seriously love teaching preschoolers. I love the relaxed curriculum while learning big things through play. Before being a mom I taught infants to 4 year olds for almost five years on top of babysitting most of my teen years and helping my mom in her daycare out of our house in my middle school and elementary years. Needless to say, if there is one thing I confidently know, it is children. I know some of you are lost when it comes to preschoolers. What do you teach them? How do you teach them? Where? When? Do they ever stop moving? (No!) Is everything messy? (Yes!) Do they have to sit still forever, because I don’t know how long they will last if they have to sit. I will admit, I am not scared of a mess. I don’t like it when they make them but it is just a part of life these days

We use unit study themes for our house at this age (Mermaid is 2 years and 2 months) because it gives them a long time to work within a theme and continue working on the same skills and knowledge. Repetition is key for children. But so is fun and engaging learning through play and reading! I will pull these out to keep her busy for 10-20 minutes so that I can work with her brothers on their school work, clean something up, or get dinner going. When she is done, we clean it up and move on. While she is playing, even if I am not right next to her, I will still be talking with her about what she is doing and experiencing.

Our pillars of learning:
1- Reading- A basket of books relating to the topic. These are always accessible for her and we read them at least once a day. Maybe not all the way through if she is being busy but we will read as long as she will sit.
2- Sensory- Sensory play is SO important for cognitive development. It helps with emotional responses, it helps with problem solving, language skills, aids in memory development, and encourages motor skill development.
3- Motor skill work- Gross and fine motor skills are the building blocks to almost any kind of movement your child will ever do. When thinking about motor skills you want them to focus on the big muscles (GROSS: think legs, arms, back) and the small muscles (FINE: think fingers, hands, and feet).
4- Art- Fun exploration of different mediums encourages them to find creative ways to model the world around them.

So each month we will focus on these things and will switch them our daily, weekly, or monthly depending on the activity:

Weather Reading: (Switched out monthly based on theme)
Our book basket this month includes:
The Sunny Day- Anna Milbourne
The Windy Day- Anna Milbourne
Lift the Flap Questions and Answers: Weather- Katie Daynes
Oh Say, Can you Say What’s the Weather Today?- Tish Rabe

Other Titles I suggest are found here:

If you buy from this site, I am an independent consultant and will earn a commission from the sale.

Sensory: (Switched out weekly but played with daily; Could also be prepped and allow them to choose which one they want to do each day)

Bin #1: Stormy weather: Black Beans, Cotton Balls, Pipe Cleaner Lightning

Bin #2: Snowy weather: Floof and mini snowman pieces (these pieces are choking hazards so please monitor your children)

Bin #3: Rainbow dyed rice, pom poms, tongs, and color sorting cups

Bin #4: Blue water beads with Ivory soap clouds (this was really fun to do with my 7 and 9 year old and then use it for Mermaid’s sensory bin

Microwave Ivory soap for 1 minute. Remove what expanded and do it again for 1 minute

Motor Skills: At least one of these is done daily. If she chooses to do more, we will do one but that is also why they are pretty easy prep and mostly easy to clean

Puddle Jumping– Construction paper “puddles” and jump from one to another. (Older kids, add letters of their name or numbers and have them jump in order)

Sponge cloud: Use a dropper to pull up water and then drip it on a sponge. How much water is needed before the sponge starts “raining”

Rainbow Color mixing– Put sizable dabs of paint in a zipper storage bag. (Red and yellow, red and blue, blue and yellow, red blue and yellow) Seal the tops. Allow children to use their hands, rollers, etc to mix the colors together. What new colors are they making?

Cloud writing: This can be a pre writing or writing activity. Use lines, curves and angles for pre writing, or use letter and number to develop writing skills. Use shaving cream, whipped cream, or similar and put on a plate. Have them use their fingers, paintbrush, cotton swab, or other utensil to write the same letter/shape that is on an index card. Spread the cream back out and start a new one! (Be careful of some shaving creams and the menthol level, it can burn some children and watch for food allergies if using whipped cream or other food based product)

Make and decorate a rain stick– Using a paper towel tube, glue a few cotton balls at different intervals inside the tube. On one end create and glue on a cap from card stock. Secure with a piece of ribbon glued around the edge to get a better finish. Fill 1/4 with beans or rice. Create a cap and secure the other end. Allow to dry and then paint and decorate.

Art: This is done just a couple times a week (No you do not have to keep everything your child ever makes. Put them on the fridge for the week they did them until they do something different and then, in the words of Elsa, “LET IT GO!” Some of our art projects this month:

Cotton ball clouds glued to paper
Paper Kite
Solar Prints on Constructions paper
Rolling Pin Rainbow
Water Drop Printing
Rainbow Milk Jug Wind Sock
Paper Plate Sun
Wind Painting

So that is it. That is the type of things we do on a daily basis. It probably wouldn’t even take an hour to do all of it at one time but that rarely happens. I hope you enjoy the weather activities. If you want to see where I got most of the ideas you can check out my Pinterest Board for Tot School: Weather here. I will always change mine up a bit from what they do though because that is just who I am.

If you want to follow along with some of our activities, you can also join my group on Facebook. I will be reading one of the books live for story-time each week on Tuesday at 10am (EST) and I will be sharing recipes, going live and doing other activities!

Want to get these ideas in more detail? Sign up for my email list and get a monthly email with more in depth activities lists and instructions.

Until next time…

Monthly Money: Let’s talk security…

ChelseaLeave a comment

Who just got their stimulus money? We did. And I was so excited. We have been fortunate to not have had Covid-19 affect our finances. So the stimulus checks have been used to further our financial futures and give us a better life in the years to come. Don’t get me wrong, we used a little of each one to help stimulate the economy. Buying things we haven’t wanted to splurge on knowing our bigger picture. But for the most part, the check have gone to building savings or paying off debt.

Yes, the Stimulus Check is meant to stimulate the economy so I am 100% for using a small amount of it and buying something at a small, local owned business. They are the ones really hurting right now. Or go to a local restaurant and leave a great tip for your server who has definitely taken a hit this year.

If you, yourself have taken the hit, PAY ON WHAT YOU NEED. Start with where you live, what you eat, and how you transport yourself. Those things are not negotiable. You need a safe stable place to live and utilities (water, electric, heat), you need food to eat, and you need to be able to get yourself to and from a job. Use this money to get back on your feet if you need to. You are who this is meant for! Use it where you NEED it. Anything left over? Catch up on other bills you are behind on. And use this time to cancel those subscriptions you don’t need that are eating up your money right now. You can always get the back as your season changes and improves.

If you are one of the lucky ones, use it in your next step. We are on step 2, pay off debt. We are sooo close I can taste it. Our check would have taken care of everything but a car payment! One car payment a month! And we would be able to pay extra on it each month leaving us with the ability to pay it off much sooner than originally planned. That was the plan. And then Murphy came knocking. Actually his name was Kevin… And he is with a roofing company.

Apparently one of our neighbors had some damage to their roof due to a storm last year. And when they came out to check it out, the roofers noticed damage on another neighbor’s roof. And ours… So he came by and asked if they could give us a free look and see if there is anything wrong. Long story short, our first major repair is scheduled to be redone on the house. Not bad for 10 years in the home and this is the first major issue we have had. I can’t complain. But rooves aren’t cheap. Thankfully insurance covers it (and they were surprised we haven’t had any issues because of the extent) because it is storm damage! Only our deductible is needed. Whew! But that still isn’t easy. Finding a $1000 deductible to come up with is hard for 60% of people in the US. SIXTY PERCENT! Because we have followed the plan, we have the savings and honestly don’t even have to touch it because of the stimulus check. Instead of paying debt off, we are using that to cash flow our roof. Let me say that again. WE DON’T HAVE TO DIP INTO OUR SAVINGS TO GET A NEW ROOF. Now this would not be possible without the stimulus check but there is one thing that is hitting me more about this than anything else.

Security.

Before when I had a car issue, or something went wrong with the house, or a big medical bill came up, I panicked. How would we get through it? Where would the money come from? Are we ever going to get out of the hole? Is it going to pile up forever? What kind of life are we building for our children? Now? Something happens and my immediate reaction isn’t panic. It isn’t fun. It isn’t joy that we have to spend that much money. But my stress level is so much lower than it was before. Because I know where our money is, what it is for, and exactly how long it will take to get back if we do have to use it.

So how do you start? Because you want security. You don’t want to freak out any time something little happens. I know you don’t. Because who would? You can do this. Start here to find some free ways to get acquainted with the steps and how you can do this for free, because you don’t always want to spend money to keep your money.

Then start with Step 1: Build Your $1000 Emergency Fund. So many ways to do this:

  • Start selling clothing you don’t wear on Facebook Marketplace
  • Sell old toys
  • Sell baseball or trading cards
  • Pick up a side job like Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, etc.
  • Online teaching on Outschool, VIPKids, personal tutoring via zoom, etc.
  • MLM/Direct sales (be careful with these but if you can do it and actually make money, go for it)
  • Use a hobby and turn it into cash flow (Baker? Sell cookies. Artist? Sell pieces.)
  • Become a freelance writer if you have the skill.
  • Use your stimulus check and put it in the bank to make it work for you
  • Cut out any unnecessary bill each month (Netflix, Hulu, KiwiCrate, etc.)
  • Stop unnecessary purchases (Do you really need Starbucks 5 days a week? That is at least $20 a week)
  • Pay yourself first. When you get your paycheck the first “bill” you pay is savings. Use a percentage of each check and do not deviate. Watch those savings keep going up!
  • Shop around for insurance and cell phone providers. We saved almost $150 a month switching from Sprint to Google Fi and even living in the country, we still get similar service and at home we use Wi-fi to not increase our data usage.

Whatever way you choose, you are going to have to make a conscious decision to change your habits. But I promise it is worth it! What are some ways you saved in the past? Comment below with any other ideas you have!

Boys aren’t harder… Children are hard

Boys aren’t harder… Children are hard

ChelseaLeave a comment

So something set me off a little. Someone said teaching boys is “harder” than girls. Let me first say this, I have taught both at the preschool level. Girls tend to be quieter and calmer, but not always. Boys are a completely different beast than girls. Biologically, physiologically, psychologically, they are different. But does that mean they are harder? NO! A loud and resounding no!

We need to get it out of our heads that boys “being boys” is a bad thing or that they are trying to make things more difficult for us. Don’t get me wrong, I have two boys. They wear me out. They talk back, they argue, they fight, they never stop moving, and they make me want wine more nights than not. (Sorry, not sorry!) But you know what, my daughter is 2 and also talks back, and argues (as well as a toddler can), and fights with swords, and ALSO never stops moving. Those are not boy/girl qualities. Those are natural personality traits that also are taught or nurtured in them.

My boys are very different creatures. Monkey is 9 years old. He is a talkative but sensitive soul. He thrives on perfection and words of affirmation. He loves cuddles and kisses on his terms but he will do anything to help anyone at any time. He also is logical, loves to learn and is very susceptible to the messages being sent to him through body language, spoken words, print and anything else. Monster is 7. He is loud, never stops moving from the time his feet hit the floor in the morning until he passes out each night. He loves running, jumping, isn’t always talkative but loves to tell stories. He has an imagination like no one else and a confidence I could only ever dream of. He is the sweetest most caring kid in the world and he loves to snuggle. He is the definition of ride-or-die and is always along for whatever adventure someone wants to go on. He just wants to spend time with you and will do anything for attention.

With that being said there are a few things I have learned from teaching these two very different kids the past 5 years (Geez… how has it already been that long).

  1. Meet them where they are. Stop listening to what they “should” know. That is arbitrary when they don’t already know it. Your 5 year old doesn’t know their colors? Not a big deal. Spend a week sorting colors, doing color hunts, pointing out colors everywhere. Your 5th grader doesn’t understand multiplication? Spend the year really delving into it. Helping them understand the concept, then the basics, then the tables, then how to understand what a multiplication problem may look like in the real world. Just work with them on what they need for the foundations that go to the next step, whatever that may be. You would be surprised at how easy the next step is when they actually grasp the principle before it.
  2. If they are a mover, don’t try to keep them still. All this does is frustrate them and you. Monster learned to read jumping up and down at a table. He is a strong reader, even if he doesn’t always like doing it. Was it frustrating to watch him bounce constantly while trying to sound out words… yes. But it was more frustrating to try to stop him and him whine and complain that he didn’t want to do it. Now at some point do they need to learn to sit still. Yes. But that point isn’t at 5. Kids want to move. Let them. (Also, to this day he prefers to stand to do work or sit on a balance ball. He has stopped jumping though). No matter the subject, movement can be part of it.
  3. Keep it simple. The first 3 years (K-2nd) I keep it so simple: Math, Reading, and Writing. Then I add in difficulty as they are able to. History, Geography, Science, it all comes. In 4th grade, Monkey is doing some science and History. We are doing Geography through cooking. It is a lot of hands on. If your child reads to learn, give them lots of rich books about the topic you are working on. If your child learns by watching, documentaries or accurate movies are great.
  4. When you don’t know, learn with them. My kids will ask questions I don’t know. We look up the answer together. We both learn something new and they love that they stumped me. And they love that I take the time to do it with them.
  5. When the day is hard, stop. We have the luxury in our state, to not have to log hours or days. This gives us the freedom to do as we wish when it comes to timing. If I am having a rough day (as I do with my own mental health) I will try to take a step back. What is better for them in the long run? Learning those lessons with Mommy losing her mind with frustration (Yeah, I am far from perfect and I am still learning to not take out my frustrations on my family), or taking the day off so that I can focus on me and they can have fun. I can tell you, I don’t know what I learned on what day in school. I do remember being told as a senior in high school on a particularly stressful day, that I wasn’t going to school and I was having my books taken away from me. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted as long as it didn’t involve school. And that mindset shift led to me getting straight A’s for the first time ever.

I am not saying teaching boys is easier. But teaching boys isn’t any harder than teaching girls. It isn’t an issue with their sex. It is learning to teach to each child’s way of learning. That is why it is so difficult for public school teachers to teach so many students. What works for one, doesn’t work for the other. It isn’t their fault. They have 30 kids in their class with all different styles. I almost guarantee that we would have been told at least one of our children has ADD or ADHD or are even just “problem” children. Are they? Maybe. There are certain things like a lack of focus and inability to complete a task that may warrant a discussion. But they are 7 and 9. They are still learning. Just like Mermaid will still be learning at that age. Will it look different? Probably. Will it be harder? Not if I trust myself and listen to my child, even when they aren’t talking (no matter how rare that is).

Warmer times

Warmer times

ChelseaLeave a comment

Do you get the winter blahs? Seriously! Every stinking year… January and February are so hard for me to get motivation or want to do anything. This year, it started out ok. The beginning of January seemed like I would be fine. Then the end of January hit and something was off. I did add the Usborne Books & More business which has added a new commitment. Not in a bad way. Actually it is a lot more prosperous than I think I have ever been with a DS/MLM business. But it is also what comes natural to me. Books and kids… kinda a no brainer for me. But still it was something else I added to my plate.

February hit though and life got hard. I don’t know why. I don’t know what changed. I didn’t want to clean. I didn’t want to craft (What?! I know…) I didn’t really even want to get out of bed. Yet, children needed to be fed, and schooled, and shuttled places… Groceries needed to be bought, orders had to go out, but I still just wanted to be in bed. I definitely think I have a mild Seasonal Affective Disorder thing going on. I am like this more winters than not. Being cooped up because of the never ending snow, rain, and ice this month has been horrible. However, the kids loved the snow! Mermaid even sledded for the first time and she LOVED it. She is such a little dare-devil. She may get many things from me, that is not one of them.

We even took an extra week of homeschooling off just because. I couldn’t motivate myself, how could I think I could motivate them. One of the joys of homeschooling though. If I don’t want to, we don’t have to. If they don’t want to, we don’t have to. Snow day? Take off. Finally a sunny day? Take off. Family coming to visit? Take off. We always catch up. We always finish. Some years just look a little longer. But it is one of the reasons we do what we do.

But I just wanted to remind you all, even if you are having a hard day, hard week, hard month. The warmer days are right around the corner. Things are opening back up. Life is going on. Don’t forget to live it! Happy March! May your spring bring life back into your blahs!

Monthly Money: Ramsey the Free Way

Chelsea1 Comment

Ok, this one is kinda adult-y. I don’t even have any pictures for it. It isn’t super fun for most, actually it is down right stressful for many. But it is honest. And I am super excited to share the hope.

When it comes to money, I am all over the place. I hate paying full price, but I am the first to admit I will buy stuff I don’t need. I won’t pay for things I know I can get for free either. I understand why certain things are marketable and people will pay for them… but I am not that person. However, that doesn’t make me a fiscally responsible person. To be honest, I probably am not. Not because I don’t have the knowledge to be but because I let bad choices become bad habits and now I have to break out of that.

In the past 12 years, our lives have changed so much. We have gone from a well cushioned life of a newly wed double income couple, and run the gambit to both being completely unemployed for a couple weeks. Let’s just say in 10 years we have often tried to get on track. When I was first researching financial plans and how to get on track after becoming a stay at home mom 9.5 years ago, that was when I first came across Dave Ramsey. It struck a chord but didn’t stick. Nothing did. Except constant worry and stress. It led to many sleepless nights, hardships, and even tension in our home.

Well, after Mermaid arrived on scene 2 years ago, and yet again being a completely stay at home mom with no income, something had to give. Making changes was no longer an option. And continuing to ask for help when we are capable adults, was just embarrassing, because -yeah- we did that… My first task was to get all of our bills on track and current. Sadly much harder than it should have been. We had a lot of car issues, hospital bills, and just bad decisions on my part. No excuses though. I needed to change.

I was talking with a dear friend who was also dealing with some financial stuff and we talked about the Dave Ramsey plan, Baby Steps and all. I committed to myself and my family to make better choices about where our money was going. I read books by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze (his daughter) but I got them from the library (e-book loans are my favorite things!) because why spend the money on them? Dave and Rachel wouldn’t want me to do that… I am trying to get my money on track! I joined their groups on Facebook and followed them on Instagram. I searched Pinterest for Baby Step ideas, listened to podcasts and so much more. But one thing I would not do is spend money on the products. I wasn’t going to use money when I knew I could find the information for free. There are probably hundreds if not thousands of blogs that will take you through the Baby Steps. If you need to convince yourself to get on board with it, or get your spouse on board with it, or if you need the extra coaching, I am not telling you not to buy their stuff. I am sure it is 100% worth it. But do it properly. Start by saving up for it. Want to do Financial Peace University? Awesome. Save up $5 every paycheck until you can get there. Because one thing Dave Ramsey and his cohorts wouldn’t want you to do, is make things worse trying to make them better.

This is going to be the journey of our financial change. In about 24 months we will have gone from barely keeping our head above water (and sometimes not even doing that) to almost debt-free. We still have one we are working on other than our mortgage, but I will be doing everything I can to get that paid off by Mermaid’s birthday next year! I won’t post a ton about it but I am hoping to give someone out there hope that things can change. And it will get better. It may take time but I promise it is worth it!

Ways to do Ramsey BabySteps the FREE Way:

  1. Use their websites. There are a ton of free resources that you can look up. Including what the Baby Steps are and trackers for the first 3! It also has budget worksheets for every type of income.
  2. Use Pinterest, Blogs, and the internet and any other resources on your computer.
  3. Do a easy zero based budget on your computer using Excel.
  4. Sell anything you can. Some people take this to the extreme and sell their cars and house… don’t do that. You need transportation and you need a place to live.
  5. Seriously and discriminately look at where your money is going and cut out ANYTHING that isn’t necessary with the exception of the money you leave to treat yourself.
  6. Treating yourself is important in this process. You don’t want to restrict your budget so much that you have no fun in your life ever. But definitely be honest with yourself. 1 cup of Starbucks a week is doable. But do you really need one EVERYDAY?
  7. Find the books and even the workbooks on places like Amazon, Thrift book, etc for a percentage of the original price and usually in great condition!