I know what you are thinking. I MUST be crazy to start wanting to get outside more right as the weather starts getting colder. You aren’t wrong. I am crazy. I hate cold weather. Which means I need to do it. Why? Because it shows not only my children but myself that I can do things I don’t want to. That I can handle hard things. That when motivation is down, a lot can be said for enjoying time in nature. I truly believe that time in nature can help cure most bad days.
Chalk Drawing with Monkey
But what do I do? How do I get outside when I don’t want to. First, I say yes more than I say no. I swear kids have this innate sense to be outside. And that the more they are outside, the more they want to be outside. Weird but true. So when my kids ask to go outside, unless I have a pressing reason (like it is a bad storm, not we have to make lunch), I say yes as long as we can be outside for 15 minutes. You would not believe how quickly 15 minutes goes and it adds up so fast! Before you know it, you will be at 50 hours in 2 weeks just like us.
Download the fill printable below!
But I also have this fun printable for you to be able to check things off of (mostly) free things to do with your kids this fall! Don’t have kids? No problem, they all can be done sans kids with enough imagination and carefree will!
Have you ever just felt called to do something? It isn’t often that I get this feeling but every once in a while, I just know I am doing the right thing. I felt it with being a mom. I felt it with staying home and homeschooling. I felt it with this. Notice how it all centers around my kids? Yeah. There are mistakes I have made in my life. So many choices I have wondered or known weren’t the best. But my kids are not even close to one of them. With them, I know I am meant to be their mama. And I know I needed to attempt this challenge.
I love my children dearly, but with 4 pulling me in different directions, we have gotten away from time. Time together, time to ourselves, and time with nature. In this digital age, everything is instant gratification. Everything is here and now. But in nature, you have to wait for the ground to thaw, the plants to bloom, the leaves to fall, and the sun to rise. It always happens but only on its own time. I used to feel a connectedness to nature. Like I was home when I was outside. Some of my favorite memories from growing up are from being outside. I remember being outside from the time I woke up to the time I went to sleep practically in the summer. I remember being on my bike the entire day, rolling down the neighborhood hills.
Grandma and I gardening
This past year we had a great school year. We did a lot more together, it was more organized and we had so much fun (well if you ask me, if you ask Monkey and Monster, they probably have a different idea of how it went). But I still felt like something was missing. Then I read Call of the Wild+Free by Ainsley Arment (not an affiliate, just a fan) and wow. Then I read Home Grown by Ben Hewitt (also not an affiliate). I felt such a purity in the way they were living life. Exploring nature, spending time connecting to Earth and each other, living off of their land and it just called to me. This is what is missing. In my wanderings through the internet, I came across 1000 Hours Outside page and a wonderful community started and growing through the efforts of Ginny Yurich. We all know how competitive I am, so naturally we were going to do 1000 hours. But see, I didn’t think about it. I didn’t plan for it, and we fell WAY short. Because 1000 hours outside doesn’t seem like much until you calculate that that is almost 2.75 hours a day! Do you spend 3 hours outside a day? Yeah, most people don’t. So it takes some serious intentional planning. So I’ve started my plans. And along the way it may turn into not having to. But right now I have to say yes, when I want to say no. I have to make the plan, when I want to stay home.
Monkey has a screen addiction, lets face it my whole family does. But screens affect his mood a lot more than the rest of us. He eats, sleeps, and breathes screens. Shows, games, now web searches, and it doesn’t matter what. Tinkerbell, Barbie, Pokémon, if a screen is on, it has his attention. So to break us all of the habit I decided to hit us hard with not only starting our 1000 Hours Outside challenge but also taking away screens at the same time (at least during the week) right at the beginning of our year!
Monster punting the football at 7am on a Saturday
They pretty hated me for two days because they got their chores done and *gasp* didn’t get screens afterwards (insert horror scream here). Instead they played with LEGO, we have gone to the park, we have ridden bikes, played football with the neighbors, and gone on a walk, made chalk pictures, and eaten ice cream. We started 6 days ago and already have almost 21 hours hours logged. They won’t hate it forever. Because soon it will become part of them.
Playing in the stream in the Smoky Mountains
They will see trees, sticks, streams, insects, and everything in between, as home. They will learn to observe nature, care for nature, and experience nature and all of its beauty. They will ground themselves in their surroundings, get natural vitamin D, learn to listen to their body, explore, learn, and live. Is it the right thing for us to do? I don’t know. But I do know that I have said yes to going outside a lot more than I have said no to screens in the past 2 days. And for that, I may just make it to 1000 this year.
I’m sure you are thinking “Wow, she is crazy for thinking her son being hurt is a good thing.” But first, he is fine, nothing major, just needs to rest. And second, life lessons come in the weirdest forms. You can’t always control it.
See, I am working on presence and patience with my kids. Something that, especially lately, I have not had enough of. But something shifted today. Not because I spent more time with them or even was more patient with them, but because I realized the more I create the foundation of the family and fill in those cracks, the more solid they can build our walls. So let’s get on with it.
Beautifully clean bathroom
Let’s start with this bathroom. Does this bathroom look like a 10 year old cleaned it?! No?
Because he didn’t. He took a spill today while riding. And while he saved himself more pain because he hopped off instead of straight falling off, he managed to twist his ankle in the process.
But today was his day to clean the bathroom. Typically, I would have let it go. What’s one time of missing the bathroom being clean? Ultimately nothing. We would survive, the bathroom would get clean next week, and life would go on.
But what if I cleaned it for him? What if I took the 15-20 minutes and cleaned it myself? This…
He saw that it is ok to rest when he needs to.
He saw that family, helps family.
He saw that Mom can be lenient and understanding. (Something he probably doesn’t see enough)
He saw that we all live here and are responsible for the state of the house.
He saw that he doesn’t have to do it all (though he will probably still tell you he does).
And what did I gain? A child who can find peace and know resting is ok because we will be there to help.
Oh… And a MUCH cleaner bathroom than he would have had… But baby steps…🤷♀️🤣
I talk a lot about my kids in general. But I know I ramble more about the “when they were little” phases. You know sleepless nights, potty training, and teething.
When they are little all those problems you encounter are new and seem huge and hard to manage. You aren’t sure what to expect. And not to mention you are dealing with them on very little sleep and even less caffeine because of course you don’t know where you left your coffee this morning! Even after working with kids in one capacity or another for more than 10 years before having my first child, I still didn’t know things. I guessed… A lot! I knew the development. I knew the rough ages of what they should be learning and when. I knew how to potty train. I knew I didn’t want them to have a pacifier past one year (insert eye roll here).
Now don’t get me wrong. I have GREAT kids. Honestly! For the most part, they are respectful, well behaved, mostly good listeners, and they have good hearts. They drive me nuts a lot of the time but all in all I can’t complain and honestly, I’m not sure it is because of me. But I digress.
See what I am noticing though is that we are moving into this new phase. Most of you know it or at least remember it. It is this time of finding your voice and who you are, being awkward, making bad decisions and even worse fashion statements. We are entering… the TWEEN years. (Bum bum buuuuuum)
But see these are not the years I am accustomed to. I don’t know how to handle these years, especially for boys! I barely made it through these years as a girl (which I am also not looking forward to in about 8 years with Mermaid). I surely was not paying attention to how my male cohorts experienced these years. Now yes, my husband is familiar and takes an active role in these situations but where are the I’m a mom of a tween boy posts. For real though, can you moms who have been there, done that start making infographics and blogs and quick study stuff for these years because it is happening and happening fast!
Here’s what I have learned so far… It isn’t much as we are just about to hit 11 so follow up with me in say 2-4 years and I’ll let you know how wrong I was
Try to remember at this point privacy is becoming a big thing. Knocking on doors, giving them alone time, etc. It teaches them to respect your space as much as they would like theirs respected.
They still need hugs and kisses. They may not show it often, but they still have a little bit of little kid in them that needs the affection.
They are finding their voice and sometimes they can cut you deep (because, SURPRISE, they legit are with you now). But if you listen to what they say, you may just realize that they are telling you exactly what they need, just maybe in a jumbled mess of big emotions
Their interests can literally be anything. With as much as I would love to not listen to a 30 minute lecture on the healing power of 3 common crystals, or a 15 minutes diatribe on a Pokémon I have never even heard of, or have him talk to me in sentences that have 1 or 2 words replaced with their Latin counterpart, I also will NEVER squash those interests because they are important to him.
I need to reach out more. I can’t expect him to come to me. He is too anxious of a person and too timid to admit that he “doesn’t know” something and so I have to go to him and sneak in those little lessons through a back door conversation
See it isn’t much, but I’m learning also. I’m learning to apologize when I do something wrong. I am learning that I have to deal with my emotions appropriately if I want them to do the same (oh hey ADHD and anxiety! Thanks for that!). I am trying to get better about privacy for all of my children, because it is about respect. I know I am going to screw up. He’s the first. But we will still get through this together. And I am hoping that taking the time this year to really learn and bond with each other, it will be a huge step in the right direction.
I can say this… He still hugs me and tells me he loves me and that means the world to me❤️ So maybe I’m doing something right🤷♀️
I read an article today. And as I was reading it, I could relate to it by being a mom, but as a homeschooling mom, I just kept thinking, “How sad!” This article was talking about soaking up the snuggles. Enjoying the peace of the early years and especially the early months because the snuggles end, kids need you less, and you can’t always protect them or watch over them.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy those early snuggles too. You know, the ones before they can wiggle out of your arms. The ones where they look at you like you are the beginning and end of their world (because you are). The times where you can just sit and be with them because they don’t need you to do anything other than hold them. Those early days are great.
But this article was stating how you have to let go and miss those days when kindergarten starts. How they become less dependent on you as time goes by. How as they get older, they don’t want to snuggle with you. And that makes me sad. It makes me sad because it doesn’t have to be that way. Not if you foster the relationship. Now, I’m not saying stunt them and make them rely on you for everything but it is ok for them to still want to connect with you.
See in our little world, weekly snuggle sessions are just a given with all of our children. Hugs and kisses through out the day, I don’t care how old you are. I teach my children to be independent and do for themselves but just because they can do it for themselves, doesn’t mean I won’t still do it for them also. If they want me to make them a smoothie, I will make it if I am able to. Are they also able to make it, absolutely. But they are also learning that sometimes it is ok to ask for help. Just because you are capable, doesn’t mean you are alone. I think independence is important but I also think learning that family is who you can depend on is also important. My children are 10 ½, 8 ½, and 3. They all snuggle with me. They all hug me everyday. They all depend on me for different things at different times. They all also understand I will support them in any way I can, while I foster their learning and personal growth. I carry them while teaching them the skills to be independent. I allow them to spread their wings with the safety of me being there to catch them.
I would never say this is unique to homeschoolers as I am sure many public school children are still this way. I would also never say homeschoolers can’t be less snuggly and more independent, I know many of them. What I am saying is I don’t have to miss those moments. I don’t have to wonder what is happening at school today and if they will tell me. When they get hurt, I get to make them feel better, not a teacher who has 30 other children to also deal with. But me, their mama, who has been there comforting them since the moment they were born. When they have a great success, I get to share their joy. I get to watch over and protect them. They get the freedom they need with the safety net to make mistakes and be caught by someone who won’t ever stop loving them. They get to learn that mistakes are going to happen, but I will always be here to help them clean them up. They get to learn boundaries while being reassured that they are allowed to feel however they feel.
Yes, the days are long, and the years are short. But I get to see it all. I get to still be needed even after school begins. They don’t have to look to a teacher. They don’t have to look to a friend. Mom and Dad are always here, always willing to help, and always willing to learn along side you. We are in this all together and I love every second of it.
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.
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 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.
What has been the best part of your school year so far?
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!
Yep. I did. I signed up for ANOTHER Direct Sales company. I know, I know.
BUT you already are part of one! (Yes, but I do that for me. Sales were never my primary goal and honestly, I wasn’t passionate about it)
BUT you already run a business! (Yep! and I will continue to craft to my heart’s content and continue growing that business because I LOVE it and it is my baby)
BUT you don’t need to work (You’re right, my husband and I are blessed and he has worked really hard to make sure that I can stay home and raise and homeschool our kids. But I still like to contribute financially because that is just who I am)
BUT you have never been successful before, what makes you think this is any different? (First off, whoa! Don’t judge me. LOL. Second, you’re absolutely right but this time it IS different)
Here’s why…
I get asked probably weekly, how I get/got my kids to be readers. They (mainly Monkey) devour books almost as quickly as they do food. I can’t keep books in the house because they will get read. I have to hide books if I want them to be saved for something like vacation or a holiday.
So how did I get them to that point? It started before I ever had kids. I am an AVID reader. I have learned of places, and people, and events I could have only dreamed of all because of books. During certain times in my life, books were my way of escaping and living a life I thought was better than what I was dealing with in reality. Because of the things I have learned, books have been so important to me. Reading became the most important skill in my life. I wanted to pass that on to my children. My husband was/is similar and also believes in the power of reading.
So when we had kids, reading to them was natural and constant and non-negotiable. It started early. I mean within days of them being born, early! I didn’t care if they were looking at the pictures or already asleep. I didn’t care if they were playing on the floor or in my lap snuggling. We have books in practically every room in our house. They are always at a level where the kids can reach them. If they ask me to read a story, I usually will stop what I am doing and read to them. If they asked to buy a book, I rarely, if ever, said no. Bedtime stories are a daily ritual. I don’t care how tired I am. I don’t care if it takes us 2 minutes or 10 minutes or 30 minutes. We read SOMETHING before bed. And we are surrounded by people who feed their appetite for learning and reading by giving them books and who feed their curiosity for learning.
Monkey started Kindergarten in 2016. Well, technically we delayed his formal schooling for a year in 2016 and I decided to take that year to focus with him on a strong foundation of reading and math. We had a lot of other things going on, so I didn’t want to stress him with all the other subjects. We used a book called Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons. He and Monster both used this and I will use it for Mermaid and I will recommend it to ANYONE who wants to teach their child to read. There were days where it was hard. There were days that we stopped in the middle of a lesson. But then all of the sudden around lesson 80, it clicked. And I haven’t gotten them to stop reading since. (Not that I am complaining).
So many new books from the party I hosted! This wasn’t even a quarter of the ones I got!
Books, obviously still remain an important part of our lives. They are still as accessible to my children as they always have been. We have 8 bookshelves in our house. Bins of books in our basement. Almost all of them have been read multiple times by at least one of us. This is where that direct sales company comes in. I “went” to a party in December that a friend was hosting and remembered how much we love their books. Then I hosted a party last month. I signed up the next day. This one is already different. I love my kids reading. I love books. I love helping other people’s children have access to incredible books. I love helping others build their libraries. I love that Monster, finished a series of 4 books in about 3 weeks and since then his confidence in his reading has gone through the roof and he is reading things he wouldn’t have even picked up a month ago. I love that now I have a reason to talk about reading. I love that I get to share a true passion with others. Usborne Book & More is giving me the ability to get books into the house, make some money, and help others fall in love with reading. I can’t think of anything more perfect!
(Disclaimer: If you click on any link it will direct you to my Usborne website and I will make a commission off of any sale made)
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