Homeschoolingthewholetribe

As a home school parent I wish I could say I don't compare my children to other children... But the truth is I tend to rate my children by well my other children.  I compare how they preform at the same age or grade doing the same task.  So today is an encouragement to my self and hopefully others.  My daughter has in my mind been my slow learner.... As I researched how to help and enable her learning style I came across what the true definition of the term I called slow learner.. The clinical term slow learner is described as a student who has the ability to learn all of the academic skills, needed but at a rate and depth below their average peers.  So the example they gave was if it takes a average 1st grader 16 week to learn a task, it could take a slow learned 32 weeks or more for the same task.   The explanation behind this is that most slow learners reasoning skills are typically delayed, this makes picking up new concepts difficult for the child to learn and understand.  Th

 So I’ll be honest and tell you that my family eats meat with dinner every night, except for when we have  veggie lasagna or the garden vegetable soup or bean and cheese burritos or on  the nights I do rice, beans and a veggie.   To be honest I would love to eat healthier, my mission is to replace meals with a more healthy option.  So when I saw these I was happy to find many of our go to recipes in a  vegetarian  form.  I’ve made hundreds of make-ahead crockpot recipes, and I can tell you that these vegetarian recipes will freeze perfectly.  And, the best part is that you don’t have to do any cooking ahead of time – simply combine the ingredients and freeze! Eleven Vegetarian Make-Ahead Crockpot Recipes Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup  from Food Network Black Bean Soup  from Money Saving Mom Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Chili  from Once a Month Meals African Coconut Chickpea Soup  from Once a Month Meals Grandma’s Vegetarian Chili  from Allrecipes Vegetable Stew  from Real Si

Freezer cooking! Have you heard about this? You spend  one day preparing meals for the month  to keep in your freezer so you don’t have to think about it later. The meals can either be fully cooked and just need to be warmed or they can be raw & placed into your  slow cooker ,  all prepped and ready to go when you need them. It saves time, money, and your sanity! I am in school full time, working part time, and still have to maintain my full time mom and wife duties as well. There are some days that I don’t even get home with the kids until 6:30 and bedtime is around 7ish. That does not leave much time to cook dinner (and for some strange reason, my kids want to eat every.single.night!). That’s where the freezer cooking comes into play. All I have to do is pull a bag out of the freezer the night before and place it in the fridge to defrost. The next morning I  dump it into the slow cooker  and turn it on. That’s it! Dinner (at least the main dish) will be done and ready to ser

Taking my homeschool back 10 years ! Each Year before school starts again I test my children just so that I will have a clear picture of where each child is academically.  Because I have homeschooled  for so long I remember when my older three children were in public school.  Kindergarten use to be about social development and some simple basic skills, such as colors, learning the ABC’s and how to write their first name.  Over the past 10 -15 years school changed Kindergarten is now first grade, and first grade is now second grade.  It used to be normal for first graders to still be learning to read. Now, not only does the state demand that they be reading but know 67 site words to boot.  By state standards for kindergartners who aren’t reading by the end of the year have these children considered behind. Proponents of ramping up standards in early elementary education tend to focus on the numbers, the US trying to compete on a world level rather than

Getting Organized! If you are like me I can become overwhelmed fast as I try to get things ready for the new year. It helps if I can take a few moments to do something out side my set up class room such as reading, or prayer this helps me to rediscover my goals and feel more in control of my life and my school schedule. There are times that I feel as if I have homeschool under control but my house is being attached by baby giants and starts to take on a life of its own.  But I have friends who’s homes are always spotless never a plate out of place, but they can’t seem to get on top of lesson plans and school goals and schedules are not a part of their school.  What I have learned over the years is that Homeschool families are all the same: drowning in a sea of clutter! I have also started to understand that organization is <em>not</em> about an immaculate house or quintessential neatness. There is not any one best way to organize. <em>Organization is a means