Learning about Life, Learning about Him, Teaching about Life, Teaching about Him
This year for our co-op, we are using movies to educate our kids. One week we watch a movie and the next week we analyze it. Recently the kids watched “Togo,” so I created this Free Togo Movie Study Guide to accompany it. You can watch the movie on Disney Plus.
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Do posts like this make you sigh and say, “Yes! Give me tips! Lots of tips!” because you just can’t seem to ever be on time? I understand. I combed the internet for helpful tidbits. After all, a family of 10 doesn’t move very quickly from one spot to another. Actually it doesn’t even matter how many kids you have or if you do have kids, getting out the door and arriving at your destination on time is tough. Read on for these 10 tips to help you be on time.
The short answer is that I combed through many posts and found 10 that I thought I could actually implement. Besides, 10 is a nice round nunber. I took a good number of tips from lifehack.com, so check that post out to get more tips.
Arighty, ready to make a life change? Here are your tips:
You know what a rabbit hole checking any of the above can be. You fully intend to make it quick only to have your time get sucked up. Pretty soon that extra time you had before you had to leave is gone and you’re now running out the door.
No lie, I used to tell people that I was a victim of my son’s bowels. One of my kids had an uncanny need to make a prolonged pit stop right before we needed to leave. I did my best to plan for it and would ask him a half hour before departure time if he needed to go. Sometimes it worked. Or those spills that seemed to occur as you’re headed out the door. Giving yourself a little buffer of time can help.
If you have kids, have them put what they need by the front door. We homeschool, but when we have co-op or Community Bible Study, I have my kids set their backpacks, shoes and lunchboxes by the door. With lunches, they know to grab their sandwiches fron the fridge before leaving. Can I just make a comment about shoes? I have one child that was forever losing one of his shoes when it was time to go. I check and then check again to make sure his shoes are by the door the night before!
The kids put what they need by the door and so do I. I pack my tote bag the night before with whatever I need so it’s ready to go. In addition, I take out the clothes I’m going to wear the night before so I’m not searching in the morning for that black cardigan that my daughter borrowed.
This is so important! It’s amazing how fast time can go when you’re not paying attention. I like to have clocks in the bathroom because that tends to be a time vaccuum.
One “task” I was terrible at estimating was how long it would take my kids to eat! I’d think, “It won’t take long for them to quickly eat before we go.” Okay, sure, if my kids actually sat and got down to the business of eating. No, my kids love to chit chat at the table, and they do not know the meaning of haste. I had to learn to factor in more time for meals.
I am so bad at this! This for me goes back to the e-mailing/texting issue in tip #1. I have a bad habit of trying to squeeze in that one last e-mail before taking off somewhere. Just don’t do it, whatever your “last thing” tends to be.
Okay, I know this is not a tip for everyone. This one drives my husband up the wall, but if works for me! It’s a total psychological ploy, but I fall for it anyway. Even though I know the clocks are ahead, I still act as though they’re showing the correct time. Maybe my mind is just simpler than most.
Unless you have an issue with mixing old gas and new gas, this is a great tip. It’s happened more than once that I’ve gotten into the car and the gas light comes on, indicating the need to fill up. Most times I can still get to my destination and gas up later, but other times I’ve had to deal with it right away. Filling up at 1/4 tank is a great pre-emptive strike. Of course, these days, it may be more appropriate to tell you to charge your car ahead of time.
I’m not talking here about being awkwardly early, because that’s not necessarily a good thing. Just plan to be a few minutes early and you’re guaranteed to be on time (so I’ve heard, I’m still working on this one).
If I go to any type of appointment, I always bring something to do. I’ll bring my Bible study or a book to read to pass the time while I wait. Think of waiting as a welcome bit of time to get something done. Answer that text message that you resisted addressing before you left so you could be early!
I hope you try some or all of these 10 tips to help you be on time. If you’re like me, you’re a work in progress! Feel free to leave your own tips!
For some more “mom tips,” check out these posts:
Mom hacks to save time and money (free e-book included)
The homeschool mom’s “to don’t” list
How to “sur-thrive” homeschooling mulitple ages
If there’s one positive thing about being locked down during a pandemic, it’s learning how easy it is to connect groups of people online. True, in the midst of things we may have grown a little weary of our various Zoom meetings (and perhaps still are). Still, none of us can deny how convenient Zoom meetings are for gathering people together. With that said, pandemic or not, here are 10 kids clubs to start on Zoom.
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Honestly, I never thought I would be posting a DIY project on my blog. After all, I consider myself to be a “DIY wannabe.” I even have a Pinterest board titled “DIY I might actually do.” With that said, I recently finished a simple project that I wanted to share as it yielded great results! So stay tuned to learn how to make incredibly easy DIY map frames.
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I just started my 19th year of homeschooling (with, dare I say, “only” 13 more to go). Take it from me when I say I am always on the lookout for ideas to make my life easier. I call them “sanity saving solutions.” Helping my kids to become more independent definitely falls into that category. In this post I have a super simple tool to share that will help with that goal. My homeschool sanity saving solution: the student planner.
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Summer is here! I don’t know about your kids, but my kids seem a little lost without something scheduled in their day. They still have their piano lessons, and martial arts classes, but I wanted to add some creativity to their time away from school. To help those creative juices going, I came up with 30 Summer fun activities for kids.
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It’s been a minute since I issued a new set of LEGO challenges (so much for my attempt to put one out once a month). To add a quasi educational twist, these challenges have a STEM emphasis. (Yes, LEGO purists, I know LEGO builds are always educational.). If you don’t know, STEM is an acronym for: science, technology, engineering, and math. Ideally, a STEM project will include all four of those subjects at once. Enter in the almighty LEGO and, boom, you’ve got the perfect vehicle for a STEM project. To get your kids’ wheels turning, I have LEGO STEM challenges for them to try.
This post contains affiliate links.
I know, 32 seems like an odd number, pun intended. Why did I choose 32 challenges? The short answer is that I’m using the same free printable template as my first challenge, which had 32. The longer answer is just as goofy. I was planning on making a Lego challenge calendar with 31 ideas, but liked the nice even look of 32.
I’ve listed them in the order they appear on the printable. I tried hard to include projects that did not require special LEGOs. There may be a few you’d need to tweak if you don’t have particular pieces.
17. Float away with some LEGO boats .
If you head over to Life Over Cs, you can pick up some free LEGO STEM Challenge Cards to print out.
Check out these challenges to keep your kids building!
Don’t forget to grab your free printable!
It’s that time of year again. When one school year winds down, it’s time to start planning for the next one. Which means, it’s curriculum picking time (it’s seasonal, like fruit)! Choosing curriculum can either be enjoyable (for curriculum junkies like me), or angst inducing. I understand it can be a daunting task. To help aid you in your process, I have my top 10 tips for choosing curriculum.
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I am a die hard Post-it note fan. When I was a classroom teacher, my desk was covered with sticky notes. Those notes were an extension of my brain. More than ever, now with eight kids, I need all the brain extensions I can get. Oddly enough, as much of a sticky note lover as as I am, it has not been until recently that I’ve used them for strategic planning purposes. I want to share with you some ideas for easy planning using Post-it notes.
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Dice games on Zoom? Is that even a thing? Sure it is. It may take a little tweaking, but you can definitely play dice games with friends or family virtually. Of course these games can be played in person, but they are a fun alternative in a virtual gathering. With that, I have for you 10 dice games to play on Zoom.
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