Search Results for: blog creating a school for your child

Preschoolers Benefit From Process Art

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What kind of artwork does your preschooler bring home? The art could be a free-flowing expression of your child’s exploration of art materials. Or, it could be something easily identifiable that your child’s teacher set up and your child happily pieced together. One of these two types of art is much better for preschoolers than the other. Project art could be described as a “craft”. The preschool teacher presents kids with the exact amount of supplies they need (included pieces that have been pre-cut by the teacher). Kids are to use those pieces in a precise way to make an … Continue reading →

Taming the Preschool Beast

Nothing unleashes a preschooler’s inner beast quite like extracting him from a fun environment without advanced warning. When my daughter was 4 years old she had an epic outburst at a children’s museum in Chicago because I failed to give her proper notification of our departure.  In doing so, I robbed her of the gradual transition I knew she needed in order to calmly exit the building. The fit she threw nearly got us thrown out of the museum. Looking back, my preschooler’s tantrum, which included tossing her shoes down a slide, was simply her way of staying true to … Continue reading →

Homeschool Pinning

Do you pin?  I have to say that Pinterest is my favorite social media outlet.  I am a visual person so seeing all those images captivates me.  I love creating boards for things I want to create or pretend to create.  I had promised myself that I would make one thing a week, either a meal or a craft, based on my Pinterest inspirations.  I have not done this successfully every week but I have a few times a month. One of my favorite things to search on Pinterest is homeschooling ideas from curriculum reviews to arts and crafts.  Here … Continue reading →

Can Your Homeschool Blog Earn Money? {Part 2}

In part 1 of, Can Your Homeschool Blog Earn Money?, I covered how to create a blog posts that attract readers.  Creating good content is the first step to creating a quality blog.  I cover this in Blogging Tips and Tricks as well.  Today, I want to cover a few more background areas before discussing opportunities, so hang in there.  When I say profitable with regards to your homeschool, I do not simply mean financially. Let’s start by exploring what makes a good homeschool blog. The competition is fierce.  While you need to be aware of what your competitors are … Continue reading →

Using Play Doh to Teach Preschool Lessons

Play Doh is one of my favorite preschool activity toys and art mediums. Mashing the dough can creating people, ice cream cones, pizza, and animals, is as much fun for me as the kids.  I am not sure what came first, the lessons I developed using Play Doh or my desire to play and the need to make it count as part of my lesson plan.  Nonetheless, I have come up with a way to play and learn.  Now, when my husband comes home and finds Play Doh mashed in the carpet its all good. In all seriousness, using a … Continue reading →

Creating a Family Disaster Plan

Whether they’re earthquakes on the West Coast or hurricanes on the East Coast, disasters are getting a lot of air time these days, and for good reason. They’re scary, they cause damage and death, and they cause a lot of stress on families. A few days ago I wrote about items you can have on hand to get ready for a disaster. However, disaster preparedness is a lot more than stuff. A good disaster plan also involves thinking about how you’ll keep your family safe and connected during and after a disaster. Think about your typical day. If you’re in … Continue reading →

Preschool Craft: Foot Loop Abacus

I love the preschool years because everything is colorful and creative. I have found so many uses for Foot Loops for preschool lessons that I could write a series on the subject. Recently, I had a reader of my personal blog send me the cutest craft idea that involved cereal and math. Of course that got my attention. I already use colored O-cereal as math manipulatives so this would fit in just fine. This is a fun way to encourage math skills in little ones. Foot Loop Abacus What You Need: Small, sturdy shoe box O-shaped cereal in assorted colors … Continue reading →

Creating a Kid-Friendly Lunch Shelf

So it’s back to school. This year, I’d really like my seven-year-old to start making her lunches. While she can come home for lunch sometimes, packed lunches are the way of things most days. I’m no fan of making lunches, and I’ve been known to be notoriously un-creative at times. In grade three, when I made my own lunch, I ate peanut butter sandwiches for an entire year. I still can’t eat a plain peanut butter sandwich without gagging. Enough said. Children have their own ideas about what makes a good lunch. If you’re aiming to have them make a nutritious … Continue reading →

Getting Ready for Back to School: Smooth Mornings

If there is one thing I dread about the start of a new school year, it is the mornings. I’m hoping other moms of teens can relate to the sometimes frustrating task of trying to wake a sleepy child. Although I may not be able to do much about that, I do know that I can help us get ready for the new school year by at least planning for a smooth morning. The key to this is preparing the night before. It used to be that most of the preparations fell on me. But in the past few years … Continue reading →

Back-to-School Motivators

Like mother like daughter. When it comes to back-to-school, my daughter and I are on the same page. I’m not singing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” and my kid is not tailgating at the bus stop. Instead, we’ve been desperately clinging to the last days of summer vacation, squeezing in as many outdoor activities as possible before she is forced to remain indoors for nearly seven hours per day. It’s not that my child hates school; it’s just that she enjoys summer more. Ditto for the Mama; only I don’t make a habit of verbalizing my personal … Continue reading →