Search Results for: blog turning your child into a self advocate

Your Kids: Your Best Pieces of Evidence

We’ve all been there—someone finds out you homeschool, and they question your decision. Sometimes they are genuinely curious, sometimes they are looking for reasons to debate. Regardless of their intent, we know we need to answer them calmly and reasonably—no reason to add fuel to a fire they may have because of past negative interactions with another homeschooler. We’ve memorized some statistics and we feel ready to answer any questions that might come our way. We’ve prepared answers from an educational standpoint, from a spiritual standpoint, and we might even have scribbled key words on the cuffs of our sleeves … Continue reading →

Details, Details

That’s how I think about details. Really, I don’t like them much. Now, I am a wonderful organizer, and I keep track of all of the details of life very well. However, give me an art project and I will have no problem finishing it with a few flaws worked into the mix. Those just tell me I’m human, right? No detail-oriented perfectionism here. Of course, there are times when detail orientation is rather useful. I want my surgeon to be detail-oriented. I would prefer that those who build bridges get the engineering details just right. I’ve just accepted that … Continue reading →

Turning Your Child into a Self-Advocate

How does your child do when you turn her loose? In school, kids have to self-advocate. In fact, in all groups children have to self-advocate to a large degree, especially if you are not around all of the time. Self-advocacy is a good skill to learn, but it’s one that is hard for young children. In fact, it’s one of the reasons that I’m tentative about letting my daughter loose into the school system. She’ll have to navigate large groups of children on her own. As an introvert, she doesn’t have the natural inclination to introduce herself to many other … Continue reading →

How Do You Get Your “Me” Time

This is a question I frequently get asked. After all, I am the very busy homeschooling mother of five kids. In all honesty, it’s much easier now that my five kids are under the age of nine. When they were under the age of five though, I had quite the different perspective. I always struggle with this question because the truth of the matter is we live in a society that places far too much weight on personal ‘me’ time. One working mother even asserted to me that I was only “half-brained” because I stay home all day with my … Continue reading →

Mourning the Loss of Napping

I have heard more than a few times that naps are a parent’s saving grace! If it wasn’t for nap time, many parents of young ones would truly lose their minds. I think that is why it can be so disconcerting when a child either gives up naps, or turns out to be the sort of person who requires less sleep. We worry for the health of the child and we also wonder what we are going to do as parents without that nice nap time break! I know that in my own parenting, it came as quite a shock … Continue reading →