When your child shares about their day, LISTEN. Even if you have to bite your tongue. I’ve learned a lot about my children from listening to them and not reacting. I also listened to their friends, who seemed quite willing to share “funny” stories that my children were involved in. Don’t judge; don’t react. Just listen. If you must put your two cents in, wait … Continue reading Top 10 Parenting Tips Part II
Picture Credit: Vernon’s Blog Go to a Pumpkin Patch. Pick your favorite. Take it home and decorate or make pumpkin seeds and pumpkin bread. Go on a hayride! Stuff a scarecrow. Do leaf tracings. Find out what types you’ve collected. Have your children rake up leaves (for money?). They jump in! Have a harvest party. Include scarcrow making. Everyone brings an old shirt and pants. You … Continue reading Ideas for Fall Both Indoor and Out
Long Distance Moves: Be prepared for cash flow problems. New apartments, phone companies, and utilities may require immediate cash deposits but refunds from old deposits can take weeks. When moving to a new state, find out how long you have before you must change your car registration and tags. If changing banks, keep old bank accounts open until all checks have cleared. Some businesses do … Continue reading Moving Tips
Do you want to raise healthy, well-adjusted adults? The beauty of having 3 twenty-somethings is that I can see the fruits of my labor. Through reading, trial and error and my basic belief systems, I raised my children on the following 10 premises: Read about each phase of childhood BEFORE you get to it. You won’t be surprised when you get a call from the … Continue reading Top Ten Parenting Tips – Part 1
Most of these ideas can be used even if you’re not homeschooling. As parents, we are our children’s primary educator. Learning takes place everywhere, anywhere. Look for opportunities to teach in everyday activities. If you’re getting a new rug, have your child help with measuring. Let your child follow a recipe. Talk about measurements using standard and metric. Have them design a house. What size … Continue reading This Works for Me: Tips for Teaching at Home
The first question people asked me about homeschooling was “What about socialization?” By that I suppose they meant, “Would my son be isolated?” My response to this is that there are many ways to socialize and sitting in the school for 6 hours a day with the same children in the same age group is just one way of socializing. It’s not better, it’s not always the most positive … Continue reading Moms to Moms: Homeschooling
Start young. I let my 2 year old choose her clothes. I would put out 2 outfits on her bed to choose from. As she got a little older, she would pick out her own outfits. Some days I might say, “Ok. You can keep the top or the pants on.” Then she would run back to her room and change either the top or … Continue reading Teaching Children the Art of Making Decisions
While my husband and I were house hunting we never took the children with us. When we did select a house, we waited until the contract was accepted before showing the children their new home. Then we has to sell our old house. We packed away the messiest toys and when someone called to see the house, we’d play the “pick-up game”. I’s race the children to see … Continue reading From Moms to Moms: Moving
After washing lettuce, tear with hands rather than cutting with knife. Metal turns the adges of lettuce brown. To keep, wrap lettuce in a paper towel to absorb excess liquid then place in plastic bag. Cut- up fresh garden veggies such as carrots, cucumber, and beans and serve as a snack to children while they watch their favorite T.V. show/video. This keeps children from being … Continue reading Kitchen Kapers
Reasons for homeschooling can vary: Your child is not doing well in school and nothing seems to help. Your child is not having a good learning experience and is very unhappy in school. You feel that your child would benefit from spending more time with you. You disagree with the moral or religious teaching (or lack of it) in the school system. There are several … Continue reading Thinking about Homeschooling?
ART with Angela DiCicco, The Italian Grandmama's Guide 