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17 May | 2013

I Want To Be A Confident SAHM

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Meeting new people is always awkward for me. It's not that I'm weird or antisocial. On the contrary, I've been told I'm a friendly person. I used to be an extrovert. Used to be... Meeting new people, making new friends used to be so easy. In fact, I never even thought about the whole friendship-making process at all back then. Friendships just happened. Now, I think I've become an introvert. In real life. Blog life, it's uber-easy to make friends. In RL, not so much. Real face time? I get more nervous meeting a new person than speaking in front of a crowd. The culprit? This question: So, what do you do? *shrink and cower under a rock* This is my stock answer: I used to be a teacher and vice principal at an elementary school, but now I stay home with the ...continue reading

Filed Under: Homeschool, Randomness Tagged With: , ,
9 Apr | 2013

5 Best Toddler and Preschool Apps

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monkey preschool lunchbox

I love me my Kindle devices, but for my preschool-aged daughter, I have her use a Nook Color because I think it has a much simpler interface for little ones to use. As for my 8 year old's Nook Color, I manually converted it into an Android Tablet without rooting (because I wasn't about to dish out another 100+ for a new tablet) - by using a memory card to partition the hard drives, courtesy of Cyanogen Mod. :) And so far, no one in this household owns any iAnything...but I've looked up the apps here to see if they're available on the iTunes App Store - just for you.  You're welcome. 1. MONKEY PRESCHOOL LUNCHBOX by THUP Games, LLC Simple yet educational app. Has 5 games that teach colors, counting, letters, matching, and completing simple puzzles. The monkey is so cute. And ...continue reading

Filed Under: Education, Homeschool, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,
28 Mar | 2013

3 Best Ways to Pick A Preschool Book That Promotes INDEPENDENT Reading

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I love libraries as much as any good parent out there, but if you're like most parents, going to the library can feel a little daunting sometimes.  Why?  Because there are just SO many books! How do you pick the right one for your budding reader? Easy.  Remember these 3 things when picking a book: 1.  sight words 2.  few sentences per page 3.  repetition What are SIGHT WORDS First, sight words are not the same as "high frequency words."  (Repeat the sentence to yourself.  Again.)  High frequency words are words that appear (or are used) most frequently in the English language (and books). Most sight words are high frequency words.  Some sight words are not high frequency words.  (The list of high frequency words, in each grade level, is much bigger than the ...continue reading

Filed Under: Reading Tagged With: , , ,
18 Dec | 2012

Day of Silence – In Memoriam: Sandy Hook Elementary

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...continue reading

Filed Under: Homeschool, Motherhood Tagged With: , ,
3 Oct | 2012

She’s A Big Girl Now

posted by 12 Comments
1st Week of Preschool

Last week was my 3 year old's 1st week of school.  Ever. Although I homeschool my 7 year old, we've decided to put The Toddler in Preschool because.... 1.  I don't have the materials or resources to turn my house into a preschool learning environment. 2.  I don't have the capacity to teach a 3rd/4th grader, take care of a needy 1 year old, AND teach a preschooler with the attention span of a squirrel.  (Bounces off the walls like a squirrel too, actually.) 3.  I cannot give or guarantee her a routine learning schedule - something schoolchildren at this age depend upon for success. So, off to Preschool she went. The week before, I thought it would be a good bonding idea for my husband to take The Toddler to the store to get a back-to-school item.  I was thinking, you ...continue reading

Filed Under: Homeschool, Motherhood, Photography Tagged With: , , , , ,
14 Jun | 2012

Goodbye Naptime… For Now

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Image Source: Fedmich.com

Pretty much every kid (at least in California) will be on summer vacation by next week.  All mothers out there are frantically putting together last minute summer survival kits for themselves - to make sure they survive until the kids go back to school again in about 3 months. Not me. I homeschool.  Not that I am a typical model for homeschooling moms or anything, but I'm pretty sure there are a few out there who might be able to relate. What the heck am I talking about??? Why, I'm talking about school NOT being done for us!  Yep, one con of homeschooling is the whole idea of flexibility. Sometimes, we homeschoolers exercise this flexibility so much that it causes us to get behind on schoolwork.  At least, that's how it is in my case.  I admit it.  Yes, I am behind. ...continue reading

Filed Under: Homeschool, Motherhood Tagged With: , ,
17 Feb | 2012

Reviewed By Mom: The Curious Garden

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One reason I love going to the library is that there are some cool DVDs we can borrow for free! Our recent discovery was this children's dvd of the book, "The Curious Garden." We had never read the book, but I read the synopsis at the back of the case, and the cover looked very appealing to my "educational nature."  I thought that it looked simple and cute enough to grab both my 7 year old and 2.5 year old daughters' attentions. I was right! This is one of the most enchanting and charming children's stories I've found!  It is about a young boy, Liam, who lived in a very dreary city.  But one day, he found a little garden.  He decided to tend it.  And the rest is a sweet story of learning and growing  - and how a simple act CAN make a difference. I took some photos ...continue reading

Filed Under: Homeschool, Motherhood Tagged With: , , , ,
13 Jan | 2012

Reviewed By Mom: Brown Bear, Brown Bear

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If you don't already have " Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? My First Reader " for your young child, you are missing out on a great teaching tool! First, I am not exaggerating when I say that every Kindergarten classroom has this book. Having taught Kindergartners and First graders (in a regular classroom setting, not only homeschool), I know first hand how this simple, little book can help a child make great gains in reading and phonics. What makes it great? 1.  Colors:  This book teaches colors in an easy, not so busy kind of way.  Very easy for young kids to pick up. 2.  Repetition:  "What do you see?" and "I see a _________ looking at me." repeats in every page.  Young children will eventually memorize it.  And if you're being a good teacher, like I know ...continue reading

Filed Under: Homeschool, Motherhood