Homeschool Supplies

With the end of August unfortunately comes the end of summer. With the more brisk weather of fall and the chill of winter just around the corner most homeschoolers are filling their shelves with books and activities for the hours that will be spent inside soon. Here's a helpful site for gathering materials if you have preschoolers you will need to keep busy. This online homeschool supply store has good prices and tons of categories to choose from even for toddlers.

The site is the Homeschool Estore and you should defiantly check it out. They also have many resources for all other ages.

More Preschool Homeschool Ideas

Yesterday my toddlers and I spent the day in the car and at the river. It was very hot. sticky day and I figured I could just write off trying to "work on" any homeschooling. However, one of the best things about homeschooling is that it is a lifestyle of learning, not something to "do" for a few hours a day, especially with toddlers. The car ride provided ample opportunities for identifying colors and cars and trucks. Of course I made sure the boys had some new books for the ride to keep the screaming down. They asked all kinds of questions about the pictures in the books and my three-year-old was constantly pointing to the sentences and asking "mommy, what do the words say?" They were able to make up their own story to the pictures since I had never read it to them which gave them a lot of room to be creative. One of my toddlers is very particular that a story be told the right way. He will correct you if you vary from a previous version. Allowing him to make up his own story for the pictures before hearing the "right" version gave him a chance to break out of his mold.
The river was an even richer source of information gathering. There were bugs, birds, leaves feathers and rocks to talk about. We organized rocks by colors, and size and spent a lot of time throwing different rocks into the river. The boys quickly picked up on the fact that the big rocks were harder to throw. This was a great lesson in comparison, opposites and weight. It amazes me how much their young minds have all ready figured out with no, direct teaching.
It was an exhausting day but happily full of learning opportunities, just as every day should be.

Best Start at the Begining

Following up on the previous post i'll begin by responding to the question I get quite frequently raising two young children. "When are you sending them to preschool?" I always respond enthusiastically that i'm preschooling at home. That's usually the end of the conversation. When I first looked into pre-schooling my toddler and up-coming toddler, I had some trouble finding a coherent list of "things they need to know" by first grade". I was looking for pre-school standards I guess, just to give me a good idea of where my kids were and what areas I might need to spend some more time with them on. After some searching I came across the "Train up a Child" foundation's fairly comprehensive list, organized by categories that allowed me to check off things that my toddler was able to do and keep track of things I needed to be providing opportunities for.
Here's the Link to the List

Pre-schooling at home doesn't take much time or curriculum. Just spending time with your toddler is nearly sufficient. If you involve them in the cleaning, cooking, organizing and shopping activities of your home you will find many opportunities to teach them basic skills. It will also bring them into contact with other adults and children. Even young children can learn to speak politely to their elders if they are given opportunities and help. Coloring, stringing bead and play dough will help with fine motor skills and outdoor play will not only burn off energy but allow them to develop balance and dexterity.

Looking into Homeschooling

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately in the area of education for my children. There are so many options out there it is hard to decide. In our area there are the public schools, several charter schools and even a few private schools. Of course there is also the option to home school.
After much consideration I am leaning towards homeschooling my boys, primarily based on my personal experiences teaching in a public school and running a before/after school program as well as the work i've done with GED students.
Everyone has to make there own choice about what is right for them and here you can find several articles detailing personal experiences and decisions to home school.

The Decision the home school and things to consider

Trials and Joys

Check out this article I wrote about one of the hilarious challenges of being a mom:

http://www.helium.com/tm/550097/challenges-parenthood-varied-believe

Hobby#1: Quilting

I know some of you are thinking, "quilting? isn't that something old ladies do?" Hey, don't worry, I thought the same thing. Actually, I was surprised at what a mommy friendly thing quilting can be. I discovered that sewing the blocks of a quilt by hand is a fabulous past-time for moms. It takes a little practice and certianly develops patience but it solved on of my biggest problems. I get bored. Okay, after sitting at the playground for an hour I get bored. There isn't always someone for me to talk to since I go during the day and even at home there are chunks of time that get swallowed up in sitting, watching, and waiting. Hand quilting is easy and fun. I put the pieces of the block i'm working on in a ziplock baggie with a ruler, pencil, scissors and thread. This baggie stays in my purse and I can pull it out in the Dr.'s office waiting room, at the park or even at home on the back porch. It is an activity that keeps my hands moving and keeps me from going stir crazy especially in our long New England winters. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast my first attempt went. I made a log cabin patterened throw quilt for my sister. I finished all the blocks in about 3 months. Not bad since it took me an average of 2 to 3 days to complete a block. You know how it is, you never get more than ten minuets to work on anything!
If you are interested in trying out hand quilting, there is a great site for getting started by picking out a pattern.
http://www.quilterscache.com/QuiltBlocksGalore.html

This site is full of ideas for patterns and easy to follow directions for putting the quilt together. The actual mechanics of sewing by hand are pretty straight forward. Spend about 15 minuets with an older, experienced quilter and you can lear the technique. Quilting by hand is a lot like motherhood. You can't stress about when you will finish the project, you have to focus on the little bit you can do today and most improtantly enjoy the journey!

Me Time Break

You know those times, most often rare, when the kids are playing happily with their cars or books and you can sneak a few moments of "me" time? I get those sometimes and I take advantage of a moment or two to myself to unwind, relax and center my mind for the next few hours. These moments are essential for me, I really admire those mom's who spend every waking moment with their children, everyday and never need time alone. I think it's a facade but whatever. I recently found a fun site that I visit during those precious moments when I just want to do something more mentaly stimulating than read "Red Fish Blue Fish" for the millionth time. Check it out!

http://fun.familyeducation.com/famed/coffeebreak/index.html

Welcome to Staying Home and Staying Sane

As an expierenced mother of two I understand that being home with my children is one of the greatest things I can do for them. I also know first hand how exciting diapers, cleaning, and illness can be. So i'm creating this blog to chronicle my journey through the joys and boredome of motherhood. I hope to make this a resource of ideas and humor to help you other stay at home moms deal with the realities of being home. I hope you will check back often and comment frequently. Any ideas you would like to share would be welcome!