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10 Days Why A Homeschool Mom Is Not Better Than a Public School Mom (but could be). Day 1

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10 Days of Why A Homeschool Mom Is Not Better Than a Public School Mom (but could be). Day 1. Patience Is Not Instantly Bestowed

Jumping into homeschooling is a scary thing. Just ask any homeschool educator. Whether she is new or not, she vividly remembers the uneasy feeling of beginning.

Looking at homeschooling from the outside in is quite different than looking from the inside out and I want to give you a peek into our days as homeschool moms.

Why A Homeschool Mom Is Not Better Than a Public School Mom (but could be).

Too, so that you can step into my toes (or is that shoes, sorry couldn’t resist) I will be sharing this series of 10 Days Why A Homeschool Mom Is Not Better Than a Public School Mom (but could be) starting with day 1 why patience is not instantly bestowed upon us.

Saying that we are going to homeschool doesn’t mean our personality as a mom is immediately going to change.

You would think that choosing curriculum for our children is the only fear, but right up there on our list of top concerns is the idea that we will need to exercise some extraordinary amount of patience.

Though I am in my 18th or 19th year of homeschooling, I admit patience is not the shining trait that bubbles forth from my kids when they describe me.

Does Patience (Calm) Equal Closeness While Homeschooling?

One definition of patience is to wait calmly for something. Normally calm is not a word that synonymous with me.

What I can say is that learning to not rush judgment on my boys while schooling them or judging other homeschoolers for their choices has made me closer to them.

Seeking calm and quite while homeschooling is key though to successfully blocking out the negatives thrown our way.

Though I never achieved perfect homeschooling, I’ve found a perfect calm for whatever situation we faced at the time.

Patience IS Power!

Beginning homeschooling with an overconfident attitude is the difference between a homeschool mom and a wannabe homeschool mom.

The point is as homeschool moms we struggle just as much as a public school mom when it comes to teaching our children patiently or waiting on them to reach a milestone.

Through the years we have learned patience through the many challenges we have met.

Learning that patience is a sign of strength and character that is tested and strengthened while on the job, not at the beginning of it, you have to be willing to learn as a homeschool mom.

If you begin homeschool with an unteachable attitude as a teacher or try to wear your feelings on your sleeve and never accept any suggestions to change, you can set yourself for failure. Who wants that?

Being patient is not about being hesitant or unsure, but it is about taking time to change your personality so that you not only savor the special moments of homeschooling, but so that you become a rock star teacher.

It’s true. The difference between a homeschool mom and a public school mom is that a homeschool mom learns patience on the job and then her enthusiasm for teaching overflows. Her children are affected by the excitement she brings to the learning table.

Today, I do admit that if you were to ask my boys about me being calm while I’m explaining a new point to them, they’ll admit I have that mastered.I still have plenty to work on though.

And don’t get me wrong, patience is never mastered, just cultivated all the time and especially while homeschooling.

I will be sharing 9 more ways why a homeschool mom is not better than a public school mom (but could be).

Do you feel that you have mastered the art of patience?

Also look at these three articles 3 Homeschooling Myths Debunked, Should A Child Have a Choice to Return To Public School and Looking Back To Stretch Forward.

Hugs and love ya,

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Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

3 Reasons to NOT Avoid the Homeschool Middle Ground

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3 Reasons to NOT Avoid the Homeschool Middle Ground @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Fighting mini battles while we homeschool becomes part of our homeschool lifestyle. And it’s true that for many issues involving education, homeschoolers don’t wade in lukewarm waters nor take the middle of the ground approach. Being firmly decisive is key to surviving the harsh amount of negativity that is thrown our way.

Standing Firm on Homeschool Middle Ground

However, many things in homeschooling are more successful when you can step back and straddle the middle road. Sometimes taking an all or nothing approach can be counter productive, even extreme at times.

Look at these 3 reasons to NOT avoid the homeschool middle ground.

ONE/  When you do a unit study with multiple ages of children.

You can set your homeschool day up for failure when you use a learning resource that is too high above your oldest child’s head or one that is too young below it.

It’s a common mistake; choosing a unit study resource that is the grade level of your oldest child.

The secret to individualizing a delightful unit study topic is to  choose the middle grade between the ages of your children.

Seasoned homeschool veterans know that it’s easier to scale down activities for younger grades. Use the example of a plant unit study.

Younger students can color, label and dissect a plant. Older students or high school students can use the same unit study, but expand the activities on it to a high school level.

For example, older students can include plant history, learn about the local plants in your area and even spend some time in an apprenticeship learning from local professionals about herbs or plants. Ideas to use for an older student spring from the middle of the grade resource that you are currently using.

Not all ideas are so easy to round up for an older learner, but they are more useful than a resource used for your youngest learner.

TWO/ When you mix and match homeschool curriculum.

It’s easy to use the same curriculum provider with all of your children. Why would you do that though?

Each child is as unique as each homeschool family or should be.

Take the middle ground, avoid the extreme by choosing just one homeschool curriculum and use pieces and parts of a boxed curriculum, unit study and another curriculum to create a study that is unique for each child.

If you’re using just one type of curriculum, then one or more of your children may not be benefiting from it as much as another child. Mixing and matching homeschool curriculum will ensure a better fit for all of your children.

THREE/ When you begin homeschooling high school.

I did it too when I started homeschooling high school and that is to right away in 9th grade take a sock it to him attitude when planning.

High school is not about controlling your teen through his high school years, but it’s about working alongside each other. It is a give and take.

You give because your teen is a different person than you and your husband and he has goals and inspirations now that he too wants to meet. But it’s a take also because you don’t want to give up all your goals or plans for your teen’s future and some things will be must-haves in high school.

What I’m saying is that you choose the middle ground in high school when you help a teen keep balanced in all subjects until he decides his goals.

Some adults don’t even know what they won’t do, so don’t put a lot of pressure on a teen. Take the middle road by keeping subjects balanced until a mommy track, college track or job track is decided.

Also, grab some other tips from my other articles Homeschool Confession – My Homeschool Mistakes, Go Ahead and Make a Mistake: Homeschool Without Fear and Homeschooling – Beginnings are Usually Scary, Endings are Usually Sad, but It’s What’s In the Middle that Counts!.

Don’t give up the fight in touting the decisive ways we need to take a stand when it comes to homeschooling, but just know that the middle ground can not only be productive, but necessary many times in your journey.

What else do you take the middle ground on while homeschooling?

Hugs and love ya,

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Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

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31 Days of Dinner Ideas for August With Linked Recipes. Rock Your Cooking and Homeschooling

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August 31 days of dinner ideas

Menu planning and homeschool organizing go hand in hand, which is why I have been  doing this 31 days of dinner ideas with you this year.

The area that I struggle with the most is dinner because my days are long this year. The Mr. has switched careers and with this new industry we get up at 4:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. for six days of the week.

Even when my schedule wasn’t as demanding, I learned early that by menu planning for longer period of times relieved the dinner time crunch.

Why 31 Day Menu Planning Rocks When You Homeschool

So my menus each month reflects my style, which is easy but they also reflect my family’s likes and dislikes.

Though  I tried menu planning for 7 days, it was just was never enough. The next week was upon me before I had a chance to menu plan.

By planning for longer periods of times, I have more time during the month to plan and I really like cooking a lot more when I have a plan.

August 31 Days of Dinner Ideas with Linked Recipes @ Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Back when I started this series in January, I explained how stress reduces your energy to homeschool. Meal planning is important because it’s part of the solution to minimize the stress in your day.

Grab this month’s menu above and if you need some more ideas, grab some of the other 31 days of dinner ideas.

January dinner ideas along with an editable menu planner
February dinner ideas
March dinner ideas
April dinner ideas
May dinner ideas
June dinner ideas
July dinner ideas

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

Unfolding of a Homeschool Unit Study – An Easy Mnemonic { I-SIP}

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It’s a paradox. The free rein to study what delights your kids is the same thing that can make some homeschoolers feel restless and unnerved when there is an overflowing amount of material to study on a topic.

Sanity-Saving Secrets for Jumping into Homeschool Unit Studies

As I began creating unit studies, I learned a lot about the learning process and in how to help you to keep the material from being overwhelming. One quick tip to help you remember the unfolding of a homeschool unit study is an easy mnemonic { I-SIP}, which helps you to understand the steps.Unfolding of a Homeschool Unit Study – An Easy Mnemonic { I-SIP}Immersion, separation, investigation and personalization are the layers of learning that you build on as you do unit studies. And the mnemonic is one I created so that you know you don’t have to jump first into tailoring a unit study just for you kids.

Besides, if you went straight to day-to-day lesson plans, you would miss out on the ‘plumpness’ of a unit study.

Breaking down these steps to help you understand each one, I am starting first with explaining what immersion is and why it is the first step.

Don’t try to tame the overabundant information you have on hand.

Immersion is the first step and it is time for unrestrained exploration.

Being immersed or the first step in the I – SIP process is probably my favorite step. It means to “dive head-first” into a subject.

Until you and your kids explore the numerous sub-topics under a major topic, you won’t know what interests your kids.

This is so very important because unit studies are suppose to be about what you think is right to teach your child about a set of subjects.

Sample of how to plan for subtopics in a homeschool unit study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

(Sample from my Ultimate Unit Study Planner of how many subtopics we were exploring when we studied my FBI unit study.I wrote the main topic in the middle and the subtopics are all connected to my main topic.)

Another important reason to wade through all the material you have on hand is that you don’t want to kill your child’s joy for learning before you get started.

Think of a funnel as you start unit studies. Keep learning ‘open wide’ in the beginning to drink in all the goodness.

Unless you are teaching a unit study for the second or third time, time is needed to see which subtopics you will want to investigate.

For example, I think about my War Between ‘Tates unit study. When we jumped into learning about the topic, there were many subtopics that interested my boys.

From money used back during the American Civil War to the H.L. Hunley submarine that was used by the Confederate States of America, we read about many subtopics while studying about the American Civil War.

As you can see immersion is important because as you read over whichever resources or books you have chosen, a picture emerges of the subtopics that pique your children’s interests.

Though we read about the food prepared during the American Civil War, my sons were more interested in other topics than music, food or fashion. Okay, you know I have all boys. When we first studied the American Civil War, my boys were more interested in the geography and names of the battles and weaponry of the time.

However, had we not read everything we wanted to without restraint, they would have not know about some of the broad strokes of life during that time period.

One huge advantage to taking your time in this first layer of learning is that not only do your children find subtopics that would pique their curiosity, but they also have an introduction to a wide variety of subtopics from the topic you chose.

Don’t rush the immersion step. Sometimes we stay just a few days on this step and for other unit studies, immersion took us a few weeks.

Unfolding of a Homeschool Unit Study. Look at this mnemonic I-SIP which helps you to understand how to easily teach a unit study. @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Now, can you see why it’s probably my favorite step?

Learning without limits or the boundaries of a textbook is energizing, exhilarating and engaging.

Next, moving onto to the second layer of learning, which is separation is important. I’ll talk about  that next.

Look at these other tips for how to build a unit study

You think you can remember this easy mnemonic?

Hugs and love ya,

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31 Days of Dinner Ideas for July. Rock Your Homeschool.

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

July 31 Days of dinner ideas at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Today, I have 31 days of dinner ideas for July.

Coping Like Career Moms

For many years I have planned for 31 days regardless of the amount of days in a month.

That is one of the key tips to sticking to 31 day menu planning.

Don’t get bogged down by looking ahead to see what all holidays, appointments and other things that are planned for the month.

It’s okay to do that, if you have time. Some months, I do plan slower and look ahead to be sure on a day when I am out running errands that I have a crockpot meal recipe planned for that day.

However, not all months are like that.

Instead of planning perfectly, I plan wisely by being sure  I have 31 days of dinner ideas.

31 Day Planning means Flexibility, Saving Money and Being Healthier. That Equals Smarter

Too, I have no gasps of being in the middle of cooking and not having one key ingredient needed to complete the meal. I hate when that happens and I refuse to do it.

Keep in mind I have repeated only a very few recipes because variety is what makes cooking for your family satisfying. Can you make that your challenge?

Download here July 31 Days of Dinner Ideas with Linked Recipes @ Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

If you need some more ideas, grab some of the other 31 days of dinner ideas.

January dinner ideas along with an editable menu planner
February dinner ideas
March dinner ideas
April dinner ideas
May dinner ideas
June dinner ideas

Are you struggling with this? In what area?

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

Save

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