Monday, August 27, 2018
Monday, August 20, 2018
Quit Expecting Perfection
My morning got started later than normal and before I knew it I was struggling with that overwhelming feeling I get when I can't decide what to do first. Thankfully, this time I just picked something and started doing. Still, as I'm working through my morning I am also beating myself up over an array of different things like all the weird things that make me not as good as others, why I'm late or how if I was someone else all of this would be better and so on. And do you know what conclusion I came up with after all that nonsense? There's no perfect rhythm of a day or method of life that is immune to the imperfections of life. Things will break. People will waste your time. There will be fighting. Living is messy. We learn so much through failures. So, whatever you are doing with your life, it's not about being perfect. It's about getting back up every. single. time. Some things will get perfected and we take pleasure in those moments - until someone screams or you get overbooked. Don't give yourself permission to quit life, but also quit expecting perfection!
Friday, August 17, 2018
God Schooling by Julie Polanco: A Book Review
If you are a regular reader of mine, you know I don't like extremes very much. When the word unschooling or even the notion gets brought up around my husband, it's pretty much a dead in the water idea. So, if you can relate to that, some of the ideas in this book might turn you off right away simply because they seem to favor unschooling and bucking the norm so much. The reality is I agree and implement the spirit of what she has to say. Even in high school, I was toying around with the idea that everyone is different and shouldn't be expected to be the same. To this day I blame the industrial revolution for this cookie cutter society we keep wanting to produce. Still, I don't consider myself and unschooler at all.
I think, perhaps, she and I started off in vastly different places. I'm a type B and struggle with schedules and NOT going with whatever we feel like is interesting that day. From the first chapter or so, I would guess she began more like a Type A person who fulfills all things to the curriculum, despite what the child might be inclined to. So, about half of the conclusions she has come to I agree with and started out with in my homeschool approach. My husband is a voracious learner and even if we didn't homeschool, my kids would be exposed to new things all. the. time. just by being around him. He loves to play and tinker with things and gladly brings them along. That is a natural learning, something she advocates throughout.
The interesting thing though is that much of her challenging ideas are biblically based or produced from a mountain of research. After reading the book, I agree that many of our expectations and standards are NOT those placed on us by God, but by social norms. The area we may disagree on is when is it problematic enough to resist those social norms? I have a child who resists math sometimes because he says it's hard. I also know that his mother rocked a lot of things in school until they got 'hard' and then she liked to quit out of impatience. Some of Polanco's ideas might suggest that we just put math on the shelf until a better time. I know, as a parent and from personal experience, that it is a character issue rather than about the math. Still, she advocates understanding the needs of each child, recognizing they will likely be different than their siblings so we would probably agree on a lot.
My advice to you - especially fellow homeschoolers - is to hear her out. Read the book and see what you think. Depending on your personal expectations and concerns about education, this book might challenge you in a huge way or it might solidify a lot of what you have been thinking, but might feel guilty about. That was my experience. I love a fluidity to our learning and have to work at maintaining structure, which makes me feel like a bad mom/teacher/homemaker. But as I have suspected for a long time, there is a lot being done right there, despite what a traditional view might say.
Follow Julie Polanco on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliepolancobooks/ @juliepolancobooks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jpolancobooks/
This book discusses a lot of controversial concepts which means there will be a lot of different reactions to it. Be sure to check out what some of the other Crew Members had to say about it!
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Paddington Bear: A Branch Out World Review
- History & Geography
- Creative Writing
- Art
- Science (Migration!)
- Grammar & Vocabulary
- Architecture & Design
- Math
The significant thing about reading stories together is that often there are multiple layers and several details that go unnoticed at first. Upon the first reading of Paddington, no one remembered that the country of Peru was even mentioned! This was a great opportunity to dive into places (England & Peru) we weren't very familiar with. The study is divided into 5 sections:
- Day 1 – Exploring the Setting (History and Geography)
- Day 2 – Exploring the Words (Grammar & Writing)
- Day 3 – Exploring the Pictures
- Day 4 – Exploring Science (Animals & Experiments)
- Day 5 – Exploring Maths, Crafts and More
All activities are left open to exploring further if you choose and also stand alone for when you want to pick and choose certain ones and not others. You are encouraged to record notes on your adventure in some way, like making a lap book or keeping a journal. It's a very flexible plan with multiple variations possible. The intended age for this study is 5-10 years old.
When everything a child is learning reinforces or connects back together in some way, it really does stick with them much longer. Branch Out World has done for us what many of us dream about doing, but don't get around to - beautifully weave subjects and lessons together where everyone is learning. One of my favorite topics brought out in this study was migration and push/pull factors. It was a subject we hadn't discussed together yet and taught me a few things I had never considered before.
Branch Out World did a great job with this study and we found it to be a perfect change of pace that proved to be very fruitful! Check out all they have to offer by following them on social media.
Follow Branch Out World:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BranchOutWorld @BranchOutWorld
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/belzibow @belzibow
Instagram: www.instagram.com/belzibow @belzibow
Twitter: www.twitter.com/belzibow @belzibow
Monday, August 13, 2018
The Slow Journey to Health: A Weight-loss Update
I have always been insecure about my weight and size - even when I had ZERO reasons to be. Still, when you're thin, young and healthy it is so easy to judge other people who gain weight and don't ever get rid of it. I know, I know - YOU would never think that way, but let's face it, we all judge secretly from time to time, especially about the things that seem simple or easy to us. That is until we have to deal with it ourselves. Age, disease, stress and, well, having children can certainly catch up to you in the body department. I'm at 16 months postpartum and I don't have any impressive stats to brag about. I'm sure to the moms of 4+ kids, I sound naive, but keeping up with 3 kids is hard, man. It takes up all the time and energy and space that you started with and explodes feelings, stains and chaos all over it. Even if losing weight was a no-brainer for me at one kid (which it's not), at 3 kids and 38 years old, it's going to be a lot tougher.
I guess it sounds like I'm gearing up for a big excuse party and learn to love yourself kind of post. That's important to have some days, because we are just so cruel to ourselves behind the scenes. But, that's not why I'm writing today. I'm writing today to say that the journey to health - from disease, weight-gain or whatever - is often longer than we feel it should be. I can't claim an awesome number of pounds lost over the summer or anything, which to some might be incredibly discouraging. 16 months! Let's do this already, right? Well, the thing is, I AM doing it. All of my clothes are looser, certain areas (where I may have carried a 10 lb baby around in) have tightened up, I have more brain power and more energy. It's working! It's not revolutionary or mind-blowing, but it's another confirmation that - in my life anyway - a balanced, slow and steady approach wins every time!
I can't speak for everyone else's body or journey in and out of health, but for me weight-loss means detoxing. Those fat cells hold on to all kinds of junk and getting rid of fat cells requires getting rid of the junk too. Every 4-7 days, especially when I'm exercising well, I develop detoxing symptoms (like mild nausea, headaches, body aches, fatigue, etc.). They aren't pleasant for sure, but they tell me I'm doing something right! Clean eating, exercising and some great herbs that support cleansing and detoxing are where the magic happens around here. I say magic, but it's more like exhausting uphill battle that takes much longer than you feel like it should.
When it comes to your health, it is never worthwhile to give up. The process of healing and recovery - no matter what we're talking about - takes time. And that can be so frustrating. Still, I want to encourage you to know that it is worth it. Do you feel overwhelmed and defeated because of your health? Did you try a little bit and it was so hard that you gave up? Maybe it is blood pressure or blood sugar issues. Or trauma and anxiety? I have had to deal with a lot of those in my life and my family. You're not alone and if you need a friend to encourage you, I would be honored. Either way, I'll keep you posted on my progress. It IS hard, but it's not impossible.
I guess it sounds like I'm gearing up for a big excuse party and learn to love yourself kind of post. That's important to have some days, because we are just so cruel to ourselves behind the scenes. But, that's not why I'm writing today. I'm writing today to say that the journey to health - from disease, weight-gain or whatever - is often longer than we feel it should be. I can't claim an awesome number of pounds lost over the summer or anything, which to some might be incredibly discouraging. 16 months! Let's do this already, right? Well, the thing is, I AM doing it. All of my clothes are looser, certain areas (where I may have carried a 10 lb baby around in) have tightened up, I have more brain power and more energy. It's working! It's not revolutionary or mind-blowing, but it's another confirmation that - in my life anyway - a balanced, slow and steady approach wins every time!
I can't speak for everyone else's body or journey in and out of health, but for me weight-loss means detoxing. Those fat cells hold on to all kinds of junk and getting rid of fat cells requires getting rid of the junk too. Every 4-7 days, especially when I'm exercising well, I develop detoxing symptoms (like mild nausea, headaches, body aches, fatigue, etc.). They aren't pleasant for sure, but they tell me I'm doing something right! Clean eating, exercising and some great herbs that support cleansing and detoxing are where the magic happens around here. I say magic, but it's more like exhausting uphill battle that takes much longer than you feel like it should.
When it comes to your health, it is never worthwhile to give up. The process of healing and recovery - no matter what we're talking about - takes time. And that can be so frustrating. Still, I want to encourage you to know that it is worth it. Do you feel overwhelmed and defeated because of your health? Did you try a little bit and it was so hard that you gave up? Maybe it is blood pressure or blood sugar issues. Or trauma and anxiety? I have had to deal with a lot of those in my life and my family. You're not alone and if you need a friend to encourage you, I would be honored. Either way, I'll keep you posted on my progress. It IS hard, but it's not impossible.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Learning About Science Collection: A WriteBonnieRose Review
- Understanding Food Chains
- Why Do Animals Hibernate?
- Plants: How They Grow and How They Help Us
- A Closer Look at Body Systems
- The Cycle of Water and Types of Clouds
- The Solar Systems, Planets, Earths Moon and Constellations
- Forces and Simple Machines
- Scientists and the Scientific Method
Each topic has 15 to 25 pages that define key terms, encourages coloring and reading comprehension, provides handwriting practice, drawing activities and review questions at the end, all with pictures to color as possible answers.
How We Used It:
We started with Understanding Food Chains and each page covered a different type of ecosystem. My son could read the page, follow the directions for the activity and then he would usually ask questions. Depending on the subject matter, it often left it wide open to continue the study with some YouTube videos. When my son came into my bedroom one day asking me how gravity worked again, it was a great opportunity to look at a different topic, Forces and Simple Machines.
What We Thought:
The text of this curriculum is very simple and clear. I found it easy to understand, but more importantly easy for me to explain and answer questions about. We found it to be the right kind of involvement to include handwriting and coloring on every page. It certainly kept my son engaged. At his age (7), this curriculum provides a great introduction to all of the elements and allows us to go deeper when his interest or need requires.
Whether you are a bit afraid of science like I was or you just need an effective resource, consider WriteBonnieRose and all three levels of Learning About Science. If you purchase between now and August 15th with the code REVIEWCREW50, you'll receive 50% off your order! That's $6 a set!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WriteBonnieRose/ @WriteBonnieRose
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriteBonnieRose @WriteBonnieRose
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/writebonnierose/ @WriteBonnieRose
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriteBonnieRose @WriteBonnieRose
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/writebonnierose/ @WriteBonnieRose
Check out what other people had to say about the Learning About Science Collection:
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