We have multiple children (eight) and a long-time family tradition is “Child of the Week” which has shortened to COW.
Budgeting for Frills on a Family Road Trip
All this talk of ice cream brings us to our third area – frills. If you have your plan for a budgeted family road trip in place and your food lined out, frills might attack your budget in the form of souvenirs or the new DVD purchase in a truck stop display that grabs your […]
Save Money on Food During a Family Road Trip
Picking up snacks and drinks at typical gas stops during your family road trip is what those convenient marts are counting on. However, you can still stay on budget and enjoy your trip with just a bit of extra planning. Here are my best tips for overcoming budget pitfalls in the area of food costs. […]
Including Faith in Home School Plans
For those of us who home educate because our faith is important, we have concerns that God’s word has been removed from the school setting and value the Bible becoming a key factor in the lives of our children. As Martin Luther has been credited with saying, “I am afraid that the schools will prove […]
Maximizing Your Child’s Education
One of my observations with public school is that the children are simply waiting for the bell and working to minimums. What is the least I have to do to get by? The material is often surface-level, and the interactions are like texts — abbreviated. In contrast, homeschooling allows you to drink deeply. Take something […]
Planning Ahead to Save Money on a Family Road Trip
Here are some ideas to help you save money during your travel on the highways and byways.
Planning Your School Rather than Detailing Your Day
One of the great temptations for new home educators is to bring a traditional, assembly line, children-stuck-at-desks, seven-subjects-each-day-in-50-minute-increments approach to their home education. That approach is not working very well for the schools and their students, so why would we bring it into our homes with our children? Sometimes, we are tempted to do that […]
Pros and Cons of Homeschooling Year-Round
As a veteran home school mom who began home schooling at the point of having two children, then adding several more babies, a couple major moves and all kinds of disruptions plus a thriving home based business, I have done our schooling just about every way possible. We have had a very traditional schedule as […]
A Year of Romantic Dates
Here are a dozen romantic date ideas. Select one for this month, then use the others throughout the coming year –because every great relationship deserves at least one date night per month!
Seasonal Bark Candy
Almond Bark candy is a very easy, fun snack for the whole family to make together and enjoy! Ingredients -a bag of sandwich cookies (Oreo’s or similar. Do not use “double stuff”) -pretzels -almond bark (white or chocolate depending on preference, we like white to contrast the colored candies) -seasonal candy (photos show Reese’s Pieces […]
Nerf Weather Blitz Flag Football Set
We all remember the days of playing flag football with strips of a torn t-shirt stuck in our pants dangling like a tattered kite tail. The thrill of the tackle, but in a safe manner via the flags that dangled like tails. Now flag football has gone upscale thanks to the pros at Nerf! About […]
ThinkSMART for Nintendo DS – Family Fun for Parents and Kids
ThinkSMART for Nintendo DS is billed as something for adults, but my 12 year old son, Ian, handled it just fine (but he likes chess and is a thinker). They also offer Kid ThinkSMART (their version for younger children 8+) They claim, “this original brain training program challenges older players thinking skills in an imaginative […]