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Homeschooling with ADHD: Managing Expectations - Look! We're Learning!

Homeschooling with ADHD: Managing Expectations

June 10, 2013 by Selena Robinson 5 Comments

As we mentioned last week, Tigger has been tentatively diagnosed with ADHD and we suspect that Roo may have some attention issues as well. So we’ve had to make some changes in how we approach our homeschooling journey.

Interestingly, the biggest change I’ve had to make personally is in how I view a productive school day. When I first started thinking about homeschooling, I envisioned a full day of lessons, experiments, crafts, play, and music.

Keep Reading…

Make your next vacation a breeze with these helpful tips for traveling with kids!

10 Helpful Tips for Summer Travel with Kids

May 20, 2013 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

Tips for Summer Travel with Kids

It’s almost summertime and a lot of families are getting ready for their annual vacation.

We’ve gotten a chance to go away for the last few summers. With four kids, that is no small feat.

Along the way, I’ve picked up a few traveling tips for summer travel with kids that I thought I’d share with you today!

10 Helpful Tips for Traveling with Kids

Bear in mind – these are just based on our personal experiences.

But I have a hunch that most of these will apply to all parents, even if your family is smaller or larger than ours.

Keep reading to see the full list of family travel tips. Plus, grab a free printable travel bucket list for easy vacation planning with the kids!

Want some awesome summer activities to try with the family? Don’t miss my list of 50 summer crafts for kids to make!

Make your next vacation a breeze with these helpful tips for traveling with kids!

10 Helpful Tips for Summer Travel with Kids

I didn’t grow up in a large family. It was just four of us and my brother and I are ten years apart.

So I didn’t know any tips for summer travel with kids when I started having children of my own.

I hope these can help some of you avoid the less than pleasant early travel experiences we had to deal with – since I had no idea what I was doing.

1. Bring more of everything than you think you need. 

You will run out of something halfway through the trip and I promise it will be the thing you thought you’d need the least of.

We pack twice the amount of kids’ clothes we think they’ll use. They always end up needing it all somehow.

2. Add an extra half hour of travel time for every two hours you spend on the road. 

Remember when you and your spouse could get to your destination with just one or two stops along the way?

Those days are long gone.

Whenever Google Maps tells us we can get to our destination in six hours, we add at least an hour and a half to that for stops.

Tips for Traveling with Kids

3. Keep plastic shopping bags and wet wipes in your vehicle. 

Someone (or more than one someone) will spill something in the back of the vehicle.

Someone will also have an “accident” and will need to change clothes at some point.

The shopping bags and wet wipes will come in handy more often than you think.

4. Tell the hotel staff if you have more than two kids. 

One of the problems you run into when you have a large family is that most hotels only allow you to have two kids in the room.

I know some families just book the room anyway and double up the kids in the bed, but I’ve found it best to just tell the staff that we have four children.

They’ve often given us discounts on suites or larger rooms that had more space and better facilities.

How to Make Traveling with Kids Easier

5. Pack jackets for the kids, even when it’s blazingly hot outside.

This is one of those tips for summer travel I wish I had known earlier.

Always, always, always have your children bring their jackets with them on a trip.

They’ll end up feeling cold somewhere – in a store, in the car, in a movie theater, or a restaurant.

And you won’t have to run to the store to pick up a blanket.

6. Choose a hotel room with a full kitchen. 

On a couple of family trips, we found that eating out ends up costing more than the hotel room, especially if we’re gone for an entire week.

We wised up a few years ago and started booking rooms that have full kitchens and refrigerators. The money we save on eating out more than covers the cost of the larger hotel room.

7. Make a grocery store run as soon as you get into town.

Since you’ve chosen a hotel room with a full kitchen, you’ll have room to store actual groceries.

We stick with simple, low-cost meals like spaghetti, salads, cereal and milk, tuna sandwiches, and snacks.

They’re affordable. I know the kids will eat them. And they don’t take much time to prepare.

At least once during the trip, we go out to eat at a nice restaurant. But most days, we just have what the kids would normally eat at home.

Bonus: They can make most of these meals themselves.

10 Tips for Family Summer Travel

8. Choose a hotel that has on-site attractions.

If you go to a family-friendly destination (think: Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Pigeon Forge), you may think you have to add tickets to a popular attraction like Disney, Dollywood, or Ripley’s Aquarium.

And those are fine.

But if you’re on a budget and your kids are fairly young, you can get a lot out of the on-site attractions at the local resorts.

We usually choose one that has a splash pad and a water park. Then the kids can just walk down to the park and we can hang out by the pool. Win.

10 Helpful Family Travel Tips

9. No matter how fun the trip is, expect the children to complain at least once per day. 

This is one of those tips for summer travel with kids that I didn’t pick up on until our second family vacation.

On that trip, we had taken the time to put together an itinerary that we were sure the kids would love. We even booked a room that had a themed kids’ suite with bunkbeds.

They still found a reason to be unhappy with it. (I think it was that the room wasn’t big enough to play in or something.)

But that’s just kids being kids. If you can weather their initial complaints, you’ll probably end up having a great time. We did.

Helpful Travel Tips for Families

10. Center the trip on a kid-friendly attraction.

And, to round out our list of tips for summer travel with kids, try to visit at least one kid-friendly spot while you’re away.

There are a ton of low-cost and even free places to visit in the United States that are definitely worth a visit and may even be on your way.

Need some ideas for kid-friendly attractions to visit in the U.S.? Pick up our free U.S. Landmarks and Attractions travel bucket list!

U.S. Landmarks Family Bucket List

This printable is packed with 250 different sights to see in the United States (five for each state).

Choose a couple in the state you plan to visit and let the kids check them off as you tour them all.

You may even come up with some new vacation ideas along the way!

Printable U.S. Landmarks Travel Bucket List

To get this printable family travel bucket list, click the image or the link below to have it sent directly to your inbox!

You’ll also get our weekly newsletter – coming to your inbox this weekend!

Click here to get your free printable

>>> U.S. Landmarks Travel Bucket List <<<

Family Tips for Summer Travel

Do you have any tips for summer travel with kids? Feel free to share them in the comments!

And if you need some learning activities to keep your kids happy on the road, check out some of these printables for kids!

These shark themed counting to ten puzzles are wonderful for use at early math centers!
Use these printable solar system coloring pages for a fun astronomy activity for early learners!
Use this printable rescue the shark game to help kids have fun play time indoors!

Counting the Cost of Extracurricular Activities

May 8, 2013 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

Tigger's Gymnastics Trophy

Good morning all! Thanks for stopping back by to see what we’re up to today! We’ve recently had an epiphany about extracurricular activities that we wanted to share with you all.

Tigger has been enrolled in gymnastics classes off and on for the past three years. We initially enrolled her because she was extremely flexible but also extremely clumsy and we wanted her to learn some coordination and balance. I remember her first day well. She cried the entire class and wouldn’t leave my side to go out on the floor with the group. (It was mortifying.)

Eventually, though, she got used to the class environment and started enjoying it. And, sure enough, her balance got better, she started learning how to take instruction from adults other than me, and she became comfortable with the other students. Mission accomplished! Or so I thought.

Every spring, the class holds a performance where they show off everything they’ve learned. The picture you see above is from Tigger’s first performance. As you can see, she got a trophy, as did all the other kids. But if you look at her face, you can see something’s not quite right about her smile. That’s because she twisted her ankle partway through the performance. While this is a perfectly normal thing to happen during a gymnastics performance, we were surprised that it happened because she said nothing to us until it was over.

She wanted to return to classes, so we re-enrolled her the following fall. And when it was time for the annual performance, she did well through the entire rotation until the final apparatus. This time, she fell and broke her leg. Christopher Robin ended up carrying her out of the gym and directly to the ER. She did get her trophy, though.

This past fall, she was anxious to get back to classes once her cast came off, so we enrolled her again. Since we initially started, though, the class sizes have gotten huge and the students now outnumber the instructors by at least 15 or 20 to 1. Which isn’t the safest thing in the world to me. A couple of weeks ago, she twisted her ankle yet again. However, when she told her coach about it, he told her to “take a break”. That’s it. Not to go tell her parents. Not to sit down and elevate her leg. “Take a break”.

Tigger also told us that she had gotten tired before she injured herself, but that she didn’t think she could say anything since she was supposed to finish her rotation. Christopher Robin and I were livid. And then we realized that it’s not the instructor’s job to watch out for her. It’s our job. So, this will be the last year she does gymnastics – at least at that facility. We’re not trying to raise an Olympian, after all.

Jesus made an excellent point at Luke 14:28: “Who of ​you​ that wants to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the expense, to see if he has enough to complete it?” Well, we’ve ‘counted the cost’ of this particular extra-curricular activity and, for now, it’s too high for our child.

Have you ever had to re-evaluate the value of an extra-curricular activity? How have you balanced these experiences with your overall goal as a family? Let us know in the comments!

Keep on learning!

How to Afford Homeschooling: Saving Money Around the House

April 3, 2013 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

Good morning everyone! Welcome to this week’s post in our ongoing series “How to Afford Homeschooling”. The topic for today is Saving Money Around the House.

If you’re struggling to manage a home while teaching your kids all day, I don’t have to tell you that staying on a budget is difficult. Kids always want and need new things and somehow you have to find room in the finances to get those things, pay the bills, eat, and eventually get around to buying something that you need. Here are a few tips that we’ve found to be useful when it comes to cutting costs at home.

Household Care

  • Use homemade cleaners and detergent: Fun fact – I have not purchased laundry detergent in three years. Instead, I use a homemade detergent mix made from Ivory soap, washing soda (or baking soda), and Borax. Tipnut has a great list of homemade laundry detergent recipes. Personally, I prefer the powdered version because it’s much faster to put together and I make a smaller batch as well. I just grate an entire bar of Ivory soap and mix it with 2 cups of Borax and 2 cups of either washing soda or baking soda. Then I use 2 tablespoons per load. The really great thing about this recipe is that it’s very mild, so I can use it on Piglet’s diapers and Christopher Robin’s work clothes. I also make use of homemade household cleaners whenever I can.
  • Get rid of cable: Most homeschooling families I know personally have gotten rid of cable a long time ago, so this is probably a no-brainer. We have a Netflix streaming-only subscription and I use that plus a regular TV antenna to get our local channels and plenty of TV shows and movies for us to watch. I was surprised at how much our weekly TV consumption went down when we got rid of cable. There are actually days when we don’t turn it on at all and we don’t miss it either.

Bringing Up Baby

  • Breastfeed (if you can): Breastfeeding is undeniably the best way to feed a baby and all pregnant women are strongly encouraged to do it, unless there’s a reason why they absolutely cannot. One advantage people don’t discuss often, though, is that breastfeeding is so much more affordable than buying formula! I formula-fed Tigger after an unsuccessful attempt at nursing her and I’m here to tell you that buying cans of formula on a regular basis will easily put you in the poorhouse. 
  • Use cloth diapers wisely: Cloth diapering has come back into vogue in recent years, which is great! Disposable diapers are terrible for the environment and may even contain toxic chemicals. However, some people I know who tout the money-saving benefits of cloth diapers will spend $35 or $40 on one diaper without blinking an eye. Maybe they can afford that. I, however, cannot. A good supply of Chinese or Indian unbleached prefolds and a few covers will take you most of the way when it comes to diapering your baby. For Piglet’s overnight diapers, I bought used or second-quality diapers from other mamas at DiaperSwappers.

Keeping Up Appearances

  • Do your own hair – Both Tigger and I have dreadlocks, which I love because it means no more combs! Combing out hair was truly a traumatic experience in our house. However, natural (that is, un-permed) hair can be rather expensive, especially if you don’t know how to care for it yourself. And that’s where I learned that YouTube was my friend. I have learned how to style, retwist, and wash my hair from watching YouTube tutorials. Which is good, because our budget was not going to survive me spending $75 a month at the salon.
  • Shop for clothes smartly – I actually have skirts from when I was a teenager. (I can’t fit into them right now, but that’s another story.) I don’t buy clothes often and, when I do, I try to pick items that I know I’ll still like in a few years. Naturally, that means I’m not usually up-to-date on the latest trends, but when is a floor-length circle skirt going to go out of style? The answer is never.  

I could go on, but I don’t want you guys to have to endure an entire wall of text, so I’ll save some for another post. What are your tips for saving money around the home? Let us know in the comments!

And come back next week for our next installment “Cooking Cheaply”! Keep on learning!

Related Posts:

How to Afford Homeschooling: Having “The Talk”

How to Afford Homeschooling: Finding Free Homeschool Resources

How to Afford Homeschooling: Making Friends with Your Local Library

How to Afford Homeschooling: Having “The Talk”

March 13, 2013 by Selena Robinson 8 Comments

Welcome to the first post in our ongoing series “How to Afford Homeschooling”! For the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some tips that I’ve found to be useful in affording homeschooling so far. This week’s topic is “Having the Talk”.

What is “the Talk”? The it’s-time-to-get-serious-about-our-finances talk. Christopher Robin (the husband) and I have had that talk several times over the years. Interestingly, lots of couples don’t talk about money. And it’s no wonder. Disagreements about money are some of the most commonly cited factors in marital troubles. But, we didn’t want to risk losing our family’s future over something we could fix together.

During our heart-to-hearts, we’ve literally made a list of things we could start doing and continue doing to save money so that he could be home more often and get more involved in the kids’ schooling. And these are the things that I’ll be sharing with you during the series.

Here’s a breakdown of the topics we’ll be covering:

  • Finding Free Homeschool Resources
  • Making Friends with Your Local Library
  • Saving Money Around the House
  • Cooking Cheaply
  • Generating Extra Income
  • Avoiding the Trap of Consumerism

If you’re facing a financially uncertain future, homeschooling can easily take a back seat to worries about paying the bills. Having “the Talk” may be just what you need to help you develop a practical method for continuing to homeschool, even if you have to make serious budget adjustments.

Have you faced a financial crisis? How did you and your family meet the challenge of continuing to afford homeschooling? Let us know in the comments!

Keep on learning!

The Importance of a Supportive Homeschooling Spouse

March 6, 2013 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

If you look at the typical homeschooling family, you’ll probably see a mom teaching the children while the father is busy working to provide for everyone. Naturally, then, a lot of the homeschooling books and articles are aimed at helping us moms stay organized, encouraged, and motivated to teach our kids.

This is great, because we really need the support system of other homeschooling moms to help us keep going. However….

We really shouldn’t underestimate the value of a supportive homeschooling spouse. Personally, I’d never have been able to even attempt homeschooling our brood if my husband (seen above with the littles) wasn’t so supportive of both my intentions and my efforts to teach our kids.

We made the decision to homeschool from birth through high school (as long as it’s humanly possible) and it really does take both of us to make that happen.

Here are a few reasons why homeschooling parents need their spouses’ support:

  • Supportive spouses prevent burnout – When the entire responsibility for educating our children falls completely on us, it’s natural to get exhausted and worn out quickly. If I had to bear the brunt of all the subjects, lessons, and activities on my own, I would have given up homeschooling long ago. Having a spouse who’s willing to step in and help makes all the difference in the world.
  • Supportive spouses help us feel confident in our teaching ability – Most of us are not professional teachers, so we may feel unsure about our teaching skills from time to time. Even some professional teachers who take up homeschooling find that their education and training don’t really translate to the homeschool environment. When your spouse believes in your ability to teach and encourages you to continue, it gives you confidence that you are well qualified to give your kids the education they need.
  • Supportive spouses reinforce our teachings with the kids – I can recall many days where I would spend the morning going over a lesson and my husband would come home and quiz the kids on what we discussed. At first, I felt like he was testing me to see if I had actually “done school” that day. But, he was actually checking on them to see if they were giving me the attention and respect that they should during class. He would even follow up on how they viewed what they were learning and help them see the value of it in their everyday lives. Those reminders help our kids view me as a person who deserves their attention, not just during school but all the time.
  • Supportive spouses provide a definitive answer to doubters – I’m sure you’ve faced your share of naysayers who, while well-intentioned, may make you feel awful about your choice to homeschool. They may comment on our “socialization issues” or a perceived “academic gap” between what we do and what kids in the school system do. Having a partner who believes in homeschooling and is willing to defend it stops most of these comments in their tracks. I’ve been particularly grateful for my husband’s support in this area over the years.

Do you have a supportive homeschooling spouse? How has he or she been a partner to you during your homeschooling journey? Be sure to let him or her know how much you value them and then tell us about it in the comments!

Keep on learning!

Making Obedience Pay

February 5, 2013 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

It’s always difficult to start a new routine at home. Homeschooling moms have an especially heavy responsibility here, since we need to help our kids structure their entire day despite the fact that they’re near televisions, video game systems, and their toys all day long. After getting frustrated over and over again, I did some searching and found a couple of rewards systems to try with our family.

Over at Chart Jungle, there are a ton of free rewards system printables. I liked the idea of these “Play Bucks”, so I printed out four sets of $1, $5, and $10 Play Bucks and then laminated them.

iMom is another great resource for printable kids reward charts and coupons. I got these “Kid Time Coupons” from there. Each one entitles the child to have one-on-one time with Mommy doing a specific activity.

And I got these individual reward coupons from Professor Poppins.

I used some lapbooking pocket templates to hold everyone’s Play Bucks and rewards through the day. We hung them on the refrigerator so the kids could go and put their rewards in their own pocket as they collect them.

Now, as to our rewards system. I did a very rough calculation and figured that each child’s daily chore was worth $1. I also decided that if the kids sat quietly during Story Time and Quiet Time, they’d get $5 each. Tigger gets $5 when she completes all her schoolwork for the day and the boys each get $5 when they play quietly during Morning Time. So, each child can earn up to $16 per day.

If they earn $1, they get free play time. If they earn $5, they get 30 minutes of TV. If they earn $15, they can pick a Kid Time Coupon or an individual reward coupon. Needless to say, everyone did exactly what I asked that day. 🙂

Tigger picked a 30 minute tickle session with Mom, Pooh picked 30 minutes of playing video games (he and Christopher Robin played Sonic Colors on the Wii), and Roo picked 30 minutes of TV time. As I watch their behavior, I’ll probably adjust the system a bit, but it’s really helping them work toward good behavior instead of just avoiding bad behavior.

How do you help motivate your kids to be obedient? We’d love to hear your suggestions! Keep on learning!

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Hi! I'm Selena, a veteran teacher and homeschool mom to four. I'm so glad you're here!
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