Tag: busy mom

Engaging Learning Tools for Homeschooling Success
Homeschool

Engaging Learning Tools for Homeschooling Success

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

Last week I made a post of the three homeschooling tips that did not work for my family and our busy lifestyle. In keeping with that theme, this week I wanted to share three tools that I actually do enjoy utilizing through out our homeschool journey. I want to preface this to say that I am not sponsored by any of these products, but they have helped me with keeping my girls engaged and learning and are all products I would highly recommend.

  1. Mrs. Wordsmith Blah Blah Blah Card Game

Similar to Uno but with words and sounds both my girls really took to this game and it seriously helps them with sounding out their words. While I haven’t tried any other Mrs. Wordsmith products this is one I seriously recommend. With silly cards like draw four, skip-a-turn, etc. it builds their competitive spirit while also revolving around words and sounding them out. I also really like that the games come with 3 difficulty levels so that you can build up the difficulty once certain words gets too easy.

2. Boddle

I actually discovered this one recently when I saw a public school teacher recommend it on social media. It is a game that can be played on the computer or other devices like phones and tablets. The game focuses on Language, Math, and Science and you can select your Child’s grade level. The children will then get pets which they can battle and level up, (think Pokémon) by answering questions regarding to the subject they are focusing on. My favorite part of this game is the parent dashboard where you can see the results of their questions, any learning gaps that they may have, and so on. It is also fun and engaging and one of the few “learning apps” my girls actually enjoy to do. I do not recommend using this as a curriculum by itself, that is not what it is designed for. But for me it has helped tremendously as some supplementary work that they can work on while I myself am working. It keeps them busy, entertained, while also teaching them. I also see just how much my oldest LOVES science when in less than a week she has already answered almost 200 science based questions, most of them correctly. Oh and did I mention it’s free? While there is a ‘premium’ version available I have not found any need to make that purchase at this time.

3. Kiwico

Kiwico is a subscription service where you can get a new box of your choice ranging from arts and crafts, science, geography, and more. I started their quarterly boxes, so about 4 a year, when the girls were small and learning colors and shapes and they have continued to this day including different building and science kits. They are always excited to get their boxes in the mail. They are fun, and engaging, but I will say things can also get pretty messy. But still, it makes memories and fun.

Lessons Learned from My Journey as a Homeschooling Working Mom
Homeschool · Life

Lessons Learned from My Journey as a Homeschooling Working Mom

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

As we have started yet another homeschooling year, second grade, I wish I could give you a list of sure-fire tricks that can help you on your journey. But homeschooling in and of itself is a learning experience for both the teacher and the students. When preparing to start your homeschool journey, it often begins with a lot of research. Online blogs. Tik Toks, Instagram’s, Pinterest boards, you name it. You need to go from choosing curriculum, whether you’re going to stick with one or shake things up, and what kind of teaching method you want to follow.

The struggle that I had, was to find recommendations for working parents who both worked full time while also trying to homeschool, and how they did it, which is why I want to share my experiences so far even if all I have to offer is a list of the top 3 things that I have found does NOT work for our busy, working, homeschooling, lifestyle.

1. Get it out of the way at the start of the day.

Over the years I have met and seen plenty of people who homeschool and would share about how quickly they were able to just get their ‘lessons’ and curriculum done in the morning and the rest of the day was open for other learning/teaching activities or to teach life skills. I think this is great and fantastic for them. But for us, it just doesn’t work. For starters, I work in the mornings, and my girls are younger which means they need a lot more hands on attention. Secondly, they’re younger. Their attention span runs out at lightning speed and they will get easily distracted. In our house, breaks are our friends. I have noticed in previous years that mornings do seem to be when they are most alert and absorb the most. So this year our mornings are going to focus on the core classes, Reading, Math, etc. Then after some free time to play and decompress we will do other subjects in the afternoon, subjects that are more engaging for them like science, music, etc.

2. Dedicated School Room

When getting started on my homeschool journey, I fell in love with all of the cute homeschool Pinterest boards and the decorated dedicated rooms just for school. I had started homeschooling my girls in my home office. They had their tiny desks, which they quickly grew out of. It resulted in my office always being messy with scrap papers or art supplies, etc. on the ground. or they would stuff things into my bookshelves that I would find much later. What I ended up finding is that for us school happens everywhere.

Early preschool years when we were learning about different plants, fruits, and vegetables, we took school to the market. I still remember walking around the produce section and holding up different fruits and vegetables asking them to name them and whether they grew on a tree, plant, or underground. I remember a few other shoppers chuckling when they saw us. We have taken school outside. We have done it in bed. But the place that seems to have worked out the best so far, is at our kitchen table. With their books and supplies on the shelf close by and plenty of space to not constantly bump elbows, it has worked best for us all.

3. Co-Ops

The number one concern that I had with homeschooling, was the socialization aspect. I think that is always the argument that comes up when you talk about homeschooling and it is a good argument. My first experience with homeschoolers when I was younger was with kids who had clearly not known how to really interact in public social settings. It honestly had me completely against homeschooling for most of my young adult life. It wasn’t until later on after other family members had started homeschooling and meeting even more who had successful homeschool experiences, that I learned that there were different ways to homeschool.

When looking into the socialization aspect of homeschooling, the number one recommendation I received was to sign them up for co-ops. The problem with that is I have yet to find any local co-ops that would work with my working schedule. It just has not been feasible. That being said, what I did find that worked for us were local community center groups. Our small city community center has tons of activities, camps, groups, sports, and more that ranges from all ages. The girls have done soccer, basketball, arts and crafts, and nature exploring through our local community center and they have loved each and every one of them. I definitely recommend looking into what your local community center has to offer.

I am only starting out on my 4th year of homeschooling, and I am sure that there will be even more things I try this year that will not work. But there will be more that will work. The important thing to me is that I cultivate my girls’ love to learn instead of making them dread each moment and feel like they’re just given work. I hope sharing my experiences and lessons can help someone else who is getting started, or has been struggling on their journey.

Conquer Household Chaos with Micro Lists
Life

Conquer Household Chaos with Micro Lists

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

I was thinking today about everything that I needed to do, and was debating making a list of it all. After all there’s a lot to get done. We’re behind on laundry and no matter how much we clean, little 5 and 7 year old feet track in more and more mess immediately after; seriously I have leaves on my kitchen floor that I have no idea where they came from. Life is hectic and chaotic. But every time I have made a to-do list in the past, it never seemed to work. In fact I would find myself more stressed and overwhelmed. Even if I would check off one of the items at the top of the list the sheer amount remaining on the list would be daunting and have me feel like I would never get it all done anyways, so why bother? I don’t know, maybe it’s just my brain that works that way. If I were to write down everything that needs to get done right now, I would fill up a page or two, front and back. I don’t know about you, but that’s the reality at our house. We both work full time and we both have our own lists of things that need to get done. Throw in kids, pets, and homeschooling and it just keeps piling on.

Today an idea popped in my head to make a micro list. Companies, when working on big projects, will actually break it down into smaller, attainable(key word here), goals. This way you have something smaller to focus on, once you finish the smaller goals you move on to the next one, next thing you know you are done and the project is finished. Why shouldn’t we use this same concept in our own lives? Being parents and maintaining your house is hard enough. Being parents and maintaining your house while you both work full time and one of you is in school while the other homeschools the kids? That feels impossible. So why shouldn’t we use the same ideas that big companies use regularly to accomplish their own goals? Instead of letting everything pile up until the weekend, your only 2 days off, why not break it up into smaller, micro goals? Imagine getting to a point where you reach the weekend and actually get to enjoy it instead of catching up on everything you’ve fallen behind on? I don’t know about you but I’m really looking forward to being able to do that one day.

If this sounds like your life then I challenge you to start your own micro lists with me today. I’m starting with 3 things on the list.

  • Finish all of the adults’ laundry (kids’ laundry will be a different day)
  • Wipe down all of the counter tops and put dishes away
  • Sweep kitchen/dining floor

Three items that I believe I can attain after work, before the end of the day. I don’t know about you but looking at a small list like this actually makes me feel hopeful, like I can get this done. I know there’s more that needs to be done in the background, decluttering, organizing, you name it. But for today, lets focus on our micro list and see how we feel about it afterwards.