Tag: Family

Fun North Carolina Animal Encounters for Homeschool Families
Fun · Homeschool Life

Fun North Carolina Animal Encounters for Homeschool Families

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

We are two weeks into homeschooling this year and have officially had our first field trip. I’ve lived here for so many years and somehow am only now hearing about so many cool things to visit and experience. This week we visited the Greensboro Science Center, a museum, aquarium, and zoo, all in one. Aside from the heat it was quite an enjoyable experience. Some of the zoo animals were understandable hiding/sleeping due to the temperatures but we still got to see otters playing, the adorable red pandas snuggling up together, and many many more. I have been to North Carolina Zoo several times but in terms of ease, I do believe I enjoyed this place even more. As much as we love the big NC Zoo we do tend to get overwhelmed and exhausted whenever we visit. The Greensboro Science Center let us take our time and enjoy ourselves at our own leisure. Of course, now that I know what to expect, I think I’ll wait to return during the spring/fall when it is much cooler.

Every year I am excited to plan out field trips with the girls. It is one thing I always loved when I was younger and wished that I could have more of but they seemed to no longer exist after elementary school. So, since I am the teacher now, I get to plan as many field trips I want. For now though, I’ll admit that majority of our field trips often involve animals of some kind whether they’re wild animals or domesticated. This year promises to be no different as I already have a list of places I’m looking forward to exploring with the girls.

  • The Carolina Tiger Rescue
    • This is somewhere I have visited on multiple occasions but have not taken the girls to yet. I am excited to see their faces when we are so close to the big cats. I personally always enjoyed the tiger rescue and learned something new each visit.
  • Carolina Raptor Center
    • I have lived in NC for almost 20 years and somehow only just discovered that this place existed! This is also on my list of field trips this year but will take some planning due to distance.
  • Aloha Safari Park
    • Another place I only recently discovered and am looking forward to visiting.

The list goes on, between local museums that we have visited before and the usual zoo/aquariums that we always love. I don’t know who looks forward to our field trips more, me or the kids.

Reflections on Our Homeschooling Journey This Year
Homeschool · Life

Reflections on Our Homeschooling Journey This Year

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

Without further adieu the 2025-2026 homeschooling year has come to an end. This year has been a rollercoaster of a ride when it comes to homeschooling. Homeschooling is already a fulfilling challenge but being a working mom who also homeschools comes with a whole new set of challenges. Biggest challenge we faced this year was schedule. I started the year waking the girls up at 7AM so that they could do their lessons before I started work for the day, but the lack of sleep made them grumpy throughout the day. I then tried to work their lessons in small batches during my breaks and lunch. That also didn’t work for us. I’ve learned that I was still operating on the premise of my public school background, I was used to school as something that happens in the mornings at specific times. I forgot that one of the reasons I even decided to do homeschooling was the flexibility of it. So after prayer and guidance I decided to move our homeschooling lessons to the afternoons when I was done with work for the day. Some days were harder than others but overall this is what ended up working best for us.

Up until now my youngest Emily (6yrs) has also been doing her lessons right alongside her sister Anastasia(8yrs). They have been at the same level and doing their lessons together but this year that changed as well. If she had been going to public school Emily would have only started Kindergarten this year while Anastasia just finished 2nd grade. So when I saw that Emily was still working on learning the fundamentals when it came to reading that was when I knew it was time to separate the lessons and give them both individual attention at their level, which to my surprise they both thrived with and actually preferred the individual lessons.

It has been a year of many changes and lessons for all of us but it has been a successful year. I love seeing how far they’ve come and how much they’ve progressed since we started last fall and I’ve learned what does and does not work for us. But all things come to an end and this year we ended the school year with a bang and went to the lake with their grandparents. It was a perfect way to end the school season and start the summer festivities. We have many activities planned for this summer but at the same time, it is the time for rest and relaxation for all of us.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

Weighted Stuffed Animals: Relief During Flu Season
Life

Weighted Stuffed Animals: Relief During Flu Season

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

Flu season is tough, especially for families. When one of you gets sick, it’s like a tidal wave through the rest of the family. No matter how careful you are it seems that you can only truly rest once the last of you gets the bug. We recently got hit with a nasty stomach virus. Sick in bed for a few days. My youngest seemed to have had the easiest of it, most of the symptoms gone after 24 hours, but even she took a few days to get back to her usual chipper self. The rest of us had a few days of symptoms that just made us all miserable. My oldest is probably the absolute hardest when she’s sick. Very emotional, and very stubborn. Trying to get her to take anything is like trying to pull her teeth out. In the case of a stomach virus as you likely know, there is not much that you can do aside from wait for it to pass. You can’t really eat so the only things you really can do is rest, and hydrate. For my oldest our biggest concern was was electrolytes. We got the typical recommendations to help replenish her electrolytes and stay hydrated. The Pedialyte popsicles, Gatorade, I even found applesauce pouches with electrolytes mixed in and yet nothing. We could not get her to take any of them outside of a tiny sip. What did she actually agree to take? Pickle juice and plain chicken broth. I’ve never met another 7 year old so in love with pickles and pickle juice but hey, it’s better than nothing I guess.

There is something we did find that helped a surprising amount during these past few weeks. On our recent trip to the Simply Natural Creamery dairy farm, we purchased some Warmies from the gift shop there. If you don’t know what these are they are weighted stuffed animals with lavender inside that you can actually warm in the microwave for a certain amount of time. The warmth and lavender help to relax you and can help with stomach aches/cramps. I did not expect them to help so much when we all had the chills. Even with piles of blankets on we were not able to stop shaking from the chills but as soon as we warmed these stuffed animals up, it was as if the warmth seeped deep into our bones. This was the only thing that seemed to help both of my daughters relax enough to sleep and get much needed rest. To be honest I even used one myself when I was sick and can speak from personal experience that they really do help.

I realize now this post is sounding more like an ad, I promise I am not sponsored by Warmies. I am just a relieved mother who has finally gotten through 2 weeks of back to back sickness where Warmies were the biggest help to get through it all and figured I’d share my experience for anyone else who may be getting hit by flu season.