I am a veteran homeschooling mom, we homeschooled our boys from pre-school through high school. I also have my BS in Elementary Education and I am here to tell you, its not that hard to continue your child’s education at home, even without the support of your local school district.

Many times on this blog I have shared that my belief is that a parent’s job is to raise well-rounded, self-sufficient, productive citizens who love Jesus. Notice that academics aren’t specifically listed in that definition. Yes, academics are a large part of being well-rounded but this unique time in our world is a great time to focus on other things in addition to academics.

Learn Home Management Skills

Children ages 2 and up are able to help with home management aka chores. I had no problems when my sons bought houses and got marries young because I knew they both knew how to manage their homes, even if their wives didn’t. Home management really goes beyond basic chores of washing dishes, laundry, sweeping, etc and into true maintenance. Middle and High Schoolers can learn how to change the air filter, how to use a plunger, how to change the vacuum bag etc. Teens need to know how to change a tire, how to change the oil in their car and other basic vehicle maintenance.

Don’t forget cooking, baking and menu planning. Let the kids help plan and prepare meals. Kids love to bake and practice math skills at the same time. Let them organize and approved snack list including approved snack time windows so they won’t spoil their meals. Giving kids control of some things helps them feel safer and with all that is going on right now, we all want to feel safer.

Enjoy Self-Directed Learning

Is there a subject your child is passionate about? Do they love dinosaurs, horses, wars, coding, knights, art, music, cooking or just about anything? This break from structured schooling can allow them to dive deep into subjects that truly inspire them. They can read books, watch documentaries, create projects, teach the rest of the family about their topic. Kids learn a lot when they are studying something that really excites them. We just have to facilitate that learning by going to the library, helping them find appropriate videos etc and then watch them soar.

What about Preschoolers?

Preschoolers are easy practice sorting, counting, colors, shapes, number recognition, and letter recognition using items you have around the house. Let them color and create, do puzzles, sing and dance! If you want more ideas, checkout my Preschool Homeschool Pinterest Board.

Enjoy Family Time

Read a book out loud, no matter how old or young the kids are. Pick a book that is appropriate for the median age of your family. Reading aloud is one of the best ways to develop vocabulary. Stop and talk about new or different words. Have one child keep record of these new words so that you can really learn them.

Some of my favorite read aloud books for families with Elementary kids:

• Black Beauty
• The Borrowers
• Charlotte’s Web
• Pippi Longstocking
• The Secret Garden
• The Wind in the Willows

Play table games. Table games require strategy, patience, taking turns, and following directions. Games for older kids may also require money management and more math and reading skills. Family board games are a great screen free way to spend time together.

Some of my favorite family board games for families with kids 8+:

• Apples to Apples
• Blokus
• Catan
• Clue
• Farkle
• In a Pickle
• Monopoly
• Sequence
• Spontuneous
• Uno

Work on large jigsaw puzzles. I just purchased a few large jigsaw puzzles and created a sturdy puzzle mat out of foam board and adhesive black felt. I can have the puzzle on our large ottoman when we are working on it and it can be stored in the spare bedroom when we aren’t working on it.

Play LEGO, have a daily dance party, do karaoke, family movie night…be a family!

Spend Time Outside

Soak up some vitamin D daily by being outside. These activities are for places where spring has already sprung like it has here in Florida.

• Take a walk
• Ride bikes
• Play with sidewalk chalk
• Play tag
• Look at the stars

I hope some of these ideas have helped you figure out some fun and educational things to do with your kids while they are home on this extended break.

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Spurred on by his passion for others, at the age of 8 Zach formed the Little Red Wagon Foundation to help homeless kids across the country. In 2007 Zach kicked off his “My House to the White House” campaign walked from Tampa to Tallahassee (280 miles) to raise awareness of the plight of homeless children. In 2008 he walked from Tallahassee to Atlanta (250 miles) and in 2009 from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. (668 miles). Once he completed that 3 year goal he decided to walk across the United States! From March 23-September 14, 2010 Zach walked from Tampa, FL to Los Angeles, CA (2448 miles).

The Philanthropy Project has partnered with Zach Bonner to tell his story and inspire young people to help others by creating the film Little Red Wagon. The film opens tomorrow, November 9, 2012 in Tampa and St Louis in limited release and in other cities at the end of the month. I had the opportunity to watch the film and I feel this inspirational film should be shown to kids across this country to see that one person can make a difference.

Soon Zach will be visiting schools in the Tampa area and showing the students how to put together “Zach packs” or bag packs filled with essentials we take for granted (food, socks, toothbrushes, combs, band-aids) that the schools will then give away to homeless kids and their families.

Keep your eyes and ears open for when/if this film comes to your area. You and your kids will be inspired by this story of one passionate young man.

Disclosure: I received a screener of this movie for the purpose of this blog post. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Jordan 12 mos

In the fall of 1996 when we began our homeschool journey with 3yr old Aaron and pre-k, Jordan was just 15 months old. Back then when asked how long I would homeschool my answer was always, “As long as God tells me to.” Here we are 16 school years later and my 16yo “baby” graduates tonight with 6 other homeschoolers from our umbrella school, Hope Presbyterian School.

It has been a long, fulfilling, fun and sometimes difficult road but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Proverbs 22:6 says “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” That mandate to train up my children is one I have never taken lightly. Now that my children are older and more independent it is amazing to watch them be the thoughtful, helpful caring young men we have raised them to be.

One thing you learn when you homeschool more than one child is that every child is different. They learn differently, they have different strengths and weaknesses and different likes and dislikes. One joy of homeschooling is tailoring my child’s education to fit their needs.

Jordan age 16

Homeschooling Jordan aka “The Goof” has been a fun ride. I think one of his goals is to make everyone he comes in contact with, laugh. He has always been a gentle, caring, fun-loving child and he has become a gentle, caring, fun-loving young man. Outside of the classroom he volunteers as a Junior Bible Quiz coach, assistant Children’s Pastor and as a chat host for LightforceRadio.com. He is truly a servant leader who doesn’t seek the spotlight, though it often finds him.

In the fall Jordan will be attending State College of Florida majoring in Business Management. His love for automobiles has led him to want to manage, and some day own a Ford dealership. He will continue his volunteer efforts at church and in the community bringing the Light of Christ with him wherever he goes.

Jordan, I am proud to be your mom. Congratulations on your high school graduation.

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We have spent hours on Tiny Prints looking at all of their graduation announcements. I love that I can see what they will look like, personalized with Jordan’s picture before I place my order because sometimes a specific photo just doesn’t fit with some card layouts. We have narrowed it down to two designs.

Bold Beginnings

Stenciled Scholar

They both look great with Jordan’s graduation picture and they both fit his personality. Leave me a comment and let me know which one you like best, we need help making up our minds.

This will be the third time I’ve used Tiny Prints and I love their prompt professional service and their high quality product. Tiny Prints has an extensive online presence so make sure you like them on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter and Pin them on Pinterest to stay up to date with all of their latest deals and design.

Disclosure: This post is part of a compensated campaign in conjunction with Global Influence. All opinions are 100% mine.

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1 year old jordan

16 year old Jordan

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Each Alphabeast is double-sided with the capital letter on one side of the beast and the lowercase letter on the other. Each beast has its own name and physical characteristics. The 15” plush characters retail for $20.00 each and come with a detachable biographical collector’s card. The Alphabeasts Baby Book Box Set, showcasing the ‘beasts’ in multiple creative illustrations, retails  for $16.00. Alphabeasts are available in some stores but right now the easiest way to purchase them is from the Alphabeast website.

I received Moochi (M) and Topsy-Turvy (T) for my review and those were perfect letters because I planned on giving them to my little friend for his 5th birthday and his initials happen to be MTW! My little friend loves his Alphabeasts because they are fun to play with and have the same first and middle initials as he does. Alphabeasts are designed to augment the learning process at home or in-school. Their presence captivates children’s attention and encourages them to participate in meaningful learning experiences. Lessons, games and other activities are only limited by one’s imagination when incorporating the Alphabeasts into a child’s routine or playtime.

Like Alphabeasts on Facebook.

Disclosure: I received 2 Alphabeasts for the purpose of this review…which I gave away to my 5 year old friend.

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My kids no longer have chore charts, they know what needs to be done…and they do it (usually) :-)! I’m sure my boys would have responded well to the GoalForIt chore chart because they can be customized with graphics that they like ie. race cars or sports themes. The charts can be used online and off because each chart is printable. Another cool feature is the email reminders. You can set an email reminder to be sent to remind your child to check their chart. You can also assign points to each activity or behavior and if you succeed at completing that goal for the day you put a star or check mark on your chart and earn the points for that activity. Your child can bank their points and use them towards rewards you set up.

If I were to use this for my kids I would set up the chart and rewards online and then print the chart and hang it on my son’s bedroom door as a reminder of what needs to be done. I would have the system send him a reminder email at 4:00pm to remind him to check in on the site and update his chart. This puts him in charge of his responsibilities and instead of me nagging him, he gets an email reminder instead.

I decided to set up a goal chart for myself to help me reach some healthy living goals I have set for myself. Here is my chart: 
As you can see I haven’t done a great job this week but I will keep moving forward!

If you are looking for FREE chore charts and behavioral charts I recommend you check out what GoalForIt.com has to offer.

Disclosure: I wrote this review through a partnership with MomSelect. I am being compensated for this review all opinions are 100% mine.

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YourNameUniversity.com is the country’s sole manufacturer of personalized academic apparel and novelty diplomas and certificates with over 165,900 family last names for sale every day. With over 75 printed and embroidered products, they can personalize products for everyone from infants, parents, and siblings to grandma and grandpa. If you’re in search for custom tshirt printing services, there are tons of great options online.

Their apparel and accessories are perfect for birthdays, baby gifts, mother’s day, father’s day, family reunions, and of course, the holidays. Customers tell them that they wear our products as much as possible and always get the question “hey! where did you get that?” What more can you ask for a great personalized gift?

The t-shirt is 90% cotton and 10% spandex and didn’t shrink in the wash. The shirt sells for a reasonable $18.99 +shipping. It fits great and is a fun addition to Jordan’s wardrobe.

Discount: The awesome folks at Your Name University are offering my readers a 10% discount on orders placed by 4/30/11 just use code Blog0311 at checkout!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

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Players race their pawns around the board to be the first to collect all the letters of the word SYNONYMS. A roll of the die and a card is selected. The player has one minute to earn a letter by naming the designated number of synonyms- unless a competitor declares a challenge! Minds race at maximum brainpower as each tries to top the other. Pass and Challenge cards add strategy and equalize the odds for all players.

Each word card has a list of synonyms on the back and you have to name the synonyms to that word. We found we didn’t do very well naming synonyms that were listed but we named several that we all agreed were acceptable synonyms for the given word. The game says it is for ages 10 and up, I would not want to play this with an 8 year old, my 15 year old got frustrated playing Synonyms. This is a very educational game and there are ways to modify it for the group you are playing with. There are 3 different colored sets of word cards and if you are playing with a younger group of kids I would recommend playing with only the green cards as they are the easiest.

An example of a green card is the word powerful. The synonyms listed are: able, almighty, athletic, concentrated, enduring, firm, forceful, hale, hardy, mighty, muscled, potent, robust, strong and tough. An example of a moderate difficult green card is the word thoughtful. Synonyms being:astute, attentive, aware, careful, caring, chivalrous, concerned, considerate, cooperative, courteous, diplomatic, discreet, friendly, gracious, helpful, introspective, kind, meditative, obliging, pensive, polite, prudent, reflective, sensitive. on the most difficult red card is the word adequate= acceptable, all right, capable, comfortable, commensurate, competent, decent, enough, equal, fair, fit, fitting, ok, passable, plenty, satisfactory, sufficient, suitable, tolerable.

This game would be great for homeschoolers or for use in a classroom setting. We did find the directions for using the challenge cards a bit difficult to understand so we chose not to use them at all.

Click the link to purchase Synonyms.

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ReBinder is the only true zero waste office supply manufacturer and the brand of choice for customers looking for sustainable, quality office supplies. Assembled by a local, AbilityOne certified disabled workforce, all ReBinder product materials are sourced from responsibly managed forests and verified FSC and SFI certified sources. With each purchase of ReBinder products, solid waste, greenhouse gas, energy, tree and water consumption are reduced.

I’ll be the first to admit I seldom think about what happens to items I use one I put them in the garbage or recycling bin. Did you know that over 500 metric tons of toxic PVC ends up in landfills each year just from the binders we use? I was astounded when I read that statistic. By simply changing the binders, notebooks, folders and cd sleeves we use we could have a large positive impact on our environment.

I received a combo pack for review and I am very impressed with the durability of all the products I received. Other than the quality and eco-friendliness of ReBinder, they also allow for more creativity. Have you ever bought a specific character vinyl binder that your child just had to have for school and then just a few weeks into the school year find the character no longer visible because they were covered with stickers?  Decorate your ReBinder to your hearts content, you can even use crayons or markers to personalize your ReBinders.

The assortment I received included:

• RePocket: The two pocket folder is ideal for presentations, media and press kits or back to school. RePockets are thicker and more rigid than traditional folders. Made from 100% Recycled 20 point FSC Certified bending chipboard.
• 1″ ReBinder: The original 3 Ring Binder with a removable and recyclable cover. Made from rigid recycled corrugated cardboard, the 1 inch ReBinder is the binder choice for every day use around the green office, as well as a by top architects, graphic designers and creative agencies. Your presentation and image will stand out from the rest when you present in a ReBinder recycled binder.
• RePouch : When your proposal requires an additional pocket, CD and or business card, RePouch fulfills all those requirements. Made from 20 point recycled bending chipboard, it holds up to continuous page turning.
• ReTab — (5 TAB Dividers): Divide your documents with our rigid  brown ReTabs tab dividers. ReTabs are made from rigid 18 point FSC Certified bending chipboard in a five-cut tab configuration.
• 1.5″ ReBinder: Rougher and tougher, the 1.5″ ReBinder is made from 100 point solid FSC Certified recycled chipboard and contains a unique removable ring metal assembly. Just because it’s not made of plastic, doesn’t mean that it’s not durable!
• ReSleeve: A Recycled CD jewel case…making plastic cases a thing of the past. ReSleeves are made from 16 point rigid FSC Certified bending chipboard to protect your CD/DVD . The perfect off the shelf solution for the software company, the music label, the band or the board room. Show off the artwork on your CD through the open hole in the front…or choose the cd sleeve with no hole.
• RePlay: Ideal for one disc or two, the RePlay cardboard cd case comes with two open pockets that fit a single disc and a small booklet or two discs. Looks like a traditional jewel case but made from 18 point recycled FSC Certified bending chipboard.
• ReBadge: Tradeshows, Conferences, and Seminars all produce a lot of waste. Green up your event with a ReBadge. Your attendees won’t believe that their badge is made from plants and not from plastic! We hope you’ll reuse your ReBadge multiple times, but if you can’t — compost it!
• ReWrite mini — LINED: We’ve created the perfect sized 5″ x 8″ recycled notebook for taking notes, sketching or doodling. The ReWrite mini comes with 40 pages of 100% Recycled / FSC Certified paper and a recycled FSC Certified bending chipboard cover.
• ReBound: Make your presentation a game winner — go for the ReBound. Document Finishing supplies have been limited to plastic and non recycled paper options. ReBound’s clear cover looks, feels and performs like plastic but it’s made from plants! ReBound can be used with any comb or coil binding system and comes with a clear PLA cover and a 20 point recycled FSC Certified chipboard back. It’s the perfect solution for proposals or LEED proposals.

I am very impressed by the sturdiness and quality of all of the ReBinder products. I am going to be telling all of my homeschool friends about ReBinder-who are you going to tell?

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

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