Happy Home Schooling to all of you – especially to the families new to WISDOM. This eLetter (Terry’s Terrific Learning Connections or Terry’s Tender Loving Care) is meant to encourage and inspire families homeschooling their children.
We are living in uncertain times. Some of us have homeschooled for years, while others leaped into homeschooling this September. No matter what lies ahead of us, homeschooling our children is a great choice! There were times when I got distracted by academics or parenting issues and those were what I focused on.
Today I encourage you to focus on your relationship with your child / children. Why not add relationship building activities to your daily / weekly plant?
Make a list of what each child loves and try to include that in your homeschool week / life as much as possible. Talk often. Eat good food together slowly. Play games. Go for walks. Read great books aloud. Read the Bible and pray together to relieve stress and anxiety. Hug often.
Do whatever builds your relationship with your child as much as possible. Our days together might seem long, but the years are so short.
Best Links (and reminders) – Encouragement for Today!
I really enjoyed reading this blog. She had some great tips that would have helped me while homeschooling our children.
5 Things I’d Do Differently if I Started Homeschooling Now
This was a wonderful read, too. She shared some very practical tips. I loved her first tip.
5 Ways to Manage Home and (Home) School
One of the easiest ways to add some Fun (and Relationship Building) into your Homeschool is by adding in seasonal activity ideas. This is a lovely collection of Fall Learning Activity Ideas - everything from Fall Baking to Fall Reading to Fall Stem Activities to Fall Crafts and more. It’s a quick way to add *Fall Fun* into October.
You can also add in 2 or 3 Fun Theme Days a month. Some are very easy to include. Check out Daily Holidays OR Days of the Year
(I always checked these out online without the kids present and made an idea list for each month of the year. *There are a lot of days I wouldn’t celebrate, too! *Some years we did more than others. It’s an extra – so no guilt!)
This would be a great time of the year to start a weekly Homeschool Poetry Teatime. Another relationship building fun activity that many homeschoolers enjoy. I loved reading poetry regularly to our girls (and they still enjoy poetry to this day). *This is a quick start guide.
We loved Science Experiments and this website looks perfect for homeschoolers. It has tons of experiments to view AND do! Science Bob
I just saw this blog yesterday and loved reading it. (Some of the tips would also work for teens.) Homeschooling Pre-Teen Boys: 8 Guidelines that Bring Peace
I can’t believe this collection of Dot Marker Printables (115 different links!) Our younger girls liked Dot Marker Activities. Why not print off a few to have on hand for your younger ones? (I liked to have some worksheets on hand and would take a couple hours every season or so to print a *bunch*!)
This looks like a perfect activity for preschoolers learning to read. I think it would make a great Busy Bag Activity or even a lovely gift / activity for a grandchild or friend with little ones. (I love reusable Busy Bag Activities!)
AND why not look for some *crazy smart* math tips online and share them with the kids? I saw this online and think it is crazy how well it works. Other parents agreed!
WISDOM Mail Exchanges
I just set up the WISDOM Mail Exchanges for October and am excited to announce new Mail Exchanges for October. (Participants have one week after the draw date to get their exchange item in the mail.)
- WISDOM Book Mark Exchange. Participants will mail a handmade or bought bookmark to their assigned partner. *Deadline to join - October 18
- WISDOM World Travel Mail Exchange. Participants will pick a favorite country and mail activity pages to their assigned partner. *Deadline to join - October 25
For more information on how to join these WISDOM Mail Exchanges, please email me.
WISDOM Booklet of the Month
WISDOM has encouraging and informative booklets available for their parents.
This month’s booklet is Record Keeping for the Home School Parent. Staying organized is often one of the biggest challenges in a busy, homeschooling home, and it's even more important than we sometimes realize. This booklet gives you practical tips for effective record keeping, written by home schooling parents who have faced these challenges. (Email me to get a copy mailed out to you.)
Happy Homeschooling!