What You’ll Hear in This Episode When I taught in the primary grades, I found that the children who excelled in learning to read, were the children whose parents read to them. It doesn’t have to be an hour. The Importance of Reading to Children Just 15-20 minutes a day of reading to your children increases their desire to learn to read, and make faster progress in actually…
Parents who create a home where love for learning, creativity, and inquisitiveness is front and center are parents who see happy, well-behaved children who are thirsty to learn. Subscribe and Review I am honored to share thoughts, prayers, and practical tips with you through the “Finding Joy in Motherhood” podcast. One of the best ways you can show your support is to subscribe to the show and leave…
One of my granddaughters was drawing a picture for me, and when she presented it to me, I couldn’t help but notice her beaming face, “Look, Grandma Jan, it’s you, smelling a flower”. She’s 3. It did not look like me – it didn’t look like a person, really – nor did it look like I was smelling a flower. But her sense of satisfaction in her subject,…
Twenty-six years ago, my husband and I made a decision that would change the course of our family forever. We took our four school-aged children out of Catholic schools and decided to try homeschooling. Although I had lifetime certification as an elementary teacher, I had many reservations. I knew I could teach them – most parents can. The curriculum through 8th grade is not rocket science. (Common core…
If you’re reading this during the Covid-19 shutdown, you’re in week 4. How are you managing? Has it been terrible, great, or somewhere in between? Your children have had a learning curve with virtual learning – new schedules, habits, routines, a new discipline structure. But how about you? What can moms learn from homeschooling? More than you might have thought. The first thing I learned when I began…
As I see all the news reports and hear the conversations about the corona quarantine and the ‘panic’ that some families are experiencing, it occurred to me that there is hopefully a bright side of the corona quarantine. I remember the Christmas when I was pregnant with our 5th child and all four of our children had chicken pox. Our oldest was five so…yeah…four children under five with…
Whether you began homeschooling because of the corona virus school closures, or homeschooling is an active choice you’ve made for your family, homeschooling with toddlers around can present extra challenges. It’s possible, but you have to be flexible while still maintaining order in the schedule and home. For those new to homeschooling, flexibility is the key to not losing your mind. Many of us struggle with being flexible. …
If you find yourself in the surprising situation of homeschooling due to school closures for Coronavirus precautions, here are some tips on how to homeschool when your school closes from a mom who taught in schools for five years, and homeschooled seven children. Sanity for all (especially mom or dad) is the overriding objective. First of all, look at the situation from a positive perspective. You’ll have an…
The benefits of reading to your children are more than just a way to quiet them down before bedtime. In fact, if you embrace the habit of reading to your children throughout the day, you’ll find a number of excellent side-effects! Improved Imagination and Creativity When you’re not exposed to fantastic stories with magical endings or far-away places, you don’t develop a sense of wonder, awe, and imagination.…