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Texting vs. Writing

Posted by Krista — 5 Comments ↓

How many times have you sent an email to your homeschool support group only to resend a correction and an apology for your grammar? I can imagine because I’ve seen this frequently! If you are a victim of this kind of “email-grammar guilt,” do you also worry that your son or daughter won’t know how to spell or write because of their great texting skills which require shorthand to be effective? No doubt you do!

Let’s deal with your own guilt-feelings of those emails first and then I’ll address the texting. Writing and emailing are two different things. While writing takes on a more formal style, there is no time or purpose for formalities in an email. Emails tend to be read as quickly as it takes to jot them off, so formality gets in the way and perfection, or lack thereof, is really not noticed so please let those apology emails go!

Texting is no different except that it requires even more rapidity by short-handing the content. This is the most efficient use of language and one that requires some sophistication in using. Remember Morse Code? Used extensively from the 1890s through WWII, this form of telegraphy, now outdated, is a great example of early texting. Having to pay per word is the same way modern texting began too. Now texting comes in a package plan where you pay for usage, but when it started I recall there was a charge per character, much like telegraphs of yesterday.

All that to say, we have many forms of language always present in our culture and one does not preclude the other. In fact, the chances that texting as we know it will become outdated one day as well. I would not worry that your child’s talent for texting will limit his or her ability to write or spell in the future. On the contrary, as John McWhorter says in his opinion piece at the NY Times, “A sense that e-mail and texting are “poor writing” is analogous, then, to one that the Rolling Stones produce “bad music” because they don’t use violas. “

You really must read the whole article, Talking with Your Fingers, which is, ironically, so well-written by Mr. McWhorter, who appears to be young enough to know how to text. I am not a texter myself, but that’s just because I have a cheap excuse for a phone which requires 10 or 15 minutes to work through its suggestions for the series of letters it thinks you might like to type. Then it forces you to backspace each letter in order to choose the one you really want. Thank you, TracPhone!

If you have considered making your kids type out every word they text to you, or you correct them for their grammatical or spelling errors when emailing or texting, please stop that! Instead, focus on their message and be thankful they are still communicating with you! Let them hire an editor for their writing. Let them communicate swiftly and imperfectly in their emails and texts while maintaining your loving relationship with them. Oh yeah, and you’ll want to remind them that it’s unfathomable to text while driving. LOL is just not worth a life. Please show them this video:

Do you text? Do your kids text? Comment below on its merits or its drawbacks since you started using this feature on your cell phone.

Tagged with: email, grammar, spelling, texting, writing
Posted in Communication, Writing

Weekly Snippets: What’s Happening in Your Family’s Learning?

Posted by Krista — 10 Comments ↓

Thank you for allowing me a little unannounced sabbatical from blogging here as I worked out some other projects like gardening from seed for the first time, writing a devotional book, hosting a weight-loss group and working with new clients…all while maintaining our family’s rhythm, order, and balance (and all by the grace of God!)

I thought I’d jump back in with a weekly snippet of the learning happening in my family’s life since I can hardly keep up with it! My kids are thirteen and ten and they enjoy a lot of the same classes and activities, but at their own level and pace. Here are eight snippets, or highlights, from our week with photos, links and a video I think you’ll enjoy: (By the way, thanks for reading my blog, Mom.)

Snippet #1

In their art class, they recently completed a four-week project re-creating a superhero comic painting from the 1940s and 50s. They scaled and sketched their drawings and masked and layered acrylic paint with a final masking and spray painting through a screen.

These turned out so professional looking!

Snippet #2

Trevor wanted to begin working on three areas of math learning at a time so he’s using Key-To workbooks to learn simultaneously Geometry, Percents and Decimals. Adam has been working through Geometry and is quite advanced. He knows way more geometry in eighth grade than I did when I took it for one year in tenth grade. The Key-To series are great workbooks which I had on hand based on my kids interest and learning style. I like the Key-To series because they are topical short books with aesthetically pleasing fonts, almost like a handwritten font, but nicer than that so they are easy on the eyes. Subject areas are broken down into topics further so that each book is short enough to give them a great feeling of accomplishment and drive to continue. They are easy to teach through when they feel stuck on their own. When they need to they take breaks and work through Khan Academy for a change of pace.

Snippet #3

For the past sixteen weeks or so, they’ve been partaking in a weekly science class at a friend’s house within walking distance. Their current exploration is in environmental science, studying sustainable farming practices and permaculture. Weekly movies and field trips are the focus now. This week they watched the movie Fresh. Prior to this, they studied Physical Science – Heat, Light and Energy, reading through a book, learning new vocabulary and doing experiments with their friends. They learned a lot and enjoyed it very much.

Snippet #4

For more project-based learning, both kids are heavily involved in creating their own video games, each using different software programs to accomplish their goals. My youngest uses Scratch and Java, while my oldest uses the more advanced Blender program and Java. This is their main project and from that they are learning computer programming, chemistry, physics, math, writing, economics, sketching, 3D modeling, animation, linguistics, science, critical thinking, problem solving and more. One book which we got from the library called The Elements: A Visual Periodic Table was such a hit that we ended up purchasing our very own copy. It’s so fantastic and I wish I had this when I was in high school. I memorized the Periodic Table element symbols and electrons and protons, but never knew what the elements actually did. This book has pictures of the elements and photos of products that use them in everyday life with informative and often humorous text that describes it all. The kids have been using this in building their worlds in their favorite game, Minecraft, as well as in developing realistic details of their own video game creations. One day, when we heard a commercial for gold investments, I told them that it really isn’t a very good investment, and was about to tell them why when my oldest said he knew because of the Elements book! He told me gold is rare and there just wouldn’t be enough to go around in an economic collapse, besides if there was an economic collapse, people would not have bags of gold lying around to trade, but water and fuel would be a valuable commodity. Smart kid.

Snippet #5

Through the Boy Scouts, Adam has been learning Astronomy, surveying, First Aid and photography. This weekend he finishes the requirements for the Astronomy badge while on an overnight camping trip and hike. On the way there he mentioned how much he likes project-based learning, marvelling that one could have so much fun and it is still considered school. He loves what we do and it brings me great joy to see him totally motivated and engaged!

Snippet #6

For exercise, the boys are involved in the sport of Fencing and have been attempting back-to-back classes for a total of two hours twice a week. Their next tournament is coming up in May in San Luis Obispo. Every other Tuesday they spend three hours in an adventure of hiking/backpacking, mountain biking, surfing or kayaking in and around our area. We are blessed to be very, very close to the ocean as well as to the foothills which provide incredibly beautiful creeks to hike up, forest trails to walk on and boulders to climb. Part of that outdoor adventure experience also includes studying the Bible and prayer. Here’s a video highlight from last week of their early morning hike to Seven Falls where they climbed boulders and slid down natural water slides into the gorgeous natural pools that lie at the bottom of each waterfall.

Every Tuesday afternoon, they also spend a couple of hours at Park Day, a homeschool group gathering at a local park which rotates monthly and where you can find all ages of children from babies through high school. There they play soccer, tag, flag football, ultimate frisbee, or make up new games. We live in a community where they walk at least twice a week to friends houses each within a quarter-mile to a half mile away. And when they are home, they are often found in the cul-de-sac in the later afternoon playing with the neighborhood kids in games of tag, hide-and-seek, biking, skateboarding or shooting hoops. And through Boy Scouts, Adam has been building up his hiking and backpacking miles, including a 5-mile city hike last weekend where they toured 11 historical sites around Santa Barbara, really learning our area’s history while getting even more exercise.

During my transplant days, I was unable to provide them these great outdoor excursions and they were also younger back then, so they didn’t have as much freedom as they do now to walk a long way to a friend’s house. Now they are spending loads of time outdoors, in nature often and getting lots of vigorous exercise. I love seeing them thrive in this way…no Last Child in the Woods natural deficit disorders allowed here!

Snippet #7

We visit the library almost every week. Adam has been researching trees for his video game and checked out a couple of books on the subject…one was an encyclopedia of trees as big as a New York City telephone book in hardcover that I see him carry around with him everywhere as he learns about trees and sketches his favorites. The other was a pictorial book of Remarkable Trees of the World which is great inspiration for his sci-fi video game. Trevor has started checking out fiction books to read like Lord of the Rings, as well as companion books detailing the Lord of the Rings world. They have loved hearing the books read aloud twice in the past, then got to see the movies and now want to start reading them for themselves. It’s enough to make a mom’s heart swell with pride and joy.

Snippet #8

It was a fantastic week and to top it off we were able to take in a visiting exhibit at UCSB called Mirazozo, from Architects of Air. A hard-to-explain experience, but a must-do field trip for my art and architecture-interested kids. Standing in line for 2.5 hours on the final day was not so fun, but once inside we were taken into another world of color, light, music and curves. Here are some of our photos from it (outside and inside):

That’s it for this week’s snippets of learning taking place in our family’s life. Please share just one or two highlights from your week in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you! And if you are a relaxed-schooler, a project-based learning homeschool, or consider yourself an unschooler, you’ll want to link-up your weekly highlights at Winging-It’s 7 Snippets Blog Hop:

Unschooling Blog Hop | Homeschool Blog Hop

Tagged with: adobe, animation, art, computer programming, exercise, math, natural deficit disorder, photoshop, project-based learning, science, video games, weekly snippets
Posted in Customized Learning, Weekly Snippets

Are You Pondering What I’m Pondering?

Posted by Krista — 4 Comments ↓

Pinky & the Brain source: JD Hancock

Academic standards are the cornerstone of public education and, to many, they serve as a benchmark for homeschoolers to measure themselves in how they are doing. I’ve never been a fan of the academic standards because they vary from state-to-state which to me is a sign that it’s subjective and not a true measure of intelligence. The idea that every single person needs to know exactly the same thing–of which the majority is just fodder for memorization–does not make sense to me in how we were created…each uniquely designed with different gifts and abilities.

If we truly were created as unique individuals, are we not meant to support each other as a whole? Ideally, each valued member of society would give their very best while relying on the rest of the community to provide from their own pool of gifts and talents. Instead, our school systems create a culture of competition and self-reliance. To even let others know that you don’t know is shameful…or so we’ve been taught.

On the flip side, I do realize that this is the world in which we live. My son is going into ninth grade next year. We plan for the future and set goals that reflect that future, with a willingness to do required steps to achieve those goals, whether the steps are enjoyable or not. His plans are for city college and transferring to a four-year institution for engineering and architecture. We are enjoying the time we have to pursue his interests at deep levels and draw the learning from those interests. He’s learning how to learn and I have no worries about his future. Within his interests you can find every subject! History, Language Arts, Science, Math, Art and more are all found while pursuing his interests. It’s great fun, and I highly recommend it. But it does take a paradigm shift in your perspective on education and what true education means. It also requires you to let go of fear of the future, fear of the unknown and fear of failing.

So what about academic standards? Ironically, I’m so happy to have found a place that not only lists all the academic standards for every state, but also a fun way to teach the items right there if your child doesn’t know them! You’ll find it here at Brain Pop. So while I’m not an advocate of basing your education solely on academic standards, I do think it’s fun for kids to learn new stuff when not pressured to conform and give up their interests and gifts. My kids will do this just for because they enjoy learning, and you’ll see how wonderful it is when you click on your state’s standards for your child’s grade level. There are links to learning within Brain Pop if you run across things which they (or you!) don’t know. When you see things your child doesn’t know, please don’t freak out and re-read the first two paragraphs of this post. It just might be fun to go through and reveal to your kids that you have forgotten so much of what you were taught in school and show yourself that it didn’t really matter after all.

Tagged with: academic standards
Posted in Featured Items, Recommended Resources

Monocle Monday #4: Education News and New Ideas in Learning

Posted by Krista — 1 Comment ↓

The Monocle, a Newstand

Source: Boris Anthony

Hope this Monday finds you energized and productive! I ease into my week with Monday as my first rev-up day with each day taking on more work until the Friday finale, rather than Mondays being my busiest day. So I enjoy reading articles like these with a cup of coffee on a Monday and hope you do too. Here’s what I’ve recently run across and just had to share. Even if you don’t agree with the writers, they challenge us to consider whether we are holding onto false beliefs.

Unlocking Academic Success with Frame Games for Learning - Yes, games for learning! Loved this one!
More ideas on the benefit of gaming while dispelling the myths: Video Games More Creative Than Reading
On DIY schooling becoming mainstream and fashionable: Why Urban Educated Parents are Turning to DIY Education

And the bonus read submitted by Christina Pilkington of Interest-Led Learning is:

5 Ways to Help Someone Love Reading – http://yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/2012/01/5-ways-to-help-someone-love-reading.html

Which of these articles did you enjoy the most? I’d love to hear from you! If there is a great article you’ve read this week, feel free to share it as well and I’ll choose one from the comments section to feature as a bonus in the next edition!

Tagged with: homeschooling, Monocle Monday, reading, series, video gaming
Posted in Education News

Join Our Living History Class via the Web!

Posted by Krista — No Comments ↓

Back in the Fall of 2011, I participated in a teacher training seminar at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum where we were given a wonderful curriculum called Portraits of Valor: Lessons in Bravery and Sacrifice. Through DVDs vignettes of Medal of Honor recipients, we learn about the character values that these heroes demonstrated when they served in battles ranging from WWII through the War on Terror.

Because homeschooled children’s lives are so busy these days, and many families with high school aged children have consistently booked schedules, I waited for the right time to develop a class for this wonderful living history. Geared toward junior high and high school, this curriculum can even be used with as young as ten years old. I have a few fifth graders in my class, including my youngest son.

The right time became apparent when I won a lottery to bring my class to the Reagan Library to participate in a speaker series where four Medal of Honor recipients will be discussing their amazing stories as well as the character traits which the Medal Honor represents. Following their discussion, the kids in attendance will have will have a fabulous opportunity to pose a question or share a thought with these men. I managed to arrange thirty-two seats for middle and high schoolers and two adult chaperones. Me and another mom.

The good news is that anyone who wants to join us can! They will be live streaming the presentation that we’ll be at and I’ve created a website based on the class which I’m conducting in person. This way you can join us and discuss these things with your own children at home. If you pre-register for the live streaming of the speaker event, your kids can submit their questions ahead of time as well.

Here’s the link to my class website: Medal of Honor Class with Krista English

Hope you and your kids enjoy it and I’d love to hear from you if this helps you carry out meaningful character values training through living history. Have you ever been to the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum? It’s a fantastic place no matter what your political views may be.

Tagged with: Korea, living history, medal of honor, Vietnam, War on Terror, WWI, WWII
Posted in History

Freedom from Natural Parental Fears

Posted by Krista — 2 Comments ↓

Mike and I, September 4, 1995, Grand Cayman

My husband and I were married September 2, 1995 and took a honeymoon vacation to the Cayman Islands for a week despite the potential for hurricanes in the Caribbean (blasted Billy Ocean for forever causing me to doubt my pronunciation of this region). The first night out was dinner at Captain Morgan’s Steakhouse, where we enjoyed the local fare of jerk chicken–which we cooked at our table–and margaritas. We asked the waitress about what it was like living on Cayman, particularly, “What about the hurricane season? Aren’t you afraid on such a tiny island?” Her response, in thick Jamaican accent (there is a large population of Jamaicans in the Caymans), “Oh no man, we have no fear, the Lord He protects us.” Life on Grand Cayman Island is indeed GRAND. The residents enjoy life to the fullest despite living on such a vulnerable island. We tried shopping on Sunday as we toured the downtown to no avail, store owners lock up Saturday afternoon and the hours posted are: “M-F: 9-5, Saturday: 10-4, Sunday: Go to Church!” I think this reverence toward their Creator is the secret to their success.

Besides learning more about my life and seeing what I looked like at 24 years of age, what does this have to do with education you ask? You see, the residents of the Cayman Islands have every reason to naturally fear the future and potential for disaster, yet they do not spend their time worrying about it. They live. They trust God for the outcome of their lives.

Parents are notorious worry warts. Things that make you go “yikes!” are the future unknowns. You wonder will Junior:

Grow up to be a good person?
Accept the faith of his forefathers?
Be able to read?
Be accepted by his peers?
Be able to transition to public school if needed?
Be able to test well?
Get into a good college?
Find a good job?
Have a meaningful life?
Be able to afford to live on his own someday?
Love me after all the mistakes I’ve made (or will make)?
Visit the family because they WANT to after moving away?

We seek answers, read books, try to do “it” the right way, choose the best method to educate, try to prevent failure, and guess what? All that worry is for nothing. No matter what…they will turn out! They will turn out. Say that again, they will turn out…despite what you plan for them!

God has bigger plans. Our wisdom is finite which is part of the reason why we worry, but I believe God has designed each child with a unique purpose, personality, interests, gifts and learning style. Knowing that can free you from the fear of the great unknown in regards to how your child will turn out. We think that we can control every detail that will create a perfect scenario for our sons and daughters, but God is the one ultimately who is leading us, guiding us and even loves our kids more than we do which is hard to imagine!

Proverbs 3:5-6 (The Message): Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all.

Even when things are going well, and we feel like we have figured it all out and love the choices we’ve made for our children’s education, doubts will creep into our minds. We will battle those ancient parental fears which we all share, and will need to remember once again that “they will turn out” no matter what! Then pray…rely on God, the One who knows all about it!

Proverbs 19:21 (The Message): We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails.

Kids are resilient and God is going to use every experience, good and bad for His purposes in their life. Discuss everything with them as they mature and give them options as they get older to pursue their own dreams.

Relax in this knowledge and those fears will lay to rest and you can spend all that time researching and planning WITH your kids, enjoying them while you have them because this time goes by all too fast.

Romans 8:28 (NIV): And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

My prayer for you today is that you will “know Christ and the power of His resurrection”… Philippians 3:7-11 and that you will find the peace and rest that is yours when you trust Him. Oh yes, my dear reader, clients and friends, I pray for you each day.

Here’s a photo of something else we stumbled upon during our honeymoon. Even the wild parrots find safe haven on Grand Cayman. The residents here appreciate the beauty of these birds, providing a haven for them to visit, but keeping the cage door open to allow their wild natures to explore. Oh that we might recognize that need of our children and give them safe haven while allowing them the freedom to explore!

Even wild parrots on Cayman Islands have safe haven.

Tagged with: fear, God, parenting, prayer
Posted in Encouragement, Parenting

Connecting Naturally with Numbers

Posted by Krista — 14 Comments ↓

Math is natural: Fibonacci Numbers

Today, I’d like to introduce Christina Pilkington one of my favorite bloggers on the subject of interest-led learning. Since my own kids are so much older now, I wanted Christina to share with you from the perspective of a mom with younger kids and how she helps them learn basic skills through interest-led learning. I hope you enjoy this guest post today! And now Christina begins…

While I was scrolling through my home page on Facebook a few months ago, I came across a picture that was posted by someone close to our family. The picture showed a piece of paper with rows of square boxes. In each box, a little girl-who is five years old- had written the number 3 over and over again in the first row of squares. Then she had written the number 4 over and over again in the row of squares underneath the first row. And so on, and so on.

She’s in Kindergarten and this was her homework. She was doing something a teacher told her she had to complete.

Today, I played a game of Mancala with my two five (almost six!) year olds. It’s a wonderful game; it originated in Africa and some people think it’s the oldest game in history. We played it for over an hour and a half and learned strategy, counting, and keeping score.

My kids begged me to keep playing the game. In fact whenever we play games with numbers, I usually have to find a way to distract them or else they’ll want to play for hours and hours.

Now, if you have a child who wants to practice writing numbers for fun, go for it!

But the important thing to keep in mind is that schools have it all backwards. While they may bring in some games and manipulatives, schools usually require small children, often starting in Kindergarten, to learn math in very abstract ways.

They want them to write numbers and fill out drill worksheets, adding and subtracting numbers without having a solid concrete

understanding of how they work. Most kids are not developmentally ready to really think in abstract terms until they are at least 11 or 12.

That’s not to say that kids can’t comprehend math concepts before then. You’d be amazed at what kids can understand.

But without having a solid idea of how numbers relate to each other, how numbers and logic works in real-life situations, than everything a child does on paper- all those workbooks that many adults think are so important – those are really just parlor tricks they’re performing. They may be able to get A’s on a test, but they cannot transfer that paper math to real situations.

Many children also have a difficult time with handwriting until they are closer to 9 or 10. That’s not to say they can’t write at all, but they’re usually not comfortable or proficient at writing for long periods of time.

Source: Brandi Korte

And most of the math done in school involves a lot of writing. Instead of having fun with numbers, playing lots of games, and using numbers to solve real problems, kids are forced to spend long periods of time writing instead. They grow to associate writing – something that may be very frustrating for kids- with math. And so they grow up thinking they hate math!

So what can you do if you want your young child to grow up, if not loving math, than not loathing it either?

Here are a few ways to introduce math concepts into your home naturally in the context of daily life.

Do lots of cooking. You’ve probably heard this tip before, but younger children can learn an incredible amount of math just from cooking and baking with you every week. There’s counting, subtracting, temperatures, fractions and dividing. Cooking and baking also connects math with art, science and the practical skill of learning how to make food for a family.
Bring in as many games as you can into your kids lives. Here are a few of my favorites for kids in the age range of 5-8: Sum Swamp Addition and Subtraction Game, Sequence for Kids, Money Bags a Coin Value Game, ThinkFun Math Dice, Jr. & Blokus .
Watch some DVDs about numbers. Here’s some fun ones you might want to watch: Donald in Math Magic Land , Schoolhouse Rock: Multiplication, Leap Frog: Math Adventure to the Moon , LeapFrog: Math Circus, & Leap Frog: Numbers Ahoy.
Let your kids see you using numbers every day to solve problems. Talk out loud when you’re trying to solve a problem. You might say, “This can of corn costs more than the other can of corn, but if I look at the price per ounce, I’m actually getting a better deal by buying the more expensive can because I can get more for my money. Stores can be pretty tricky that way sometimes.” Or, “I wonder if it would be a better deal to buy the generic brand of this bread or to buy this other brand of bread using one of my coupons?”
Look for patterns and talk about them. You can find patterns in songs you sing, pictures you draw, changes in the seasons. Math and science are often inseparable. Do lots of fun experiments that involve patterns. Go to art museums and talk about the patterns and numbers you find there. Take them on nature walks and point out all the beauty of math in nature, like the Fibonacci numbers commonly found in flowers and pine cones.

The key is to take the time to slow down and involve your kids when you use math concepts naturally in your life. Most young children find numbers fascinating. It’s our job as parents to introduce our kids to math ideas and skills in ways that show them how useful, fun and interesting the world of numbers can be.

Thank you so much for sharing this with my readers, Christina! These are wonderful ideas for incorporating math in a natural way that will keep our kids interested in the beauty of math and eager for more in the years ahead!

What are your favorite ways to use numbers in real life with your kids? We’d love to hear from you!

Christina and her twins

Christina Pilkington is the creator of the website Interest-Led Learning. She lives a life of passion, adventures and connections with her husband and 5 year old boy/girl twins. She’s written an e-book called A Thrift Store Curriculum which you can get for free when you sign up for her newsletter. You can also connect with her at Twitter and Facebook.

Tagged with: cooking, first grade, games, Kindergarten, math, nature, Pre-K, second grade
Posted in FAQ, Math

Take advantage of Super Bowl Sunday with these learning opportunities!

Posted by Krista — 2 Comments ↓

Are you planning on watching the Super Bowl on Sunday?

I would be if I had cable or if I enjoyed watching the jagged images and pretending I’m on a LOST episode by pushing the button on my laptop every 8 minutes on Live.streaming.

I’d love to go to a Super Bowl party or restaurant JUST for the party fare, but I made a huge mistake in calculation! I started a 7-Day Raw Food Cleanse which I scheduled in advance because I used a Groupon deal for this amazing service. The Groupon was just what my weak-will needed to actually do a cleanse like this! I took the first week Delish and Noutrish had available which started last Monday. Once it began, I realized that this raw food fast was to take me through Sunday when I’m transitioning to cooked foods with just steamed fish. Yikes, no Superbowl nachos, no buffalo wings? I’m 40 and think the last time I didn’t make or have nachos on a Superbowl Sunday was 1980…tradition will be broken for health this year!

Maybe you’re like me and started a raw food cleanse too…hey, by coincidence it happens ! Or, you’re just choosing not to watch the Big Game because your husband is, like my own, not into sports, or you’d just rather remove wallpaper. Well, it’s time to take advantage of the situation! Since I advocate a lifestyle of learning, the following list is made up of all kinds of educational opportunities despite their otherwise fun appearance!

Here’s my top 10 ideas on what to do this Sunday if you don’t have cable or don’t care about football:

Teach your learning permitted teenager to drive! With less traffic on the streets, making left turns at major intersections will be less stressful for you and your son or daughter.
Visit the local museums and do the popular stuff which you usually skip because of tourist crowds.
Take a day trip to a town you have never been within driving distance and explore. Let your kids pick the spot within 100 miles.
Have a game day marathon by getting out ALL your board games and “test” each one to see if they stood the test of time.
How about a movie marathon with a theme? Brainstorm ideas like football movies, foodie movies, or for the kiddos classic Disney movies from the 1960s and 70s.
Go shopping! All the big, normally crowded stores, like Costco and Target, will be empty. Now you can take the time to go more slowly with your kids. Use cash, create your budget for groceries or whatever you need, and encourage the kids to help you get the most for your money. At the register have your kids count out the cash. You’d never do this when normally rushed.
Read an epic novel together. If this was our choice, the kids would want to finish The Hobbitwhich we’ve been reading aloud in small nightly chunks.
Take the family swimming, try racquetball, or workout at the local YMCA. Always a sure bet to be free of crowds during a major sporting event.
Create a Panini Bar like my friend Yummy Mummy explains in her blog, and invite uninterested-in-football friends over for the best part of Super Bowl Sunday–the food! Even young children will enjoy creating their own panini before you grill it.
Take an extraordinary local adventure together. Extraordinary meaning you never do that, but tourists do it all the time. It’s what makes your town yours! We have a lot to choose from in my area because a. it’s a fantastic place to live and b. I’ve been limited in recent years so have yet to try some of these. Things to take advantage of in our area: local hiking trails, mountain biking, kayaking, paddle boarding, sailing, take a harbor cruise, touring the town on a Segway, visit the Sea Center, walk on the pier, or taking in the local specialty food shops or a Farmer’s Market. You can go to your city’s website to get new ideas for places you haven’t thought of before.

So what are your family plans for Superbowl Sunday?

Rooting for a team or just planning on taking advantage of the ghost town? Do you have any ideas I didn’t think of in the list above? Please share!

Photo Credit: X-Ray Delta One on Flickr

Tagged with: adventure, football, raw food, Super Bowl
Posted in Just for fun, Uncategorized

Celebrating 3-years of life…a transplant recovery update!

Posted by Krista — 2 Comments ↓

It’s been three years since I received the life-giving stem cells from an umbilical cord of an Australian boy who would now be 13 years old, same age as my oldest son, and yet they’ll never know this incredible story! Well, if I share this story enough, by the amazing reaches of the internet, a mom out there in Australia might find it and realize it could be HER son and contact me. So to that end, I am sharing this very personal story on my ‘education’ blog. Please share it with your friends by clicking the ‘share’ buttons at the bottom of this post and you never know…that mom in Australia with the now 13-year-old boy who donated her umbilical cord so long ago might find out what a difference that simple act made in the life of the English family in Santa Barbara, CA!

You’ll enjoy seeing photos of me Then and Now…quite remarkable how much progress can be made in such a relatively short time! Read the update here on my personal journey blog: Happy 3rd Birthday to Me: A Transplant Recovery 3-Year Review

Babies are amazing! Donate umbilical cord blood!

For all adults, men or women, check out this video to learn more about joining the National Bone Marrow registry:

Tagged with: leukemia, My Story, transplant
Posted in Encouragement, Just for fun

Frustrated or discouraged? Start here!

Posted by Krista — 2 Comments ↓

Did you know there are times that I get discouraged? I am HUMAN, you know! More often than not it has to do with my own great ideas not being as enthusiastically received by my children as I’d hoped. Other times it’s not being able to do all I want due to illness or weakness, and then there’s just the normal parenting stuff. Either way, life can feel difficult even when we have everything we need. So when we feel lacking–be it knowledge, resources, or just plain confidence–woah, it can feel downright unbearable!

For me, the battle is usually in my head and the thing that helps me have the victory, besides going to the Lord for my strength, is reading encouraging articles and posts which align with my philosophy of education. It’s nice to know there are others out there who are going along the same road and have already experienced triumph despite the pioneering nature of this journey.

Here are ~~ten~~ eleven favorite articles I’ve written to bring you victory and restore your spark as you continue on the homeschool journey ahead:

The Key to Your Child’s Heart - A guest post I wrote about on an Interest-Led Learning blog which gives my story in detail, how we entered the world of interest-led learning and practical tips and suggestions for you. Knowing where I came from and where I am now is sure to encourage you in your journey.
How to Become Your Child’s Favorite – In this piece I applied the principles of the TED Talk symposium to parenting or teaching and how being that kind of person would make you your (or any) child’s favorite.
Top 10 Ideas for Deschooling Yourself - If you are experiencing a lot of frustration in your home schooling experience, you perhaps need to do some serious deschooling. Here are 10 ideas to get you redeem your own spark.
Can You Be Successful Without a College Degree? – If you’ve read my blog at any length, you’ll know the answer is an emphatic YES, but this post is a link to an amazing list of successful folks who never obtained a degree. Just reading through that will remind you to relax a little, that we’re all on a journey and a college diploma which doesn’t reflect who you are or what you actually know or do is not the end-all of life.
How Getting Out of Kids’ Way Can Help Them Thrive – A great article about a school’s project which proves self-directed, independent study projects work. Interesting that the school only allowed it for one semester though!
How to Motivate Your Child to Learn – Maybe you’re discouraged because your child doesn’t seem to want to learn. These three simple tips can help solve this problem.
Learning Disability? A Different Perspective – Or perhaps your child seems different and yet your instinct tells you there’s not really a learning disability there. Is there even such a thing as a learning disability? Read this perspective and be encouraged!
Shedding the Light on Delayed Reading – Discouraged about reading or learning delays? This one is for you!
Getting to the Heart of Conflict – Communication is the key to a successful home life and the process outlined in this piece can be applied to any and all situations between any relationship! When people feel listened to and are able to express their feelings and needs in an atmosphere of respect, they feel loved. This process shows you how to foster that love whether you are in the midst of crisis now or anytime you need to communicate with loved ones over differences and difficulties.
My Story of Discovering, Reviving & Thriving - Here’s another version of my story, my original post that kicked off this blog in October 2010. If I can do it, you can too!

Bonus: Don’t Fall Into the Same Trap You Left Behind - You may be completely discouraged because you left a traditional school with hopes that things would be different, but in fact, they may have gotten worse on different levels. Read this and see if you’ve fallen into the same trap you left behind and take the advice to get back to a simpler lifestyle and let go of the thinking that is shackling you.

Have a favorite article that has encouraged you in the past? Feel free to link to it in the comments section below.

Tagged with: communication, conflict resolution, encouragement, homeschooling, self-directed learning, unschooling
Posted in Encouragement, Start Here