Marriage & parenting
For Older Moms of Many Children
I'm a homeschooling mom of 10 children, and I'm just two years shy of the half-century mark, but I learned a lesson the other day from the ''baby'' of our family - my just turned 7 y.o. He asked me, ''Momma, do you know how to run?'' I had to stop and think why he was even asking something like that...but then it dawned on me. I guess I really haven't done as much ''playing'' with my younger kids as I did with my older children. He really hadn't ever seen me run - he'd never had his mom play chase and 'tag' with him.
The next afternoon while he was out playing in the yard, I yelled out to him, ''You'd better run, 'cause I'm coming after you!'' The look on his face was priceless. A few breathless minutes later, we both sat on the ground laughing. I found that there are advantages to being little - you can change direction at the drop of a hat, and you can duck under electric fences with little effort. I found that my body remembered the next day that it had run the previous day. But I also found that it was worth every minute just to hear that precious laughter and see the look on my child's face.
I've always told moms, ''They grow up too fast -- take time with them while they're little,'' but I found that I wasn't following my own advice. I'm going to have to get past the excuse of ''I'm too old,'' or ''I'm busy right now,'' and remember that it won't take long for my 7 y.o. to be 24 y.o. like my oldest. | | momoften |
Testing
Princeton Review
For those of you with high school homeschoolers, go to www.princetonreview.com. It is an excellent resource for college bound students and I highly recommend that you enroll in their FREE SAT or ACT testing events or strategy sessions. Again, this is FREE. You simply type in your zip code and find an event near your location. Earlier this year, my 11th grader took the ACT and scored fairly well, being a Junior and having just begun the school year.
Blessings, Elaina Short (wife to Andrew, mother to Sara 11th grade, Lizzy 9th grade, Adam K-5, Rachel Pre-K and another little one due April 2007) | | ezeevi |
| | Math: fundamentals
Internet Math Practice
Math is not my 6-year-old's favorite subject, and I am constantly looking for fun ways for her to practice her math facts. I found several websites that had fun, free math games, but it got to be a hassle to constantly look them up for her. My solution was to create a personal web page for her with links to all of her games. I taught her exactly what to click on and what to avoid. Now when I need to nurse the baby, cook, or tend to my 4-year-old, I can tell my daughter to go work on her math - and she's happy to do it!
The websites are:
http://www.hbschool.com (Solving for the Unknown)
http://funschool.kaboose.com (Addition/Subtraction/Multiplication)
http://www.learningbox.com (Base Ten/Addition/Subtraction)
http://www.funbrain.com (Simple Addition)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools (Addition/Subtraction/Solving for the Unknown) | | masterket |
Organization/time management
Schoolroom/Dining room Decorating Tip
I purchased bistro tables -- the tall sort that even adult legs dangle from. The walls in the room are lined with tall bookshelves ($25 at WalMart) and the tables are placed at the walls, one to a wall (four total).
They push together into the center to form a table for the whole family to eat at (under a tablecloth, can't tell there's four of 'em), but for school, push them out to the shelves where each child keeps his or her own school stuff. The toddler can't reach the schoolwork, and each child's bookshelf is right next to them with their own supplies.
Because it's a whole process to climb down and up again, the kids stay in their seats. It also looks like a bookworm's cafe. When there's a major project going on, one table can stay on the wall to hold the work-in-progress. | | rosedrake |
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