Identifying and Overcoming Disempowerment as a Homeschool Mom

by Erica Johns | Jan 24, 2016 | Great Stuff for Homeschool Moms, Mom to Mom

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Do you ever find yourself feeling chronically unsure and insecure about your homeschool path?  Do you feel like a square peg trying to fit in a round hole when it comes to your program, philosophy, or curriculum?  Do you compare yourself to other homeschool moms that seem to have it all together, and feel like you and yours are the “biggest losers”?  If any of these apply to you, you’ve gotta watch this scope!

Here is a quick outline of the points I discussed in this scope.

How to recognize disempowerment in yourself:

1.  The message doesn’t resonate you, but you feel like it should.
2.   The message did resonate with you, but after giving it a good try you just can’t seem to make it work, but feel like you have to keep trying.
3. When you feel stuck or like this HAS TO BE the right thing, even though it’s not working for you.
4. When you often feel like you don’t know how to “do it right” and you keep asking others for validation and direction.
5. When “everybody else” is so great at it, but you can’t seem to manage it.
6. When you’re being pressured to violate your own conscience or good sense.

How to become more empowered as a homeschool mom:

1.  Educate yourself:  I mentioned Teach Your Own by John Holt and Carol Tuttle’s books It’s Just My Nature and The Child Whisperer.
2. Self-examination
3. Know what matters to you
4. This is YOUR tribe!
5. Don’t be afraid to question the status quo.
6. Evaluate.

Tips to Avoid the Winter Blues in Your Homeschool

by Erica Johns | Jan 6, 2016 | Great Stuff for Homeschool Moms, Mom to Mom

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Winter is typically the hardest time of our homeschool year. The weather, lack of sunlight, and the hibernation mode that go with it can create a drag that can translate into a real bummer for you and your kids. Over my 21+ years of homeschooling, I’ve learned a few tricks, and basically it all boils down to having some things that are:
Fresh
New
Exciting
Different
Fun
Inspiring
Comforting
Special!

So in this video I shared a bunch of ideas for ways to help shake off the winter blues and keep them away, while embracing the seasonal realities.  I thought I would list a bunch of them here along with links to specific resources that I recommended.

Fresh art supplies:  I recommend our favorite painting supplies here, and tell about Gelli Plates here.  You can visit Deep Space Sparkle here.  Do this fun 3D hand art project, or my Catching Snowflakes project!

Coloring books for grown ups (I’ve got a free one for you here)

Fresh school supplies!

Music lessons!  I recommend Center Stage Guitar for super affordable at-home guitar lessons for the whole family!  

Board games!  Winter is the perfect time for table top gaming.  Some of our favorites are:

Settlers of Catan: Awesome, complex game with lots of strategy options! Great for developing creative problem solving.

Blink: A fast-paced card game that gets the brain working

Set: Great game for increasing observation and pattern skills!

Sequence: Great for increasing observation and strategy skills

Dutch Blitz: Fast-paced, wild fun!

Pit: More crazy, fast-paced fun!

Exploding Kittens: Crazy good fun for all ages! This game was the breakout hit of Christmas 2018 at our house.

Movie marathons!  I mentioned Planet Earth, and it is wonderful and amazing!  But it’s a great time to hunker down with any series or theme you enjoy.

Brownies and hot cocoa!  Here’s a link to my homemade hot cocoa recipe.  It’s so good!

Sledding, skiing, snowboarding, or snow tubing!  So much fun and joy!

bake bread:  I’ve been making this super easy 3 minute whole wheat bread, and my 12 year old makes it now!

watch winter sports:  college basketball is pretty fun, and March Madness is really exciting, especially if you are rooting for an awesome team like the UK Wildcats!  Woot! Go Big Blue!

Can you beat the winter blahs by going on a vacation or planning one? (and if a vacation isn’t in the budget, what could you do for a staycation?)

Kindle/ipad games that they kids can play alone or cooperatively with one another

quiet reading time with our favorite super cozy blankets

Hospitality!  Host a family that you like for dinner

poetry teatimes/poetry pizza/poetry pub

plan fun events with friends like sledding, ice skating, movies, rollerskating, etc.

make snow ice cream!

fun new ways to learn things like business math from Simply Charlotte Mason

hunting/trapping

indoor exercise:  rebounder, treadmill, jumping jacks, push ups and pull up contests

other exercise:  exercise classes, memberships to fitness center or pool in your area

build cozy forts and tents!  I mentioned Audible memberships for audio books.  Click here to try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks!

I’m sure there are a lot more, but this is a starter list.  What ideas would you include on this list?