4 Ways to Keep Your Cool While Homeschooling

Whether you are a school-at-home family or an unschooling family, having your kids at home with you ALL THE TIME can get to be a bit overwhelming. Here are some tips I've found to be helpful and keep us going, even when we lack motivation.

1. HAVE a schedule. We have a hybrid schooling, where we attend a "homeschool connect" that is part of the public school system. The classes have set times and days and those are a part of our schedule. Your schedule could be as simple as, we all come together around lunch time and eat together and then read or draw for 45 minutes after lunch. It could be as complex as including wake-up times, breakfast, chores, school time, and so on.

2. AVOID over scheduling. We have a packed schedule this year, and unfortunately that has meant that Marley has had to learn that we can't do everything and choose what is most important to her. She has had to let go of a few of her other extracurricular activities in order to focus on music, which is her passion right now.

3. KEEP a family calendar. Whether you keep a physical calendar, or a digital one (we keep a family iCalendar via phone and iPad), it's important to see your commitments laid out and NOT rely on your memory. I particularly like the iCalendar because we can have a shared family calendar for activities I need to take her to, we can invite extended family members to certain events, and we can have our own personal calendars that all mesh together for our viewing and organizing pleasure.

4. BE flexible. Sometimes, there is a really awesome event happening, but attending would make you miss a lesson or other regular commitment. Sometimes, the whole family is having an off day and really needs to sit around eating popcorn and binging on Netflix. Both of these things are okay. One of the reasons we homeschool is to have the freedom to do what you want to do when you want to do it!

Do you have any tips that help you keep on keepin' on as a homeschool family? Share them in the comments!

Garden Theivery

Oh, the garden. For so many years it has been my sanctuary, my therapy, maybe not my reason for living, but definitely sustenance for my body and soul.

This year, thanks to THE DEER, it has become depressing to even look out the window at the destruction they have wrecked upon my garden. There have always been deer, rabbits, birds. I have never minded sharing a bit with all of the creatures. We share this land. But this year, they have become more bold and they are no longer sharing they are taking everything. They even eat half of a squash directly from the plant.

So far, the only things they haven't touched are the onions and a single pumpkin. Which, I'm hoping will last until Halloween.

Next year, I'm using my energy to build a deer fence.

Join the Movement: Koffee Kult

This post contains sponsored links from Koffee Kult.

As I hail from the Seattle area, I fancy myself a bit of a coffee connoisseur. I don’t have high expectations for coffee purchased of the internet, since I can go to a local roaster and watch them roast my beans. This bag of Koffee Kult’s Colombia Huila showed up in the mail, and one look at the squirrel with the crazy hypnotizing eyes has me changing my tune.

After staring at the squirrel for awhile, I noticed that the bag opening is very different than most coffee bags I’ve encountered. It’s like, a ziplock top, so you can squeeze all the air out and fully seal the bag, sealing in the flavors. I poured some of the beans into a small bowl to take a closer look. They were a nice, dark color with a bit of a shine from the coffee oils. This is a good sign - as it shows that the beans have not been over-roasted. 

My favorite way to drink coffee is black, and made in a french press. When I poured the water into the press, I noticed the water changed to a warm chocolatey color almost immediately. I gave the grounds a good stir, and went on about my business, allowing them to steep for several minutes.

Finally, I was able to pour my cuppa. Upon tasting, I found a mildly acidic, smooth coffee with a bit of sweetness. It is an excellent cup of black coffee.

The listing for the coffee states that the beans are organically sourced from Huila’s high mountain elevations. However, these beans are not certified organic OR fair trade which is really the number one priority for me when purchasing coffee. For this reason and this reason only, I would rate this coffee a ⅘ stars.

I did receive this coffee at a promotional discount in exchange for writing a review on this blog. Feel free to click on links to purchase, there are no affiliate links on this post.