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Mommy Convos

How to End Homeschool Drama and Make it Successful

in Building Relationships, Family Relationships, Guest Post, Resources, What's Working Wednesday on 05/05/20

Maid, Chef, Janitor, Mother, and now, full-time homeschooling teacher.  Wearing all those extra hats is probably why us moms are more tired and exhausted than usual.  As a mother of eleven kids, with six currently living at home, I completely sympathize with you! My children are still trying to understand our new routine and my special needs kids especially struggle with the change. In my last article, I shared How to Actually Help Kids with Crisis I firmly believe in helping our children with love and compassion. As far as homeschooling multiple children are concerned, allow me to share ten new tips on how I am successfully doing homeschooling in our house and lots of helpful printables to make this work for your home.

Age-Appropriate Crisis Education:

Crisis Education does not have to be complex. Depending on the age and ability of your children, the conversation can be simple and direct. In our home we have numerous ages and levels of learning; so we chose to have a family meeting. 

  • We gently explained why the kids were not allowed in schools at this time.
  • Further explained about the Coronavirus illness and what it means to be really sick.
  • We discussed that sometimes people are afraid of things they do not understand.
  • Sometimes people do or say unkind things when they are afraid.
  • After basic explanations, we opened up our family discussion.

Children asked questions on things they did not understand or were are were concerned about. We kept our answers truthful and brief. If further discussion was needed, we spoke to that specific child in a separate setting. Children can sometimes experience trauma simply by not knowing. It is important to acknowledge a child’s worries and help educate them, allowing them to have some control in the situation. Update children as times require through simple and direct methods. 

Home Schooling 101

While I hold a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Human Services and a Master’s degree in Public Administration; the thought of homeschooling my children for the next several months left me in a state of panic. How in the world could I accommodate ALL OF THEIR NEEDS and fulfill my household duties I need too? I was simply overwhelmed and completely beside myself with this new task. – I’m sure many of you can relate.

Well, here we are a month and a bit later and I have a humble appreciation for child educators. All our children (and Mom) are still alive and learning the best way we can manage. No, I am not any more thrilled with the idea of home school than before, however; we do have a system that seems to work. 

homeschooling, how to homeschool, parenting101, how to end homeschool drama, how to make homeschooling successful,

Our Homeschooling System for a Big Family

To assist in the chaos surrounding our new learning environment, we chose to appoint each child a special responsibility while we were “in class”.  My eleven-year-old daughter was on the Student Council this year. So, we decided to take jobs from there and apply them to our online school experience. 

  1. Breakfast Buddy: assists with breakfast set-up and clean-up.
  2. Morning Greeter: welcomes everyone to school, gives daily announcements (mom helps with this). 
  3. Librarian: responsible for checking out books and school supplies in our home library. 
  4. Peer Tutor: assists kids with homework instruction, reading comprehension, and filling supplies. 
  5. Computer Technician: sets up and sanitizes the Chrome books or tablets. Also, it puts everything away when school is finished. 
  6. Lunch Aid: assists with lunch preparation and clean-up.

We rotate these six positions every week so each child has the opportunity to understand new roles. 

Why Swapping Roles Works:

Honestly, it has been fun and enjoyable to see their creative minds explore different jobs. My kids love these responsibilities and we can already see a noteworthy, positive difference. Empowering the children through their contributions, will boost self-confidence and teach valuable skills.

Our Daily School Day:

Our daily school day starts at 9 am done in two shifts. The first shift is from 9-11:30 am.

  1. First shift consists of the younger kids doing school work.
  2. While the little ones work, the big kids can help, play educational games, art projects or science projects.
  3. Lunch is at noon.
  4. Then 12:30 to 3pm the older kids work online while the younger ones do projects and play educational games.

 To successfully make learning fun and engaging (on so many levels) it requires some serious effort and time. Thankfully, we have acquired needed resources to support our children’s various learning styles through educational games, flashcards, charts, and resource books. Most items were purchased on Amazon you can check out my suggested list here.  I am happy to say these resources have made a world of difference in our home-learning experience. With a variety of mediums to explore and play with, we have more education happening than we anticipated. 

3 Ways We Stay on Track for Learning:

  1. Rotate:
    • We divided the children into two groups. Half the kids are expanding their craniums in the online learning platforms; while the other half are playing educational games on the floor or engaged in other methods of education. 
  2. Visual Timer:
    • We use our timer to transition to different activities and help reduce behavioral problems.
    • We have Recess (three ten-minute breaks) during our classes online. These rests support a more engaged learning environment with minimal distractions or loss of interest.
  3. Water and Snacks:
    • Water is freely given anytime.
    • Snacks- there’s a three-time limit.  This reduces the amount of distraction due to growling tummies.

How to Plan Meals and Healthy Snacks for Homeschooling Hours: 

Many families have specific nutrition needs that require some level of planning to ensure proper meals and healthy snacks each day. Some families deal with severe food allergies and additional health issues that require a regimented diet; which is more difficult in crisis situations where specific foods may be difficult to purchase. Of course, even our best efforts are derailed if we are not consistently preparing for times of crisis.  Thankfully, our family does not have serious food allergies. We do, however deal with emotional eaters and food sensory issues; so planning healthy meals and snacks that support our budget is necessary and helpful.

Healthy Meal and Snack Officer:

In our family, we have a: Healthy Meal and Snack Officer. Their job is to help choose snacks for each day of the week. They also contribute ideas for daily healthy meals and participate in food preparation. This opportunity allows time for parent/child bonding as well as new learning to take place. This education can help calm fears of food or water shortages; while we teach our children to be grateful and not wasteful. As the role of the Healthy Meal and Snack Officer changes; so does our opportunity to teach the next child. We’ve found this article with this printable helpful when planning our meals for the week out with our kids.  

Readily Available Snacks: 

While kids are home enrolled in online schooling, we allow each child to pick from a snack basket three times a per day. This basket contains a variety of prepackaged snacks or fresh fruits and veggies. After three snacks, their snacks are done for the day. 

We encourage drinking water by giving each child a cup with their name and make tally marks for every 8 oz cup they consume. This is great fun as the kids compete to outdo one another. Once the child reaches their eight-cup limit for the day, they are awarded a privilege or small reward of some kind.

Time Out for Parents: Take Care of YOU:

TIME OUT for Mommies and Daddies is critical for to not only for one’s sanity but the structural well-being of the entire family unit…. no pressure! Caregivers of all kinds make long, daily sacrifices that will eventually cost more than we anticipate. This process may manifest itself in many forms. Some common ones might include: increased physical or mental health issues, inability to perform professionally, insomnia, weight loss or weight gain as well as decrease our ability to relate positively with other people. When we reach the point of more negative (than positive) interaction with others; we are simply defeating the exact thing we are working so hard to accomplish. You would never put $5 in your gas tank and expect to make it across the country, but you get the idea.

Give yourself at least twenty minutes for self-care. Methods of self-care might include: a twenty-minute walk around the block, a phone call to a friend or family member, deep breathing, a personal prayer, ponder your favorite scripture verse or uplifting quote, give yourself a butterfly hug and CRY (this is one of my personal favorites), exercise, meditate and journal writing. If resources allow, try something a more in-depth such as a professional massage, gardening, floral arranging, scrapbooking. Learn a new skill or even engage in professional counseling (been there, done that… no shame!). You can implement shorter bouts of self-care several times a day depending on your availability. Brainstorm ideas with your partner or personal friend.

Conclusion:

 Although many of us are currently living under “stay at home” mandates, we can view this as an opportunity to slow the pace, re-evaluate our lifestyle or personal habits. Yes, homeschooling our children (and different ages) is a new challenge for many of us- but we can do hard things! Look at this time as an opportunity to make necessary changes in areas that may have been neglected due to time constraints. So, take it slow with your family; be patient and kind to yourself.  As long as you are doing your best in the schooling department and the children are still learning- it’s a win! It can be difficult to downshift from fast-paced lifestyles. Taking time to self-center every day you’ll find you are more patient and flexible with others, you sleep more soundly, you enjoy your children more, life simply feels happier. Your family deserves HEALTHY & HAPPY mom- so take care of you!

Love, Health and Best Wishes,

Joelle

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Joelle Ainsley

About Joelle Ainsley

Joelle is a passionate, creative and seasoned mom with over 30 years of parenting experience. She has been married to the love of her life for nearly 37 years and together they have 11 amazing children (6 of whom are adopted) and 10 (soon-to-be 12) beautiful grandkids. Over the last 20 years, Joelle and her husband were home to 53 foster children. Her experiences inspired Joelle to return to college earning her bachelor’s degree in Human Services and a master’s degree in Public Administration. Joelle is always looking for ways to have fun while creating opportunities to strengthen parent/child connections. Aside from her large family, Joelle enjoys floral arranging, cooking, writing, reading, and taking long walks through the orchards with her dogs, Noble & Honor.

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In fact, this post is perfectly timed to prepare you for your final purchases this weekend or even, Christmas book clearance time. 🥳 When Christmas is over I’m certain many of these books will go on sale. (Insert happy deal shoppers dance here! 💃🏼 🛍) •⠀
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Head to our stories to see Morgan talk about some of her favorites, click the link in our bio for the Christmas book article or to shop all of our fav books- click on the Amazon link. ⠀
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Last night the hubby and I finished our Christmas shopping and I can finally put the wallet away. I’m certain we’re done- I hope. I should probably check my stash to be sure! 🙈
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Sharing today our list of fun non-toy stocking stuffers you can snag before it’s too late! Head to our @mommyconvos bio for the details! 
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So, here’s the next question: do you Christmas shop for the family by yourself? (❤️) Or do you team up with your spouse? (❤️💚) Leave the colored heart that best describes you- below!
Hi friends! We hope that you are having an amazing Hi friends! We hope that you are having an amazing week and are having a blast gearing up for the holidays ahead. With 2020 coming to an end, we can all relate to how tough this year has been. However, the initial tendency as a parent might be to overspend in an effort to compensate for whatever did or didn't happen in 2020. ⁣
⁣
LET ME GIVE YOU THIS REASSURANCE, MOMMAS- it is NOT necessary to buy more during the holidays in order to compensate for whatever you feel your children lacked this year. ❤ ⁣
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Instead, we highly suggest minimizing your Christmas stress by implementing a minimalistic mindset each year, but this year in particular. This year has blessed us with the specific opportunity to tune in and be more mindful of those you love, just like our Savior does for us. So take this time to BE more present instead of spending extra cash on gifts. We promise it will be absolutely worth it. ⁣
⁣
If you are looking at enjoying a more minimalistic holiday, be sure to check out the latest from the blog for some great tips and tricks for finding balance and peace this year. Just click the link in our bio @mommyconvos ⁣
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How are you prepping for the holidays that are a little different than in previous years? 🎁🎄
Recently, my social media feed is full of #givetha Recently, my social media feed is full of #givethanks gratitude posts Oh how I love the change of focus! My list of gratitude is oh so long, my faith and my family are the top of my list, but also is good literature. Goodness, life is so much better with good books!  I love discovering new holiday books, and this year I found several now books to add to our collection. 
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•
Another delight Thanksgiving book addition to our library this year is, “T-is for Thankful”. @babylit has done it again! Creating the cutest illustrated book centered around all the alphabetical great and small things to be thankful for this year.
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Last year I shared our review on “Bad kitty does not like Thanksgiving” and this book is hilarious! Check out our Insta-stories for the awesome video review on this and other of our favorite Thanksgiving books.
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Do you have a favorite thanksgiving book? Please share below so we can continue to learn from each other! Happy holidays friends. 🦃 🥧 Morgan and Tiffaynee
Today I’ve felt anxious. I know i’m not the on Today I’ve felt anxious. I know i’m not the only one feeling this way with the impending presidential announcement... so how do we handle feeling off, anxious or depressed? One of the best things you can do -right this moment- give a hug. Cuddle close to a loved one and hold one another. Breathe deep. And hug for another breath. And hopefully you’ll slowly feel that anxiety release. And feel free to cuddle longer. 😘
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Sending a warm hug your way friend. 
❤️Tiff.
“When my daughter passed away unexpectedly at 10 “When my daughter passed away unexpectedly at 10 months old, my heart shattered. I was beyond broken… I was shattered beyond repair.⁣
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They say it takes a “village” to raise a child…⁣
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At that moment my “village” is what kept me alive…”⁣
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@momma.hutch is 1 of every 4 women in the United States alone, who are affected by infertility or infant loss, or both. Mallory shares her brave story of dear Mackenzie’s passing and the journey she and her family are still going through. In this article Mallory  offers 10 invaluable and thoughtful ways to help a grief-stricken friend and we couldn’t agree more with her list. ⁣
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To read her article- click @mommyconvos link in our bio. If you are a mother currently going through the grieving process- our deepest condolences and a virtual hug sent your way. We encourage you to check out Mallory‘s amazing supportive Instagram group: ... ⁣
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We believe mothers can change the world and that happens one conversation at a time. Snag our free "Summer Resources" E-book below 💕🏡

Morgan & Tiffaynee
Christmas is less than a week away. And if you hav Christmas is less than a week away. And if you haven’t read any of these adorable books – I highly suggest all of them. “But it’s too late!” You might be thinking and slightly panicking.... nonsense! ⠀
•⠀
•⠀
In fact, this post is perfectly timed to prepare you for your final purchases this weekend or even, Christmas book clearance time. 🥳 When Christmas is over I’m certain many of these books will go on sale. (Insert happy deal shoppers dance here! 💃🏼 🛍) •⠀
•⠀
So, I suggest you look for these books today to add to your library for the next holiday season. 🎁🎅🏻 ⠀
•⠀
•⠀
Head to our stories to see Morgan talk about some of her favorites, click the link in our bio for the Christmas book article or to shop all of our fav books- click on the Amazon link. ⠀
•⠀
• What holiday book is your favorite to read with your kids?
Morgan here- I’m all about planning ahead, espec Morgan here- I’m all about planning ahead, especially for the biggest holiday of the year, but I forget one small detail... the stockings. 🙈😑 Please tell me i’m not the only one? 
•
•
Last night the hubby and I finished our Christmas shopping and I can finally put the wallet away. I’m certain we’re done- I hope. I should probably check my stash to be sure! 🙈
•
•
Sharing today our list of fun non-toy stocking stuffers you can snag before it’s too late! Head to our @mommyconvos bio for the details! 
•
•
So, here’s the next question: do you Christmas shop for the family by yourself? (❤️) Or do you team up with your spouse? (❤️💚) Leave the colored heart that best describes you- below!
Hi friends! We hope that you are having an amazing Hi friends! We hope that you are having an amazing week and are having a blast gearing up for the holidays ahead. With 2020 coming to an end, we can all relate to how tough this year has been. However, the initial tendency as a parent might be to overspend in an effort to compensate for whatever did or didn't happen in 2020. ⁣
⁣
LET ME GIVE YOU THIS REASSURANCE, MOMMAS- it is NOT necessary to buy more during the holidays in order to compensate for whatever you feel your children lacked this year. ❤ ⁣
⁣
Instead, we highly suggest minimizing your Christmas stress by implementing a minimalistic mindset each year, but this year in particular. This year has blessed us with the specific opportunity to tune in and be more mindful of those you love, just like our Savior does for us. So take this time to BE more present instead of spending extra cash on gifts. We promise it will be absolutely worth it. ⁣
⁣
If you are looking at enjoying a more minimalistic holiday, be sure to check out the latest from the blog for some great tips and tricks for finding balance and peace this year. Just click the link in our bio @mommyconvos ⁣
⁣
How are you prepping for the holidays that are a little different than in previous years? 🎁🎄
Recently, my social media feed is full of #givetha Recently, my social media feed is full of #givethanks gratitude posts Oh how I love the change of focus! My list of gratitude is oh so long, my faith and my family are the top of my list, but also is good literature. Goodness, life is so much better with good books!  I love discovering new holiday books, and this year I found several now books to add to our collection. 
•
•
“Thanksgiving is here”- playfully illustrates the joys and chaos of large families gathering for Thanksgiving dinner. And when company leaves- how exhausted the hosts feel. Something as a mom I totally sympathize with. 😂
•
•
Another delight Thanksgiving book addition to our library this year is, “T-is for Thankful”. @babylit has done it again! Creating the cutest illustrated book centered around all the alphabetical great and small things to be thankful for this year.
•
•
Last year I shared our review on “Bad kitty does not like Thanksgiving” and this book is hilarious! Check out our Insta-stories for the awesome video review on this and other of our favorite Thanksgiving books.
•
•
Do you have a favorite thanksgiving book? Please share below so we can continue to learn from each other! Happy holidays friends. 🦃 🥧 Morgan and Tiffaynee
Today I’ve felt anxious. I know i’m not the on Today I’ve felt anxious. I know i’m not the only one feeling this way with the impending presidential announcement... so how do we handle feeling off, anxious or depressed? One of the best things you can do -right this moment- give a hug. Cuddle close to a loved one and hold one another. Breathe deep. And hug for another breath. And hopefully you’ll slowly feel that anxiety release. And feel free to cuddle longer. 😘
•
•
Sending a warm hug your way friend. 
❤️Tiff.
“When my daughter passed away unexpectedly at 10 “When my daughter passed away unexpectedly at 10 months old, my heart shattered. I was beyond broken… I was shattered beyond repair.⁣
⁣
They say it takes a “village” to raise a child…⁣
⁣
At that moment my “village” is what kept me alive…”⁣
•⁣
•⁣
@momma.hutch is 1 of every 4 women in the United States alone, who are affected by infertility or infant loss, or both. Mallory shares her brave story of dear Mackenzie’s passing and the journey she and her family are still going through. In this article Mallory  offers 10 invaluable and thoughtful ways to help a grief-stricken friend and we couldn’t agree more with her list. ⁣
•⁣
•⁣
To read her article- click @mommyconvos link in our bio. If you are a mother currently going through the grieving process- our deepest condolences and a virtual hug sent your way. We encourage you to check out Mallory‘s amazing supportive Instagram group: ... ⁣
•⁣
•⁣
When you are sad what is the one thing that cheers you up? I’ll give you a hint what mine is in the comments. 😍
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM
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