Coffee Break Reading List - October 6, 2020

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Some of the things around the web that I've been reading or exploring during recent coffee breaks: 

• In Praise of Trade School from National Review - Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame) is a huge supporter of trade schools, and I always pay attention to what he has to say about how important the trades are, and that there are good livings to be made in these professions. Here's an article from another source that confirms that there are still great jobs in the trades, and that not every student needs to pursue a college degree in order to land a high paying job doing what they enjoy.
• Is the "cancel culture" completely out of hand? Well, I think so. And when I saw this article at the New York Post - Canceling Beethoven is the latest woke madness for the classical music world - I was stunned. This makes no sense, and it's very sad for the culture in general.
• I was touched by Cherishing a Potato Chip at PDA: The Positive Disabled Adult when a friend shared it on Facebook. The author thinks back to the childhood experience of helping her dad (who had ALS) eat potato chips and that it was a positive memory because it represented a bonding time and an act of love and service. 

• New website to check out and share! Schoolhouse Connect  - This is a new hub website for families considering homeschooling, new to homeschooling, or just looking for ways to connect with other homeschoolers in their area. The Old SchoolhouseⓇ makes all kinds of homeschool information available on this site, and makes it easy for you to explore The Old SchoolhouseⓇ Magazine, SchoolhouseTeachers.com, and to find Schoolhouse Ambassadors and support groups in your area. (If you're in Maryland, you can find me there - I'm a Schoolhouse Ambassador!)

Some fun things I've found during coffee breaks: 

• I love The Babylon Bee - their brand of satire always makes me laugh! The humorous spoofs on politics and everyday life are on point. Examples: After so many months of restrictions and virtual services, it's actually true that Even Introverts Kinda Starting to Miss Church Greeting Times. And I can relate to this one too: October On Pace To Be Three Years Long.

This is also funny and true:

Here's an amusing little blast from the past. Awhile back I needed to get the street address of the county landfill and turned to google, of course. Turned out some previous visitors had left customer reviews and they did not disappoint:

What I've been reading during longer coffee breaks:

A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber

The Red Ribbon by Pepper Basham

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter: A Victorian Romance by Mimi Matthews

   

   

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

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 ©2006-2020 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

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Homeschool Pep Rally - The 2020 Edition

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After a very busy few weeks and an extended long weekend, my blogging schedule is quite off! Most of us started school sometime in the past couple of weeks, and I hope it's going well for you, whatever your situation. Today is the first day of our homeschool tutorial co-op, so I thought it would be a good time to share something I wrote a few years ago as an encouragement for the beginning of the school year.

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I've got to admit that I wonder how much difference the cheerleaders actually make in the outcome of the game. I mean, obviously it must be valuable somehow or professional teams wouldn't continue to spend money on it, right? Nor would schools. And of course cheerleading is a competitive sport in its own right.

When it comes down to it, we all need and want somebody in our corner cheering us on, giving us a little boost of confidence when we're struggling, and celebrating with us when we succeed. Not just in sports, but in a lot of areas of our lives, including homeschooling. I may not know you personally or where you are in your homeschool adventure, but if you're a homeschool mom, I'd like to cheer you on a bit. 

You can do it!

Take heart, and keep your confidence, because you CAN do this! Oh yes, it's hard work, and it's a big commitment, but it's also immensely rewarding and even fun! At some point, we're all tempted to doubt ourselves and question our decision to homeschool or our ability to do it well. I think it's normal to ask yourself those questions and to worry at least a little about how to teach subjects you don't understand yourself, or if your kids will miss out on certain things because they're homeschooled. Just know that you can find a solution to whatever difficulty you'll face, and realize that saying "yes" to homeschooling will likely mean saying "no" to some other things. My bet is that you'll also see that the benefits continue to outweigh any difficulties or disappointments along the way. Don't doubt yourself! And don't let outsiders cause you to doubt yourself or your decision to homeschool or your authority to make that decision. Remember, you're the parent, and YOU have the right and responsibility to choose how your child will be educated.

Stick to the game plan!

When a team is behind on the scoreboard at halftime and a player or coach is interviewed, they almost always say something along this line: "We just need to stick to our game plan and play our style, and do our best." They know that even when things aren't going their way, they'd be smarter to stick to the plays and the style that they already know works for them than to panic and abandon a carefully thought out strategy. There's something to be learned for homeschoolers there as well. It's tempting to worry that you're not doing enough or doing the right thing when you start comparing your homeschool with someone else's. So try not to compare and cause yourself that anxiety. Of course you can learn from others and see ways to make adjustments, but don't throw out the study style that works for you just because your friend's kids are excelling with a completely different educational approach. 

This is where your planning pays off. You've taken the time to figure out the best curriculum, style, pacing, and routine for your family; so trust yourself and don't rush into a big change when you hit bumps along the way. Because there will be days that are just not good. Just like the public schools expect that they'll need to take a certain number of snow days, homeschoolers should recognize that there will be days when it's just better to close the books for awhile and take a break. That's okay. Take it one step at a time. Your realistic and flexible game plan will see you through distractions as long as you keep the goal in mind. 

You're the best!

You really are! Oh, I don't mean you're perfect or that you will never make a mistake, but you are the best person to take charge of your kids' education. You know them best, you care the most, and you're fully invested in helping them learn and succeed. You know their interests, their strengths and weaknesses, and the passions and challenges that make them tick. Plus, you're already a teacher - did you know that? You guided your child and helped them learn how to walk, to talk, to eat with a spoon, and so much more. And goodness, if you can potty train a child, you can certainly teach them to read!

You may not feel qualified to teach high school math or science, but there are lots of resources and options to help you in specific areas like that, and you are more than qualified to hunt up the resources that will work best for your homeschool.

You're the best because you're MOM. So make the family relationships the priority over an academic checklist or a spotless house. Remember to have fun with your kids and to make great memories. Take care of yourself and your own needs so that you've got the energy and the positive mindset that you need to look after your family.

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Dear Homeschool Mom, I hope you are encouraged for the task you've taken on! I wrote a series of daily coffee breaks for a blog hop week back in 2016, and all the other participating Crew members also shared their Homeschool 101 advice and encouragement. There is a lot of information and encouragement here on my blog, and over at the Homeschool Review Crew blog as well. I'd love to hear your comments, and if there's anything you'd like to ask me about homeschooling, I'd be happy to answer questions. Just drop a comment below or contact me through my Facebook page.

This post originally appeared as Homeschool 101 - Homeschool Pep Rally and was part of my 5 Days of Homeschool 101 series.

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Twenty-Six Lists - Educational Apps and Website to Check Out - #twentysixlists

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Welcome to Twenty Six Lists! I hope you'll join me in using some fun List prompts for writing. Every other week I'll share a writing prompt and invite you to link up your list, and wherever the prompt takes you. You may want to simply make a list of five or ten items that answer the prompt, or you may elaborate on the items in your list, or even write an entire article. Be creative, and have fun!

"There's an app for that!" And that's probably true! We turn to the internet and apps for our devices for just about everything nowadays - or at least we could if we wanted to. The convenience and portability of having an app for many tasks is very appealing, but personally I try to avoid being completely reliant on my phone for everything. 

I was thinking that with so many new homeschoolers - and so many doing virtual learning - it sure would be nice to list some great educational apps and websites, but since I don't have school age kids using those right now, I feel like my list would probably be out of date. I'm going to focus on some of the websites that have impressed me, and I hope you'll add some of your favorites in the comments or link-up.

List #17 - Best Apps or Websites

• This isn't an educational website per se, but it's such a valuable resource for homeschoolers that I have to start with it. The Homeschool Review Crew blog is the hub for finding lots of real reviews on all kinds of curriculum and resources - including online resources and educational apps - for homeschooling. I was one of the reviewers for many seasons and constantly refer homeschoolers to the blog to consult the reviews of products. Why? Because the Crew bloggers actually use the products in their homeschools before they write reviews; and they are a diverse group with different styles and approaches to homeschooling that you can find honest real-world reviews and information. 
• Not particularly skilled in a particular subject area? Curriculum websites are so helpful to fill in those gaps! I had a student that enjoyed art, but I sure wasn't qualified to teach it. Online art instruction to the rescue. Favorites of ours were: Creating A Masterpiece and ArtAchieve. Studio music lessons are ideal, but getting to and from class can be a challenge. And the cost can really add up! There are some creative music lessons available online, like Guitar 360 Method. Latin - many homeschoolers want their kids to learn Latin, but we didn't study it ourselves. Latin is also really valuable for vocabulary building for high schoolers. There are many curriculum options, but we had a lot of fun with Picta Dicta from Roman Roads. It's an app that makes learning Latin vocabulary like a game and we enjoyed it.
• I cannot begin to name all the websites offering online instruction, video classes of all kinds, full curriculum, and more. But as this is a list of my favorites, I'm going to drop names of a couple of math resources that I think are worth checking out. CTCMath is a website with video tutorials that can be used as a full curriculum or a supplement. UnLock Math is another comprehensive math curriculum website. VideoText was a lifesaver for high school algebra!
• We love the DriveThru History video series with Dave Stotts, so it was no surprise that we also loved and highly recommend the DriveThru History Adventures website too, with the videos and lots of additional content!
• When it comes to homeschool record-keeping, I cannot recommend Homeschool Tracker enough! I considered it absolutely essential from the time my oldest got to high school, and all the way through until I graduated my youngest. The best cloud-based record-keeping site, in my opinion.
• I am so glad for Google Classrooms, which has made it so much easier for me to keep in touch with my co-op students (especially during the lockdown!), track their grades and give them feedback on assignments, and give them updates when they miss a class or need help during the week.  
• Most bang-for-your-buck education website has got to be SchoolhouseTeachers.com. We used it as a supplement for various subjects every year, and a couple of years used course material as a main curriculum. And that was before it grew to the over 400 courses it offers now! It's such a great deal because it's one price for access to everything, all grades, all subjects, for your entire family. They also have a huge video library and lots of parent resources, including record-keeping.

Read our reviews of the websites I mentioned: Creating A Masterpiece and Creating A Masterpiece ~ Drawing Lessons; Draw the World with ArtAchieve; Guitar 360 Method; CTCMath; UnLock Pre-Algebra; VideoText Interactive: Algebra; Drive Thru History Adventures; Building Latin Vocabulary with Picta Dicta; and Homeschool Tracker Online.

What's on your list? Link up or tell me in the comments!

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Bonus List - Upcoming in Twenty Six Lists so you can think ahead!

September 3 - The Jobs You've Had

September 17 - Simple Pleasures

October 1 - Fall Activities

October 15 - States and Provinces You've Visited

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Coffee Break Reading List (March 2, 2020)

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Some of the things around the web that I've been reading or exploring during recent coffee breaks: 

• Patty at A Mother's Random Thoughts shares How to Have More Joy in Your Homeschool and even if you don't homeschool, you want a joyful home, right? Of course we all do! I think her suggestions are really practical and relatable.
• I loved this story about bikers taking positive actions to support and help kids who have been abused. Burly bikers come together in court to help kids feel safe as they face abusers that hurt them. Read the story, these guys and gals do a lot more than just show up to support kids in court. They pledge to care for and protect kids - especially kids that are in abusive situations - anytime and anywhere. Pretty amazing and touching. Kudos to them.
• Speaking of supporting kids, I also loved this at Broke Dance Mom: Here's to the Moms Who Clap for Other People's Kids. She tells about traveling to competitions with her daughter's relatively small dance team, and how much it meant to her when other moms clapped and cheered for kids they didn't know, or offered help, smiles, and encouragement backstage. Apply the lesson to music recitals, to sports competitions of all kinds, and many other places. Yeah, we want OUR kid or their team to win, but can't we honor the excellence and hard work of other kids? Can't we cheer like crazy when the kid on the other team makes an incredible save or catch, or clap enthusiastically when another performer or choir gives an outstanding performance? I say yes, and I hope I was that mom and will still be that audience member. Be that mom.

• This was a good, research-based article on The Daily Signal explaining how Marriage Is the Ticket out of Poverty. The first example from the article is this: young Americans who graduate high school, start working, get married, have kids - in that order - are far less likely to fall into poverty, and far more likely to work their way into middle- or upper-class income tiers by their late 20s or 30s. A whopping 97% of those who do it that way wind up in those income classes, in fact. That's significant. There's more in the article!

Some fun things I've found during coffee breaks: 

• I've seen a couple versions of these and they crack me up. This is from the Casper Star-Tribune - Disappointed Tourists' One-star Reviews of Yellowstone National Park.

Some things Homechool Review Crew members are sharing: 

• So I haven't taken much notice of it, but there is a movie version of The Call of the Wild out now, and I kind of want to see it just because one of my favorite actors, Harrison Ford, stars in it. Realistically, I know we'll wait until it's on Netflix or something. But one of the reasons I even have the movie on my radar is because Yvie at Homeschool on the Range shared her The Call of the Wild Novel Study post in Homeschool Highlights, and I thought it was great.

• Speaking of Homeschool Highlights, I've been hosting that weekly wrap-up link party for awhile, but it was time to turn it over to someone else. The new hostess is Megan at My Full Heart. Drop by to meet her at Homeschool Highlights 2/24/20 - 2/28/20 and take a look at all the wonderful things they do in their homeschool!
• This past Friday, the Homeschool Review Crew blog posted the February Homeschool Round-up where you'll find lots of interesting articles from the Crew bloggers. The recent Crew Guest post on Mastering Study Skills is also a very valuable one! (And it's from Yvie at Homeschool on the Range, incidentally.)
• If the school year feels like it's miles away, remember that you can make it there! One resource that can really help you finish the last quarter strong is SchoolhouseTeachers.com. Use the code FINISHWELL to get Quarterly Membership rate of $24.97! Rates recently increased, so take advantage of this sale to save 50% on the Quarterly Membership rate of $49.97.

What I've been reading during longer coffee breaks:

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

The Next Always by Nora Roberts

Sojourner Truth: All Men (and Women) are Created Equal

From Sky to Sky by Amanda G. Stevens

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2020 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Coffee Break Reading List (President's Day 2020)

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog - thank you! 

Some of the things around the web that I've been reading or exploring during recent coffee breaks:  

• Today is designated as President's Day in the United States, and it's a regional holiday throughout most of Canada as well. So I'm going to kick off today's reading list by letting you know about my own previous post about President's Day and the various Canadian Family Day or heritage day observances. Check out Today North America Celebrates . . . 

• On Saturday, the Google doodle honored Susan B. Anthony on the 200th anniversary of her birth. She was an amazing lady, and if you don't know much about her, here's a couple of websites to help you get acquainted: Susan B. Anthony Biography on biography.com; and the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House in Rochester, NY. I think it would be really interesting to visit there, so if I'm ever in the area and have time, I'd like to stop by. Anthony was a leader for women's rights but was also a strong voice for the abolitionist movement and temperance.

• Here are a couple of interesting articles with a family theme that caught my attention recently. On Insider, find out how A family of 4 built a private tiny-house village where the kids have their own homes. Take a look inside. I thought it was so fun and a different take on the tiny house trend. And when I'm a senior citizen, how awesome would it be to have a home like this one featured on The Hearty Soul: Jikka, the fairy tale dwarf home for Japan's seniors.
• Speaking of fairy tales, Danielle, one of the Homeschool Review Crew bloggers shared this article: Top Way to Use Fairy Tales in Your Homeschool, and since her blog name is Confessions of a Fairy Tale Mom, I was intrigued and visited her blog as well. Start with Why I Love Fairy Tales. I love them as well, and enjoyed seeing the lessons she brings to her children from them. 

Some fun things I've found during coffee breaks: (humorous or lighthearted, perhaps video or memes, a lighter photo of mine)

• Okay, I am not a dog owner, but this is a great idea and the article on Good News Network made me smile: A 'Stick Library' for Dogs.
• If you're on Facebook, you've probably noticed they are really hyping the groups lately. I somehow stumbled across a group recently that shares photos of "things with faces". In other words, inanimate objects in which we see something that looks like a face. Yeah, I'm one of those people that are constantly seeing faces on things. Vehicles and houses have faces - didn't you know? Well, as fun as it is to be in the group, it also led me to find out a bit more about why we tend to see faces (and whether it's normal or not!). Check out the BBC Future article Neuroscience: Why do we see faces in everyday objects? and Artsy: Why Do We See Human Faces Everywhere We Look? Both articles mention evolutionary theories, which I don't agree with, but they're still very interesting - and reassuring, because it's not unusual or a sign of mental illness! Here are a couple of my photos of things with faces. Do you see them?

• And finally, it has come to my attention that perhaps I need to read my email a little more. Found this number of unread emails in my Inbox a little concerning. That's just my Inbox. Never mind the folders, some of which have two or three times that amount unread. Yikes.

On the Homeschool Review Crew blog you can check out the Monthly Homeschool Round-up from January 2020 for a wide range of articles about all aspects of homeschooling.

What I've been reading during longer coffee breaks: 

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals

Until the Mountains Fall by Connilyn Cossette

Emma by Jane Austen

The Curse of the Healing Kiss by Mark McClelland

The Next Always by Nora Roberts

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2020 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.