Another unplanned learning adventure - PUPPIES!

When a sweet, but very timid young dog showed up at my folks' place a couple of weeks before Christmas, we didn't know what an amazing adventure would soon follow. This beautiful Australian cattle dog, or blue heeler, showed up in the field, hungry and cold but scared to approach the house. Eventually she was convinced that the people living there were kind.

Dogs are routinely taken out and dumped near rural farmhouses and on lonely country roads around here. It wasn't the first time a stray had stopped a while in the fields, but for whatever reason, it was the first time my parents decided, "This one's special."

But just days after they made their minds up that she could stay, it became very apparent that Blue was pregnant. Within another week and a half, the puppies arrived. 

Creating a cozy reading space for your child

I can't really say enough about the importance of reading. There are so many benefits that kids can reap, either by reading on their own or by being read to by a parent or loved one. Not only does reading help build cognitive and communication skills, it can also increase self-esteem and creativity, according to the Family Literacy Foundation. 

But how can you encourage your own kids to read more, especially if reading just isn't their favorite activity? One great way is to create a cozy reading space especially for your child. Here's how to do it right.

Writing for a magazine

I'm enjoying writing for Learning Tangent magazine. I've had articles featured in the last two issues, along with an advice column for homeschoolers. I get a lot of joy out of helping others learn to homeschool happily and successfully, even as I continue learning and growing with my own kids.

Here's a link to my latest article, in the Winter 2014 edition of Learning Tangent, entitled, "Reaching out to New Homeschoolers in Love." It's all about finding ways to break down arbitrary barriers that so often prevent new homeschoolers from finding the support they need in their local communities. I tried to provide a number of ideas that groups can implement, no matter how inclusive or exclusive they want to be, in order to help new homeschoolers in their area.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the magazine. It's free to read online, and there is a photography contest for homeschoolers detailed inside. I'd also love to hear from you if you have a homeschooling question you'd like to see answered in the Unplanned Homeschooler's column in the next issue!

To break or not to break? Deciding on a holiday schedule for your homeschool

Winter break is just around the corner for millions of public school kids. A couple of weeks off to celebrate Christmas and the new year are a welcome break around the midpoint of the school year. But for homeschoolers, the question of whether to take an extended break over the holidays really depends on individual families.

My family typically does not take an extended winter break from school, although we do take off on Thanksgiving and Christmas for sure. Winter is a great time for us to ramp up our focus on school work, since we spend most of our time indoors.

Taking weeks off at the turn of the year, just because that's what the public schools are doing, doesn't make sense for us. We don't like to lose our momentum just when things are getting good.

We also like to save our breaks for times when the weather is better and our friends are up for getting together outdoors. Living in Oklahoma, spring and fall are definitely our favorite times to take extended breaks because it's not too hot and not too cold.

But there are some great reasons to go ahead and schedule a long winter break around Christmas. Here are a few to consider.

Embrace change, become a butterfly

Sometimes we seek change and welcome it readily, and sometimes it is thrust upon us. For many of us, the decision to homeschool involved change, and often a response to changes over which we had no control.

Butterflies are such a beautiful portrait of change fully embraced. They, like so many other insects, live their early lives in a state much different from what they will eventually become. As caterpillars, butterflies inch along, focused mainly on eating whatever plant material they can reach, and eventually, as the approach maturity, on building their cocoon. 

It's a simple life, but one to which they are accustomed. That is, until everything changes.

Emerging in their adult form, butterflies have a whole new diet. They move in a whole new way. Their entire world is expanded, as suddenly the impetus to mate and to migrate, perhaps over thousands of miles, becomes a priority. The challenges they faced as a caterpillar are different than those they face as a butterfly, but so are the rewards.

I don't think caterpillars spend a lot of time or energy focused on their lives before the change. I think, instead, they fully embrace their new existence and move ahead, because they aren't likely to ever go back to the way life was before their change.

Homeschooling successfully takes almost as determined a mindset. If a bully was making your kids' lives miserable before, leave them behind and embrace new friends. If the curriculum was holding your child  down, put it behind you and set your child soaring with a curriculum that fits. If mama drama had you tied up in knots, celebrate your freedom and fly!

In other words, acknowledge the change that brought you to where you are today, but don't dwell on the past. Embrace your metamorphosis, and be the beautiful butterfly you were always meant to be. 

The best places to find bargains on old books

Several kids from our homeschool group volunteered with the Friends of the Library book sale at our local library today. They hauled boxes of books and helped set up the room for the big sale, which begins tomorrow. Of course, I couldn't resist taking a peek at the great books that the library had put aside to sell, and of course, I found a box full of selections I just had to take home with me.

I love books, especially old books. I'm so thankful for used books, and for the many ways they find new homes. I've found awesome old books in so many places. Here are a few favorites.

Halloween parties are my favorite homeschool events

Yesterday, our homeschool group had our fifth annual Halloween party, and like each year before, it was our biggest and most popular party by far. We love having parties for the kids. We do Christmas parties, Valentine's Day parties, Easter parties, etc. But it's Halloween that always draws the biggest and most enthusiastic crowds.

Roughly two-thirds of the guests at our Halloween party this year.

Here are a few reasons why Halloween parties are my personal favorite homeschool event of the year, and why your group might want to consider hosting one next year, too.

The weather is usually awesome

Late October, at least in Oklahoma, is almost always mild enough to sit outdoors in nothing heavier than a sweater and sometimes in just t-shirts and jeans. But it's cool enough that we aren't plagued by mosquitoes and flies, and the kids keep their costumes on for at least enough time to get a group picture before deciding they are too hot and stripping down to their play clothes.

Kids get to show their creative sides

I love seeing all the cool costumes on the kids in our group, and especially being able to talk to the kids and hear why they picked the outfits they decided to wear. This year we had historic characters, animals, modern real-life heroes, characters from movies, monsters, and more.

One thing I really like is that kids don't have to censor their costumes like they might in schools. The young police officer carried his side arm, the Civil War soldier carried his rifle, Merida was armed with her bow, the pirate queens held daggers, and Fin from "Sharknado" had his bloody chainsaw, just in case. There were many battles waged on the playground this year, but no one was injured in the melee.  

The food is fun

Halloween themed cookies, cupcakes and other treats make for a very festive array of snacks, and because everyone is not exhausted from holiday cooking that is still a few weeks away, they're excited to bring creative goodies to share.

There are treats aplenty

We always ask kids to bring candy or other treats to share with their friends, and a bag or bucket to collect their own. With 55 children at our party yesterday, there were so many treats some kids' bags wouldn't even hold them all!

Everyone has a great time

Our Halloween parties always seem to go on for hours and hours, and this year was no different. It's just so good to sit and visit with the other parents while the kids play imaginatively, go on expeditions together, and sneak pieces of candy from their buckets. Because the Halloween party is always our biggest event, we get to meet new members each year, too.  

Nearly 90 people attended our party this year. We ended the day exhausted, but happy, and really looking forward to the good times to come.