What to take with you to the PSAT

Is your child taking the PSAT this year? You'd better double check the list of required items, so they will be prepared. Here's what to take with you on testing day.

The proper photo ID

Last year, as my twins were getting ready to take their practice run at the PSAT, I suddenly realized they did not have the proper ID as required by the College Board. Since they were taking the test early, ahead of their junior year, neither of them had a driver's license or learner's permit yet, and we'd never had an occasion to get them a passport.

The College Board requires a government-issued photo ID in order to take the test. The homeschool identification cards many families use will not work, nor will their Social Security cards or even their birth certificates. There is a form on the site you can use in lieu of the required ID, but it must be notarized, so plan ahead.

Number 2 pencils

Bring two sharpened number 2 pencils with good erasers. Don't bring pens, colored pencils, or any other types of writing devices.

The right calculator

The College Board has a list of approved calculators. On the list are several graphing calculators and scientific calculators. If your student does not already have a graphing calculator, and will not need one in the near future, you may opt for a scientific calculator instead. These are a small fraction of the price of the approved graphing calculators, and will be adequate for most problems on the test.

If you are getting your child a new calculator, particularly a graphing calculator, for the test, make sure they know how to use it. Don't wait until a couple of days before the test to have them try it out. Graphing calculators are complicated, and it takes time to learn all the functions.

Social Security number

If your child has not memorized their own Social Security number, make sure it is written down for them. I suggest writing it in Sharpie on the back of their calculator. You can remove the ink with rubbing alcohol after the test is over, and your child won't have to keep up with a piece of paper with their sensitive information on it.

Comfortable clothing

Your child should wear comfy clothes on the day of the test, because they will be sitting in the testing room for up to four hours with minimal breaks. Because you have no way to know how warm or cold the room will be, layers are a good idea, with a sweater that they can take off or slip back on as needed.

EpiPen 

According to the College Board site, students do not need special permission to bring their EpiPen into the testing area, but it may be a good idea to inform the test coordinator or proctor if you have one, in case they need to administer it to you in an emergency.

Nothing else unless approved

Anything else you might bring into the testing area, including other medications, food or drink, or anything not on this list would have to be approved with special accommodations by the College Board. You need to contact them as early as possible to request accomodations if needed.

Don't forget, the PSAT is administered in October each year. If your student will be a junior this fall, this is the year that it counts. If they miss the exam date, they will not be able to make it up later. Younger students can take a practice run at the PSAT ahead of their junior year, but all students who wish to take the test should register early at a nearby school.

How to sign up for the PSAT

If you are a homeschooler, signing up for the PSAT is more complicated than if you were enrolled in public school. According to the College Board website, homeschooled students need to reach out to a local school to register to take the PSAT in the fall, and the recommend doing so four months in advance.

The PSAT is administered at many public and private schools, and you can do a search on the College Board site to find locations near you. Not every site listed will have space available to take homeschooled students, especially as the testing date in early October draws near, so make contact as early as you can. Do not wait until the end of September and expect to secure a spot, as test coordinators have to order their materials in advance.

The PSAT is an important test for college bound students to take, and unlike other exams such as the SAT and ACT, it is only given in October each year. The PSAT is used to determine eligibility for the National Merit Scholarship, and a good score can also open the door to hundreds of other scholarships associated with the test.

The only time the PSAT actually counts is when taken during a student's junior year, and if they miss that date, they won't be able to make it up later. Students can take a practice run at the PSAT ahead of their junior year, though, and since they have nothing to lose by doing so, I would definitely recommend it.

Coming up next on the blog... what to take with you to the PSAT. There's one item lots of parents forget, and you can't take the test without it! Do you know what's on the list?

My Disorganized Path to Homeschooling Success - on sale now!

Just in time for back to school, my first book, The Unplanned Homeschooler: My Disorganized Path to Homeschooling Success, is available for 75 percent off the list price if you make your purchase at the link below using the coupon code, SUCCESS.

This book is perfect for new homeschoolers or anyone who needs encouragement as they move forward in their homeschooling journey, especially those of you who are feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all.

I understand that homeschooling can be stressful, especially as you navigate the ever expanding sea of curriculum and try to outline a workable plan. It helps to know that you are not alone, and that you can find your way, establishing a rhythm as you go.

Every child is unique, and so is every homeschooling parent. You don't have to do school just like everyone else in order to be a homeschooling success!

Pick up the downloadable version of my book for the lowest price ever - just $1.00 for a very limited time if you use the coupon code, SUCCESS, and purchase through the Learning Tangent Homeschool Marketplace. This deal will only last through August 31, and then the amazing discount will be gone for good.

And don't forget to check out The Unplanner - quite possibly the most affordable professionally-bound homeschool organizer on the market. It has all the pages you need, and none of the ones you don't!

If I can do it, you can, too... or maybe not

"If I can do it, you can, too." It's a message we hear repeated over and over. It's an attractive and affirming sentiment that I'd never thought about much until one of my kids casually said, "Nuh uh," at the end of a television commercial.

It got my attention, such that I actually hit pause on the TV remote and asked what he meant.

"I can't balance on a soccer ball," he replied, noting the stunt the actor on the commercial had performed. "I don't know how they can do those things, but I can't. And don't even say I could if I practiced really hard. I know what you're thinking."

He was right. I have always had a strong tendency to believe that you can do anything you put your mind to, and that with enough hard work and practice comes success. And even though I know that there are exceptions, I've always really come down firmly on the side of, "If I can do it, you can, too."

It seems like such a positive affirmation, but is there a problem with the idea of, "If I can do it, you can, too," especially when it comes to homeschooling? What if you or your child genuinely can't?

Here's the thing. I was the type of student to whom most subjects always came pretty easily. With the exception of foreign languages, which were difficult because of a hearing impairment, learning things in school was as simple as paying attention and reading the required material. It just sunk in. And learning things as an adult has been just about the same.

But the problem is that if learning comes too easily, you might assume that it should be easy for others, too. If you can do it, they should be able to, too, right? Well, maybe or maybe not.

Homeschool hints for huge savings on school supplies

Some people think homeschooling has to be expensive, but one of the best parts about homeschooling is that you can save tons of money on back to school. I didn't even have a clue how much I could really save until I'd been homeschooling for a few years. Now I know!

Having grown up going to public school, I was really trapped in the mindset that I needed to buy all the supplies on the back to school list to have a successful year. It's just not true. Homeschoolers aren't likely to need new scissors, rulers, school boxes and backpacks each year. Markers and colored pencils can last longer than a year if they are cared for well.

Experienced homeschoolers know it is easy to whittle down that list, saving big time on the supplies we need - and only the supplies we need - while skipping the superfluous purchases that might otherwise drain our wallets. Here are a bunch of my favorite money-saving tips, along with a few splurges you might want to consider.

Replacing your homeschool materials after a disaster

Disasters can happen to anyone, and when they do, the best you can hope for is that you are somewhat prepared to handle the damage. One of toughest things we, as homeschoolers, go through when facing a disaster is the complete or partial loss of our children's educational supplies. You may have hundreds or even thousands of dollars invested in your homeschool materials! How can you teach if you lose your curriculum and all the extras that go with it?

A couple of years ago, a homeschooling friend of mine in Louisiana lost practically everything in the floods that inundated her town. Her daughter, an avid reader, truly mourned the loss of her books. It was heartbreaking to see the devastation. A while later I lost a whole shelf of homeschool books in a much smaller disaster involving a leaking pipe in the wall behind one of my bookshelves.

The thing we had in common was insurance. Thankfully our homeowner's insurance helped me to replace my kids' books quickly and easily. All I had to do was show the adjustor the damaged items, along with proof of their value, and he added those to our settlement.

Read how my kids reacted in our first night time fire drill!

Most homeowners today are required to have insurance, and although not all policies pay for all types of disasters, this is the absolute first and best thing you can do to protect your homeschool supplies.

If you are a renter, the decision whether to get insurance is usually left up to you, and unfortunately, many renters choose to forego this small expense and take the risk. I suggest you consider how much you have invested, not only in your books and other homeschool supplies, but everything else in your home. The cost of renter's insurance is so small compared to the cost of replacing everything in the case of a disaster. Don't let your failure to plan ahead become your family's great regret.

Help from government agencies

If you are the victim of a large disaster, such as a flood, hurricane, tornado, major earthquake, wildfire or similar situation, you may be entitled to help from government agencies. In addition to assistance from agencies like FEMA, the federal government offers tax assistance to those who qualify through the Benefits.gov website.

Help from the community

Members of your own local community may be eager to help you get back on your feet if you are the victim of a singular disaster such as a house fire, sink hole, or major theft. Don't hesitate to reach out to charitable organizations in your town or your state. Be flexible if you can, but be specific about the materials that were lost if you find folks who are willing to help you replace them with identical items.

Help from fellow homeschoolers

No one knows your needs quite like other homeschoolers, and many homeschoolers give generously in times of disaster. Check with the HSLDA charitable branch, The Homeschool Foundation to see if they might be able to help. Also, contact your state homeschool organization to see if they have a charitable outreach, or know churches or other organizations that offer help in your area. And definitely put the word out in your local homeschool group or co-op, in case other members might have usable materials they would like to pass your way.

Help from publishers

You may be able to get help from publishers of certain homeschool curricula if you reach out and let them know your situation, but please understand if they are unable to help. Let me explain this the best I can, because I have seen many recent comments online accusing publishers and distributors of greed or heartlessness because they were unable to replace lost materials after a disaster.

I am a publisher of homeschool books and materials, such as The Unplanner and The Periodic Table Matching Game. I price my products very low, to pass savings to you. But if you bought a copy of The Unplanner from me, and it burned up in a fire or molded in a flood, I couldn't replace it or even give you a significant discount without paying for that out of my own pocket. That's because the profit I get from each paperback book is just a tiny percentage. So as much as I would love to help, I could not afford to do that, especially if I got multiple requests per year.

Book publishers, and even popular distributors like Christian Book Distributors, would face significant financial strain if they replaced physical copies of books and resources for every homeschooler who wrote to them with such a request.

Now, if you could show me that you had purchased an e-book or downloadable, I would be much more able to replace that resource than something in print. That would cost me time, but not much in the way of money, and that's something I can more easily afford as a small publisher.

So if you make a request for assistance, be grateful for anything the publisher or distributor can give, and please be understanding if they cannot. Remember, if just 100 people per year made requests with an average cost $500 from a large company like Christian Book Distributors, that would add up to $50,000. That's enough to pay at least one worker for a whole year! If 1000 people made similar requests, that would add up to half a million dollars. That's a huge chunk of a company's bottom line. Don't run down a publisher or distributor, threaten to boycott or spam them, or question their Christianity because they aren't running their business as a non-profit charity.

On the renaming of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award

This week brought the greatest controversy I have witnessed in the homeschool community since I started homeschooling nearly a decade ago. I am talking about the renaming of the Laura Ingalls Wilder award by the Association for Library Service to Children. The award is now named the Children's Literature Legacy Award, a title that the association feels better represents "its core values of inclusiveness, integrity and respect."

There was a lot of hysteria following the ALSC's announcement, including outrage that libraries would be pulling Wilder's books off the shelves, or that the edtions would be edited, or even that all books with a historical point of view that did not fit with today's values would be destroyed. While we should indeed resist a Fahrenheit 451-style world, I don't think that the renaming of this award merited so much panic.

 To be clear, I DO NOT believe in editing the work of historic authors to fit modern sensibilities - which is not what happened here. I believe that an author's work should stand as written unless they edit it themselves, on their own, before they die. We cannot and should not change the authentic voices of those who came before us, even if we disagree with what they had to say.

But I DO believe that when you know better, you should do better. And today, we know it is NOT okay to characterize Native Americans as non-people, for example. So maybe continuing to glorify an author who did so, by handing out annual awards named in her honor, is not the best example we can set for future generations. I agree with the decision to rename the award.

Our public libraries are, and should be, among the most inclusive and accessible entities in our society, and this award given to authors who have made "a significant and lasting contribution to children's literature" should reflect the values of inclusivity and respect.

 The decision to change the name of the award was respectful and inclusive to many, many readers, like my own kids who are Native American children and were uncomfortable and confused by Wilder's characterizations of minorities. It leaves her work and the honor she received by being the first recipient of the award intact, but changes the award to be better for the future. It was a positive step for all.

How is THAT element used?

We all know oxygen is essential for respiration for most of the animal kingdom, and carbon is the essential building block of all living things. We know mercury is commonly used in thermometers, and calcium is responsible for strong bones. But did you know that your car might not start if not for antimony? Or that Rubidium is essential in the functioning of the GPS system so many of us rely on today?

The more you know about the elements of the periodic table, and how they relate to YOU, the better they will stick in your long term memory. A while back, I shared a favorite book, The Periodic Table: Elements with Style, that personifies the elements in ways that can help students get to know them better.

This week, I want to share another resource, the Periodic Table Matching Game by The Unplanned Homeschooler, currently on sale through the Learning Tangent marketplace for just $2.99.

This fun game is reminiscent of the classic Memory games we all played as kids, but uses real world enformation and colorful illustrations by Keith Enevoldson, an engineer who had me swooning at the concise and colorful way he made the periodic table so relatable.

Using the Periodic Table Matching Game, your students can learn each element's name, symbol, atomic number and even how each element is used in the real world. The game is available in a convenient download. Just print the pages on cardstock and cut out the cards, then play with as many or as few cards as you like.

Study by groups or periods, study just the nonmetals, the transition metals, the noble gases, etc. There are so many ways to study the periodic table using this exciting game. Make chemistry more fun and memorable by adding the Periodic Table Matching Game to your collection of resources.

The Unplanner, 2018-2019 is available now!

Are you still searching for the perfect homeschool organizer for your family? Well, great news! This year's edition of The Unplanner is now available on Amazon for just $7.99.

If you are looking for a professionally bound homeschool organizer that is affordable, easy-to-use, and has attendance sheets for up to six students, you'll want to check out The Unplanner. There are lots of homeschool planners on the market, but The Unplanner is different, because it has just the pages you need, and none of the ones you don't, so you won't feel pressured by an overwhelming amount of blanks. And best of all, you won't have to print and bind your own pages to get the organizer you want!

 Here's a sample pic of pages from The Unplanner. Printed in a 6 by 9 inch format, with a beautiful, glossy cover, this organizer is easy to carry with you wherever you go, or tuck in a cubby or on a shelf with your other homeschooling materials.

 Make sure to check out my store to see my other books. Thank you!

Making your wellness a priority

In my last post, I mentioned that I had been doing all sorts of things that made me happy this spring. Most of them involved dirty and exhausting work, like rebuilding a deck, cleaning up flower beds, planting flowers and power washing just about everything my hose could reach.

I literally ruined clothes over the past few weeks with layers of sweat, grime, grease, deck stain and even blood, but the work was so fulfilling, because I was doing things I couldn't physically do a year ago, before I made my own wellness a priority.

What I didn't tell you in my last post was that for the last several years I have been dealing with excruciating pain on an almost daily basis. Last spring, it got so bad that I couldn't even pick up a textbook with one hand, or drive an hour from home without pillows propped under my elbows. I was suffering from psoriatic arthritis and even teaching was a challenge because of all the pain in my joints.

Like so many homeschooling moms, I wasn't doing a very good job of taking care of my own needs. My focus was on my family, but my pain was making it impossible to do my daily chores, teach lessons or even have fun with my kids. I couldn't put it off any longer. I had to find a doctor who was able to help me. 

Now, thanks to some pretty effective medication and months of physical training, I am stronger than I have been since my youngest was born, and that was ten years ago. Even better, with proper treatment, I am probably preventing additional damage to my joints and helping to preserve my future health the best way I can. 

Don't wait like I did

I am embarrassed that I let things get so bad before I got help for my arthritis pain. I knew, though, that this message was one of the first things I wanted to share once I got back online. We absolutely have to take care of ourselves and make our own wellness a priority.

Homeschooling takes so much dedication, it is easy to lose yourself as you tend to the tasks of planning and executing your children's education all while managing everything else that typical parents do. But the ten, fifteen, twenty or more years that a homeschooling mom might devote is too long to spend ignoring our health and well-being.

I have to say, I am so much happier and healthier than I was last year. I wish I had not waited so long to see a new doctor, or to try medication that I had honestly been afraid to take. It's been a game changer, with, thnkfully, little to nothing in the way of side effects. 

If you are feeling tired, worn down or in physical or emotional pain, please consider taking some time to address your health. The time you spend focusing on your own well-being is so well spent. You may think you are too busy, with your school schedule and taking care of your kids and your home, but a healthier you can accomplish so much more. Invest your time in feeling better, and make yourself a priority today!

I've been doing the things that make me happy!

I took some time off this year, from the things that probably should have been on the front burners, to catch up with things I needed, or simply wanted to do. I let my blog go dormant for a few months, and I took several weeks off from school. I even quit cooking altogether for a while. 

And what did I do instead? 

I planted flowers. Lots of flowers, in baskets and pots and in flower beds that had been neglected so long I had to practically dig them up and start from scratch. 

I borrowed my mom's power washer and I washed all the things! If you haven't tried power washing, you should. It's addictive. I think, especially so for we mom types, whose work never stays done for long. It's so unlike laundry mountain, which just piles right back up the minute you get it knocked down. You can actually see the results of your efforts, and they are dramatic and beautiful, and last long enough for you to appreciate for a while.

I helped my dad and my son rebuild my deck, adding new railing and staining the freshly power washed boards that turned out to be a lovely light color, and not dark gray after all. 

The kids and I dug a hole, and not just any hole, but a huge rectangular crater in a rock-infested slope, 18 feet wide and deep enough to create a nice level space for the above ground pool we intend to enjoy all summer long.

And I took a lot of time to go to the gym with my friend, to eat better foods and get in better shape than I have been in the past several years.

Don't be afraid to let things slide

I probably lost readers during my hiatus, and I know I missed out on opportunities to speak. I was so late in putting together this year's Unplanner, I don't know if I will end up selling a single copy by the time it hits Amazon later this week. And do you know what? I don't even care.

I don't care that we "fell behind" and will be doing school through most of the summer, either, because I had so much fun through the spring. Besides, we're all pretty relaxed now that we're back to a somewhat normal class schedule, and after school, we can go jump in the pool!

Everything I did these last six months makes me happy. I'm loving my clean driveway and my fresh and welcoming deck. The flowers I worked so hard on lift my spirits every time I see a new bloom. And floating in my little backyard oasis, looking up into the trees takes me away from it all. I didn't know my life needed these things, but I'm sure glad I took some time off to make them happen.

Do something for you

There are 52 weeks in a year; not all of them have to be dedicated to school and housework. Homeschooling is a marathon, not a sprint to the finish. I think we need to take time for ourselves along the way, even weeks at a time if that's what we need. 

Please remember, the years you spend homeschooling amount to a huge chunk of your life, and you deserve to spend at least part of that time doing things that don't involve detergent or textbooks. 

You don't have to go dig in the dirt like I did, but do something that will make you happy, and that will have lasting results that you can savor over the weeks and months to come. You'll be glad you did.

The most important things your middle schooler needs to know

This month, my post, 6 Important Things Your Middle Schooler Needs to Know was featured on Year Round Homeschooling by Misty Leask. I was excited to help her kick off a month of insightful posts aimed at families who are homeschooling middle school kids.

There are so many lessons for middle schoolers to learn, and during this month-long series parents will receive a wealth of knowledge from many homeschool bloggers. You may find advice to help with teaching math, or science, or foreign languages. You may learn more about strengthening your child's faith.

But as I thought about what I would choose to share, I kept coming back to the realization that middle schoolers are at perhaps the most vulnerable age, in the middle of some of their toughest growing-up years, and what they need, more than anything, is connection; to know without a doubt that they are loved.

Hop over to Year Round Homeschooling to read my post, and read more about how you can shore up your middle school kids and give them the strong emotional foundation they will need as they move oh so rapidly toward adulthood.

The responsibilities of the homeschooled student

Over the years, I have had more heart-to-heart conversations with my kids than I can count, and many of those have been about our roles as homeschoolers. So many of us tend to focus on our own responsibilities, as educators, and largely forget to teach our kids about their own responsibilities, as students.

Don't fall into that trap!

When our kids grow up, they will face expectations both in their family life and in the workplace. We have to train them to accept their responsibilities as students with diligence and grace, to treat others - including us - with respect, and to focus on their goals.

In essence, a homeschooled student's responsibilities come down to five points, illustrated in this infographic. If they can successfully manage these five skills, they'll be better equipped to learn any subject and take on any adventures that life sends their way.

Love this infographic? Please feel free to share or embed it straight from Visual.ly!

Taking a practice run at the PSAT

Did you know students can take the PSAT for practice, without it counting against them, as long as they take it before their junior year? That's what my twins are doing, and frankly, I'm a little jealous.

Knowing that students often raise their scores on the SAT and the ACT when they take it more than once, I can't believe more of them don't take advantage of the opportunity to take a practice run at the PSAT in their sophomore or even freshman years of high school. But they probably don't know that they can, or they think that it will count against them.

Getting to know the elements of the periodic table

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Are you raising a child who tends to personify everything? I was one of those kids. I remember with almost embarrassing clarity one boring afternoon in my preteen years when I determined the gender of the numbers 0 - 9. For whatever reason, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 0 were boys, and 1, 4, 6, and 9 were girls.

I'd like to say with authority that there is strong scientific evidence that associates this sort of behavior with creative genius, but that would require scouring psychological journals. Speaking simply from experience though, I can say that my own tendency to personify things helped me to learn, especially when it came to science.

I assigned personalities to everything from different species of animals to various types of bacteria and even the elements of the periodic table in my mind. I think that's why I was so excited to find a complete set of the Basher Science books at a secondhand store a few years ago.

One of the Basher books is called The Periodic Table: Elements with Style, and it allows readers to meet and get to know the personified elements, complete with characteristics you would expect based on how they appear and react in nature. Sodium, for instance, gets along with everyone but is really high strung, sulfur is a prankster dressed sweetly in yellow, and iron is "at the center of everything."

Imagine my excitement when I realized, after recommending the book to our local co-op class, that there is a newer version, with more elements, each with its own descriptive page! It's titled, The Complete Periodic Table: More Elements with Style.

If you have a child who is interested in learning more about chemistry, you need to check out this book, currently on sale for 45 percent off the list price, but I don't know how long that will last.

Associating human characteristics with inanimate objects really has been a good way for me to learn and retain information over time. I believe the Basher Science books about the periodic table can help cement this information in your child's long term memory, too!
   

Spark a positive change in the world

For all the negative imagery we see on the news and in social media, I really don't believe the world is falling apart. I don't believe we're on the brink of a race war, or that most men are out to victimize women, or much of anything the media might have us believe about our fellow human beings for the sake of ratings. I believe that at the heart of it, there is more that unites people than divides them, and if we could all just try to treat each other the way we'd want our kids, or our grandmothers to be treated, the world would be a much better place. 

But it's hard to get away from those constant messages of division and hate. 

Homeschoolers can live somewhat sheltered lives, it's true. Their circle of interaction is typically smaller than the hundreds of peers other kids pass in the halls of a public school And in many families, their exposure to social media is more closely monitored. We can choose to minimize their exposure to the constant stream of negativity, and instead emphasize the good in the world.

That's why I think homeschoolers, in particular, have a tremendous opportunity to change the world. All it takes is a little spark.

One of the lessons I am working hard to teach my kids is kindness. I've noticed that they go out of their way to hold doors for others. They offer to carry things for people, or pick up dropped objects. These little things may seem ordinary, and used to be thought of as just good manners, but consideration for others is a learned behavior. 

I've been working to teach my kids, both through discussion and example, what a difference a kind word can make. Yesterday, while my mom and I were sitting in a waiting room at the cancer treatment center, I noticed the elderly black man with the furrowed brow sitting across from me. He had taken three or four deep breaths in a row, letting each one out in a slow sigh. I didn't know if he was worried or just uncomfortable. Then I noticed his shoes.

Chance to win a $1500 giveaway at the Teach Them Diligently Launch Party

Hey, friends! Don't miss the 2018 Launch Party for the Teach Them Diligently homeschool conventions. Your friendly neighborhood Unplanned Homeschooler is an affiliate this year, and maybe more. Can't say yet. I don't even have the scoop for sure, but I am really excited! And wow, there will be more than $3500 in prizes, including a couple from me and lots more from other fabulous folks who you might know even better!

One lucky winner is even going to win a $1500 family getaway! It could be YOU. But not if you don't come to the party. So click one of the images or this link here and come on!

Enter to win 'The Birthday Cache' Book and Activity Pack

Thanks to the generosity of my friend, author, Amanda Zieba, you can win an amazing prize package including a copy of The Birthday Cache, a book about roadschooled twins, Mason and Molly Miles, and their journey to adventure. Also included is The Birthday Cache unit study and The Birthday Cache journal writes.

This amazing package is perfect for homeschooling families who love adventure, or who are interested in roadschooling or geocaching. The Birthday Cache is available on Amazon, and the unit study and journal writes are featured in Zieba's Teachers Pay Teachers store. One lucky winner will receive all three, absolutely free!

Check out this description from Zieba:

While twelve year old Mason Miles and his parents love their nomadic lifestyle living and working across the nation in their RV, his twin sister Molly is craving a normal life and scheming to put an stop to their endless road trip. For their twelfth birthday the twins open a GPS receiver and fall in love with the sport of geocaching. When they stumble upon a mysterious puzzle cache will their travels become interesting enough to change Molly's mind?

This giveaway begins September 20, 2017 and runs until midnight, September 30, 2017. One winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entrants. Please complete all steps for additional chances to win.

The book and activities will be delivered in a digital download format. Winner will be notified by October 2, and must supply a valid e-mail address upon selection for delivery.

Click for a chance to win!

It's been 10 years since the scariest day of my life

Take a five pound bag of sugar and dump out about 1/4 of it. That's how much my youngest baby weighed when she was born. She was so tiny and more than a month early. I knew she was coming the day before. My doctor told me they had to take her by C-section the next morning, or risk her dying in the womb. I had less than 24 hours to process the fact that my baby was in imminent danger, and the only way to save her was a serious risk in itself.

That was ten years ago today. It's almost impossible to believe that my little preemie has grown into such a rambunctious, sassy, preteen girl.

The scariest thing I'd ever faced

Ten years ago, as I lay in the hospital waiting to be taken back to surgery, I could not stop the tears. The previous afternoon, the doctors had done the most advanced ultrasound workup they could do. They had estimated her weight at around three pounds, but said that her best, and likely her only chance to survive was if they could get her out of my womb quickly. My placenta was breaking down and leaving her there was sentencing her to starvation.

My youngest was supposed to be my easy baby. My healthy singleton. I'd already been through a high risk pregnancy, premature birth and NICU stay with my twins. But things don't always go according to plan. My twins were both born bigger than her and a week further along, and their first few months had been arduous. I was so scared. Would she survive the birth? If so, would she make it through the challenges that surely awaited? There were no guarantees.

Where is this road taking me?

After one of the hardest years of my life, I thought the road was finally straightening out, but just like that it took another twist. Where are we headed now?

I don't know of anything that makes you feel more like a powerless backseat passenger of life's journey than dealing with the prolonged illness of a loved one. That's exactly the road I've been traveling with my mom for the past year.

You might say she's had one the worst years of her life, or the best, depending on how you choose to look at things. It's been a solid string of events that, one after another, it was a miracle she even survived. For that, we are immensely grateful.

When things went downhill

This time last fall, my mom started to feel bad, and it kept getting worse. Her blood pressure kept climbing, no matter what her doctors did to adjust her medication. Finally, after changing her cardiologist, a blockage was discovered in a renal artery, but not before her blood pressure had reached such high and sustained levels that she had multiple small strokes and ended up hospitalized right before Christmas.

Surgery was scheduled for her kidney, and one problem was fixed. But open heart surgery was on the horizon. Less than two months down the road, she was under the knife again. Within just a couple of weeks after the bypass, it was clear she was not out of the woods.


Another surgery to correct more arterial blockages followed, after weeks of excruciating pain. Apparently when you unkink a hose up the line, any blockages downstream scream out in agony from the new pressure.

Things were looking up

The third round of vascular surgery stopped the pain, and soon my mom appeared to be truly on the road to recovery. We said so many prayers of thanksgiving, knowing beyond a doubt that she had narrowly escaped death on multiple occasions this year.

It looked like clear road ahead. We started our new school year and got a few chapters into Algebra 2 and Geometry, signed my youngest up for co-op and started preparing for driver's ed with the twins. Things were going smoothly enough we even scheduled my older daughter's tonsillectomy, for just about the time the water park closed for the summer. I even started to revive my blog.

My mom, at age 70, was getting better, albeit slowly, and we all started to feel like we could take a deep breath and put this difficult season behind us. But the late summer cold she caught kept holding on, with a cough that refused to go away and shortness of breath that seemed to be a harbinger of trouble to come.

My secret weapon for teaching Spanish

I have a new secret weapon for teaching Spanish, and it is muy efectivo!

Your kids may already be familiar with this powerful tool, and think that it is just a fun game they stumbled upon online. But they do not know the whole truth.

Akinator, the Web Genie, is a popular game, wherein the user chooses a character and the Akinator attempts to guess the character's identity using yes/no questions. My kids introduced me to the game last year, and we have been playing ever since, trying to stump the Akinator with characters we hope he will not be able to guess.

The character you choose can be a real person, like a celebrity or historical figure, or you can choose fictitious characters from books, television, movies, or video games.

The Akinator has successfully guessed all sorts of characters, from Thomas the Tank Engine to George Washington, and just about everyone in between. In fact, one of the only characters I have been able to stump him with was Phronsie from the classic book, The Five Little Peppers. The Akinator seems to know just about everyone in this universe and beyond.

How the Akinator helps us learn Spanish

There is no better tool for helping a student learn than one they love to use. When my kids started taking Spanish this fall, I found a few resources I thought they might like. I even ordered a subsciption to People en Español. But when I remembered that the Akinator game was available in several different languages, including Spanish, I knew I was on to something awesome.

Being new to Spanish myself, I was excited to play a familiar game and help my kids and I build our vocabulary at the same time. We gave the Akinator a trial run, using a character we knew he was sure to get. It only took him 14 questions to get to this one: "¿A su personaje le picó una araña radiactiva?" (I'm pretty sure he meant radioactiva.)

Si! Si! And now, thanks to Google Translate, we know that una araña radioactiva means a radioactive spider. We have new words!

Let's play again!

We decided to try another character, this time a real person chosen by 9-year-old daughter. Within just a few questions, the Akinator was on the right track.

¿Su personaje está relacionado con el mundo de la música?

¿Su personaje es un cantante?

¿Su personaje tiene pelo rubio?

¿Su personaje suelen llevar los labios rojos?

Is my character related the world of music? Is she a singer? Does she have blonde hair? Red lips? Oh my gosh!

Yep, the Akinator got me. My character was Taylor Swift. I'm going to have to think a lot harder if I want to stump him next time, but look at all the new vocabulary words we've picked up just playing a couple of times. Check it out. It's free to play, and a whole lot of fun!

How we learn for free with Universal Class

I am always on the lookout for a great deal. Cheap curriculum is good, free is even better, but only if the resources are high quality and serve my purpose. I don't have time to waste on lousy resources, even if they don't cost me a dime.

That's why I decided to do a test run when I learned that Universal Class offered free classes through my local public library. I've been burned by free classes and extraordinarily cheap offerings on sites like Groupon before. Never again. This time, before adding anything to our fall semester, I spent a few weeks trying out one of the free classes as an enrolled student, just to see how effective the course would be.

Choosing a course wasn't easy. Universal Class has more than 500 classes in their course catalog, on everything from aromatherapy to precalculus. And although individual courses can cost more than $100 if you pay for them yourself, I had access to the whole smorgasbord for free if I logged in through my library portal. Which one would I choose?

Whatever they've done, it will be okay

She's sitting on her bed, a tear rolling down her cheek, feeling completely and utterly alone. She's embarrassed, and ashamed, and she doesn't know what to do. No part of her can believe that you will understand this thing she did. Or forgive her for it. She's never done anything like it before. She doesn't even understand why she did it, or why she was tempted to do it again.

Maybe God can't even forgive her. She tries to pray, but feels so ashamed and unworthy.

If only you knew this secret she carried, you could take her in your arms and promise her it would be okay. You could reassure her that you love her, no matter what, and that God loves her even more.

His capacity for forgiveness is immeasurable, and because it is a gift that He gives freely, there is no question of being undeserving. Nothing we ever do could make us "deserving" of God's love... He just loves us because He does, even when we screw up monumentally.

If she would just come to you, you could share with her your own frailty, and your own confidence that you have been forgiven, maybe for things even worse than this horrible secret that is eating away at her. You could help her see that there are ways to make things right, and even if something can't be undone, there are ways to start over on a good path, to rebuild trust, to feel better. What can you do when you don't even know she's hurting?

There are literally millions of ways to homeschool

If you live near a Sonic Drive-In, you probably already know that they are famous for their amazing array of drink combinations. In fact, according to a 2016 press release, Sonic's menu had reached an astonishing 1.3 million different drink combinations, up from the "more than 168,000" it had boasted in 2007. 

Now, that would be one heck of a menu if all the possible combinations were listed, but thankfully, they are not. Instead, there is a menu of possible choices, from which thirsty diners can pick and choose and customize the perfect drink for each member of the family. 

If you think Sonic has a lot of choices on their drink menu, you should take a look around at all the different curriculum options available today. There are so many different choices, way more than there were a decade ago. 

Some folks still like to go with a boxed curriculum where the whole package is set up for them, much like the customers who order a plain Coke. That's okay if it works well for them, especially if they are new and might find the abundance of choices a bit overwhelming the first year.

But most of the experienced homeschoolers I know like to choose from all that's available: one option for math, another for language arts, something else for science and history. Mixing and matching they come up with a unique combination all their own. Instead of that basic Coke, maybe they have a cherry,vanilla, Dr. Pepper, or a grape, raspberry, frozen lemonade with sour candies mixed in. The variety is virtually endless.

And just like choosing your drinks at Sonic, you can choose something different for every member of your family, trying out different options until you find favorites, and then switching things up again when needs, or tastes, change. 

Don't feel like you have to homeschool the same way as your neighbor, your friend, or that really experienced homeschool mom at co-op. Yes, it's a great idea to gather opinions and thoughts on the different options available, but in the end, it's your school. You get to decide, from the literally millions of different curriculum combinations and make your homeschool work for you. 

Get your copy of The Unplanner, 2017-2018 Edition today!

Back-to-school is in the air! Studies may have already resumed in your house, or the first day back may be coming up soon. Either way, it's not too late to visit my store and get your copy of this year's edition of The Unplanner. 

If you are not already familiar with The Unplanner, it's a different kind of organizer made just for those of us who are a bit overwhelmed by the planners with too many pages and way too many blanks. If you're the sort who is looking to do some light planning, and mostly keep track of what your kids have done through the year, this is the organizer for you!

With month-at-a-glance pages for keeping track of upcoming events and appointments, weekly pages for scheduling lessons, attendance sheets and pages for keeping track of the curriculum you use, the books your kids are reading and the learning adventures like field trips and experiments you will want to remember forever, The Unplanner has all the pages you want and none of the extras you don't.

And at just $7.99, this handy 6 x 9 inch, professionally bound book with a pretty floral cover is less expensive than many of the "free" printables you might place in a binder or have bound at the local printer. Treat yourself to a copy of The Unplanner today!

What comes after Algebra 1?

"What should my high school student take after Algebra 1?"

That's one of the most commonly asked questions among homeschoolers, and it's not so simple to answer. Where do you go next, into Algebra 2 or Geometry? Ask this question in any large homeschool group and you are sure to get a lot of debate.

When I was in school, most students enrolled in Geometry right after Algebra 1, but I chose to enroll in Algebra 2. It made more sense to me to cover that material immediately following Algebra 1, and I did well taking the courses in this order.

There is a strong argument to be made, however, for taking Geometry immediately after Algebra 1, because a student would have more exposure to those concepts before taking the PSAT, thus potentially raising their score.

As my twins were approaching the end of Algebra 1 this year, I realized it was time for our family to make this difficult decision. I had curriculum for both courses ready to go, and had reviewed the first several chapters of each. I just needed to pick which one we would do first.

After a lot of thought, I decided to try a different approach. We're going to do both Algebra 2 and Geometry simultaneously. Now, that doesn't mean I am doubling the workload on my kids. No, in fact, they will be maintaining the same weekly schedule as they did with Algebra 1. But instead of doing one full course and then the other, we are going to do one small section at a time, and switch back and forth between courses.

Some folks have called me crazy for trying this approach, and others have called me brilliant. I'll settle for a little of both, so long as the plan works well for my kids. We can always revert to doing one course at a time if the alternating schedule doesn't work out, but I think that my twins are bright enough to handle switching back and forth.

The best part of this plan is that both Algebra 2 and Geometry will be fresh in their minds when it is time to take their PSAT next fall. We do a year-round schedule with intermittent breaks, and they should be finished with most of both math courses by next October. If everything goes the way I hope it does, this will give them their best chance to score well, and hopefully earn some scholarship offers.

I'd love to hear what you have planned following Algebra 1, or if your students have already moved on through higher math, how they did using one approach or another.

Around and around we go

I love riding a Ferris wheel. Next year will mark 125 years since George W. Ferris built the first Ferris wheel in Chicago in 1893. Ever since then, thrilled riders have hung on as wheels around the world took them to new heights, showing them unique views of the world around them along the way.

My favorite part of riding the Ferris wheel is not the exhilarating, non-stop ride you enjoy once the cars are full and the wheel gets up to speed. It's actually the many stops along the way, each one at a different point on the wheel, as some riders get off and new ones get on. Every stop brings a new view, a new perspective to sit back and enjoy. Sometimes even the air seems different at a new stop. I love to just look around and take it all in, enjoying every moment before it passes, always too quickly, and the wheel starts moving again.

Life as a homeschooler is a lot like a ride on a Ferris wheel. Each year we go around and around again, sometimes letting one child off as they graduate and leave the home, other times bringing a brand new student on board as a little one joins the learning crew. And along the way there are stops, each at a new point with so much to discover.

It's a brand new school year, and as I sit here in my recliner, organizing the resources I will use for the classes my kids will be taking in the fall, my heart skips a beat. I feel like I am sitting on a Ferris wheel, near the top but not quite, my gondola swaying in the breeze as I look at my children. My twins are about to start 10th grade. How did they grow up so quickly? They'll start driving this year, and taking concurrent enrollment classes at the local university. Don't move, wheel. Not yet.

My youngest will be starting 5th grade this semester, a year ahead of where she would have been if she'd started kindergarten in public school at age five. She's excited for the changes this year will bring, as she joins a new co-op and maybe makes new friends.

I feel the wind change and I know that the ride is about to take off again. This year will be different than any of the ones before. After eight long years, I finally retired my post as leader of the local homeschool group, and going into this school year I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I laugh in anticipation of a fun year, thankful for the mom who took over my duties so I could change my focus. The view is different from here.

School starts back for us full time next week. The Ferris wheel is about to start spinning again. I take a deep breath and one last look around. I'm ready! How about you?

Homeschooling when Mom is away

Last month I had to prepare my husband and my kids for a week without me, as I planned to spend my days at the hospital with my mom while she recovered from open heart surgery. Like most of the homeschooling moms I know, I spend the majority of my time with my kids, rarely getting away for more than an afternoon or evening at a time. And even if I do leave town for a couple of days, perhaps to attend a convention or fulfill a speaking obligation, I typically don't worry about keeping the kids' school schedule on track during my absence.

But knowing that I would be gone for nearly a week, or maybe more, and not wanting to burn time off that I would rather spend doing fun things this spring, I decided to keep my chindren homeschooling all throughout my time away.

Whether you have to be away for just a couple of days or an extended period, here are a few good ideas that may help you keep your homeschooling routine on track while you are gone. They helped me, and I was glad to come back from my week away and not find the kids a week behind in school.

Get four times the fun with this free worksheet

You may have seen the meme that the Facebook page, Math is Awesome, shared this week. Using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square roots, factorials and carefully placed parentheses, students can solve expressions using four fours to equal every number from 0 to 13.

I thought this would be a neat exercise to give my own homeschoolers, so they could see the good old order of operations in a creative way. With a little bit of work, and a refresher on how to type the division symbol, I turned the meme into a worksheet.

Click here to get a free copy of the worksheet you can use with your students. And just in case you don't remember everything from your algebra class, in the problems near the end, 4! means 4 factorial, which is 4x3x2x1. Have fun!

How a simplified homeschooling routine helps in difficult times

I don't know if folks who don't know me well in real life follow this blog closely enough to know when I take some time off from writing, but in case you did happen to miss me over the last couple of months, I wanted to take a moment to check in and confirm that yes, I am still here and still homeschooling!

I had to put my blog on the back burner over the holidays, as my family dealt with some difficult times. My mom had some pretty severe health issues, including being hospitalized with a stroke before Christmas, having surgery shortly after that to resolve a blocked renal artery and finding out she would have to have open heart surgery as soon as possible. In the middle of all that, my uncle on my mom's side passed away following an extended stay in the hospital. 

When it became clear that this school year was going to be complicated by difficult times, I realized I would need to simplify our homeschool routine in order to keep things running smoothly and keep the kids on track with their studies. 

You may be homeschooling through difficult times as well, or find yourself doing so in the future. These are some of the things that have helped us to keep homeschooling in spite of the complications.

Reducing our obligations

From running our local homeschool group and writing this blog to taking the kids to extracurricular activities and events, I had several obligations outside of simply homeschooling and maintaining the house, which in itself is a full time job. One of the first things I did, when I realized we were in the middle of a difficult season, was pull back. 

It's not always easy to reduce your obligations, especially if you don't have others to pull up the slack for you. I am not a super-blogger with a virtual assistant on staff to keep things going when I need to step away, and I didn't have a reservoir of pre-written pieces I could just schedule to post in my absence. So stepping away meant letting the blog sit idle for a while, and being okay with that. 

Reducing my outside obligations in our local homeschool meant letting some things go, too. During a time when I would normally be busy planning activities and leading field trips, I have had to step back and hope others would take my place. 

Revising our schedule

The next thing I did when I realized we had weeks, and possibly months of work ahead of us helping my parents as my mom recovered was to revise our schedule. I knew that my twins would need help with things like learning new concepts in algebra, but they could easily handle studying world history on their own. So I changed our schedule to focus more heavily on math at the beginning of this semester, before the heart surgery, so we could get more of that done while I have more time at home.

As homeschoolers, our schedule is wonderfully flexible, in that we can move lessons and even full courses around to accommodate our family's needs. While I am spending time with my mom at the hospital, my twins will likely be working on history and literature, subjects they can do without supervision, and my youngest will be focused on reinforcing a few skills that need work before moving on to new concepts in the spring.

Reassigning our chores

Along with revising our school schedule, I realized quickly that I needed to use this time to reassign the household chores. As my kids have gotten older, their list of chores and household duties has not always kept up. Like many moms, I have found it easier to do things myself than to delegate the responsibilities that I should. But I needed help, and my kids are more than capable of doing extra work around the house. 

Of course, with more responsibilities come greater rewards, so in addition to increasing their basic chore list, we gave them lots of opportuinities to earn a few bucks by going above and beyond what was expected. In the coming months, there will be plenty of ways for them to earn both spending money and other rewards by helping with big jobs at our house and their grandparents'.

Renewing our  faith

There's nothing like hard times to remind you of your faith. Of course, we find ourselves praying a lot lately that my mom will be okay, but we also find ourselves feeling thankful for the little ways we see God moving in our lives day to day. It shouldn't take a crisis to bring us closer to Him, but there is nothing wrong with resting on God's promises and leaning on His grace and love during times of trouble. 

Letting difficult times put your homeschool routine in perspective can be a good thing. Yes, we're still focused on learning, and on getting through this year's material in a timely manner, but if that time ends up encompassing part of the summer, so be it. Even though a lot was added to our plates in the middle of this school year, simplifying our homeschool routing and adjusting our priorities has actually made the load seem lighter than it was before, and maybe by the time this rough patch is over, we'll be breathing that much easier.