Family, School Mission Project to Teach Kids Generosity

 Catholics entered lent on Ash Wednesday. During this season, we fast, pray and give alms (extra tithing). Here's a way to do all three in one activity. Parents and homeschoolers, you might try this.



Fast from shopping and buying luxuries. Quit online shopping. Buy only what you absolutely need. Give up entertainment, shows, movies, Netflix, dining out, clothing, salon visits, sport events, music venues, concerts. You don't have to give up all of these; just pick one or two.

Three in One Lent Almsgiving, Prayer, Fasting Activity - News - Bubblews

Get a Decent Router if You Have Students in the House

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse? Forget that. Just give me a router that doesn't foul up every six seconds. I've spent more hours than I care to count dealing with this internet router nightmare. First, the router keeps booting my daughter's devices off. So I reset all the internet options. Then I switch search providers. My advice is, if you have students in the house, buy a good dual band router. Costs about $20 more but worth it.   Forget the Horse, My Kingdom for No Router Problems 

Parents Are Responsible for Student Drivers, Then Have to Pay for Driver Education--FAIL

Drivers' education costs about $400 and must be taken from a licensed teacher. Then parents must supervise the bulk of their child's driving time. Then we pay to have the child tested, around $50. We provide the vehicle for testing, which must pass certain regulations. We pay for the gas.



The teen goes through several license levels each with fees and associated parent responsibilities. We have to attend meetings, sign waivers. We pay for auto insurance under which she is covered. We pay more for it when our children turn 15, because the law assumes they're driving. Regardless of whether they do. Why, then, must we also pay for instruction? Why can't we teach our kids ourselves and save class costs? (Picture is my "I don't get it" face.) Why Are Parents Responsible for Student Drivers, but Have to Pay for Driver Education?

  

Ancient Greece Coloring Pages for Sochi 2014 Olympic Games

  Are you following the 2014 Winter Olympic games in Sochi? The Olympics have a long and interesting history, beginning with the original games in ancient Greece. The term "olympic" refers to Mt. Olympus, where Greeks believed their gods dwelt. The games were played in honor of various deities: Zeus, Hera, Hermes, Ares, Apollo, Athena and other Olympians. Those are their Greek names. The Romans renamed the gods and goddesses with their own spin.  Ancient Greece Lesson Plans for Sochi 2014 Olympic Games - News - Bubblews

Free Valentines to Print, Perfect for Snowbound Kids

Where I am, the snow is rising and the thermostat plummets. If my kids were still young, the scene would not be pretty. Bored restless children milling about underfoot, looking for trouble. Too cold to play outside for more than a few minutes. Snow too deep. Irritable mommy (did I say that?). And feel for me, people, this was back before internet! No login-drug. The poor lambie-poos actually had to play with their mountain of toys!



But to un-digress, you modern families have computers, so use them. Not for gaming. Good Lord, kids get way too much of that already. I mean print some crafts for 'em. And with Valentine's Day right around the corner, how's about printing free valentines? Here are a few links. Read on  Free (Yes Free!) Valentines to Print, Perfect for Snowbound Kids

Chinese New Year Lesson Planner and Unit

For many of us, January and February are the longest, coldest, darkest months of the year. Spring vacation seems light years away. It never seems to get light out and the sun rarely ever peaks it head out. This is a great time to pull out a fresh exciting batch of lessons for your class or home school group. Why not explore the Chinese New Year with all its color, festivity, fun and pageantry? Chinese New Year begins on January 31 in 2014. It's the Year of the Horse this CNY. Here is a unit with enough lessons for a two week unit. You'll find social studies, literature, writing, art, music, craft and food lessons. There are also animal activities. Chinese New Year Lesson Planner and Unit

Skip Holiday Gift Exchanges at School

Random gift exchanges are silly. I see no sense in trading gifts with extended family or people you're not close to. Many of us can't afford nor want to waste money on a meaningless token gift.

Some of us would prefer to donate gifts to those who actually need them. I long pushed for my extendeds to adopt a family or raise money for a gift to Heifer, International. That idea was nixed in favor of a gag gift exchange. Brilliant. Buy junk for each other that we don't need and will throw away, instead of doing some good. There's the holiday spirit.  Skip Holiday Gift Exchanges at School, Work

Free Hanukkah Activities You Can Print Online

 Hanukkah (or Chanukah) is the Jewish Festival of Light. In 2013, it begins the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, November 27, (very early). On the Hebrew lunar calendar it's always the 25th of Kislev. This eight-day feast lands some time late November to early December on the Gregorian calendar.And here are free printable lesson plans to explore and celebrate. Free Printable Hanukkah Crafts, Kids Activities

Teach Self-Reliance, Involve Kids in Maintenance, Repairs

We're minimalist parents. We homeschooled our four children in a small mobile then an old fixer-upper house. Home maintenance and repair were integral to our homeschooling. Often schools teach impractical disciplines, like algebra, that students will never use. They don't teach applications and real-world connections. Kids promptly forget material that has no bearing in their lives. I taught practical skills interactively. Now our kids are self-reliant, productive and sensible. They budget, save and care for themselves. Here are ways to teach these skills to kids.  Involve Kids in Home Maintenance, Repairs--Teach Self-Reliance

Free Native American Lesson Planner, Indian in the Cupboard

Reading scores in the US are falling lower each year; you've heard this so often that you may have become numb to it. And boys seem more resistant often to reading for pleasure. If you're an educator or parent and you've become discouraged with the battle to get kids to read, don't give up yet. Here are several wonderfully crafted works of literature in the adventure fantasy genre that will delight 3th to 6th grade children, especially boys. I've detailed the books and created a literature discussion guide to use. Free Native American Social Studies Literature Lesson Planner: The Indian in the Cupboard Book