Crossing New Bridges of Motherhood

Stress Free Online Co-op

6:00 AM

As a newly Official Homeschooling family there are many things that we must complete in order to meet the education requirements of New York State. There are ALOT of curriculums and programs available to choose from. There are also ALOT of free options. We have learnt that we are an eclectic homeschooling family. We don't use programs. We don't get bogged down to workbooks. Basically we find what interests us and we tailor it to fulfill our state requirements.

Now here is the kicker. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M Doing! I have done all the research, talked numerous hours with homeschool mamas, watched hours of YouTube homeschool families, barrowed 100s of library books, been to homeschool gatherings. I'm going through the motions and feel like I am failing. Those around me say I'm doing great. Have you been there?

I needed a way to teach my kids without feeling like I was failing them. I don't have to feel like I'm a pester to those who are willing to help and stop feeling overwhelmed with the pressure of teaching both kids. Which I love doing. So when I saw a post for an at home online co-op in one of my homeschool mom groups, I had to check it out.

Hoeden at Home Online Co-Op is done through Facebook groups. There is no struggling to get the kids dressed, making sure they have all the books and supplies in their bags, no running late, no getting lost trying to find the location. No worries about what they are going to ask you to sign up and do. There are so many benefits to this online co-op. I was warmly enticed but then the cake toppers that sold me.

Safety Protocols

All lessons are taught through a scheduled 30 minute Facebook Live broadcast in a group that the parent must sign their child up for. Handles (aliases) are used in place of the child's real name. Real names are never used. During the class a child answers questions using their handle. A child can also answer "live" through telecommunications, if only the parent has approved so prior to the class.

Another safety protocol is password protected webpages. If your child is not able to make the LIVE session, they can watch it within 48 hours on the password protected site. These passwords change randomly for added safety measures.

Parents are in Control

Each class will supply the parent with a list of needed supplies. So far I have found most books at our local library. They supply printable workbooks and pages (caboodles) that are part of the class. However it is your choice to use them or not. My son is currently signed up for a Dinosaur class. The teacher will be reading the book on Facebook LIVE and going over vocabulary words with him. I am adding dinosaur flashcards, a Dollar Spot workbook, activities and other library books to his learning resources and for his little sister to be involved.

Certificate of Completion

Hello! I love this idea! My kiddos have a certificate binder they love to share these would be a fun addition. Having certificates of completion from a co-op will also be a great addition to my sons review binder at the end of the year. Certificates are optional. Each class will supply you with a recitation and project to complete in order to receive a certificate of completion. My sons requirements for his Solar System class is to recite the planets in order and make a planet mobile of his own design. When the child completes these requirements, you private message the Records Manager the video or picture of your child's work. She sends you a certificate to print. Pretty simple and your kiddo isn't posted on Facebook if you don't want them to be.

I think this half of the school year is going to go smoother with less stress from this mama. I signed up for $5 for our whole family with unlimited classes. This price will be changing once 1,000 families have signed up. Amazing deal. Head on over to Hoeden at Home to check out more information. Tell them that Deb from Crossing New Bridges sent ya.

Teaching

earning money

6:00 AM

As a parent, there are so many of life’s little stressors that you want to protect your children from. The reality of earning (and spending) money should not be one of them. Earning money can help teach your child important life skills that will make them more responsible now and into adulthood. Whether you decide to start paying your eight year old to do chores, or let your fifteen year old find a part-time gig, earning money will benefit them and you.

Learning the Value of Time

Kids have a hard time gauging the time and effort that goes into any task, which can lead to hilarious and frustrating situations for parents! Who hasn’t had a child ask for help with a science fair project… the night before it was due. At 8:30 pm. When they hadn’t even started…

When children start earning money for their time spent, they learn the value of that time. With some critical thinking skills, kids will start to prioritize how they spend their time to get the most value. They will also think about how much their time should be worth, a skill that will develop self-advocacy later in life.

If kids equate money and time, they may start to look at the things they spend their money on as worth (or not worth) their time. Do they want to buy a giant bag of candy that costs $20? Yes. Do they want that same bag of candy if it costs four hours of cleaning out the garage? Maybe not. Kids can be responsible for their own time and money, and learn to make smarter choices.

Building a Work Ethic

Some people are just born hard workers, right? Wrong. Children have to be taught the value of hard work, and a good work ethic should be nourished. There are a lot of ways to do that with your kids, but paying them for their work is really effective.

Kids who earn money learn to set goals, and they connect their hard work with reaching those goals. Eventually, money can be taken out of the equation. The feeling of achievement is a great incentive.

Finding a Balance

Being responsible for our own wellbeing is a difficult lesson. We overextend ourselves without regard for our own health. We let our kids overextend themselves, too, but then we take the responsibility for it. Earning money and setting goals allows kids to create their own balance. They have to decide which incentive is more powerful, instant gratification or long-term achievement.

As kids make these decisions about the money they earn, they will start to figure out their priorities. A child who always wants to treat their friends to a movie and dinner might need more social time to be happy. A kid who saves for a trip to Europe has different priorities. Those priorities will help them make decisions in the future, between colleges, extra-curricular activities, and even career paths.

As kids grow into teens, those priorities become values. Their values help them find the right balance between money, meaning, and wellbeing. A teen with strong values can make smart choices. They may have to give up social time in order to make extra money for a big event, or give up their job to bring up their grades.

Part of learning how to balance your life is making mistakes. When your kids do overextend themselves, set the example by modeling your own selfcare routines, and help them figure out their own.

Managing Money

The best part about earning money is getting to spend it, but kids don’t always spend wisely. Fiscal responsibility can be the difference between struggle and success as your children grow into adults. Teaching them how to balance a budget, save for financial goals, and navigate the banking system is invaluable.

As soon as your child starts earning money, open up a bank account. Many banks offer special savings and checking accounts for minors. Your current bank probably has some sort of program for kids and teens. Once that bank account is open, navigate all the options with your child. Teach them how to make deposits, withdrawals, and check their balance.

Set long term financial goals with your child, like saving for a trip to Disneyland. As they work and save, remind them of the goal and celebrate small milestones. Add a bonus incentive by matching their savings at each benchmark they achieve!

Saving every penny is an unrealistic goal for kids. Make a budget that puts aside money for fun as well as long term goals. You can take this one step further for teens with jobs outside the home, and teach them how to budget for living expenses! Come up with an amount to cover “rent and utilities”, but put that money into a college savings fund. Your teen learns about real life budgeting, and saves for college. Win-win!

Being Charitable

Earning money can teach kids to take responsibility for their communities, as well. Charity and giving back is a privilege, and it brings deep meaning to the money that your child earns.

Write charitable giving into the budget that you set up for your kids, as well as your own budget. Share your favorite charities with your child, but help them find causes that they believe in, too.

Of course, being charitable doesn’t have to mean giving a monetary donation. There are a lot of ways that your kids can give back, especially around the holidays.

What You Can Do

Handing your kid twenty bucks for mowing the lawn is great, but with a little forethought your child can develop important life skills. Be supportive and help them work out the details. Talk to your kids about money, but don’t try to make decisions for them. Let them learn their own lessons. Responsibility is built through experience and time.

Teaching

Musical Christmas Countdown

9:10 AM

mommin'

Car Seat Safety Tool

7:00 AM

When I was pregnant we began dreaming about what the nursery would look like, the colors, the themes, the setup. We began scouring for deals on clothing and bedding and all the extras that we think we have to purchase in order to be the perfect parent.We even made sure that everything was color coordinated. We thought of everything! So we thought!

Then came the life changing day of leaving the hospital with that tiny vulnerable bundle of joyous innocence. That is when we realized one major and I do mean MAJOR issue. We never checked to see if the car seat actually fit into the car. So here we are clipping the car seat into the base that is hanging half off the backseat, looking as if it would slip onto the floor with the first bump we hit. The safety clips on the base that are supposed to latch between the seat do not have posts to hook to. So we slid the front seat tightly against the top of the baby carrier. We stuffed the ridiculous amount of unneeded hospital stuff under the hanging front of the base. Then, Just to make sure I rode all the way home with my arm across the feet of the carrier. It was a real eye opener to us. Here we thought we were completely prepared to enter into a new chapter of parenthood.

Are we the only parents who naively thought "it will fit." I mean everything is regulated these days how could a car seat be made without guaranteeing it to fit in all cars. RIGHT! Come on be honest raise your hands. I know we are not alone here.

Now as we look into buying a booster seat and a convertible car seat we know a few more things than we did in the beginning of this parenting journey. We also have an amazing tool in our parenting toolbox, Cars.com.

Cars.com has an interactive website centered around car seat safety. This has been such a headache alleviator for us. You can choose the make, model and year of your car or a car you are looking into buying and determine the best car seat that will fit. There is a great Grading Scale (A-F) that lets you know if there will be plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn't impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row if there is one. They also let you know how many car seats will fit in each row. They have been testing cars and car seat fitting for over five years, they have thought of every possible parent need. Did I mention they show videos of how to properly install the car seats in each vehicle!?!

My favorite sections of the site are the "What We Like" and "What We Don't". Why you ask. These sections are honest! They tell you if a head rest or head restraint must be removed in order for the car seat to fit properly. The brands and type of car seats and where they are positioned is given. They explain the exact height of the driver and passenger in the testing of each car seat and how much legroom they had after the car seats were installed. Who ever really thinks of that when buying car seats!?!

I have to say after reading and watching videos on cars.com, we have learnt quite a few things we thought be knew. Foe example did you know that there is not supposed to be a gap between the back of the car seat and the backseat? See we did not! We even had a "professional" install one of our car seats and they left the gap too. We have added this informative webpage to our parenting toolbox and I kindly urge you to do so also.

mommin'

Pumpkin Carving With Vita

7:00 AM

When asked what my favorite season is I have to say fall. I love the smell of fallen leaves in the crisp morning air, a warm cup of pumpkin spice flavored coffee in my hand, the feel of cozy soft sweaters and fuzzy socks and the joy of baking fresh apple pies and carving pumpkins with the family. Oh how fall is here and the festivities have begun!

This past weekend, my family went to our favorite family friendly farm that offers a variety of locally grown fresh season changing produce. We love taking the kids to sample the fruits; pet the animals, play in the children’s sections, and smell the flowers while purchasing amazing foods. This trip we were on a mission to find perfect pumpkins to carve.

Before heading home, we had to make a quick...three-hour stop at the park! We played on swings, the teeter-totters, and the spin around, slides, ate snacks and got dirty in the sandbox. We took pictures in the oversized Adirondack chair and collected leaves. It was finally time to head home after mommy's motion sickness became too much and the trash can received her previously eaten snacks. I am not sharing the photo of that! The hubs thought it needed to be documented (insert eye roll emoji here).

Arriving home, we found a package on the doorstep. The package contained a stainless steel pumpkin carving tool set from Vita For Home. The kit includes a Pumpkin Scooper, Pumpkin Carving Knife Saw and Etching Tool. The weight of the tools and the thickness of the solid handles surprised me.

In the past, we have always used the plastic pumpkin carving kits that are on sale at the local pharmacy or Walmart. We struggle though poking holes into the pumpkins with the tools just to have them snap off, tips bend or the "special design tool" becomes stuck in the pumpkin. That is when the fun begins... The "special design tool" is stuck in all the way to the bottom of the handle. You pull with all your might. Nothing. You try over and over again. Then you think, "I need leverage!" Putting the pumpkin on the floor, placing a foot against the pumpkin your get both hands on the "special design tool" and begin pulling. Nothing! You try again and again and again. Swear is now beading on your forehead. You look like a crazed person on a bad sugar high after eating a bowl of Halloween candy. The kids think you have lost your mind and after laughing at your struggle your husband decides to finally help, you remove the stupid tool. His reason..."you’re starting to scare the kids!"

Not this year! These AWESOME pumpkin-carving tools with stood the abuse we gave them. The Pumpkin Scooper was my favorite! I usually end up losing a soup spoon or two after everybody uses them to scrape and remove the fibrous strands of the pumpkin (known as pumpkin guts in our house). The Stainless Steel Scooper in the kit from Vita For Home has serrated edges on the rounded part that ripped right through the pumpkin guts. This left the inside of the pumpkin cleaner than any of our past pumpkins.

We were able to use the Pumpkin Carving Knife Saw to cut open the pumpkins instead of using one of my kitchen knives. The kids drew on their faces and daddy easily cut out the designs. There was no sticking, bending or breaking of tools. I used the Etching Tool to thin down the pumpkin meat in the openings. We like to really see the candle light. We have found if you thin down the pumpkin meat around the opening it allows for more light to shine through without altering the desired design.

We ended the night by baking some pumpkin cookies and the pumpkin seeds. We read some pumpkin themed books and enjoyed a night of cuddles and laughs.

As a thank you for my readers continued support Vita is offering an exclusive 20% Off Coupon Code for their Pumpkin Carving Tool Set. You can CLICK HERE to order. Enter your EXCLUSIVE 20% OFF COUPON CODE: RR6J3XMB at checkout.

For added fun Vita For Home is sponsoring an Instagram Pumpkin Carving Contest.

Contest Rules:

1. Must submit a photo of a pumpkin (of course!)

2. All entries must either be published to instagram with @VitaForHome tagged and hashtags:
#VitaForHome
#CelebrateWithVita
#CarvingContest
OR the contestant can email their submissions to hello@vitaforhome.com
3. The winner will be announced on November 20th so contestants will have time to participate even after Halloween.
4. The prize is a $200 Amazon Gift Card

We hope you have carving pumpkin fun with your family and friends and sharing those moments with us.

mommin'

Beat Your Kid’s Nighttime Fears

11:00 PM

If your child is suffering from nighttime fears, then join the club. Studies indicate that as many as 73% of children between the ages of 4-12 experience them (Muris et al 2001).

Why are nighttime fears so common?

Scientists explain it in terms of evolution, suggesting this fear helped to keep us safe from saber-toothed tigers. Motherly intuition, however, simply points to the fact that kids have fertile imaginations and they don't always distinguish reality from fantasy. What's more, if they've moved from a room with mom and dad to sleeping alone, then this is a big and sometimes scary change.

Getting through nighttime fears can be challenging for the whole family, yet it can also be an opportunity to deepen your relationship with your children. Let's jump straight in with four practical tips to help your kids beat it.

Bedtime Routine

Routine is the backbone of a secure and happy childhood. Kids thrive when their world is predictable. This is especially true at bedtime.

Try to create a calm and peaceful evening rituals: a bath, a gentle story, and perhaps a soothing song. The sameness of the routine will bring comfort and help to ease the transition from conscious to unconscious.

Communication

Nighttime fears provide an opportunity for you to create a deep bond with your child. They are anxious, scared, and in need of support. As a parent, you can listen, respect, and support them.

Start by empathizing. Listen closely to their anxieties, however fantastical they might be. Sometimes this requires patience. After all, it's not easy to be attentive when it's very late and you're hearing the same story about a monster in the laundry basket!

Resist the temptation to ask "Why are you afraid?" or say "There's nothing to be scared of." No one wants to be challenged on how they feel. It can be undermining and put your child on the defensive. Instead, acknowledge their feelings and offer them reassurance. For example, "I know that you are really scared right now. It's a horrible feeling, isn't it? I feel afraid sometimes, too. I'm going to help you."

Hear them out and acknowledge all their fears. Often, just talking and feeling understood will help.

Peaceful environment

Whilst you can't control your child's mind, you can certainly control their environment. Leave their door open and have a soft, warmly colored night light on. If the light has a dimmer, you can make it darker over time. Sometimes, gentle music or a quiet audiobook in the background helps. You could also use a diffuser with some lavender essential oil.

A comfortable bed is also important. If your little one is in a crib, then make sure they have a decent breathable, crinkle-free mattress. I've written a whole guide on these if you'd like to know more.

Finally, don't forget a comfort toy such as a teddy bear or doll. Even scientists have confirmed that a cuddly companion reduces nighttime fears (Kushnir and Sadeh 2012).

Distance the worry. Get silly with it.

A little mindfulness trick is to separate ourselves from our emotions. You can help your child to detach themselves from their worry. Ask them to list their fears. Then say, "Worry is telling this to you. How true do you think these things are?" Creating distance between them and their thoughts can help to diminish their power.

If this is going well, you could take it further and start having fun with the fears: "So worry is telling you that there is a monster in the closet. What does worry say it looks like?"

Get your child to draw out the monster. Now get creative. Ask, "what would the monster look like with a dress on?" or "what would it look like with a mustache or glasses or lipstick?"

This game can get very silly and will hopefully get your child laughing. The aim is to distance and reduce the fear until it becomes more manageable and even disappears.

Wrapping up

There are no golden bullets for nighttime fears. Different things work for different children, and sometimes you just need to ride this phase out. Whether or not you "fix" it, one thing is for sure; by following these tips you will nurture your child’s wellness and ease them through these turbulent times.

wetheparents

Reviews

Family Learning with Logic Roots

9:00 AM

As most of you know we decided that we were going to full-time homeschool with our kindergartener and toddler through the summer. the majority of our family and friends thought we had lost our minds.
"Seriously! It's the summer!" -Yes it is and we want our kids to retain the things they have been learning.
"Are you crazy" -Get asked this a lot but nope not crazy.
"Why are you keeping them from being kids?" -You can trust that our kids do not lose out on any kid fun.
In the end we felt it would be more beneficial for our kids to retain their learnt skills by using fun games and activities than for them to struggle remembering at the beginning of the next school year.

So when I was contacted to take a look at Logic Roots number game called Outnumber and Dr. Math memory cards, I was completely excited. What a fun way to help my kindergartener keep his skills on level. The fun and bright colored cards looked fun also for my toddler.

As we waited for the math game and cards to arrive we checked out Logic Roots website for first grade math worksheets. The worksheets are beautifully colored which the kids both loved right away. The story based worksheets cover Addition, Subtraction, Counting, Sequencing, Comparison, Ascending and Descending Numbers and so much more.

My husband was able to download a bunch of different skill pages for free and saved them to our tablet. Our son can then open the page in Microsoft Paint to complete the task. He really loves dinosaurs so this had to be the first worksheet he completed. When he is done with the page he just closed the program and the worksheets are there for a later time to use them again.

Once the package arrived with the number game called Outnumber and memory cards the kids and I took time to open the boxes and explore what we would be playing with. My toddler loves the colors of the cards of the number game. She also loves the number people, 9 is her favorite. She has been named Miss Preeeetty. My son likes the graphics for the written number words. I enjoy the fact that different forms of the number is present such as word, numerical and imagery.

With these cards I am able to work on number recognition, comparison, one to one correspondence with my soon to be first grader. With my toddler I can work on color recognition, object recognition, imagination play and counting. The best part about the cars is that they are a thick cardboard not the normal card material so they hold up to her rougher playing.

Bonus Activity 1: For our toddler my husband brought out the magnet letters and had her match them to the number cards.

Bonus Activity 2: We had our son match all forms of the number in a pile. For example for the number one he found the written form, image form and numerical form cards and stacked them. He did this for each number in the game.

How cute is the little Einstein looking character! The Dr. Math Memory Cards come in a box of 25 packed with facts about :

2D Shapes
3D Shapes
Analog/Digital Clock
Number Names
Ordinal Numbers
Times Tables
Place Values
Time
Days of The Week
Days of The Month

As we went through the Dr.Math cards we were impressed with what our son does know. He is entering 1st grade in the fall and has not officially learnt most of these math concepts. However we at home do add in fun games and activities from the higher grades to strengthen his skills and thought processing. Since getting these cards from Logic Roots we have been able to focus our homeschooling efforts onto what he will be doing in class this year.

Over all the kids enjoyed these two math games preferring the silly numbers from Outnumber and different options to use them. I on the other hand preferred the Dr. Math Memory Cards because it gave me specific directions as to what my son needs to know for first grade.

I highly suggest you check out Logic Roots webpage. They have so many amazing resources. For family fun night Logic Roots offered numerous board games to help reinforce your child's skills and build confidence while having fun. There are multiple DIY math projects parents can do at home along with tips for parents to help their child with test taking. And let's not forget about the free downloadable worksheets. Lastly, Logic Roots also offers a Math app called Mathaly. Mathaly is a skills building app that begins at first grade level and continues to fifth grade. The bonus part...parents are part of the learning experience. parents set learning goals, have access to how the child is doing through the app and have the ability to offer free workbook extras for those areas their child needs more work on.

As a parent who does supplemental homeschooling with my first grader I believe the app in itself is worth looking at Logid Roots site. However enjoy the amazing games with your family to keep learning fun and keeping family connected.

Reviews

Unboxing Disney Princess Mystery Box

8:30 AM

Reviews

Homeschooling with Target's Dollar Spot Finds

2:52 PM

Reviews

Uncommon Company Doing Uncommon Things

9:00 AM

Have you ever looked around your home and just thought...uuuggghh. As I sit on my couch watching my daughter explore her busy box I look around my living room/homeschool room. *sigh* There is no longer delicate pretty decorations. No bright colored throw pillows to add a color of pop. No evidence of my spunky colorful style that once gave my home a bright feeling. Now my home is overtaken by the kids' learning toys, books crafts, and messes. My furniture is in dull neutral colors that are in kid friendly materials to hide stains of this mornings spilt food. *sign* depressing! I need to find something to help lift my spirits I mean after all this is my home too!..Right?

After some time scouring the interweb I found a site called uncommongoods. After doing some research I found that their headquarters is in New York, which is a plus for me for quicker shipping as I am in New York also. I love that uncommongoods features items that are handcrafted using sustainable or recycled materials. How awesome is that! They also share information about the item such as inspiration, materials used to make it AND the creator. WOW! So I went gandering around the site and found a few cute items we will soon be enjoying in our home.

Ok so I know I said I was looking for stuff to liven up my living space...but as a homeschooling mom I could not pass this up. What a great kit to get my kids involved in growing some bee friendly plants. Plus what kid doesn't like to get dirty? The Seed Ball Kit includes; compost, clay, and GMO free seeds. There is enough supply to make upto 75 Seed Balls! The really neat part is you can literally toss the Seed Balls where ever you want to and watch them burst with new life. My kids are going to L-O-V-E watching the seedlings pop out of these Seed Balls.

One word is all it takes to describe this Owl Eyeglasses Holder...ADORABLE!!!! I truly love this wooden little bird. Now I have to tell ya I was impressed with the craftsmanship alone however once I got reading about how it is created I am completely in love with this sweet little bird and the uncommongoods company. This uniquely beautiful owl is hand carved by Fair Trade Artisans in India from a single piece of sheesham wood. The uncommongoods company has made a partnership to donate money back to not only the artisans but to the community as a partnership to improve their sanitary conditions and education. Can you just feel your heart growing fonder of this company? Did I mention that the seasonal workers in New York receive 50% more than the average wage? I that that was pretty cool but they are doing so much more to help others than those immediately in their area. Amazing company! Can you tell that I am very impressed yet? Wink Wink.

I had to keep looking at the site for something that my kids would enjoy while bringing color and interest to our room. I found this cute Array of Actual Sized Animal Tracks Doormat. Hello adorable, functionable and bright. Bonus...it's educational too, see the key to decode the footprint owners. This doormat is woven from Coir (coconut fibers) and the animal prints are printed with vegetable based ink. Amazing right! My husband being a wild animal enthusiast thinks this is a great addition to our decor and when my kids saw this, they went crazy. They are excited to use this doormat as a "guiet rug" during scripture reading time. Major win!

I have to say I really enjoyed looking at the Uncommongoods website. There are a lot of beautiful works of art with amazing stories behind them. So much love and compassion on one site that I never thought to find at first glimpse. It just goes to show you that there is always more to see than first glance. I urge you my dear readers to take a glimpse around Uncommongoods if not to buy amazing items at least to read the amazing behind the picture stories. You will definitely find a new respect for the artists featured on the website.