Homeschool World: Articles: Getting Started in Homeschooling

Homeschool World: Articles: Getting Started in Homeschooling

Some of you have sent me messages about homeschooling.  Here's an article that explains a bit of why our family has chosen to homeschool.  We know we've taken on a huge responsibility, but ultimately this responsibility was ours to begin with.  We're just approaching it differently now.

Cut the Clutter

Clutter is something I struggle with.  I have a cluttered house, especially upstairs in the bedrooms and bathrooms.  Downstairs isn't as bad, but it isn't ideal, either.  I constantly think, "Oh, I can use that later!" and then I stow it away somewhere: in a drawer, on a shelf, in a file.  The "it" that I hoard can be anything from a cross-stitch pattern to the bottom of the celery stalk that I chopped off for my children's next art project.  The reality is that I very rarely get to those "saved" things.  They end up occupying valuable space, and I have no idea what to do about it.

This article sheds a little light on a few things for me.  I am a self-defeating procrastinator whom everyone has told -repeatedly my life long- that I have fantastic potential if only I could tap it... realize it... but when I get home and look at my house I think of a dozen different reasons to defer greatness: I can't possibly finish my novel until the bathroom is organized; I can't possibly sew those cute summer dresses for Megan until I clean my horribly messy bedroom.  This list can go on and on. Truthfully, though, I could do those things if I would just let myself, because the bathroom and the bedroom never get cleaned anyway.

So, today I'm going to try something new.  I'm going to clean/organize/declutter a room or area, and then give myself permission to do a fun thing like get started on that pink polka dotted sun dress Megan has been begging me for.  Why not?  My time is valuable, my clutter is not.  I need to cut the clutter.  Then I might feel better.  :)    

Cutting Inches. Cutting Public School.

So… I’m cutting inches!  Yay!  Woot!  So far I’ve lost 2 inches on my hips, 2 inches on my waist, and 1 inch on my chest!  As far as I can tell, I’ve lost only fat, which is ideal.  My clothes fit better. I have more energy.  My hubby has already lost 13lbs and about 5 inches, too! 

How am I doing this, you ask?  ViSalus.  I have a shake for breakfast and lunch, and I eat healthy snacks in between.  I then have a healthy dinner.  I’m pretty much doing the Paleo/Primal diet and the ViSalus shakes.  I walk at lunch every day to get that cardio going, but so far that’s it.  I’m going to start weight training this week to build up some more lean muscle. 

Also, today is Megan’s last day in public school.  We’ll give her some time to “de-school” and then jump right in with our homeschooling plans.  While we’ve added something pretty big to our plates, we’ve also scraped off the public schools and all that entails.  We got a lot of skepticism from traditional school folks, her 1^st Grade Teacher included, but I think overall we’re doing the right thing for her.  Public schools are a 1-size-fits-all when it comes to teaching methods.  If your child doesn’t fit that “size”, your child falls through the cracks.  Megan is a kinesthetic learner, which means she learns best with hands-on interaction.  Most schools barely touch this learning style.  As we homeschool, we can actually cater to this.  I want to use her strengths to help her learn.  So, I think we’re doing good things here.  If you have any experience teaching kinesthetic learners, I would love to hear it! 

So that’s it for now.  From now on, I’ll try to chronicle the weight loss and homeschooling in separate posts for more simplicity. 

It's Friday. Here are your top 5 Cut The Crap sites that pop up when I google "Cut The Crap."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_the_Crap
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/cut+the+crap
http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cut%20the%20crap
http://mindset.tumblr.com/search/cut-the-crap-available

It is my hope to someday have my blog listed up there when someone googles Cut The Crap.  I think I need to do A LOT more writing... maybe some SEOing... We'll see.