What are we reading in January - Homeschool Reading List

WHAT ARE WE READING IN JANUARY

Do you have a reading goal for 2018? How about your kids?  I have a personal goal to read 24 books this year. That's not including what I read with or to the kids.  I don't think it will be too hard to accomplish this goal being that I'm in a book club and we will read one book each month, so that will knock out twelve right there, plus I love to read.  I haven't set a goal for the kids or our homeschool because I don't want to put pressure on the kids or myself.  I want them to genuinely enjoy to read, so there is no pressure.  However, I thought it would be fun to share with my readers each month what we are reading in our homeschool and what I'm reading in my free time. Did I just say free time?  I don't get much of that, but I do like to set aside a few minutes a day to just enjoy the moment.
I read aloud to my children EVERY single day. Yes, I said every day.  I know it seems like a lot, but it really isn't hard to do once you start doing it.  You should try it.  Start with a bedtime story each night then add more time throughout the day as you see fit.  Trust me before you know it they will be begging you to read to them.  My 14 year still enjoys reading together at night, we don't call it bedtime stories though, she's far too cool for that.   It's such a blessing to come together snuggle up, or not, and read a good book. I leave the kids hanging most of the time so they start predicting what they expect will happen next, they fuss at the characters if they make a bad decision, and the kids are always pleading for me to keep going when I stop.  It's a great bonding time and an excellent way to spark up conversations!  So let's jump into what we are reading.

Conquer the Homeschool Slump - Getting back on Track

January is slowly coming to an end and you still haven't got your homeschool back on track.  Please, don't feel bad you are not alone.  There's many of us that are still struggling to get our life together.  I just may be one of them.  This cold weather is not helping at all!  Thankfully we have some warmer weather here in Texas.

Modest Teen Fashion - Cleo Madison Review

Is it just me or is it hard to find cute, modest clothes for teen girls?  I'm always on the hunt for clothes for my oldest daughter. She's 14, very tall, slender, and she's at that awkward stage where she's over the kiddie section clothes, teens section is way too skimpy, and the women's section is too "old ladyish".  We can never find jeans long enough for her long legs or shirts that aren't cut too low or rise too high. The struggle is real!  Please, tell me I'm not the only mama going through this. You do understand, right?

This post is sponsored by Cleo Madison

Homeschool Family Week in the Life Jan. 13 - Jan. 19

You guys seem to have enjoyed our last Week in the Life blog post, so I decided to keep it going.  Hopefully, I can keep up with this. LOL You can check out what we did last week here.  This week was a tad bit busier than last week even though it was freezing here in Texas.

Homeschool Week in the Life

As a YouTuber, I see a lot of week in the life and day in the life videos, but I don't see blog posts to often, so I decided to share our week with you.  First, let me let you know our week may not be that exciting to you but it was to us.  LOL For those of you that don't know we are a family of 6 so even when we aren't doing anything we are doing something.  I've learned to never say today is going to be my rest day.  As soon as I do a million things come up, ugh!  I can't be the only one.  You get it don't you?  One thing I can say is at the end of each day no matter how easy or hard, good or bad, sad or happy, I can say thank you Lord for this life!

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Yearly Membership Review

     Hey, Y'all!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!  I just can't believe we are already in 2018!  Has your family started back schooling, yet?  We officially started last Monday, but we warmed up some through December to help keep us motivated.  We are adding a few things to our homeschool this semester one of those things being flexibility in our learning.  I admit I still, after 4 years of homeschooling, I have not mastered this skill, yet.  Well,  I was recently accepted to be apart of the Homeschool Review Crew, which gives me the opportunity to receive and review curriculum for our readers, that's you guys!  What better way to exercise our flexibility in learning?  So, my children and I were blessed to try out SchoolhouseTeachers.com Yearly Membership.  This is an online product with downloadable, printable elements as well as online classes and video components.  It has things for preschool all the way through 12th grade, but even better it has a ton of stuff for parents, too including a planner.  My oldest has used the SchoolhouseTeachers.com site the most and is really enjoying it.  She's using it for her foreign language and violin, but has explored the other high school elements and can't wait to try them out.

Parenting Tips for 2018

Parenting.....  It's one of  the most rewarding jobs (my sister hates when I call it a job) there are, yet it can be overwhelming and even hard at times.  I remember being pregnant with my first child, reading every parenting book I could get my hands on, I just knew by the time she was born I was going to be a pro at being a mommy.  Ha!  I remember her crying, me trying to feed her, burp her, sing to her, bounce her, play soothing music, everything the books had told me to do.  She was still crying and so was I by now. What was wrong?  What about the first time she refused food and I tried playing the airplane game, telling her how good it was, even tasting it myself?  What now?  Fast forward now I have four kids.  I have repeatedly asked them to finish their chores. Why do I have to remind them everyday.  Why am I constantly saying things like, "be nice to your brother," "stop throwing that football in the house," " yes you have to eat it" no you can't watch that" I could go on and on forever.  I've come to realize parenting is never ending, consistent reminders are necessary, and grace for both child and parent is a must.  I have now been a parent for almost 15 years, wow that makes me feel old, so I think its ok to share a few tips I've learned along the way.