I'm Giving Up

I'm giving up. No, not homeschooling. 😜 I'm giving up this trap that we all seem to fall into... of making our lives look perfect online. Pretty Instagram posts, bragging about our kids' achievements on FB, writing blog posts that look like life is always put together and photo-worthy. We all know that's not true. We do.  We know that social media is a highlight reel , and bears no resemblance to everyday life. But yet. But yet we all fall prey to the comparisons, the critical thoughts about ourselves (or jealous thoughts of others). So I'm giving up that trying-too-hard, perfectionistic, over-researching, anxiety-ridden way of walking through life and homeschooling. So, I'm giving up perfectionism. Real life: my kitchen table is almost always full of stuff. I have a desk, but it makes my wrists hurt because it's not at the right height. So my laptop is always here, surrounded by bills, paperwork, and last week's science camp supplies. This is a good d...

Cinco de Mayo Homeschool Fun

One of the things I love the most about homeschooling is the ability to learn about and celebrate other cultures in a playful way. Every month, you can find unique holidays to celebrate and explore as part of your homeschool. Creating mini-celebrations can infuse your weeks with joy and create amazing memories for you and your kids. Today, I've put together some fun ideas for learning and celebrating Cinco de Mayo in your homeschool . Let's Get Colorful! Bright, colorful decorations can set the stage for your Cinco de Mayo homeschool celebration! Here is a video on how to make papel picado banners with tissue paper and string! I also love these beautiful Papel Picado Banners from Honestly Yum  that are so simple to make with crepe paper streamers! What a clever idea. Drape them, criss-cross, over your walls for a beautiful Cinco de Mayo backdrop. And here is a tutorial about making giant tissue paper flowers (sometimes called fiesta flowers)! SO PRETTY! ...

15 Tasty Ways to Enjoy Leftover Ham

Oh, ham, how I love thee. 💖 We eat the traditional foods on holidays over here. At Easter, dinner is ham and scalloped potatoes. I just love this meal! We usually add in green beans, rolls, and last year I did a tropical fruit salad, too. Sometimes we change up the sides a little bit, and I have been honing my scalloped potato recipe over the past five years. I'll share that in a future blog post! But the ham? It's non-negotiable. I'm a big fan of making too much food on holidays . Easter cooking is a lot of work, and I want to be able to eat for at least a couple of days from all those hours in the kitchen! So I get a big, big ham. This year, with the quarantine, I didn't have to go quite so big since it's just my husband, my daughter, and I (and she doesn't eat ham... silly child). But we'll still have plenty of leftovers, and I went searching for some delicious and different ways to use them. By the way: if your family doesn't want to eat...

Kim's Giant List of Homeschool Awesomeness

Last week, our local public school superintendent announced that all schools in Washington state will be closed until April 24, 2020 (at least) in order to hopefully slow the spread of the CoVid-19 virus. We live just outside of Seattle, so this news didn't come as a huge surprise. As I read my feed on Facebook I'm seeing school closures all over the country, also! So I wanted to put together some ideas, helpful posts, links to learning sites, and other encouragement for families that find themselves suddenly thrown into the world of having kids home all day, every day. First, let me say this: Please, please do not try to replicate school at home during this time. While your kids can -- and will -- learn during this forced break (they learn all day, every day), you don't have to panic and try to keep up with the amount of material they covered during a day in public school. Instead, my biggest piece of advice, given from the depths of my heart and everything I...

St. Patrick's Day Homeschool Fun

St. Patrick's Day is coming! I use little holidays like St. Patrick's Day to infuse a little fun in our homeschool days. I love Julie Bogart's concept of party school... where you bring celebration and joy and learning all together. I was public schooled as a child, and I remember the "special days" at school. Days where we could dress up, days where there were special snacks, celebrations of friends' birthdays, or holidays where there were fun decorations and breaks from the everyday routine. I want to create those kinds of moments in our homeschool, too! So this week I am pulling together some St. Patrick's Day fun, and I thought I'd share here, too. Full disclosure: I am decidedly NOT a have-it-all-together, Pinterest-picture-worthy kind of homeschool mom. I usually plan this kind of the stuff a week before, or maybe a few days before. 😄Dollar Tree is always a good spot for construction paper and little decorations and treats to make th...

Easy Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Mmmmmmm. Breakfast for dinner. You know those nights when you're SO tired that cooking dinner might as well be climbing a mountain? No? Just me? Well. OK. Moving on. This easy breakfast casserole recipe is just the thing when you need something simple and tasty! Even better, you can easily change up the ingredients to delight your own tastebuds. Love peppers and onions? Add 'em in. Bacon and melty cheese more your style? Go for it. I almost always have ham slices and cheese in the fridge... the husband makes low-carb omelets for breakfast just about every day. So my go-to breakfast casserole is ham and cheddar. I get my hash brown patties from Trader Joes. (I also get the most delicious Earl Grey tea there, and Earl Grey pairs nicely with breakfast food. In case you're so inclined.) The process for making this breakfast casserole with hashbrowns  couldn't be easier . Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray, and layer in the hash brown patties. ...