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Natural Homeschooling

Stealth Learning During Off Days

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

We are currently in that flex time between Christmas and New Year’s and no one knows what day it is, what time it is, or what they should be doing. I feel like we should be doing something and it’s mainly the lack of routine and structure. But I am getting in some stealth learning here and there whether my kids and I realize it or not.

Stealth Learning During Off Days

Stealth Learning During Off Schedule Homeschool Days

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

LEGO

We got more and then some more LEGO for Christmas here. LEGO is a great way to learn. My kids, well two of my kids, have more patience for LEGO than I and have some amazing imaginations for creating their own things. There has been a lot of time sitting, following instructions, and putting together LEGO sets over the past few days.

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Reading

We didn’t get a lot of books this year, in fact my kids each got one book and that was it. But they got a great book. Gauge, my seven year old, got Dinosaurs: A Visual Encyclopedia, prefect for a boy interested in learning about dinosaurs.

Austin, my 11 year old, got the new Guinness World Records 2021, she loves these books and will read it cover to cover.

Brookland my nine year old, got National Geographic Kids Why?: Over 1,111 Answers to Everything. A very fitting book for her as she asks why all day long!

Stealth Learning During Off Days

Cooking

We love cooking here, all of us. Cooking and baking with your kids is a great way to get all the basics in all at once. You’ll be reading the recipe, measuring and mixing the ingredients, and then there is the eating of whatever you made.

We do a lot of baking during our homeschool downtime. This year I am working on getting my middle child in the kitchen more as in the past she has always been more interested in other things rather than cooking or baking.

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Kitchen Math Books for Your Homeschool

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Filed Under: Homeschool, Natural Homeschooling

Kitchen Math Books for Your Homeschool

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

Not everyone likes math, I do no like math which is probably why I have handed off the teaching my children math. We don’t use math books right now, instead using online options, but there are some great kitchen math books. Getting your kids interested in math and getting them interested in cooking and baking is as simple as finding the right kitchen math books.

Kitchen Math Books

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

I have been getting in the kitchen with my kids since they were little, like tiny little babies. They have been playing with measuring cups and spoons since they we little. Introducing fractions to them without them, or even myself being aware. I had no idea I as going to be homeschooling back then.

Homeschool Math in the Kitchen

Have you thought about the skills that your kids are learning while cooking? The measuring. The reading. The cooking.

I’ve covered how math is happening in your kitchen all the time. But how can you make sure that you are covering what you need to cover? There are some great books to add to your homeschool library.

Donut Fractions – Fun Math Center

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I am a big fan of letting my kids learn from life. We have a few really great cooking books for kids, that have helped along the way, but we often just go with our tried and true recipes. I have a shelf in my Amazon store dictated just to cooking with your kids. From books, to child sized tools.

There are actual kitchen math books, who knew? These are a great resource for finding your path. To get your footing, set you on the right path for your lessons.

These books can be used in your homeschool instead of using a formal math curriculum. Great for unschoolers or relaxed homeschoolers. While we use a math curriculum/program, we also use real life math, cooking and grocery shopping.

Kitchen Math Books

STEAM Kids in the Kitchen: Hands-On Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math Activities & Recipes for Kids (STEAM Kids Books) (Volume 3)

A kitchen full of captivating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) activities that will wow the boredom right out of kids! Packed with a whopping 70+ activities and recipes.

KITCHEN LAB FOR KIDS: Fantastic and fun recipes to spark the creativity and imagination of children in the kitchen

Kkids are much more willing to try new things if they have been involved in the creative process.

Kitchen Math (Math Everywhere!)

Math is everywhere in the kitchen! See what's cooking inside this book―and how we need math to finish the job! You'll need your math smarts to help measure ingredients, calculate cooking times, add and subtract fractions, double and halve recipes, convert cups to ounces and back again, and more. It all adds up to a lot of fun!

Kitchen Math

Even those who don't like math are interested in food. Kitchen Math serves up 38 activities connecting basic math operations to purchasing, preparing, cooking, and serving different dishes.

Similar posts you may be interested in:

Kids Gardening

Why Kids Need to Learn to Cook

Recipes for Kids

Filed Under: Homeschool, Natural Homeschooling Tagged With: kids in the kitchen

Arctic Virtual Field Trip

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

Friday afternoons now have new meaning for us. They are virtual field trip days. We hook up a computer to our living room television and visit somewhere far away. I like to have a theme, like an Arctic virtual field trip. If you could go anywhere, where would you want to travel? This field trip is perfect, no uncomfortable travel required.

Arctic Virtual Field Trip

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

We can’t go to see polar bears or sea lions in person, in their natural habitat, because I do not have the funds to travel like that with my family. But I can bring take them there sitting in out living room, not freezing in the cold temperature that polar bears and other cold weather animals thrive in.

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Arctic Virtual Field Trip Places

Explore.org – Live videos and highlight videos of Polar Bears. They have more than just polar bears, and not all of their cameras are from natural habitats, but they are still fun to check out and a great reference as you are learning about animals.

Google Earth – This link will take you to the Arctic to explore as though you are walking around there.

The Vancouver Zoo – is another great place to find live webcams. They do not have a lot, but some are better than none.

All About Arctic Animals – 11 Different Animals – Google Slide Presentation

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OrcaLive – This is a fun site with cameras to watch, but it is also full of great information about the animals and where the camera is too.

One zoo that I really want to mention for videos is Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens. I learned about them during the COVID lockdown in March when they were doing daily live videos on different animals. They have a large collection of videos there now, including those on polar bears, penguins, and more. Just scroll through the page and to find what you are looking for. They are still doing lives on their page too!

YouTube is a great place to find videos to watch as well, though they aren’t going to be live like most of the other ones that I have mentioned.

How to Watch Animal Cams

We use an HDMI cable and hook it my laptop to the TV usually. Occasionally we’ll use our projector if it is a rainy, dark Field Trip Friday. You could just use a computer or tablet to snuggle up together and watch as well.

Arctic Virtual Field Trip

Similar posts you may be interested in:

Mini Unit Study on Arctic Animal

Arctic Animals – Science Experiment

Science YouTube Channels for Kids

Shark Buoyancy Science Experiment

Filed Under: Homeschool, Natural Homeschooling Tagged With: Field Trip

50 Reasons to Homeschool!

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

We have been homeschooling for five years, going into our sixth year now. A few months ago I had this little whisper in the back the back of my mind that said, how about about putting the kids in public school for the 2020/2021 year? I quickly shut it down, we love our life homeschooling. I wanted to share with you what our reasons to homeschool are.

50 Reasons to Homeschool!

50 Reasons to Homeschool Your Kids

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

Social Reasons to Homeschool

  1. less peer pressure
  2. homeschoolers become adept at interacting with a wide variety of age groups
  3. more opportunities to interact with the community
  4. children at home don’t need to suppress their personal identity to fit into the crowd
  5. learn in a less judgmental environment
  6. child can become independent thinkers
  7. children become empowered when their ideas are heard and validated

Family

  1. increases bonding in a family
  2. parents are able to know their child
  3. parents create the perfect learning environment for their child
  4. families can relax – no planned vacations or appointments around a school schedule
  5. your kids can be kids longer – they keep that innocence about them longer
  6. you get to see the light bulb moments
Siblings

Educational Reasons to Homeschool

  1. homeschoolers tend to get less tired because they can sleep more – they can learn more because they are more rested
  2. can learn anywhere
  3. skip subjects your kids find boring or unsatisfying – or find another way to learn the material
  4. they learn at their own pace
  5. you get to learn interesting things that you may not have had the opportunity to learn before
  6. younger sibling can learn by watching older siblings
  7. they are able to discuss and explore thoughts and ideas without fear of ridicule
  8. when they’re done with their work for the day, they’re done…no extra busy work or homework
  9. they learn life skills – cooking, caring for others, and all the things that go along with running a home.
  10. they can take frequent breaks if they need to.
  11. education for for mastery, not a grade
  12. creativity is nurtured and celebrated
  13. imagination is encouraged
  14. your child can learn in a way that fits them best
  15. real life experiences for learning opportunities – raising animals
  16. they can learn from documentaries instead of textbooks
  17. homeschoolers perform well academically
  18. there is no time line for your child to learn something. Some need a little more time, and then some graduate early
  19. the ability to choose to unschool
Homeschool Tips for Beginners

Unexpected Reasons to Homeschool

  1. kids are eating healthy – eating to keep up with their growing bodies
  2. school doesn’t have to be stuck inside on nice spring or fall days
  3. cuddling pets while learning – pets are great for reading to
  4. ability to visit museums and such places without large crowds
  5. children learn time management skills
  6. your kids won’t get every cold that goes through the classroom
  7. everyday can be pajama day!
  8. birthdays are holidays from school
  9. poetry/morning tea time – butter beer or hot chocolate during reading time
  10. no waste time during “school”
  11. video games can count as learning
  12. Lego totally counts as school – the skills these kids learn from putting Lego sets together.
  13. kids don’t have 15 minutes to finish their lunch – this always breaks my heart – which leads me to…
  14. kids learn to cook by making their lunch
  15. it doesn’t matter if they fidget
  16. it might not matter if they talk – depending on if they are driving a sibling nuts while they are trying to accomplish something
  17. you can world or road school which is traveling around the country or world while doing homeschool
  18. healthier – no having to wait until recess to use the bathroom! Or needing any other permission

Whatever your reason for thinking about homeschooling, I’m sure it’s great.

Recommended Products

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Filed Under: Homeschool, Natural Homeschooling Tagged With: reasons to homeschool

Best Jobs for Homeschool Moms

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

I recently shared ways that homeschool moms can make money from home, but I also wanted to share jobs that homeschool moms can do from home and still earn an income, not just gift cards or pocket change.

Best Jobs for homeschool moms - mom with girl child

Best Jobs for Homeschool Moms

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

I tried really hard to find sources of income that have flexible hours of work, where you can work as much or as little as you’d like as well. Most of the options are available everywhere, so hopefully you can find something for you.

At Home Job for Homeschool Moms

Virtual Assistant – you can take skills you may have used in your job before staying home and offer them to bloggers, small or large business owners. This includes working on social media sites where you might already be spending time, why not get paid to be there.

In-home Daycare/Childcare – You can earn pretty good money depending on where you are live and how many children you are able to take care of by providing childcare in your home.

I lack the management skills to get everything done (lessons) everyday, and I’m not good at be “stuck” home. Which is something very important to consider. We love being able to go to the library in the middle of the day which this option prevents.

Teaching Online – one of the most popular sites I see other homeschool moms mention is VipKid, which is teaching English online. You do need a bachelor’s degree however, which is why I am not using this option.

Freelancing – If you enjoy writing it is a great job to get into. The hours are flexible, and the pay can be quite good. I’ve done this in the past and have enjoyed it.

Customer Service – Many companies require remote customer service representatives, from major retail companies to the medical, financial, educational fields, and more. Indeed is a great place to look for these jobs.

Portfolio Memory Pages

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Out of Home Job for Homeschool Moms

If you are looking to get out of your home there are still more jobs that you can find to fit your schedule.

Dog Sit or Dog Walking – I haven’t done this, but I have never lived in an area where there was a need. There is an app (US only, sorry) called Rover that allows you to watch dogs, walk dogs or even just drop in and let them out to go potty! You choose when you work, what you earn and what dogs you work with!

Uber Driver – Uber might be one of the most flexible part time jobs to make money while homeschooling. You can literally start working whenever you want. There is no set schedule.

Best Jobs for homeschool moms - mom working on computer

UberEATS – deliver food instead of people! It offers just as much flexibility as Uber but there is a lot less customer service.

Care Homes – It seems like there is always a need for workers in care homes that are willing to work in the evenings and night shift. It can be hard to get enough sleep to avoid burn out, but it is always an option.

There are a lot of great ways for a homeschooling mom to earn income whether it is to completely support her family, or help out with expenses or to cover the extras that she wants for her family.

Best Jobs for homeschool moms

Recommended Products for Working Homeschool Moms

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How A Homeschool Mom can Earn Money

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Filed Under: Homeschool, Natural Homeschooling Tagged With: Work at home mom, working at home

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A Little About Me

I'm Ashley, a Canadian secular homeschool mom of 3, living in Nova Scotia.

I share our adventures in homeschooling and parenting.

You can usually find us at the library surrounded by books.
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