Why Homeschooling is Great for Introverted Children
In a world designed for extroverts—busy classrooms, group projects, noisy lunchrooms—introverted children can sometimes feel overwhelmed, unseen, or misunderstood. Homeschooling offers a refreshing alternative. For introverted kids and even introverted parents, home education can be more than just an educational choice—it can be a path to peace, growth, and confidence. Here are my thoughts about why homeschooling can be a great for introverted children. Observations I was an elementary school teacher for a few years. Most students were extroverts, some ambiverts, and a small handful were introverts. There are the obvious signs – quiet, likes to read, plays with one or two other kids, and is a good listener. What I noticed was that as a teacher, I was drawn to the more extroverted students because they would answer the questions I asked. They also had a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and they worked well with a wide variety of students. Those are great traits to have, but the introverted students were often easy to ignore. I tried hard to make sure I didn’t forget about them. Usually, I had to put more of an effort to do so because they were not sharing every bit of information that popped into their head. Now that I have mostly introverted children, I find that homeschooling gives them a chance to not be ignored or forgotten in the midst of a busy classroom. This is a problem that introverts face all their lives. Since they are quiet, they are often overlooked. However, I find that introverts are a treasure trove. They seem dull and uninteresting to the extrovert, but once you slow down and get to know them, they are really interesting. Not Overlooked I am going off on a rabbit trail here, but many introverts are also advanced students. Because they are quiet and do not draw attention to themselves, they are easily left under-challenged. In comparison, the child who is disruptive will motivate a teacher to find ways to keep that child engaged and content. The child who is quiet will probably be challenged, but it may not happen quickly. Maybe some school districts have it all down, but this is what I observed when I taught in a title I school. I felt bad for the quiet children who seemed to be hiding behind a book. I wanted to know what they thought of the books they read, but the lower performing students always take first place. ALWAYS. Calm and Quiet Environment Homeschooling provides introverts with a calm learning environment away from constant chat and motivational posters (anyone else find those so tacky and dumb? Aim for the moon, but if you miss you land among the stars). When I was homeschooled, I loved being able to read in a quiet environment wherever I wanted, That’s how we are suppose to learn anyway – in calm environments. There’s no timer, no announcements over the intercom, no one is announcing that they lost the bathroom pass. I say “calm and quiet environment” and I laugh a bit to myself, but only because I have a four-year-old and a on- year-old along for the homeschool ride. We do school when the baby naps so that our school time is as quiet as it’s gonna be, but there’s never a guarantee. I guess my point is that home can be a calm place to learn, but there’s also some craziness with younger siblings. One-on-One Interaction Homeschooling an introverted child means someone out there will be concerned about socialization. Sometimes it’s a fair point, but most times it’s annoying. As an introvert, I do not enjoy large groups – potlucks, parties, you get the idea. Small talk is boring and draining. Sometimes I make a friend through small talk, and then it’s worth it, but usually those small conversations lead to friendships that do not go anywhere. After all, you can’t be good friends with everyone. Introverts generally avoid those situations. Rather, they thrive on one-on-one time with a friend. Homeschooling an introverted children opens those opportunities for more one-on-one friendships. Yes, homeschoolers miss out on the five day a week classroom experience, but you can still get some of that through a co-op. I have watched introverted kids in big groups – they are the quiet ones. Putting them in more big groups doesn’t make them more extroverted. Having close friends, or a small group of friends, where they can be themselves makes them more confident. That’s what introverted children need. Of course, a co-op class is nice too if you want to give your child the opportunity to learn following directions from a teacher and working well with classmates. That’s what we do. Even though I think one-on-one friendships and small groups are important, introverted children also benefit being in a large group at some point. While it is probably not an introverted child’s favorite situation, it’s also a life skill to some degree. Develop their Interests My kids are happier when they have the right amount of school time and down time. During their down time, they enjoy reading, writing stories, playing chess, and doing imaginative play. I don’t like it when I over-schedule my days, and neither do my kids (there are days like that of course. That’s life). Even though they aren’t doing school during their down time, they have time to grow their interests in a quiet place. Final Thoughts I have more thoughts about homeschooling introverted children, but I will pause here. It’s easy to homeschool an introverted child because they are so happy at home. But it can be annoying when people want them to be more social. I think most introverts have someone like that in their life at some point – the extrovert who wants them to be more like them. We live in an extroverted world. Imagine sitting down and telling an extrovert that they need to be more thoughtful about having more at home time. Maybe you should read
The Arizona Bone Box: Skulls, Pelts, Tracks, and More!
I recently came across an interesting resource for learning about animals in Arizona. It’s called the Bone Box, and it’s an educational resource from the Arizona Game and Fish Department. My children loved it! It enhanced our nature study about the Sonoran Desert because we were able to examine animal skulls, feel their pelts, observe their tracks, and analyze their teeth. The website said that the trunks are in high demand, but since it’s summer, it was easy to get a hold of one. This is a resource that is perfect for homeschoolers in Arizona, especially homeschool co-ops. The Bone Box resource trunk comes with a teacher’s guide for high schoolers and one for elementary age students. We used the elementary teacher’s guide book to get us started. Skulls The box contains eleven skulls for kids to touch and look at. We spent a week looking through the contents in the box. The animals that are included in the bone box from the Arizona Game and Fish Department are a beaver, a black bear, a bobcat, a coyote, a deer, a gray fox, a jackrabbit, a javelina, a mountain lion, a raccoon, and a ringtail. The first day we looked at the skulls and examined the teeth. Some animals had all sharp teeth, some had both, and some had only flat grinding teeth. We organized the animals into carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores. My three-year old had no idea of skulls before this. She was fascinated that these were bones of animals that once walked around. Ordinarily, I would not get the bone box for a preschooler, but since she has older brothers, she gets to join in with their learning. She felt the teeth and talked about how they were sharp and some weren’t sharp. We talked about how the sharp teeth are for animals that eat meat, and the flat grinding teeth are for animals that eat plants. That was her lesson. Pelts The Bone Box contains pelts for ten of the animals (the jackrabbit was not included). It was interesting to feel how soft some animals fur is, like the beaver, and how prickly others were, like the javelina. We also talked about the color of the fur. The black bear skin looked big when it was laid down flat on the floor. They do shed, so either do this outside or be willing to vacuum a bit afterwards. Some of the pelts included the skins from the legs and tail, but not all. When you see the whole pelt with arms, legs, and tail, then it gives kids an idea of how big an animal is and how small some animals can be. Tracks The Arizona Game and Fish Department also included molds of the animal tracks. Some were a little worn, but we could still figure out what they looked like. There’s also a grizzly bear footprint included. Yikes! It was huge. Apparently, grizzly bears used to be here in Arizona. The last one was seen in the wild was in the 1930s. Today you can go to Bearizona and see black bears and grizzly bears. The teacher’s guide came with pictures of different animal tracks. Since my kids love to trace, we used tracing paper and copied the tracks. The bone box also includes a sheet with painted tracks of three animals. Children have to identify the tracks, and figure out what animal come along first, and what happened afterwards. My kids enjoyed solving the puzzle. Lifespan The teacher’s guide includes a lesson on lifespan. I adapted it by looking at the reference sheet with the animals’ lifespans and asking my kids to say how long they think a certain animal lives. Then I gave them the answer and we talked about why. For example, a packrat lives between 2-3 years because they are small and are easily hunted. Whereas a black bear can live for 18 years in the wild because he is at the top of the food chain. Online Resources If you click here you can see some more resources that go along with the bone box. They include coloring pages of animals in Arizona, videos, a crossword puzzle, decoding track page, and word searches. There are also some book recommendations. Last Thoughts We loved the Bone Box! It was worth the drive to go pick it up because I know that my children will remember touching the skulls, pelts, and looking at tracks. Arizona has some unique animals here, and the Bone Box is an engaging resource for learning about them. Did I mention that it’s free? The Arizona Game and Fish Department have a number of office locations across the state where you could potentially get access to a bone box. Find the closest office to you and ask if the bone box is available. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays
Picture Books About Lizards in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona
We finally finished our unit on lizards in the Sonoran Desert. It took us a month to do the unit due to numerous colds along the way. Besides being sick for most of the month of May, we had fun learning about the lizards we see climbing our walls outside (we have cinderblock walls for fences in the Southwest). I knew very little about the lizards here in Arizona, but I was able to identify the ones in our backyard. Here are some picture books about lizards in Arizona that we enjoyed, plus a handicraft we did that helped us learn more about reptiles. We also learned about tortoises because they are reptiles. There weren’t many picture books to make a whole week of learning about them. So, I threw them into the lizard unit. Picture Books that Feature Lizards in Arizona Gecko by Raymond Huber Lizards at Large: 21 Remarkable Reptiles at Their Actual Size by Roxie Munro About Reptiles by Catheryn Sill All About Lizards by Jim Arnosky Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat The Horned Toad Prince by Jackie Mims Hopkins The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit by Susan Lowell Arizona Wildlife: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Animals Observing Lizards Like I said earlier, we were sick with colds for a number of weeks. Going on a nature walk just isn’t fun with sick kids. Don’t try doing it. However, we have plenty of lizards zipping and scrambling on our walls, that we really didn’t even have to go anywhere. What we did was we sneaked up as quietly as could to a lizard, and observed him until he ran away. We used our Arizona Wildlife Pocket Guide. It has very simple and clear picture of the different lizards, making it an easy to identify a lizard right in front of you. As we observed lizards, we found that we most often saw the Western Whiptail and the Western Fence Lizard. I see them when I am outside watering the garden. They run away from the water and skitter to a dry place. My three-year old loved trying to get close to a lizard as she could. She’s usually loud, so she really couldn’t get all that close to one, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. Staying in the Backyard Staying in my backyard and not making a fuss of getting kids in the car is my favorite way to do nature study. Walks are nice too, but you still have to make sure everyone goes to the bathroom and has sunscreen on. Sometimes I don’t even want to do that. All to say, is that studying the life we see in our backyard is perfect for this age with littles. It gets even better – we have hawks that hunt in our neighborhood. We like to watch them circle around and around. We have seen them sitting on the pool fence, resting. Sometimes a roadrunner visits our area too, and then I have the poem A Bird Came Down the Walk by Emily Dickenson stuck in my head, except I change it to A Roadrunner Came Down the Walk. Most years, we have a quail family nest under a bush. We get to watch the chicks grow. In a busy season of life, it’s nice when we can learn in our backyard. It makes life easier. Handicraft I made up a fun craft! It’s a lizard suncatcher. We used contact paper, paper plates, tissue paper, and yarn to make it. First, we cut the contact paper into a circle and placed it on the cut out plate. Then we cut tissue paper into the shape of a lizard. We cut a head, arms, legs, tail, and body and fitted them together. Next, we placed another layer on contact paper on top to protect the first one from collecting dirt. Lastly, we put another cut out plate on top to cover the edges of contact paper, taped some yarn on, and hung up our sun catchers. What I Didn’t Know… I keep finding out how little I know about the animals here in Arizona. First of all, Gila monsters get their name from a river called the Gila River. There used to be a bunch of them that lived there. Gila monsters are poisonous lizards. When they bite, they don’t let go. It’s really hard to get on off of you. It just sounds awful to have a lizard stuck to you like that. I guess you bring it with you to urgent care. Then what do they do with it after they get it off you? I just don’t know how this usually plays out. However, they don’t bite unless you bother them. There was only one record of a bite from a Gila monster here in Arizona in 2024 (in case anyone was wondering). Also, the horned toad shots blood out of its eyes when it meets a predator. My boys thought that was really cool. Some of these animals are so strange and gross. I have written this before, but it’s fun to learn with your kids. Reptiles in Arizona are kind of interesting (and gross), and since I didn’t grow up here, it’s all new to me. Last Thoughts It took us a month to learn about lizards, but we did it! Sometimes life has to slow down like that. We enjoyed taking our time reading the picture books about lizards in Arizona. Next up is diurnal animals. There are some really cool resources that I found for that unit, and I am looking forward to sharing them. Want more picture books about reptiles in Arizona? Read my post about picture books about snakes. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
Homeschooling a Three-Year Old with Older Siblings
One of the most common objections to homeschooling is, “You can’t homeschool your older kids when you have younger kids. The littles kids get in the way and mess everything up.” Right? Nope. Wrong. I won’t deny that a three-year can’t make a mess. They certainly can, and they will, but that reason alone doesn’t have to make you not consider homeschooling. You can in fact successfully homeschool older siblings with younger siblings present. A few days ago, I was thinking about what my three-year old learned while being present with her brother as they do their school. She learned a lot (I will share more on that later)! What I saw was that homeschooling a three-year old with older siblings has a number of benefits. Homeschooling a Three-Year Old What does it look like to homeschool a three-year old? For me, it means zero workbooks. If I have to write out the curriculum I used for my three-year old, it would look like this: I don’t care to teach ger how to read any time soon. Having plenty of playtime is the best thing for her age. Some might not call this homeschooling, but I do because I am aware of what her educational needs are, and I am providing her with a suitable environment at home where those needs are met. Sounds like not a whole lot is going on with her schoolwise, but let me share what she has learned. That list makes homeschooling with a three-year old sound like fun, and it is. But when there are older kids to school, I found that my three-year old daughter was almost always present and participating in our lessons or close by playing on her own. Either way, I think she listens more than I first thought. The lessons are geared for my eight-year old and six-year old, but my daughter old can easily participate in Spanish, geography, and nature study. The Older Child Teaches the Younger Child One benefit of homeschooling mixed ages is that the older children can teach the younger children. Earlier in the year, my six-year old son would practice counting to 100 every day. His little sister was nearby, but I had no idea she was listening until one day she counted all the way to 20 by herself. I never taught her how to count. She listened to her brother count every day. The older child taught the younger child, although he wasn’t very happy about his little sister copying him. One of her brothers also taught her how to play Candyland and matching games. He also wrote her name in bubble letters so she could learn her name (I actually did the same thing the day before, but I liked that he wanted to do it too). My point is that having older kids and younger kids in a homeschooling context can actually be a benefit to everyone. The older ones learn how to teach someone a skill, and the younger ones learn how to listen and follow directions. This doesn’t mean I abdicate my role as the teacher, but rather I enjoy the natural ways in which they teach each other. This is something schools try to have as well – students learning from each other – but homeschoolers have a more natural, organic setting for this because there’s no creating the groups and everyone already knows everyone. Read Alouds My favorite part of homeschooling is reading aloud. I love it because it’s so simple, but yet everyone learns so much. Since January, we have been reading through lots of picture books about animals and plants in the Sonoran Desert. The picture books are above my daughter’s level, but I have found that even when a book is too hard for her to understand, she still learns something. For example, when we were learning about lizards, she was able to explain why a lizard needs to be in the sun and why it needs to be in the shade. I wasn’t aiming my lessons for her level, but rather her brothers’, but she still learns plenty in that way. This is one the reasons why some content is done in a family style learning. Part of doing family style learning means the kids are all learning the same content, but are taking in whatever they learn at their own level. When we walk past a saguaro, my three-year old always tells me, “Animals live in there, Mommy.” She learned that from Cactus Hotel. Or whenever we see a lizard in the yard, we dash around trying very hard to see it and identify it. Now she shouts, “Lizard!” when she sees a lizard. If we see a group of hawks hunting in our neighborhood, we all stop everything at once and watch. As always, she joins in our learning and read alouds, and learns more than I thought she would. Last Thoughts I think preschools are great, and many of my friends’ kids are in preschool, but you can give your preschooler a preschool skills by living side-by-side with siblings. Homeschooling a three-year old doesn’t have to be stressful or complicated. You can practice counting while you scoop flour into the mixing bowl. Small kids can play with playdough while you do math with the older ones. Older kids can read aloud to younger kids. It won’t be perfect (because three-year olds are kind of a handful), but it sure will be special. Carly from DeserHomeschoolDays.com
When to Quit Using a Homeschool Curriculum
Have you ever spent a lot of money on a curriculum only to find that it wasn’t a good match for your child? I have. A tension can start to grow between the mom and the child. Mom knows how much the curriculum cost, and therefore feels like she should continue to use it. However, the child hates the lessons and is becoming frustrated and unhappy. Quitting a homeschool curriculum is a big deal. So what are some good reasons for abandoning a homeschool curriculum? Can you quit midyear? What if the next homeschool curriculum you buy is even worse? These were questions I asked myself a few years ago. I pushed one of my kids through a math curriculum that wasn’t a good fit, but since it was a good math curriculum, it took me a long time to stop using it. I found it hard to understand that there can be a good math curriculum that isn’t a good for my child. We switched to Good and Beautiful, which helped a lot. I only wished I had done it sooner. Here are the questions that I spun around my brain as I figured out when to quit using a homeschool curriculum. Is It Too Hard and Intense? Acknowledging that a curriculum is too hard for your child doesn’t mean your child is dumb. It means they may need a different approach to the subject matter. If the textbook or curriculum is too hard, that means your child will begin to dread the hour (or longer) when they feel stupid. I don’t like feeling dumb, and kids certainly don’t either. The math curriculum I pushed my son through was too hard for him. It caused us frustration because I wanted our lessons to go smoothly. What I ended up doing was finding other activities to print out that I thought would fill in the gaps, and then we would go back to the curriculum. In the end, we had lots of fun doing short, fun math games. Since I saw that was working, I knew a less intense curriculum (but still good) would be a better fit. He needed shorter, easier lessons. Sometimes I think more is better, but in this case, a 10-15 minutes math lesson, which was less than what I was doing before, was more because my son finally enjoyed his math lessons and was learning. Is Your Child Throwing Tantrums Over a Certain Subject? Unfortunately, complaining about doing school work is normal. Having regular, full-blown tantrums should not be normal. That could be an indicator that the curriculum might be too hard and frustrating. However, tantrums happen for many other reasons as well. Is The Scope and Sequence Confusing? I have come across curricula where the layout of the textbook was confusing. It’s not that the curriculum couldn’t work, but if it’s hard to navigate, then it might be worth asking if there’s something else that is more straightforward. Does It Align with Your Homeschool Philosophy? This is more of a question for whether a curriculum is a good fit in the long term. I purchased a phonics book from Abeka, and while it was still good, I could tell that it wasn’t what I wanted. At the time, I didn’t have a good homeschool philosophy. I was veering toward Charlotte Mason, and once I found curricula that was “Charlotte Mason inspired,” then I felt more comfortable with homeschooling. Is It Too Much Work for Mom? This can be a problem. If a curriculum has prep work that is very time consuming, then it might not be a good fit. Printing out a bunch of documents and gathering materials for a fancy project of some sort is hard to do if you don’t have the time, which may be a good reason to quit using your homeschool curriculum. I have found myself skipping some of the more optional projects in curricula if they seem like too much work, but you can only skip so many projects. Open-and-go curricula are my favorite. There’s little or no prep work. None. You just sit down and start the lesson. Good and Beautiful and Llamitas Spanish are some examples of open-and-go curricula. Is Your Child Learning? This seems like an obvious question, but if your child isn’t showing any or very little progress it could be a reason to change curriculum. Or it could mean that the child needs to slow down and have mom be patient until ideas and concepts click and sink in. It’s probably one of those situations where you have to look at your child and know them well in order to make the best judgement call. Is It Boring and Old? Even if a curriculum is boring, you can still plow through and finish it. Outdated illustrations and colors are distracting, but they won’t stop you from learning. However, if it’s so old and the information is incorrect, then that could be a problem. When Should You Not Quit a Homeschool Curriculum? It’s good to be cautious when switching curriculum, especially if it’s midyear. Switching around is probably necessary at some times, but sticking with a curriculum and being consistent is going to provide stability and predictability to your school day. I like to read reviews about a curriculum on CathyDuffyHomeschoolReviews.com. Also, YouTube probably has some videos about homeschool curriculum. Some curricula will also give a free sample of a lesson. Lastly, ask a friend. Last Thoughts I also want to add that homeschooling can be frustrating if you start too early. Some kids are ready to start school early, but some aren’t. I had one child that was begging to do school at age three, and another that was content to play in the sandbox all day at age three. If you start too early, then you might run into some frustrations such as wondering if a curriculum is a good fit or not. Just let them run around and play. They will be ready when they are closer
Picture Books about Snakes in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona
A few weeks ago, we learned so much about snakes in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. Like usual, we read lots of good picture books, did a handicraft, learned a fun song, and memorized a poem. We also journaled in our nature journals. In this post I will share the picture books about snakes we read, our learning activities, and our snake observations. First, I will list some of the snakes that live here in the Sonoran Desert. Obviously, the Western Diamondback rattlesnake, which is venomous. There’s also the king’s snake (not venomous), the Arizona coral snake (venomous), the sidewinder (venomous) , and the Mojave rattlesnake (venomous). Click on this link to read more about snakes in Arizona. Basically, stay away from snakes. Luckily, I don’t live in an area where we have snakes (Or so I thought. Keep reading to find out). Picture Books Here some of the picture books that we enjoyed. Some include information about other types of snakes that do not live here in the Sonoran Desert, but we still learned a lot from them. Most picture books about snakes almost always include rattlesnakes anyway. Snakes by Gail Gibbons Snakes are Hunters by Patricia Lauper Rattlesnakes by Sandra Markle All About Rattlesnakes by Jim Arnosky I (Don’t) Like Snakes by Nicola Davies Little Britches and the Rattlers by Eric A. Kimmel Snake Observations We had three opportunities to observe snakes or signs of snakes. The first was in my neighborhood. That morning, I read Snakes by Gail Gibbons to my kids. Then I showed my them a video of a snake shedding his skin. Then we went on a walk that same day, and found a three-foot long snake skin close to our house! I didn’t think snakes lived in my neighborhood, but I guess one does. Of course, I took it home with me. We also went to a local community college where they had a free reptile exhibit. It was perfect! It had plenty for everyone to see, but it wasn’t overwhelming or too much. According to this lifespan board, a rattlesnake lives for about twenty years. That seems like a long time for a venomous snake to be alive. There were a few snakes, but also a lot of lizards. Lastly, we went hiking and we saw a snake. It was a tiny, so I am guessing it was a baby snake. It was all black, and we aren’t very sure what type of snake it was. Once spring comes, rattlesnakes can be close by on the trail. If you aren’t familiar with Arizona, it’s common for trails to post signs warning hikers not to go off the trails due to rattlesnakes. Handicraft We used rolled clay out into the shape of a snake, and then painted them to look like snakes in the Sonoran Desert….notice the pink rattlesnake. It’s very venomous. We used Crayola air-dry clay, but I would recommend using Crayon Model Magic. Some of the snakes we made cracked and fell apart. Last Thoughts I really don’t like snakes. It was nice to learn about them, but I don’t like that rattlesnakes are present on hiking trails. This was probably my least favorite unit because a rattlesnake bite for a small child can be deadly. I have actually never seen a rattlesnake, and I hope to keep it that way. About 250-350 rattlesnake bites each year in Arizona. During monsoon season (August and September), rattlesnakes come out more. However, my children think snakes are really cool. I guess I did my job and got them interested in learning about snakes. Now, let’s move on to lizards. Those are a bit friendlier (some of them). Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
Homeschooling When You Are Sick All the Time
A challenging part of being a parent is having small children who get sick often. There are seasons in life where sickness abounds, and there are seasons where health is plentiful. When sickness is combined with laying aside other responsibilities, then it becomes even harder. For example, trying to homeschool with smaller sick children who have drippy noses and are fussy. That’s hard. What do you do in that situation? How do you go about homeschooling when you are sick all the time? Changing My To-Do List It’s okay to do less school with your older kids when everyone is hopping from one cold to the next. While the season of sickness can seem long, it does end. The world won’t fall apart if all your kids do for school is math and reading for a few weeks. What’s important to do change your priorities. When my kids are sick, instead of following my to-do list in my head, I need to change it. It should read, “Take care of sick children.” God gives me twenty-four hours in a day to do all that I am responsible for doing. He controls the circumstances of each day. If he gives me sick kids, then my manmade to-do list should fall by the wayside. I tend to consider a day a good day if I got a lot of things done, but that’s not always the best way to evaluate a day. Not all work has visible results that merit praise from others. Some work is unseen, but that doesn’t make it less valuable. God sees the mom that leaves a task unfinished in order to nurse a sick baby or to clean up throw up. The task that a mom was in the middle of doing is not what needs to be accomplished at the moment a sick child needs her. Good Works Prepared Beforehand Ephesians 2:10 says, ” For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” All my good works that I will ever do are known and planned by God. Caring for sick children is work that pleases God and has been ordained by him– not matter how much throw up and snot is involved. When it seems like I am not accomplishing much, I have to remind myself that I am responsible for caring for my children, and I need to respond correctly to each circumstance that comes my way (as best I can!). My house might be a mess, but if all I did was care for sick kids, then I did what I suppose to do for that day. There’s joy in knowing that you’re in the right place and doing the right thing, even if part of the experience is unpleasant (throw up, snot, crabbiness). One day I felt like I got nearly nothing done that I had set out to do, but I did take care of everyone, made three meals, read to my kids, changed diapers, folded laundry, picked up our groceries, and finally put everyone to bed. It didn’t seem like much at the time, especially when considering that I set out to do more, but we made it through the day and everyone was cared for. So, it was a good day. As for school work…well, homeschooling when you’re sick means less school work, or no school work. Short Activities What’s frustrating about a cold is that you’re not that sick, but you’re still sick enough you don’t want to do a whole lot. Homeschooling when you’re sick can be hard because mom probably had school plans all ready to go. Also, everything gets thrown off because you can’t see anyone or go anywhere. If you’re stuck in a cold rut, then try doing short activities to help feel like you’re doing something different. Early Bedtime and Expectations It’s exhausting being sick. Usually, younger kids tend to be crabbier in the evenings if they are sick. Early bedtime it is! An extra half hour or so of sleep is helpful for them. It’s also nice for parents to have some extra time for themselves after a day of caring for sick kids. Having sick kids means adjusting expectations may be necessary. It can be hard to decide what to do when a child is acting up more than usual when they are feeling sick. I show them a bit more grace when they aren’t feeling great. Afterwards, we buckle up and reset the standard. Quiet Activities Doing quiet, calming activities help a lot. TV is great too, but you probably don’t want to let the TV be on all day. It’s hard to strike a balance, but what might work is separating kids and doing something quiet. Then come back together for a read aloud, and then separate or play nicely together. Here are some quiet activities. Basic Things There are some basic things that are important to focus on when caring for sick kids. Have they been drinking water? Did they eat a nutritious meal? If not, that can explain why they are very crabby even with a cold. Did they go outside? Playing outside and getting sunshine is good even if you’re not feeling 100%. Last Thoughts Getting a cold is part of life. When it comes to homeschooling when you are sick, taking a break is a good idea. Sometimes the smallest things, like caring for a sick kid, can be sanctifying. Mom keeps going and taking care of everyone, even if she is sick too. It’s a lot of sacrifice in some ways – feeding the baby in the middle when you’re exhausted, canceling plans, being home for days without seeing friends, managing the house instead of getting enough sleep. I wrote a post on Common Place Quarterly a while ago about sick kids. Feel free to take a look. https://commonplacequarterly.substack.com/p/uncommon-thoughts-about-the-common Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
Interesting Fiction Picture Book Authors to Include in Your Homeschool Library
In my previous posts about building a homeschool library, I wrote about including nonfiction and poetry. Today I am going to focus on interesting fiction picture book authors to include in your homeschool library. I always like it when I find a really good picture book, only to discover that the author has written even more books! I am going to assume that most of you have heard of authors like Robert McCloskey (Make Way for Duckings) and Don Freeman (Corduroy). This booklist is meant to highlight other well-known and maybe lesser well-known authors. Here are some of my favorite interesting fiction picture book authors that I am sure you and your kids will also enjoy. Jan Brett Jan Brett is an author and illustrator. She’s one of my favorites. When one of my boys was five years old, he always went straight to the section in the library with her books. He loved them all. Her most popular books are The Mitten, The Hat, and The Gingerbread Baby. She lives in Massachusetts (I always like to know where an author lives). Karma Wilson I wish I was Karma Wilson. She’s an interesting picture book author because she can write a book in a month. Her books are funny, well-written, and full of rhymes. Some of her books that we have enjoyed are Bear Snores On and Bear Says Thanks. These books are great for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Jane Chapman is the illustrator (I always enjoy her illustrations). Karma Wilson lives in Montana. Valeri Gorbachev I never see his name on booklists, so I am adding him to mine. First of all, he’s Russian and he’s a he. Before moving to the US, he was one of the most popular Russian illustrators. One of my boys loved Nikki and the Big, Bad Wolves. I enjoyed The Lost and Found Ducklings and Red, Red, Red. His stories are short, simple, and charming. I discovered him at the library. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Katy Hudson Katy Hudson is also an author and illustrator. I love her simple plots and cozy illustrations. My kids have read her books many times. Some of our favorites are Too Many Carrots and A Winter’s Nap. She lives in England. Karel Hayes Karel Hayes writes what I call “The bear books.” She has a series of books about a bear family that lives in family’s cabin when the family is not there. The bear family and the human family was identical in many ways (mom, dad, son, daughter). Karel is also the illustrator, and she’s super attentive to detail in her illustrations. There’s a lot of consistency between her books (For example, trees being in the same spot in each book).My family has enjoyed all of her books, but my favorite is The Christmas Visitors. There are about five or six sentences in each book. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but so much of the time is spent looking at the illustrations and noticing the details. I have a lot of fun reading her books, and I am sure you will too. Karel Hayes lives in New Hampshire. Gene Zion Gene Zion is known for the Harry the Dog books. His wife, Margaret Bloy Graham, was the illustrator for his books. An interesting fact about them is that they were friends with Hans and Margaret Rey, the author and illustrator of Curious George. Gene and his wife wrote and illustrated many picture books, but I have only read the ones of about Harry. There are four: Harry the Dirty Dog, Harry by the Sea, No Roses for Harry, and Harry and The Lady Next Door. The books are set in the 1950s and have a simple, old-fashioned style. All my kids have enjoyed these stories. Gene Zion lived in New York City. Paul Galdone Paul Galdone wrote and illustrated classic folk tales. If you want a good collections of picture books like The Little Red Hen or Little Red Riding Hood, then these books would make a great addition to your homeschool library. He is also known for Anatole, the French mouse who gets a job tasting cheese. He was born in Austria-Hungary, and later lived in New York City. Jane Yolan Jane Yolan is well-known for Owl Moon, but she has also written a really funny series about dinosaurs. The illustrations, by Mark Teague, make her dinosaur books a fun read aloud. Some of her titles are How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and How Do Dinosaurs Say I am Mad? They feature human parents with dinosaur children. One of my kids was into dinosaurs for a few years, so we read these books over and over again. Jane Yolan currently lives in Massachusetts. I hope this list helps. Knowing what interesting fiction picture books to include in your homeschool library can be hard if you are not familiar with the world of picture books. Building a homeschool library is one of the many exciting jobs that come with homeschooling. Finding good fiction picture books is hard work, but it’s rewarding when you have a bookshelf full of books your children (and you!) will enjoy. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
Interesting Poetry Books to Include in Your Homeschool Library
Over the past few years I have been slowly adding poetry books for reading aloud to our homeschool library. I read quite a bit of poetry to my children, but I actually am not crazy about poetry myself. I can appreciate Christina Rossetti and Emily Dickinson. However, when I have free time, I don’t sit down and read a poem. None of this means I dislike poetry, but it does mean that I am not naturally drawn to it. Despite that, I still think it’s good to ask yourself what interesting poetry books to include in your homeschool library. After all, you don’t want a book of poetry your children will dislike. Every two weeks I have my children memorize a poem. Currently, the poems are from the Sonoran Desert Nature Study I am making, but in the past, I pulled poems from children’s poetry books. I put them in a binder and we reviewed them every day. I should go back and get that binder out and reform that habit that I lost. Isn’t that annoying? Forgetting about a really good habit? Why Include Poetry? I used to teach elementary school, so I know how important poetry is for kids. It helps language development because children can hear the differences in the rhyming words. Children also hear rich vocabulary and the cadence and rhythm of poetry. I like to reread poetry to my kids because it slowly helps them memorize the poem, and memorizing poetry improves memory. There are all these reasons to teach poetry, and sometimes reasons like that can motivate us. However, what I have found to be more motivating than a list of reasons is when you find a poet that you like, and you kind of start to enjoy poetry. Isn’t that movitating? I have found that over time, as I read more poetry aloud to my children, I enjoy it more. Christina Rossetti’s poems always please me. They are short and simple, but yet beautiful in its simplicity. She was able to observe her world around her and paint with words. Rossetti was also homeschooled, had a bad temper as a child, and loved nature. My children also like her poems because they are easy to read and memorize. So why include poetry? You should include it because you want to enjoy reading poetry aloud with your kids. Tips and Tricks for Reading Poetry One of my best tricks is to read a few poems aloud from a poetry book and then leave it lying around. I prefer things to be cleaned up, but when I leave books lying around, I notice that my kids tend to be curious to read a few more poems when I am not looking. In fact, I sometimes purposely leave picture books in the car or lying around on the living room floor. My goal is to make it normal and easy to sit and enjoy poetry. Good Poetry Books for Reading Aloud Maybe you’re like me and you’re not crazy about poetry, but you want your kids to enjoy poetry because it’s good for them. I want my kids to be well-rounded. The good news is that you can do a great job of helping your kids love poetry by simply reading poems out loud to them and talking about them. It’s so simple. I don’t think I am great at talking about poetry, but reading it aloud is better than not reading it, right? Here are some interesting poetry books to include in your homeschool library that may be helpful and fun to read aloud to your children. have enjoyed all of these books with my kids, and some of them we have memorized. Sing a Song of Seasons National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry The Golden Books Family Treasury of Poetry 104 Poems of Whimsy and Delight A Zoo Full of Rhymes Poetry for the Babies and Toddlers Reading poetry aloud to kids is important, but when children are small, nursery rhymes are a great place to start. Mem Fox is known for this quote: “Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight.” Basically, children who memorize nursery rhymes have a better shot at being a good reader when they are older. Mem Fox talks all about these ideas in her book Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. It’s been a while since I read Fox’s book, but I remember enjoying it. I read nursery rhymes to my three-year old. Sometimes my one-year old is nearby listening. Otherwise, I sing nursery rhymes to him when I change his diaper. I have done this with all my babies. My daughter loves the illustration in this copy of Mother Goose illustrated by Scott Gustafson Final Thoughts Can you still do something you’re not good at when you are a homeschooling mom? Of course! A lot of what I am doing now I wasn’t good at in the beginning, but I have gotten better by being disciplined. I find that discipline is the key for improving at teaching my children. Over the past few years, I have found more and more poetry books to include in my homeschool library. The more I read aloud poetry, the more we enjoy it and the more it becomes a normal part of our day. I hope you enjoy some of the poetry books! don’t forget to read my post about including nonfiction picture books in your homeschool library. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
Interesting Nonfiction Picture Book Authors to Include in Your Homeschool Library
One of the best parts of homeschooling is building a homeschool library. It sounds intimidating, but it’s actually a whole lot of fun, especially if you’re into children’s literature. I have small children, so this post is going to focus on nonfiction authors, primarily picture books about nature. My two boys can read chapter books, and I read chapter books and picture books aloud to them, but I am far more familiar with picture books than chapter books at this point in my life. I am going to share with you some of my favorite interesting nonfiction picture book authors to include in your homeschool library. Tell Yourself that You Have a Library The first step to building a homeschool library is to tell yourself that you have a library. Most people own a handful of picture books before homeschooling. Even if you have a small amount of good picture books for your kids, you in fact do have a library. It’s just really small, and may need some improvement. When I was first homeschooling, I didn’t think I had a library because I thought I needed all the picture books I saw on social media (I have social media so I can see what other people read). It’s helpful to remember that a home library is your collection of books (whatever the number of books that may be), and it takes a long time to build a good collection. I am talking years. You also don’t have to have all your books in one room and call it, “The library.” We have children’s books in almost every room of the house. It’s a good rule to have books in every room. Include a Variety of Books in Your Library If all you have are Little Critter books (probably my favorite twaddle), then it’s good to think about getting other genres such as poetry, nonfiction, and better fiction books. One purpose for building a homeschool library is to enjoy a wide variety of books with your children. Think about what kind of books you want to see lying around your house. You want bookshelves too, but it’s also about having books out and about – poetry books, picture books about nature, picture books about historical figures, books that make you laugh, classics. I think you get my point. All of those thoughts have helped me search out interesting nonfiction picture book authors to include in my homeschool library. How to Start Building a Homeschool Library The best way to begin building a homeschool library is to go slow. Don’t buy a ton of picture books by authors with whom you aren’t familiar. Go to the library and find the books you like. When you find the books you like, then purchase those books. You will slowly find the authors you enjoy reading and want to include in your homeschool library. Using booklists can speed up the process. My library has a small rack with used library books you can buy. I have been able to find a number of good books there. Thrift stores are also great places to find books. If you are curious about a book, YouTube has channels where picture books are read aloud. I have listened to people read picture books aloud so I can determine if it’s a book I want to purchase. What’s even better is to find an older homeschool mom who has good taste in picture books and ask for recommendations. Good Nonfiction Picture Book Authors I use Charlotte Mason inspired nature studies with my kids. That means we use lots of picture books to learn about science and nature. Over the past three years of reading lots of nonfiction picture books, I have come to really enjoy certain authors. Here are a few favorites! Jim Arnosky Cathryn Sill Gail Gibbons Yuval Zimmer Diane L. Burns Anne Rockwell Dianna Hutts Ashton Julia Rothman Kate Messner I hope some of these suggestions were helpful for you as you begin to find interesting nonfiction picture book authors to include in your homeschool library. Comment below if there are any books or authors you would add to the list. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com