Homeschool Archives - Busy Moms Helper

Why Extracurricular Activities are Good for Kids

July 19, 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

We received complimentary lessons to help facilitate this post. All opinions are mine alone.

Parenthood is exhausting, especially with multiple kids and all of their additional events. We already have so much going on each day, so fitting in their dance, karate, music lessons or whatever else can seem daunting. Sometimes, we may even wonder why the heck we’re allowing anything more, when even school and homework can be overwhelming! While I’m a firm believer that children shouldn’t be OVERLY scheduled, here’s some reasons Why Extracurricular Activities are Good for Kids.

Now, in our house we limit each of our kids to just one extracurricular activity at a time (with a few very rare exceptions). Three of my kiddos have been taking latin ballroom classes for a few years now, and two of my boys just started doing music lessons at School of Rock for the summer semester – and that’s been a huge blessing! When those two had nothing to do, they felt left out – they didn’t know WHAT they wanted, but knew they were missing out on something. Once they started learning their drum/guitar skills, though, they’ve really blossomed and their daily attitude is much happier and more positive. It truly shows that extracurricular activities are good for kids!

Helps Build Their Passion

Many adults nowadays don’t even know what they’re passionate about – they just focus on getting a good-paying job. Not that that’s BAD, necessarily, but even outside of work they don’t know what they really enjoy. By letting kids try different things as they’re growing up, they can learn what they’re really excited about, what makes them eager to put in the practice/work for. This can help them decide not only what to do later in life, but also leave the option for an ‘extra hobby’ as an adult, too.

Future Benefits

Along with that, they can build up their skills in whatever their hobby is – such as my boys’ guitar or drums – and use that to provide a living for their family when they’re older. Their instructors at School of Rock really enjoy their ‘work’ teaching kids music, and I can almost guarantee they grew up building their knowledge and experience so that they COULD do that. Not only do they get to share what they love, but get to earn a living spreading those skills. Likewise, one of my girls has a dream of being a dance instructor on the side when she’s an adult, and is working hard to make sure she has the skills and experience necessary for that. Think long-term!

Teaches Them Responsibility

We all know that school homework can be a struggle – big time! But when your kids have something fun to do, especially something that they CHOSE to do, it can be a whole different story. I fight with some of my kids about school daily, but never have to nag about practicing – they just do it every morning like clockwork! With my two boys doing instruments, since they have only been working on this for a little over a month, they’re still learning HOW to practice more productively – such as dividing their practice time between their different songs for band, or knowing to spend more time on a certain skill their struggling with. If they don’t practice, they learn to be accountable for that with their class or fellow band members.

Also check out the Benefits of Music Lessons for Kids!

Gives Them an Outlet

One of my boys has SPD (sensory processing disorder), so he’s always bouncing and needing movement. Some days it’s hard to make sure he gets enough of that stimulation he needs, but once he started playing the drums – getting to bob his head to the beat, hit the drums with sticks and the foot kicker, and move back and forth between the different drum/cymbal pieces, you could really tell a difference. It’s been great not only for that motion he needs, but also all that extra energy that kids can get! When my other son is driving me bonkers because he has too much built-up energy in the house, I suggest he goes and does a few dance rounds – works like a charm!

Healthy Social Environments

My kids have been both public schooled and now homeschooled, and in both situations I can honestly say that I’m super grateful for the friends they have during their outside activities! Friends at school (or in homeschool groups, or whatever) are great, but they don’t seem to be quite as close. I think part of that is within the class or band, they share that same passion and are working on it together, already giving them something to connect with. I’m not saying our kids are friends with EVERYONE in their activities, but their best friends have certainly come from their extracurricular activities. They learn to get along better, work together and to help each other progress in their skills, which is such a blessing for kids.

How else are extracurricular activities good for kids?

Learning & Building with Circuit Blox

July 15, 2019 by Danielle 2 Comments

We received a free kit to facilitate this post. All opinions are mine alone.

Y’all know how much kids love building – creating figures, robots, towers, castles, vehicles and so much more with their wonderful imaginations. Now what if they could also learn about electricity, radio waves and more while playing? Now they can have a blast Learning & Building with Circuit Blox! I couldn’t wait to see how much they enjoyed this kit, and wasn’t disappointed – they’re already begging to try some of the other hundreds of projects it can do!

First of all, let me tell you what Circuit Blox even are: they’re interactive building blocks made with patented technology by E-Blox, making it possible for electricity to flow safely through the pieces. It’s even been named Stem.org AuthenticatedTM! We tried out the Circuit Blox™ 395 – E-Blox® Circuit Board Building Blocks Toys Coding Kit for Kids to get a good feel of the variety of these kits. You can get smaller, more specific ones – or get a few and mix and match for all new projects. Our particular set contains 68 pieces that can make a whopping 395 different projects!

Our girls (13 and 12) enjoyed it, as well as our boys (youngest 8), so I think they’re good for a wide range of ages. Hubby was just as excited as the kids, and helped teach them about how the flow of power works, what happens if you switch certain pieces, and all sorts of fun STEM themed topics. They had fun making a fan spin…

…and lights switch between different parts of the build…

…and the girls even made a basic FM radio!

Some projects take longer than others, so you can pick and choose either what type of thing you want to learn or base it on how much time you have to focus on it. It’s fantastic for homeschool, supplemental STEM education or just for a cool, interactive playtime. The pieces are sturdy, which I appreciated, and the instructions are very clear and easy to follow. It shows the colors, layouts and even the numbers of the pieces so all the kids could follow along with issue. The girls did theirs entirely on their own (we just stayed by to discuss some of it), and the boys needed minimal supervision on theirs.

Check out Circuit Blox for amazing interactive STEM learning!

Benefits of Music Lessons for Kids

June 22, 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

School of Rock provides us complimentary lessons so we can fully review this program. All opinions are mine alone.

I grew up taking piano lessons, and for a long time I was so frustrated that my mom wouldn’t let me quit. Now that I’m a parent, I look back and realize all that I gained from that – not just learning more piano, but also real life skills. Now that two of my boys are taking lessons for guitar and drums, I enjoy watching their growth and excitement each week. Many parents don’t realize how valuable taking lessons can be for their children – so today I’m sharing 5 Benefits of Music Lessons for Kids!

When I say music lessons, I’m not talking necessarily just guitar and drums (that’s just what my kids are doing right now) – I mean any instrument, vocal lessons, or even just learning how to read or write music! They all have these same benefits, just with varying methods. Here’s some of the benefits of music for kids – and just some of the reasons I’m thrilled my boys are taking lessons at School of Rock!

Learning Hard Work to Reach Their Goals

In real life, things don’t come easy to most of us. If we have goals we want, we need to make hard work towards them, sticking to it even when it gets hard or frustrating. It’s best for kids to learn this when they’re younger, so it’s not a ‘rude awakening’. By working towards mastering a certain song on their instrument, or having a goal to play drums at a certain tempo with no mistakes, they’re learning this process at a younger age so that when it’s the ‘big things’, they’re ready.

Time Management Skills

Just like with any skill, it takes practice – which means making time regularly to work on the music, practice their instrument, and really build up those skills. Just like when they’re adults needing to manage their time with tasks at work, they’re learning to do so not only with something they’re passionate about, but also how to overcome those slump days when they just don’t feel like making it a priority – but doing it anyway!

Improving Their Music Skills

Who knows if my boys will grow up to be in a world-famous band, write record-breaking tracks or just simply enjoy breaking out their guitar or drums for some fun time with friends. Perhaps they’ll teach lessons to others when they’re grown, passing on the skills they acquired from their own amazing instructors at School or Rock. Whatever they choose to do with these specific talents and knowledge of music and their instruments, they’ll have plenty options and enjoyment!

Building Friendships/Relationships

Not only do they build respectful relationships in their teacher-student situations, but with their group band lessons they’re making friends, learning to work and grow together, and acquiring great teamwork skills. They get to see the results when everyone puts in the hard work, and how all the parts fit together for a rockin’ good time!

Improve Memory & Cognitive Skills

I loved this article that School of Rock shared about how important it can be for children. Not only does learning the music, the parts and workings of their instrument, and the parts to various songs help their memory skills, but it makes strong connections in different parts of their brain. This development can keep their mind sharper for longer, and make it easier to learn other information or skills because their brains already have experience building those networks.

BONUS: Build Confidence

Confidence is something that’s of high importance to many parents, since it can be the foundation for a happy, healthy life for their kids. It’s one of my favorite benefits of music lessons! With all of the hard work, managing their time, working together, sticking with it even when they want to quit – then seeing the amazing results at the end, they can help strengthen their confidence because THEY did that. They put in the work. They progressed in their skills. They took the steps to go further and further, and now can look back to see how far they’ve come since the start – and how far they can go if they continue.

I love seeing the growth my boys have had already, both with the music AND the life skills. I can’t wait to see how much more will happen as they continue their music lessons with school of rock, and where these important life skills will take them in their lives!

Fun Summer Learning

May 31, 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

This post was sponsored by Carson Dellosa Education as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. #CarsonDellosaEducation #IC

Summer break is finally here – woot woot! The kids are excited for days full of swimming and sunshine, and I’m eager for some breaks from our homeschooling, as well as a more relaxed schedule when we do fit some in during the summer months. One thing I’m not stressed about is keeping their minds sharp, not letting all they learned during the school year fade out – because they actually enjoy some fun summer learning with these amazing Summer Bridge Activities workbooks!

My favorite thing about adding these learning books into our summer schedule is that it’s just a quick 15 minute learning session – not a ton of time, but it keeps them sharp and completely prepared when the next school year begins. Instead of spending a few weeks re-adjusting, they can jump right in where they left off and keep on running!

Despite all the crazy activities, pool days and more during summer vacation, it’s super simple to include 15 minutes of learning with these fun daily activities to help fight off the learning loss that can occur during the long break. Let your kids change things up by allowing them to do their activities in somewhere new – the park, by the pool, in a comfy bean bag chair, or wherever makes it seem extra special. Sometimes my boys even sport their superhero costumes while tackling the activities!

My kids really enjoy the Carson Dellosa Education workbooks, with my younger ones often not even considering it ‘school work’ because it’s just fun! They also have a great variety inside, from math to language arts, even some bonus science experiments – because we all know how much fun learning kids have while doing interactive activities.

Helping my mom with her in-home daycare while a teen and a young adult, each summer she’d include these Summer Bridge Activities Workbooks. She could see how well they helped the kids keep their minds ready for the upcoming school year, while still having a fun time. Even I could see the difference they made for those kids as opposed to their fellow classmates (since I subbed at the school often), so have kept it up with my own kids once they each hit their school years!

As a parent, we want our kids to have amazing summers playing, getting outside and just being free – and know that 15 minutes a day of a creative activity from their workbooks will also ensure their summers are complete with learning. I love that we can trust Carson Dellosa Education as a top resource outside of the classroom for continued education, even during the long and exciting summer vacation!

Grab Summer Bridge Activity workbooks for your kids in K-5 for fun summer learning!

Intro to School of Rock

May 17, 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Thanks to School of Rock for providing complimentary lessons to facilitate this post. All opinions are mine alone.

If you’ve been looking for an awesome music program to try for your kiddos – whether it be drums, guitar, keyboard/piano or even vocals – you’ve got to check out the School of Rock. They offer several different options, and are very experienced with all ages from young kiddos and even adults, making them a great program to get you through all the years! Two of my boys just started their lessons with them last week, so I’ll be sharing lots more in the coming months, but for now here’s a little intro to School of Rock in case you’re considering it for your own kiddos.

First of all, School of Rock takes all levels – from just starting out on up through those ready to submit auditions for a major record label. How it works is with individual lessons each week – about 45 minutes each – then each week they also participate in a group rehearsal with their ‘band’ (divided by age/level). For Rock 101 (ages 8-12) they receive a 90-minute rehearsal each week. Once they hit age 12, they move up into the performance level program and receive a 3-hour group rehearsal each week! That’s a lot of good, quality learning from experienced musicians who love sharing all their knowledge and skills.

There are 9 School of Rock locations in the DFW area and 24 in Texas, with tons more all over the country. My boys just started at the Mansfield location, and they were super excited for their first lesson – nagging me for weeks ‘how many more days?’ and ‘practicing’ at home. Their first lesson was last week, and right from the start they felt right at home with the School of Rock staff! One of them is learning drums, while the other is doing electric guitar. Once they get a good feel for their instruments, they’ll join in their ‘band’ with the new semester (June) and not only get to be part of a team, but also make friends and even try new instruments if they choose!

At School of Rock, they offer programs for drums, guitar, bass guitar, singing and keyboard/piano. Like I said before, the kids are welcome to try out a variety of the instruments within their band to see what they really enjoy the most – or even just to give them a taste of different tools to create music!

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These two are so excited to start learning at @sormansfield #partner One on drums, one on guitar! @schoolofrockdfw #schoolofrockdfw #sormansfield #guitar #drums #music

A post shared by Danielle (@busymomshelper) on May 9, 2019 at 1:01pm PDT

I’ll share a lot more as the boys progress in their program, but I couldn’t wait to share about the amazing music program at School of Rock that is fantastic for kids of any age (and adults, too!). Even after the first lesson my boys were well on their way on their chosen instruments, and can’t wait to learn more.

Check out School of Rock online or on their Facebook here!

Teaching Kids about Internet Safety

February 7, 2019 by Danielle

Thank you to Google and Mom It Forward Influencer Network for sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine alone. #SaferInternetDay #BeInternetAwesome

It’s crazy the differences between when we were growing up, and now our kids – especially with technology and constant, instant access to the online world. While in San Antonio on Monday celebrating Safer Internet Day, I learned several ideas and tips from our Be Internet Awesome adventure that will help parents and families learn more about Internet Safety. After all, despite all the good the internet gives us, there’s plenty of bad to keep an eye out for!

It was really creative the way they set up their Be Internet Awesome event, making it interactive and playful (while still educating – woot woot!) so that the kids were really pulled into the topics. To make it simple and cover the most important aspects of internet safety, there’s the ‘5 Zones of Internet Safety & Digital Citizenship’.

Here’s a breakdown of each of them:

Alert: Don’t Fall for the Fake

We all know those pesky phishing scam emails that seem to be constantly hitting our inboxes – but do your kids? Especially with email addresses being useful – or even necessary – at younger ages in school now, we need to make sure our kids are aware and being ‘alert’ to these possible scams.

The kids got several cards that had an ’email’ written on them, they then put the card in either the REAL slot or the FAKE slot. The machine then told them if they were correct, and if so then why it seemed more real or what made it suspected as fake. At the end, they got to shoot the ‘fake’ email!

Smart: Share with Care

While this covered a couple different topics, overall it was about what type of documents/information are ‘smart’ to send online. Kids were given different types of things (photo of baby cousin, school paperwork, etc.) and then had to decide if it’s something to share wherever online, just with close family and friends, or to not share online at all.

Teaching kids that once something is online, it may be there forever, can help them think twice before once they share (hopefully!)

Kind: It’s Cool to be Kind

I absolutely LOVE that they included this zone of internet safety, because there’s seems to be so much hate and mean words online. It’s bad enough kids get bullied at school so much, there’s a further reach online waiting to attach them, too. This station let the kids send ‘hearts’ to help fellow kids who were being ‘attacked’ by mean things (little pink spiky balls), as well as ‘block’ and even tell a grown up – such as a teacher or parent – if things didn’t get better quick enough.

Strong: Secure Your Secrets

How strong are the passwords for YOUR accounts? The statistics we learned about passwords was pretty shocking, and made me grateful that I’ve always been a little paranoid so set really unique and wacky passwords. This showed kids WHY it’s important to have a secure password (that you shouldn’t share with others, other than parents). No matter if you’re middle aged or a tween, you should have a STRONG and UNIQUE password, not just name or nickname (which about 24% of 16-24 year olds use – yikes!). They should be at least 8 characters long, and use a mixture of letters and numbers.

Brave: When in Doubt, Talk it Out

This one’s super important to discuss with our children, because it talks about being brave enough to come to an adult – either with a question, concern or for help. Not only adults, but for other kids who are aware of something negative to be brave to go to a grown up, even ‘anonymously’ that can then help whoever is having the problem.

The most important thing about internet safety is TALKING with your kids about all of these topics, and helping them feel comfortable in case they do ever need to come to you with a concern. I’m so grateful Google held this event – join us in celebrating Safer Internet Day with this awesome NEW Family Guide full of tips and learning so we can all work Together for a Better Internet! Kids will be able to put their new skills to the test with Interland, and your family can enjoy a much safer, better online experience.

Another great suggestion is to help your child’s school get involved by sharing Be Internet Awesome with their teachers, principals and leaders. The more people who learn this helpful information and help guide our children safely online, the better it will be for all of our families.

What’s your biggest internet safety tip?

Family Home Command Center

January 7, 2019 by Danielle

With a family of 7, it can be really challenging to keep all of our schedules organized (and not forget all the random events or tasks). Luckily, we spent the weekend putting up this awesome Family Home Command Center that’s been a lifesaver! Not only is it functional, but looks amazing on this big wall on the side of our stairs.

As we’ve been *finally* adding photos and decor to our walls in this house (like our fun entryway with our new family photos), I knew I wanted a central area to help keep our family a bit more organized. A big dry erase calendar was a total MUST for me, because as the kids get older there seems to be more and more activities every month – I need help to stay on top of it all!

And for those of you that are super observant, yes I completely messed up the dates on the calendar at first! My large desk calendar – where I put all my daily to-dos for work, life, and EVERYTHING – starts with Sunday as the first day of the week. I look at this calendar multiple times a day, so that’s what my brain is programmed for – so I went into autopilot when writing in dates. It’s since been fixed, thank goodness, but it’s going to take some getting use to! At the top is another of our fabulous family photo gallery wraps – it’s a bit more goofy, and I love it for our command center.

It took me a bit to decide on a layout – but once I knew exactly WHAT I wanted to put on the wall, it was just a matter of playing with it. I traced everything onto scrap paper and used that taped to the wall until I found what I liked best, then it was easy to put the nail holes exactly where they needed to be, as well!

We’ve been trying something new with our family chores – a sheet with the chores divided up. I laminated it, so each week I just put each child’s marker color by the chunk of chores that they’re in charge of completing that week. Same for who has meal duties (set table, etc.) each meal – just add their marker color. Super easy to switch up, and a nice convenient spot for them to check!

Above that is a cute printable list of the morning tasks all my kids need to complete to kick off their homeschool work for the day – I plan to switch it up each month to play with other backgrounds.

I’ve had my large photo collage LOVE board for several years now, and have always enjoyed it in a central location to look at often, so it was perfect! I plan to start making a new one annually with our family photos from that year, then use numbers to do a vertical 2018 (or whatever the year) in place of the letters. Each year we’ll add to our collection, and the most current will go in this spot on our home command center!

Aren’t my babies so cute? Even the kids really enjoy walking past this and seeing a bunch of photos of the family. This family command center is along our main pathway from the front door to the back of the house where the kitchen/living room are. Across from the wall is the large, open office and homeschool room, so it’s a perfect location for them to check their daily tasks and glance at the family calendar, as needed.

Seriously, I can’t get enough of how great this central area looks – and am loving how convenient it is for our family scheduling, tasks, and chores. Hopefully it continues to keep us a bit more organized for a long while to come!

Do you have a command center? Tell me about it in the comments!

Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts for Learners & Homeschoolers

November 15, 2018 by Danielle

My kids have always loved learning, and I try to encourage that with the types of games, activities and toys we have in our home. Now that we’re homeschooling, it’s even more important! If you have kids who love to learn then you’ll love the incredible ideas in our newest Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts for Learners & Homeschoolers.

Whether their interest is in science experiments, studying astronomy, life and nature exploration, learning to code or robotics, we’ve got a bit of something for everyone on this list. Pick your favorite gift for a kid who loves to learn, or for your homeschool kiddos!

Professor Maxwell’s 4D Chef

Kids can get immersed into this fun 4D Kitchen while creating 18 interactive recipes. They come alive in augmented and virtual reality, and Professor Maxwell (the 4D Chef) helps teach them the science behind food – they’ll love exploring the wonders of food science while trying new recipes. There’s a ‘lesson behind every bite’ – so give it a try!

14-in-1 Build Your Own Educational Solar Robot

Scientific Explorer Tasty Science Kit

GeoSmart Flip Bot 2019 Toy Of The Year Finalist

Kids will have great fun when they build, then flip, this remote-controlled vehicle! The 30-piece geomagnetic set has turbo motors which allow it to zoom and spin all over – as well as FLIP over! Learning is super fun with this robot featuring bright colors, strong magnetic pieces and a (patented) double-safety system. Use the included building guide, or let your kids use their own creativity to build different versions with the included pieces! This entertaining bot – weighing less than 2 pounds when fully built – flips whenever direction is changed form forward to back or vice-versa making for hours of learning fun!

Mastermind®

Kids can test out their code-cracking with Mastermind, a challenging game of logic and deduction. Try to crack the code in 10 moves or less, or create one that cant’ be cracked! It’s a great stategy game and one of the world’s most popular games ever. It’s easy to learn, fast to play and has thousands of possibilities, making it different every time you play. For 2 players, ages 8 and up.

littleBits HALL OF FAME Collection

Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret

Whether our kid loves adventure, learning, reading or just trying new things, they’ll love this new book by Trudi Trueit brought to you by National Geographic! This first title in what will be a 7-book middle grade series was inspired by actual, real-life missions of the National Geographic Society. Inspire your kids to adopt a mindset of an explorer to set them up for a lifetime of adventure!

LEGO Chain Reactions Craft Kit

Wordsearch

Who doesn’t love a great wordsearch game? With this exciting version, turn a solitary activity into a fun group game as players go on a word search. The specially-designed circular board rotates to reveal the word they’ll race to find on that turn. You can even create your own custom Wordsearch cards with the online Puzzle Generator! Visit http://www.wordsearch.eu and enter up to 20 of your own unique words to generate a customized puzzle board; then download and print. For 2-4 players, ages 7 and up.

Large Sunprint® Kit

LED Activity Panel

Base Inventor Kit

Learn & Climb Kids Science Set

Building Brilliance® Magnetic Shapes

Solar Building Helicopter

Gizmos & Gadgets Kit

Scientific Explorer Magic Science for Wizards Only Kit

STEM Robot Mouse Coding Activity

HEXBUG VEX Robotics Offroad Truck

Electronic Music Inventor Kit

Solar Powered Robot

Crayoligraphy Calligraphy Kit

Mini Explorer Light-up Crystal Growing Kit

Rule Your Room Kit

5 lb Air-Dry Clay Resealable Bucket

LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox Fun Robot Building Set

Women in Science

DIY Star Globe

Space Rover Inventor Kit

The Educational, Augmented Reality Based Globe

Science! Stationery Set

Telescope for Kids and Astronomy Beginners

The Albert Math Clock

Liquid Timers

Leapfrog: Gift Of Learning for Kids Ages 4-7

Marvel Avengers Hero Inventor Kit

ERUPT! Volcano and Fossil Science Kit

Star Wars Bloxels Video Game Builder

Creative Projects with Raspberry Pi

Hexbug VEX Robotics Bundle: SNAP SHOT, CROSSBOW, CATAPULT

Earth and Space Adult Coloring Book

Microscope for Kids Science Kit

Kids GPS Smart Phone Watch

GeoSafari® Talking Microscope™

Droid Inventor Kit by littleBits

Mini Explorer Light-up Terrarium Kit Kids

Butterfly Garden

Create-A-Maze™

Children’s Organic 4 Plant Kit

First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet

Kids Binoculars set

5-in-1 Build and Play Toy Set

Two-Tiered Mini Greenhouse

Educational Insights Kanoodle

HEXBUG VEX Robotics Screw Lift Ball Machine

Circuit Kit With Lighted Bricks Magnets

National Geographic Dinosaur Dig Kit

What do your kids love learning about most?

Balancing Digital Entertainment for Kids

November 1, 2018 by Danielle

This post is sponsored by the Mom It Forward Influencer Network on behalf of Explore, Discover & Grow. All opinions are mine alone.

Hubby and I were discussing the differences of when we were kids, and now our children’s youth. At school a lot of things were paper and pencil, not tablets. We had way more recess than schools now seem to, as electronic time is slowly taking over. Last year at school, there were so many days my kids would say ‘we didn’t do recess outside today, they had us stay inside and watch a movie’. And if you’re wondering the same thing I did, no it was not an educational movie, just a fun one that’s only purpose is to entertain. What about movement, or learning? This is why parents need to be mindful of Balancing Digital Entertainment for Kids – because although technology, movies, games and such are great and fine, there needs to be a balance with the kids actually being active and learning, too.

Growing up, the norm was for parents to send their kids outside to play – often times until the street lamps would turn on in the evening. Now, kids spend more and more time in front of a screen. Y’all know I love movies and games, especially with my family, but I also know how important it is to not overdo it. Television stations now aim for an 80/20 ratio, with 80% being just entertainment and 20% being education entertainment. If you ask Greg Page – known globally for his role as the original Yellow Wiggle from the children’s entertainment group, The Wiggles – he thinks it should be closer to 50/50. It’s all about balance! In an effort to bring more quality, educational fun to kids’ screen time, he’s leading a revival of children’s educational television with Explore, Discover & Grow.

Greg knows from his many years in early childhood studies and as a teacher that kids learn better by DOING. Too many shows just entertain while the child just sits there. But shows such as Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues have shown us how much more excited kids are when they can feel like a part of the show, and be active along with the characters. By involving the kids in the story or activities, they’re also more likely to LEARN and actually retain the information – plus have fun along the way! The more senses they use, the better what they learn is stored in the brain, plus the better they understand it. That’s why he’s been working hard to bring Explore, Discover & Grow to kids – this series of 104, ten-minute videos will be released directly to subscribers 2X per week, making it the perfect length for young kids’ attention spans.

Parents can help bring some balance to digital entertainment for kids with this great series, which will use music, movement, language and play – making it a great ‘edutainment‘ experience for young kiddos. Kids as young as 2 will enjoy the colors, sounds and active motions included, and preschool children will have fun, engaging and educational content that’s designed to teach the whole child. Since it’s created by a teacher with actual experience in applying educational theory in entertainment for over 27 years, you know it’ll be high quality and be perfectly catered to the learning abilities of these younger children.

And guess what? YOU can be a part of this amazing revival by backing their Indiegogo campaign – and you’ll get access to all of the content created! The campaign is now live, and they’re counting on parents like us to help them bring good, educational entertainment back to today’s kids. The closer to their funding goal they’re able to get, the higher quality they’ll be able to produce, so we’re trying hard to help raise awareness – not just here, but all over the world for English-speaking families! Greg’s determination is remarkable, and after having a really great chat with him (at 2am his time, since he’s in Australia – thank you Greg!) to learn more, I really believe this will be the next great screen time show for preschool kids! He’s working hard to make this a reality, and has already created about 60-70 songs for the series.

They have a full plan for the coming year to produce and release these great videos, and his hope is that if they can make the first year successful and as high-quality as planned (with your help by supporting their Indiegogo campaign), the second year can help open up possibilities for others out there with great ideas on quality, educational entertainment for today’s little ones. With more and more non-educational screen time being thrown at our youth all the time, this could really be the start of showing the world that us parents want better for our kids – that we WANT balance in digital entertainment for our children!

See more fun for Explore, Discover & Grow on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!

Starting Homeschool

October 12, 2018 by Danielle

As many of you know, we decided that we’d homeschool our kids starting this year. All five of them! Yes, we’re crazy – but this decision came after several years of looking into things, considering all the pros and cons, and making our own lives and jobs work so that we could do this. We’re two months in, and so far things are going fine. There’s still many bumps to figure out and adjustments to be made, but we’re learning and growing together, and will probably tweak things all along the way. If you’re unsure about Starting Homeschool, here’s some reasons WHY we made this choice!

First of all, I’ll be honest and say that one of my kids we’re only homeschooling because we moved far enough away from his school that we couldn’t make the drive there/back work. It was an AMAZING school (one of my girls was there 4th-6th grade, and that’s as high as they go so she finished it as well), dual language, very arts, creativity and STEAM focused. We loved it, and if we lived close enough he would still be able to go there – but sadly, it’s a minimum of 25 minute drive each way, which just couldn’t be worked out. So if you’re at an INCREDIBLE school that you love, homeschooling may not be for you.

For the kids not at that school, we’re starting homeschooling mainly for the following reasons:

More flexible schedule – for the family, learning, vacations, activities/extracurricular, etc.
Learn at their own pace – some need more help in certain subjects, but a classroom can’t just stop for one child (now WE can)
Catch up or go ahead – some of my kids need to catch up in some topics, while some are flying ahead and really meeting their potential
We control what/how they learn – no more worries of whether we agree with certain views, or how topics are addressed by others besides us
More hands-on learning opportunities – such as field trips of our choice (and more time to do them), etc.

There’s other reasons, of course, but these were the largest. Last year, one of my kids’ teachers said that she had finished that year’s math already so she had handed her the math book for the next year to work on ahead. School just couldn’t keep up with HER actual learning pace, same with another one of my kids. They needed more challenge, and the ability to move forward instead of sitting waiting for a classroom to catch up. And the reverse, some kids need MORE help or to go slower in certain subjects – but again, you have to go by the classroom speed. Homeschooling gives us the freedom to give extra help, or allow faster progress, as each child needs it.

Now, while there’s plenty of beneficial things to homeschooling (otherwise we wouldn’t have chosen this option), there’s also some cons. It’s extremely difficult fitting my own work into the schedule when I’m assisting kids all day, or just having them home instead of getting to focus on my to-do list. I’ve had to cut back some, and it’s a constant tug-of-war with priorities. The kids and I do frustrate each other sometimes because we’re together ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. So while it’s great having that relationship building and time together, it’s not always roses.

There’s also costs – supplies, programs/educational material, etc. You have to put up with questions A LOT from people who think homeschooling isn’t the right choice. We have to be active to make sure they get OUT of the house and socialize with others enough – between church, friends and their extracurricular activities, though, so far there’s been zero worries on that front. It can also be frustrating when the kids see each other doing better or worse than them, and have to teach them it’s okay to be different so they don’t make it an awful competition.

Two months in, and still when people ask how it’s going my answer is usually “nobody’s died yet!” That sums it up in a nutshell – while we’re still thrilled with our decision and things are going great overall, there’s still the frustrating or overwhelming times, the moments we just want to have SPACE from each other, and the general tweaking and figuring things out we will probably be doing the entire time. So if you’re thinking of starting homeschool for your kiddos, definitely consider it strongly and make the best choice for YOUR family – but know that while there’s many benefits (I believe they outweigh the cons), there’s still going to be headaches. Nothing’s perfect, right?