Mark 10:51

Mark 10:45

Simplify...

Today's post brought to you by the word: Simplify from Kate's Five Minute Friday writing prompts

Simplify...

A word with such promise, but so much hard work to make it a reality. We stretch and pull and fit every last thing into our schedules, and then we feel overwhelmed and realize we need to simplify. But getting there? That's the challenge.

You cannot just one day decide to simplify your life and wake up the next day and have your schedule and life fixed. It takes time to step back and evaluate what needs to go and what needs to stay. The only way to simplify in a hurry is to have heart attack and be relegated to the hospital and rehab - not the way anyone I know wants to simplify.

So in the meantime, how do we go about simplifying our lives? We take stock of what is working well, and what is not. Those things that do not work well - we find a way to change them, or get rid of them. 

Here is an example: you cannot just stop doing laundry because it is not working well, but, you can implement some procedures that make it easier to get it done. Buy three laundry hampers, one for darks, one for whites, and one for in-between colors. Train your family to go to the laundry room and sort their dirty clothes into the correct hamper (it helps if you get them in white, black, and a colored one instead of all white ones!) Laundry at your house just become simpler.

What about the things you can kick to the curb? How do you decide which outside activities to ditch and which ones to keep? Have a heart to heart with your spouse, pray, and then have an honest talk with your children. Sometimes game night needs to get cut back, or a sport needs to be dropped. We cannot do it all, and we should not be trying to do it all, but we can choose a few things and try to do them well. If you are needing to simplify, ask each person in the family what is the one thing they want to keep - and then everything else is a possibility to be dropped. Sometimes even that one thing has to go - maybe your three year old wants dance classes, but its just not going to fit your schedule, or your budget. Find her something that is going to fit, and wholeheartedly do it with her.

Simplifying frequently requires us to get rid of stuff, so we have less of it to clean and put away. Find a local shelter or charity resale shop for those clothes and blankets that are still in good shape. Don't be so tied up in your possessions that they end up possessing you. God wants you to spend your time focused on His word, and His work, not on how many totes of clothes you have stashed for the elusive 'someday.'

Simplifying takes work, but oh, the glorious freedom it brings is well worth it!

Mark 10:26-27

SchoolhouseTeacher.com Yearly Membership ~ a Crew Review

*this post contains affiliate links

Have you used SchoolhouseTeachers.com yet? If not, I'm wondering why not. This resource has over 360 online self-paced classes for students from preschool up through high school. During the month of January there is a sale on the Yearly Membership for new members, only $90/year with coupon code NEWYEAR18. That is a huge savings over the standard rate of $179!

If you have been reading the blog for a while, you'll know that every year I like to give you an update about some of the new features on SchoolhouseTeachers.com. This year is no exception! For this review I want to focus on a few of the available resources I have found most helpful while homeschooling high school. They have a lot of Homeschool parent support available on SchooolhouseTeachers.com.

There are two things you need before your student can graduate high school, a transcript, and a diploma! Yes, I know, your student needs to complete (and understand) a lot of basic and elective courses to earn those two, but for the moment, let's focus on the parents ok?! From past experience, I know that some parents cower in fear at the thought of making a transcript. I've even seen parents put their kids into a traditional school for high school because they thought themselves ill-equipped to compose a transcript. Don't fail your kids now! High school can be a wonderful jumping-off point to their adult lives, or it can be a disaster. It is up to you, the parent, to decide which course of action will give them the best shot at that jump. We chose to educate our girls all the way through graduation. One is a successful college student, and the other is a high school senior. 

One of the best resources available with a Yearly Membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com is the Gold level of Applecore Recordkeeping! Seriously people - this makes the last step before you hand that child a diploma so much easier. I am a paper record keeper. All of the girls' high school classes and grades are scrawled upon pages in my purple binder. It is the place where I keep all the random, and not so random, lists and records from high school. Planning, doing, and recording. But when it came time to make Emily's transcript, all it took was about an hour of quiet, my binder, and Applecore. It takes you step by step through entering your child's courses and grades, then it figures their GPA for you, and asks you how you want to save or print the transcript. Super easy compared to trying to do it yourself! Another great option is being able to go back and edit that transcript and print or email it again as needed. There is a 12 minute instructional video on SchoolhouseTeachers.com that is big help. watch it before you get started!

There is also a High School Help section on SchoolhouseTeachers.com. It explains what weighted classes are, helps you understand the scope & sequence of the high school classes available, and helps with career exploration. This section also has high school planning printouts, and the High School Schoolhouse Planner, an all-time favorite of ours. This digital file has just about every high school form and calendar page you could think of.

Now, back to the students...

What if your high schooler wants to take a class you don't know how to, or do not want to teach? Check out the available offerings on SchoolhouseTeachers.com and see if you can find something there for them to use. There are the standard offerings you might expect, like math, science, history, and language arts, but there are also great electives to choose from. Maybe your student is interested in accounting, or wants to do a unit study on maple syrup? Those are available. They can also access the World Book libraries with your SchoolhouseTeachers.com membership and follow timelines of transportation, or the history of sports and games. While many of the World Book offerings are geared for younger students, your homeschooled high schooler can find a lot there as well.

Do your state's graduation requirements include speech or foreign language credit for your high schooler? SchoolhouseTeachers.com has those too! 

Arlene likes watching videos, and some of our favorites are included with the Right Now Media videos on SchoolhouseTeachers.com. I am pretty sure she would sit and watch Drive Thru History all week long if I would let her!

If you would like more details about individual courses available on SchoolhouseTeachers.com that we have used, or looked into, feel free to read this review we did in 2017.


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Books With Bean ~ The Mother-Daughter Book Club

Title: The Mother-Daughter Book Club

Author: Heather Vogel Frederick

Published: April 24, 2007

Genre: Middle Grade/ Young Adult

Summary: Books, books, books. Emma loves books and with a mom that is a librarian it's not hard. When her mom decides to start a book club you would think Emma would be thrilled. But when your mom invites your best friend  Jess who has been a bit off lately because her mom left to find herself in the roll of Larissa LaRue - a soap opera star, your former best friend Megan - who left you for the annoying and rude cool kids, and the new girl in town Cassidy - who really only cares about playing sports (especially hockey) it doesn’t seem like the recipe for a good time. But all the moms think its a great idea so the four girls are now stuck together for at least an hour each week reading Little Woman. All while still trying to stay apart and with their own friends when they are at school and it's not easy. Navigating middle school and life the girls learn that while some books may be old, there is still a lot to learn from them. 

What I liked about it: The book goes through different chapters from the perspectives of each of the four girls. I liked all the girls for different reasons. Each one is unique and has different interests that make her stand out from the others so that they don't all become one uninteresting group. The setting is cool and while I have read most of the books that the girls read in the series I was introduced to new ones that I have since read and enjoyed. One of the cool things about the books is that all the books they read over the series are real books  - which if you haven't read them, make you want to read along with the girls and find out what happens. I also love that each book is a new school year so you can grow up along with the girls. 

A note for parents: As they get older they do read books that are more mature. When they start in 6th grade they read Little Women and in 7th grade Anne of Green Gables. However when they get to High School they read books such as Pride & Prejudice and Jane Eyre. I didn’t start reading the books until I was in high school so I had already read Pride & Prejudice. But if you let your kids start reading the series at a younger age (like 6th grade) and they are a fast reader and want to read the whole series you might want to wait to read the books the girls are reading until your child is a bit older which is ok! You don't have to read the books the girls are reading to still understand what they are doing. (I will admit I have still never read Little Women and loved the first book!)

Language: None

Romance: Almost all the girls by then end of the series end up with boyfriends or at least major crushes. There is occasionally a kiss or two in each book but not until the girls are in High School, except for one surprise kiss to one of the girls by one of the other girls' crush in the second book

Violence: The kids live in Concord Massachusetts and they have an annual Revolutionary war re-enactment but its just a re-enactment and not real. 

Magic: None 

Recommended Age: The girls are in 6th grade in the first book and I think that that is the perfect age to start these books. 

Want to know about other great books to read, hop over and see the book link-ups at the Homeschool Review Crew's weekly post!

Road Trip ~ The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

On Thursday, the girls and I, and their friend Zed spent the evening at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. On the first Thursday of each month they have a special discounted rate of $5/person from 4-8 p.m. To give you an idea of the savings, daytime hours are normally 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the tickets range from $13 to $23 depending on the date, and if you purchase in advance. 

The Children's Museum has been in its present location since I was a wee tiny thing, and though it has grown (at least three times) since then, it still has some of my favorite things, along with new and changing exhibits. When our girls were younger, we would go to the Children's Museum with friends, and spend the day. There are five floors to explore, and it is easy to spend the entire day and still not see everything well.

Zed suggested we go for the $5 First Thursday Night and we all had a lot of fun - at least I did. While it is billed as the world's largest Children's Museum, there really is something for everyone. There are hands-on activities on each floor, as well as in-depth learning in each area, so you, or your older kids, will not be bored. Since it was the last week of Jolly Days, the winter-holiday fun program that the Children's Museum has put on for a long time, we got an opportunity to ride a potato sack down the Yule Slide. Yes, I went too! You can see my silly video on our Facebook page.

What were the other areas we visited while there? The Carousel, the National Geographic: Treasures of the Earth, American POP, Circus - Starring YOU!, Beyond Spaceship Earth, All Aboard!, and Fireworks of Glass. The three teens also visited the Dinosphere. 


The girls reminisced about our past visits, and I had fun reliving their memories with them. I think Zed had fun too, at least he didn't run away from us - LOL! It is a good museum to stroll around in, take in some great exhibits, and talk with your friends, whether they be 9, 19, or 90. Definitely a place to make some memories.

Overall, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a wonderful place to visit with your family. If you're not going to be in Indianapolis on the first Thursday of the month, you can save a bit on admission by purchasing your tickets online ahead of your visit, or if you live close by, it is worth the cost of a membership to be able to visit again and again.

To see more photos and videos from our visit, stop by our Facebook page, or check us out on Instagram.

Don't let a little Winter weather stop you from having an adventure! The Children's Museum offers garage parking, a covered skywalk, and gentle ramps for strollers or wheelchairs. Lockers or the coat check are available for a small fee. There is a restaurant on the ground floor, just know in advance its prices are the typically higher ones found at most museums.

Find your inner kid again, at The Children's Museum!