We Need to Teach Our Kids the Value of Life!!

There's been a lot of death in the news recently: the shooting in Orlando, the young boy drowned by an alligator at Disney World, and the rape and murder of a young woman in Okinawa.

I have a hard time dealing with death. To me, it means the person (or animal) who has died now ceases to exist. At least in this world, even though we're pagan and believe in an afterlife, no one is 100% that there is an afterlife.

And belief in reincarnation aside, as far as we know, we only get this one life.

We recently lost another cat. After losing three cats to a landlord who took them from us and released them into the wild, losing one of the cats we hid from her has been a severe loss to all of us. But to me more than any of us I think. Mainly, because I blame myself for not doing more to prevent the loss of the first three cats because I was afraid of being evicted. I also blame myself for not seeing the signs of illness in Anubis sooner.

5 Tips for Homeschooling ADHD Children

Homeschooling is difficult enough for parents who attempt it. Add in ADHD, and you have a recipe for frustration for both the parent and the child.

Sam hates being serious.

I know this from personal experience. Sam has ADHD, with emphasis on the H (hyperactivity). In fact, the only thing Sam can really focus on is video games, which is why I'm glad there are so many educational video games out there!

Symptoms of ADHD in Girls

ADHD is often times misdiagnosed in girls because the symptoms for hyperactivity present differently. Girls also tend to hide it better than boys since it's typically socially unacceptable for a girl to run around like a chicken with her head cut off. It's expected that boys are going to be rambunctious. Girls not so much.

2014 Summer Reading List

I love to read, but with all the writing I do, plus homeschooling, plus my part time job, I don't really get a lot of time to do so. I have found that this has made my writing suffer, reading and writing go hand in hand. So I decided I'm going to have to find the time to read.

Since Sam doesn't really like to read, I decided to make both of us try a summer reading challenge. We're both going to try to read seven to 10 books, and we'll be keeping a log for accountability.

Sam actually reading!!

Life as a WAHM: My Interview with Mint.com

I recently did an interview for Mint.com about making the switch from a regular 9 to 5 job to working from home and the changes that switch makes to your personal finances.

If you've never heard of Mint.com, they are a personal finance website, that offers an app for the iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and Windows Phones that allow you to track all of your finances...and I do mean all.

After the interview, I decided to try the app and fell in love. This app does everything. It automatically updates your balances on credit cards and bank accounts and lets you set financial goals and budgets. Every week the app emails you a financial update, and if you happen to go over your budget, or your bank or credit card charges you a fee, you get an email that lets you know.

Now, I'm not getting paid to plug the app. In fact, they aren't even aware that I use it. I just think it's really a handy application to help you get those personal finances under control and keep you on track. Best of all? It's FREE!!! And there are no annoying ads in the app.

What does this have to do with homeschooling? Well, aside from the fact that the app helps me keep track of school supplies and curriculum purchases, not much. But it's a handy app that I think all homeschooling moms should check out. When you're not stressed out about finances, teaching your kids is a lot easier, and the app from Mint.com has really helped alleviate a lot of my financial stress.

If you're thinking about making the transition from a typical 9 to 5 job to staying at home to homeschool the kids, check out my interview. I talk about things you may not have thought about, and really need to, like all the work that being a WAHM entails!

Our Current Math Curriculum

I'm really not fond of math, which is interesting considering my love of science. Consequently, my math skills are not as strong as they could be. For this reason, I wanted to make sure that Sam didn't end up with the same problem.

I ended up actually going a bit overboard. Sam is now doing math that is actually a few grades beyond what she should be doing. She's supposed to be in first grade, and she's actually doing third to fourth grade level work.

For example, today she did this:

Chasing Dragonflies for Science Class

At the beginning of this year, I took up photography when I bought a new camera. I decided that as a blogger, I needed a better camera. I just couldn't get the close-ups I wanted with the camera we had.

This lead to an obsession with macrophotography, specifically dragonflies. Consequently, Sam became obsessed with dragonflies as well, so I turned it into a learning experience and began teaching her everything I was learning about the insects. She thorughly enjoyed learning about them, and goes out with me anytime I "chase dragonflies" (as she calls it).

A male Golden Winged Skimmer

 

Netflix Movies for Kids on Thanksgiving

If your like my husband, you're still cooking dinner and have been since early this morning. If you need something to keep the kids busy while you put the finishing details on dinner before the company arrives, here are a few movies and shows that you can stream on Netflix that should keep the kids out of your hair for a few minutes.

I've listed the times of each movie so you know how much time you have to get those finishing touches done!