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!

Homeschooling Isn't Just For Kids

I absolutely LOVE to learn new things. It keeps my mind active and life enjoyable. To me, learning is the meaning of life. There is so much to learn about in this life that we couldn't possibly learn it all.

But I'm damn sure gonna try!

As a writer, learning new things is imperative. In order for me to think of new ideas, I'm constantly reading, and studying. My coworkers call me a nerd, and I'm okay with that. Because I am. I admit it.

But we all need to continually learn. Our brains are hard-wired for learning. The more we learn, the more synapses we create, even as adults. This helps to fight neurological diseases such as Alzheimers. The saying really is true, if you don't use it, you lose it.

My latest thing is taking online classes, or MOOCs as they are called. Massively Open Online Courses. There are several websites that allow you to take courses from big name universities such as Stanford, Harvard and Duke, all for free!

I've taken a number of different courses including:

• Human Physiology - Duke University
• The Upper Limb - Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
• ADHD Through the Lifespan - Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
• Medical Neuroscience - Duke University
• Virology - Columbia University

I'm currently finishing The Upper Limb course, and I'm retaking the Medical Neuroscience course simply because it was so fascinating. Plus, they're going to dissect a real human brain and I just can't miss that!

You also get a statement of achievement if you get over a certain percentage in the class. So far, I've gotten two, and one of which I am particularly proud!

Reading - Inspired by Penelope Trunk

My husband hates to read, and unfortunately, that apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Sam doesn't like reading much either. I'm the only weird one of the family, I love to read, but as a writer, that's kind of an occupational hazard!

So how do you get a kid who despises reading to actually read a book? 

This is one of the main reasons I let my daughter take my college level courses with me on Coursera because she loved to read all the quiz questions. At least she was reading, right?

One of my favorite bloggers, Penelope Trunk, also homeschools, more specifically, she unschools. She's not afraid to let her kids play video games all day and let them guide their own learning. Because of this, her kids are brilliant.

Combination Curriculum: Unschooling and Classical

Although I haven't been posting on this blog like I should be, we've still been homeschooling. We probably haven't made as much progress as I would have liked, but we've also been doing a combination of unschooling and our current curriculum.

I've recently been taking a number of different classes online at Coursera such as Human Physiology, and a course on the Upper Limb. Sam has become fascinated by my classes, which lead me to try a course of unschooling with her and let her take the class with me. She even started her own notebook.

Sam's notebook for our class "The Upper Limb"