Steamtown Part 1 ~ Field Trip Friday {AKA V is for Vacation}

A couple of weeks ago (or way more now!), I told you about the trip we took to Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, NY.  While we really enjoyed seeing April the Giraffe, Oliver, and Tajiri, and the other animals, the main vacation destination was Steamtown in Scranton, PA.  I may have mentioned a time or two that the punks [warning: understatement ahead] like trains.  Dad planned the whole trip as a surprise.  And happily, Xav is a fourth grader and Steamtown is managed by the National Park Service.  That means we all received FREE admission through the Every Kid in a Park program.  Truthfully, admission isn't that high anyway.  The entrance fee was, surprisingly, only $7 per person for ages 16+.  Extra charges applied only to the Scranton Limited train ride which was $5 each, ages 6+.

Today, I'm just sharing the basics for this destination.  There was FAR too much to cover in one post.

First, we drove to Scranton on the 4th of July.  It was not as terrible as you might imagine and that was probably due to the fact it was a Tuesday.  We stayed at a hotel with a pool and that is basically enough to keep the boys happy.   HOWEVER, we were able to see multiple firework shows throughout the town from both the pool and our room.

The punks didn't actually know in advance where we would be going.  We told them before bed that night and, let's just say the response left a lot to be desired.  They were so "meh" about the whole thing.  All I did was hope they would be way more excited when they actually got it.  Merrick also got a little surprise that night.  He got a cute little indoor tent in which to spend the night.  Three boys in a queen size bed is a no go.  Two in the same bed leads to plenty of kicking, pushing, and growling until sleep is finally reached.

In the morning, we had breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts just down the road, then we headed straight to Steamtown.  I wish I had a video of the punks' reactions!  My preteen boys, literally, squee-ed when they got the first glimpse in the parking lot.  "It's the Big Boy, the Union Pacific Big Boy!"  Sadly, I thought the Big Boy was in pretty rough shape.  The boys thought it was the most incredible thing they'd ever seen.  Maybe it was... so far!

We didn't stay outside for long, though.  We had a train to catch!  Xav got his official "every kid in a park" card, we paid for our train tickets and headed inside.  We didn't have long to wait for our train ride and since that was almost the first thing we did there, I'm including it here.  Everything else we did will be in next week's Steamtown Part 2 post.

First, let me tell you, I was *shocked* to learn that, until the 1980s, Steamtown was located in Vermont!  Then the funniest thing happened.  Our guide turned out to be from Vermont and, until a few years ago, worked for the same company Daddy did.  Small world.

This is what happens when you wait too long to write up your post, you forget details.  I could research these details, but since I'm not finding them quickly, I'm just going to have to let them go.  *tries not to sing*  You can thank me later.  Anyway, we learned about the family who ran the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.  This was one of the earliest rail lines in northeastern Pennsylvania.

This Ramada Inn used to be the Train Station.  We didn't go inside, but did see some pictures online.  The family certainly believed in doing things up lavish-like.

We need a Part 2 post because I took so many pictures of our day, it wasn't even funny, but I knew I'd need them for the Train class at our co-op.  *justifies*



Homeschool Discount -Discount for 4th graders and their families, but not for homeschoolers specifically.  Reasonably priced, either way.
Educational - History, Science, Technology, Art, Math (in the gift shop!)
Family Oriented - Yes.
Duration of Visit - 6 hours+.

Lamplighter Ministries' Book Bindery ~ Field Trip Friday

I know!  I haven't even told you about our Steamtown trip yet!  But I really want to share this wonderful unplanned guided tour we experienced in Mount Morris, NY.  I didn't even know this was a thing until I saw this post on The Facebook.

The book bindery is smack dab in the middle between two sets of grandparents.  The folks at Lamplighter very graciously arranged to give us the guided tour within just a couple hours of contacting them.  We headed to the guild house and were met by Oscar, a very kind and patient young man, which is a huge plus with these three punks.  I don't know if you remember, but The Crew reviewed The Secret Bridge earlier this year.  As we walked in the front door, we saw a shelf of hundreds of Lamplighter volumes, and there was The Secret Bridge.  Merrick heard me mention it to Oscar and he shouted, "I didn't know you had a secret bridge!"  Well, there wasn't a real secret bridge, but little did we know, we were going to find out about another "secret."

{Click on any of these pictures to enlarge them!}

We headed toward the back of the lovely old "home" and passed an office where President Mark Hamby sat chatting with a couple of other employees.  Everyone was all smiles and so kind to greet us!  Back a bit farther, we met Peter, the marketing guy.  He and I had a nice chat about The Crew, The Secret Bridge, it's sister book (The Secret Cove), and reading books because our kids want to hear them.  :)  The punks were very curious, but were able to keep their bodies under control.

Next we headed back into shipping where Sarah was busy packaging up books.  Here were more books on shelves.

Then, just as it started to rain, we headed to the old church across the yard.  This is where all the action was.  I admit, I was surprised how small the room was, but it held so much!  Several large pieces of equipment, a few books in various stages of completion, and three lovely, friendly girls working busily.

I'm afraid I've forgotten the name of the girl who walked us through each phase of the book binding process.  First, she showed us the uncut book pages.  Four copies of the same page on each sheet and each book was separated by a yellow sheet of paper.  It was a HUGE stack.  The book title was actually *not* in the catalog we picked up while we were there.  Hmmm....
(ETA: It *is* on the website, though.)

Next we looked at the guillotine which chopped those stacks into four individual books.

We saw how the pages are glued together after being cut.  The machine that applied the glue was so fast I couldn't get a clear picture!

The empty covers were neat to see.  We folded one to see how it would work and noticed it was blank!  There were blue, red, and purple covers in the bindery that day.

The books are stamped for each color, so this was stamped once for black and once for the gold foil.  The spine and the front are done separately.

then the books are laid over the vertical piece in the photo below, coated with a glue, and placed inside the covers.

That's basically it, but it was quite fascinating to watch.  Especially since about half a dozen books in various stages of completion were in the room.

Now we know how the books are made with love and care, but there was more.  We stepped into a hallway and Oscar tried to ask a few questions, but the fans were pretty loud.  I wish we could have finished the conversation there, because once we moved on, it was a lot harder to keep their attention!

First, we walk in and see this amazing sanctuary.  "With books.  Scads of books!  Mountains of books!  Forests of books!  Cascades!"  So beautiful and wonderful.  While I'm agog at all the books, Merrick was quizzing Oscar about the pew kneelers!  We chatted with Oscar some more and I pointed out the gorgeous pipe organ.

That's when he showed us the secret.

Inside this organ, there is a recording studio!  Podcasts are recorded there.  Oscar "interviewed" the punks about their breakfast and told them, if they had been recording a podcast right then, there would be notes on the center table telling them important things like the nutritional information about their cereal and any other things they might need during the show.

Then we got to shop the sanctuary!  It really was overwhelming.  I'd heard of some of the stories available, but there were so many that were unfamiliar.  I was sure a couple of boys would choose Trusty the Train books, and they did!  I selected Teddy's Button on audio so we could listen in the car on the way back to Vermont.  Then I made the wise decision that I needed more help making the rest of my decisions!  Oscar asked some great questions to get a feel for what I was looking for and made some excellent suggestions.  Then it was just Xavier who hadn't chosen a book yet.  He told Oscar he wanted a book for BOYS, that was exciting, and in which no one died.

So, we made our selections and brought them back to Sarah in shipping who rang us up and sent us on our way.  It was a wonderful way to spend part of an afternoon.

Thank you so much, Lamplighter Ministries, Oscar, and everyone else at the book bindery.  You may have an intern from this house in your house someday!

"Scads of books!  Mountains of books!  Forests of books!  Cascades!"

~ Cogsworth and Lumiere ~

X is for X'ed Out

This post makes me so heartbroken to write.  Today, I discovered a photograph that just a couple of days ago had been on the bookshelf by my bed.  It's now a wrinkled mangled mess.  Some very angry/sad/frustrated child was obviously not happy with me.

Micah and I disagree on who is likely the culprit.  I'm sure it will all become clear in the morning.  sigh...

Animal Adventure Park ~ Field Trip Friday {AKA Z is for Zoo}

This week, Dad surprised us all with a little three day trip.  One of our stops was Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, NY.  Yep.  Home of the infamous giraffe, April, who gave birth live online this spring.  All Malachi wanted to do was get a drink, see April, and go.  He was a bit disappointed that we saved April for nearly the very last stop.  That was intentional on my part.  If we saw April first, I'd have to hear, "Can we go now?' the whole time.  As it was, once he was able to get a drink, I only intermittently was reminded we needed to hurry over to the giraffe barn.  Only slightly less annoying, but less annoying all the same.

So, we avoided the giraffe barn by heading right once we went through the gate.  There we checked out the many other exotic and not as exotic animals.  Most of them had signage on the fences telling all about each critter and it's conservation status.  Quite a few of these first animals were members of the bovine and a couple of the equine families, goats, sheep, deer, and some kind of short cattle I didn't see a sign for.  One of my favorite enclosures housed the tortoises.  If you watched many of the April videos this spring, you may have seen the tortoises overwintering in the loft in her barn.  Some were quite large and we loved watching them nosh on lettuce leaves.

We watched Alyssa (April's keeper) and a friend go fishin' for a gator.  There were two in the tub and the water was fairly clear, but the second the keepers entered the pen, under the water they went, stirring up the murk.  (I was afraid this young man might be trying to lose some fingers.)

Jordan records a Tuesday/Thursday educational video and we watched live as the American Alligator segment was filmed.  Standing in the tortoise enclosure is apparently dangerous, as Jordan was nearly tripped by a pair of the shelled critters fighting over some romaine.  Don't worry, Alyssa separated them off camera so the littler guy got to keep his treat.

We were able to see lots of little monkeys, lemurs, a honey badger, wolves, bears, hyenas, and a ton of other critters.  The boys asked lots of questions.  Xav decided if he was a bear, he would spend all day in their "pool."  It was pretty warm Thursday.  Pretty birds were everywhere, on the grounds and in enclosures. 

We did, indeed, eventually get around to the giraffe barn.  Oliver's door was closed and as we came around to the side of the barn, we saw that outer door was open and April and "little" Tajiri were also coming in.  We all popped in there and fed April and Oliver some of the carrot sticks we had purchased onsite for them.  Every time I saw Merrick, a different woman was handing him a carrot stick and lifting him up so he could feed one of the giraffes.  He and I even received one of April's famous "hay showers."

The following morning, we got the sad news that Maxx the Camel had died in his sleep that night.  I am so terribly sad for the AAP family.  I'm not even telling the boys.  They fed Maxx some nibbles while we were there and Xav and I had a photo with him. (While I sang Alice the Camel Had One Hump and Dad looked at me like it was an odd thing to do.)

I wish they had sold postcards and souvenir spoons (I'm up to 33 or so right now).  I think a giraffe spoon where the handle was a neck would have been perfect.  (Patent pending?  LOL)  Maybe they did, but the shop was pretty chaotic and I didn't see either item there.  I think they're experiencing some growing pains, but they're doing a great job and I was very happy to get to see our famous giraffe friend.

They have a couple of small buildings set up to accommodate nursing moms, diaper changes, and kiddos with sensory issues, which was very thoughtful.

Homeschool Discount - Only during the traditional school year or as a group of 20 or more.
Educational - Absotootly. - Zoology, geography, ecology.
Family Oriented - Yes.
Duration of Visit - About two hours.  (I could have stayed longer, but it was hot and Malachi was *done*.)

Summer Has Officially Begun

It always seems like the busiest week we have every year is the first week after public school gets out.  Summer is starting and there are summer things to do.  This year was no exception.  It rained a lot this week.  Probably at least a bit every. single. day.  sigh...

Public school didn't officially end until noon time on Tuesday this week, I'm guessing because of snow days.  Because of this, Xav did not have PE on Tuesday like usual.  Instead, he was invited to participate in field day with the whole school.  He was even given a mascot T-shirt in school colors, just like everyone else.

Monday night is also the night our first VBS of the summer began.  Yep, the first VBS is in the evening.  There are lessons for ages 2-adult.  So, while I was sorely tempted to nap in the car every night (because exhaustion), I stayed for Bible study.  Some other Friday School families were present, too, so it was nice to visit in our off time.  I also met a few other very sweet ladies.  The theme was Over the Moat: Drawbridge to the King and the study was about King David. 

Since school was in session for two days, gymnastics camp was only three mornings.  The charge this year was higher, the time and number of days shorter, but I still felt it was reasonable.  Honestly, the first time it was $10/kid/session (NOT *day*) and I thought that was crazy cheap, so I'm not complaining.  I do wish it had been all week though.  Xav and Merrick absolutely love it!  Mal chose not to participate this year again.  He didn't change his mind mid-way through, like he did last year.  When it didn't rain, Xav, Mal, and I walked and went to the playground while Merrick was in his lesson.  When it was Xav's turn, I took Merrick and Mal home because his session was longer than Merrick's.

Wednesday or Thursday afternoon (because we're kind of kooky), we went to a resort where we have a Daycation pass.  We spent a few hours getting familiar with the layout and at one of the pool areas.  Caught a shuttle bus, which Merrick and Mal thought was amazing.  We'll be going up again this week and probably head to one of the other pool areas, since they are all different.  We don't just have access to the pools.  There is hiking, a game zone, and a ton of events we can participate in, oh, and lagoons.  Because we want to be sure to get our money's worth out of this pass, I want to get up there fairly often.  I've told the punks we are switching to school in the morning.  It won't be easy for any of us, as we're all creatures of habit, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

So, that wasn't nearly enough to do and we didn't need any rest on Saturday.  So, our week finished out with a VBS closing carnival (and banana splits) on Saturday and the rain stayed away the entire time.  I picked up Greek food from the lady at the Farmer's Market for lunch.  Then we headed to a new (2nd year) Renn Faire.  We didn't stay long.  Then it was off to our favorite cider mill for our first visit of the year.  No, they weren't pressing, since it's summer, but they have samples and we bought cider and cider donuts.  Outside we were surprised by the most adorable little bunny litter.  I saw seven babies around the picnic tables and gazebo.  The most intriguing part was their appearance.  They didn't look like wild rabbits.  There were two albinos and five in various shades of tan or brown.  I have *never* seen wild rabbits like that.  I have myself convinced they were from an escaped pet.

This young lady worked a while to get close enough to pet this cutie.  She said it was the highlight of her whole day.

Crazy Contraptions Co-op Class (I promise, no more intentional alliteration.)

Dad taught a class this past year at our co-op called Crazy Contraptions.  How our co-op works is that right after we finish the school year, each family completes an end of year survey.  One of the sections on the form asks what the students would be interested in learning about and what classes the parents would be interested in teaching the following year.  Those suggestions are turned into a prospective class list and sent back out to families for a first round of voting, each child choosing up to five courses.  That's the step we are at right now.  Soon, we'll get the second round and will probably have to choose a top three.  I do admit, there has been a time or two I've pretended I couldn't count and selected four classes for a kid.  That usually happens when one of the older punks really wants to choose a class, I'd rather they not take.  I include their list and my preference with an explanation.

Anyhoo, an unsuspecting parent is sometimes asked to teach an instructorless class.  Enter, Micah.  LOL  In the end, the students in the class ended up being younger than anticipated (he had ten boys twelve and younger), so the projects became a bit easier after the first one.  Here are some of the Crazy Contraptions the boys ended up making.

A walking robot thingy.

A do nothing box thingy.

A working catapult.

Rube Goldberg machines.

Paper and duct tape rockets.

Hovercraft.

They also made the rattlesnake egg pranks (remember those?).  The boys were so excited the next time we met to tell us all about who they frightened.  And Micah took in a Jacob's ladder he made.

Mrs. A and I helped with class almost every week.  We also invited Mrs. M, Mrs. P, Mr. R, and Mr. C to help out once or thrice (the punks are loving that word lately).   Co-op is a great example of gaining knowledge for our kiddos from people outside of our home (though, in this case, it was Dad).

What are some ways you share your talents with others or borrow from other adults and older kiddos for your children?

R is for Repentant

One day, one terrible day, I was angry at one of the kids.  I think I may have actually been angry at the world that day.  I was trying to get them to do the bedtime things that need doing and one poor soul was in the living room.  I had him pick up something he didn't get out and he did, cheerfully for him.  I thanked him, I really did.  I was trying to be appreciative.  Then I asked him to do one other related thing.  He ignored me and went to "take care of" something else that didn't need taking care of.  So I stopped him and redirected him to what I wanted done.  One thing leads to another.  He is doing this mindless fluttering around thing he does when he is stressed and I am snapping.  Suddenly, my husband is yelling.  At *me*.

Yeah.  Low moment.  And now I'm "explaining" myself and my frustration.  And he is explaining louder.  We rarely argue.  It was so unusual, that said child split at the first chance.  As soon as bedtime was finished, I went and got in the shower.  Now, the shower is *my* place.  It's where I unwind.  I clean my spirit in there.  If I feel like crying, that's where I let it out.  I talk to God and no one is interrupting us with ridiculous demands.

But...  This time was different.  I was angry.  I was angry that my kids couldn't follow simple instructions.  I was angry that my husband didn't understand (and I maybe felt he might be a bit hypocritical).  I was angry at myself for feeling so angry.  I didn't cry.  I just didn't want to cry.  I talked to God.  I told Him I just didn't feel sorry.  I told Him my anger and pride were getting in the way of me being sorry.  I told Him I wanted to be sorry, I just didn't feel like it right then.  I knew my pride was hurting me.

As I turned off the water, I suddenly felt better.  It was like my pride and anger had surrendered to the King.  I knew I sometimes I am demanding.  I knew sometimes said child has a hard time listening or focusing or whatever the deal is.  I knew my husband is human.  Just like me.  We are all doing the best we can (most of the time).  There was nothing wrong with lovingly pointing my flaw out to me, I just couldn't listen right then.

I just couldn't listen right then.

How many times do I keep on harping when the kids have stopped hearing me?

My pride was in the way.

I could not let go and be remorseful because my pride was in the way.

I surrendered.

I was sorry and I cried and I repented.  And I know my Father forgave me.


2 Cor 7:9-10
⁹ yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. ¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

This post is part of Blogging Through the Alphabet with Annette and Amanda.  I'm late posting R, but I think it's a good message and I really needed to click "Publish" and get it up there.  Thanks for reading.

S is for Sabotage

By the time this post is published, it will be months later.  But I want to talk about how we sabotage ourselves.

You all know about my weight loss journey.  My ups, my downs, my stagnated progress.  Sometimes, a small gain just happens even when you're working really hard and other times, you step on the scale at a meeting and, well, you just know.  You know exactly what you did to yourself this week.  You can say, "It's swelling." or "I don't know what happened." or "It must be muscle gain."  But, girl, you *know*.  You can lie to the app and your friend, but you *cannot* lie to yourself.

The scale at my meeting is consistently about 4 pounds higher than at home.  It stinks, but it's a fact.  So, one week, I was almost in *Onederland* at home and I knew, that week I'd be hitting it.  In fact, the day after weigh in I weighed in at 199.8!  It had been a good 3 years, maybe more since I was under 200.  I was pretty excited.  And then I spent the *entire* week stuffing my face.  It was horrific.  I couldn't stop.  I didn't *want* to stop, even though I knew I was going to be so angry at myself all week.  And I would seriously kick myself on Saturday.

My heart hurts for the girl who sometimes hates herself so much that she sabotages her health and happiness like this.  I'm hoping when this posts, it will be such a long ago bunch of silliness.  I hope I will be able to say I didn't do this again.  Hopefully.

Don't hurt yourselves.  Love yourselves.

Homeschool Rescue ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

It seems like most Mom Blogs lean either to the bright-and-sunny-everything-is-awesome side or, in an effort to be "real," take a darkly humorous look at the foibles of momming and the pitfalls of running our homeschools.  I look for blogs with balance to follow.  I try to be a blog with balance.  And I'm here to say, sometimes homeschooling is *hard.*  Sometimes, it's super hard and you just want to throw in the towel.  Now, there comes a time, when that is exactly what has to happen.  But more often than not, it isn't what you want, it isn't what the kids want, and it isn't what God wants.  So, what do you do when you are struggling to stay afloat?  Reassess your situation.

I am always thinking about doing just that.  I know I need some direction and support, I just am not exactly sure what to do.  I'm the kind of girl who needs a "how."  I have so many times said, "Yes, but how?" to so many people on so many topics.  I really benefit from that guidance.  And that's where Homeschool Rescue comes in.  Seems like I have been following Only Passionate Curiosity for quite some time.  Long before I was a Homeschool Crewbie.  Heather has designed an amazing online tutorial that walks me step by step through everything I need to reassess, rewrite, and revitalize our homeschool.  This course is an amazing homeschool parent resource.


What exactly is Homeschool Rescue?
With Homeschool Rescue, you receive *lifetime* access to

• all of Heather's modules (that's videos, worksheets, and resource lists). - One great feature (outside of all the actual content) is that you do not have to sit and watch each video.  There are options to download the audio or the transcripts of each video's topics.
• planners and an accountability pack for helping students learn to work independently.
• a super exclusive Homeschool Rescue Facebook group. -  I found the group to be very helpful.  You have direct access to Heather as well as other homeschool moms who have completed the course or are working right alongside you.  Everyone is moving along at their own pace, but the topics that come up can benefit any one of us.
• a 60 day checklist and schedule. -  But don't worry.  It is a suggested schedule that will guide you through each step.  You won't need to follow it exactly or stay at the same pace.  Some modules just might be a breeze for you, while you'll want to spend a lot longer on others.  Every homeschool is different and we all have different needs at any given time.
• and you can even email Heather. - She is fantastic and is such a helpful soul.

The five modules are

1. Triage Your Homeschool
2. Time Management Systems and Organization
3. Curriculum Planning and Organization
4. Setting Students up for Success
5. Teaching Older Students 

Each module consists of three, four, or five lessons.  Some of the lessons will have you creating a mission statement for your homeschool, compiling a list of ten things your child must know before he graduates, and setting up a chore system.  All very sensible assignments, with no fluff to waste your valuable time.

1. The big screen where everything happens: Heather's video, slides, etc.
2. Run time for the video (this won't include your homework).
3. A synopsis of the lesson. 
4. A link to download your audio to play on portable devices.
5. A link to download the transcript to read on your screen or print and put in a binder.
6. Note pages show each slide of the video lesson and have lots of room for, well, notes.
7. This is where you find your homework and other resources Heather has put together for you.  Somethings you'll find here are books for further study, sanity savers, practical helps, and charts.

I liked to sneak off to my bedroom with my laptop and watch the videos in peace.  That worked great when Dad was home, otherwise I just watched them in my usual computery spot at the kitchen table after bedtime.  I really preferred to watch the videos over the audio, though solo trips were nice to listen to the audio in the car.

Though the videos were my preferred method to use Homeschool Rescue, I like being able to print the transcripts of each lesson and keep them in a binder with my "homework" and the schedule.  It makes me feel organized and that I actually accomplished something. 

I found a couple of things very helpful as I'm moving through the modules.  They aren't easy, but you'll get way more out of the program if you follow this advice.

• Be completely honest with yourself.  This might make you a bit squirmy, but you can't move forward if you aren't.  No one is looking over your shoulder.  No one is grading you.  No one is going to knock on your door and demand an accounting.  Just face the facts.

• And then, please don't beat yourself up.  Give yourself grace and do what you can to make the necessary changes.  Don't look back.  You can't change the past, but you can change course, and head for calmer seas and sunnier skies.

I remember in Module 1 Lesson 1, I may have been projecting a bit while playing the video.  In the segment on dealing with burnout, Heather said, "Take your kids to the library on a Monday..." and I thought, "... and pick them up on Friday."  Ha ha ha ha.  Hmmm....


Now, instead of dreaming about that big yellow bus (the Freedom Bus, as my husband calls it), I'm working hard on shaping our homeschool the way we want it to be.  I can see myself using Homeschool Rescue as a homeschool check up each spring.  Now is the time that we are worn out and so over school.  We have a bit of spring fever.  Paperwork has been submitted to the state.  We school year round, because we work best with a schedule, but we feel kind of done.  Homeschool Rescue is helping us work through all those issues and will be a wonderful guide to refresh our school each year.

My favorite Todd Wilson comic, because THIS Jodi can relate to THAT Jodi.

If you take the summer off from lessons, this is a perfect time to work through Heather's lessons.  And if you don't take off the summer, you can still take this course, it just may take you a bit longer to complete it.

Since Heather is offering a "live class," a few times a year, the course is available to purchase now through the end of May.  It will then go live for June and July.  You will want to take this course now, even if you feel like you've got this covered.  There are off days, off seasons, and off attitudes and you will never know *when they will strike*.  By working through this program now, you will have a plan in place for most of the things we get derailed or burnt out by.

This workshop is great for new homeschoolers who want to develop "the plan" now.  And it's also perfect for moms who've been pulling this gig for a number of years and either just need to freshen up a bit, or need a complete overhaul.  Homeschool dads who join will not feel out of place, the gang is there on Facebook to help every parent.

Heather is offering a FREE WORKSHOP on Wednesday, May 17 or Thursday, May18.  Just go sign up and choose your date.



So, to sum up my thoughts on Homeschool Rescue.
This online course walks you step by step through planning and organizing your homeschool, including making plans for days when you. just. can't. There are videos, planners, lessons to help you prioritize and focus on what you want from homeschooling for your family. When you sign up, you get lifetime access. I think that setting the whole plan up is kind of time consuming, but it's better than spending the time putting out the same fires over and over all year long. Once you complete it, it would be easy to go in and tweak it each year as the kids grow and your family's needs shift.


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