Cookbook Recipe: Fully Loaded Tater Tot Casserole Recipe

It's the age-old question: what's for dinner? 

In my house, this question is often followed by: what's for dessert? If I haven't done my meal planning and shopping for the week, instead of a real answer, you will get a blank stare from me.

Problem solved!

The Tater Tot Casserole Cookbook can be purchased in print for just $7.99 (free shipping with Amazon Prime!)* so you can hold it in your hot little hands and keep it on your bookshelf for easy reference. I have even included a chapter on Meal Planning, so you can figure out which night of the week will be the very best one to serve one of my 35 tater tot casserole options (and 13 desserts!).

This cookbook is a unique holiday gift or birthday gift, so you not only get a fun resource for your own kitchen, but you can at the same time make someone else very happy with a fun present!

Book Review: No One Cares What You Had for Lunch (100 Ideas for Your Blog)

In the book No One Cares What You Had for Lunch (100 Ideas for Your Blog), Margaret Mason knows her blogging stuff. She ought to: her personal blog, Mighty Girl (www.mightygirl.com) and her shopping blog, Mighty Goods (www.mightygoods.com) draw 50,000 visitors per week combined. This book is broken down into 5 parts:

Fifteen Minutes to Fame — These are ideas for a blog post that should only take about 15 minutes to crank out. One idea is #6: Count your blessings. The author suggests blogging about things that have gone right for you recently, things you are lucky or blessed to have or do or be.

Thirty Minutes Away from the TV — Idea #28 wants you to “imagine you’ve just come into ten million dollars. How do you spend it?”

An Hour at the Screen — Idea #48 wants you to “outline your gravest humiliation.” Blogging about and posting pictures of items you are giving away but need to tell a story about is idea #50, titled “Clean house.”

Tame Your Time — Chronicling a day in your life is Idea #67. What you do all day may actually be interesting to someone else, or at least make them feel better about themselves!

Think Like a Writer — I’m considering trying #81 “Exit the comfort zone.” The author wants bloggers to start saying yes to all kinds of invitations they’d never usually accept. I have found it to be true that the best writing experiences come from things you didn’t want to do (like working a crappy job or attending the party of someone you don’t really like). With 4 kids up my sleeve, experiences get even MORE interesting!

Bottom line: I give it 8 Dove chocolate hearts out of 10

Originally published 10/9/2008

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Book Review: Who Pooped in the Park?

Back in 2005 my mom and stepdad got the book Who Pooped in the Park? by Gary D. Robson for my kids.

It’s the story of a family on a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The son is afraid he’ll be eaten by a grizzly bear, but his parents explain how there aren’t any grizzly bears left in Colorado. Then the parents take the kids on a hike to teach them how to find out which animals have been there by identifying all kinds of marks, especially scat (POOP!!!).

This is a great book for kids who are interested in nature, hiking or animals. It’s great for boys since it talks about lots of poop!

Bottom line: I give it 9 carrot sticks with some Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette since I'm trying to get healthy and am growing a person and all that.

Originally published 2/15/2009

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12+ Ways You Can Save or Make Money Today

Finding Dave Ramsey back in 2015 was very inspirational for my family. Money had been flying out of our home in the form of co-op fees, sports fees, doctor and hospital fees, a vehicle payment and the higher gas and insurance and tags that went along with that, etc. Then we moved to a larger home but still had some debt plus grocery costs are soaring! 

1. Be a safe driver. Stop speeding and observe traffic rules and you won't have to worry about a costly ticket. I am being super careful on my errands today and when I am driving around town in general. You can even save money on your car insurance if you get an app that tracks your driving (probably something like Life360 where it can track your quick acceleration and hard braking).
2. Buckle up and make sure your passengers are also properly buckled. This applies to making sure your kids are buckled properly in your vehicle. In my state, it can be $60 per ticket plus court costs if your kid is not in the proper booster or car seat so make sure you know the rules.
3. Get the Ibotta app! You get cash back in the form of PayPal cash or gift cards when you buy specific products! I recently received a Pillsbury pie crust to bake a pie and take a survey and there was $15 in my account! Check out my post here.

Every Kid Loves #TaterTotCasserole and Campbell's Soup #EasyDinners

I've been blogging here for nearly 12 years, so it's important to me to go back and update old blog posts so you can see how the kids are changing and how my family is changing. This post was written originally on December 3, 2013, and was begging for an update! Enjoy!

I don't know why I thought that when I had kids they would all be the same, or at least very similar. Turns out all five are extremely different, and that goes for their taste in food as well. Here's how they shake out:

• Joel is 12 and will eat anything. His taste in food has changed a lot over the years, and he appreciates food with onions, tomatoes, and any veggie these days. He likes to try new things and likes it spicy quite often. (Now he's 18 and loves everything, but especially healthy things. He cooks for himself often.)
• Michael is 10, and we've always joked that he's our vegetarian. (Now he's 16 and cooks for himself and loves everything.)
• Callie is 8 and can be picky, but has always loved things like broccoli, asparagus and any green veggie! (Now she's 14 and still loves veggies and eats just about everything.)
• Eva is almost 6 and is super picky because she would eat sweets all day if she could. Isn't a cookie/fruit pizza a meal, after all? She will eat green beans all day long if you let her, though! (Now Eva is 12 and loves chocolate milk most of all.)
• Samuel is 4 and will shovel anything in simply because it's fuel for his energy streak that is nonstop. (Now Sam is 10 and still eats anything that isn't nailed down and still has that nonstop energy.)

Mealtime at my house this past summer of 2013. Party of 9 on this particular evening. Yes, we do eat in our swimsuits sometimes!

I like to use a lot of soups in my cooking because they are kid friendly. I use 'cream of' soups to make gravies and sauces. They go great in a slow cooker with some chicken and rice and veggies. And, of course, you have my famous Tater Tot Casserole, which I know how to make 35 ways! I love Campbell's soups because they have so many varieties of cream soups that really help me to make my cooking creative and varied. And the kids eat it, which is significant!

How to Save Money on Groceries by Tiffany Doerr Guerzon

I love the Internet. It would be so easy to feel a little isolated as a work-at-home mom who also homeschools and is way too busy to have many meaningful in-person interactions. But with the Internet, I have met a lot of writing moms from other states and even call quite a few of them friends! Tiffany Doerr Guerzon is one such writing mom. We met in a group of regional parenting magazine writers and found we had a lot in common. Then she said she had written a book on Amazon and I was like MORE in common! So I checked out her book and left the following review:

As a mom of 5 and honorary "foster mom" to tons more kids in the summer, I found this book to be full of tips, smarts, and humor. I found some great new things to try, including apps to download to save money and put recipes together for me, as well as blogs to check out and much more. The recipes in the back were a nice surprise!

Here is the book description on Amazon and the purchase link is here!

How to save money on groceries is a popular topic. This is because, within most family budgets, there isn't a lot of wiggle room. You can't usually change the dollar amount of your mortgage, rent, or car payment. The weekly grocery bill is one of the few places a person can save a few dollars. But how? Food costs have increased in recent years and many families have food allergies or intolerances that require the purchase of more expensive food products. In this book, I share what I have learned about saving money on groceries through years of trial and error. I have found that a “back to basics” approach works best for me. Many of these cost-saving methods—such as buying in bulk, stocking up, cooking from scratch, buying on sale, and planning meals—are probably strategies our grandparents used. By going back to basics, I can save significantly, without clipping coupons or driving to several stores each week. I also include information on saving apps, batch cooking, alternative buying methods such as food co-ops, and how to read price labels at the store to decipher the best deal. I also include tasty, nutritious recipes. 

While I can't promise you will save a certain percentage on your grocery bill, I can say that by following even some of the saving methods in this book, you can gain control over your grocery spending.

Why Should You Read Books That Help You Interact with Reality?

 

Books play an essential role in life. Books have always been something that keeps people occupied. Some people read them for pleasure. Others read for the sheer enjoyment of something new. Reading books is a rewarding experience. When people read for pleasure, they also learn without being aware of it. The following are benefits of reading something, even if it takes a few minutes every day.

10 Ways to Transform Your Life This Year

Are you ready to transform your life? Have you been thinking about making changes to your daily life or working towards a future goal? When you’ve been having these thoughts, you may start to realize that they’re just not going away. Because unless you’re ready to do something about them, you may find that you just keep wishing you could make changes. And this doesn’t have to be because you’re not happy now or you’re feeling down. It might just be that you know that you want to take your life in a new direction or that there’s more you can achieve. And that’s so true. If any of us have goals and dreams, we are certainly able to want to go after them and achieve them. But you have to decide that you want it enough.

Homeschool Hacks by Lindsay Knerl Book Review

Today I'm sharing a great book with you called "Homeschool Hacks: How to Give Your Kid a Great Education without Losing Your Job or Your Mind" by Linsey Knerl, mother of six and freelance journalist. 

I was sent a copy to read and review, and I was not compensated monetarily other than with a free copy of the book. Opinions are my own.

After you read my review, you can purchase "Homeschool Hacks" here if you wish! It's available for Kindle, in print, and as an audiobook.

I'm going to pop the Table of Contents here so you can see what's included in the book, then we'll talk some more about my thoughts on it. 

Introduction: How to Use This Book

Chapter 1: Who Are the Homeschoolers?

Chapter 2: How Do You Start?

Chapter 3: Homeschool Legalities and Requirements

Chapter 4: Tools of the Trade

Chapter 5: Sample Schedules and Proper Planning

Chapter 6: Homeschooling through the Grades

Chapter 7: Paying for Homeschool

Chapter 8: Handling the Childcare Problem

Chapter 9: Homeschooling and the Family Business

Chapter 10: Working outside the Home

Chapter 11: Military Homeschoolers

Chapter 12: Temporary Homeschool

Chapter 13: Getting Kids College Ready

Chapter 14: Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Appendix A: Resources

Appendix B: Sample Junior High and High School Course Outline

Some thoughts:

The Tools of the Trade chapter contains quite a bit of common sense, like writing utensils and other school supplies, including a printer and a computer, so probably the book could've done without this chapter entirely. 

The Sample Schedules and Proper Planning chapter was pretty useful, even for a homeschool veteran like myself. This chapter also includes information about setting homeschool milestones, for example, we need to be done with lesson 80 of math before Christmas break. This way, your child can work ahead or know how much they need to do to get caught up before the break. This is helpful when you have those days (or weeks!) where everything explodes and nothing gets done.

This book is pretty much like other books on homeschooling and anything you can find on the Internet, except it's in a smallish package that you can easily carry around and digest a bit at a time. I do think it's a great resource to have around if you are just getting started, but maybe not so much for a seasoned homeschooler.

The Homeschooling and the Family Business and Working outside the Home chapters were a nice update to a lot of other homeschooling books, many of which do not take these unique situations into consideration. I don't have a family business and I don't work outside the home, but I have worked INSIDE the home and while traveling with the family pretty much ever since my first child was born 20 years ago.

There's a lot of great information in this book, and I recommend you grab it if you have small children or are just getting started. It's one to purchase for your home library in that case. For those who have been in the homeschool game longer, definitely grab it at the library first, and then you can decide if it's one you'd like to purchase.

*If you feel like sharing this on social media, please tag @TillerPress and @simonandschuster, as well as @mommykerrie and @thekerrieshow. Thanks!

Summer Poolside Reading 2021

 Instead of posting a stack of books that I won't read, I'm going to post them one at a time as I'm reading them or as I finish them. Often I read two at a time: a nonfiction and a fiction. I'll also be honest and let you know if I did NOT finish a book and instead wanted to throw it at the wall or burn it. Here we go:

Fantastic pool read: The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian. I got it because I always wanted to be one, but then I ended up loving it and crying at the end.

I dare you to NOT find something in this book that knocks you off balance. There's an entire page kicking your butt about talking about being busy on social media instead of actually DOING something. Guilty. Also, tag this guy on Instagram if you love the book and he'll probably message you!

Be sure to sign up for an email subscription to The Kerrie Show here and follow me on my Facebook fan page for more updates! I'm also on Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram!

10 Ways To Keep Busy In Quarantine

 

Photo by kike vega on Unsplash

If you are having trouble finding ways to fill your time throughout quarantine then take a look at our suggestions below.

1. Start a journal or blog

If you like writing, then why not think about starting a journal or blog. Writing down your thoughts and feelings can be very therapeutic. If you have an interest or hobby that you think other people would love to hear about then creating a blog online for people to read is the way forward.

6 Ways To Treat Yourself After A Long Week

 

Pexels

Working and having a family is a big job and responsibility to undertake. You do a lot for others during the week and have many tasks you need to complete and take care of professionally speaking. It may feel overwhelming at times, and you might look forward to having some free time over the weekend for yourself.

Get your spouse to help out with the kids and commit to following through with some or all of the below ideas after a long week. You’ll be glad you did and can return to working and taking care of your kids feeling re-energized after you’ve had some time to yourself.

7 Things You Can do When You're in a Funk

Photo by Inzmam Khan from Pexels

So, let's talk for a moment about what you do on those days that you are either (A) in a funk for no reason or (B) in a funk because nothing is going right; for example, you need to call someone for appliance repair because the dishwasher STILL is not working and a funky smell is also coming from it PLUS you can't seem to get anything in your life working correctly on a certain day. (I'm not talking about full-blown depression here.) 

Some people might call a friend, call a parent or sibling, take a nice bath. One of my favorite ways to get out of a funk is to go for a drive and put on some loud music. The music depends on the mood. Sometimes I'll put on a Spotify playlist, sometimes head straight for some Beatles and classic rock, sometimes current stuff. 

Below are more ideas to help you get out of a funk. One of them is bound to work, and if you pair a couple of them up, you're going to be in a better mood in no time!

5 Fun Ways to Keep Kids Interested in Reading and Storytelling

Image by Kidaha from Pixabay

When children are very young, they love being read to, then many children will even progress to reading books by themselves. There is, after all, something magical about reading and losing yourself in a fantasy world.

Unfortunately, as children grow, there are many other distractions, especially in the modern digital world. Yet, reading and storytelling are still essential to their development, it encourages creative thinking, use of imagination, and puzzle-solving skills.  

While reputable early childcare establishments such as this childcare Liverpool encourage reading, it is important to continue the trend at home. Your children will thank you for it one day in the future!

Audiobooks

Storytelling doesn’t just mean reading a book. Children can get lost in fantasy and learn from it just as easily by listening to an audiobook. This allows them to do other things at the same time and it appears much cooler than simply reading.

If they are still not keen try playing audiobooks in the car and talk to them about it while you’re driving.

Just remember to use open-ended questions if you actually want a discussion.

Try Different Books

If your child isn’t interested in reading then consider what they are reading. This isn’t a one-size fit all option. Take a look at the different books available and encourage your child to try different themes and genres, they are certain to find something they enjoy.

Schedule Time

A great way to ensure everyone is reading is to create a schedule that dedicates just 15 minutes to reading every day. During that time no electronic gadgets are allowed in the house, everyone reads and no one feels like they are missing out.

15 minutes doesn’t seem like too much for a child to read for but it will build the habit.

Children Choose Their Own Books

It’s essential that children are allowed to choose their own books. Just like most things in life, choosing something for yourself automatically makes it more interesting and more valuable.

If your child has chosen a book themselves they are more likely to want to sit down and read it. That’s three-quarters of the battle taken care of!

Lead By Example

Don’t forget that children are naturally curious and rebellious. If you’re telling them to read a book you should be doing the same thing. This encourages them as you’re leading by example. You can do it at the same time as them to reinforce the reading schedule.

If you’re not visibly reading then your children will question the importance of reading and will be more likely to give up. Reading is beneficial for adults as well so it’s not a bad thing to take a few moments to enjoy a good book.

You can even leave the books you are reading lying around and other potential titles, it will ensure your children are interested and help them to choose their next book.

Don’t forget that reading also expands your child’s vocabulary, and may even expand your vocabulary. That’s definitely beneficial as they grow into adulthood.

Train Your Brain to Break Habits and Boost Productivity

Image credit 

We all have habits, routines, and patterns that don’t work in our best interests: it could be smoking, over-eating, procrastinating, or snacking. On the reverse side, there might be things we’d like to get into more, like healthy eating, exercise, or being more productive, but we never seem to get around to it. 

If this sounds like you, you're not alone! According to New York Times business writer Charles Duhigg, whose book The Power Of Habit explores the science behind habit-forming - our brains are hard-wired to fall into patterns. There is the habit-loop, he says, which is a three part process. First, there is a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode. Next, there’s the routine, the unfolding of the automatic behaviour; then there’s the reward - that little hit your brain gets that reinforces the loop. 

According to neuroscience habit patterns are located in an area of the brain called the Basal Ganglia. This part of the brain is responsible for emotions, memory, and pattern recognition. Meanwhile, decisions are made in the prefrontal cortex, which effectively goes to sleep during part two of the habit-loop - following the trigger. 

This is one reason a change to our environment can help us change our habits. When we go on holiday, for instance, none of the usual triggers is there, so we find ourselves craving things less, feeling different, and making new promises to ourselves.  

The good news is we don’t have to go on holiday to break the cycle of bad habits or get into productive patterns. We can train our brains to pull in the direction we want them to. 

Brain re-training 

The body learns as well as the brain. Actually, it’s an intelligent machine with signals and feedback loops communicating regularly with our brains, and therefore us.

What we put into our body has an effect on how we feel and what we crave. If we eat a lot of salty-sweet food, our bodies quickly learn that this is what to expect. It distributes the energy and nutrients it has available as best it can. In the case of ice-cream and popcorn, much of it is stored as fat. 

Since the reward centre of our brain is triggered by those foods we crave them all the more and it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle. Luckily our bodies learn quickly, and if we swap ice-cream and popcorn for smoothies and healthy snacks, we will soon notice the benefits of healthy juices.

Wake-up your muscle memory

Exercise works in the same sort of way. The basal-ganglia is relatively instimulated in an environment that is routine and predictable. If we see the same things day-in, day-out, then we feel the same things too.

If there is nothing new in our environment to stimulate a new mood, feeling, or emotion, we will be destined to repeat the same old habits ad Infinitum. But we don’t need to book a flight to Tenerife to free-up an ingrained habit or routine. It’s easier than you might think.

Use your prefrontal cortex to make a decision. Decide to do something new and different, something you’ve never done before. It could be as simple as walking instead of driving, jogging instead of walking; or doing some yoga to wake up your muscle memory.

Creativity 

Do you think you aren’t a creative person because you could never draw anything decent in art class? Chances are you are creative and express it everyday in the way you communicate, in the choices you make, and in the routines you choose to follow. 

You don’t have to be a gifted artist to get the rewards of a creative life. Reading, writing, painting, photography, meditation, walking, are all creative pursuits that can help tell your basal ganglia that you're into something new. 

Journaling is an excellent habit to start. Writing just 500 words a week, that’s three pages of a small notebook, is a wonderful way to reflect on the previous few days. Any worries you have are sure to come up as you write and you will get a clearer picture of where you’re at and what you need. After you’ve written through your worries, keep on writing and enjoy the process. 

Remember the basal-ganglia is a powerful emotional centre, but it’s not your enemy. It will only respond to any stimulus that comes its way. The more joy you discover in your creative life the more your brain will enjoy it to, and start to crave it.

Three Ways to Ignite Your Child's Love for Learning

Children are little sponges, soaking up anything and everything. And while the time you spend with your child is something that nothing can compare to, they will also benefit from time away from home and interacting with others. Here are three ways you can open your child's life to that enrichment.

Choose a Program

Your choice of schooling will likely be dictated by your family's overall situation. But it's important to understand the types of early childhood education, and how they're different. There are wonderful programs that educate without it really feeling like school, such as the Montessori approach. Checking out options for preschool Redmond Wa can give you an idea of what to expect from this type of learning environment.

Head to the Library

Chances are you have a local library that does a regular weekly storytime for children. Have you made that part of your routine yet? If not, you should! It's a great way not only to interact with others, but to learn basic social skills such as sitting quietly, following directions and waiting patiently. A trip to the library also means checking out books — and lots of different books at home encourages a love for reading early on.

Let Kids be Kids

It can be helpful to schedule activities and plan out each day, especially if you have a young child. But sometimes the opposite is more beneficial. During a playdate, do you sit back and let it flow, or do you become a third wheel? Children thrive on independence and can learn a whole lot just on their own. Encouraging that is important. Know when to step back and just enjoy watching your child self direct.

Throughout your parenting journey, remember that this classic saying rings true. "It takes a village to raise a child."

Summer Reading Update #1 2020

Happy Memorial Day! I couldn't sleep last night, so I was up at 2 a.m. reading Little Fires Everywhere. It's one of the books on my Summer Reading List 2020 (click the link to check it out).

Here's my Goodreads profile, if you'd like to follow me and check out my progress and notes (and reviews) on each of the books I'm reading.

I'm doing additional "updates" posts here on the blog because things change fast around here, plus books I'm reading to my kids are not on the original list. We read year-round here at my house, and I wanted to share some of what we're loving (or not).

You'll find over on Goodreads that we're reading:

Little Fires Everywhere for fiction fun that makes me think, touches a nerve here and there, and makes me want to write fiction because it's so well done.

The War of Art to help kick my butt into some creative and life action.

Junior Great Books Series 5 Second Semester is what I'm reading to my three youngest kids (ages 10, 12, and 15) for the rich short stories, including Shirley Jackson's Charles. I may have bought 6 more of these books since we love them so much. These are also going to translate into a fabulous class at our homeschool co-op, pretty much from grades K-6+.

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman is what I plan to start with my teen boys this week when they're not working or busy (ages 17 and 18).

Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford is what I'm reading to my 15-year-old daughter. It's the follow-up to Greenglass House, which we loved.

Hope you're gearing up for a wonderful summer! I'd love to hear what you're reading this summer!

Here's a post I wrote on Goodreads: I love being a homeschooling mom of 5, which means we are always reading lots of different things. I'm usually working on a fiction book and a nonfiction book for myself, then we love read-alouds at my house, so I might be reading something different to each of my kids, who are ages 10, 12, 15, 17, and almost 19 :-) It's such a great bonding activity and a chance to talk about different issues.

Summer 2020 Reading List (plus more) by The Kerrie Show Blog

Yes, friends, family, fans and freaky fast readers, it's that time again, and I don't know about you, but I'm excited to get crackin' on The Kerrie Show Blog's Summer 2020 Reading List!

Not sure what your part of the world looks like right now, but our library system here in the middle of America is a little bit still on lockdown and has been for a coupla months. That means I've been digging out some buried books from my closet as well as ordering some new ones from eBay … and then sitting by the mailbox in a chair waiting for them to arrive. My husband thinks I have a problem but, hey, when I'm reading I'm out of HIS hair, right?!

Conversely, find me on Goodreads and let's connect so you can see what I'm reading and I can see what you recommend! And here is the 2020 Summer Reading List!

I have to admit I already started this one. I get bored with it, then something perks me up and makes perfect sense. I read it to Sam the other night and it made him sleepy. He's 10. Anyway, my goal is to get unstuck from a whole lot of writing projects as homeschooling slows down and summer hits my household full force.

Resurrecting Reading as a Mom: Hands-Free Life (9 Habits for Overcoming Distraction, Living Better & Loving More)

I used to be a voracious reader. I remember those first few years of marriage when Aron would be cooking (he loves to do it and does it well) and I'd be snuggled up by a fire (our first apartment had a fireplace!) reading a book. I remember Memoirs of a Geisha, Little Altars Everywhere, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and a ton more, many of them from Oprah's book club list. (by the way, friend me on Goodreads so we can share book recommendations!)

Then I had my first baby and ... I KEPT READING! I structured my life so that I had plenty of time to read. I nursed my baby to sleep and instead of putting him down somewhere else in the house, I kept him in my arms and picked up a book. Okay, sometimes I watched soap operas and daytime talk shows, but a read a lot. I read mostly nonfiction then ... books on attachment parenting and parenting in general and self-help books so I could try to be the best mom for my kid. After my second baby came along I was able to keep it up ... focus moved to homeschooling books and "how to parent boys" books, since I now had two of those.

Make Homeschooling A Little Easier For Yourself

Homeschooling is a wonderful way to ensure that your kids are ready for life. If you have been homeschooling for a while, then you will know that there is a lot involved in it which you might not have expected. Of course, a lot of people are turning to homeschooling now that they are in lockdown, and it looks as though it might become very important this year to be able to do it well and know what you are doing. Whether you are new to homeschooling or not, you will always be keen to make it as easy on yourself as possible, and there are many ways in which you can be sure to do that. In this article, we will take a look at some of the ways you can make homeschooling that much easier for yourself, and more effective for the kids.

Pic Source - CCO Licence

Make A Plan

You will quickly learn the value of planning when it comes to homeschooling your children. There are many things that you need to plan, and you will want to start on these as soon as possible in order to feel that you are ready for what lies ahead. You will need to plan what you are going to teach and in what order, for a start. That might follow a national guideline or syllabus, or you might want to think of one yourself. Either way, make sure it covers all the necessary ground. It’s vital in ensuring that your children actually get the education they need.

You also need to make sure that you plan out individual days, as well as what the week is going to look like. Be sure to include everything you need, including lots of breaks for both of you. The more that you plan, the more ready you are going to feel, and you will find that you are much less likely to simply get stressed out by it all.

Pic Source - CCO Licence

Supplement Your Gaps In Knowledge

Just because you are homeschooling your kids doesn’t mean that you are expected to know everything about everything. That’s just not possible, and you are always going to find that there are the occasional gaps in your knowledge. All you need to do is have a contingency plan for when those things come up. You can spend some time beforehand learning the information yourself, for example, and then teaching it to your kids. Or for those really tricky topics and subjects you could think about calling in some outside help, whether in the form of an online math tutor or a physics teacher, or whatever the subject might be. There are always ways to supplement your own gaps in knowledge, and you should make sure that you are always doing so if you want the education to be as full as possible.

Find A Teaching Style

Everyone who tries to teach soon finds that they have their own teaching style, and you should make a point of trying to find yours as soon as possible if you want to make the homeschooling process considerably easier on yourself. It helps you to settle into a groove which feels natural for you, so that is something that you are going to want to consider. As long as you can do that, you will find that your teaching is much more natural and easygoing, and that your children are going to respect that a lot more than you trying to copy someone else’s teaching style instead. The style can be strict or easygoing or whatever in between, so long as it is effective and it is one which seems to work for you well, and for your child well.

Pic Source - CCO Licence

Make It Fun

The more that you are able to make the learning fun for your children, the easier it is going to be for you. Making it fun is actually easier to do than you might think, and it is mostly just about ensuring that you find a way to capture their focus and intrigue day by day. Because they are your own kids, you probably know how to do this better than anyone else, so that is something that you are going to want to think about. If you can make it fun, you will find that you are going to have more fun yourself, and all of you will be glad to be doing it. That is the kind of situation you are probably looking for here.