Tips To Avoid Being Fined On The Road

When driving on the road, you don’t want to intentionally cause any problems while you’re in the driver’s seat. However, there’s one element of driving that can often leave a bad taste in your mouth, and that’s being fined. Here are some tips to avoid being fined on the road.

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Don’t Use Your Phone

Remember that your phone is a distraction and whether you have it on your lap or you’re using it to call people, even hands-free, it poses a danger. You can also get fined for using your phone while driving if you’re spotted by a speed camera or police on patrol. For the sake of your safety and that of others, it’s important that you don’t use your phone when you’re on the road. Try to switch it off when you’re driving or at least have it out of the way so that you’re not distracted. It’s helpful to have it on silent, and if you’re trying to use it as a Sat Nav, then it’s worth turning off your notifications so that you don’t have them constantly popping up on your phone.

Always Be On The Lookout For Speed Limits

Speed limits can always be a problem when you’re on the road because they are likely to change quite often. It’s important that when you’re driving, you are always keeping an eye on your speed, even when you’re familiar with an area. If you’re driving in a new area then you might want to consider looking up the roads you’ll be driving on or the route you’re taking and highlight those areas where your speed will need to change. You can tailor reminders on your phone or Sat Nav to alert you when necessary.

This is important because speeding is one offense that can land you in a lot of trouble. In some cases, this is one of the easiest ways you can possibly lose your license, and that’s the last thing you want. In some rare instances, you can get out of things using a hardship license, but not everyone can, and it’s not something you should bank on as you are driving. It is far better to simply drive safely, pay attention to the speed limits, and ensure that you are not going above them at all.

Use A Professional Service If Fined

Getting fined is annoying, especially when you feel like you’ve been put in a situation where you didn’t deserve it. There are ways to challenge the fines, and one of these might be to fight your traffic ticket using a professional service. It’s better to have a company or individual on your side that can help you in being more successful. Do have a look online to see who could help and go for one that’s highly reputable within its industry.

Check Your Vehicle Before Driving

It’s always a good idea to check your vehicle every time before you go on your travels. It doesn’t need to be anything extensive as it could be just a quick check to see all the lights are working and that your tires are well pumped. It’s simple checks that could stop you from getting fined while on the road. The taillights are something to always check as these can often go out without you knowing.

Being fined on the road is something you certainly want to avoid as much as possible. With that in mind, try to make all the necessary changes to stop yourself from falling into a trap that’s going to cost you a lot of money.

3 Amazing Benefits Of Homeschooling Your Children

Recently, I published an article on homeschooling during COVID-19. It contains lots of information on what you can do to teach your kids while they’re stuck at home. However, I realized that a lot of people are experiencing homeschooling for the first time. As such, you may start to wonder if this has a future for you even when schools open again. You might have already started seeing a few benefits compared to the school teaching system. 

Well, the truth is that homeschooling can be extremely good for your kids. If you’re on the fence about whether or not you’ll carry on after this pandemic, then here are a few of the advantages you will see: 

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Control over the teaching methods

A drawback of the schooling system is that you have absolutely no control over how your kids are taught. Teachers within schools have their own methods, and while some schools may call upon the latest teaching technology, others are stuck in the past. This is a problem as the way your kids are taught will determine how engaged they are. If the methods don’t suit their specific learning style, then they’re missing out. When you teach at home, you control the methods at play. This allows you to tailor lessons to your child based on their learning style. As a result, they’ll get far more out of your teaching than they would at school.

Dedicated attention

Similarly, homeschooling puts your child in a unique position where they are the center of attention. Granted, if you have multiple kids, then you’ll have to distribute your attention across all of them. Still, there will always be way fewer kids at home than in a school. Some school classes are big and have around 30 students in. How will your child get the attention they need in a class that big!? It’s impossible, but you can provide as much attention as they need all the time. This means you can pick up on things they’re struggling with and make them feel more supported. Again, this can help them flourish. 

A more flexible approach to lessons

Most kids struggle with the strictness of school. It’s incredibly hard to concentrate for an hour at a time, only to move on to another lesson after that hour. This is why kids look forward to recess all the time. In effect, they’re constantly subdued and distracted when they’re supposed to be studying. Homeschooling puts you in charge of the schedule, meaning you can take a more flexible approach. This means shorter periods of learning, more breaks, and a schedule that appeals to your child. In turn, this can help your child concentrate for longer and stay focused on their work. 

All in all, homeschooling puts you in a position to take control of your child’s education. Instead of putting them through a system that takes a very general approach to teaching, you can create a school program that’s specifically designed for your child. It will bring out their strengths and allow them to truly reach their potential.

11 Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy and Maintain Your Sanity While Quarantined!

As plans are cancelled daily due to the COVID-19 virus, we are all feeling a little disoriented. I truly believe that boredom can be a gift for our kids because it forces them to get creative (and get along!). It never hurts to put a few fun suggestions in front of them to get them started, so some of the following ideas kids can do on their own and some you’ll want to get involved in.

1.     Lego Masters. Break out the Legos because kids of all ages can get in on this one. Start by taking turns tossing out ideas for things to build (if you’re stuck, there are some great ideas for printable cards online). For example, you might tell the kids to build a refrigerator, then everyone tries their best to build that. Everyone’s creation will be different, so it’s not really a competition, but it’s fun seeing what everyone comes up with! Then pop some popcorn and turn on Lego Masters (Hulu).

2.     Art show. Kids love to draw and color! I have tons of artwork on my fridge, but how about REALLY showcasing their special artwork of the day? All you need is a long piece of thin rope or yarn hung from one end of a room to another. Then hang finished pictures using clothespins, pretend you’re having a grand gala opening, serve some snacks and you have an art show! (Bonus activity: get some canvases, paint and a variety of paintbrushes and you have art to hang on your wall that can be switched out with other pieces they’ve created.)

3.     Restaurant. I loooove when my kids play restaurant because I get to be the diner sitting at the table reading my book while they serve me different foods and drinks! They get to play waiters, hostesses, managers and cooks (depending on age and what they are making, of course, but what a great opportunity to do some cooking and/or baking with them as well!). 

4.     Play-dough. This one just takes a few minutes of your help and then the kids are off on their own, creating for hours. You could always just buy the stuff, but here’s a simple recipe, as well. Pair with a rolling pin and cookies cutters for even more fun!

1 cup flour
½ cup salt
1 cup water
1 T. oil
2 t. cream of tartar
Food coloring

Mix all ingredients except food coloring on low heat in a pan. Once the consistency is of play-dough, take pan off heat, let cool, then add food coloring a few drops at a time. Knead until the color is all mixed. Grab some cookie cutters and other kitchen items and let the fun begin! Store in air-tight containers or baggies.

5.     Write and illustrate a story. Kids are full of stories, but some aren’t old enough to write them down. That’s where you come in! Have each kid tell you a story that’s been running around in their mind and you can either write it out or type it. Then have your child illustrate it! If you’re creating the story on the computer, you can go to free photo sites like Pixabay to grab images for the story!

6.     Scavenger hunt. Take out a piece of paper and write down different items in the house on it (if you have two teams doing the scavenging, write the same items down on another piece of paper). Ideas include: a winter glove, a cotton swab, a doll shoe, a pie pan, etc. Now send the teams off and whoever gets back with the most items from the list first wins a prize.

7.     Board or other games. There are so many to choose from it’s insane! Depending on the ages of the kids and how much time you have, great games include: Clue, Bananagrams, Tenzi, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, Apples to Apples, Ticket to Ride and so many more!

8.     Play with your food. Break out the mini marshmallows and spaghetti noodles and have the kids construct creations like houses, bridges, towers and more! If you have rice around (and you should right now!), put a bag into a large baking pan and let the kids play around in it on the kitchen floor. Excess can be vacuumed up, and the rest can be put into a bag to play with later.

9.     Perler beads. You may know them as those things that go crunch when you vacuum, but kids recognize them as hours of fun! Using flat, plastic shapes with spikes, kids can create all sorts of things by placing Perler beads in different patterns. You can turn creations into necklaces, magnets, cool things to put inside school binders! Once the beads are in place, you’ll need to place parchment paper over them and iron on low until the beads melt together. Flip it over and do the other side, then they are stuck together and ready to go!

10.  Salon. This is another one of my favorites because I usually can get a 5-minute back or neck massage while playing this. It’s also a blast to have the kids do my makeup, wipe it all off and start again. Then I get to do their makeup or, for my boys, tattoos on their arms using washable markers. Then it’s time for a bubble bath for the kids to wash off makeup (and germs — for the parenting win!).

11.  Marco Polo. No, I’m not talking about the swimming pool game! I’m talking about the smartphone app that lets you leave video messages for friends and family. Depending on the age of your child, let them make all the video messages they want for their friends, and especially for grandparents! My own dad and grandma love to see what we’re up to each day indoors and in our backyard.

Are You Still Busy during the "Shelter in Place" Order?

Every now and then I'll interact with someone who thinks I have a lot of free time on my hands now that we are "stuck inside" due to the shelter-in-place guidelines which are in place all over the country and the world. (We are actually NOT inside all the time; we are outside quite a bit because why move to 8 acres of land with a pond and stay inside in the springtime?)

At the beginning of this whole thing, I put a lot of things on hold to make sure I was checking up on the virus numbers and checking in on the press conferences by the governors on both sides of the state line, checking in on my own city's Facebook page and county's website. I realized some things were starting to suffer and it was taking its toll on me and how I lived my life and how I was steering the lives of my children.

Teaching Children How To Be Leaders

Image Credit: Pexels, Free to Use Licence. 

Leadership is an important skill that can help your children from a very young age, through to college and long into their future careers. But just like any skill, leadership does not come naturally to everyone and in order to become a good leader in the future, most people need to first learn how to be one. 

The key characteristics of a leader

Leadership can be defined in several different ways but in general, most people agree that it involves a combination of the following characteristics. 

Good communication

Confidence

Integrity

Hard work

When teaching children about leadership a good place to start is by breaking down these characteristics and working on them independently. Here are some things that you can do to help build the characteristics of a good leader. 

Set goals 

Setting goals is an important thing to learn and will set your child in good stead for further education and their future career. Help your child to create their own goals and then encourage them to work towards them. As they reach them, tick them off, offer praise and then help them to devise new goals to work towards. Goal setting not only helps to instil a good work ethic but will also help them in the future when they need to devise goals for other people. 

Learn from mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes, but what sets a leader apart from the rest is that they know how to learn from them. If your child makes a mistake, rather than dwelling on it or getting upset help them to recognise it and then devise a plan to stop it from happening again. 

Teach them about great leaders

One way to encourage leadership qualities in your child is to give them great leaders to look up to. We’re lucky enough to live in a world of great leaders, so whether you teach them about makers of change such as Nelson Mandela or business leaders such as Aubrey Ferrao, there’s bound to be someone out there for them to look up to and to learn leadership qualities from. 

Enrol them in extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities such as team sports are great for helping to build your child’s confidence whilst also improving their communication skills and helping them to value team spirit. Most children don’t even realize that they’re learning how to be great leaders while hitting a baseball or running with a football. 

Let them make decisions 

Decision making is another important part of being a leader and you can help your child to build the confidence they need to make strategic decisions later on in life by letting them make more decisions now. Start by letting your child choose between two options in their lunch, and gradually move on to harder or more complex decisions such as letting them choose how to spend their own money. 

Lead by example 

Finally, don’t forget to lead by example by trying to embody the characteristics of a good leader yourself. Most homeschooling parents already display these characteristics without even knowing it but it never hurts to have them in the back of your mind.