Having Fun Teaching STEM subjects

I can hardly wait for the FPEA STEM conference on August 22nd & 23rd at the Tradewinds on St. Pete Beach!  I know when we were homeschooling, science and math were two subjects that really scared me.  How do you teach a subject that is a weak link for you?

In fairness to me, I was put in the classes with the weak teachers when I was in school.  I didn't understand it then, and I don't understand it now.  How is a student who is weak in a subject supposed to rise above a weak teacher?  But that was then, and this is now.  No whining people!  I finally decided that I needed to buy a really good curriculum that made sense to me; and then study like my kids' lives depended on it.  Not far from the truth, really!

But we want to do more than survive homeschooling.  And while still I don't LOVE math, I did manage to get both kids into college. That may be more of a tribute to God's grace and good genes; but as long as it happened, right?

So, how did I end up speaking at a conference on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math?  As homeschoolers, we still have to "Teach What Scares Us"!  I won't tell you what I'm going to be saying...you'll just have to come join us.  BUT, it is a family conference, so bring the kids.  If you join me as we discuss "Teaching What Scares Us" we're going to have fun doing a little science and maybe (gasp) a little math and laugh a whole lot!

Oh, you hadn't heard about the conference?  It's at the Tradewinds on St. Pete Beach and we are going to have a blast learning how to share STEM subjects with our kids.  Follow this link for more information.  And be sure to stop by and say hi...I'd love to meet you!

Feeling blessed, how about you?

Fill it Up!

Tonight I filled the salt shaker! Momentous occasion, right? 

Actually it was.  Because...I had salt.  I was also able to refill the dish detergent.  I had to get out the "back up" salt to fill the salt shaker though.  That means I had to put salt on the shopping list on the fridge.  Right then.  Do not pass go, do not collect $200.  Because if I didn't...the next time I needed to fill the salt shaker, we'd be sad out of luck.

So the next time I go to the grocery store I'll buy one more canister of salt.  Just one.  It will be my new back up canister, until it's needed.

Do you have any idea how much this simple concept can reduce the stress in your life?  Seriously!

I can cook, bake bread, clean things...all because I'm not out of salt.  I'm not tense, because I have what I need.  My children are seeing me model "planning ahead".  Perhaps you've never had to say to your kids "How could you NOT see that that would happen?  You should have thought ahead!"  Head bonk!  I should think ahead too!

If you don't already have one, start creating a system of backups.  Start with the things you use most.  Toilet paper is a REALLY good place to start, cuz you definitely don't want to run out.  Buy one extra pack (maybe a couple if it's on sale).  The minute you touch that pack, you need another...remember that!  Keep adding backups as your budget allows.  Start with the things that would bother you most to run out of. 

Important safety tip...put your backup in a logical place.  Keep a list if you have to.  Extra TP doesn't work as well if you can't find it!

I just heard today that reducing the stress in my life now (and increasing my contentment) can reduce my chance of getting Alzheimers.  Not sure if it will work...but it's worth a shot!  I think I'll plan ahead for that too!

Feeling blessed, how about you?

Your Family Should Sock Mop!

This system was actually born out of desperation!  I would take my Girl Scout troop camping.  We had to clean the cabin floor.  Have you ever seen a 6 year old try to wring out a string mop? 

The worst problem was after the other jobs had been done.  Twenty two little girls, twentyone of whom have nothing to do...no way that can go wrong!

And then inspiration hit.  Twenty two little pairs of feet encased in tube socks (turned inside out) bottles of spray cleaner like windex.  Put on some upbeat music and lets the girls scrub the floor with their feet.  We had prizes for most dirt collected, best attitude, best boogie.  I didn't usually do most area covered, because that was usually a girl who going for quantity, not quality.

You can also use socks to clean counters or dust (remember if you dust to only sock cover 1 hand because you don't want to drop Aunt Martha's precious whatchamacallit!)

When you're done, collect the socks, throw em in the washer and you're ready to go again.

 

Feeling blessed, how about you? 

It Ain't Easy Being Old!

I remember my mother saying that old age had nothing to recommend it.  Please understand, that she wasn't saying that she was done with life, just that nothing was as she expected it to be.

Sure, the kids are older, but so are you.  Sometimes those things you wanted to do are a lot more challenging then you remember them being.  Case in point, I wanted to demonstrate sock-mopping at the FPEA convention...except I couldn't talk after I demonstrated.  And since talking was what I was there to do, well, chalk up another humbling experience.

And when I'm finally a grandmother, I'm gonna need a crane to get up after playing on the floor. I guess that's out too. The really sad part is that the parts that still work are no longer located in the same place they were 40 years ago. But as my mother would have said, "That's enough whining about that!" 

I should have been paying closer attention when I was younger.  At my grandmother's funeral, one of her friends was, shall we say, jet propelled.  At the time I didn't understand why she went out in public if she wasn't able to control the problem.  Tain't that easy, people!  And in any case, most of her contemporaries probably didn't hear well enough to recognize the "problem". 

Lest you think I've gone off the deep end, the reason I'm thinking about this again is because we have a geriatric dog.  This is only my third dog.  The first two lived 17 1/2 years each.  The first 14 years are pretty good.  Then the parts start to wear out.  They also become jet propelled.  The wallpaper peels off the walls in self defense.  They go out, forget they've been out and ask to go out again.  Then they come in and poop on the carpet.  This is with the doggy Aricept to help with senility (it will only take you so far).  They struggle to get up and groan when they lay down.  BUT (and this is very important) they check the beds to be sure that everyone is home, bark to greet the mailman, and lead you to their food bowl every night precisely at 6:30 pm.  The tail wags every time they see you, because they are happy with their lives, exactly as they are.

We can learn a lot from a dog.  Even if things don't perform as they used to, there is still value. There can still be contentment.  My mother also used to say that she was aware that we were watching as she took care of Dog #1, and since we were picking her nursing home, she wanted to be sure to set a good example!

So, as you go through your week, value the "seasoned ones" in your life.  And send them a card...they love that.  While you're at it, send cards to the young ones who are away from home.  They'll love it, and someday, when you are a "seasoned one" maybe they'll return the favor.  And you'll love that!  Let's be kind to each other. In fact, I think I'll go scratch some dog ears.

Feeling blessed, how about you?