5 Easy Ways to Be the "Fun" Homeschool Mom

There's never enough time in the day to get to the necessities, better yet to add in "fun."

"Fun" just turns into a massive mess that I have to clean up.

I'm not very creative. I don't know how to make learning "fun."

If you've not said the previous three statements out loud, you've probably at least whispered them under your breath as you rage-cleaned glitter off the carpet, declaring that you're just not the "fun" homeschool mom and never will be.

What We're Reading in March 2021

Since the moment I was old enough to stumble my way through the one-vowel words of a Dick and Jane classic, I've been told never to judge a book by its cover. This month, I learned how very wise that readerly advice truly is.

After scouring the Libby app for an audiobook to take with me to the first Teach Them Diligently Convention of the year, I settled on one by a new-to-me author that came highly recommended by a few moms during our Storied Mom Reading Challenge. The cover was lackluster, to say the least--girl in a sweeping Civil War-era dress, standing wistfully by a window with light streaming around her, giving her an angelic glow. It had all the classic markings of a fluffy, romance novel.

It delivered romance, yes. But it also contained some very rich and timely themes. More on that later...

Here's a peek at what we've been reading this month.

Why I Don't Regret Staying Home to Teach My Kids

Written by Krista Smith.

There is an unspoken secret many homeschool moms keep, myself included. It’s a question we try to ignore but one which still finds its way into our thoughts more often than we care to admit.

Is homeschooling my children just as important as having a job? Am I missing out on some "pivotal" role in society by choosing to stay home with my children?

What We're Reading in February 2021

This past weekend while speaking at the annual North Dakota Homeschool Association conference, I received a lovely card from Wendy, a long-time blog follower, thanking me for creating this little community on the web. At the end of the note, she mentioned that these monthly What We're Reading posts are her favorites to read. 

I hear that a lot. 

Turns out, people who like to read, like to read about what others are reading.

The Brave Homeschool Planner 2021-2022: A Planner by Homeschool Moms for Homeschool Moms

Extras always seem to weigh me down. They require work, rob me of my energy, and breed unnecessary guilt. As a busy, work-at-home, homeschooling mom, I don't have time for that. I'd rather focus my effort on things that bring me joy and add, not detract, from my day. And so I purge all the extras, guilt-free. I prune away any non-essentials...of my time, of my home, of my school.

Some time ago, I made the decision to paper purge. For years, I used a popular homeschool planner. And while I was happy with the basic set-up of the planner, I always felt a wee-bit burdened by the pages and pages of extras that I never really used. FOMO sometimes guilt-drove me to fill in the blanks. But all the time spent logging unnecessaries seemed like such a waste.