Surviving At Home

As I’ve been browsing some mom blogs this morning, there seems to be a common theme: moms who are upset that their children are starting school.

This is a huge change in your lives, both for yourself and your child. The change will be even greater if you’ve been a stay-at-home mother whose primary job has been caring for your children. Even though you might be nervous and upset, just know that you will get used to this change, you will get into a routine, and at the end of the school year you’ll wonder why you ever got upset or nervous.

We live in a really good school district and have had a wonderful elementary school experience so I’m probably spoiled. But I still remember 6 years ago, getting ready to put my oldest on the bus for the first time. I couldn’t imagine doing it, since she was so “shy and quiet” like I used to be as a child.

But this was one of the biggest changes in her life and SHE WAS EXCITED. That’s what made it better for me, knowing that SHE wanted to face this experience head on. That SHE wanted to make new friends and ride the bus. She’s still quiet and shy but she has enjoyed the whole school experience.

I remember the anxiety like it was yesterday and do my best to help some local friends make the adjustment. This year my oldest starts middle school and some of those same anxieties have risen in my chest, but once again, SHE is excited. SHE is ready for the transition.

How can I be upset that she’s excited about this adventure?

photo credit: TheTruthAboutMortgage.com

Wanted to let you all know about a cool new feature over at the Educational Toy Factory blog: Thursday Thinker.

My kids have gotten into the bad habit of immediately turning the tv on when they walk in the door from school. They’ll both give me the abbreviated version of their day at school then it’s tv. Not proud of it, that’s just the pattern we seem to have established.

Today I plan on throwing them a curveball by printing out the Thinker Thursday puzzle and having them solve it instead of watching television. That ought to put them in a really good mood, especially since after homework we have to write overdue thank you cards for our Christmas gifts.

I can hear the groaning now!

Homeschooling has interested me off and on during the last five years since my oldest started school. I could not imagine sending my shy, little girl on a bus to a huge school and considered ever so briefly the idea of homeschooling her.

I marvel at the parents who homeschool multiple kids. That seems like an awful lot of work to plan the lessons and I wonder if these parents are brilliant in their own right to teach about all these different subjects. I could probably handle the elementary work but how on earth do you plan and teach about advanced subjects?

Recently I found the website K-12 Free Homeschool which offers a ton of information about homeschooling and their new concept of offering a free core curriculum, complete with 180 days of lessons and activities. I’m all for saving money so the word *free* struck me right away and I also like the idea of having the lessons and activities planned.

Now, since the *free* aspect is part of this new program’s focus, I assume that homeschooling parents currently have to pay other people/companies/schools for curricula and lesson plans. That could become rather costly, especially if you have a limited income. Here’s how it can be tuition-free.

My biggest fear of becoming a homeschool parent was that I wouldn’t know enough about any one subject, especially advanced math and sciences. If I didn’t know the info, how could I possibly teach it well enough to my child? I am also a computer/internet junkie who can get lost surfing the internet so it would take me forever and a day to make just a couple of lesson plans.

If you would like to add some time to your busy homeschooling life while also saving some money, here is the K-12FreeHomeschool.org Course Catalog

*This is a sponsored review*

My checkbook has been open every week since school began and I have all of $2 in quarters in my wallet. Even though I’m in charge of the school’s fall fundraiser, I always forget to allow for all the “extra” costs that are associated with back to school.

I’m not talking school supplies because I hit paydirt with some of the penny sales during the summer. These September expenses are the things that we seem to forget about: PTA dues, subscriptions to classroom magazines, school pictures , field trip money or deposits, and the multitude of fundraisers.

Being a fundraising mom in a public school, I fully understand that the money stays in the school and pays for specialized programs that benefit ALL the students. For that, I am proud to be involved. And I know that the PTA is not allowed to carry over vast amounts of funds from the previous year so in September we have to start raising money all over again. But it can be hard to manage the influx of paper and requests before getting the “your account is overdrawn” message from the bank.

Here are some quick and easy tips for supporting your school while not breaking your budget:

1. Pick and choose which fundraiser you want to support. Many schools have multiple fundraisers so don’t feel like you must contribute to each one.

2. Send in a cash donation. This way 100% of your contribution goes to the school and you don’t have miscellaneous items that you won’t use cluttering your home.

3. Determine the amount you want to give BEFORE browsing through any catalogs. Write out that check first or have the money in hand before you get sucked into spending more than you have in the bank.

4. Volunteer your time. This won’t cost you a dime out of pocket but will make you feel good that you’re helping your school community.

Here’s to a happy school year!