Hi all,

Saw this suggested online the other day and it connected with me.  I have always liked the Random Acts of Kindness idea, and this is an offshoot of it. 

The original idea is under Living the Dream - 100 Acts of Kindness honoring the memory of Martin Luther King Jr.

Then I saw it mentioned here - 100 Acts of Kindness - and thought it might be something to connect with my daughters and I.  You know, it is a very cold January with the usual letdown after Christmas.  We are all probably back to our regular home schooling schedule and what a great idea to include for the next month.   Help your children think of others - challenge them to do as many random acts of kindness as they can.  In their home, with friends and extended family AND for strangers around us.  It could be a really great start to the year.

I also read about this lady celebrating her 38th Birthday with 38 acts of kindness.  What a lovely idea that is!

We also read 1 Corinthians 13 today and talked about what love is and is not.  I'm going to keep talking about it and see if we all can get our eyes off ourselves and what we want (we are in the middle of a very busy, kinda stressful renovation project) and I think thinking of others for the next month or two could help us all get through it more positively. 

Anyway, why not check the links out?  Perhaps this idea will connect with you, too.  Happy Home Schooling!

Our computer died last week, so that is interfering with my life.  smile  Hopefully it will be replaced this week and I can get back to sharing links, tips and more.  smille

Perhaps you are finishing off your summer strong?  This is your vacation time and you (and your family) need to be refreshed?  Or perhaps you have access to fruit or vegetables and are in the midst of canning and freezing produce?

I (like others) have been thinking of the fall and what we want to do.  Our Home School Support Group had our first meeting for 2011 - 2012 and it was very enjoyable.  One of the ladies brought her planning notebook and showed it to us.  She has spent considerable time thinking and typing up what she wants to accomplish this year in her home school.  It was inspiring. 

Everything was typed neatly and organised so well.  It should be easy for her to keep track of what is done.

I came home and our computer died the next morning (probably overnight!) and I have no pretty plan that is typed up so nice....BUT I have a plan, and that is all I need.  Perhaps it will get typed up - perhaps not.  We will see.  Life is busy and I'd rather get home schooling with a written plan versus taking time to get everything typed up pretty (although that would be nice!  Smile).

I do always get our Home Education Plan for each girl (1 page summary) typed up and I am looking forward to getting that done in the next two weeks (as soon as I have a working computer AND printer!).  That is an invaluable resource to have handy as the year marches along AND all home schoolers need to hand that in to the Home School Board they are with - I usually give it to our facilitator during our fall visit.

The lady I mentioned above actually typed up pages for each curriculum and extra she was doing.  Everything from the poems she wanted the kids to read, to every single page and test in the Math U See book her child was using (note she is home educating only one child!) to what Bible Story they would be reading each day to more.  It was a great visible plan. 

Others of us tend to fly more by the seat of our pants and don't have such a detailed daily plan, but more of a *do the next thing* plan. 

Does it really matter how we plan or how detailed our plan is?  I really don't think so. 

What really matters is getting our home schooling done.  Whether you home educate your children 5 days a week for 6 weeks and then take two weeks off, or if you home school your children 4 days a week and take Christmas and Summer off, or any other arrangement of time or plan - the most important thing is getting what we plan done.  Smile

Oh, and I would suggest adding in fun along the way.  That is what I love the most about Workboxing.  Here is a link to Sue Patrick's Workboxing site - the Testimonial Page   It is more work, but we get more done AND I add in the fun extras we often missed before.  My goal is to have at least 3 fun extras (that my kids consider fun!) a day.  We'll see if that happens, but it is part of my plan. 

So, there are just some of my thoughts about getting ready to home educate this fall.  I must admit I am getting excited.  I love a routine and I love home educating our children.  It is a great life AND totally worth all the effort and sacrifice we sometimes think we are making!