Posts Tagged "raising children"


Meg Making Green Veggie Juice


Posted By on Nov 28, 2009

Here is Alex’s favorite snack: green apples with almond butter. He actually made this plate himself. How cute…will he be a future Matthew Kenney in the works? 😉

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Home Schooling


Posted By on Jul 15, 2009

I receive many questions from mothers who want to home school their children but don’t know where to start. I would recommend moms to find other mothers in their community that are homeschooling. I would consider myself to still be somewhat of a novice even though I have completed 3 years of homeschooling with my kids.

Selection
I belong to a charter school. The kids receive their funds from public schooling and we have vendors that we are able to select programs, books and so forth from.

Accountability
We meet with an Educational Specialist every month. This is when I turn in work samples, lesson plans, attendance and grades. I also consult with her to find more resources and options that could better suit our needs.

Testing
My children are still required to complete the same testing as public school children do. In California it is STAR testing. The children meet every spring at a public location and the tests are set up the same as traditional school. In addition, my children are accessed at the beginning and end of the school year with an online test called Scantron just to see their starting point and their growth at the end of the year.

Special Services
My son has always needed the assistance of speech therapy. So he is receiving that through the school as a free service. I am also enrolling in LARP (Language Arts and Reading Program) for parents to learn more effective ways of working with their children’s learning styles.

1st Year Curriculum ( 3rd and 5th grade)
Our first year of homeschooling, the kids attended half day enrichment classes two days a week just for social interaction and to be a bridge between public school and home school. I had no clue how to home school so I did a box kit curriculum with Varsity books. Basically it was set up as a normal teacher teaching public school. I downloaded the class lessons and conducted class just like a normal school setting. It was quite a challenge considering I was teaching two different grades. I was separating my son and daughters curriculum and doubling up on the work load. Honestly, the first year was really tough and we struggled to maintain a system that was generic and didn’t meet our lifestyle.

2nd & 3rd year Curriculum (4th & 6th grade)
I kept the language arts and math curriculum separate, but combined all the other subjects like science, history, life skills, art and PE. My children selected their own special interest. This system was much simpler and we found ourselves enjoying the learning process together whereas before we struggled to do everything “by the book”. Along the way, I found it much easier to start writing our own lesson plans based on our lifestyle. Here is what we did last year:

Language Arts
READ a book that they enjoyed (I would pull books from the required reading of public schools for their grade level, but found the kids took more interest in the books they selected themselves)
WRITE a page a day especially in their journals (encouraging gratitude, creating) or stories
Spelling & vocabulary- Latin based- Red Hot Root Words
Grammar- Daily Grams

History
Story of the World series

Science
Life Science (7th grade)
Kits- Solar Science, Edible Landscaping, Square Foot Gardening, Human Body

Math
Teaching Textbooks

PE
Gymnastics

Life Skills
computer skills, typing (roller typing program), blogging
personal & family responsibilities
raw food recipes

Special Interest
guitar lessons, horseback riding lessons
art- painting, drawing

Now I am approaching our 4th year of home school and I feel like it is time for another change. My kids are a bit older and are expressing career directions. I observe what they do during their independent time and I am looking to nurture their interests and habits. It seems that we are less and less concerned with standardized testing and learning skills that are not applicable to them at this time. I am not too sure how this is going to be received by our wonderful ES, but I am sure she will show us how to incorporate it all into the typical subjects.

I feel as a mother it is important to honor their direction and support them. I need to remember that learning is supposed to be fun. It is pointless to waste their time if the brain is not activated. I watch to see their natural inclinations and curiosity. I do not act like I know all the answers, since I know I don’t, but rather just express a love for learning all through life.

Priorities
Knowing & supporting their end result
Nurture their nature & passion
Have fun & keep their minds curious
Prepare them to be self reliant

My kids are entering 6th and 8th grade next month. Here is what I have set up so far.

Language Arts
Reading- whatever they enjoy (Alex enjoys reading the Harry Potter series, Eragon series, Twilight series)
Write- in their gratitude & create journals & writing projects pertaining to other subjects
Spelling/Vocab- Latin
Grammar- Daily Grams book

History
Story of the World
However, public school focuses on US history for my kids grades. However, I much prefer a chronological global view.

Math
Money generation and management
Teaching Textbooks (typical class)

Science
Sustainable Living: health & environment
Earth Science (typical class)

Life skills
computer skills, typing, blogging, social media
Entrepreneurship
Self Reliance

PE
wrestling
horse vaulting (gymnastics on a horse)

Special Interest
Alex expresses a desire to excel in sports (currently in wrestling) and music(taking guitar) , computers. I would love to find a course he could take to learn about programming and just overall computer knowledge.

Mehgan expresses an artistic desire to be in the fashion world of modeling, creating her own clothing and jewelry line, singing and performing arts. She loves interacting with animals. She is working on selling her jewelry online from her blog and Etsys. I need to enroll her into a performing arts program.

Finding What Works
Everyone has their own approach. I am not even sure that I am doing things right. All I know is that most of the stuff I learned in school is information that I do not apply in my life. I want to make sure that what they are learning and doing they are enjoying. I want them to retain and apply their knowledge versus memorizing and regurgitating.

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Calling All Moms!


Posted By on Jun 12, 2009

Any woman who has ever yearned to give her child the very best start in life possible…

Any mother who has felt the need to go against the grain of society’s standard parenting protocol because she knew there was a better way to live and to love…
Any mother who has ever questioned the status quo and believed that life and parenthood and the health of children could be better than it is, then what I am about to show you is something you’ve been waiting for.

“The Raw Mom Summit” is an online event starting on June 22nd and ending on June 30th. For 9 days and 9 nights the wisdom, experience and understanding of over 30 passionate health pioneers and some of the world’s leading experts in alternative health, are bringing their voices together in the name of building healthy families and empowered leaders of the next generation.
You can learn more about this FREE online event by clicking HERE.

Chances like this don’t happen every day.When you sign up for THIS, you’re a part of history in the making. Anyone who registers for this event will look back on it as an experience that transformed they way they think about life, love and parenting.
If you leave it until the last minute and miss your chance to be a part of this, you’ll regret it. It’s a FREE program and I highly recommend you SIGN UP and invite your friends and loved ones to do the same by forwarding them this announcement.
Here’s to the the next generation’s right to lead empowered, healthy lives beyond what we can imagine today.

In love and health,
Lori

P.S. Keep in touch, because I’d love to hear what you think of the calls as they happen!
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The “RAW MOM SUMMIT” is Here!


Posted By on Jun 10, 2009

As many of you know I am a mother of 2 children. My son, Alex just had his 13th birthday and my daughter, Mehgan is almost 11. “School” has just ended for the summer. We have now offically completed our 3rd year of homeschool and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am focused on preparing my kids for the real world and am interested in teaching them the things that I find are missing in traditional school systems such as health, enjoying life, and sharing your passion. Entrepreneurship is something we are learning together. I only wish I had this as a kid growing up, but it’s never too late. As a homeschooling mother, I find that learning is everywhere!

Over the years we have made many changes towards living a healthier lifestyle. Being a single working mom presented some challenges also. However, we have been able to accomplish so many of our goals. As we go along, it seems more opportunities for growth and improvement are constantly being presented. Who knows where it will lead us next.

About a month ago, I was humbled to be invited by Shannon Leone and Tera Warner of RawMom.com for the up-coming Raw Mom Summit. We spent an hour talking about transitioning my children who were used to eating the SAD diet (Standard American Diet) into a high raw diet. As many of you know, I have also been working on my bikini body challenge. I make it a priority to workout very regularly and stay very active. In my interview, I share my tips for staying fit as a busy mom. As a mom it is important for me to give my kids the best support and upbringing for a successful future and I share resources that helped us along the way.

I am amazed by all the wonderful information available on The Raw Mom Summit webpage . Shannon has compiled in over 30 interviews with such an incredible and diverse group of people. Please check out http://www.rawmomsummit.com/ and see how valuble these interviews are to mothers.

RAW MOM SUMMIT
Starting MONDAY JUNE 22nd, 2009

What if you could gather together some of the most inspirational health leaders in the world and get them together in the same place for 9 days to discuss the subjects of nutrition, pregnancy, childbirth, parenting and other family health care issues?

What if you could get YOUR concerns addressed about how to succeed on a healthy diet or how to feed your children the best food? What if you could finally get answers to your questions about:

* What to do about Fertility, Ovulation and Conscious Conception?
* How to prepare for a Healthy Pregnancy, Labor and Childbirth?
* What is Attachment Parenting?
* Which natural remedies to use when your children are sick?
* How to feed a meat-eating partner if you are vegetarian or vegan?
* What should you feed yourself when you’re overwhelmed with cravings?
* How to get kids excited and involved in their own food-prep?
* What to do when our kids rebel against our healthy diet?
* What is going on with the Bees and why is it so important?
* How to shrink our Carbon Footprint?
* What is Sustainability and Permaculture?
* What Super Foods are BEST for kids?
* Exactly what IS the healthiest diet?
* What are the best ways to Raise Children Naturally?
* What are the lesser-known common pit-falls of a Raw Food Diet?
* Which foods help or hinder our Hormones?
* What are the issues around Veganism, B-12 and Protein?
* What do Raw children eat?
* How to get picky eaters to crave their veggies?
* Which foods help kids transition and stick to a healthier diet?
* What are the other Top Lifestyle Factors besides diet for longevity?

What if you could get the answers to all these questions and a WHOLE LOT MORE while washing dishes in your pajamas and bouncing a babe on your hip at the same time?

Sound too good to be true?

Well, not if we’re talking about an exciting new event that has been put together by two self-employed mothers with the spunk and determination to get these questions answered by some of the most outstanding experts in the world!

“It’s time to bring together the Leaders in our community and inspire women as the heartbeat of their homes, to be the change we NEED to see in the world. It’s time that we tell the world that the Evolution of Motherhood has arrived!”

Tera Warner, founder of www.RawMom.com

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