It is so important to teach your son about home repairs. Yes, girls can definitely benefit from this too! At our house, we just happen to only have boys, so I tend to focus on raising boys.

This is a guest post that I think brings an awesome point: training up your sons on how to work with their hands. I want to make sure we use these tips at our house more too, and I hope you find this as helpful as I did.

Teaching your sons how to fix their broken stuff will help your finances and teach the boys valuable skills that will be useful later in life.

Who doesn’t respect a handy man (or woman) who is capable of doing his own home repairs?

One thing every parent would agree with is that raising kids can be challenging.  It can be tougher if your children are all boys.

There is a limitation to applying the parenting methods we learned from our parents years ago. Things have changed. 

The perception of manhood some years back includes working hard and respecting and protecting the family at any cost. Men who watch their fathers act this way grew up with the same characteristics.

Over time, as innovation presents new job opportunities, there is almost no need to showcase fitness. Companies now operate hybrid workplaces; hence no need to rush to work. With a smartphone, you can order virtually anything and have it delivered to your doorstep, including booking a repairman.

Nevertheless, your children need to understand certain Do It Yourself (DIY) repairs around the home.

Think they do not need it? Well, what happens if the technician fails to show up? Would you encourage them to call a technician to change a bulb that can be replaced within a few minutes?

Giving them an all-around education, both book knowledge and practical experiences, is essential.

For instance, take them along or involve them when purchasing Shower Door Hardware. Let them know how to choose the right hardware for a shower door.

How to inspire your boys to be kid-fixers

Repairs can be a boring task for someone with no interest; below are ways to make it fun:

Engage and educate

Kids are more intelligent and braver than you think. When supervised, they can safely handle most repair tools, including sharp ones.

Invite your son whenever you are fixing anything. Educate them on what you are fixing and why you perform certain actions.

Explain why you handle the fixing yourself instead of hiring a technician.

Explore

Take them along on your next car routine maintenance trip. You may also visit a repair shop or repair café in the neighborhood to show them the beauty of machines.

Let them see first-hand that the appliances they use at home are not powered by magic but made up of different parts designed to sync.

Supervise

Kids need supervision when working with tools. Teach them about safety features, correct their mistakes, and show them better ways to do it. Only allow them to repair plugged or powered appliances with supervision, except those that use batteries.

5 easy steps to teach your son about home repairs

You do not have to be handy yourself before teaching your kids how to do minor repairs around the house. There are lots of videos online to watch.

It would be fun to watch it along with your sons while you try out the recommended steps. However, here are five easy steps you can use to teach your kids about home repairs;

Introduce them to the tools

Familiarize them with the required tools for the repair you are willing to train them. If you are unfamiliar with the tools and their functions, watch videos to learn what they are used for, and then pass the knowledge on to your kids.

Teach them safety

Once they are familiar with the tools and their uses, the next thing to do is train them on safety. Do this irrespective of your boy’s age.

Also, teach with examples. For instance, narrate how you got injured while repairing something.

Make it fun instead of being similar to their typical school class.

Create a workshop

Purchase a child-size toolset and set up a workshop if you do not have one already in your garage.

Make them write out the names of the tools and have them added to the toolbox. This will help to memorize the names of the tools.

Buying them tools and creating a garage will give them a sense of ownership and could pique their interest in the lesson.

Allow them to practice with the tools

Assign them tasks that will require the use of one of the tools. Instead of loosening a screw yourself, ask them to do it.

Finding the right tool for the task will help them become more familiar with the tools.

Design a project

The project should be age-appropriate. You can start by loosening the screws of the drawer and instructing them to screw it back.

Painting is another project you can make them execute but ensure all necessary areas, such as floors and furniture, are well covered using drop cloths.

Home maintenance and repair skills to teach your children

Plumbing

You can teach kids how to fix a blocked toilet or sink. Direct them to fix a leaking tap and educate them on the importance of conserving water. Let them know about the water bill.

Electrical fittings

There could be a time you may not be around to change a faulty bulb or fix a socket that does not work. Teach them how to do this safely. Show them the circuit breaker box and how to operate it.

Let them know it is safer to switch off the power before performing any electrical repair.

Woodwork

Woodwork encourages creativity. Let them build anything of their choice or something they will find amusing. This may be a birdhouse or a doll house for their sister.

Likewise, you can show your kids how to fix home furniture with minor issues, like removing stains and discoloration.

Painting

Painting is a fun activity that your kids will surely like. Give them the brush and watch them unleash their creativity.

Auto mechanic

Train your son on basic car repairs, such as changing a flat tire and car oil.

Show them the normal car maintenance routine and how to interpret warning signs such as dashboard indicators.

Repairing fences and patching drywall

Your boys might not be strong enough at the moment to help you with repairing the fences. But watching you do it will undoubtedly help them later.

Cleaning

Reinforce in your kids the importance of cleaning. Establish a routine. You may mandate all used dishes are washed after dinner, before they go to bed. They should be able to vacuum and dust furniture.

At an appropriate age, make them take out the trash and wash the trash can when needed.

If you have a lawn, teach them how to operate the mower.

Other repair skills to teach your children include:

• Cleaning gutters
• Tightening or replacing a doorknob
• Vacuuming
• Changing air filter
• Hanging pictures
• Washing windows
• Watering plants
• Washing car
• Gardening

When you teach your sons home repairs, everyone benefits. Your kids become more confident in their own abilities, and your future daughter-in-law will thank you for sure.

The post 5 Important Things to Teach Your Son About Home Repairs appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

This was probably my tenth or so Stitch Fix box, and shorty shorts aside, this box was an exciting hit. This box had two adorable tops, two dresses that fit perfectly, and a terrible pair of Daisy Dukes.

Since Alan was working from home on Friday, he was able to take photos for me. He was quite helpful and actually gave me input as to what I should keep. His favorite dress was the blue flowered one. John David agreed. The only thing Alan and I disagreed on was the shorts. I did not take a photo of me in the shorts because me in those shorts is not happening. Only a man would be like, “Yes! Yes, wear the shorts! They’re perfect for when we go to the creek.”

Every woman knows when her time comes that she no longer looks good in Daisy Dukes, and that time arrived for me quite some time ago. Actually, thighs have always been my thickest area, and I have never felt comfortable in little shorts. I live in cropped pants or capri pants in the summer. Those are my uniform. I am a firm believer in wearing what is flattering more so than what is currently trendy.

Here are all the outfits. I am no model, friends, but I did put on eyeliner for this. A little foundation would’ve been helpful. But hey, what is a pandemic good for if it’s not an excuse to wear less make-up?

The bra question

I mentioned in the video that I normally don’t wear shirts like this because I do not do strapless bras, nor do I have any other types of specialty bras that I wear for longer than a two hour wedding or such. However, I noticed wearing a sports bra with this top almost worked perfectly. What is needed is simply a racer back style bra, so I went online and found one on Soma and ordered it. It was on sale, had five-star ratings, and came in tons of colors and sizes, so that sounds pretty perfect. Click here to order one for yourself. No, I don’t work for them and won’t make money if you buy it. Maybe I should look into that though…I’m always looking for more advertisers…

Alan and John David both liked this dress best, and that is why I am keeping it because really I wasn’t that impressed. Yes, it fits perfectly, but the material is only okay. I will probably wear it to church, whenever we finally get to go back to church.

This one is my FAVORITE. I am wearing this shirt at this very moment. It’s lightweight but not see through, and the material is super cute. Love it!

This is the kind of dress that I LOVE, and Alan and J.D. were like, “Yeah, it’s good, but not as good as the blue flowered one.” I don’t care. I like it best and will wear it more often. Maybe clothes that aren’t body-hugging are to me what hoodies are to middle schoolers…they just feel safe and cozy.

I have to wear my Clarks sandals with everything. Those in the photo are the ones I ordered especially for my plantar fasciitis. It was getting much better. Then last week I decided I could walk the whole block in my Clarks flip-flops, you know, because I was feeling so good I decided to behave like an idiot. Three years ago I toured all of Israel in Clarks flip-flops and felt great. This year I cannot even walk a mile in tennis shoes. Feet problems are no joke.

So how much am I keeping from this Fix?

All in all, this Stitch Fix box was an enormous mood booster for me. Even though I may never wear the shorts, I am going to keep the entire box. Why? Well, the way it works is they subtract 25% off your order if you keep it all. The amount that I save keeping the shorts is ten dollars more than I would get back if I returned the shorts. It is literally cheaper for me to keep it all than to send one item back.

Biggest change I noticed from this recent Stitch Fix:

The prices seemed to have gone down. Normally, a whole box adds up to right around $200. This time my entire box was only $155, after the discounts. That is a significant difference, in my opinion. I don’t mind paying it either because shopping is tricky with the coronavirus restrictions. Places aren’t doing returns or opening fitting rooms, and with Stitch Fix you know what fits, and returns are super duper easy.

My best tips for getting a great fix like this:

1. Fill out every little question they ask you on your sign-up forms with as many details as possible. Tell how you like your clothes to fit you, what your problem areas are.
2. Make requests. If you know you need shorts but don’t want to end up with shorts like the ones I got, tell them you want shorts with at least a seven inch inseam. If you never wear dresses, make sure you specify that. Tell them what you know you need more of.
3. If a top they send you is super cute, but it turns out to be too baggy or small, you can exchange it for a different size. Write that on your online check-out after you have tried everything on, and send in your exchange in the free envelope they provide.
4. Make a Pinterest board, pin outfits you like, and include the web address to your Pinterest account on your Stitch Fix profile. My stylists have mentioned looking at my Pinterest boards and website.
5. Take the style surveys on Stitchfix.com. I take them for fun every now and then, but it helps build a profile of my preferences.

A new Stitch Fix option I used this time:

What I really still needed in my wardrobe is more summer bottoms, and what I love to wear most are cropped pants. While I was surfing around the Stitch Fix site after putting in my order, I noticed that you can now click on items you have purchased and order the items they picture to go with them. I clicked on my navy top, pictured above. They paired it with a classic looking pair of gray capri-length pants. It even looks like they have a sleek tab waist that may be elastic. Even though they cost a little more than I would normally order, I ordered them! I know they will match most anything, and every single time except for once the pants they have sent me have fit perfectly.

From the Stitch Fix website, once your in your profile, click on “Shop”, then click on “complete your looks.” It will display an entire outfit to go with each item you have purchased. Pretty cool, huh?

All right, I am off to do some house cleaning. Let me know if you order a fix for yourself and what you think! If you would like to learn more about how the process works, see my very first Stitch Fix review here.

The post One of My Best Stitch Fix Boxes Ever I Kept it All!! appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I am taking a break upstairs, listening to Alan’s surprised voice downstairs saying, “Y’all already ate that sherbet!!??” It truly is eat or be eaten around here. Food has a short shelf life.

School is going better though! Therefore, my stress level has decreased. Monday all the boys’ work was due to be turned in by 12pm, and we had most of it turned in on Friday afternoon. New assignments were not released until today, some of them not even until 12pm today, so it was two light days in a row. We do most of our work in the late morning anyway, so what isn’t done by two o’clock is not getting done until the next day.

A nice relaxing activity that we are doing to close out our school day is gathering in the living room to read together.

Now that the teachers have the academic stuff covered, we are back to reading through the Little House on the Prairie series. We are on the fifth book, By the Shores of Silver Lake. Today we read through the chapters where Jack the bulldog dies and Ma and the four girls ride the train to their new town in the Dakotas, and it had me in tears.

Then I spent the afternoon editing thirty-six minutes of video footage created by our nine-year-old. The video was hilarious, though not always on purpose. There was a great deal of film dedicated to the floor and ceiling of our house.

Ah, the quarantine life.

Friday, May 1 (Week 7) The Anxiety Week

We are all alive. No one here is sick, but we are not always okay.

I am far too stress ball for this. You know how I felt about home school if you have followed me long. “Never again,” I vowed, “Never again.”

And yet, here we are. The whole world is home schooling our kids. They say it is not really like regular home-schooling. Instead, they say this is actually crisis schooling. Oh boy, they are right. (“They” would be the writers on the internet with far more readers than yours truly.) This is definitely a crisis, and you know who is not the cool, calm person you want by your side in a crisis? Me.

It’s true. I am a panicker.

Google says that panicker isn’t even a word, but it should be. I can assure you being a panicker is a very real thing. Perhaps, the grammar experts would rather I say that I am a worrier, or something, but those are not accurate statements. I lose zero sleep worrying, but I flip out easily in the privacy of my own home. Over reactor is probably the best word for me.

Ever heard of Generalized Anxiety Disorder? It runs rampantly through my veins, but not in the way you might think. I am not a fearful person or a germaphobe, and I don’t think up strange new things to worry about either. But I do flip out when I feel like I’m failing. I go into full panic attack, and truly I spin completely out of control.

“You can’t find your writing notebook? Why? Is it not in your box? No?”

I’m already feeling edgy from a morning of managing the kids and their schooling. My child doesn’t care that this essential school supply is missing, and yet I go into whining mode. Feeling highly irritated because I would rather be doing so many other things, but I am so uptight that I am determined to find the missing notebook. I search each room we use for school. There is no sign of the notebook. Ugh.

Meanwhile, another boy doesn’t understand the directions on his assignment and needs me to explain.

Simultaneously, my sixth grade boy is finished with all of his work and wants to know if he can go play Minecraft.

Oh, but don’t forget the third boy. He is patiently waiting for me to come back because I promised I would help him with his social studies chart.

And there goes my brain, all overwhelmed and panicking, exploding all over the place.

I scold myself, “Why? Why can’t I be a cooler person?? This is all freaking me out way more that it should. How do other people juggle multiple problems at once? I’ve had children for fourteen years now. Shouldn’t I be a better parent by now?”

The boys end up being the ones comforting me. “It’s okay, Mom.” They sweetly pat me on the back.

I finally give up on finding the notebook, as all the frustrated energy is drained from me. I dig a different notebook out for J.D. to use. Some of the boys will just have to wait. Dan and I work our way through the social studies chart. I send Caleb downstairs to watch t.v. until I am ready to handle questions.

And when the day’s school work is done, I don’t feel accomplished that we finished all our week’s work a day ahead of schedule. Instead, I feel guilty and disappointed in myself for basically crying over spilled milk and not setting a better example of how to handle problems.

Did I pray and meditate on God’s word this morning, to set the tone for a good day?

Yes, yes I did, most faithfully, but sometimes that isn’t enough. In the heat of moments when you feel like chucking a computer through a window, having prayed and read God’s word three hours ago does not save you from feeling out of control. At that moment, I’m not walking in the spirit. I’m letting new problems and anxiety get the best of me, but don’t worry. I didn’t actually throw the computer out the window. I do show some restraint.

It was exactly like this four years ago when we tried home-schooling last time. Back then I had to learn to stop in my tracks when I would begin to feel frantic or angry . Sometimes, I would even have to physically remove myself from the situation, drop everything, and beg God for help at that very moment. I have to walk away, maybe even step outside and breathe some fresh air, and regain my senses before I can return to handle the chaotic situations where it feels like everything is going wrong with a restored heart and mind.

Getting enough sleep is important too in times like these. Your ability to cope is slashed in half when you are tired. Taking time to sit on my porch is strangely beneficial to me. I love watching the birds or drawing on the sidewalk. Normally, I love taking walks, but while my feet are injured I have to settle for front porch sittin’, which is surprisingly restorative.

I often wonder if any other moms have as hard a time with computer school as I do. We are all different. I’m sure there are some moms who love doing school this way, but it’s hard for me. It’s not the kids’ fault either. They have been very sweet and cooperative, but managing people is still like wearing a porcupine bra to me. It is definitely not my talent.

But it’s not good to dwell on one’s shortcomings for long.

Dwelling on the negative is a detrimental thing to do. So I’ll get back up, dust myself off, drink a little coffee, finish my blog, and finish up my dinner preparations. We are having BBQ chicken and mashed potatoes tonight. That’s a meal most everyone will eat. Life goes on, and with God’s help, we will do better tomorrow. Alan is in the kitchen now, teaching Joshua how to make instant mashed potatoes. See, it can be a good day after all.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11: 28-30

The post Weeks 6 and 7: Sometimes I am not okay. appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Normally on this blog, I tend to visit new places and post photos of them. I also go house hunting every 1-3 years, since I am a military wife, that has been our lot. Since nowadays we, like everyone else in the world, stay home all the time, I thought I would give you a tour of my house instead, or at least the interesting parts of my house. I am officially not allowed to show you the boys’ rooms. Not everyone loves to share their life on the internet. Huh. Weird..

Now this will not be a tour of an envy worthy home full of hand crafted Good Housekeeping decor. No, no. I wish. This will be true photos of a house FULL of children who have been at home for over a month. It is like summer, but with long sleeves and school work. Messiness does abound, especially in the Easter basket aftermath.

Welcome to our lovely home. Notice how the blinds on the second floor do not match. That irritates me. It does, but I have been too cheap to shell out the few hundred dollars to fix it. Plus, I prefer white. And yet, I know that the dark window blocks more more morning light, and those particular windows do happen to belong to the youngest children in the house, you know, the ones who still like to rise early, so the dark blinds are quite functional.

I also have high hopes of changing those shutters to some shade of blue this year. They are faded, and also they are brown. Bleh, brown. Other than that, we just love this house. I mean who would not love this front porch?

Notice the new wood around the garden? Alan built that the very first week of quarantine.

He did an outstanding job. That looks like quite a project. I can’t tell you much more about it. Wood craft is far outside of my areas of expertise.

We have a lovely tulip tree that is almost finish blooming now. I have always loved these. We had one at our southern Alabama house too.

This large cherry blossom tree is just beginning to bloom which means it will be gorgeous this week. That brings me so much joy. I will have to take extra time to sit on my front porch and just look at that this week.

This is all very classic quarantine, don’t you think? An Amazon package is on the doorstep, and the entire porch is covered in chalk art. They do such lovely creative things when I make them get off of video games. The pictures shown here are Daniel’s.

I just realized I still have a winter welcome mat out. Oops. The thing is I do not own a regular one to replace it…

When you enter the house, you will find yet another Amazon package, and no, they are not essential items. Well, I mean, they are as essential as a cake keeper and a new game of Sorry can be.

The very first week of quarantine I went around the main floor of the house and stuck Bible verses everywhere. I figured we were all going to need these reminders.

In the office you will find book boxes. I had to make these for silent reading time. Now that spring break is ending, I need to switch out a few of the books again. I tried to put variety in each box.

Hobby time: I do not have more free time than usual. I actually have less free time than usual by far because of managing four different school routines each day, but I still squeeze in time for my newest hobby. My whole life–okay my whole teenage plus life– I have wanted to learn to play the piano. Now I am finally doing it. I am still only in the first beginner book, but I am making progress.

My kitchen table is a symbol of another quarantine problem. Doctors can only see you for emergency type problems, so I was turned away from getting a badly needed steroid shot for my plantar fasciitis/heel spur problem. It is so bad I cannot go on any walks at all, not even short ones. Even working around the house is difficult. So my mother-in-law told me about tart cherries. I did a little research, and this is a real thing. If you have an arthritis problem you cannot shake, try eating a large amount of tart cherries each day. It may take a while, but it is supposed to help.

In our living room, you will often see our little whippet mix standing at the door, waiting to come in or out. This dog seems to go in and out about 99 times per day. Sometimes it’s annoying. And oh yeah, electronics are everywhere. We are having a few days of spring break.

Baking galore! I am still going through my Mary Berry cookbook. These are coffee cakes I made from it. Next up is a Battenberg cake. I will be sure to take a photo of it to show you when I finish it.

I finally changed out the hallway flowers to spring flowers. Once Easter hit, I realized I had left out my winter things for far too long.

The dining room has been completely taken over by Lego projects and school supplies. That room is so bad it is downright embarrassing.

Here was the kitchen table all set up for Easter morning. My oldest son stayed up late and helped me fill eggs, and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed that. Fourteen is full of new milestones.

You can often find a little boy in the corner of the dining room because that is where the charger is. He likes to play Mario and Minecraft.

Our kitchen still has happy birthday signs up from our March birthdays. That just dawned on me yesterday. I guess I should take those down.. These two are celebrating that I was going to make sweet potato casserole. Sweet potatoes are rock stars at our house.

And in the living room, here are the boys in their natural element, the cushy LazyBoy recliner sofa. We love that thing. I have been a hero with the youngest this week because I helped him figure out how to “make things enchanted” in Minecraft. Then I helped them friend each other so they could play Minecraft together, in each other’s worlds. They have really had a ball.

See this? This is the boys’ end table. You have the toys, the books, the charging station, and the toy box overflowing. If you think that is bad, you do not want to see the dining room (aka craft table/Lego table/ school table). I will spare you that.

Sometimes the office looks like this. The children have taken over every single room in this house.

I could not be more thankful for this backyard. On the good weather days, we can all go outside and do so many things.

I hope you enjoyed the tour! My Facebook newsfeed is full of people making jokes about quarantine and how much they are over being stuck inside. There are even one or two conspiracy theorists, but I gotta tell you, I am enjoying the at home time. Everything is cancelled! That’s like a dream come true. Because we did not lose our income, this is fun to me. I do feel terrible for those who have lost their jobs, though. That is a totally different thing. For them, I will be happy when things begin to transition back to normal, and even happier when people have work again.

How is your quarantine going?

The post Quarantine Family Home Tour appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

We live in Maryland. Our teachers were given less than 24 hours of notice before schools shut down. Therefore, they cannot guarantee that all children have internet access at home or parent involvement. That limits how much the schools can assign. In some ways, I am thankful for that. One of my friends has children in a local private school that handed out more work than they can actually get done.

All of a sudden, I have four children, of all different ages, to keep busy all day long. This is the perfect time to panic, right? I mean just a little…

Those years (2014-2016) that we home schooled the boys have helped me a ton. I have some materials left over to use for the younger boys. Plus, I remember how stressed I got last time, putting way too much pressure on myself. This time, I am trying to take a far more laid back approach to it all. Each day I have a very reasonable list of no more than 6 things I expect us to get done each day.

Thankfully, you can find a ton of stuff online these days to help.

Here are a few websites I have found immensely helpful for daily school work.

#1. 15 Fun Indoor Recess Games and Activities

The very first day that my youngest child was hot on my case to “start home school now now now”, I sat down and asked him what they do first everyday. He is a first grader. His teacher makes school so much fun that he adores her and looks forward to going everyday. She is a quiet, introverted teacher, so I knew she must be running things well to make him love school so much.

He explained that they start each morning with “morning work,” and then they have their morning meeting. At the meeting, they greet each other, they share about their day or weekend, and then they play a game.

That was easy enough to incorporate into our home school. Sure. We can play an indoor game each day to get everyone in a good mood, having fun together. So far we have played Simon Says (only we called it Mom says), balloon tossing, charades, hot/cold, hide-and-go-seek, and four corners. I got almost all of these ideas from this website.

#2. Brain Pop

I have written about Brain Pop previously, here and here. I was already a fan. But now I’m an even firmer advocate for this website because they are providing their top rate services for FREE during the COVID-19 quarantine.

This site offers fun, engaging animated lessons on every subject, from science to art to math. Not only that, but it has games and quizzes to support those lessons. My son’s middle school uses these lessons regularly. They are solid and easy to pay attention to. This one is a big personal favorite at our house.

Go here to sign up for your free account.

#3. Brain Pop Junior

Everything I said for Brain Pop applies here, only this is the one geared towards kindergarten-third grades. I cannot recommend this program highly enough, and no, they are not paying me to say that. I am not on their payroll. We just like it that much.

Go here to sign up for your free account during the quarantine. Once schools are back in session, this website will go back to being a paid service.

#4. National Geographic

Nationalgeographic.com is one of the websites listed on our school’s recommended websites list. My middle schoolers are supposed to read or watch science or social studies articles or videos on there and then summarize them.

#5. Duolingo.com

This is a foreign language program and app. I downloaded the app version of it to my phone. It teaches about any common language you can think of. My sixth-grade son is using it for French. He says it’s fun, and he enjoys it ever so much more than he ever enjoyed going to his French class at school. This is another must-have, and I downloaded the free app version. However, it will only let you play a limited amount with a free account. There are days that we run out of tokens and could use the paid version.

#6. Typing Club

When we moved to Maryland, I was dismayed to discover that all the middle schoolers here have been typing for years. That left my kids in the dust. In fact, my 3rd grader has already begun typing lessons at his school. Apparently, it’s never too early to begin learning typing in our ever-increasingly electronic age.

Typing club is a very clear typing program. It teaches typing the same way we learned it. Only this generation never has to worry about a typewriter or correction ribbon. Aren’t they lucky?

We did pay for this service. My 8th grader is using it everyday while my three younger boys are using it sporadically. Go here to try it out.

#7. Starfall for grades PreK-3rd

This one was also on our public school’s list. The games on it are super cute. My first grader thoroughly enjoys the learning games on starfall.com. They have a variety of subjects too.

#8. Reading Eggs/ Reading Eggspress

This reading skills website is for kids ages pre-k through first grade. Actually, if you go with the reading express version, it serves more of a reading comprehension purpose and is good for all elementary school grades past reading eggs.

You can try it out now free for the first 30 days. They are running this deal to support all the kids currently out of school.

Our family has a long history of using reading eggs. It is a fun and effective program. My first grader LOVES it.

#9. Math Seeds

Math Seeds is the math portion of the reading eggs website. It is also really cute and fun. I highly recommend these. Math Seeds is also doing a free trial.

#10. Stack the States

I could not find this one in Apple’s app store, but it is available for $2.99 in Google’s. I downloaded this app for my elementary sons on our Kindle fire tablet. We also used this app back when we home-schooled before. It is really fun. This one is worth the $2.99.

#11. Library

We have not gotten around to using this one yet because I am such a book hoarder we haven’t needed to. However, I have several friends who are using the library’s ebooks every single day. I need to dig out my library card and try this one out.

I will say silent reading time is my FAVORITE subject of the day. I set my oven timer for 30 minutes, and that is the quietest half hour we have all day. I use it to start cooking dinner.

#12. Prodigy Math

My nine-year-old loves prodigy math. He logs on there and plays math games and battles dragons and wizards and other kids. They battle by solving math problems. It’s a hit.

#13. Helpful YouTube Videos

Here a few YouTube videos we have enjoyed:

Social Studies:

CC Timeline Song in its entirety

Tour the States music video

Tour the World music video

Math:

Geometry Song (area, measurements, etc.)

Counting by 3s

Multiplying by 7s

There are countless fun multiplications songs and such on YouTube.

Science:

Science Songs (atomic number, periodic elements, creation & evolution, etc.)

Cell Songs (parts of the cell)

There’s a whole National Geographic channel. The Weird but True ones are our favorite.

#14. Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems

If your kids like the Pigeon books or the Elephant and Piggy stories, they will love these art lessons with Mo. He started this series specifically for all the kids at home due to coronavirus.

My first grader is a big fan.

#15. NASA Kids’ Club

This is one that I just discovered, but if your kids like to learn about space, this looks like an obvious win.

If you click on “Fun activities to do at Home” it takes you to crafty science projects. There are also puzzles you can print out.

There are videos and photos to look at. This website is more of a resource than a game place, though it does also have a few games.

We are all in this together! Add any of your family’s favorite school websites or apps in the comments below.

Okay, I am off to decompress. I feel like I have earned some Tri-Peaks Solitaire time, or maybe I will just take a nap…

The post 15 Helpful Websites and Apps for Your Quarantine Home School appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Remember when you were a child, how exciting birthdays were? In my 8-year-old world, birthdays were the best event of the year. A whole day of presents, cake, and friends? What could be better than that?

In fact, I remember turning eight especially well. That was the year I had chicken pox. The party had to be moved to a week later. My poor mom probably had to call everyone. Kids these days do not know how good they have it with their chicken pox immunity. Mom had planned this big party for me at Bob-a-lou, one of my favorite places on earth at the time. Bob-a-lou was the local roller skating rink, and you know what a big deal roller skating was in the ’80s.

Not only was it supposed to be a Bob-a-lou party, but Mom also made me the best cake of all time. It was one of those birthday cakes with the Barbie doll in the middle, so the cake was her dress. Looking back, I am even more impressed with my mother’s handy work on that now than I was then! As Barbie’s biggest fan, I was so excited about this thing. We even had the scary/hilarious moment when we lit the candles and Barbie’s hair caught fire. Barbie never fully recovered, but I played with her anyway.

This all makes me smile because it makes me think even more about how blessed I have always been to have such an awesome mother. Thank you, Mom!

But then you know, as you get older, in your 20s and 30s, birthdays become less and less of a big deal. In fact, most years I have trouble remember what age I am even turning.

But not this year! This year we are making thirties birthdays great again.

Birthdays in your thirties can be fun too. I am old enough now to know what I like and make plans for that. Life doesn’t just happen to me anymore. I can make things happen, right? Why be ordinary when it can be fun instead? Why stay home when I can go visit people, have lunch with Alan, and take my kids out to dinner?

Let the birthday week fun begin!

We got a new basketball goal! This wasn’t actually for my birthday, but it did happen this past week. We wanted a second one so that John David could practice at home with a shorter goal. We have one on the street, but it is adjusted at full height. The back patio is a small space, but it isn’t quite as small as it looks in the photo. It is working out quite well. I’m thankful we did this.

I drove to D.C. and had lunch at Vie de France. It was delicious, of course, but more importantly it was so nice to get to sit down with Amy for a couple of hours. We go way back to 2011, and when you move as much as I do, keeping a friend that long is a much needed accomplishment.

When I met up with Amy I told her that today I was dressed all career-like, as she always does, and that I had decided to pretend like I belonged right there on Capitol Hill. It was delightful. I must have been pretty convincing. Two different men in suits stopped to ask me directions to the Rayburn Building. When the first guy I asked me, I had no idea, but then I passed the enormous Rayburn building, so I was able to seriously look like I knew something when the second dude asked later on. haha!

The Case of the Single Soaking Wet Glove

I thoroughly enjoyed walking around Washington, D.C., and I parked so far away that I got to walk both up and down Capitol Hill. My feet are still mad at me, but it was well worth it. D.C. is a city like no other. I dropped one of my gloves near the Dept. of Education building, and I was disappointed because that is my favorite pair of gloves. Well, on my way back by the building, an hour or two later, I FOUND my glove, sitting on a concrete corner piece, soaking wet. (It was raining off and on.)

I gasped and grabbed my black and pink cottony glove. I said out loud, “Oh yea! My glove!” you know, just in case anyone thought I was just weirdly picking up a nasty glove for no reason. Isn’t it funny how much attention we bother with giving to how we are perceived? Just then, a police man popped out of a room that I didn’t even realize was there, but in D.C. police or other agents are watching your every move. He asked in an upbeat voice, “Is that your glove?”

“Yes! I was so excited to find it!”

“Yeah, I found it lying on the sidewalk over there, so I put it up there just in case.” I think he was quite happy to have reunited that runaway glove with its proper owner.

I thanked him profusely and went on my merry way. I love D.C. Did I mention I love D.C.? I also went way over on my parking limit and did not receive a parking ticket. That’s always a nice bonus. You can never bet on that.

The next day I had lunch with Alan, at a restaurant I had never eaten at before. It is right on the Chesapeake Bay in Aberdeen. The view was so much better in person, and at one point a real life bald eagle flew right overhead. Perfection!

After lunch, Alan took a 15-minute power nap in the car before his next meeting. He has no idea I took this picture. I hope he doesn’t make me take it down. Napping pictures are so funny to me!

Yesterday I drove to Springfield, Virginia, to have lunch with my old after school club. We jokingly called it a club. It was really just a group of moms who sat at the same table to pick up our kids everyday. On the drive, about 10-20 Maryland state troopers passed me with their lights on, and then every single overpass bridge had police or firemen lined up on it. Some of them were standing on their firetrucks, looking down on the cars on the interstate. One of the last groups had even hung up this flag. Try, as I might, I could not find out what exactly they were honoring. It was quite a display. I’d love to know what it was about.

My friends really spoiled me with all this attention. It was so much fun though. I wish I could have seen ALL my Virginia friends while I was over there, but I will have to save some of my other group reunions for next time.

Keeping up friendships is so important. People are sort of like pack animals, you know? We solidly need each other. Everyone in this post has been a huge part of my support network, and it has been so refreshing to see you all this week.

The girly balloons were a nice touch, don’t ya think? When you have all boys, you don’t get to participate in many frilly glittery events and eat pink things so much.

Now this may seem all a little frivolous and silly, especially when you see the crown picture here in a minute, but that’s not all it was, I promise. Maybe it was 50% ridiculous and 50% good solid sense. Most of the time I am extremely practical, and over the years I have paid very little attention to my own birthday. But why skip an excuse to celebrate?

I viewed my birthday as a valid excuse to schedule some fun things for myself and my family. Stacie and Amy had both already been to my new house to see me, but I had yet to go back and see them. I knew that would be a fun thing to do for all of us. Always look for reasons to make life fun. Life is so short. It is a gift we don’t want to waste “living like a thrown stone.” What is our hurry?

There are still two days left in “birthday week.” Tonight I am going to take the whole family out to eat at my favorite restaurant, which I think has something that each of them will enjoy. Tomorrow I get to go to a fun dinner event with Alan and our church friends. They are bringing in the pastor brother of the Duck Dynasty crew to speak. I have only seen that show a couple of times, so I Google-d him. It should be good. We are looking forward to that.

I hope you all have a happy weekend!

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

The post Birthday Week 2020 appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I am definitely an alone-time hoarder. I am always hoarding, saving, and guarding alone time. This isn’t something I became because motherhood is exhausting either. This is simply who I always have been.

What do I mean by “alone time hoarder?”

An alone time hoarder is a person who jealously guards their alone time. They love and cherish being alone. In fact, they will go to ridiculous lengths to keep being alone.

An alone-time hoarder is an awkward name for a hermit or a loner, I guess, but not as extreme as a hermit. A hermit is a time-honored title for the town “weirdo” who lives by themselves and never socializes.

I hoard alone time. I crave it, protect it, seek it, and will beg, borrow, cheat, and steal to get more of it. It’s like how a drug addict must feel about drugs! That’s how I feel about sweet, sweet solitude.

For 13 years, all I got was nap time, and this year allll the boys went to school, and I must be making up for lost quiet.

Here’s how to know if you also are an alone time hoarder:

-You ignore almost all phone calls while the house is empty. Call people back once the house is already noisy again.

-You run home at every opportunity.

-Get a job?? Only if you can work from home….alone.

-As much as possible, you try to not be too early to events because you do not want to be the first person there and have to make awkward small talk with the other first people there. (Now this does not apply to friends. I’m talking about when you are with strangers or acquaintances in a new atmosphere.)

-Your favorite part of the day is when you are alone.

-Being bored is a concept you cannot even imagine. How could anyone ever be bored!!?? There is an endless amount of things you’d like to do at any given moment.

My best work is done best with no interruptions….which is about impossible, but I managed to pull off a victory with these pecan pies.

-You get waaaaay more work done when the house is quiet and no one is around than when other people are around. In fact, having a house full of folks is fun, but it makes your productivity shut down because you feel like you need to focus on the people.

-You are highly reluctant to sign up for new things that will take away from your precious alone time.

-You don’t get enough sleep because there are so many other things you want to do with those hours after everyone else goes to sleep!

-Anytime you are riding in the car, and the person you are with stops to run an errand or go in a store you say, “Can I please sit in the car while you go in?”

Can you relate? Okay, maybe it is an introvert list. Maybe this is even normal. I don’t know. What do you think?

We introverts/loners/alone time hoarders/shy people have to be careful though. The hitch is that humans need other humans. We are a social species. God created us that way.

I will isolate the heck out of myself, and then I’ll find myself out at a function, laughing my head off. Then I am always reminded, “Oh yeah, I DO love people.”

I have always been this way. When I was a child, I loved nothing more than to sit in my room and play Barbies. Once I tired of that, I’d read. I also loved zipping down the road on my bicycle. I adore being in my space, alone with my thoughts. Mom said if anyone wanted to talk to me, they always had to go looking for me first.

I LOVE being alone. Until all of a sudden I don’t.

It takes a large amount of seclusion before I finally reach that point, but then all of a sudden I HAVE to find companionship or at least get out of the house.

If we were always alone, we’d be miserable– even if we don’t think we would be–we would! And we’d miss important moments like this one. This is Daniel making face-down snow angels. Why face down? To be as close to the snow as humanly possible, I suppose.

The problem is I don’t realize I’ve let myself become isolated until I’ve pushed it too far, and I actually become sad. People who spend too much time isolated can become terribly depressed and eccentric.

I suppose there’s a fine line somewhere to be found. Where that line is exactly, I have no idea, but we each have to recognize it and get back out into the world. As much as I’d love to be at home cleaning, writing, and creating forever, without everyone else I think we eventually run out of inspiration and good sense!

But that doesn’t mean I’m going to change anytime soon. You should see this awesome La-z-boy reclining sofa we got. I could sit here and blog for days, well, you know, at least until I start to get sofa butt. Yep. That’s also a thing.

I hope you all manage to get some quiet today. I personally just spent the day alone with four boys on a snow day, bundling and unbundling them, trying to convince John David that snow bibs aren’t evil, drying their clothes, cooking their meals, and settling their disputes. As you might imagine, all my daydreams currently are of a quiet hotel room with a t.v. and room service. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

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