Showing posts with label middle school

Free Homeschool Labs Student COVID-19 Printable Lesson & Worksheet

in , , , , , , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Saturday, April 11, 2020

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Greg Landry's Homeschool Labs.


Happy Saturday friends. The term homeschool has taken on a whole new meaning for so many over the last few weeks hasn't it? In our home, we have Juniors. One in college and one in high school. Fortunately, they are self- starters who do all their assignments independently and have continued to do all assignments provided by their respective schools. When I was asked if I'd like to collaborate with Greg Landry (a homeschool STEM pioneer) to share his free Homeschool Labs Student COVID-19 Printable Lesson & Worksheet I said yes, because I feel science is an important subject and this is a timely topic that can help our middle and high school students better understand the COVID-19 virus.


Daughter doing homework
VIEW the POST
7 comments

Middle School Changes Everything

in , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Friday, July 25, 2014

As I dropped my youngest daughter off for 6th grade orientation Wednesday morning, a wave of sadness washed over me. “Where did the time go?” I ask myself as I watch her walk into the middle school without a backwards glance.

“She’s a big girl now,” I chide myself as I slowly pull away.

I see another mom look back too, a brief over the shoulder glance at the door, like I did.  In that moment,  I know this stranger’s heart.

Why is my youngest going to middle school so much harder emotionally than it was with my first?




school bus #backtoschool
Source

I wrestle with this question for a block or two, and finally settle on this answer.

My oldest blazed the trail of “firsts”, and while they were exciting and stressful and bittersweet moments, I still had my youngest at home watching, waiting, growing into being a big girl.

The last of my elementary school days are behind me, and I know what starting middle school means in my world. It means it’s no longer cool to come to school and have lunch with my daughter.

It means I can’t walk her in the first day of school with her 50 pounds of school supplies without getting the “look” from students and faculty. Trust me, you don’t want to draw attention to yourself or your child in middle school ever, but especially not on the first day of school!

Middle school will change everything from bed times to snack times.

It will change my one on one time with both my girls, robbing me of my quite time with my youngest in the morning and my quite time with my oldest in the afternoon.

It’s not like I didn’t know this day was coming. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been down the middle school road before, but this time middle school is taking my youngest daughter one step closer to independence, just like high school is taking my oldest daughter one step closer to college and independence.

And it’s bittersweet.

And I’m just not ready to turn another page in the book of my mom life, so I stopped working as much as possible. I have been in the moment with them as much as humanly possible.

 I let the house work go. 

I let the yard work go. 

I am absorbing as much of them as I can, so when the business of the school year takes over, I know I gave them all of me this summer, and hopefully that helps them move confidently one step closer to their independence.


VIEW the POST
6 comments

Middle School Changes Everything

in , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Tuesday, August 16, 2011


As of this morning, my kids have been back at school 3 and one half days.  So far all is going well.  I will stop here and do something necessary and deserved: I will pat myself on the back and proclaim to all who can hear me (the cat) “Way to go Linda”, you’ve got this new schedule down!”

Okay, enough of that, back to reality where I pray most sincerely that we all can keep up the pace needed this year to ensure everybody gets to where they need to be every morning in a calm and orderly fashion.  On  time.  With all supplies needed for the day present and accounted for.  Amen.

All women, especially Moms juggle all day every day; this is a simple fact of life. As a work at home Mom,   I pride myself on my planning and time management skills, but as the title of this post suggests: middle school changes everything!

 Ms. T is in 7th grade this year with a new start time, bus route; dismiss time, dress code, etc. Everything changed because of the dreaded re-zoning that took place last spring. Our small community fought long and hard with the powers that be to stay at our nice K through 8 school, but change came anyway.

So, I do what I always try to do: I find the good in the situation! And, thankfully there is a lot of good to be found at our new schools.

Still, I have to say, the earliness in which we all must get up now is hard to get used to! Even with planning and practicing the new schedule 2 weeks prior to school starting, we all are dragging our collective behinds by 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. ( depending on the age of the draggy)!  

Ms. T’s alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. She immediately wakes up, turns it off and quietly comes in to see if I’m awake.  I’m smiling as I type this because my girl shows such responsibility and love in doing this. No sooner have we whispered our Good Mornings, than our alarm goes off. Hubby promptly says “ Babe” and hits the snooze.  Then I’m up and at’em with my first born.   Just my first born.

  This has been the gift in all of this. I get alone time with each girl every morning!!

 Ms. T and I talk in hushed voices for those precious 15 to 20 minutes we get every morning before hubby gets up and out of the shower. Her bus comes so early now, that her little sister is just getting up when Ms. T is getting on the bus. They don’t see each other until after school.

 Meanwhile, I’m packing  lunches , making breakfasts, feeding cats,  hugging, laughing, chatting with hubby and  Ms. M.   Simple, family “stuff” that I’m privileged to be able to do as a work at home Mom. I have several working Mom friends and I know their mornings don’t look or feel like this. 

Then, around 7:15 a.m., after hubby has left for his day,  the house gets quite again, and it’s just Ms. M and I.

 I get to spend quality time with her now.  With each daughter getting her own time and space there is no more crazy rush for the bathroom at the same time, no squabbling  putting on shoes or  bonking heads to grab backpacks at the same time, no more sibling interaction equals no more sibling grumpiness in the morning!

 Ah, blissful mornings, full of peace and happy thoughts and hugs all around!  I am blessed and thankful. And to think, I actually fought against this re-zoning! Silly Me.

Do you have school aged kids at home? If so, what time do you get up? Are you a working Woman? What time do you greet the day?
VIEW the POST
12 comments
© My WAHM Plan · THEME BY WATDESIGNEXPRESS