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From the category archives:
Editors Note: This is the second in an ongoing series of interviews with homeschooling families. Our first interview with Jen McKinnon is here. We hope you enjoy their stories as much as we did and if you are a homeschooling family interested in being profiled, please contact us.
Our second interview is with Tara Wagner from TheOrganicSister.com. She and her husband Justin unschool their 10 year old son Zeb. Continue reading…
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Editors Note: We’re (not) back to school at the Family Hack house, and the nuts and bolts of a DIY education have been on our minds. As we mentioned in another of our homeschool pieces, there is no better guidance for a homeschool family than the tales of those who have “been there, done that”.
In that spirit, we’ve asked some homeschooling families a series of questions about how they homeschool, what challenges they face, how homeschooling fits with family life overall, etc. We hope you enjoy their stories as much as we did!
This is an ongoing series — if you are a homeschooling family interested in being profiled, please contact us.
Our first interview is with our always-inspiring friend Jennifer McKinnon from www.jenthemom.com. She and her husband Chuck homeschool four beautiful children…
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There is hardly ever a need to pay full price for kids clothes — even the super nice wear-to-a-wedding ones. Kids grow so fast that their clothes are usually “used” before they are barely worn. So, today we’ll cover 5 ways we dress our kids for a fraction of the full price tag. Continue reading…
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Like most homeschooling families, the walls of our house are lined with books. We turn to them for ideas, answers, solutions, inspiration, entertainment, and reassurance. During this brand new school year, here are a few we recommend.
NOTE: Although this list emphasizes homeschooling, (since that’s what we do) it’s not limited to information only useful to homeschoolers. Regardless of the form of “school” you’re using, your kids are learning all the time — and so are you.
Continue reading…
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We consider ourselves pretty savvy, but this week we fell prey to one of the most sinister perils of traveling with children…Grandparents.
These slow moving creatures wield unorthodox weapons such as Ice Cream and the constant use of the word “Yes”.
An example of this horror came during our current visit to San Diego. I found our 2 year old standing in her Grandmother’s family room, face buried in a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. No spoon, no napkin, just a tongue and sheer bliss.
When questioned, Grandma’s defiant response was “I asked her if she wanted a spoon and she said no”.
What’s your Grandparent horror story, and more importantly, how did you get even?
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A new baby — one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is diapers. A minimum of two years of them. It’s one of the automatic expenses and hassles of modern child rearing. But, since we’re in the habit of questioning common assumptions, we have to ask the question: is there another way? Of course. Parents in other parts of the world and throughout history haven’t had the diapering, or even laundering options that we have. What do they do?
One of the answers is EC (i.e. elimination communication). I used to have a negative bias toward EC on the premise that it was simply early potty training — a throwback to the 1950s when our fore mothers were instructed to give solid foods at two weeks of age and potty train around the first birthday. Now I understand that EC is not so much about early potty training, but about not diaper training — an entirely different concept.
EC involves tuning into your baby’s elimination needs and trying to help them keep clean and dry through heightened parent-child communication, rather than simply putting something hyper-absorbant on them and forgetting it for a few years. While not everyone’s lifestyle can accommodate this method, it does make a lot of sense, and is a healthy option for babies and the earth. It is also possible to incorporate parts of this method into your baby’s life, even if you can’t do it completely. Check out the following books and links for more information.
BOOKS:
Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene
The Diaper-Free Baby: The Natural Toilet Training Alternative
Infant Potty Basics: With or Without Diapers–The Natural Way
LINKS:
Diaper Free Baby
Natural Family Online
Natural Wisdom
Another baby-friendly, earth-friendly, and budget-friendly option is cloth diapering. Once you get the hang of it, washing diapers isn’t really that big a hassle — and you can also go with a diaper service if you really can’t handle that part. Check out the National Association of Diaper Services website to find a service near you.
Cloth diapering today needn’t involve the pins and plastic pants of our grandmothers experience. Velcro and snap-closure “diaper covers” or “wraps” allow you to diaper a squirmy little one without trying to use a sharp object at the same time. “All in one” cloth diapers, are as easy to use as disposables — you just don’t have to throw them away after one use! They even make disposable diaper liners that allow you to transfer the poopy mess to the toilet without any dunking — especially great if you cloth diaper while traveling.
All the cloth diapering options can be overwhelming at first. Fitted or flat? Velcro or snap? Sized or one size? Wool? Cotton? Hemp? Organic? And what the hell is a “pocket diaper?”. The good news is that with all the options out there, a little research will yield a cloth diapering system for almost any budget and lifestyle. You may not be able to save the world, but covering your child in something soft and comfy and not dumping thousands of diapers in a landfill is a good place to start. Check out the following links for more information on cloth diapers.
The Diaper Hyena
The definitive cloth diapering resource site: includes product reviews, diapering techniques, diaper-making information, and sources for WAHM-made cloth diapers.
Real Diaper Association
A non-profit organization providing cloth diapering support and education — an invaluable resource.
The Poop on Eco-Friendly Diapers
An article from Wired Magazine that delves into the good the bad and the ugly of disposable, cloth and the new “biodegradable” diapers, and the implications of their use in environment, health and business.
Mothering Magazine’s wonderful archive of cloth diapering articles.
Also check out mothering.com’s discussion forum for cloth diapering info from other parents.
The Diaper Pin
Product reviews, forums, and how-tos.
The Diaper Swappers
A forum for moms looking to buy/sell used and homemade diapers.
The Daily Unfinisher
A blog post recounting one woman’s “switch to cloth diapers”.
Barefoot Baby
Wild Flower Diapers
Baby Kicks (specializing in natural hemp fiber products)
Katie Kisses
Baby Works
Baby’s Abode
Green Mountain Diapers
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“Why do they call it homeschooling if we’re never home?”
— A favorite bumpersticker
I grew up (and was homeschooled) in a rural area, where it took an hour to get anywhere and an average of two hours to get the place you needed to go. My parents figured out in pretty short order that if we didn’t take advantage of our time in the car, I wasn’t going to have much in the way of formal education. Car time evolved into one of the most focused and structured part of my homeschooling life. In fact, I think one of my main motivations to get my driver’s license was to get away from algebra.
I’ll occasionally hear my homeschooling-parent friends lament a day of travel or errands as a day “lost” from homeschool. Of course, I find myself thinking “what are you talking about? That’s the best time to do schoolwork. Hey, the kids are strapped in; they can’t get away!” Of course, in all seriousness, homeschooling on the road does present challenges: reading and writing, probably the backbone of a lot of your school activities at home, are difficult, if not just impossible to accomplish in a moving vehicle; reading can cause carsickness, and writing with anything sharper than a crayon is probably a bad idea. But, if necessity is the mother of invention, these limitations should only inspire us to greater creativity. I’m firmly convinced that travel time is a great homeschool opportunity. Here are some good resources to jumpstart learning on the go.
Continue reading…
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As 2007 comes to a close, we’re going to partake in some shameless self-promotion and award some of last year’s posts a “best of 2007″ designation. This may seem silly but it means a lot to the winning posts. They get a spiffy T-Shirt, a case of cheap beer and bragging rights at the next blog post convention. Plus, chicks dig it. Continue reading…
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Many parents are going into this year’s holiday shopping season with confusion and apprehension following the rash of toy recalls and concerns over lead and otherwise contaminated plastics.
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or vinyl
PVC is used in some soft and flexible plastics. PVC also contains lead as an additive—and there are no standards regulating the amount. Children who play with PVC toys are exposed to lead, as well as phalates, which have been linked to cancer and reproductive problems. The European Union, fourteen other countries, and California have already banned the use of phalates in children’s products.
BPA (bisphenol A)
BPA is used in some hard, clear plastics. Used to make plastic baby bottles and other food containers. BPA mimics estrogen and has been linked to multiple diseases and developmental problems. Continue reading…
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Introducing Debbie Dubrow:
Debbie writes the superb DeliciousBaby.com. We’re very pleased she has agreed to share some of her hard earned travel wisdom with Family Hack.
With the holidays fast approaching, it seems like almost everyone I talk with is stressed about bringing their kids on a plane ride, and trying to figure out how to encourage them to be on their best behavior. As with everything else, a little advance preparation and having a few tricks up your sleeve won’t guarantee perfect behavior, but it sure helps!
Here are my top 10…,make that 11 tips for enabling young children to behave well on a plane.
Good behavior starts by helping your child understand exactly what is going to happen. Without building things up too much, you can begin to talk about the trip a few days before you leave (even for kids as young as one year old). Talk about where you’ll be going (e.g. grandma’s house) and how you’ll be getting there (on a plane). On the day of the flight, lay out exactly what is going to happen. For example: first we’ll take a taxi to the airport, then we’ll go through security, and then we’ll get on the plane and fly to grandma’s . Even very young toddlers understand more than you think, and even if they don’t understand the details, they’ll understand that there is a plan and that everything is ok.
At each stage of the trip (especially through security) point out what is happening, and explain to your child what you expect of them. “Look, there’s the conveyor belt, we get to put our shoes, sippy, and lovey on the conveyor belt and then we will get them on the other side.” Knowing what is expected of them (before they’re in trouble) will help keep your child from getting stressed out and loosing it. Books can help de-mystify travel too, one of our favorites for travel is Planes Board Book
Continue reading…
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