Category: Pollywogs Place Homeschool

The Little House On The Prairie Debate

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog4 Comments

I just couldn’t believe what I saw on Facebook the other day. It was quite a shock to read that the American Association for Library Services to Children announced that its prestigious Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, which has been around since 1954, will now be known as the Children’s Literature Legacy Award.

According to the Washington Post it says that they voted to remove her name from the award because of a passage in the opening chapter of ‘Little House on the Prairie’. Yes, times were different back then but I feel that we can use these as teaching moments. I mean we don’t have the power to go back and change history but we can use lessons from the past to better our futures. Or if we choose not to use these as important lessons we can always skip over the questionable parts and not even read them to the children.

I’m not saying anyone is wrong for feeling the way they do as we are all entitled to our own opinions. I also know that some more take offense to things more easily than others. I really do believe that none of this was written to intentionally cause harm to anyone though. It was just a different time and a different way of life. These were my favorite books as a child and I have them on my bookshelves right now. I have no plans to remove them or stop my kids from reading them either.

You can read more about this debate in these articles here:

If you don’t have these books but would like to get them you can find them here or you can get the DVDs here. We are currently reading Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography which my kids and I are really enjoying.

**This post does contain affiliate links.

 

10 Tips For Water Safety

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

It’s officially summer! It’s hot and has been for the past couple of months here in Florida. This means many of us are seeking some cool comfort in the water. Our kids have been learning to swim this summer and they have had plenty of chances to practice our water safety guidelines.

We’ve also been out on the boats a couple of times which can be a bit scary with youngsters but we make sure they understand the rules, and the importance of following the rules, BEFORE they get in or near the water. With so many reports of dry drownings and accidental drownings I wanted to share some of our water safety tips.

  1. NEVER go near the water without an Adult’s permission!
  2. ALWAYS wear your life jacket!
  3. NEVER swim alone or unattended.
  4. ALWAYS get out of the water when you see lightning.
  5. NEVER roughhouse, push, or run around the water.
  6. ALWAYS call for help if you get scared.
  7. NEVER dive or jump in without checking with an adult.
  8. ALWAYS follow the adult’s instructions.
  9. NEVER use the water as a potty.
  10. ALWAYS practice good manners and common courtesy.

While we don’t have a pool we do live on a pond. I’d love to make a sign similar to this one to display our rules. If I do come up with something I’ll update this post. Also remember when choosing a life jacket that you get one specifically designed for your child’s weight. We like to use the ones with the ‘butt-strap’ as my kids call it. It helps to prevent them from slipping out. We like these here and here.

We always make sure to keep a close eye on the kids while swimming and an adult is always within arm’s reach of any child. I read somewhere where a doctor said that most of the drownings he had seen had happened because of a distracted adult! Many times at group gatherings drownings occur because everyone thinks that someone is watching the kids. I try to keep this from happening by making sure everyone knows that they are responsible for their child’s safety.

Have fun and be safe! Remember to wear your sunscreen and bug spray while outside too! Our favorites are the Mineral Sunscreen Spray from Honest and the Babyganics Insect Repellent from Grove Collaborative.

I also posted links to my favorite girl’s swimsuits in this post here, if you are interested.

**This post does contain affiliate links.

 

Kirby’s Kids: 20+ FREE Homeschool Sites

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

Recently I came across a few, some of them new to me and some that I’d forgotten about, homeschool resources that I wanted to pass along. A lot, if not all, are FREE! Here they are:

  1. An Old Fashioned Education
  2. Ambleside Online
  3. Free World U
  4. Core Knowledge
  5. HippoCampus.org
  6. Phonics Lessons
  7. Free Reading
  8. Starfall My boys really love these activities.
  9. ABC Fast Phonics
  10. Adapted Mind
  11. Super Teacher Worksheets
  12. Khan Academy So many activities!
  13. Teach Your Monster To Read My kids loved this!
  14. Teachers Pay Teachers I love this site!
  15. Education.com
  16. Edhelper.com
  17. XtraMath
  18. ESL Writing Wizard
  19. Have Fun Teaching
  20. Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool – This truly is Easy Peasy!
  21. Discovery K12 — My kids have enjoyed using this site.
  22. Free-Ed.net
  23. Mystery Science (Regular $69.00/year but they are offering a few limited trials — less than 400 spots left so please hurry!)

Whew! That’s quite a list. I wish I’d had this when we first started our homeschooling adventures! I know there are plenty more sites that aren’t on here but I’ll pass any that I find along to you later.

Note: I have not had time to check out all of these sites for myself so I can’t positively say that they are all completely FREE but I’m sure that they offer some FREE resources.

What are your favorite homeschool sites? Let me know in the comments so I can add them to the list!

Hello Fresh Deal!

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog2 Comments

I’m so excited that I have been given the opportunity to test out a couple meals for Hello Fresh. Although I haven’t received the meals yet I wanted to share a special deal with you…

For a limited time, you’ll receive $40 with this code (and I’ll receive $30). No limits on the amount of friends I can invite, so start sharing!

Now this is only good until tomorrow so please Hurry! Be sure to follow my blog so you can find out how we enjoyed our Hello Fresh experience!

Kirby’s Kids: Homeschool June 2018 Updates

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

I’ve been working quite a bit lately on planning our homeschool and put out several homeschool related posts. If you haven’t had a chance to check them out you can click on the links below.

Kirby’s Kids: Making The Decision To Homeschool

Kirby’s Kids: The Who, How, Where, and When of Your Homeschool

Kirby’s Kids: Choosing, Buying, and Organizing Your Homeschool

I also put out a FREEprintable here in this post:

Kirby’s Kids: Our Favorite Homeschool Supplies and Printable Checklist

If you missed the sneak peek of some of the items for our 2018-19 school year then check out this post here.

Have you started your back to school shopping yet?  Continue reading “Kirby’s Kids: Homeschool June 2018 Updates” →