Pollywogs Place Homeschool – Page 31

Clutter scavenger hunt for kids

Published on February 7, 2023January 17, 2023 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

I’ve been trying to get the kids involved in helping to declutter the house so I have to get creative sometimes.

Lately, we’ve been playing this little game in the morning before we start our schooling. It’s pretty simple although you do need to provide a little supervision so that the little guys don’t throw away anything important.

I’ve been having each kiddo participate and I give them a number of items and a task to complete with those items. One day I might say I need 5 items to throw away, or another day might be I need 3 items to donate, or 4 items to put away, etc. I might even have them bring me one item per year of their age… I try to change it up to keep it interesting.

They bring the items to the kitchen island and deposit them. Then we complete the task of throwing them in the garbage, putting in the donation bin/bag, or putting them away in their proper places.

This doesn’t take very long to complete but it does make quite a difference… plus if the kids are complaining they are bored I can use this as a way to get them motivated to find something to keep themselves entertained.

You could even offer a ‘reward’ for the first kiddo to bring you the items… or offer them all a reward or snack when they complete their task. When we have 10-12 hands versus just my 2 hands picking up items we are able to clean/declutter a little bit faster… most of the time.

When we make the not-so-fun tasks a little bit more fun then they seem to get completed quicker. Who knows, maybe I could even come up with a Clutter Bingo?

Homeschooling made simpler

Published on February 4, 2023January 16, 2023 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

When I first began homeschooling I really didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I had seen a few homeschooling families on TV shows and they pretty much did ‘school at home’ so that was what I tried to recreate in my home… I failed miserably.

I was getting stressed and we did not have a great environment for learning… it wasn’t what I had envisioned at all and I was so frustrated! I was struggling and beginning to doubt that this was really the best thing for our family at that time.

It was then that I found the Easy Peasy All-in-one Homeschool site… I fell in love instantly and so did my kiddos. The site has been through several changes since then but we always seem to fall back to that when we are stuck or feeling overwhelmed! We are still using it now for some independent learning and the kids all enjoy working on their lessons without being completely dependent on the internet for our lessons.

I also began researching other methods and have always been drawn toward the Montessori and Charlotte Mason styles. I have always considered our style to be a bit relaxed but over the past two years we’ve had a different kind of style… I’m not sure what you would call this but it definitely hasn’t been the most enjoyable learning environment. Sure, some parts are super exciting but others are lacking and seem extremely boring. More Montessori links HERE.

I’ve been wanting to make some changes so I’ve been going back through some of our past lessons and trying to take notes on what we really enjoyed and what we didn’t. I’ve also asked the kids what things they remember about the past few years of school and what they remembered and enjoyed. Using this information I have been putting together some notes on things we want to try again or try to incorporate into our school days.

In addition to the Easy Peasy site, I have been going back to the Simply Charlotte Mason site and checking out all of the FREE resources that they have. I plan to incorporate more of these principles into our daily routines to see if we can find that happy place we had before. We really love being able to combine as many subjects as possible and the kids seem to enjoy this method more as well. I’m hoping that this may also help some of the kids with the adjustments to our new living arrangements by making them feel more like a team… this would alleviate so much of the daily stress in our home and maybe help lower my blood pressure a little!

I know a lot has changed since we began homeschooling and a lot of things have changed with our family in the past couple of years. Nothing ever stays the same so we need to continue to adapt to these changes… the same thing happens in every area of our lives so it is important to continually reevaluate our situations and make changes when they are needed

What are some changes you would like to make in your homeschool?

Meal on the Go Breakfast Sandwiches

Published on January 31, 2023January 14, 2023 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog2 Comments

Some days are just a little crazy and we need something super simple to make for breakfast. Sandwiches are always a hit and they are usually pretty simple to through together.

These can be served as is or with fruit, they can also be eaten on the go and made ahead of time!

If you have some leftover pancakes or French Toast then these will help use that up and keep them from going to waste!

Meal on the Go Breakfast Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Use any combination of the following to create your own breakfast sandwich creation.

Bread:
- Sandwich bread, toasted or plain
- French Toast
- English Muffins
- Pancakes
- Croissants
- tortillas
- Bagels
Eggs, cooked however you like them
Meat:
- Bacon
- Ham
- Sausage
- Lunchmeats
Cheese, your favorite
- American
- Swiss
- provolone
- pepper jack
- farmers cheese
- cream cheese
Condiments
- Syrup
- jelly
- mayo
- ketchup
- mustard
- hot sauce
- salt and pepper
Veggies:
- tomato
- lettuce
- onion
- spinach
- peppers

Directions:

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Progress towards goals, sweet treats, and a date night

Published on January 22, 2023September 15, 2025 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

This past weekend one of my sisters gave me a special treat… she offered to babysit so we could have a date night! This was unexpected but very much appreciated. Not only did she come down to babysit but she also sent me to get a manicure… something I haven’t done in quite a while.

I tried to resist but I was glad that she insisted because I really did need that little bit of quiet time without anyone else. It allowed me to clear my head a bit and make some plans for the next couple of weeks. I made a few goals to work on and tried to form a plan of action to achieve these goals while I was out and about by myself… I probably should’ve written some of this down but I didn’t.

If the weather hadn’t been so chilly I might have stayed gone for a bit longer but I was freezing by the time I finished at the salon and ran a few errands so I headed back home… little ma’am was happy to have me back and she covered me with kisses when I returned.

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The meanest mom in the world as a compliment

Published on January 21, 2023January 12, 2023 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

I have been called the meanest mother in the world so many times that I’ve lost track. This morning I happened across an article that had been printed in a newspaper some time ago… after reading it, I will now take ‘You’re the Meanest Mom in the World’ as a compliment.