@@jessicaridge6095 Interestingly, it was a clay mosaic mural the kids at my elementary school made when I was a kid. A few years back, there was an announcement that they were going to demolish the building, and any alums could come and take anything off the walls that they wanted, or else it would all just be demolished with the building. So I took this mural and hung it (with difficulty 😂) in our homeschool room.

@reinaquidon5374 So sorry I couldn't keep up with my channel for now! I wish I could as I do miss it! But still needing to prioritize my family in this season. Would love to connect on Instagram as I am still posting regularly over there! Feel free to DM me over there if you want to talk secular curriculum. My handle is eat_pray_crunch. ☺️ How old is your kiddo and what led you to homeschooling?

@@reinaquidon5374 So happy this was helpful for you! It's so nice to find other homeschoolers out there who are on the same wavelength! Best wishes with your homeschooling year as well!

Hello from the other side of the globe! 👋 That's cool you are homeschooling in India. What are the homeschooling laws like there? What kind of information are you looking for?

I discuss my reasoning in this video 😊: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnLPaapqpK2MpKssi=RndUDwCWdb11CLy8

Thanks so much, Joey! Yes, exactly! The amount of inturruptions and intervening definitely decreases as they get older. I mean, let's be honest, there is still a fair amount of nagging...but still so much easier than when you have to do everything for them! 😁 Thanks so much for watching all this time and best wishes! 💞

Aww, thank you so much! I can't tell you how much that means to hear. All these years of talking to a camera and feeling like I'm speaking into the void at times...it means so much to me to know there was some real dialogue and exchange of thoughts going on. I've learned so much and have been challenged by this community in such positive ways too. God sure works in interesting ways sometimes! I know your YT handle and I remember seeing your sweet comments since the beginning! Best wishes to you and hope to see you over on Instagram, or back here in a few years! ❤

Aw, thanks so much for watching all these years, Natalie! Best to you and yours as well. 💞

So glad it was helpful! 😊

Awesome, thanks for watching!

Yes, we will be wrapping up our school year within the next month and then I will have a lot more time to do some catching up with updates and curriculum videos. If you want to check out my Instagram, I do a lot more updating there during the school year. I've done a few updates on my daughter there through the year. My handle is: eat_pray_crunch

I'd say it's good for kids who have some basic writing and typing skills already...like 2nd/3rd grade and up.

I am unable to currently make videos during the school year, so I just made an Instagram post answering this question. My handle is eat_pray_crunch

@@EatPrayCrunch1 thank you so much ❤️

Thanks for watching! I will link my video here where I talk about my philosophy and reasoning for using secular curriculum. 😊 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnLPaapqpK2MpKs

Awww, that's so awesome! I love finding other like minded kindred spirits...we're a rare breed! I am on Instagram (eat_pray_crunch) if you want to connect over there ☺️

@@EatPrayCrunch1 I found you on instagram. I don’t use it much (frankly I don’t quite “get” it) but I’ll watch out for your posts.

I haven't tried the new one. Unfortunately the old one didn't work very well with my kids' learning style. So glad it is working for your son though!

We are using LOE for my younger two and LOVE it! My 4th grader is past the Foundations level and I couldn't justify the cost of Essentials once he could read fluently, so we went with Lightning Lit and we are using 180 Days of Spelling for spelling. It's working well for him!

@@EatPrayCrunch1 did he try foundations d? How old is your 4th grader? How old was your child when they used Foundations? Ty

Thanks so much for watching, and I hope these resources are a good fit for your son as well! Focus looks a little different with my youngest than with my older two. The older two are on adhd medication at this point which has been a game changer for their focus. But given Teo's young age, we weren't ready to try that route with him yet. Oftentimes he is super eager to learn and hyperfocuses on doing his school work. Other days, he is super resistant...especially if he is tired or sick. On those days, I don't push too much and let him take days off here and there, which is fine since he is so young and ahead of the game already. I just take a very relaxed attitude with him. Some other things that help are giving him the power over deciding what we do in which order, and giving lots of praise when he is being cooperative. We also have a star chart system where the kids get two stars for every day they complete their homework. They get 3 or 4 if they complete it with a good attitude. When their chart is filled, they get to pick a prize from our "prize bin" (fun little toys, books, and fidgets I have slowly collected over time, much from the Dollar Store). Stars are definitely a positive motivation for them as well. Hope that's helpful! 😊

Thank you Amanda for sharing what you do to keep Teo focused and at the same time not forcing it or pushing him too hard. It’s so important to keep learning fun as you mentioned. I love using the toy/prize bin for the star chart! I was using a star chart but was using candy as a reward which really backfired on me lol. Also, I find my son Matteo loves his independence and giving him options for what subjects to try next I think would really work with him as it does for Teo too. Matteo has a lot of energy, and loves to be active. I find it challenging to keep him still and focused so only do very short lessons-I suppose with consistently doing those he will gradually build his capacity to focus for longer periods of time. Matteo is in the same age range as Teo, having just turned 4 at the end of September. San Francisco USD requires children to be 5 by Sep. 1 of the corresponding school year so Matteo will be technically beginning “actual Kindergarten” Fall 2024. However I am doing the same thing with easing him into the curriculum now so when he has to know it he will already have learned it in a gradual way. I value your insight very much and would love to see more on homeschooling and how you manage it all if you would be so kind to share! Hope you are doing so well and thanks so much!

@@raquelec.8610 Aw, it sounds like our sons have similar names! 😊 Yeah, at age 4, it definitely is important to keep it low pressure and fun. Just follow his lead and he will show you what he is ready for. Focus will come as he gets older. It sounds like you are doing a great job with him. Teo just turned 5 in October, so he will be able to "officially" start kindergarten in the fall even though he will be on to 1st grade stuff by then. The beauty of homeschooling is you can meet your kiddos exactly where they're at. 😊 I will try to get some more videos up over winter break! I am definitely struggling to figure out how to work in KZbin during the school year since we are so busy. 🙈 But I think fitting it in during breaks will be my solution. Best wishes! 😊

The song is Exhale by Jeremy Blake. It's available in the royalty free KZbin music for creators. 😊

@@EatPrayCrunch1 Thank you so much. I have been looking the name of this song for so long. 🤗

He came out very healthy, he's a thriving 5 year old now 😊

Aww, thanks so much for taking the time to watch and share a bit of your story. I'm glad you have been able to deconstruct and reconstruct a faith that makes more sense. Best wishes! ❤️

Aww I'm sorry it was hard to watch, but glad you were able to relate to it so deeply. I'll pray you are able to find some answers that will help you move forward. 🙏 Thanks so much for watching.

Hope it's helpful for your reluctant writer! My kids are enrolled in our school district's parent parnership for homeschoolers, so they get issued chromebooks for almost free (we have to pay damage insurance). But its a great setup. We enjoy the Chromebooks, they are very simple to use. They don't run a full operating system like windows or Mac, but they do work great for everything we need to do for their online educational stuff.

Oh wow, I am so sorry you are feeling gaslit by your doctor. Been there and it sucks. I highly recommend finding a PCP who specializes in neurodiversity, or at least someone who is open enough to sending a referral. Feel free to message me anytime on FB or IG. 😊

So glad my experience could help you find some clarity! It's amazing once you become aware of it, everything makes so much sense all of a sudden. You can start by talking to your primary care doc about it. You can get a referral to a psychiatrist or neurodevelopmental psychologist who specializes in neurodiverse conditions. Hope that's helpful!

So glad to know we are not alone in this worldview. Solidarity!

That's a great idea, thanks!

Absolutely. God could have created however he wanted. I think it's putting God in a tiny box to think we have it perfectly figured out. But yes, science leads us to all sorts of clues to the process and it is truly awe-inspiring to learn about. It makes me feel closer to God when we learn this stuff! And yes, a balanced history that looks at all points of view is necessary for sure.

Thanks! Yeah, having a 2e kiddo is a never ending adventure isn't it! Just found your channel recently and see you guys are in WA too. Are you also in the Seattle area? Thanks for watching!

@@EatPrayCrunch1 We are about 2 hours north of Seattle.

@@CalmintheChaosHomeschool Oh nice you must be fairly close to us. We are about an hour north. 😊

@@EatPrayCrunch1 that’s super fun! And you guys use a PPP, too. Though yours sounds cooler than ours 😁

@@CalmintheChaosHomeschool We do love our parent partnership. It's small and going through a lot of changes this year, but we are still sticking with it because we love what they offer and it's close. I know there are some that are enormous though and offer TONS of classes. Glad you guys have one where you are too!

Yeah we went to counseling to discuss all that stuff. The way we explain it to all the kids in both families is that Kelby wouldn't exist if it weren't for her adoptive family. We loved her so much that we wanted her to be in this world with a loving family. 😊

@@EatPrayCrunch1 that sounds like a good way to handle it

Aw that's awesome! We are definitely going to plant our pumpkins earlier next year so we can experience that too. And yes, we put blackberries in and on everything this time of year! 😁 We do love our fruit trees, and it's never too late to plant some saplings! We have done a bigger veggie garden in past years, but it's been a crazy year or two for us...so hopefully we'll get back to it in future years. Thanks so much for watching!

Yes, I think it would be great for a 6th grader, I think it has many different levels. I understand, I have a super reluctant writer too. Best wishes!

I think its pretty flexible and you can use it however you want. If you want them to be practicing a particular skill, you could assign a particular activity. Or you could let them explore the activities on their own. You can have them work on it as long or as little as you like. Hope that's helpful!

@@EatPrayCrunch1 Thank you very much. We are very excited about it

That is exactly my thought process as well, you aren't really saving extra money by printing it yourself between the cost of paper and ink...and it's so much extra work. I'm sorry reading has been a struggle for your daughter as well, I hope you can find a solution soon!

So happy to find more like minded folks. Thanks for watching!