When I tell people that Samantha is unschooled, many of them are taken aback. They have a puzzled look on their face. I go on to explain that learning happens naturally for all of us through the experiences we have in life. In this process, it is not necessary to force children to learn something specific, as they will follow their natural curiosities, passions, and interest. Subjects, such as reading, math, science, present themselves through that engagement. 

Summer is officially here. Most schools are done. Most homeschooling is wrapping up, and many of the private schools have posted their signs for next year registration. It is a time when children feel free and many parents feel trapped. LOL! A strange juxtaposition, don't you think? In all seriousness, I hope that this summer you will take a good hard look at the past year of "school." Were you happy with how your school year went? How did your child fair?  The reason I ask is because now is the time to see if you need to make changes. 

It's easy to think that when we correct our kids that helps them. However, often time our unsolicited "help" has a negative effect on their learning and self-esteem. In this video I share a story about a situation that came up between myself and my daughter while she was reading.

Albert Einstein said it best, "The definition of insanity is repeating the same behaviors and expecting a different outcome." Yet, all too often we do this. Why? Frankly, I believe it's because we get stuck in our frame of mind. Our whole lives is a learning process. Each encounter and experience help shape our opinions, expectations, and understanding of a situations. All this "knowledge" helps us connect the dots in life; right?

Well, sort of.

I would love to say that our kids eat enough variety of foods to get all the nutrients their bodies need. However, most kids (and adults) do not. Those missing nutrients are vital to our well being. In our experience, adding a handful of supplements throughout the day has had positive impact on our daughter's ability to focus, provided better moods, improved her sleep, and helped make our days happier.

Over the years, we have used a variety of items to help Munchkin work with her ADHD, as well as, what I use daily to keep my brain in rhythm. For a time, while Samantha attended school she was on a prescribed stimulant. We found that it was effective to help with focus, however, the "rebound" effects were very negative.  

1-16-2018: I recently had an opportunity to chat about the book and why it is so timely for parents who struggling right now on the George Wilder Jr. Show.  George asked me:

Every year I pick one word that I want to reflect the upcoming year's focus. Last year for 2017 I chose Breathe (and I needed to do that a lot). This year it took me almost 3 weeks to decide the word I wanted to sum up my hopes for the upcoming New Year. After much consideration, my word for the 2018 New Year is SHARE.

It is my goal to SHARE more . . .

10-16-17: I am very excited to be a part of Not Broken Radio as a guest interviewed on Oct 16-2017 episode 69: "Approach One, Accept It". As part of 3 great guests speaking about their mental health journeys and how they have learned to Accept their situation and how doing so helps you overcome.  

This fall my family was blessed to have an opportunity to take a BIG family vacation to the "Happiest Place on Earth", Disney World. We were meeting my parents and my brother with his family for 7 days of pure family fun.

As myself and my husband are not new to Disney World, we already knew what to expect. However, this was the first real, get on a plane, stay in a hotel, vacation for our daughter. Here's what we did and what I learned to ensure everyone has a great time.