This past year was my first year of advertising in a National Homeschooling Magazine.  I wanted to help reach out to a bigger audience then I could do from my little corner of the mountains and I felt through  a print magazine was the way to do it.

Through this endeavor I have met many more people and have been able to share my free curriculum to others who cannot afford it or who want a more simpler approach to homeschooling.

Anyways….to say all of that I was so excited to see that I had won a 2017 Readers Choice Awards from Practical Homeschooling Magazine.

This award is voted upon by the readers and I was so excited to hear that my home economics series  was nominated a few months back and then to find out that I had won a part in that, is exciting!!!

Since this is a readers choice awards I would like to be able to offer a way of saying thank you.  Most of my readers may have my home economics books or you have already been through the free course of the books here on my blog.  I thought I would offer something different.  I have been busy working on a new book this past month and I would like to offer it to you for only $5 through the month of March.  This book retails on Amazon for $20 and as an ebook normally for $10.

This book includes everything that I do as a homemaker in my large family home.  It has over 340 pages and  is packed full of systems, routines, inventory, lists, ideas, tips, recipes, etc.  You name it, I thought of it!

Everything that anyone needs to know on how to set up a home for the first time or how to simplify your home and make it work.  I’ve shared all of my tips and how I have made it work in our large family of 12!  The concepts are the same whether you have no children or you have 15.  Simplify your approach to homemaking and build it piece by piece!

Hope you enjoy and spread the news………..only $5 for a limited time!!!

Be blessed and have a wonderful rest of your week!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Meal times should be a time of peace and not chaos.  We have had to work many times over the years to train our children in the “fine art of table manners.”  This is  a time that we consistently help them work at being able to sit at a table for a long period of time and be considerate of those around them.

I have a lot of little ones and it gets loud.  Sometimes too loud to want to even eat.  They are constantly all wanting to talk and interrupt each other, so it is a daily reminder to wait their turn.  Things we work towards achieving at each meal:

1. The loudness factor. Lowering our voices while talking and waiting our turns as to not interrupt.
2. Chewing with their mouths closed and not talking with food in their mouths.
3. Not asking for more unless all of their food is eaten on their plate.
4. Not getting up and getting their own food, asking first.
5. Taking drinks while eating—they could go a whole meal and not drink.
6. Asking the host, if they may be excused before leaving the table—we are working on this 🙂

Now that the second group of children are getting older, we like to work at having conversations around the table.  This is something that  maybe everyone does already, but in our home, it is more of eat and keep moving kind of time.  When the older set was younger we did conversational starters.  You place them in a jar and during meal time, reach in and grab a “starter” and everyone gets a chance to respond.

As a family, we have gone through our starters many times and now we have new questions to ask each other.

I have two separate question groups, one for the younger and one for the older children.  Print them off and cut them into strips.  Fold them up, and place in a decorative container near your table.  Let someone choose a ‘starter” to get the conversation going for dinner.

This is something that my children look forward to doing at every meal.

Conversation mealtime starters download

Have a blessed day today!