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Jen Merckling

life.unimaginable

Family

12 Favorite Christmas Books for Kids (and kids at heart)

I love everything about Christmas. All the traditions…all the food…all the music…movies, decorations, lights, parties…All. Of. It.  And of course–all the books! Like the smell of Christmas trees or sugar cookies, Christmas books have an amazing way of whisking us back to childhood–the vivid pictures and words bring it all rushing back. And of course…

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Filed Under: Family, Holidays, Homeschooling Tagged With: Advent, Affiliate, Christmas, Favorite Books

20 Lessons After 20 Years of Motherhood

This year I’ll be celebrating my 21st Mother’s Day as a mom…My oldest child is 20 years old–I became a mother at age 22. I’ve almost spent more of my life as a mom than not. But no matter how long you’ve been a mom, entering motherhood is a defining moment.  A bridge, that once…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Faith, Motherhood

Get ready for Thanksgiving with this super sweet Gratitude Bingo Game! Help your little ones build the habit of gratitude and thankfulness!

Gratitude Bingo Game {FREEBIE!}

As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, it’s a great time to focus on gratitude with our kiddos! I’ve got a super cute Gratitude Bingo Game for your little ones!  It will help them see there’s so much to be thankful for–everyday blessings! I’ve found that even small children can get into bad habits of…

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Filed Under: Early Learning, Family, Holidays, Homeschooling Tagged With: Character, Free Resource, Freebie, Gratitude, Parenting, Preschool Games, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving

4th of July for Kids (FREE Printable)!

Aren’t we all a bit of a kid on the 4th of July?  Give me all the streamers, popsicles, black snakes, and hot dogs! The 4th of July is just plain fun–it isn’t fancy or stressful! (Except when 20 children are all doing arm circles with sparklers within inches of each other’s faces…) It will…

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Filed Under: Family, Holidays, Lifestyle Tagged With: 4th of July, Affiliate, Free Printable, kid activities

Why Sensory Play is Important!

Welcome to my house–don’t mind the tub of pinecones, collection of rocks, and the bowl brimming with water and toy frogs!  It’s all part of play–which as you know, is where kiddos learn best!  There’s a fancy term for letting our kids collect, pour, mix, sniff, and generally make a mess…It’s called Sensory Play!  And…

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Filed Under: Early Learning, Family, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Homeschool, Importance of Play, Parenting, Preschool, Sensory Play, Toddlers

The laundry piles are not going away! With 6 kids--I've learned some tricks for keeping it simple! Sharing My 5 Tips for Tackling the Laundry! #laundry #laundrytips #cleaning #homeorganization

5 Tips for Tackling the Laundry

Oh, the laundry!  There is literally no end in sight.  For years, I lived in denial of this fact.  I thought I could somehow get it all done. Visions of empty laundry baskets and spotless closet floors danced in my head…Until I accepted the truth.  Laundry is a constant work-in-progress. And that is okay–it’s just part…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle, Organization Tagged With: FlyLady, Housekeeping, Laundry

Here are 3 Amazing Apps for Preschoolers that seamlessly weave together open-ended play, preschool skills, and technology!

3 Amazing Apps for Preschoolers That You Won’t Feel Guilty About

Often I get asked how I keep my littles (4 year old twins) busy while I’m homeschooling my daughter in high school and first grade son. (Honestly, it sounds harder than it actually is…twins have a way of entertaining each other!) But even if you’re not a homeschool mom, I’m guessing sometimes you could use…

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Filed Under: Early Learning, Family, Homeschooling, Lifestyle Tagged With: Activities for Young Kids, Affiliate, Apps for Kids, Homeschool Preschool, iPad, My PlayHome, Thinkrolls, Toca Boca, Using Technology With Kids

We are all looking for ways to keep Christmas stressfree and joyful! Here are 3 Simple Christmas Traditions to enjoy with your family throughout Advent!

3 Simple Christmas Traditions

  The Holidays.  Why is it that those two words can stir two completely opposite emotions: Joy and Stress? Oh how I want to grab all the joy and leave all the stress behind.  As kids–the holidays were all joy.   It was cousins and cookies and toy catalogs and Christmas carols.  As adults–I think…

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Filed Under: Family, Holidays, Homeschooling, Lifestyle Tagged With: Advent, Christmas, Christmas Traditions, Faith

The Wise Men Journey Searching for The King is a perfect new Christmas tradition for your family! Countdown to Christmas with this exciting new devotional!

The Wise Men Journey — A New Advent Tradition

Hi Sweet Friends!  You know when God puts someone on your path and they just ooze Jesus–and you are flat out humbled and amazed by the whole thing to your core?  Well that is exactly what happened to me when I met Lynette Meintjes while waiting around for my kids at dance class!  She is amazing…

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Filed Under: Family, Holidays, Homeschooling, Lifestyle Tagged With: Advent, Christmas, Christmas Traditions, Countdown to Christmas, Faith, Family Traditions, Gifts, Wise Men Journey

How old is too old for trick-or-treating? Here's why I let my teens go, and some thoughts about being kind to all trick-or-treaters this Halloween!

Aren’t You Too Old to be Trick-or-Treating?

I have three teenagers.  They all loved trick-or-treating with friends well into their teenage years–and I happily let them!  Initially, I questioned my judgement…Aren’t you too old to be trick-or-treating?  But I quickly realized, there are MUCH BIGGER FISH to fry with teenagers…this is not a battle worth fighting.  In fact, now I celebrate their…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Halloween, Parenting, Teens

Stop feeling overwhelmed by your housework and gain peace of mind with the Flylady! I've been following her routines for years--here's how to get started!

FlyLady Routines — Bless Your Home and Family!

Here’s the truth.  I’m a very messy person at heart.  I was the kid in elementary school who stuffed bent folders, stubby pencils, broken crayons, and crumpled notes into her desk.  Oh how I envied my friends who kept their desks meticulous–shiny folders all in a row, neat pencil boxes (actually filled with pencils and…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Family, Homeschooling, Lifestyle, Most Shared, Organization Tagged With: Affiliate, Cleaning, FlyLady, FlyLady routines, getting organized, Housekeeping, Housework, Organization

Sharing my favorite easy family recipes that make every day special! These are 14 of my Go-To recipes, perfect for weeknights or special occasions!

Easy Family Recipes — make every day special

These days I don’t always have much time for cooking (maybe it’s not so much the cooking, but the clean-up)!  As a homeschool mom, I feel like I am.always.in.the.kitchen!  So when I do take the time to make something for my family (beyond peanut butter and grilled cheese), I want it to be something they…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Easy Recipes, Homemaking, Recipes, Subscriber Free Resource, What's For Dinner

I'm sharing 20 Marriage Tips after 20 Years of Marriage! Marriage isn't always easy--but we've learned a lot along the way!

20 Marriage Tips After 20 Years

Last summer my husband (Jason) and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary!  And now I’ve officially been married half my life!  We tied the knot just one month after my 20th birthday…wow!  I felt very grown-up back in 1997—totally ready to take on the world with my new hubby!  And I guess you could say…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Marriage

Staying on or off Disney property is one of your first decisions when planning a Disney World vacation! Here's the pros and cons we've discovered!

Staying On or Off Disney Property at Disney World

Planning a trip to Disney World is so exciting!  Deciding where to stay is one of the first things to knock off the “to-do,” list!  We’ve visited Disney World five times with our family, and we’ve stayed both on and off property!  (We’ve got 6 kids and have done Disney with toddlers, teens, and everything…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Disney, Disney Planning, Travel, Vacation, Where to Stay at Disney World

After 14 years, I've learned some simple tips for getting my home and homeschool organized, and I've created a planner to help you get organized too!

Get Organized — Homeschool Planner

Today I’m sharing tools and the Homeschool Planner I created to help get me organized!  My hope is this comprehensive planner will help you tackle your own “to-do,” lists and help keep your homeschool planning simple, flexible, and organized! Organization and Mental Health For me—keeping organized is a big part of healthy living.  I’m prone…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Family, Homeschooling, Lifestyle, Organization Tagged With: Affiliate, get organized, homeschool planner, Simple Habits

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Hello! Welcome--I'm Jen! I've got 6 kiddos, twins, toddlers, teens--lots of laundry and always dirty dishes! I've been Jason's wife for 20 years, a mommy for 18 years, and a homeschooler for 14 years...I'd love to be friends. ♡

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❤️Love of Learning, Leadership, Creativity, Cr ❤️Love of Learning, Leadership, Creativity, Critical Thinking… 
Just some attributes at the heart of why many of us homeschool! 

We’re digging deep into all that this coming week over at the Life Skills Leadership Summit! I’d love for you to join us!! {Grab your free pass in my bio!}🎉 

I’ll be talking about growing independent learners through all the seasons of homeschooling...💐☀️⛈🍁❄️ 

And the longer I homeschool (17 years now)--the more I am convinced that our kids create & experience meaningful learning through play! 🦄🤖🤴🦸‍♀️

❤️My 6 year old twins created this barn (and a set of paper dolls & horses)--complete with apples in a barrel, hay for the horses, and tiny carrots...I did nothing but provide the materials and the TIME to play!

It may not be Instagram or Pinterest “pretty”—but they were so engrossed and immersed in the process!!

 What project is taking over your dining room table?🐴🎨😉
Slow, cozy mornings...Just one thing I love about Slow, cozy mornings...Just one thing I love about homeschooling! The twins set out their toys to enjoy the fire & then disappeared...Now it’s very quiet—maybe too quiet... #whataretheyupto
Happy New Year!!🤩 Time to take down this tree Happy New Year!!🤩

Time to take down this tree & make some changes in 2021!🥳

{GIVEAWAY—Closed!! Winners have been notified —Congratulations to Sarah & Amy!}🎉❤️

But you still have time to join me for the Make Over Your Life Summit!🥰

We're covering all the things...in 8 individual tracks or grab the All-Access Pass:

❤️Marriage 
❤️Spiritual Life 
❤️Schedules 
❤️Home 
❤️Motherhood
❤️Homeschool 
❤️Health 
❤️Finances
Starts Monday--but Early Bird Registration (and best price) is NOW!
{Link in My Bio!!}
This sweet little book is meant to be read with ou This sweet little book is meant to be read with our little ones! They love joining in & “reading” the pictures! ❤️ 
It’s part of The Story of Christmas product in my shop—which also includes a game, narration, & coloring pages. 
 
Link in my bio!!❤️
All dressed up & nowhere to go!😂 #2020life All dressed up & nowhere to go!😂 #2020life
Happy Halloween from Harry, Hermione, & Professor Happy Halloween from Harry, Hermione, & Professor McGonagall!🎃🧙‍♀️

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