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Jen Merckling

life.unimaginable

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Samples of Free Christmas Planner Printables

Free Christmas Planner Printables (+ 5 Top Planning Tips)

I’m so excited to share 5 of My Top Holiday Planning Tips with you! And I’ve created the cutest FREE Christmas Planner to help us prepare with less stress! I hope you love it & are blessed by it too! By tackling just a few tasks daily, we can be sure our homes and hearts…

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Filed Under: Family, Holidays, Homeschooling, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Christmas, Free Planner, Holidays, Planning, Thanksgiving

20 Lessons After 20 Years of Motherhood

This year I’ll be celebrating my 24th Mother’s Day as a mom…My oldest child is 23 years old–I became a mother at age 22! I’ve 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 crossed,…

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

After 14 years of homeschooling--I've tried a lot of curriculums! Discover my top 12 favorite homeschool curriculums--the ones I keep coming back to year after year!

Top 12 Favorite Homeschool Curriculums

After 19 years of homeschooling–I’ve tried a lot of curriculums!  Homeschoolers have so many great curriculum choices available…Which is awesome, BUT–it can be totally overwhelming!  Don’t let the multitude of homeschool curriculums scare you into analysis paralysis!  Here’s the thing–there is no one perfect curriculum!  We all have different needs and preferences.  However, I do…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Early Learning, Elementary, History, Homeschooling, Math, Middle School, Most Shared, Reading Tagged With: Affiliate, All About Reading, All About Spelling, apologia science, curriculum, elementary school, favorite curriculum, Homeschool, homeschooling, How to Homeschool, IEW, Institute for Excellence in Writing, middle school, Ready for Reading, Saxon Math, Sonlight, tapestry of grace, Teaching Textbooks, The Good and the Beautiful

Homeschool Supplies–Ultimate List

It’s that time…Local stores are rolling out the school supplies! Which kinda makes me cringe (didn’t summer just start??)–but also…I couldn’t pass up the $.97 markers! In a few weeks–the panic will be palpable…Aisles filled with moms and kids clutching supply lists from all the local schools. No thanks to all that mania (another reason…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Homeschooling, Organization Tagged With: Affiliate, Homeschool, Homeschool Organization, Homeschool Supplies

Night Zookeeper Review: How it Helps Homeschoolers

Seeing my son improve as a writer–and enjoy writing…These are the heart of my homeschool goals this year. So when Night Zookeeper approached me with their Online Language Arts Curriculum I was definitely intrigued…My little guy is 10. In a nutshell–he has very high verbal skills but initially struggled with reading.  And now that we’ve…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Elementary, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Curriculum Review, Night Zookeeper, Writing

Jesse Tree Post Image

Jesse Tree Christmas Tradition

Preparing for Christmas **Updated from the original 2017 post… I love Christmas–all the decorating, the baking, the entertaining, all of the things… We start preparing 2 weekends before Thanksgiving…that way I have time to put all the boxes away before the weekend of Thanksgiving preparations.  For years, getting our Christmas decor out before Thanksgiving felt…

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Filed Under: Family, Holidays Tagged With: Advent, Affiliate, Christmas, Christmas tradtitions, Jesse Tree

Avoiding Homeschool Pitfalls

After 18 years, I’ve noticed homeschool success boils down to this: Consistency & Margin. When either of these pieces are missing from my life–I feel the ramifications: frustration, overwhelm, resentment, guilt,  fatigue (just to name a few)! But we can avoid all those common homeschool pitfalls! Homeschooling can be a blessing and lifestyle that brings…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Encouragement, Homeschool, Homeschool Schedule, How to Homeschool

Why I Homeschool — 18 Years of Benefits

I colored inside the lines all my life…Deciding to homeschool was one of the first decisions that really took me off the beaten path. At first, I was terrified of what others would think—I spent a lot of time trying to justify why I homeschool (mostly to myself). Not necessarily because anyone was point-blank asking…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Homeschooling, Most Shared Tagged With: Affiliate, Homeschool, homeschooling, large family

Homeschool Kindergarten Reading Curriculum

The Best Curriculum for Kindergarten

Kindergarten…so full of possibilities!  For many it’s the beginning of their “official,” journey into the world of homeschooling!  If that’s you–welcome!!  Along with all the excitement of starting something so monumental, comes a lot of pressure!  You are homeschooling because you feel it’s the best choice for your child and your family…You want to do…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Early Learning, Elementary, Homeschooling, Math, Most Shared, Reading Tagged With: Affiliate, apologia science, favorite curriculum, Homeschool, Homeschool Curriculum, How to Homeschool, Kindergarten, Ready for Reading, Saxon Math, Saxon Phonics K

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

It’s Okay–Give Your Homeschool Permission to These 5 Things

Whew…We just made it through our first few weeks of the new homeschool year. Even after 16 years–the transition from summer to school still exhausts me.  So in case you’re feeling a little overwhelmed (and wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into), I want to send you a hug and let you know that it’s okay…The…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Back to Homeschool, Homeschool Encouragement, How to Homeschool

2nd Grade Homeschool Curriculum–What We Loved

Sometimes I get really excited about my homeschool curriculum picks and just have to share them–even before we use them…This year I decided to write my curriculum picks reflectively… (And I procrastinated.) But now you can see what worked and what ended up being tweaked a bit as the year progressed! That’s the beauty of…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Elementary, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Curriculum Review, Encouragement, Homeschool 2nd grade, Homeschool Curriculum

children homeschooling

6 Things No One Tells You About Homeschooling…

I’m getting ready to officially start my 17th year of homeschooling!  I can hardly believe it. I have a senior, a 3rd grader, and twins in kindergarten…The senior is my first child to officially graduate from our homeschool (my oldest two kids graduated from public high school). Homeschooling has truly become our lifestyle…But I still remember…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Encouragement, Homeschool, How to Homeschool

4 Books that Will Make You Rethink Homeschooling, Unschooling, & How You Parent

As a former public school teacher, gold-star sticker student, and general rule-follower…I never really considered unschooling.  I don’t like the word. And quite frankly–I thought it sounded like a bunch of crazy talk. Who are these wild moms? I can only be so countercultural! Homeschooling is my max-limit—thank-you-very-much. To me unschooling sounded too much like…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Books, Encouragement, Homeschool Resources, How to Homeschool

Is Saxon Math Right for Your Homeschool?

I’ve been using Saxon Math for almost as long as I’ve been homeschooling…(16 years).  It’s my staple, no-brainer curriculum choice year after year. For whatever reason–talk of math curriculum brings out some really strong emotions among the homeschool crowd. We’re fierce about our math! Perhaps because math is such a foundational subject or perhaps because…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Homeschooling, Math Tagged With: Affiliate, curriculum, Curriculum Review, math, Saxon Math

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Hello! Welcome--I'm Jen! I've got 6 kiddos (including sweet twins) --lots of laundry and always dirty dishes! I've been Jason's wife for 26 years, a mommy for 24 years, and a homeschooler for 20+ years...I'd love to be friends. ♡

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My sweet sister & I just created this adorable Fal My sweet sister & I just created this adorable Fall Coloring & Activity Book for Kids!🍁🎉
Just sweet—no Halloween references…Your kids will love all the whimsical details & fun activities!!🧡 

Link in bio…🥰
🍁Quick Tip: I love planning for the next school 🍁Quick Tip: I love planning for the next school week on Fridays! After we wrap up each  subject, I write out next week’s plan…

🤓I used to plan on Sunday night—but this routine has been so helpful because…
🍁Where we are & what we’re doing is fresh in my head.
🍁It feels faster because it’s broken into small chunks—I plan as we finish each subject & before I put away those materials for the weekend.
🍁I don’t have to drag things out on Sunday—because the planning is already done! 🎉
🍁 I know if I need to grab any supplies over the weekend! 

 #homeschoolplanning #homeschoolorganization
Created a sweet little notebook… Matches my Home Created a sweet little notebook…
Matches my Homeschool Lesson Planner! 👯‍♀️
Perfect for journaling & reflecting…🥰💗 

Details:
7x10 inches, 110 pages, lined notebook 
Available as a matte paperback or hardcover! 
(I like to use hardcover notebooks for Bible study.)💗
This is the loveliest book…💗🪶🪺 Perfect This is the loveliest book…💗🪶🪺
Perfect for the changing seasons, bird lovers, & a bit of history!! 
(Thanks to @readaloudrevival for the recommendation!) 🥰
We can be reluctant to "count" activities that did We can be reluctant to "count" activities that didn't come in our packaged curriculum as "school". 

❤️But so much counts...(I think it may all count??)

(I honestly have a hard time trying to think of activities that don't count as education!)

🎨Here's just a few: swimming, ballet, soccer practice, nature walk, going to the playground, coloring, cutting, video games, reading books together, cooking, chores, dress-up, video creation, poetry writing, imaginary play, documentaries, vacations, the grocery story, Sunday School, camp, museums, legos, collections, lunch with friends, planning a party, and the list goes on & on...

 👀 Watch for the learning that is happening all around you! 

🌻Life is an amazing teacher & there is so much to learn! Our kids know that instinctively--we can trust them to be curious. We can become curious again...
I like to start the year with Language Arts lesson I like to start the year with Language Arts lessons, Math, & one other subject...

(And Language Arts can have lots of parts--so I gradually add in pieces as we gain some confidence in our routine.)

It's okay if you don't have it all figured out on day one, week one, or even month one! Give yourself time to get comfortable with your curriculum.

When I taught elementary school--we spent so much time just going over routines that first week of school! But in homeschooling--we can just bypass all that... 

🥳(Yay for freedom to potty & snack when want--and no thanks to practicing how to "line-up" for 20 minutes)! 

Even once our routine is established--we RARELY do all subjects every day at my house. 

🔥Breaking free from traditional school is more than the leap into homeschooling...It's also breaking free from our ideas of what education looks like, where & how it happens, & how much time formal instruction takes. 

It takes time to make that paradigm shift--give yourself grace as you grow with your kiddos!

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