Here's a tip too good not to share. Got warts? Apply apple cider vinegar (I used the Bragg's brand) to a cotton ball and secure it to the wart with a bandage while you sleep. In the morning, remove it and continue the process for a few days.
Our experience with this for two people is that within two days, the wart becomes a black, deflated scab and can be pulled or will fall off several days later. If you're concerned about the healthy skin, you can apply vaseline to it before applying the cotton ball.
If you Google this, you will find the testimonials of hundreds of people, some of whom have had warts for years that have responded to no other treatment. What's really sad is that webmd says vinegar is an unproven method of removing warts. I'd like to see their methodology, because we have a complete cure rate with an N of 2 here.
The best part of being on a diet is going off. I don't consider eating according to Body for Life principles a "diet" per se, but I do enjoy the permitted free meals. A lot.
I was all set to enjoy a free meal at our favorite BBQ restaurant with the family last week, only to discover that the menus were changed. Oh, the entrees were the same, but with one small, yet painful difference. A calorie count was listed for each meal. My health-conscious husband was exclaiming over the big numbers and righteously made a lower-calorie choice.
Normally, I would have approved that the restaurant made such a great, healthy change. After all, we often unknowingly ingest an entire day's worth of food in one meal when we eat out and then struggle to manage our weight. The problem was, I had been eating clean for several days and I wanted to really let loose and enjoy. Those nasty calorie counts wouldn't let me. I cut back on my order and went home disappointed. What was worse is that I felt unmotivated to eat clean the next day.
The lesson learned is don't go to a restaurant with calorie counts for a free meal. Not really. 🙂 What I really learned is that not having an occasional opportunity to be truly free in what I eat is a hindrance to me. Further, I learned that I have been on a time diet for quite some time with no decent free meals.
Suddenly, I finally understood why 15-minute breaks and a scant hour of free time a day leave me wanting. My recreational time needs to be free of calorie counts and I need a big portion of it. Perpetually pursuing a task management approach that leaves me with no guilt-free days is a recipe for a binge. No wonder after having pushed myself hard or having been pulled in multiple directions, I often sit like a slug, web surfing for hours on end. I want to eat my time like a plate of fries with ketchup without anyone telling me what a waste it is. If I can slurp up the hours without guilt, I can easily get back to work the next day.
Body for Life's free day is Sunday. As Christians, that's our free day, too. My goal is to take full advantage of it so I can get things done next week. Care to pull up a chair and share my fries? I've got a Sharpie to take care of the menu.
“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the LORD. (Exodus 16:25)
I was on relay teams in high school track and while I had plenty of poor starts and bad hand-offs, there is one thing I never did in response–go back. Imagine the reaction if I had jogged back mid-race to the starting blocks to try it again. What if I just ran off the track in defeat? Or picture me insisting that my teammate hand-off to me again. Crazy, right?
Yet that is what you and I often do when we feel like we've gotten off to a bad start or have made a poor transition. We oversleep, don't have time to work out or make a healthy breakfast, and we figure the day is lost. We stop running and fret about our imperfect start. We might even do this in marriage or career settings. We might wonder if we really knew what we were doing when we said, "I do" or took the job. Instead of finishing the race we're in, we long to return to the start.
I didn't realize what havoc my habit of returning to start was wreaking in my life. If I didn't get up on time or get every part of my routine done, I was either getting quite cranky about it or I would foolishly try to get my morning routine done when it was too late. Believe me, if I miss my devotional time before the kids are up, it's an exercise in frustration trying to have it with them around. The more I tried to catch up, the behinder I got! I found myself running the wrong way on the track, getting tripped up, and wondering what was wrong.
In a race, I worried about getting out of the blocks poorly or fumbling the baton after the race was over. Until the next practice, I just ran for all I was worth, not worrying about what didn't go well before. That's what I'm practicing now. If my day is interrupted, I start where I'm at. If I have extra time to go back and do the things I missed (fat chance), I can. If not, at least the latter part of my day will go smoothly. At day's end, I can evaluate what went wrong in the morning and take steps to prevent it from happening again.
Maybe you're struggling with something more serious than an upset day; perhaps it seems that you've gotten a bad start in life and you'd like a do-over. What if you started where you are? Made the most of the marriage and career you have? I'm not suggesting that this is good advice for every situation, but it's an option to consider.
If today's gotten off to a bad start, either pick up your routine from here on out, or make a new, short list of what you'd like to accomplish with what's left of the day. Remember, plenty of relay teams have gotten off to a bad start or bungled the hand-off and went on to win the race.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1)
Tonight I watched Game 6 of the World Series in which Cardinals player, David Freese, dropped an easy pop fly that one of my kids could have caught. He choked. In front of an audience of millions.
My heart went out to him. I've been there. Almost literally! I was a catcher in a girls' softball championship tournament and dropped an easy pop fly. I think more than once! Fortunately I don't remember that little detail. But I'll never forget the sick feeling in my stomach, the shame, and the self-loathing.
The game (in case you weren't watching) looked like a sure loss for the Cardinals because David Freese's wasn't the only error. My husband was practically snoring in the ninth inning. We both thought, "We messed up; it's over."
But miracle of miracles, the Cardinals' hopes were resuscitated with a last-minute hit from none other than David Freese. Much too soon, that hit seemed for naught because once again the rival Rangers were up two runs. We figured we had a nice rally, but the night would end in defeat. Instead, in extra innings, home boy David Freese hit a home run to end the game.
Suddenly, David who we expected to be despised and dejected when the game was over, was heralded as a champion. When he was interviewed afterward, David was able to laugh about "looking like an idiot" because he had been redeemed. He explained the Cardinals' unlikely victory by crediting his coach, Tony LaRussa. David said, "He knows what he's doing."
What a thrill this game was, not just because it was a nail biter and my team won, but because we saw our lives being played out on that field. We're all chokers like David. While we expect to be despised and rejected for looking like idiots, we'll be redeemed champions when the game's over. After all, we have a Coach who "knows what He's doing."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)
A key to successful homeschooling is managing how you spend your time. After twelve years of teaching my children at home, I am still working to better manage my time.
I began using Managers of Their Homes years ago which enabled me to think of time in terms of half-hour increments. This scheduling approach also helped me to see that every subject and activity didn’t have to be done every day. I still have a schedule that I follow loosely as follows:
6:00 a.m. Up and workout while listening to sermons on iPhone
7:00 a.m. Devotional time
7:30 a.m. Set out breakfast and get kids up while I shower
8:00 a.m. Family devotions; morning chores
8:30 a.m. School time
12:00 p.m. Lunch and break
1:00 – 3:00 p.m. School subjects not completed; outside classes; mom’s to do’s; weekly chores
3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Snack and continue with previous
5:00 p.m. Dinner preparation
6:00 p.m. Dinner
7:00 p.m. Evening chores and family time
9:00 p.m. Bedtime routines
10:00 p.m. Reading, time with husband
11:00 p.m. Lights out
The foregoing is our schedule on a VERY good day. We tend to be night owls here, so if we don’t get to bed on time, everything is pushed back in the morning. I have found that I resist regimented schedules and that routines work even better for me. I began establishing good routines years ago when I started getting FLYLady‘s emails. Today I use the well-designed HomeRoutines app on my iPhone. It helps me tremendously to have a reminder of all the subjects I want to teach. My goal, though, is not to complete every single step of every routine I have. If it were, I would be disappointed every day. My goal is to get an A for the day and to get most (90%) of those routines completed on most days.
I have also had periods in my homeschooling when I didn’t have much of a schedule. One advantage was not feeling obligated, but free to enjoy teaching. Another was that I was better able to work around my work-at-home husband’s more spontaneous style. A disadvantage was making less progress in important subjects, and finding myself spending too much time online.
As you determine the scheduling approach that will work best for you and your family, consider what you believe about time in general. After reading this excellent article on a Christian approach to time management, I was motivated to ask myself some important questions about how I am spending my time–schooling or otherwise. The article advises tracking how you spend your time. After having done this numerous times on paper and via a variety of iPhone apps, I already know how I spend my time. I quickly made a list of all my activities. Then I answered these questions for each of them:
“What would happen if this were not done at all?” And if the answer is, “Nothing would happen,” then obviously the conclusion is to stop doing it.
Which of the activities on my time log could be done by someone else just as well, if not better?
What do I do that wastes your time without contributing to your effectiveness?
The answers were very revealing. Now I will explain why I have a picture of Dr. Phil at the top of this post. Were you wondering? Dr. Phil, in discussing dysfunctional behaviors with guests, is fond of asking, “How’s that workin’ for ya?” I understand what he’s getting at. He is trying to help people recognize that they are experiencing negative effects of bad choices. But here’s the problem with that question. If you have to ask the question, it must still be working for them. They’re still getting something out of overeating, the procrastination, and the refusal to communicate or they wouldn’t keep doing it.
You may still be confused. The last question I asked myself about each activity I invest time in really brought me up short. “What do I do that wastes your time without contributing to your effectiveness?” This question was obviously designed for people in a traditional workplace. But as homeschoolers, we don’t have bosses or administrations. Or do we? I realized that all that I have, including my children and my time, are God’s. He has given me the job of educating His children. I had to answer the difficult question of what I am doing to waste His time without contributing to His overall effectiveness. It became clear to me that I couldn’t figure out a good schedule for our homeschool without reflecting on God’s goals for my children.
Here’s the connection. I might think that web surfing for hours while my children play video games is workin’ just fine for me, but there is no way I can think it’s workin’ well for His purposes for me and my family. As you seek to create or recreate your homeschool schedule, pray about how God would use your family to increase His effectiveness.
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, (2 Tim. 1:9)
This website is dedicated to motivating learning. But I would argue that learning is intrinsically motivating and I bet you agree with me.
The homeschool subjects that I have no trouble motivating myself to teach are those that enable me to learn along with my children. In fact, when I learn something new, I often become so enthralled that I begin telling others about it and surfing the web to learn more. In the process, I sometimes forget about my children’s education completely! They will ask me questions about the new exciting subject and I may put them off until my own curiosity is satisfied. My bad. But aren’t we hoping to motivate our children to be that kind of lifelong learner?
For this reason, Mystery of History is one of my favorite resources. Somehow, in all my years of education, I never learned world history. Because I didn’t, each and every lesson is new and exciting for me. Even if I had no children to teach at home, I would read these fantastic volumes. They fascinate me! Sometimes I have to keep from reading ahead.
You may be thinking, “That’s nice for you, Melanie, but what does this have to do with motivation?” Well, notice that the only reason I am so motivated to study history is because I am learning something new. I don’t think I’m that unusual. Okay, I AM unusual, but not in that way. People naturally love to learn new things. For example, what are your children most interested in: playing the same old games or a brand new game? Would they rather watch a movie they’ve seen three times or a brand new film? Granted, some children are afraid of new things, but that reaction is only typical of kids who’ve experienced failure. Children have a natural curiosity and learning is immensely satisfying to them.
How can we apply this truth to improve our homeschools?
If your students aren’t motivated, consider that they may not be learning anything new. Completing workbook pages full of exercises on a topic you already understand is not motivating. Making mistakes on tests or quizzes doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t know the material; your kids just may not care to demonstrate proficiency in a subject that has become boring.
Try a curriculum that teaches new material or the old material in a new way. This flexibility is a huge advantage of homeschooling. Before committing financially, borrow materials from a homeschooling friend, check out books from a library or co-op, or surf the web to find new facts. If the test drive is effective, you may want to change your approach or decide to change things up on a regular basis.
Find information that is new to you. Excitement is contagious. My children enjoy history so much because they see how excited I get about it. If you use materials that you would read even if you didn’t have children, you’re moving in the right direction. My recommendation is that you share the material with your kids right away before the enthusiasm is gone. For example, if I learn something in my personal devotions that I am excited about, I will skip our Bible curriculum for the day and teach the new insight.
Allow your students to satisfy their curiosity. Stopping in the middle of a lesson to allow kids to watch videos on something that strikes their fancy can drive orderly homeschoolers nuts! But just as it’s my natural inclination to dig deeper into a subject in the moment, it’s our children’s too. Keep making progress in the curriculum, but allow for fascinating pit stops along the way.
Consider challenging your students. Sometimes the problem isn’t that the material isn’t new, but that it doesn’t push them out of their comfort zone. It’s new, but it’s too easy. I remember being in an honors writing course in second grade. The projects they expected us to complete seemed out of the realm of possibility. But because the teachers said I could do it, I gave it a shot and I remember the writing I did to this day.
Add a student to your classroom. Like a flock of chickens eating around you, a student who is hungry to learn will motivate your student to study, too. We have all kinds of toys and sports equipment at our house that lay dormant until another kid comes over to play. His or her interest in what there is to do motivates my children like no amount of encouragement from me. Even having a friend (or Dad!) take part in your school for a day can reignite a love for learning.
Have your students share what they’ve learned. When I learn something new, I can’t keep my mouth shut about it. Our students are the same way, but often don’t have the outlets for sharing that adults do. Consider having a sharing time at dinner with dad, calling or emailing Grandma every week, or creating a homeschool newsletter or blog. My children are also motivated to give reports for co-op or to teach the younger kids what they’ve learned.
Learn from your homeschool colleagues. One of my favorite things to do is talk to other homeschoolers about curriculum they love or subjects they’re studying. If you don’t regularly communicate with other homeschoolers about what you’re learning, may I commend it to you? With the web, we have so many opportunities to learn from one another.
What new information are you learning this year that can help you be a motivated homeschooler?
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
