Homeschooling - Have you had your greens today?

It is extremely important to me that my children learn the value of food.
I want them to want to eat healthy food because I want them to take care of their bodies.
I think part of this is talking about food every single day.
Why we eat it, what it is good for, why we need to eat it.

I know some people think I am nuts, over the top when it comes to the way I feed my children.

I  think it is crazy to go under the knife for bi pass surgery at 50 or 60 just because you didn't watch what you ate.We  have the knowledge, so why not use it?

I personally would rather watch what I eat now then be in a hospital bed at 50 or lack in energy the way I see so many 30 year old's do. I only get this one body and I take that responsibility seriously. It is my job to teach my children about healthy eating. Lord knows the media or the food industry does not have my children's best interests at heart.

So we started Juicing! My girls absolutely love it. 

I get them to go and pick apples, beets and carrots 

from the garden and I let them use the sharp knife.

 This is pretty special in our house, not sure about yours?

 It's so easy , just cut up your veggies and put them in the juicer and you have pure fruit juice!

I have often wanted to start, but just didn't really understand why juicing is so good for you. But look at all these veggies !!! Plus I added 4 big apples and one more carrot. Now that is a lot of veggies in one sitting. And the way I feel is worth it all.

I think a lot of moms will be saying? but my kids will never drink that"
I have a couple tips that might help.

First of all really explain to them what these food do to their body. They heal us, they give us energy and make us strong and help us fight sickness.
If you get your kids to plant, then water and weed and then pick the food they will be much more likely to want to eat it. 
And juicing is fun, they get to pick exactly what they want in their juice.
After we make it we look online to find out what it does for our body. Or if you have an extra kid get them to look it up while you are juicing and read it aloud to you.

Our juicer costs around $300. It works great!
We have to cut up the veggies before putting them in, but we don't have to core the apples or anything. And to wash the thing is pretty easy.













It is  worth giving juicing a try. I know it's not for everyone, but the health benefits are worth it.
I am so passionate about living a healthy life. And every time we juice I feel like I am giving a gift to my children. I feel so fortunate to be able to give them healthy food. We have so much knowledge at our finger tips. But all that knowledge doesn't help anyone unless we use it.

How to find time for it all?

I found this amazing site I wanted to share with those of you who homeschool.

http://www.k5learning.com

I LOVE it and so do my kids.

The lessons are fun and they cover reading comprehension and math and for those of you who are teaching a child to read, this is amazing.I like how it grades your child and when they do well at one level it pushes them up to the next level.

I like to use lots of different ways to teach and learn. One of my main objectives is to make learning fun, something my children ask to do, and want to do.I like to keep my lessons short. And as my children grow older I give them less instruction. For example for my 5 year old I tell her when we will be learning what and how long. For my 9 year old I tell her what i expect by Christmas. I offer her rewards if she completes certain things. For example I told her if she finishes Grade 5 math before Christmas I will buy her piano and Guitar lessons. I also figured out exactly how many lessons she would have to do each week in order to complete this by Christmas.
Then I leave it up to her to make the goals and the time to finish her studies in Math.

 I want them to know I value learning. Being able to take lesson like Piano and Guitar is a gift. So I think it is the perfect gift, The more she learns the more she can learn.

Some days I just don't have the time to sit and read for hours to my girls. Never mind  to go over site words and addition and substation again and again and again as you have to do with a 5 year old. I find online learning programs like this one are perfect for those days.

One of my objectives in Homeschooling is to teach my children to be self starters, to learn on their own and this is a perfect program to teach that. It is nice to offer working on this program as a reward for finishing work early. Or being a good listener that day. Or not fighting with their sisters for a whole day. (this one hasn't happened)

I love charts!
I made a chart and every day they need to do one reading assignment and one math assignment and one spelling assignment using this program. I find kids love charts too. There is something about seeing all those checks or stickers that is so satisfying.

So many different ways and things you can do with homeschooling.
I am having a blast and feeling blessed to be able to do this with them.
What a blessing!


It is really amazing what these little minds can learn.We have been slowly starting to add more and more schooling in each day for 2 weeks now. It is incredible how much these girls have learned already. Kaylani's reading comprehension has gone up significantly and her math skills are improving rapidly. What a gift to have a brain that can learn, to be healthy so that we can focus on this.
God is full of blessings and he is good
Loving every minute of teaching my children...what a gift !