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When I was an adult before I had kids, I always bought my mom a card. It was nice, but now that I’m a mom, I know how much a handmade card from my kids means rather than a store-bought one.

All the moms in your life will smile when they see the little prints in this handmade card. It is inspired by an awesome book in our Usborne Store called Fingerprint Activities.

There are so many inspiring pictures to make with your fingerprints, and this book makes it easy to duplicate and experiment with a built-in stamp pad.

Fingerprint Mother’s Day Card

First, I made this printable with 2 different Mother’s Day cards. One says, “I made a flower with my finger and thumb. So you will have these memories for years to come.  I love you.” This could be for any Mother in your life.

The other says, “If I had a Flower for each time I thought of my Mother, I could walk in my Garden Forever…” Just click on the image below to download.

We made prints with the tips of our fingers for the flowers and then added details with a black pen. The butterfly is made by printing the whole finger for the front wings and the tips of the fingers for the back wings.

We tried a bird and a bee and some flowers of our own. It was a lot of fun, and now we have special cards for our Mothers!

If you’re looking for more Mother’s Day Card ideas, you might also like this hand and foot print Mother’s Day card!

More Book Activity Ideas!

Rebecca at Line Upon Line Learning

Lauren at Mama’s Learning Corner

The post Fingerprint Mother’s Day Card Kids Can Make first appeared on True Aim.

This simple question shows up constantly in our online homeschool community. New moms join our group or Blue Manor Academy and immediately wonder if their efforts measure up. When they ask, other moms rush in with reassurance, “Yes, you’re doing great. Yes, it’s enough.”

Although encouragement matters, so does honesty. The truth is, sometimes you are doing enough, sometimes you’re doing too much, and sometimes you’re not doing enough of the right things. This post explains all three.

Are You Doing Enough in Your Homeschool?

1. If “enough” means competing with public schools, rest easy.

I’ll tell you the comforting part about your homeschool first. If your goal is to do better than the public school system, then you’re already succeeding. Even doing nothing academically for a short season puts your child ahead in many ways because:

• Public schools teach distorted science and politicized history
• Abstract math that no one will use is emphasized, while essential math like budgeting, mortgages, and taxes are ignored
• They replace great literature with ideological “woke” texts
• Confuse students about basic biological reality
• Totally neglect wisdom, virtue, and character formation

You’re not missing out by avoiding that system. You’re protecting your children from it, and the data backs it up! Homeschoolers consistently outperform public school students across almost every measurable category.

So if your fear is, “Did I ruin my child by pulling them out?”, the answer is, absolutely not. You’ve rescued them.

2. The real danger for homeschool moms isn’t doing too little. It’s doing too much.

This is the part most parents don’t expect.

Although homeschool moms rarely under-educate their kids, they often overwater them. Just like a succulent doesn’t need daily soaking, your children don’t need every subject, every curriculum, every club, and every activity thrown at them in an attempt to “do enough.”

Here are the things many homeschool moms over-do:

• Teach every subject the public schools teach
• Add dozens of supplements “just in case”
• Sign up for too many clubs, sports, choirs, field trips, Scouts, co-ops, homesteading groups
• Try every spelling bee, Bible bowl, geography bee
• Join every church activity
• Try to win every competition

The result? Homeschools with exhausted moms, overwhelmed kids, and burnout for the entire family.

For example, one mom recently joined our group and said, “I’m exhausted.” When homeschooling becomes a burden instead of a blessing, something has gone wrong. This is not because the mission is too hard, but because the load is too heavy. Overwatering stunts growth. Overscheduling stunts learning.

Besides, kids who are constantly fed information lose the ability to process any of it. Just like a body that overeats becomes sluggish, sometimes you teach more by teaching less. Not less meaningfully, but with less noise so the meaningful things can take root.

If you need more clarity on this, make sure you check out the video below to learn more about whether you are doing enough in your homeschool!

Ask These Questions About Your Homeschool Instead

3. What does “doing enough” really mean?

Doing enough in your homeschool means focusing on the things that actually build greatness, not endless worksheets, busywork, or recreating public school at home.

Instead ask, “Is this feeding my child’s mind, body, and spirit or drowning them?”

Greatness requires:

• Sharp minds, not oversaturated ones
• Strong spirits, not stressed ones
• Disciplined bodies, not exhausted ones

Education is not about stuffing children with content! It’s about forming character, courage, clarity, and purpose. When you strip away the unnecessary, homeschooling becomes simple, peaceful, and powerful.

4. So…back to the question: Am I doing enough in my homeschool?

If “enough” means avoiding the public-school disaster? Yes, you’re doing more than enough.

If “enough” means checking every box and recreating a full schedule? You’re probably doing too much.

If “enough” means raising wise, disciplined, joyful, Christ-centered children prepared for greatness? That’s when the question changes.

It becomes:

• Am I focusing on the right things?
• Is this giving my children clarity or clutter?
• Will this help raise world-changers or overworked students?

Your children don’t need MORE, they need what is meaningful.

The Peaceful Way Forward in Your Homeschool

Once you remove the pressure to imitate public schools, and let go of the fear that “more = better,” you can finally build the kind of home education God designed for families!

Focused.
Purposeful.
Joyful.
Rooted in character, discipline, wisdom, and truth.

Finally, you don’t need to prove anything to the world. You just need to steward the children God gave you with confidence, clarity, and calm. That is more than enough.

Share this homeschool post!

The post Are You Doing Enough as a Homeschool Parent? Ask These Questions Instead first appeared on True Aim.

This put a lot of pressure on me to perfect my college resume. I became somewhat of GPA junkie, doing extra credit whether I needed it or not.

There were clubs I joined, paid dues to, and never attended. Why? Not because I had an interest in the activities, but because I was collecting memberships for my college resume. My obsession led to many sick and sleepless nights, but it was all worth it when I got accepted to a “prestigious” university.

(Make sure you check out the giveaway at the bottom of this post!)

Even with a huge scholarship, my college education was going to cost about $30,000 a year. No big deal. I heard somewhere that college graduates earned a million dollars more over their lifetime. That bit of misinformation had me signing for massive loans with the same hesitation I might have signed a check for lunch.

Even with my above-average GPA and SAT scores, I am ashamed to admit that it took me until my junior year to figured out that college wasn’t adding up. I finally saw passed the sales pitches and slogans, and I no longer felt like a smart college kid; I felt like a sucker. So, do you know what I did?

For the first time in my life, I thought for myself. Heading into my senior year of college, I quit.

People thought I was crazy, and to this day, they still ask if I plan to go back and finish. I am not saying that I haven’t been tempted. Many people esteem degrees and degreed people. In our society it is an automatic qualifier, whether it deserves to be or not.

But I just can’t do it, I’m no longer a believer.

That is not to say that no one should go to college. If you plan to work in a profession that requires a degree, then you have no choice. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is, and so you will have to submit to the system.

Still, before any kid throws a small fortune at college here are some things that they should know:

What Kids Should Know About College

1. True Cost

You have probably noticed that college is outrageously expensive, but you may not be aware of the total cost. On the low end, with room and board, you will pay about $10,000 and on the high end, maybe $60,000 a year. So, the cost of a 4-year degree runs $40,000 to $240,000, right?

Actually, it can be a lot more than that, because there are other costs, hidden costs, that most high schoolers don’t consider.

Unless the 18 year-old graduate has a trust fund, he is going to need a loan. On $40,000 at 6% over a term of 10 years, our college student is going to pay an additional $18,237 in interest. So, the apparent cost just went up nearly 50%! On $240,000 at 6% over 10 years, he will pay an additional $109,423 interest! Ouch!

Then there is the unearned-income cost. For instance, if you devote 8 hours a day, between school and homework, to college, that is 8 hours that you could have been working. If you only made $10 an hour, that’s $1600 a month – $19,200 a year. Multiply that by 4 years and that’s another $76,000 of unearned income that your four year degree is costing you.

Some people will protest that kids could go to college and work. That doesn’t change a thing because they could also take the extra time to work two jobs.

Oh wait, there might be more! Most of the high paying jobs that require degrees, require more than just a 4-year degree.

For instance, if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, you are going to need to budget for an additional 3 to 4 years. And the bad news is that graduate degrees always cost more money than undergraduate degrees. So again, factor the cost of room and board, the interest on the loans, and the unearned income.

You start adding it all up, and even if you do make that promised million dollars more, you might need it just to break even!

2. Financial Aid:

Financial aid is rarely that at all. It should called financial enslavement, because that is usually what it is. But if you are going to go to college, you need to know the difference between college grants, college loans, and college scholarships.

A grant will cost you nothing – not now anyway. However, before you get all excited about free college money, understand that there is no such thing as “free money.” The federal government collects money from taxpayers and grants it to you, no strings attached right? Wrong.

Once you graduate and have your degree, you will be a taxpayer, forced to fund other students college grant money. And unlike your student loans, you will be on the hook paying for other students’ college grant money for the rest of your working life!

A college loan is not free money either, it is debt that will be paid with interest.

You are selling banks a substantial stake in your future earnings.

And college loans are the worst, and most dangerous loans because there are no qualifications. When you apply for a home loan, the banks look at your debt to income ratio to determine the loan amount. But most college students have no income, and there is no guarantee that they will have the income to cover the loan after they graduate.

Filing for bankruptcy isn’t likely to help you, as students loans are nearly impossible to discharge. Thanks to the low quality of our schools, most high school students don’t know any of this. That’s why banks love to loan to college students, who will sign their life away without any comprehension.

Scholarships are probably kids’ best option. Still don’t get overly excited. If a school offers you a scholarship, they are simply selling you their services at a discounted price. You are still on the hook for the remaining balance. And you aren’t likely to get a full ride scholarship without strings attached.

Say you earn a full ride scholarship to play football. You haven’t won the lottery! The college is simply paying you in educational vouchers, while they reap real monetary benefits. For most college athletes, their sport is a fulltime job.

Between practice, games, travel, meetings, conferences, and workouts, most spend at least 40 hours a week working for the college. Yet, that college rakes in all the sponsorships, advertising, licensing deals, and ticket money.

Subtract the tuition our full-riders save from they money they could earn working a minimum wage job, and most would come out ahead working the minimum wage job!

3. Education or Degree:

Colleges still maintain a monopoly in degrees and certifications, but they are no longer the sole educators. We live in the information age. I swear, anything college can teach you, Youtube can teach you better!

So, unless your chosen profession requires a degree, educate yourself and keep the change! You want to study art? – then take your tuition money and build yourself an art studio. You want to study business? – then take your tuition and use it as startup money. You want to study history? – then take your tuition and travel the ancient world!

Take your tuition money and get an education, not a degree!

4. A Million Dollars More:

Okay, but in the end isn’t it all worth it? I mean, don’t college students earn a million dollars more over their lifetime?

The answer is no.

This rhetoric is closer to a bold-faced lie, than it is to the truth. It is a lie that could only be bought by an uneducated, schooled population, one that is accustomed to swallowing and regurgitating any line thrown their way.

Homeschooling Teens Giveaway!

Homeschooling your teen is an incredible journey—full of discovery, growth, and the beautiful freedom to learn alongside your child in ways that truly matter.

We want to celebrate YOU and bless your homeschool journey!

I’ve teamed up with an amazing group of bloggers to bring you the Homeschooling Teens Giveaway—one winner will receive a $125 gift card to the store of their choice! Use it for curriculum, resources, or whatever will encourage you most. 

I know there are quite a few entries, but each blogger has generously contributed to make this giveaway possible. And remember, the more entries you complete, the better your chances of winning.

Click to continue reading Things Kids NEED to Know About College…

The post 7 Things Every Teen NEEDS to Know About College (giveaway) first appeared on True Aim.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please read my full disclosure.

19 Exciting Gifts for Active Kids

Gifts for Active Preschool Kids

Ring Toss Game

The Ring Toss Game is fun for the entire family. After all if your kids are anything like mine, they adore throwing things. So instead of dealing with paper planes flying across the house, set up this ring toss game in the yard.

Encourage the kids to toss rings, calculate points, and have a great time outside. These make perfect gifts for active kids!

Trampoline

Encourage your kids to jump with this 3 ft Trampoline designed for 3-6 year olds. Just set it up in the house and let your bouncing babies to jump to their heart’s content. No more babies bouncing on the sofa, jumping off the ottoman, or leaping across chairs.

They’ll now have a fun, safe, and sane way to jump on the trampoline for hours.

Standing Easel

This Standing Easel is great fun for preschoolers and elementary kids. Clip paper onto the easel for painting. Pull out the chalk and draw silly pictures on the chalkboard. Hand your kids dry erase markers to draw on the dry-erase board.

Your active kids will enjoy doing artwork when they’re standing at an easel.

River Stones

Have your children ever tossed pillows on the floor in a desperate attempt to keep out of the lava? Mine certainly have! These river stones make the perfect gift for kids trapped indoors. Kids can pretend to cross lava, dance across rocks over a river, or create an obstacle course in the house.

Save your pilllows and gift your children with these river stones. Everyone will enjoy hours of fun.

Super Sand Digger

Do you have a child fascinated with construction? I do! My sons have spent hours digging in the sandbox pretending they were construction workers digging a ditch.

This super sand digger makes pretending even more real when the kids actually dig like they’re using heavy equipment to dig a foundation for a skyscraper or pretend they’re Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel.

Hopper Ball Bouncing Toy

Did you ever play with one of bouncing ball toys for kids from 3-6 when you were small? I don’t know about you but I spent hours of fun bouncing around on these balls. They’re perfect for cold winter days when the weather keeps you indoors. They are relatively inexpensive so can get multiple gifts for active kids in your life.

Instead of having kids bouncing around underfoot, let them bounce around the house on the Bouncing Ball!

Tootle Turtle Target Game

If you have a child who loves to throw, let them throw self-stick beanbags at this cheerful turtle target. Hold competitions to see who can score the highest number. Encourage your kids to count by throwing at specific digits.

The Tootle Turtle Target game is wonderful for active kids and teaching math at the same time!

Pogo Jumper

Give your children the gift of a pogo jumper this year. The Foam Pogo Jumper is a fun jumping toy for kids of all ages. Since it holds up to 250 lbs, you can even give it a whirl.

Learn to balance while you jump with the Pogo Jumper for a fun exercise which your kids will love.

Active Gifts for Elementary Kids

Rocket Balloon Set

If your kids love watching regular balloons shoot around the room, they’ll love Rocket Balloons! Pump up these reusable balloons up to 40 inches in length. Then let them go and watch them fly. These are an exciting outdoor toy!

This package of 85 balloons and pump makes an awesome gift for kids 8 and up.

Twister

Have you ever played Twister? It’s an old classic game that’s perfect for active kids. If you haven’t played it yet, you’re missing an exciting game that tests your flexibility. One child spins to find out which hand or foot goes on which color. The players’ challenge is to remain upright while moving their appendages from one color to the next. The last person stand wins!

My kids adore pulling out Twister and playing a round on a rainy afternoon.

Dodge Ball Tag

My boys love playing dodge ball every chance they get. Here’s a fun gift which allows them to play dodge ball with sticky balls! Each player wears an air mesh vest and carries 3 soft and safe balls. The goal is to stick your balls to your opponent’s vest!

Dodge Ball Tag is a great gift for encouraging kids to get off the walls and heading outside to run.

Walkie Talkies

Did you ever run around the neighborhood with your friends playing spy? Walkie Talkies are the toy to have. You can chat with your friends, keep in touch with parents, and have a great time playing around the neighborhood.

A Walkie Talkie set is a classic fun toy to give to active kids.

Marble Run

Have you ever played Marble Run? The goal is to build an elaborate creation of tubes and ramps. Once it’s built, drop the marbles, and watch them roll.

It’s a game that affords hours of fun play as the kids set up the runs and watch the marbles go! Marble run is recommended for children ages 4 and up.

Construction Fort

Instead of having your active kids pulling out every blanket, book, and pillow in the house to build forts, give them a Construction Fort. The kids build an interlocking frame on which to throw the canvas.They can create a castle, tunnel, tent, or fort. This is a fun gift for historical reenactment as well.

Aimed at 5 and up, this gift will give your children hours of fun as they create and play in custom designed forts.

Dueling Stomp Rockets

Stomp rockets are simple rockets which fly from air pressure. The dueling stomp rocket allows kids to challenge each other. Who can send rockets soaring higher in the air?

This is a great gift for siblings, no bickering over who gets to stomp first!

Active Gifts for Older Kids

Croquet

My parents had a croquet set. It’s a fun game where you attempt to knock the balls between the hoops in the correct order. The first person to hit the stake at the end of the course wins the game.

This is the perfect game for lively children as well as adults. Everyone in the family, especially those over 6, will enjoy playing croquet in the backyard.

Stilts

Stilts are awesome for active kids. They develop balance and coordination while your kids are having fun seeing the world from a higher height.

Give your kids a set of stilts to walk around on this year.

Frisbee Disc

Frisbees are a wonderful gift to give to active kids of all ages. Kids can play catch with the Frisbee. As your kids age and become more skilled there are all sorts of Frisbee games they can play such as Frisbee tag or Frisbee bowling.

Give your kids a Frisbee Disc to throw around with your friends!

Laser Tag

Laser tag is a fun game for older kids to play at the park. There’s no need to worry about Nerf darts hitting an innocent spectator. Everything is done with lasers.

Your kids will love playing laser tag with their friends.

With these amazing gifts for active kids, your kids will have hours and hours of exciting play throughout the year.

What is your favorite gift for active kids?

Christmas Blessings Giveaway!

Let us help you check things off your Christmas list for FREE! I’ve partnered with a wonderful group of bloggers to bring you the Christmas Blessings Giveaway. We know the holiday season can be full of both joy and stress, and our hope is to ease that burden just a bit for a few families. Enter to win 4 $250 gift cards!

To enter, simply use the entry form below. We know it’s a long one, but each blogger personally contributed to make this giveaway happen, and your support means so much. Plus, the more entries you complete, the better your chances of winning one of the $250 prizes!

Wishing you a season full of peace, joy, and blessings!

Giveaway ends November 28th at 11:59pm ET.  Winners will be drawn and emailed the following day. The winners will have 48 hours to respond to email to claim the prize.  By entering this giveaway you will be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers. You must live in the United States or Canada to be eligible to win. 

For more Gift Ideas for Kids, Check out these Gift Guides!

Gifts for Art Lovers

Gifts for Young Sewers!

The post 19 Exciting Gifts for Active Kids and A Giveaway! first appeared on True Aim.

He quickly folded his hands, placed them in his lap, and looked very remorseful, but only for a moment. As soon as I looked back to the preacher, Jonathan rolled out of his seat and began crawling under the pews. That was the last straw. I chased him down, and we left church early.

This was not the first time I left a sermon early because my little Jonathan refused to control himself. But it was the first time that I wondered, if it was beyond the realm of possibility for a three-year-old to sit still and focus for a 45-minute service that was entirely beyond his understanding.

Maybe he was just too young, the service too long, and too boring. And then it occurred to me, maybe he just lacked training?

I lacked self-control until my sophomore year in high school. Then, I was sent to a boarding school in Virginia; a place called Fork Union Military Academy.

There, I, and many other boys just like me, learned self-control in just a few weeks. This amazed our parents, who had been working for years with teachers, principals, councilors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and sometimes even law enforcement; all which had failed to reform us. So, parents thought that our boarding school was working miracles; but we knew the school’s secret was no miracle.

Fork Union Military Academy simply put us all through self-control training.

How Do You Teach Kids Self Control

In the past, our parents and schools always told us to behave, but this was the first time we had been trained to behave. Our school used the same method that militaries have used for hundreds of years, to give soldiers discipline and self-control: the practice of coming to and maintaining attention.

To stand at attention, you must stand up straight, roll your shoulders back, head up, and chin slightly tucked. Put your heels together with toes spaced 45 degrees and clasp your hands at the seams of your pants. You look straight forward, and not just with your head, but also with your eyes. Your face must be void of all expression. You can’t move at all, not even to scratch. And you can’t talk.

You have probably seen soldiers standing at attention during formations or parades. It is not just some traditional display or ceremonial performance.

Fort Union Military Parade

The practice of maintaining attention was developed to take undisciplined, civil men and turn them into disciplined soldiers, with the self-control to tune out all the distractions and temptations of the world, in order to focus on the mission at hand.

In the military, self-control is a matter of life and death. Because war involves the ultimate terrors, pains, sorrow, and chaos, soldiers require the highest levels of self-control.

However, self-control is not only beneficial for soldiers in war. Children need it to learn how to read and write, clean their rooms, and sit through a boring church service.

And so, whenever any parent comes to me seeking advice for anything from teaching kids math or problems with picky-eaters, I always recommend that they start with self-control training, because once children have the ability to control themselves, the learning flows naturally.

A child who can sit still and focus when he is not being entertained, can learn anything he sets his mind to.

Master the art of training character!
Order the guide!

Self Control Game for Kids

That is how I helped my little Jonathan sit through church service. Instead of scolding him time and time again, I had him sit at our dining table for a simple game of attention.

At first, we set a timer for just one minute. We had Jonathan sit up straight, with his eyes forward and his hands at his side, without talking or fidgeting. He failed the first few times, but soon maintaining focus for a minute was too easy.

We made it fun by having his siblings make funny faces or loud noises to try and distract him. We bumped the time to two minutes, and so on, until little Jonathan could control himself as long as he needed.

Try It For A Child With Learning Issues

Many people think self-control is inherent, or tied to a child’s personality or maturity. So, when little children can’t focus on their school work, parents look for external solutions, like ways to make learning more fun, or they hirer special tutors, or even resort to medication, to help their kids focus.

But, self-control is largely a matter of training. The first time you go for a long run, you might get sick, and start cramping, and your muscles may feel like Jello, but there is nothing wrong with you. You don’t need a special coach or medicine, you just need to run more, to increase your body’s strength and endurance.

In the same way, children who can’t control themselves, often need more self-control training. How do you encourage self control in your children?

Check out more Character Development tips!

Get more tips on Parenting and Homeschooling

The post Increase Self Control in Your Kids with One Simple Game! first appeared on True Aim.

Now I know why the resurrection story is essential to the Christian faith.  Without it, our faith is false.  That’s why it is so important to me to teach my children all about the Easter story.  I’ve made some simple cards that I use to teach young children about the resurrection story.  These cards break the story up into six small parts that make it easy to remember.

Don’t miss the giveaway at the bottom of this post!

Games to Play with Resurrection Story Cards

These games are so simple, but young children thrive on simplicity.  Add a few Easter treats or other rewards and they’ll be begging to play over and over.  

You could play these games in lieu of an Easter Egg hunt.  Before playing, make sure you read the resurrection story from a Bible and tell the children to listen carefully so they can play a game afterward.  

I shared this free printable with my subscribers before this post, so make sure you’re on our mailing list to get updated on all our freebies! Sign up below to download the cards for free!

All Mixed Up

If you want to play this game with lots of children, print off a set of cards for each or enough for pairs.  To play, simply mix all the cards up and have the children put the story in order from left to right.  If you’re playing with a big group, whoever can sort them first, wins!  

You could mix this game up by blindfolding one child or yourself!  You would mix the cards up and put them in front of the blindfolded person.  The person with the blindfold is the only one who can touch the cards.  Their partner would tell them what is on the card and help them put the cards in order by giving them verbal directions.

Hide and Seek

Another easy one; just hid the cards and have the children find them and put them in order.  If you are playing in a big group, simply print the cards off on different colored paper.  Give each child or team a color to find.  First team to put their cards in order, wins!

Can You Read My Mind?

Go over each of the cards with the children and talk about each event.  Then write down in a secret place which card you are thinking about.  The children have to read your mind by asking yes or no questions about which resurrection card they think you wrote down.

Whatever activity you play with them, may the hope of Risen Lord be with you!

Happy Easter!

Praying hands clip art from http://www.clipartbest.com/clipart-nTEnp5zTA

The post Free Easter Resurrection Story Cards! first appeared on True Aim.

Make sure you check out the full review and enter to win an mBot2 at the bottom of the post!

Why Buy a Coding Robot for Kids?

I did the ultimate test to make sure this was the best for my child! I gave it to my website developer, my 12-year-old son! He is a coding wizard, and I knew if he enjoyed it, it would be a hit for all my boys!

Coding is a subject children should be learning because it is becoming a big part of our everyday lives. It is just like a language; if they start at a young age, it will be easier to learn more advanced coding concepts when they are older. The robot brings coding to life and makes it more accessible and motivating to learn.

I set my son up with the more advanced Makeblock mBot2 Rover Robotics Kit. He built the original mBot2 in about 30 minutes, and then the add-ons took him a few hours. To program this coding robot for kids, it uses a program similar to Scratch, a free coding program from MIT.

It uses blocks to stack pieces of code to program the robot. You can then look underneath the coding blocks to see the corresponding Python code and start learning Python, the most common coding language. 

Best Coding Robot for Kids

My son loved how easy it was to code the robot and was able to program it to move right away. It’s always great when your kids can figure something out quickly and immediately get a result from their work. We’ve only used it for a few days, but he has programmed the arms to move, made sounds and expressions, and programmed it to move back and forth. I know he’ll be using it all the time with over 22 learning cases, 4 complete projects, 8 courses he can try, and endless ways to customize the robot.

It’s also durable, with solid metal parts and heavy-duty wheels. It can even go outside and works over rocks and grass. My son has many rough-and-tumble little brothers, so this coding robot for kids must be built to last. 

I can’t wait to see all my son can do with his robot as he learns how to program and control it! Maybe he can make it help with his chores! LOL

More Makeblock mBot2 Features

Some more fun features the Makeblock mBot2 has that we haven’t had time to explore is the remote control, Lego compatibility, speech recognition and programmable sensors! 

The Bluetooth remote control will be great for hand-eye coordination and developing programs for item recovery or dueling. The programmable sensors can pick up on color, movement, expressions, and more! I’m really intrigued by the obstacle avoidance function because it is exactly what a lot of cars are using right now.

The mBot2 can also be customized with Legos and with the different components that are included in the add on Rover Kit. You can create anything you put your mind to with this coding robot for kids! “Robot, pick up my room!” Now wouldn’t that be fun!?

Coding Robot for Future Education

There’s a reason so many homeschoolers are adding this kind of robot into their curriculum. They know that coding and robotics is the future of work and innovation. More and more jobs require the understanding of basic coding principals. Proficiency in these areas will provide our children with a huge advantage in careers and in business. 

Not only that, Coding robots for kids help them troubleshoot and think critically. When a program doesn’t work as expected, they’ll learn to debug it, test, and try again—valuable skills for any area of work.

I really think including a coding robot in your homeschool curriculum will give them vital skills in the fast changing technological world.

Best Coding Robot for Kids Giveaway

Enter to win a Makeblock mBot2 coding robot kit worth $150! Simply fill out the rafflecopter below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you Makeblock for providing this giveaway and robot for review.

Giveaway void where prohibited. Must be 18yrs. US Mailing addresses only. Ends 12/24/24.

The post Best Coding Robot for Kids? Makeblock mBot2 Hands-On Review and Giveaway! first appeared on True Aim.

* = Affiliate Link: This does not affect the price of any item listed, it just means I will receive a percentage if you choose to purchase.

Don’t miss the giveaway below so you can purchase some of these amazing gifts for your kids!

Holiday Gift Guide for Kids

Gift giving to kids is all about balance, a gift must be fun but also add value to their life. Right now, I am going to share with you 5 holiday gift ideas that wont leave your wallet empty & will leave the child happy as can be.  

GIFT ONE: For the builder (*Amazon)

cossy Kids Magnet Toys Magnet Building Tiles, 120 Pcs 3D Magnetic Building Blocks Set, Educational Toys for Kids Children

With endless build opportunities, these magnet building tiles will make any master builders dream come true! (My son spends endless hours creating all different types of structures for his dinosaurs to roam in & destroy!)

GIFT TWO: For the sculptor (*Amazon)

Sago Brothers Modeling Clay Air Dry Ultra Light Molding Magic Clay 24 Colors, Best Kids Gifts Ever

So many kids love to create, smash, & create again. Modeling clay is the best way for a creative mind to flow; but the best part is once they feel their creation is just right, they can have it air dry and show it to the world. 

GIFT THREE: For the energetic (*Amazon)

Champion Sports Standard Scooter Board with Handles

The best gift you can give an energetic child, and their parents, is something they can use with siblings and friends. I remember LOVING these as a kid, didn’t you? This is a gift you know will not be a was of money on your end nor a bore on theirs! 

GIFT FIVE: For the scientist (*Kiwi Co)

KiwiCo

30% off with code Share30

The Innovation Factory.

KiwiCo is monthly hands-on science, art, & technology projects that inspire kids to learn and explore. Gift this monthly STEM box for your friends child, do one month or multiple, they will love the ability to try something new and see if their child truly loves it and would want to keep getting it. 

GIFT SIX: For the Techie (*Amazon)

Which ever you choose the kids will be over the moon & the parents ecstatic about it growing their child’s mind.  Purchased any of these gifts for your kids before? Share your experience with our holiday gift guide for kids in the comments below! 

Christmas Blessings Giveaway!

I’m teaming up with an amazing group of bloggers to bless several families this year!! With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we know a little extra something can go a long way.That’s why we’re giving away FOUR $200 gift cards to four winners—and you get to choose where you’d like to spend it.Whether you’re dreaming of a shopping spree, treating yourself to a fancy meal, or checking off your gift list, this is your chance to make it happen. 

Each winner will get a $200 gift card to wherever they choose – a restaurant, clothing store, grocery store, online retailer – any place that offers gift cards!

There are lots of entry options in the Rafflecopter form below – the more you enter, the better your chance of winning!  I know it can seem tedious and time consuming to go through all the entries, but isn’t a chance at $200 worth it? I think it is!  Plus, all of these amazing bloggers donated their own money towards the prizes, so this giveaway wouldn’t be possible without them.  I hope you’ll take the time to check out each one. Who knows, maybe you will find some new blogs to follow.

The giveaway will run from Monday, November 18th through Wednesday, November 27th (ends at 11:59pm EST). Winner will be notified by email shortly after the giveaway ends and will have 48 hours to respond to claim the prize or another winner will be drawn. By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers.  Please be sure to read the Rafflecopter terms and conditions upon entering.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Holiday Gift Guide For Kids first appeared on True Aim.

Make sure you check out the giveaway at the end of this post!

Start your school bedtime routine early.

To get back into the swing of things – going to bed earlier and waking up earlier – we start getting into the hang of our school bedtime routine about two weeks before school. This slowly helps our bodies readjust.

Get back into the habit of eating breakfast every morning.

In the summer, we very rarely eat breakfast. Throughout the school year, we try to eat breakfast every morning. This prevents snacking during school time. You can also make a quick smoothie to drink during school.

Go back to school shopping.

Going back to school shopping for new colorful pencils, notebooks, and glue is always a fun way to get in the back to school spirit.

Create a daily schedule for each child.

I have began creating a daily checklist for myself. If it’s not on the checklist, it’s most likely forgot about. Creating a basic family spreadsheet with chores, daily subjects, and outside-of-the-house classes makes a back-to-homeschool routine less stressful. Will you all do Bible as a family, and then math individually? Do you know one student who might finish a subject faster than another? What subjects will you do everyday, and which ones only on certain days? Sort out your thoughts, and then make a final “master” spreadsheet to hang on the fridge for the first few weeks.

Our schedule basically went like this:

Monday – Math, English, Spelling, Science

Tuesday – Math, English, History

Wednesday – Math, English, Science

Thursday – Math, English, Piano lessons, catch up History/Science

Friday – Math, English, and any catching up or tests

Order curriculum.

Figure out what curriculum you need for which child. Making a spreadsheet, on Microsoft Excel or on paper, always helps me. Mark your children’s names across the top. Down below, write what subjects you are covering. And in the boxes, list each curriculum, if you need to buy/rent textbooks, if you already have them, or if you’re totally creating your own curriculum.

Here is a sample.

Homeschool Classifieds, Slugbooks, Amazon, eBay, and Facebook groups are great ways to find homeschool curriculum for cheap.

Start reviewing last year’s material.

Although we keep the traditional August-June school schedule, we do learn year round. (I’m addicted to history.) To get back into the school mentality, we recap the past year’s studies. There are so many fun, textbook-free ways to learn and memorize. Instead of hitting the books hard the first day, slowly begin reviewing last year’s material, briefing over old curriculum, and specifically your weak points.

Get organized.

Getting organized always puts me in a more productive mood.

1. Sell or give away old textbooks. (Facebook, Amazon, eBay, etc.)
2. Go through school papers, and purge the unnecessary.
3. Throw away unusable school supplies, and figure out what you need to start the new school year.
4. Sort through books, and get rid of what you don’t need.
5. Invest in a bookshelf or bins, and sort curriculum, supplies, and crafts.
6. Make a list of all the curriculum and supplies you need to buy.
7. If you’re creating your own history/science curriculum, buy a year-at-a-glance calendar, and loosely sort out your Pinterest and blog findings.

Buy a planner

Buying a planner (and using it until it falls apart) can easily organize day-to-day plans. Or get a FREE online one!

What are some of your favorite ways to plan for the new school year?

Back to homeschool giveaway!

Another homeschool year is right around the corner! Many homeschool moms are busy preparing, planning, and finalizing curriculum choices for the upcoming school year. And many are trying to squeeze every last penny out of their homeschool budget, hoping to afford all the books and resources they will need.

Whether you’re living on one income or are buying curriculum for multiple kids, homeschooling can put financial strain and stress on a family. So I’ve gotten together with a great group of homeschool bloggers to give you a chance to win a gift card to a major online homeschool retailer. Our hope is that we can bless a few homeschool families (although we wish we could bless many more) so they can decrease that burden and buy the curriculum and supplies they need.

Three people will win a $250 gift card to either Rainbow Resource Center or Christianbook.com – two great places to shop for homeschool curriculum and resources, with the best prices around!!

To enter for your chance to win, simply use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Now I know this is quite a few entries, but each of these bloggers has generously chipped in their own money to make this giveaway possible, so I hope you will take the time to do all of the entries. And hey, the more entries you do, the better your odds are of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends July 19, 2024 at 11:59pm. Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a resident of the U.S. or Canada to enter. Selected winners will have 48 hours to respond to email notification to claim their prizes or another winner will be drawn. By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers (see the Terms & Conditions on the Rafflecopter form).

The post Planning a Back to Homeschool Routine – Giveaway! first appeared on True Aim.

Make sure you check out the giveaway at the bottom of this page!

Create a Catered Education

One benefit of homeschooling is the ability to create a catered education for our children. Parents of traditionally schooled kids can do the same! Many public and private schools have upped the ability for students as young as middle school to participate in classes and workshops catered to a specific trade.

Majority of colleges today offer dual programs for students to enroll in college courses to get a head start on their higher education journey. These programs are great ways for children to get their feet wet in the field of their choice, with ample time to make any necessary changes.

There are also opportunities within communities offered by small (and large) businesses for students to do things like volunteer or complete an internship. Most homeschooling families are already aware of these opportunities, but this is something parents who don’t can learn from homeschoolers because it is available to all children.

Creative Ways to Learn

If there’s one thing most homeschooling families can do, it’s find creative ways to learn. I commend traditional school teachers who try to take learning outside the box, but the learning doesn’t have to stop there. Parents can carry on creative learning at home – especially when it comes to completing homework or important assignments.

Finding creative ways to help children learn will not only take the mundane out of the process, but also allow their creative juices to flow as well. Parents can learn a thing or two about their child’s learning styles when they invite them to brainstorm creative ways to making learning fun outside the traditional school setting.

What Parents Can Learn from Homeschoolers about Socialization!

Yep, that word – socialize. What most people don’t realize is that homeschooled children are just as, if not more, socialized as traditional school children. How can this be? For starters, we have many opportunities for socialization from play/park dates, field trips, CO-OP groups, and more.

Taking socialization beyond the school setting (and even sports) can open a world of possibilities for children. Incorporating weekend field trips and library-in-the-evening days are just a few unique ways to socialize beyond the classroom.

Build a Tight Family Dynamic

With traditionally schooled children spending the majority of their time around everyone but their family’s, it may seem hard to build a tight family dynamic. This is another one of those areas that seem to be a given for homeschooling families, but again – this isn’t always the case.

Some homeschooling families experience a parent being gone majority of the time due to work. Others may encounter issues with single-parenting homes. Regardless, building a tight family dynamic takes work. Being able to spend a lot more time with our children has its rewards, yes. But, we also have to be mindful and conscious in making the most of that time.

What can public school parents learn from homeschoolers? Finding unique ways to spend time together with no distractions is the start of building that strong family dynamic. Having open conversations and times to simply relax are just a few more ways.

Enjoy the Journey

Regardless if you are a homeschooling parent or a parent of children who attend a public/private school… enjoy the journey. Some homeschooling moms would admit that educating their children at home was the last thing they thought about doing.

Some may even admit that they are not particularly happy with homeschooling at the moment. And surely the same things can be said by parents who would love to homeschool their children. In the end, it’s all about enjoying the journey and embracing the process.

I’m not saying that homeschooling moms have it all together. Nor am I saying that there aren’t things to learn from parents with traditionally schooled parents. I just want to raise awareness that we can all learn a thing or two from one another, and that’s worth noting.

CHIME IN: What are some things you’ve learned from a homeschooling mom? Let me know in the comments below!

Back to Homeschool Giveaway!

A new homeschool year will be upon us in no time! Have you started planning and prepping yet? Preparing for a new homeschool year is an exciting time, but it can also create feelings of overwhelm and stress! Many homeschoolers live on one income and have to stick to a strict budget that doesn’t always allow for much wiggle room.

That’s why I’ve teamed up with a group of amazing homeschool bloggers to make getting ready for your new school year just a little bit easier and hopefully a little less stressful for you. Our hope is that we can bless a few homeschool families (although we wish we could bless many more) and ease a little of that financial burden and help you check some extra things off your homeschool wish list this year.

Three people will win a $250 gift card to either Rainbow Resource Center or Christianbook.com – two great places to shop for homeschool curriculum and resources, with the best prices around!!

To enter for your chance to win, simply use the Rafflecopter form below to enter.  Now I know this is quite a few entries, but each of these bloggers has generously chipped in their own money to make this giveaway possible, so I hope you will take the time to do all of the entries.  And hey, the more entries you do, the better your odds are of winning! Giveaway ends July 21, 2023 at 11:59pm ET. 

Must be at least 18 years of age.  Must be a resident of U.S. or Canada to enter.  Selected winners will have 48 hours to respond to email notification to claim their prizes or another winner will be drawn.  By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers (see the Terms & Conditions on the Rafflecopter form). a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post 5 Things Public School Parents Can Learn From Homeschoolers (GIVEAWAY) first appeared on True Aim.