Gearing Up for the Holidays

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

gearing up for the holidays If you are like me, you are freaking out a little that Thanksgiving is in two weeks. Yep, two weeks until the Turkey, Dressing, and Pumpkin Pie. I decided to chat about the rapidly approaching holidays and some of the pitfalls that moms face this time of year.

Ashley Pomerory (formerly known as Ashley Smoot), my buddy from Nashville joined me today and asked some thought-provoking questions about Thanksgiving and Christmas. First, Ashley wanted to know my thoughts on slowing down the Christmas Rush. Both of us have witnessed neighbors and friends skipping over Thanksgiving in order to get a jump on the Christmas decorations. I really want to encourage parents to slow it down when it comes to Christmas. Please take the time to be thankful to your family. Make a thankful jar, a thankful tree, or simply share why you are thankful over the holiday meal. Teaching children to be thankful is a tough task and this is a great time of year to put some family focus on this important lesson.

If you are not careful, Christmas can be like a massive hurricane wrecking your life. You can overbook and under the plan, which will leave you completely exhausted come January 1st. I suggest making a list of priorities and traditions that are important to you during the holiday season. Don’t overcommit, and definitely learn to say NO. Practice it now, N…. O…. NO! You can do it. It is a powerful word to use if you want to maintain your sanity this Christmas.

Have a great week!

Thanks for listening. If you have topics, you would like for me to discuss or people you would like to hear from, let me know. Just email me at kathy@thehomegrownpreschooler.com or shoot me a message on social media.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my podcast and leave a review on iTunes!!! Also, to thank you for listening, you can receive a 10% discount on any purchase at The Homegrown Preschooler by using the code, THEREALKATHYLEE.

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Planning the holidays with tech

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Planning the holidays with tech

63: Planning the Holidays with Tech

 

Here are some ideas for planning the holidays with tech

Gifts

 
I covered the topic in detail in Episode 10: Christmas Shopping the Techie Way
You might also find this blog post about using Trello for gift shopping helpful.

Google Calendar

 
Use Google Calendar to keep track of who needs to be where, who will be in for meals, who needs the car etc.

Doodle

Trying to work out the best day to hold a holiday party, get together with friends, plan an outing with others? Doodle is a great tool to do that easily.

Trello or Google Sheets

 
I like using Google Sheets to plan meals and who will help prepare and clean up. You could also use Trello for this.
And I like using Trello to create my weekly and daily ‘to-do lists’. You could use it to assign chores to your children. Listen to the episode as I give some suggestions on how to do this.

Anylist

 
I have been using Anylist for years and it makes grocery shopping so much easier. Once you have your menus set, add everything to the app and it sorts it into “sections” to make it easier to find items in the store. You can add all your family members to the app so that they can easily add items they need too.

Google Maps or Waze

 
Before you leave home to run errands, visit friends etc, check with your favorite GPS app to make sure that the route you usually take is the quickest during the holiday period.

Show sponsor, FundaFunda Academy has some fun resources for families today on cold winter days. Play in teams and see who can solve Mystery of the Amber Room or Mosby’s Treasure first.

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Planning the Holidays with Tech #technologypodcast #homeschoolpodcast #christmasplanning

VHM – Holiday Planning: Homeschooling

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Let’s Talk About Holiday Planning: Home schooling

Holiday Planning Home Schooling | Best Ideas for the Holiday #podcast #homeschoolpodcast #homeschoolHoliday Planning and Home Schooling! Once the calendar turns to November and you see houses with Christmas lights and stores with decorations as well it is hard to focus on the task at hand – namely school. And never mind the schedule – it is the shopping, baking and party planning that sometimes derails even the most staunch among us! Never fear, Felice shares tried and true techniques to enjoy the season without sacrificing the grades.

Show Notes:
Felice discussed some of these things on her podcast including:

How to Construct a Turkey Hand Wreath 

Listen to this podcast with the FLY Lady on home organization.

Holiday Planning: Fun Holiday Ideas

Printable – Thankful Thanksgiving Chain Craft for the kids ThankfulNess-Chain

Blog Post on Thankfulness Chain

 

 

Graphics: @2014 Deposit Photo