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Hello, today I wanted to share how I am introducing my kids to Business 101.

One of the benefits of homeschooling is that I am able to incorporate real-life experiences into our daily lessons. Recently I joined Avon as an Independent Sales Representative and this has been such a great experience. When you are an Avon Representative you are given the resources and the training you need to build a successful business. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to share this information as well as my personal knowledge of sales, marketing and accounting with my kids. Now I am not trying to direct my children into the field of sales. Instead, I am providing them with information and skills that they can add to their virtual backpacks. Skills that one day may serve to be useful.

So you may be wondering how I am incorporating my business into our homeschool and I will explain. Basically, I am openly sharing and discussing my business with them and getting their help with certain tasks. For instance, when my first order arrived I had the kids locate the invoice and together we checked our order to make sure it was complete and accurate. I then had them help me match the products to the order forms so that we could distribute them to the correct clients. They have also helped me design flyers and brainstorm marketing ideas. It has been a fun experience and while some of their ideas have been a bit wacky (i.e dropping brochures from a helicopter), the fact that they are excited and interested is great. My hope is that they will not only learn a little about business, sales, and marketing but they will also see how hard work can be used to achieve goals.

Avon has been a great vehicle to teach my kids about business but you don’t have to start a business to pass this knowledge onto your kids. Another way to teach Business 101 to your homeschoolers is to have your kids set up a mock business and build a portfolio with a business plan (goals and action plan for business). You could have them create their own business cards, flyers, and products (i.e. lego or clay model, drawing, computerized image). Help them research how to start a business, what it takes to make a business profitable and what regulations would affect their business. Depending on your child’s age you could customize this to suit their unique skill set and learning style.

The most important thing to remember is to make the process fun because learning should be fun!

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I recently had a young woman in her early twenties confess that she didn’t know what time it was because she couldn’t read a “dialogue” clock. At first I was stumped by this statement then I realized that she meant an analog clock. I was honestly a little shocked that someone in their early twenties was still unable to tell time but apparently the school she went to didn’t spend a lot of time on this and most of the clocks she encounters are digital. As a homeschooling mom I was overcome with an intense urge to teach this young woman how to correctly tell time using an analog clock.

Unfortunately, she was not interested; explaining that she had made it this far without any issues and as long as she had her cell phone she could usually keep track of the time. She then tells me that she is too old now to learn new things and it is easier to just accept that there are things that she doesn’t understand. This interaction left me feeling helpless and upset and I tried to explain to her that you are never too old to learn new things. In fact not only are you never to old to learn but every day you should set forth to learn something new.

This encounter has made me wonder how many people graduate from high school missing basic skills that should have been learned during their elementary days. What is most troubling is that many of these individuals are completely capable of learning these skills but limit their own potential due to lack of self esteem. Why is there this idea that once we hit a certain age we are no longer required to learn or that we are unable to learn?

The best gift you can give any child is to teach them how to be life long learners. Teach your children that they are never too old to master new skills and that they are capable of so many things. When it comes to those who have given up on learning perhaps we can inspire them to look at life and learning in a different way. I hope maybe this young woman heard the words I spoke and took them to heart. I hope that one day she realizes that she is a smart and capable individual and that she will never be too old to learn.

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I can’t believe that summer is almost officially over. I am definitely looking forward to cooler weather, fall leaves, and fall fun but I still can’t help but wonder what happened to summer. I feel like the past few months have been so stressful and hectic that I haven’t had any time to truly enjoy the warm sunny weather and now it is almost over.

One of the reasons this past summer has been so crazy is that our youngest son has required a great deal of dental work. Our youngest son may have an autoimmune issue that is affecting the enamel on his teeth. So we still have to figure out what is causing the dental issues but we are now complete with all of the dental work. In order to pay for what insurance wouldn’t cover I had to take on a full time position working as a baker at a local restaurant. I enjoy the work and the challenges it brings but it definitely has added to our hectic eclectic life. I wonder if life will ever slow down enough for us to really feel like we are living in the moment.

My husband and I have been dreaming for the longest time of raw land to establish a small homestead. Someplace where the kids can run, play and explore and we can plant a garden and raise some livestock.I would love to be able to make this dream a reality and finally retire from the workforce and be a stay at home mom. It can be overwhelming attempting to balance work, home, kids, and homeschooling but so far we are making it work. The biggest downside of wearing so many hats is that time really flies and it makes you feel like the world is speeding past you.

This fall I really want to focus on slowing things down a bit so I can enjoy the season. I am already planning my fall bucket list and it is full of fall activities and Halloween fun. This is my favorite time of year and I refuse to let fall pass me by at lighting speed. I may have missed summer but I am ready to ring in the fall so I am going to dig out my favorite sweater, throw a batch of sugar cookies into the oven and grab a pumpkin spice latte.

What is your favorite part of fall?

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I feel like there is a conspiracy preventing me from getting a good nights rest or even a small cat nap. I really doubt I have had more than 10 hours of sleep over the past week and it is beginning to catch up with me. It all started last week when my youngest son Daniel decided to jump from the middle of our stairs to the landing and then fell head first into our coat closet. You would think this little incident would have made him more cautious but no the following day he decided to make a pile of clothes and jump over those and unfortunately collided with the wall.  This final incident led to a rather scary goose egg in the middle of his forehead. I spent the next few nights waking him up every so often to ensure he was okay. Head injuries are so scary and my kids just seem prone to them for some reason. I wish I could wrap them in bubble wrap and strap helmets to their heads. I love that they are adventurous and imaginative but I wish they would realize that they are not indestructible. Once I was sure he was okay and no symptoms of concussion had developed I was hopeful for a night of rest but one thing after another led to disturbed sleep or not enough time for a good rest. Even this afternoon I had the kids set up with an activity and I was ready for a small cat nap and just as I began to drift off a neighbor kid knocked on my door to see if I wanted my lawn mowed.

You don’t realize how important something simple like sleep is until you have gone so long without it. I am determined that tonight is the night, I am putting everything aside and focusing on nothing but a good nights rest. Dishes can wait till morning, the unswept floor will still be waiting for me in the morning and the vacuum cleaner won’t care if it spends a few more hours tucked away in the closet. Tonight this mama is getting sleep!

The work of a parent is never done and you are on call 24/7 which can be hard in the best of circumstances but when you stop taking care of yourself it is nearly impossible. Sometimes we Mama’s (and Papa’s) have to take a break and recharge our batteries so we can be the best for our families. If that means dinner is delivered to the doorstep, housework is put off to the next day and the kids are snuggled down early for bed with a movie so you can sleep then so be it. The next day when you are well rested and recharged you will have the energy to attack the housework and all the other responsibilities that come with the day.

With that being said I am off to bed. I have bribed my children with popsicles and they have assured me that tonight there will be no daredevil stunts. Goodnight to all of the wonderful mama’s may you have a peaceful and restful night!

I can’t believe that it’s been almost a year since I have had an opportunity to sit down and share my thoughts. It is so easy to get caught up in life and lose track of the very things that bring us joy and happiness. Last year I was hired by a company to be a virtual customer service agent. This has helped our family financially which has been great but it has also created a number of challenges for our family. The biggest challenge is that while I do get to work from home; 30 hours a week are devoted to my employer and my work responsibilities. This means that I have less time to spend with my family, less time to homeschool and less time to pursue the hobbies that help me maintain peace in my “Hectic Eclectic” world.

The decision to take on a part-time job was a difficult one because I truly enjoy being a stay at home mom. I realized though that if my husband and I were to realize our goal of home ownership we needed additional income. For the past 10 months, I have learned how to balance work, homeschool and my other responsibilities in our home and it has been a difficult journey. I realized a few weeks ago that I was so overworked that I was not enjoying life anymore and that is never a good situation to be in so I decided to take a step back. Luckily my job is very flexible and it wasn’t an issue for me to drop the number of hours I work weekly. It might take us a little longer to carry out our goals but it was the best decision I could make for myself and my family. 

Finding balance in life is very important and if you are feeling stressed, fatigued and/or depressed these are symptoms of a life lacking balance. Take a moment to yourself to sit down and think about where your life is going. Many times the key to balance is simply readjusting your goals. While it is important to have goals in life it is equally important to check in every once in a while to make sure you are on the right path. If you burn out halfway towards your goals chances are you will never make it so make sure you check in with yourself and readjust as needed. 

Making simple changes has helped me find the balance I need to be the best I can be as a wife, mother, and teacher. Life is still chaotic but I finally feel like I have the balance I need in this hectic eclectic life of mine.