Hide The Chocolate Top 10 Reader Favorites from 2016

This year has been a whirlwind. In February I started my journey to write a blog and share my experiences as a homeschooling mom of 3. Along the way, I got to become friends with you. We laughed, we commiserated and we learned new places to hide the chocolate from our kids. As we begin the new year, here’s a recap of the top 10 reader favorites from 2016.

The Top 10 Reader Favorites. Drumroll…

Our Charlotte Mason Tidal School

In July, I was privileged to attend the Brave Writer Retreat. Julie Bogart’s Periscopes turned our homeschool around the previous year and I was excited to not only meet her but so many friends I had made through the Brave Writer Facebook Group. After attending the retreat, I began to process my thoughts. This post is a bit of what I learned and what I discovered about myself.

Awesome Adulting

Awesome Adulting is the idea that we, as parents, should be the inspiration we want for our children.

Adults, kids, all of us need to have a creative outlet–even if we’re not good at it in the world’s eyes. We need to feel creative like we are bringing something beautiful or enchanting into the world and kids need to see parents live out their dreams, even if they aren’t world-altering dreams. They need to see their parents happy and fulfilled.

Math: A Four Letter Word

Math was an area of great frustration in our homeschool. Letting go of the traditional mindset of teaching math helped me and the kids begin to enjoy homeschool again.

$Math: A Four Letter Word$

The biggest mistake I made when we started homeschooling, was to try to do school at home.

Early American History Curriculum – Over 20 Free Resources & Printables

The number one reason I homeschool is to enrich my children’s education. Mostly, this is accomplished through “fieldschooling” or taking lots of field trips. I wanted the kids to visit some historical places like Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. So, I created an American History curriculum around our trip. There are a ton of resources listed and several are free.

Adulting: It’s Hard

One of my early posts was about Power Differentials and dealing with anger. This post came from the heart as I talked about how I felt like a failure as a mom. Those days are hard.

I live in a house with three kids, three dogs, and a cat. There is always an argument to referee, or some destruction to fix, or a large mess to clean, or a person who is hungry, or someone who can’t find [fill in the blank], or a bad attitude to adjust in this house. It. Does. Not. End.

The Secret Garden Book Club

This was my very first post. The Secret Garden Book Club was also our very first book club. This one day created a “party school” atmosphere in our homeschool that has continued on throughout many more book club meetings. The kids have become best friends and we have come to anticipate every book club with excitement.

How I Organize Our Books Using Homeschool Tracker

Ana Willis at They Call Me Blessed has perfected the Blog Party. This post came out of the third blog party I worked on with her in the 10 Days of Homeschool Organization party.

Using Homeschool Tracker for the last two years has helped keep us organized and made my life more efficient. And, really, what Homeschooling Mama doesn’t want to be more organized and efficient? Gives us more time to Hide The Chocolate.

6 Reasons Why Kids Should Learn to Do Their Own Laundry

In September I was asked to join an amazing group of bloggers at iHomeschool Network. I am thrilled to be in the company of so many fantastic homeschool mommas. This was the first post I linked up with them.

Several years ago, I taught the oldest to become a functioning, responsible member of society; to be a fabulous future husband and an exceptional roommate until that time. Would you like to know how you, too, can teach your son to become a beacon of citizenry? It’s simple. I taught him to do his own laundry. Here are six reasons why kids should learn to do their own laundry.

Nature Study Backpacks

Last August the family hopped in the car and drove to the gorgeous beaches of North Carolina to join Hip Homeschool Moms on their first field trip. This trip was unbelievable! We had so much fun, met some fantastic homeschool families and became fast friends with the owners (and hippest homeschool moms). But, before we left, we packed up our new Nature Study Backpacks. They were so easy to use and helpful that we have continued to use them on all our nature hikes.

And Your Favorite Post from 2016…

A Day in the Life of a Homeschooler: Toddler Edition

As the title so aptly put it, this is a day in our life while babysitting a toddler. Anyone with children over the age of 2 can relate to this story, as many of you did.

Several years ago, dear husband and I made the not-so-difficult decision to stop reproducing. Those dreams of having a brood of six or more children frolicking through our home mimicking the von Trapp children were crushed by the reality that our children were (for lack of a better analogy) more like Gremlins. They refused to sleep through the night willingly, potty train on any kind of “normal” schedule, speak in an “indoor voice” or respond in virtually any way we expected. They excreted bodily fluids everywhere, left random bits of their existence in every room and boldly expected us to clean it all up while they completed a hostile takeover of our bed. So, we chose to quit while the quitting was good or as my husband puts it “we’re only slightly outnumbered”.

It has been my honor this year to be able to share our life with you. Thank you for joining me in our homeschooling journey and if you’re new to Hide The Chocolate, enter your email below so you don’t miss a post. Here’s to another fabulous year!

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Comments

Susan Evans says

These look great! I’ll have to take a look at the nature study backpacks!

- Dachelle says
  
  Thanks, Susan. The backpacks are terrific to just grab and go. We take them to the river and the park quite a bit.
  
Heidi Ciravola says

Pinning a bunch of these! I LOVE books with activities given like your Secret Garden post and I LOVE Homeschool Tracker!

- Dachelle says
  
  Thanks, Heidi! Homeschool Tracker has saved me so much time. It is worth every dime.
  
Erin says

Loved your day in the Life post and your nature backpacks! It’s always fun to see what your readers enjoyed most, isn’t it?

- Dachelle says
  
  It is! Apparently my readers like living my pain. 😉
  
Heather says

Great line-up! My Day in the Life was one of my top posts too!

Amy says

Oh, I love going through these top 10 posts & remembering awesome content!! So many great posts here, Dachelle! I’m so happy you started blogging & sharing your experiences with us:)

- Dachelle says
  
  Thanks, Amy! I’m so glad I’ve been able to connect with you and all the Rock Your Homeschool gals this year!
  
Wendy @ Hip Homeschool Moms says

Dachelle, I’m so glad you linked up this post on the Hip Homeschool Hop! Since we’ve only known each other for a few months, it’s fun reading about your life and your homeschool. 🙂 You’ve shared some great posts here!!

- Dachelle says
  
  Thanks, Wendy! And, thanks for running the Hop!
  
Brandi Raae says

I hide my chocolate in my bathroom pantry. 🙂 I’m also a homeschool mom of 3, and 10 was the magic, do-your-own-laundry age in our house. If kids can operate the tv remote or a game controller, they can operate the laundry knobs, right?!

Thanks for linking up with Literacy Musing Mondays!

- Dachelle says
  
  Nice to meet a fellow chocolate hoarder! And, yes, they can run sophisticated electronics, so they can definitely run a washing machine.