6 Back to School Ideas (Homeschool Edition) + link ups!

Dear Reader,

Like many other families in America, we bit the bullet and are diving into homeschooling this year (and depending on how this pandemic goes, maybe next year, too?)  Our first day is just around the corner (September 1st), and as I was looking up "first day ideas" to mark the occasion I thought - hey, why not share some thoughts about it in a blog post?

                         But first, pin this image for future reference:

Setting Up a Retreat from Bed

Dear Reader,

Maybe it's because of this pandemic, or maybe you're stuck at home due to chronic illness, or you simply want to try your hand at some Hygge.  Whatever the reason, you're looking for a little getaway at home, a little relaxation corner, something to sink into . . . 

I hear you.  As someone who deals with lung disease - in Minnesota (eek!) - I have to make my own kind of spa days, because most spas have chemicals, or heavily scented spaces that I simply can't step foot in (sorry spas, I do love you, just from a distance!).  You might have already checked out my blog post about a Green Skincare Routine, but this post expands on that idea.

It's not just about what goes on your skin, we're going to try to create a space that brings peace.  Of course that might mean different things, for different people, but here are the basics - followed up with a few more suggestions, based on your spiritual leanings, and as always, plenty of links of ideas at the end!

But first, the list:

How To Survive Homeschooling During A Pandemic (and words of wisdom from a therapist)

Dear Reader, 

These are tough times, there's no way around it.  We are in a global pandemic, the likes we have never lived through in our own lifetime.  And though it's incredibly powerful and validating to read encouraging posts and articles about how we are all in this together, there is an equal necessity to acknowledge that this is a hard time.

You probably clicked on this post, hoping to read about how to do homeschooling, or distance learning, or some combination of the two.  You likely were thrust into an uncertain learning model, and even potentially weeks in, feel no closer to having it figured out then when our schools first shut down.  If you were hoping for a perfect fix to this situation, I'm sorry but this post is not for you (though I will give some tips and resources promise!) . . . but first, I'll share some words of wisdom my therapist said that helped me keep things in perspective:

"this is not homeschooling.  This is crisis learning."  

That puts it in perspective doesn't it?