Back to School for you – for free
What do you wish you could go back to school to learn? Everyone can teach or tutor something. What skill or hobby are you good at? What academic subject do you enjoy talking about? What do your kids or neighbors ask you for advice about? Being a subject expert will help you grow your confidence in tutoring, but honestly, tutoring is just coming alongside someone to help with their academic or skill learning. Almost anyone can do that, especially with a free tutoring workshop. Here’s a little free vocabulary lesson. Teaching is a subject matter expert giving instruction. Tutoring is helping students with academic learning and study skills. It is remediating or enriching a particular subject or school year. Coaching is helping students with problem-solving strategies to improve productivity or effectiveness both now and in the future. Now is the perfect time to get set up to start tutoring this fall. My short free workshop Tutor Toolkit will give you the tools needed to design tutoring sessions no matter what you want to tutor. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to tutor, teach lessons, or coach clients. What’s in the FREE workshop Tutor Toolkit? In this workshop, I lay…
Best Back to School Traditions
What are your back to school traditions? The start of a new school year can be a hard transition from the freedom of summer break for some parents and kids. Having some back-to-school traditions can ease this transition. Ice cream night was our favorite and best back-to-school tradition. On the first day of school (and the last) we went out to ice cream for dinner. We asked good questions and the kids actually gave answers between bites. It was casual but meaningful. Other families have a special breakfast on the first day of school or a school supply shopping day. Some families prioritize the first day of school photo shoot on the front porch. It all comes down to being intentional and building traditions. Maybe it did not start out at first as something that would become a tradition or ease the transition, but eventually, families repeat special moments, and traditions are begun. As a teacher and tutor, I have the opportunity to talk with students at the start of the school year. One of my traditions is asking students to tell me what they character traits hope their new teacher will see in them. With some praise and encouragement…
Parenting Podcast Review: M is for Mama
What is your favorite parenting podcast? Podcasts are all the rage these days, but honestly, I’m not one who listens to many. A recent car trip found me downloading a few podcasts and audiobooks. I almost forget how nice it is to listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks! After reading this review, I hope you will give this parenting podcast, M is for Mama, a try whether you are a regular podcast listener or an infrequent one like me. I have been following Abbie Halberstadt for a while on Instagram and am looking forward to her upcoming book Hard is Not the Same Thing as Bad. She often posts about the miraculous and messy world of motherhood. She and her husband have 10 children (including 2 sets of twins) and their story can be found on her parenting podcast. I especially liked the first episode about how she came to buy a necklace with an “m” on it and it sparked the title of her blog, first book, and podcast “M is for Mama.” Another episode that resonated with me was episode 13 where Abbie interviews her mom and talks about leaving a legacy for your kids and grandkids. The…
Quick Cleaning Tips
What do you clean if you just have 10 minutes? Here are a few easy tips from my Clean the Chaos workshop for doing some quick cleaning or organizing if you just have a few minutes. For most of us, we have some extra minutes during the summer where we can actually do a quick project indoors to avoid the outside heat or to get ourselves off the couch. Got a few extra minutes? Choose a room and a task from the quick cleaning suggestions below. Bedrooms: 2 min Tidy: pick up dirty clothes, set out tomorrow’s outfit, spot treat a garment 5 min Freshen: start a load of laundry, fold a load of laundry 10 min Tackle: declutter a dresser drawer, mend clothes Bathrooms: 2 min Tidy: tidy up a drawer or counter, wipe the toilet seat, wipe the mirror, take stock of the supplies 5 min Freshen: wipe down all the surfaces and polish the faucets, clean shower curtain or door, dust the fan 10 min Tackle: clean the faucets and shower heads, dust or wash the light fixtures, use one of those beauty masks then hop in the shower and scrub down the tile while you wait…
6 Marriage Check Up Questions
What makes a marriage thrive? One of the best things you can do to help your marriage thrive is to have good communication. A marriage check up can be a good catalyst for communication. Medical or business check ups are preventative and diagnostic tools to check the health of a person or company. Marriage check ups work the same way. Here are 6 tips and 6 questions to help you communicate how things are going in your relationship. After reading this, consider setting aside time to discuss your relationship with your spouse. You can modify these questions to work for relationships with roommates and others, too. Questions 4 and 5 are great questions for any relationship. 6 Tips for a Marriage Check Up: Set up a regular time (start weekly) and time limit (30-60 min to start) Start with the good stuff (question 1) Take turns answering questions and listening If time is short or answers are long: start with question 1, choose any middle question, and end with question 6 Choose an action item to work on (usually something that has come up during your talk) that will strengthen or improve your marriage and communication Finish well…
Review: Glamping at Gold River Camp
What is your definition of glamping? Glamping is defined by the Oxford Languages website as “a form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping.” Whether your style of camping involves cottages, cabins, RV’s, tiny rooms, fully equipped tents, primitive tents or hammocks, you can certainly find it at Gold River Camp and Cabins! This spring my daughter planned an overnight getaway in the mountains during her grad school break and invited her sister. Her sister loved it and planned an anniversary getaway with her husband. I loved the stories and pictures my girls shared. When my bestie who lives on another continent came to visit me, I booked us a night at Gold River Camp. It did not disappoint! If you know me, you know that camping is not my usual style but most of my besties love it. I’m not ready for tent camping, but a rustic tiny cabin with a shared open pavilion kitchen facility and a bathhouse was just fine with me. I loved the riverfront area where we made a fire and roasted s’mores. Breakfast on our tiny private balcony was a nice start to the morning. We did…
10 ideas for indoor fun on hot or rainy days
Do you approach rainy days with dread or joy? Your mood will match the weather if you dread being inside (with or without kids) on rainy or hot days. Instead, think about it as a mini staycation! Catch up on projects, play forgotten games, stay in your pjs and read books, invite friends over for a dance party, or take an online class. There are so many ways to have indoor fun on hot or rainy days! Here are 10 suggestions to get you started having fun indoors. Clean out your game shelf and play a few forgotten games. Make up your own cooking show in your kitchen. Watch a documentary on a country you wish to visit or a topic of interest Invite friends over for a potluck meal with a specific country theme and stream some traditional music or cultural videos. Sign up to take an online class such as one of these from airbnb experiences including cooking classes, arts and crafts, virtual safaris and magic shows.https://www.airbnb.com/s/experiences/online Put on some quiet music, find a comfy spot and catch up on a book you’ve been meaning to read Do some yoga or put on a workout video for the…
A nose for organizing
Which scent makes you smile – springtime lilacs, ocean breezes, Kimpton hotels, or your mom’s perfume? Let me share with you something I learned recently while trying to find a new perfume and how it got me thinking about my business and my nose for organizing. Perfumes have 3 fragrance notes or 3 different scent layers that make a perfume unique and appealing. Top notes you smell first. Heart notes are the foundation and influence the base, and base notes deepen the complexity and create a lasting impression. That got me thinking about how my love for organizational systems helped me start my business and blog, Tailor Joy. The opening notes of my business are my tips and tools for your everyday life delivered in my slightly zany, outside the box manner that brings a smile to your face when you discover them. The heart notes are my systems of organization for approaching life’s curves with confidence such as my resources for tutoring or starting your own business, or my private tutoring and coaching services. The base notes are my background as a teacher, wife, and mom that provides years of experience problem-solving in everyday life and the desire…
Top 5 things for booking a multigenerational vacation home
What is your top thing to consider when booking a beach rental? Booking a beach rental for one family is complicated enough but add several families or generations and things get even trickier. Knowing the top 5 things to consider when booking a multigenerational vacation home will help you narrow your options within your price range fairly quickly. We are heading to the beach this summer with our grown kids, a baby, a great grandma and a great aunt. These tips helped me narrow the search pretty fast and the added amenities such as linens and beach bikes sealed the deal. 1. How close do you want to be to the beach? Toddlers require naps and frequent bathroom breaks as do some grandparents. Choosing a beachfront home can make those trips quicker or allow people at the house to watch the beach fun. Those with older kids or just adults can usually save money by choosing second row houses. 2. Next, consider thmobility of guests. Do need a house without steps or something with an elevator? Check out the house layout of mobility is a concern. 3. The number of bedrooms and bathrooms can make a big difference when hosting…
Book Review: Ida B
When was the last time you had a day when things went from righter than right to a million miles beyond wrong? Years ago, my oldest daughter read Ida B… and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster and (Possibly) Save the World in a book club in elementary school and got to attend a book signing with the author Katherine Hannigan at a local bookstore. Being a teacher, I read the book and instantly fell in love with the story, all the various characters and the strong emotions the story described when Ida B’s life suddenly goes from righter than right to a million miles beyond wrong. I knew it would make a good read aloud book for my fourth grade class launching many discussions, teachable moments, and language arts examples. The description of how much the dog Rufus drools is a great one for figurative language examples. Ida B is just a great book all around. The book is gentle in some areas: very general description of Mama’s illness and strong in others: Ida B’s thoughts on many topics are bold and self-deprecating. Ida B believes that there is never enough time in the world for all the…