A veteran homeschool mama trick that was passed to me a long time ago, from a dear friend, is the morning meeting.

The morning meeting is something that all homeschool families can benefit from. It's a way to start your day on the right foot and communicate all the good things that you want your kids to know about your expectations for the day. The morning meeting is going to look very different in everyone's homes. There's no one right way to do it. The concept of starting your day together with eye contact, positive words and instruction, hopes and expectations for the day, hugs, kisses, and anything else that is unique to you and your child or your whole family, is a great way to start any day! Right?

Over the years, in my home, we've modified the morning meeting. I know my strengths, and I know my weaknesses. Organizing 8 children all at the same time in the morning and having a successful morning meeting where everyone attends, there's no arguing, people are listening to me, is impossible. Instead of me trying to force that to happen, I made some changes. Insert individual morning meetings -this has changed my life! I can't stress how valuable an individual, 1 to 2-minute meeting with each of my children is every day!

I have early risers and kids who stroll in an hour or two later. I love that homeschooling gives us flexibility and freedom, on most days, to allow for a natural rhythm of sleep for all of my kids as well. Their brains and bodies are growing at rapid speeds! Sleep is vital. Individual morning meetings allow me to connect with each of them on a one on one level, one by one, as they rise.

The way I conduct the meetings is by sitting down at my desk, and I call them over individually. We make eye contact, hold hands, have back and forth conversation as I lay out expectations and excitement about the day's tasks ahead. It doesn't matter what is planned, eye contact and one-on-one conversation go a long way as I'm sharing my thoughts about what I hope their day looks like. This brings peace and order to the beginning of their day. Nothing is perfect, but I feel that this is an excellent way to start everyone off each day. Practice this technique over the summer and see if it becomes a habit. Maybe we can all start the new school year in August, with a pattern of morning meetings, that set our days and new school year up for success!

-Candice

The 2019-2020 Online Subscription Package (OSP) options are finalized, and we’re spotlighting every option - every week!

This week we look at Time4Learning! This is geared towards TK through 12th grade.

"Time4Learning’s award-winning, comprehensive curriculum allows parents to be in control of their child’s individual learning path."

Complete curriculum for math, science, social studies, and science for grades TK-8th. High schoolers are able to select 4 different courses at once from the high school courses in math, language arts, history, and science.

Time 4 Learning meets Common Core State Standards. If you want to use this curriculum for high school with Inspire, you can! However, it is not fully standards aligned and you would need to consult the standards checklist to add anything it was missing.

This platform provides engaging animated lessons that are easy to follow. You can view them here. We enjoyed that they added real-life teachers into the animations to give full instruction for the lesson. I was looking for a more independent way for my son to take on the responsibility of school on his own and I believe Time4Learning will be a great gateway to more independent study. Check out Time 4 Learning here!

With Time4Learning through the OSP, your student's account will be set up with their grade level and they will also have access to one grade level above and below theirs.

• For Elementary (K-5th):
  • Interactive lessons, printable worksheets, quizzes and tests.
  • Access to printable lesson plans, teaching tools, detailed reporting and parental support
  • Ability to set each individual subject at the appropriate grade level, making this program great for special needs and gifted students
• For Middle School (6th-8th):
  • Complete curriculum for middle school with 220+ chapters, 4300+ activities, worksheets and quizzes
  • Chapter lessons with detailed descriptions of the content covered
  • Multiple activity types to instill skill mastery including non-scored activities, quizzes and printable quiz answer keys
  • Lesson worksheets and answer keys covering the materials presented
  • Easy access to additional chapters within each subject
  • Access to three grade levels at a time so they can move or review at their own pace
  • Animated lessons, instructional videos, worksheets, quizzes, tests, and both online and offline projects
• For High School (9th-12th):
  • Curriculum for 4 core subjects
    • Language Arts & English: English I, II, III, IV available
    • Math: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra II, Trigonometry, Pre-calculus
    • Science: Biology, Earth/Space Science, Physical Science, Chemistry, Physics
    • Social Studies: US History I (pre-1850), World History, US Government / Civics, US History II (post-1850), Geography

For more details on this OSP option and all the other OSP subscriptions, head over to the OSP Handbook.

Have a question regarding the Online Subscription Package? Email osp@inspireschools.org

My Name is Dillon Taitano, Founder and Owner of The Collective Movements. At The Collective Movements, we offer Parkour and Break Dancing Classes in an old school environment. We take it outside and do it where it was originated!

Classes are offered at Andulka Park in Riverside CA (5201 Chicago Ave, Riverside, CA.)

We start from basics and learn about the foundations of balance, strength, discipline, speed, focus, agility, hand-eye coordination, and so much more! Students will learn how to navigate the real world with a different outtake on how to move their body. Moving their body in a way that is more efficient, functional, and practical in a real life scenario. Students will also learn how to SAFELY fall, jump, climb, roll, flip, and most importantly..fall! Falling isn't a matter of if you will fall, but when, and when they do, we want to make sure they are safe doing even that!

Brave Writer’s Julie Bogart followed up her in person Inspiring Talks with part one of a three-part webinar series The Writer's Jungle: A Survivor's Guide to Writing with Kids.

http://bit.ly/BraveWriterSurviorGuideWritingWithKids_RecordingLink

Copy and paste the link into your web browser or click on the link above to access the recording.

Want to Join a Brave Learner Book Club?

Many of you were inspired by Julie Bogart's online, or in person Inspiring Talks and asked about forming a The Brave Learner Book Club. We want to help facilitate bringing Brave Writer fans together. If you're interested, please take a minute to let us know what works best for you by clicking on the link below.

https://tinyurl.com/BraveLearnerBookClub-Interest

Coming soon! Brave Writer webinar series: Writing Across the Curriculum on Wednesday, June 5 at 1 p.m.

Session recordings include:

• The College Application Process
• UC/CSU Application Process
• Common Application Info Session

Make sure you head over to Inspire High School Resource Site for all things High School.

Happy Planning!

Head over to http://rivlib.info/website/events

Hi everyone! I am a mom of 3 awesome kids ranging in age from 10 to 6 years old. My husband and I are high school sweethearts and have been married for 16 years. Having homeschooled our children over the last 6 years in 3 different states, I've found homeschooling here in California, especially with Inspire Charter, has been a great fit for our homeschool journey. I am grateful for our ability to homeschool so freely and I aspire to assist other families with their own homeschool adventures!