There will be times during your homeschooling life where your child will not want to do lessons or undertake any form of study at all. Just as in school life, motivating students to learn can be a laborious task. Although there is no pressure in homeschooling to ‘knuckle down’ as one would expect in a traditional school setting, there comes a point where attention must turn to matters concerning learning and education.

If your child is struggling with wanting to learn, find out if there are any concerns. Has a bad school experience scared him and the thought of books and pens brings back painful memories? A period of unschooling, where a more unstructured approach is taken, may be needed. Is your child lonely? Look for other homeschooling families to socialize with. Is the homeschooling curriculum and method not working? Adapt it based on your child’s learning style and personality. Does your child have issues around homeschooling itself? Explain your reasons why you feel homeschooling is best and promise to address any issues within that.

For the older student, in addition to the above, it is essential that he or she thinks of the bigger picture. It would do the child no harm to picture where he sees himself in 5-10 years time. The better quality of life, standard of living and finance will come only as a result of motivating himself to learn and study.

Once it comes to the actual work itself teach your children some ways to make learning easier. First, set goals that are small and attainable. Break down a big project into bite sized pieces. Write the tasks down and check them off as they are completed. This will make them feel as if they are making progress.

Second, don’t get stressed. Remind them that they should ask you for help or look for help from other sources if they get stuck. Look up information on the internet, team up with other homeschooling families or friends who are doing the same or similar projects for inspiration and motivation.

Third, after a certain goal is met or task is completed, encourage them to reward themselves by taking a break or beginning something that they enjoy.

Fourth, keep away from distractions. Chose a quiet room in the house. However, some youngsters cannot concentrate if it is too silent, therefore some background music becomes necessary. As homeschoolers, they can have the freedom to choose where they learn. It could be outdoors, in the library, with another family or in a community setting. Just being in another environment can trigger learning.

Do you know someone who is working or involved in your area of interest? Make some inquiries. Homeschooling groups are excellent for making these kinds of connections. A more hands on approach may be just the thing to spark their desire to study again.

There is nothing more special than to hang a Thanksgiving wreath on your front door. It is inviting as well as pleasing to the eye. For this Thanksgiving, why not involve your entire family in the craft of making a Thanksgiving wreath? Here are some suggestions.

Having ventured out to various stores, Thanksgiving items are already being displayed. One store had a beautiful wreath made of grapevine with fall-colored leaves attached. Although the leaves were plastic, it was a simple, yet elegant wreath. The more one looked at it, the more it seemed it could be spruced up by adding additional items such as berries, nuts, or perhaps a small pumpkin in the center.

Another wreath was quite impressive. This one used the basic grapevine, but the leaves were freshly picked and dried, then glued to the vine. In addition, there were feathers and beautiful red and green checked fabric which was used to tie berry branches to the vine as well.

One wreath that was quite unique was made out of a large 8-1/2×11 picture frame. The leaves covered the outer part of the frame with berries and nuts placed within the leaves. The center, however, was the focal point of the wreath. A picture of a family with small text indicating three things they were thankful for on this special day.

Thanksgiving, after all, is a day of giving thanks and signifying not only the beauty of the holiday but one’s sentiments as well. A Thanksgiving wreath is not only a lovely way to express the holiday’s meaning, but a gift to share with family, friends, and neighbors as well.

There are so many different wreaths one can creatively and ingeniously make to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Your local craft store has all of the items you need to create a wreath unlike any other. Remember to take pictures for your scrapbook as well. If the Thanksgiving craft in wreath-making has been a tradition in your home for years, then every picture taken is a reminder of how much love and attention you have given in designing a special wreath for your family.

At a time when world events seem to invade our daily lives, this year it is especially important to show not only how thankful we are for all we have, but show our thanks for the freedom we enjoy every day. Perhaps a wreath with a teddy bear dressed in red, white and blue may be appropriate at this time.

Turkeys are popular at Thanksgiving time, both as the main dish and as decorations.  There are many different ways to create nice turkey that may become a tradition for decorating for years to come.

The simplest turkey to make is by tracing around a hand, fingers spread.  The thumb becomes the head, the other fingers the feathers and the palm is the body of the turkey.  Color the turkey, add details like eyes and cut it out.  They can be hung on the walls, scattered around the table or used to create a mobile.

Another fun project is a paper mache’ turkey.  Prepare the paper mache’ paste. The two most popular methods are:

1. Non-cooked - 3 part white glue to 1 part water
2. Cooked - 1 part flour to 5 parts water, boil about 3 minutes and let cool

Blow up a large balloon and cover with newspaper strips that have been covered in the paste.  Once dry, prime the body and paint brown.  Cut out colorful feathers, feet, and a head and attach them to the turkey body.

If you don’t want the mess of a paper mache’ turkey, you can make one out of a paper bag. Stuff the bag with newspaper or plastic bags and shape the body. You can decorate it like the paper mache’ turkey, with feathers, feet and a head.

Another turkey craft that could also be used for a game is to make 2-liter bottle turkeys.  Put a little bit of sand in the bottom to keep them from falling over. Paint the bottles brown and then decorate them.  After you have ten of them, you could let the kids go bowling for turkeys.

If you have a pine tree, as well as other trees that have beautiful fall foliage, in your back yard, you have the makings of a completely free turkey craft.  Gather the items from your yard, arrange the leaves on a piece of paper in a fan shape, to look like the turkey’s tail feathers.  Glue the pinecone at the base for the body.  Add google-eyes, or cut out construction paper eyes, feet and beak and you have an adorable turkey right from your own yard.

To create a turkey wreath, cut out a circle of cardboard with the center cut out, leaving about a two-inch ring.  Cut strips of red, orange and yellow construction paper an inch wide by about 4 inches long.  Glue the ends together to create rings, and arrange them on the wreath for the feathers.  Cut out a head and feet and attach at the bottom of the wreath.

With some imagination and a few simple supplies, you can create not only nice decorations for your Thanksgiving celebration, but memories too.  Spending the time with your children to make a few turkeys will be remembered long after the pie and stuffing are all gone.

Ingredients:

2 (15 ounce) cans sweet potatoes
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Instruction:

Drain sweet potatoes and place in a shallow baking dish. Pour orange juice over the top of potatoes. Fold flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. Add margarine and cut in with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Top potatoes with the crumb mixture being sure to cover the potatoes completely. Bake 25 minutes or until heated through in a preheated 350 degree oven. Add marshmallows to top and broil until marshmallows are slightly brown.

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A beautiful table setting is the finishing touch to a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. By collecting a few simple things from around the house, and maybe a trip to the craft or fabric store, you have the makings of a festive table. Standard placemats start with a rectangle of construction paper, or fabric, in fall colors or white and come in endless varieties, limited only by your imagination.

Handy Turkey Placemats - Trace around a hand, with fingers spread, to create a turkey. The palm is the body, the thumb is the head, and the other fingers are the tail feathers. Each child can make their own. It can turn into a game, to try to find their handprint at dinnertime, to see who sits where.

Fall Foliage Placemats - Collect colorful fall leaves from your own yard to make a lovely, natural placemat. You can also use artificial leaves from the craft store, if you prefer. Cut two rectangle pieces of contact paper the size you need. Arrange the leaves neatly on the first piece. Carefully place the second piece on top, pealing part of the paper backing off a little at a time, and press in place. Give the placemat a boarder by gluing strips of construction paper about an inch wide along the edges.

Pilgrims and Indians - Draw or find a pattern for simple silhouettes of Pilgrims and Indians. Place one of each on either side of the placemat. Decorate them, or leave them as simple silhouettes. Craft feathers could be added for details around the edges.

Burlap Placemats - If you want to go with a more rustic look, cut rectangles of burlap. If you have a sewing machine, stitch around the outside edge about an inch in, with a zigzag stitch, to keep it from raveling too far. Decorated the placemat with ribbon or yarn.

Fabric Placemats - There are many lovely fall prints available that could be made into placemats. They could be bordered with a nice ribbon (make sure it’s washable) for a simple placemat. The ribbon could be attached with fabric glue or double stick tape. Just be sure to use the permanent kind, if you want to wash them. Alternatively, you could make a quilted placemat and finish it off with binding, for a very elegant looking table.

Placeholders or place cards, can also be a nice touch at the dinner table. These help to eliminate the arguments of who sits where at dinner. They can be made by taking a piece of card stock, or heavy paper, about four inches square, folded in half. Print the name on both sides. If someone knows how to do calligraphy, that can add a nice touch. With all the interesting fonts available, it is easy to print out nice ones, and even add small graphics that fit the theme of the season right at your home computer.

Taking the time to create an attractive table adds a bit of color and fun to the festivities that will be enjoyed by everyone.

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