• Christmas Snuggles and Reads

    Cold weather, steamy mugs, fuzzy blankets, and good reads go together like milk and cookies. Our family loves books. We love sharing adventures and learning about new and exciting lifestyles, together. We read to each other all year long. But no reading feels quite as magical as Christmas book reading. (This post contains affiliate links.  Just thought you’d like to know.) Here are a few of our favorites: THE FAMILY UNDER THE BRIDGE- A family fallen on hard times meets a streetwise drifter.  Along the way to becoming an unorthodox family, they meet Santa, hang out with gypsies, and discover all they need to feel rich is each other.  Warning: …

  • Feeling the Frump?

    Hello sweet mamas and friends. Below is my first video in quite a while. I’m praying I’ll stay healthy enough to get back on a roll with my FB lives and YouTube videos. In the meantime, hit play and let’s examine the main reason we feel frumpy. It would make my day if you liked, commented, and subscribed to my YouTube channel as well as my blog. Let’s build this Late Night Coffee Mom family and continue to encourage and uplift one another. Thanks for stopping by,

  • Homeschool After Illness

    Oh man! Oh man! Life hit me like the hammer of Thor. I went from being well and chipper to being on bed/couch rest for the large part of four weeks. Slowly gaining strength isn’t really an option when you’re counting High School credits and days in the semester. This homeschool mom might not bounce back with vigor but she also doesn’t wallow in her massive clean laundry pile, either. This is how we homeschool after an illness. First: GO SLOW This doesn’t mean ditch school altogether. (Though when my kids were little that is exactly what we did. We huddled around audiobooks and just picked up where we left…

  • Refilling the Well: Movies

    August 21, 2019sarahhualdethewriterEdit”Refilling the Well : Movies” Imagining and formatting imaginary circumstances is hard work. Harder than I ever thought it would be. It doesn’t take much to drain my mental resources, especially after homeschooling, housekeeping, and completing other family-related tasks. I can run dry pretty quickly. Refilling the well on a consistent basis is vital. Below are some movies I use to refill my creative well. Please your favorite ways to refill your well in the comments. I’m always on the lookout for new creative input. Video is probably the easiest and most dangerous way for me to refill the well. Easy because it takes so little brain power. Dangerous…

  • Missing On Main Street

    Last year I published my first novel- a cozy mystery starring homeschool moms. And here it is with a new name and a new cover. So Another Cliche Christmas became Missing On Main Street. Missing On Main Street It started with one missing teen. Lydia Everett is the only who notices Ivy’s absence. She decides to put her worries to rest and hunt for her missing student. When she uncovers a stepfather who denies he has a stepdaughter and an exboyfriend with sinister intentions, Lydia begins to fear for Ivy’s life. She recruits her friends, Flora and Kat, to help her search for Ivy before it’s too late. Read Missing…

  • Together Time Fall 2019

    Update Fall 2019: The Hualdes have formally begun their homeschool year. This means books… a lot of books. Let’s investigate each “subject” one at a time. Starting with our Together Time Basket…. my favorite! I often get asked, “How do you keep together time going strong with older kiddos?” My answer? “Easy Peasy! Combine subjects!” I love combining subjects. It does several things: It makes the teacher’s workload lighter. (that’s me- mom, by the way.) It builds relationships… (How? see point 3) It creates a natural environment for discussion It gives us a time to recalibrate and recenter Plus: It keeps me more engaged which equals a better understanding of…

  • Put Your Clothes On

    What do you wear, Mama, when you’re leading your homeschoolers through their day? What do you make your students wear? Are you a down to lace-up shoes kind of family? Or are you happy as long as everyone is wearing pants? Whichever it is… you’re welcome here. Let’s toss the clothes in the laundry hamper and put on what really matters. Dive into Colossians with me.

  • Return to Your 1st Love

    Mom life can be all-encompassing. Toss in a hearty dose of homeschool and it’s a whirlwind of crazy. It’s easy to lose your focus or hyper-focus on one area and neglect others. Beware and be careful. Do not lose sight of your first love. The love of your life and the lover of your soul- Jesus. Too late, you say? Repent and return. Start over. Love Him like you did the first time you let Him in. Crack open Revelation with me. I’m cheering you on,

  • Joy Joy Joy Joy

    Where? Down in my heart… Sorry, couldn’t resist. It’s VBS time at my house and this song was a staple of my youth time VBSes. It also fits this week’s verse. No greater joy … than hearing my children are walking in the truth. What gives you joy? What does this verse mean to you? (3 John 1:4) Let me know how I should shoot my curriculum choices video series? By subject? By grade? Or both…

  • All this & Dyslexia, too

    The worst kind of Shiny New Curriculum fail happens when you’ve dedicated time, energy, money, and hope to a new program to help your struggling learner. I know I’ve lived it. It burns. And in the midst of recovering, recalibrating, rebuilding, and planning sneaks in doubt and defeat. A little voice that nibbles on a homeschool mama’s heart and tells you can’t handle all this and dyslexia too. (feel free to replace your own acronyms or labels.) Getting back on the homeschool horse seems more than daunting. But you can do it! Bury your Guilt I know you’ve got it. Homeschool mama guilt. Shake it off. Kick it to the…