Lost Generation? (Or not!)
I saw this video posted over at The Mother Huddle and just had to share it with you. I almost got a bit teary when she started reading it backwards. Maybe I’m just hormonal. 
Either way, it’s worth a quick listen.
WAHM: Your Ticket to Being Home with the Kids & Earning an Income for Your Family
Have you ever dreamed of a job where you could spend time with your family and earn money at the same time? Most traditional jobs don’t offer that. But, becoming a WAHM could be your ticket to your dream. With the creation of Times Tales we (Jennie, Marillee and Dena) found ourselves with our own successful business that has grown substantially over the years. We’ve been blessed, but there have been challenges as well. I hope to write a series of posts dealing with various aspects of home business if I find there is an interest. But, to start out, here is some helpful information detailing what it’s all about.
WAHM?
Just what do these letters stand for? WAHM stands for Work At Home Mom. Over the past 20 years, more and more women have come out of the workplace and gone back into the home.
The decision hasn’t been an easy one. It became apparent a long time ago that men were the only ones being allowed to “have their cake and eat it too.” They could pursue a corporate career and still come home in the evenings to the family.
Women with careers had a different path to follow. Besides working longer hours to achieve the same pay and credibility as their male counterparts, they also had to contend with the housework and the kids. After a long day at the office and doing the household chores, the kids sadly got what was left over which was usually a very worn out mother.
That has since changed. WAHMs are proving everyday that women can contribute to the family financial situation and nurture their families. Both online and off, a network of support has been created for any woman who wants to consider an option that will help them meet their needs.
How to get started?
When you talk to your family about the possibility you want to have an idea of the direction you will take. Check out sites like justaddsweat.com for lots of good ideas and affordable getting started guides. Other informative sites are internetbasedmoms.com and wahmtalkradio.com. They offer helpful hints to moms getting started with a work at home enterprise and also a network of opportunities for connecting with other WAHMs.
If your income has been a big part of the monthly family finances, then switching to a work at home enterprise will cause your finances to take a hit. Be sure there is enough financial cushion in your bank account to weather the first six months of your new career. It will take time to establish your business.
Opportunities
First, figure out your interests and skills. WAHMs can find business opportunities to work for someone else doing everything from audio transcription to writing articles to accounting. Be aware that there are scams about and that legitimate companies looking for professionals won’t ask for money upfront from you. you can find out more about these options at justaddsweat.com.
Some WAHMs carve out their own niche and begin an online business, which is what we did with Times Tales. Over time our business grew to include more of our own products such as our e-books and Cleaning Systems. These products grew from finding solutions to our own problems and putting those solutions into a format we could share with others. Eventually we began offering products we were impressed with from other authors as well. Our “niche” is ‘creative learning’ so we stick with products that fit that title.
If you are skilled with crafting, you can create a website to promote your crafts and sell products. A blog is also another idea. Blog about your area of expertise and develop a following. Combine that with affiliate or search engine marketing to generate revenue.
Making it work
With new career comes the issue of balance between home and work. Just because you are home doesn’t mean you won’t need help around the house or time away from the kids in order to work. Consider these tips for creating a balance:
• Develop a set schedule for work and play on a weekly basis
• Discuss dividing up household chores between you, your spouse, and older kids (or use our cleaning systems to get the kids involved!)
• Do pre-work such as fixing lunches, prepping breakfast, choosing clothing the night before
• Hire a babysitter once or twice a week
• Separate home office space inside the house
There are advantages to being a WAHM. Plan carefully and be patient. Support from your family makes all the difference.
Are You Really There?
As a homeschooling mom with a full time work-at-home job as well as being a partner in my own business, I admit to often finding it a challenge to be truly available to my children. I realize this may come as a surprise to some since I legitimately hold the title of stay-at-home Mom. Still, being there isn’t always “being” there.
I tend to mentally categorize my day into “on duty” and “off duty” regarding my role as teacher, employee and entrepreneur. While I recognize the importance of schedules and understand the reality of needing to tend to the “work” of running a home and business I realized that there was room for improvement in my involvement with my children.
I don’t think that I am unique in this. As a work-from-home, homeschooling parent, it is easy to convince myself that I am truly “there” for my children. However, I must be more that physically present, but mentally and spiritually present with my children as well. Since I homeschool, I’ll use that as an example.
As I’ve made an effort to become more “present” I’ve recognized the many learning opportunities that take place through simple conversation. A recent example of this occurred on a Sunday morning drive to church. I was daydreaming and enjoying the scenery as my daughter asked, “What is Chapstick made of?”
“Hmmm….I don’t know. Probably wax.” I murmured as I continued to admire the view. Uncharacteristically, I caught myself and said, “Well….you should be able to find out by reading the ingredient list on the side. Whatever is used most is listed first, the next largest ingredient is second, and so on.”
All three children listened with interest as my daughter read the list of ingredients and I attempted to interpret them. “Petroleum Jelly would be what we call Vaseline”. I then explained how many ingredients have different names, talked a bit about the many different types of sugars, etc. Before we knew it we’d arrived at church.
Later that day, I was pleased and surprised to find my children rummaging through the pantry checking out the ingredient lists on boxes, jars and cans. They even developed a game in which they took turns holding up an item and asking a sibling to guess the first ingredient listed. This led naturally to conversations on what was healthy and what was not and turned into a dynamic lesson on nutrition, though I had little to do with it. My simple choice to be present and respond with more than an “I don’t know” to the initial question had spurred a flurry of educational activity. Pretty easy, huh?
I wonder then, why I don’t do it more often. As a parent I often see myself either “teaching” or being preoccupied with life. I’m either turning every little event into a lecture or I’m absorbed in my own endeavors. I believe the secret is in finding that middle ground. Simply being truly present with your children and enjoying life with them. Be curious with them. Point out those little things that we, as adults, take for granted. But don’t necessarily make everything “educational” and don’t always expect an enthusiastic outward response from your children.
I recall a couple of instances that, in relative significance, are extremely minor, yet the memories are quite vivid. The first, is my mother lifting me, a very young girl, onto the kitchen counter and showing me how the clouds move across the sky. She didn’t say anything more. We simply stood together and watched the billows. I doubt I even offered a reaction, but I was amazed.
The second memory involves a drive with my father as he casually commented on how the houses on one side of the street were even numbered and the houses on the opposite side were odd numbered. I vividly recall that “ah ha!” moment. I’m quite sure, however, that my parents would have no recollection of either event. They were both minor and relatively unimportant.
I have some inkling of why these simple interactions evoked such strong memories. I equate both with learning and love. In each instance my parents were “present” with me. They weren’t out to “teach” me. They were just with me and sharing themselves as they explained the mysteries of the world. The context of that education, my parents warmth and interest, caused the information to stick and ministered to my young soul.
As I see my children respond so enthusiastically to a simple bit of information and as I reflect back upon my own fond remembrances, I’m encouraged and motivated to make more of an effort to be truly present with my children. No, I don’t have to drop everything and rush to their side every time I’m approached with a question. But I do need to remember that we are living this life together every moment. There’s not an “on duty” and “off duty”. And the more that I am willing to share my experiences and knowledge, the more we all benefit.
WFMW: Explore the Possibilities
Just a reminder to do some checking around before you order online. Just today, I managed to save $230 by spending a few extra minutes doing a bit of searching.
First I needed new Quickbooks business checks and envelopes. After placing the items in my cart I did some Google searches for “intuit coupon code” and “quickbooks checks code”. The first couple of sites I went to had nothing current. I nearly gave up. Thankfully, I clicked on www.retailmenot.com where there were several active codes. Most were 10% off or free shipping but one was for 50% off and it worked! Saved me over $100!
Then, my daughter needed new piano books. I first checked the site recommended by her piano teacher and found they would be right at $30 after shipping. I then checked Amazon.com and CBD. No bargains. Finally, I decided to check ebay. Wouldn’t you know, someone was selling all four books, in excellent condition, for $13.97 with free shipping! Again, less than half what I would have paid before.
So, less than 30 minutes of searching (for both purchases combined) saved me well over $100. Exploring the possibilities works for me! To see more Works for Me tips visit We Are That Family.
Free Software - Teach Kids Accounting
Quickbooks is giving away their Simple Start program for free. This would be a neat to use with a Junior High or High School student as part of their schooling. Either have them start their own small business, or even set up pretend scenarios and let them use the software to track them. A great way to learn accounting and bookkeeping — an extremely important life skill!
Sum…What Does That Mean Again?
Many students struggle greatly with retaining the meaning of math terms
because they are not used in the daily life of a child. You never hear
a child exclaim, Wow, did you see the sum of my video game scores??!!!
So, what’s a parent to do when they constantly hear, “What does sum
mean again?” The child may know perfectly well how to perform the math,
but can’t get started because they are unable recall the meaning of the
term. The best way to cement the meaning into their memory is to give
them a story to associate the word and definition.
them remember that the word sum means to use addition to solve the
problem.
“A chef ADDS sum of this and sum of that to create a tasty dish.”
Memory Trigger: The word “sum” should trigger the mental picture of the
chef ADDING sum of this and sum of that to his bowl.
Note: For a limited time, you can receive a free trial download of Times Tales as well as our Memory Trigger E-book by signing up for our Education Through Imagination newsletter. Click the button in our sidebar for details.
How Three Homeschool Moms Started a Business
(blog post from several years ago)
I hope our story offers encouragement to those who desire to have a home based business. According to some experts (such as a group of retired business executives we met with recently), we broke all the rules of starting a business and have been successful in spite of it. We didn’t invest much more than $100, didn’t have any systems in place (when we started up that is), and basically had no idea what we were doing. However, we are eager learners and have all gained an education in marketing, accounting and even business law as a result of this experience. Our first year and a half we sold three thousands copies of our product via the internet…. and we hadn’t even tapped into the retail store or catalog market! If we can do it, so can you!
Note: This original blog post is now several years old. If you have questions you’d like us to respond to, regarding home based business, just comment below and we’ll be happy to share our answers with you.
A Bit About Us
Welcome to our world!
Jennie von Eggers, Marillee Flanagan and Dena Wood are three work-from-home, homeschooling moms. We’re always in the middle of a new project or endeavor, whether with business, remodeling, saving money or teaching our children. It’s not unusual for us to get so wrapped up in the latest project that the day is over before we realize we’ve failed to get dressed, hence the name of our blog! Frankly, we enjoy the freedom and craziness of our lives and hope that you will as well.
This is the three of us (Dena, Jennie, Marillee) at a working retreat last winter. Wanna know what we were working on? Stay tuned!
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