Thursday, March 24, 2011

Thrifty Thursday: Something free, that I paid dearly for

There was a time when I used to enroll my children in numerous home school enrichment classes outside the home. I suffered from "Mommy Guilt". I believed that they must be exposed to every activity available. I spend hundreds of dollars, and wasted tankfuls of gas forcing my kids to attend classes that they were minimally interested in. I have an announcement to make.

About the guilt.

"I'm over it."

I'm telling you this so if you are homeschooling little ones, you can get over it earlier than later. Choose your extras wisely. Now, my kids have to beg me to do something, I want them to really invest themselves into it.

I'm having flashbacks of when they took sign language at $120 per child for not that many weeks. I think they just liked going to the library where the class was held. There was a great selection of science DVDs available there.

Back to the sign language and Thrifty Thursday. Don't pay an instructor until they have mastered some of the free information on the internet. If they show a genuine interest and love for it, then by all means, hire a professional.

This was in my email the other day, I won't bore you with the whole email but here's the gist, with my commentary in red:

Dear Terri,
..... we came up with a simple free collection of resources aimed at facilitating the learning of baby sign language. This is a non-bloggers way of saying Free Sign Language Stuff.  Various studies show that baby sign language provides children with an edge in learning and developing verbal skills. There is also evidence of increased cognitive abilities. Get those kids some smarts.

This sentence below brought back fond memories of sitting in church with my darlings.....


In our case since we don't have infants any longer we use sign language as a discreet way to convey a message to our kids calling their attention to be polite or grateful etc.

I remember when Random and Paperboy were little.  I used a few signs. I only recall thirsty, hungry and commanding them to sit down. The 'sit' sign was used almost every church service in conjunction with the sideways, you are in trouble look.  

Try this with your kids when they are trying to do jumping jacks between the seats at church or in a restaurant. It works, and it's free. This lady below obviously forgot to include my most effective sideways look.



Back to the email.....

www.babysignlanguage.com offers a bundle of free resources including the following: 
  • Printable wall chart.
  • Printable high resolution flash cards.
  • Video dictionary
  • Quick reference tools
I visited the website and yes there are free resources. I think the blog has two authors, it's hard to tell. I have to include a disclaimer that I am not endorsing the blog. There are some things over there that I am not wholly in agreement with. I am encouraging you to stop by and and see the resources if you are interested in introducing your children to sign language. If your children are ready for more, check out You Tube, Google or your public library.

Before you waste money, like the Old Terri G.

Happy Thrifty Thursday! 


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I welcome reader comments with open arms. I also understand if you aren't the commenting or hugging type of person, you can drop me an email at accidentallyhomeschooling@gmail.com.

3 comments:

Gina said...

Terri,
You are going to love Bloggy Boot Camp. I am a brand new Blogger, and it looks like you've been around for a while longer, but I am sure you will learn a lot. AND you will meet lots of great contacts. I forgot to mention in my post that I met a few great ladies who do social media. Enjoy yourself in Boston!

By the way, I love your blog. I love sarcasm and I am thrifty, so there you go! And Bravo for letting go of the guilt. ♥

flmom said...

I used to feel guilty about NOT having my kids enrolled in every opportunity that came along. Money just wasn't there for it to happen. Just this year I have my kids in a homeschool P.E. class and my oldest takes horse riding lessons. They love both dearly, so I am happy I took the plunge ... but I'm exhausted from just those two things each week. LOL I honestly don't see how some homeschool moms do it with their kids in multiple programs each week.

Shell said...

I admit, my firstborn was enrolled in a whole bunch of useless stuff. With 3, we have to be really picky! And this post is a good reminder to see what is available for free first!