Top 10 Must Have Items

These are the Top 10 Must Have’s for me. As a Mom you start to compile your favorites. Favorites that work to keep the family running well, that you keep you going, tools to rely on; they are like an old blanket. 

Here are mine:

#1 My first one has got to be my Planner Perfect, Planner. It is my foundation for where I plan, have devotions, plan our school year and our lives, and run my home. It is a tried-and-true, friend. It keeps me away from being a sole follower of tasks and runs me on my goals. It’s a must have for every woman!

#2 My Kitchenaid mixer. I have a baking day planned for me each week. It is when I get all my breads made for the week, any birthday cakes that need to be made, dinner preps that I can bake, prepare and freeze. I also teach any child that is interested in baking and cooking. I have several wonderful helpers and my Bella, loves to not only help and learn, but she keeps a recipe book of her own where she’s writing down the recipe while she’s baking. She’s perfecting her writing, understanding fractions, feeding a family, and acquiring a life skill to last her a lifetime.

#3 My favorite books. Aside from my Bible, I have some favorite books that keep me headed toward my goals, keep me refreshed in my convictions, and are Must Have for me. I like to have several out from John Maxwell…one in particular that I just love is, Be all You Can Be. It is a well written book that inspires you to be all who God designed you to be. Another one that I can’t live without and have written about several times is by Alfie Kohn, Punished by Rewards. It’s a awesome look at how kids learn and how rewards used as a means to alter behavior is actually harming children in the long run. This last one is one I recommend highly, Success God’s Way, by Charles Stanley. You know those kind of books that all the pages are highlighted, so you just stop highlighting because what’s the point? This is one of those books. These books are stacked by by computer, along with my files that keep my organized, a mug encasing my favorite pens and of course, my Planner. 
 
#4 Book Clubs. I love hosting books clubs for my girls, and when my boys were smaller, I had a little boy and girl book club. This year I’m hosting a summer book club, meeting twice a month, to read small books, picked my neighborhood girls. Book club days consist of much chatter about the book they read, and while nibbling on a fun array of delicious foods. This has always inspired my children to not only to read, but to love books on all levels.

#5 American Girls. I know, they’ve been around for awhile, but when you catch your 15 yr. old son watching the Kit movie and finding it’s History and storyline interesting, you know it’s good. My girls have all collected them and we would read their books together, my girls would read them alone, we would discuss them over book clubs and they would play with them for hours. Aside from loving their original American Girls: Molly, Kit, and the like, the new ones they would come out with was a lot of fun. We loved the homeschooled American Girl, Jessie. That was a fun one to read and play with! My girls (and boys) have learned quite a bit from the American Girls.

#6 History Channel. My boys love History Channel. We’ve even collected some wonderful historical dvd’s from them and enjoy them quite a bit. This has been a wonderful channel my unschooling kids have been drawn to and still are.

#7 Playdoh, Legos, craft supplies, play cash register and play food. These items can keep my kids busy for hours and they learn through play.

#8 Coffee and Bagel Shops. My kiddos and I love to go here as often as possible and bring something to read aloud, to do some book work that any number of my children are in to, or just to laugh and talk. I can even get all my teenagers to come when we go on this outing and that’s a bonus! All of my children gathered, laughing over bagels…it’s a memory and something we’ve formed as a homeschool tradition.

#9 Our camper. We are big-time campers, like every two week, campers. My kids love it! They learn from the outdoors from their outdoorsman Dad, fishing, finding bugs and frogs, boating, playing games together and NOT watching t.v.. What more could you ask for? We used to tent camp too and have just as much fun and it can be just in your own back yard. Camping is a Must Have for us.

#10 Last but not least…our chalkboard wall. If you’ve got a wall to spare, make it chalkboard! Just paint and you’re done! I have a huge wall in my kitchen that my whole family loves. It’s used to learn, to draw, to be silly and they spend a lot of time on it. It’s a Must Have for this Penton family!

There you have it. My Top Ten Must Haves. You’ve got to check out my friends’ Top Ten, too…

Be sure to visit all the other bloggers from iHomeschoolNetwork, to hear about their top 10 favorite websites and to visit Angie form Many Little Blessings …you won’t want to miss all this valuable insight!

For more information on the Planner Perfect, Planner, click here for more information.

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