Julie Soul 0:00
Welcome to the creative homeschool podcast. And this podcast I'm coming at you to deliver you a weekly dash of creativity to make your homeschool exciting for your kids. But for you too, we're going to explore all of the different ways to creatively homeschool games, field trips, unit studies, writing activities, Kid businesses, art and more. I'm your host Julie soul, longtime homeschool mom, shenanigan enthusiast, espresso drinker, and founder and co owner of soul Sparkletts art, I've helped 1000s Add creativity and joy to their homeschool, and I'm ready to help you today. Ready to get started. Let's go. Hello, everyone. And welcome back to the creative homeschool podcast. So the audio might sound a little different today. And that's because I am in what my husband affectionately refers to as my summer office. This is a screened in three seasons room. And it makes me feel a little bit like I am in Animal Planet, we have vultures, we have crows, we have Blue Jays. And they're all either having a really loud party or really angry with each other. And it's really kind of hard to tell, which and then you know, paired with the airplanes that are flying overhead, but only at the time when I hit record, and neighbors who have been doing a four week long tile project, it has gotten a little bit overwhelming, even with the nature noises out here. So that brings me to the reason for this episode. And it's something that I want to talk about during the summer because when it hits Paul, we're going to have times where we really just want to hit the reset button. You know, things aren't working well like our curriculum, maybe kids aren't liking their classes. Maybe we're getting frustrated, because we are feeling like public schools doing more than we are. So there's a lot of different reasons why you might want to just hit that reset button. So I am starting a three part series. And that is how to hit reset. So what are some strategies and some fun things that we can do that hit reset for kids. But here's the kicker hit reset for you. Also, it's really important for you to recognize that you are just as much a part of the homeschool experience as your kids, it's really important for you to do some things for you too. So let's kick it off with part one today. And that is about mystery rides. So the mystery ride is one of my top ways to hit reset when I'm feeling a little stress. We've been doing too many things, seeing too many people, we're just kind of meaning to just kind of get out of here. So what is a mystery ride on mystery ride came from a picture book. And I cannot remember the exact author or title of that book. But I will make sure that it is popped in the show notes. So check that. But it's a picture book that it's about going in a mystery ride where the kids are feeling that sense of excitement. Now as a parent, we can feel that sense of excitement to we might be traveling somewhere new. And it's beautiful thing is apparent to you know, watch the excitement on your kids faces. So a mystery ride is when you announce that it's mystery ride day. And you tell your kids ready much nothing. You handle the snacks. You handle the water you handle, if they're going to need swimsuits, you just kind of already have them in the car. And you let them know when they are leaving. And you just go you don't tell them where they are going. Now today, I am waiting for my kids to actually wake up and I'm sitting out here on my deck and I am really excited because we're going on a mystery ride today. Kids will try to get this information out of you. And I'm going to just confess here that they actually managed to get out of me by accident, where we're going today, but we're planning on going somewhere where we can pet animals. My kids are huge animal lovers. They have a drive through Safari, and it's about an hour away. Now during that hour, it's a great time to play music, listen to podcasts, talk with your kids, feel the wind in your hair. If it's a summer day, roll the windows down, just get some of that fresh air and sunshine and get excited to go somewhere a little bit different. So for mystery rides, we've gone to museums, we have gone swimming to different lakes. We've gone to arcades for go karts, climbing walls, we've gone on nature hikes to explore mushrooms, one time even met up with their grandmother. We're also going to have more noises like buses here but this is exactly a part of this episode and it's why you might need a reset sometimes there's just a lot going on around you like the noise and you know like everything
and you just feel like you need to get away. So mystery ride is a great way and opportunity for you to actually do that, because you're getting away, and so are your kids. So I miss her ride, it can really become a great part of your high school experience. I'd love to go on them once a month, you can go on and once a quarter. But choose something a little bit different. And it doesn't have to be an hour away like the one that we're going to today, this can be something that they've wanted to experience. This is a little bit close to strewing. So if you've listened to the steering episodes during is when you are leaving things kind of purposefully around the house, you're looking to gauge interest, you can do that with these kinds of mystery rides to you know, take them places that they haven't experienced yet. I mean, it can even be bowling. And what I'll do is me give you a list of 10 ideas for your first mystery ride in a handout or in the show notes. So check those show notes for me to get some ideas, just to get you started. But call it a mystery ride, it becomes a really fun way of living, you can make jokes as to where you're going, you can have your kids ask three questions, if you want to give them any kind of hint whatsoever, if they're a little low to go, you could even create a jar with a bunch of mystery rides in it. And then if you have a hard time deciding which one you want to do, you could have your kids or you just pick one from the jar, and then choose to go to that place. So again, doesn't have to be a lot of money doesn't have to be far away, just has to be a really great way for you to reset and have kind of some one on one time with the kids. These times, resist the urge to invite a lot of people this is time for just you and the kids to kind of get away for you to know them a little bit better. as kids get older, they have more playdates they have more classes, they have more responsibilities. And it's a really good way to get that one on one time to eat at those special little restaurants or to have a picnic. Remember, this does not have to cost a lot of money, it just has to be somewhere different. You can go to a park that's a little farther away. Or if it's summer, like I said a lake or a splash pad, just something to get out and don't tell them where you're going and then go off and have fun doing something different different is the key here. So this is my favorite way to hit the reset button when you're just feeling a little stressed out. And stress comes in a lot of different ways. So you might not even notice that you're feeling a little bit stress until you find yourself snapping a little bit more often. Or maybe you're feeling like you need to get away. And that can be a really good hint that it's time to go. So with all of these noises as I'm sitting outside here, I cannot wait to just get away for the day and do something a little different. Remember, slowing down to speed up making sure you take that intentional time for you and the kids is always a huge thing. Okay, so I am going to give you two more ideas in the next two weeks. So make sure you stay tuned to our how to hit reset series. And we'll be diving into part two which is going to be a surprise, just like this mystery ride. So we would love to hear from you though please go ahead and send us a note. What you'd like to hear from did you take a mystery ride and where did you go? We would love to hear we'd love it when you would talk back to us. And if you would take the time to leave a review, hopefully with the maximum amount of stars so that we can actually get out there and reach for homeschooling families just like you everyone till next time.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
