Welcome!

Hi, I’m Sarah.  About 10 years ago, I designed a new style of homeschooling called Fun-Schooling.​Fun-Schooling is fun for kids, effective at helping them learn, and EASY for moms!​

Fun-Schooling is using kids’ natural talents and passions to ignite a love for learning.  Then, no more nagging and prodding is needed and homeschooling becomes fun!  Many thousands of families have Flipped to Fun-Schooling and aren’t looking back.

At the core of Fun-Schooling is the Fun-Schooling Core Journal.  We have over 50 different Core Journals based on a myriad of interests.  These journals organize the learning of all the core subjects revolving around their passions.​

Along with the Core Journals, we use books from the library or bookstores, card and board games, art supplies, internet and video games, like Minecraft and Prodigy.​

I have kids that love horses, so we do Fun-Schooling with the Horses Journals.  I have kids who love Minecraft, so we Fun-School with Minecraft Journals.  And the same with kids who love musical instruments, making money, baking, dinosaurs, and pets, etc, etc.​

We have many other add-on books in all the subjects to supplement the core journal.​ So if you want to make homeschooling fun for the kids while making sure they are learning, and you want it to be easy for moms, try Fun-Schooling!​

To get started, click over to the bookstore and watch the video about “How to choose the right books”.  You can also visit the active Facebook Group or Forum to connect with thousands of other Fun-Schooling moms.​

Blessings,

Sarah Janisse Brown

Mom of 15

Fun-Schooling Learning Challenges- Tips for Homeschooling Learning Disabilities and Special Needs

Last week we told you about our series on Fun-Schooling each grade/age. Grateful parents have been telling us all week how excited they are. We’ve had several questions asking about learning disabilities, special needs, and medical struggles.  We know homeschooling learning disabilities and special needs can feel overwhelming.

Today I’m glad to tell you we will also discuss these topics this school year. We hope this series will not only help parents better support their children but will help you learn about different learning challenges.

First, we’ll introduce the challenge and how it typically expresses itself.
Next, we’ll share common learning adaptations and tips to optimize learning.
Then, we’ll talk about building a learning plan/curriculum.
Last, we’ll share the most popular journals for children with this learning challenge. 

Remember– This series will be based on the average child with this learning challenge. We recognize most of these have a huge range of expression. This is intended to be a supportive overview.  The bell curve is extremely important to remember throughout this series. Some children will fall outside of this average. We’ve chosen to homeschool for a reason- so we can customize our children’s education to their unique academic level and needs This is especially important for children with special needs, medical concerns, and learning disabilities.

Sounds great, what’s the plan?

October ‘23- Dyslexia
November ‘23- Dyscalculia
December ‘23- Dysgraphia
January ‘24- Executive Functioning Weaknesses 
February ‘24- Reluctant/ Struggling Writers
March ‘24- Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities/Disorder
April ‘24- Autism
May ‘24- Anxiety & Depression
June ‘24- PANS/PANDAS
July ‘24- ADHD
August ‘24- Chronic Health Problems & Cancer
September ‘24- Trauma and Transition 

Please let us know what specific questions and struggles you’d like to see addressed in this series. We hope it will be helpful for your family. 

Disclaimer- The content of this post is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition or disease. Please seek advice from your healthcare provider for your personal health concerns prior to making any changes for yourself or your child.


About the Author- Amanda Osenga is a Fun-Schooling mom in Columbus, Ohio. She is also the social media manager and Virtual Assistant for Thinking Tree. Her family combines Thinking Tree books with the Charlotte Mason method using books from Ambleside Online and Wildwood Curriculum. In her free time, Amanda is an avid reader and loves to be outdoors.

Fun-Schooling For Every Grade

Today I’m excited to announce our “Fun-Schooling For Every Grade” blog series. This is something y’all have asked for time and time again. We are delighted to be bringing this series to you this school year.  

This will include what to expect regarding academic ability and developmental level every year. We’ll also look at common challenges in each phase and share tips. For each grade, we’ll discuss how to build a curriculum including what to expect for workload and schedule. Tips from other Fun-Schooling moms will help give you the POV of several people. The most popular journals for each grade and tips for using them will round out each post. 

A big focus for us at Thinking Tree is letting kids be kids. You’ll see a lot of room for play, nature, and wonder in these plans. We want kids to have plenty of time to explore the things they love and soak up their childhood. 

Remember– This blog series will be based on the average level for the grade/age. The bell curve is extremely important to remember throughout this series. Some children will fall outside of this average. We’ve chosen to homeschool for a reason- so we can customize our children’s education to their unique academic level and needs.

Students can go up or down several grade levels from these suggestions as needed. Virtually all our materials can be used by kids from reading age to teens (and adults!) For non-readers and early readers, we have level A-1 materials. Each student’s education is customized by choosing academically appropriate materials. 

How do I know what grade my homeschooler is in?

The general guideline is- age in the fall minus 5 = grade. For example, my son is 12 this fall. 12-5=7
If he were in the school system, he’d be in 7th grade. 

Sounds great, what’s the plan?

By far the top age we’re asked about it High School so we’re starting at High School and working our way down from there. Here’s the schedule for this series-

October ‘23- High School- College/ Advanced Academics Path
November ‘23- High School– Career/ Calling Path for those who will not need college
December ‘23-  Middle School– emphasizing choosing a major (and why it’s ok if they change it!)
January ‘24- 6th grade 
February ‘24- 5th grade
March ‘24- 4th grade– with an emphasis on the fact it’s often a step-up academically and in terms of independence 
April ‘24- 3rd grade
May ‘24- 2nd grade– with a focus on fostering more independence 
June ‘24- 1st grade
July ‘24-  Kindergarten
August ‘24-  Preschool

Eager to learn about a specific grade now?
Check out the grade-by-grade video series we did in 2022 in our Facebook group-

Concerned about gaps in your child’s education? Check out this post.


About the Author- Amanda Osenga is a Fun-Schooling mom in Columbus Ohio. She is also the social media manager and Virtual Assistant for Thinking Tree. Her family combines Thinking Tree books with the Charlotte Mason method using books from Ambleside Online and Wildwood Curriculum. In her free time, Amanda is an avid reader and loves to be outdoors.

How to Fun-School with Reggio Emilia

What is Reggio Emilia?

  • An educational philosophy developed in the 1960s
    • Named after the town in which it was developed
    • Founded by Loris Malaguzzi who wanted children to have a more holistic education after the war
    • Similar in many ways to Montessori and Waldorf
    • Come to the US in the 90s

Main Focuses of a Reggio Emilia education

  • Teachers learn with children
    • Teacher/sparents are seen as guides and the primary learning is child-led
    • Suggestions are only made if the child asks for them
  • Play-based, especially in the younger years
  • Self-directed
    • When a child expresses interest/curiosity in a subject/topic, that is what the child is invited to explore
  • Education is highly focused on involving and engaging all the senses
  • Children are given control over their learning
    • Lots of project-based learning
    • Documentation is important, learning journals are kept and utilized daily

Other tidbits

  • “Hundred Languages of Children”
    • Written by the founder and addresses how children are natural communicators and communicate through a variety of methods such as art, writing, drama, speech, etc
  • The classroom/learning environment is referred to as the “third teacher”
    • Space is kept clutter-free, organized, and full of natural materials
    • It is not a “prepared environment” like in Montessori, rather an environment children can play, learn, research, and grow.

How to combine Fun-Schooling with Reggio Emilia and peek inside Reggio Emilia-friendly journals
Make sure to join our Facebook group and then click below to watch!

What questions do you have about Reggio Emilia? Do you have any resources to share on the Reggio Emilia Method? Share in the comments!

Learn More-

Fun-Schooling + 9 different educational methods

Minecraft Month is Here- Save on all your favorite journals!

“Homeschooling with Minecraft seems too good to be true.” – We hear this from kids time and time again. It is our delight to offer Fun-Schooling journals tapping into kids love of Minecraft while covering all the major school subjects!

This month, we’ve put our most popular Minecraft paperbacks and all Minecraft PDFs on sale!!

You’ll find journals for beginners all the way through teens with this sale. Even a couple journals Moms love!

30% off– Paperbacks

50% off- PDFs

Our monthly theme sales last all month long. Take a peek at our upcoming themes for info on what’s coming soon. And make sure to vote for what you want to see on sale on the Facebook group.

One Day There Was A Mom

One day, there was a young mom with eight children under ten years old, she was serving as a town council Vice President and was organizing festivals for Main Street. Homeschooling the kids and always searching for strategies to help her struggle learners to thrive, and to help her struggling neighbors to become a community, and helping at church and building her home-based ministries. She contributed to the family income by teaching classes every weekend for IUPUI. She cooked a feast every night. She was helping to run a farm store and all her children were starting their own businesses… she was up at night with a nursing baby and had a car seat under her desk at town hall.

And everything she did was fueled by self care and a little time at the feet of Jesus.

She made an effort to carve out time to recharge and to put her own passions and creativity on a pedestal, to always start and end her days with a time of focus on the things that brought her joy. One day she had realized that she was awake for over 16 hours a day and it was no crime to take one or two of those hours each day to focus on filling her own heart, and investing in her own needs, passions and pursuits. She gave 14 hours away to everyone and everything else, but held precious her space to thrive.

Some people send a message that mothers should never for a moment put themselves first, never for a moment do one thing for the joy of it… if there is a dish in the sink or laundry to be done. She learned to let the children entertain themselves, she helped her husband understand that if he didn’t give her a break she would have no energy for him at the end of the day, so she stopped listening to the voice of guilt and picked up a paint brush, a crochet hook, and a good book. As the children grew, her talents and hobbies developed and grew as well.

She was an example to her children of a parent who didn’t loose herself to parenting.

As her hobbies grew along side her children they became so well developed that they eventually became an income source that allowed her husband to become a stay-at-home dad who could focus on his own calling to serve others on the mission field, in the community, and be at home with the children. All the children were thriving so they had another baby and adopted five more kids.

The family didn’t thrive because she sacrificed everything to meet the needs and demands of others, the family thrived because she knew how to fill her own tank, and she knew of to give herself rest and space to be who she was meant to be, and by taking care of herself she was able to accomplish so many more things for others than she would if she lost herself to motherhood. She would tell you that there is nothing more precious to her than her family, but she knows that a family thrives when the mother thrives. And by the grace of God, and through the compassion and encouragement of a loving husband she took care of herself too.

When all my kids were little I used 49cent craft paints from Walmart and a couple of cheap paintbrushes to over our walls with murals…

Equipping Our Children in a Rapidly Changing World

Musings with Amanda Osenga

If you’d have told me at age 12 what my job would be as a blogger and virtual assistant. I’d have had 0% framework for any of it other than writing & a bit of the computer piece. The overwhelming majority of what I do and the tools I use didn’t exist when I was 12.

If you’d have told my Dad at 12 what his future as an electrical engineer would look like, he’d have had almost no framework for it. Computers were giant things that took up entire rooms. Most of what Dad used in his job, didn’t exist when he was 12.

If you’d have told my Grandparents at age 12 about the massive technological changes they’d see in working life, I think their heads would have spun, or they’d have not believed you.

My Great Grandmother passed away in the early 2000s at 102 years old. She went from having no electricity to playing solitaire on my laptop with me in college. The amount of change her generation saw was astounding. Her life at 12 was vastly different than previous generations.

If you’d have told any generation before my Great Grandparents about their future careers, they’d have, by and large, known exactly what you were talking about. They grew up with remarkably little change compared to the last 100ish years.

I can do my best to equip and prepare my 12-year-old for his life to come. I can help him build the skills he’ll need and show him technology. Most likely, it won’t be anything even remotely close to what he’s using by my age.

The best I can do for him is teach him how to learn. How to adapt. How to question and wonder what technology is right for him. How to manage stress, rapid change, transition, and an ever-changing culture This is what we’re tasked with as parents, adults, and leaders for the next generation.

It feels like a lot. And I’m glad to be doing it with all of you as we navigate this warp-speed world together for ourselves and our kids.

Sarah’s Birthday Blessings

I really thought I’d be older and feel older and look older by now. I’m starting to think that 47 is a perfectly good time when you take care of yourself.

How do I take care of myself? I’ll share. I feel like women who have learned to manage stress and life need to speak up and share about it. I’ll go first. Maybe there’s one little thing that will spark an idea for a better way, so you can start feeling your best if you don’t yet. Share a life tip, healthy habit, or hack you love in the comments!

So here’s to my body, mind, soul and spirit:

Coconut oil and raw honey for everything – including skin care.

My own herbal tea blends to treat everything, no need for medications 99% of the time.

7 hours of sleep. Early to bed early to rise, unless I go to bed late and want to sleep in.

Apple Watch says I usually get 4-7 miles a day on these feet.

Less than 1400 calories a day this year- I seriously don’t need more. I went from 165 to 147 after Pastor Danny’s New Year’s sermon about counting calories and steps. Yeah, at church I learned to get an Apple Watch and My Fitness Pal. 🤔🙄 I gained 30 pounds I didn’t need after turning 40. When I stopped nursing my last baby, had some miscarriages, and kept visiting Cheese Cake Factory (and the family dinner table) with no understanding that just one typical meal was 2000 calories. 🤣

Skin care products from the Dead Sea, with no artificial ingredients.

Raw milk

Sunshine

A house full of love

15 pregnancies – blessing me with 10 healthy babies and six in heaven- all pregnancies provide regeneration to the well nourished mother’s body – through an infusion of stem cells that renew the moms body at a cellular level.

Jesus above all

I read good books

I read to my little girls

I garden and crochet

I keep my hands busy and my mind active

I never watch movies or shows alone

I never eat desserts alone, unless it’s chocolate

I light candles often, almost daily

I play peaceful music all the time in my house

Bible time and prayer with my husband every single night.

Date nights weekly, travel often (click here to read more great birthday tips from Sarah!)

Dear Inquisitive Unschooling Mom…

I’m the creator of the Fun-Schooling books. We are Unschoolers most of the time, but I am always introducing my kids to all sorts of content and we do projects and adventures together a lot. We also enjoy casual Charlotte Mason style learning in seasons where we need more structure. So I have been setting up a buffet of learning through the environment I create for my children to grow up in.

I created these books so the children could create portfolios of research, art, thoughts and discoveries about their passions, while incorporating some academic skill building at the same time. In my books I always focus on the spark of curiosity, the quest for knowledge, the joy of discovery, the adventure of going deeper, and the delight of sharing and using the knowledge and skills we have embraced. I also focus on collaboration and the natural process of nurturing the child’s drive to learn by example.

My role is mostly fulfilled by my example of being a curious, creative, peaceful presence as I pursue my own interests and create a wonderful family environment. We use our Thinking Tree Books after breakfast, chores and family devotions. Our daily time with Fun-Schooling books being open and used as a resource and guide for a learning journey is usually less than two hours, and most of the time the child is following learning prompts related to their passions and then coming back to the journal to document the learning in a way that feels more like journaling and scrapbooking.

Some of my books focus on specific academic skill building in areas of math, language arts and geography, for example. But I always reframe academics as an adventure in discovery or creativity. My math books are all therapeutic, (and fun), and are designed to give children joy and confidence with numbers, while healing some of the trauma. What trauma? All the trauma inflicted by the soul-destroying experiences in early childhood related to typical math problems that 90% of kids probably hate and dread. Most kids grow up thinking they are bad at math and writing. They feel ashamed, bored, and have this cloud of irrelevance surrounding all the monotony of standardized learning.

Typical learning focused almost completely on highlighting what the children missed, messed up, and failed in. They are always judged by the seven mistakes rather than the 1000 things they did well. Standardization in education creates a world of failing perfectionists who feel they will never be enough, never achieve their goals, never satisfy the people they love and respect. This is a sad cycle and our society pays the price, because “perfect” is an impossible illusion that we began striving for at such a young age. Women cry into their pillows every night all over the USA cause they can never be good enough… and it started with their first C- in first grade. They tried so hard and were so excited and curious about learning until they began to experience all the shame of small failures.

I failed 3rd grade, with a report card and little heart stained by Ds and Fs. At age 8 I felt doomed to failure and humiliation forever. I began to dream of a different world where kids like me could just play with animals, do school in the woods, build forts, bake cookies, make fairy villages, create museums, sell art, earn money, publish a newspaper and live in a giant cardboard box painted with daisies in the corner of the living room… and of course go to work with dad at the Space Center or help mom in her art studio. I dreamed a lot about a better way to learn and enjoy every moment of my childhood and my life. I decided I wanted to be a mom, and artist and run maybe a space camp where kids can pretty much go to space at the end of the experience.

The Thinking Tree books are a small part of my vision for creating an incredible life around my kids. But they help us dig deeper and document our learning journey while studying what we love, and a few things that we need. Thinking Tree Books also help a lot of people who live in restrictive states to build an impressive portfolio in an easy and joyful way to satisfy requirements. All our bundles are designed around the needs for grade level learning in charter schools in the state of California, so that even kids in that environment can Fun-School. I hope this gives you a little vision and understanding of what Fun-Schooling is and how it came to be. I wanted to give my 15 kids what I dreamed of when I was stuck in a desk doing third grade…again, imagining a different world. The good news is that I got to homeschool at age 13 and basically enjoyed a path of self directed learning based on my passions, projects and career goals! My parents let me do unit studies about ANYTHING I was interested in, and that was school!

Back to School Shopping–$10, $15, $20 Sale!

This great sale has been extended until August 15th! Something for littles all the way through teens…and some beautiful journals for Mom School, too!

$10 Sale Journals

$15 Sale Journals

$20 Sale Journals

Please note that we request for Amazon to mark down journals to a specific price for a certain length of time but they don’t always get marked down/ stay marked down the whole time. If there’s something you really want, make sure to grab it soon!

ADHD Kids: What is Their Passion?

Children with symptoms of ADHD often need less sugar, more time climbing trees, digging, running, and playing with Legos. They often need more B vitamins, more fish oil, more compassion, more dancing or jumping, more citrus, less screen time and less time in a seat or desk. These solutions usually help a lot!

It’s hard to parent a Hyper-Active child! I could have NEVER sent Anna to school–she got our family “kicked” out of two churches. But I trusted that she should be free to be who she was, and not try to force change.

Now that she is older she is funneling all that amazing acrobatic energy into bold, productive and amazing efforts. I am so glad I never tried to make her adapt or be someone I could manage better. She was very very very hard to handle as a 2 – 10 year old. Now that she is grown and I see who she is becoming I am so thankful for the wisdom that was shared with me by a few wise women, who encouraged me to trust my heart, and let Anna be Anna. If it weren’t for Anna there would be no Dyslexia Games or Thinking Tree – All my books and methods are the result of never giving up when faced with the challenges of raising and homeschooling a Hyper-Active Dyslexic.

I talk about Anna a lot. She is the one who has created many of your favorite Fun-Schooling Books!

One thing to pay attention to is what your child loves. Kids who seem to have attention disorders can often focus for long periods of time on the things that fascinate them or tap into their talents. Our Fun-Schooling Journals are a good match for your child’s talents and interests. The Journals are organized to keep kids from having to sit still for long periods of time. Children should move around with their Journals – taking them to different parts of the house and outside for nature study everyday.

School Teachers (and in our case Sunday School Teachers) can’t deal with the kind of energy and talent bottled up in these active children. They take up so much of the teachers efforts just to try to get them to sit still and be quiet. Hyper-Active kids can not be part of a group of 30 children their own age, managed by one poor woman. Kids labeled with ADHD are more than most teachers can handle because they can’t fit in. Medication is often the only way to keep the teacher sane – so either the teacher will go on anti-depressants or the children will be medicated to keep the class under control.

When Anna was 8 or 9 I watched this a Ted Talk by Sir Ken Robinson – I realized that Anna was an artist – and I needed to set her free to be who she was meant to be… so I did! Enjoy these videos for some inspiration…

Animal School (My Favorite YouTube Video!)