Fun-Schooling Family Stories: Britt Stilwell

Today we welcome Fun-Schooling mam Brittany Stilwell for a guest post!!

Hi, I’m Britt! I am a homeschooling mother to 7 children ages 12, 11, 9, 7, 5, 2, and 3 months. Together we live in sunny South Florida, right on the coast. We are very familiar with neurodiversities as 3 of my children are autistic, as well as myself. We also have one child gifted with dyslexia.

Finding curricula for my children was quite the challenge considering their different needs and abilities. I never wanted them to feel frustrated or like they were “less than” for not being able to properly fill out worksheets with information they may never remember. Instead, I desired something more for them. I wanted to provide them with an education that would help them learn more about themselves while focusing on their gifts and talents. When we found The Thinking Tree, I was intrigued. Could my children really excel using these beautiful books? We tried several of the Minecraft journals as a family–a favorite theme of ours. Our homeschool was forever changed. We haven’t looked back yet!

I wanted to share a little of what I’ve learned over the years that we have been using Fun-Schooling journals and what things look like for us now that we have found our groove. πŸ’•

  1. Keep it simple! Don’t overcomplicate things. Don’t overthink things. Go in with a clear head and an open mind. Be ready to say yes more often than no. βœ”οΈ
  2. It’s okay to buy all the journals. πŸ’Έ (Yes! I just said that! lol) It’s okay if your child wants to use all of the journals at once. It’s okay if your child wants to use just one at a time. As long as they are learning and getting work done, roll with it. πŸ€“
  3. Let your kids pick out their journal(s)! πŸ“š This is so important to my kids. They really feel in charge of their education when they have the freedom to study exactly what they want and how they want. 🌎 πŸ¦‹ πŸ”¬
  4. It’s okay if all of your child’s books are relevant to their journals, or none are relevant at all. Maybe they liked the pretty horse cover but they want to study George Washington. πŸ€·πŸ½β€β™€οΈ It’s their journal after all. Let them really own it and create something that reflects themselves. πŸͺž
  5. Let them loose! Maybe they only do a few really good pages a day or maybe they get excited for the next page and hurry through. ✏️ Don’t discourage their learning by telling them how you’d rather it be done. I have done this plenty and it has always hurt their spirit. 😞
  6. Believe they are capable, because they really are! πŸ₯°
  7. There is no wrong way to use Fun-Schooling journals, but there is a right way. The right way is to always be sure there is FUN in each day! 🎲

And lastly…

8. Lead. By. Example. πŸ‘―β€β™€οΈ

I can’t stress this one enough. Emulate the behaviors and habits you wish to see in your children. Yes, personalities are different. I have 7 children and no two are alike, but they are all watching ME. The best things we can teach our kids will not come from library books or curricula, but from within our own hearts and what we do with our hands. πŸ’—

With all that said, below are 5 of the journal and book choices of my kiddos. I love the variety!

Want your story to be featured on the blog? Reply in the comments with your ideas!

Tips for Using “Faces & Feelings”

Good news! Both covers are now available for this journal. The “Autism Spectrum” cover can be found here, and the “Faces and Feelings” cover can be found here.

Do you want to be super successful with this therapy?

Moms, you understand that kids learn best by example.

Please get one book for yourself and one for each of your children who need to understand feelings and facial expressions better.

Set up a cozy little station with drawing supplies, chocolate, a rock salt light, candle, a small mirror. Whatever feels cozy to you. Some drinks or even a tea making station. Just create a cozy spot.

Put the books in a little basket on the desk.
Light the candle, make the tea and go work on a couple pages in your book. Be an example of exactly what you hope your child will do with their book.

Invite the child to help you β€œfigure out” what the face on the page represents. Ask your child to help you.

When you get to the page where you can write anything make up a little story about the five characters on the previous pages. Give them names and give them an adventure. In your story they can experience something that causes the feelings. Read the story to your child. Ask them to help you choose a name for each character.

The writing pages in the book do not dictate anything about how to use that page, we want the student to have freedom, but this is what I would do with it.

Don’t offer a copy of the book to your child on the first day. Just have a couple extras on the desk. If they don’t ask for one after helping you with yours you can offer it to them or just tell them it’s part of school.

If you feel like the child is going to resist you can let them know that they get to work on this book instead of math this week, or instead of a chore that they don’t enjoy. Keep it positive!

Art & Logic Therapy Sale!

I’ve put my Brain Games books at the lowest possible price, Amazon will earn their penny, and will also give everyone with Prime free shipping. I won’t earn much, maybe a few cents, but you all will have the opportunity to get our therapy books as a β€œloss leader” to help us get back on our feet and get these books back up into their β€œbestseller” rating. I just think we all should get a blessing out of this opportunity.

Last time I offered these books for less they $5 we hit #185 of all books on Amazon! We’ve already hit the Best Seller list again with several of these journals!

Since we got canceled and reinstated things turned upside-down, this boost will help.

Less than $4 or $5 per book!

Candlelight: https://bit.ly/3HwTV8Z

Morning Light: https://bit.ly/40roBkK

Wind & Rain: https://bit.ly/3HXbIYo

Full list of Flash Sale Books here on Facebook!

Stock up for your co-op!!!

Dyslexia and ASD and ADHD–Oh Yes!

Who else is homeschooling a child with symptoms of ASD, ADHD or Dyslexia? Did you know that the whole idea of Fun-Schooling was started to make homeschooling work for these kids? Kids who learn differently are the driving force behind all our books. I started designing “Do-It-Yourself Homeschooling Journals” because my kids could not do traditional schoolwork.

ASD kids love the built in schedule provided by the Core Journal. They LOVE how they get to study their special interests. They love the look and feel of the Journals. They love how the journals are logic based, and include puzzle type activities. They often want to work independently and focus on their “research”. Thinking Tree Books encourage this depth of learning.

ADHD kids love how they get to move from one activity to the next with lots of variety. Our journals are designed to rotate activities: Academic – Creative – Academic – Passive – Academic – Active – Academic – Playful! ADHD kids are not bored when Fun-schooling! They get to learn about things they love, and when ADHD kids focus on what they LOVE they are so much easier to homeschool.

Kids with Dyslexia thrive because the books are created with the Dyslexie Font and include games that help with dyslexia. Thinking Tree Books include a lot of room for creativity and imagination, and they have just enough structure to keep kids learning without squelching their drive to learn through play, curiosity and adventure. We also don’t teach through memorization, but through meaningful experience and research. It’s so hard for dyslexic kids to memorize information. There is a better way!

FunSchooling.com

DyslexiaGames.com

Take a Break!

Sometimes a break from school really gives parents time to help a child with a problem area so she can go back to school with new skills and confidence.

How do you do it? I would just let them play most of the time but spend about an hour focusing on the problem area. It’s a great time for dyslexia therapy or some multiplication games.

Sometimes the school schedule is so packed that a break like this offers us a chance help our kids grow in a specific area so they can go back to school stronger in the problem area.

Also, some kids have passions that they don’t have time for during the school year. I have a daughter who was obsessed with parrots and endangered species. It was a perfect time to let her “major in parrots” and learn to dig deep into a topic she really loves.

So we put together a Fun-Schooling basket full of stuff that helps her research birds and Endangered Species. It’s easy to focus because she’s so passionate.

So, during a break from school I would suggest only two things:

1. Zero in on just ONE problem area so the child can overcome some of her struggles.

We use DyslexiaGames.com for reading, writing and spelling problems. It’s so easy to use.

Try Math Craft for problems with basic math and multiplication.

2. Give the child resources based on their passion, and really make time for that passion. What is your child passionate about?

It’s exactly what we would do on summer vacation since this is a chance to focus on strengths and weaknesses, letting everything else go.

Besides that, the kids can have a blast and stay busy being creative, playing video games, watching movies, cooking their own meals, exploring nature, training a pet, learning new skills, and being together. The possibilities are endless!

Example of a Horse Lovers Fun-Schooling Basket

Family Fun Days & Creative Ladies Retreats!

Indiana friends, we are hosting several β€œFamily Fun Days” and β€œCreative Retreats for Ladies and teen girls”. We are focused on helping families that are strongly involved in the education of their children, homeschooling or seriously considering it, and families with foster children, adopted children and kids on the autism spectrum.

Join our group: Fun-Schooling Indiana Co-op- Thinking Tree Community Corp.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/294062695709343/?ref=share_group_link

Never Judge a Child by His Ability to Sit Still and Be Quiet!

Do you have a child who can’t sit still and be quiet? GOOD!  This may be a problem at school, but not in the real world. In today’s world you need a little ADHD just to get by.We must NEVER judge a child by his ability to be passive.  Passive children often turn into passive adults, and that is a problem.  Did you know that classrooms and desks were invented for the convenience of teachers, not for the best interests of the child? 

Every child development specialist (and wise parent) knows that children need lots of time to play, imagine and invent. Children NEED to learn about the world around them by asking questions and experimenting.Β Children are naturally ACTIVE, ENERGETIC, IMAGINATIVE, CREATIVE, and NOISY. Β They were NEVER meant to sit still for hours on end and be passive. Β Why train up aΒ generationΒ of couch potatoes? Β Children were designed to learn through PLAY, DISCOVERY and by IMITATING their parents and the people around them. Β Do you realize that your child wasΒ smart enough to figure out how to walk, sing, turn on the computer, and learn a language by age two-and-a-half? Β With NO lessons! Β He wanted to be like you, so he figured it out on his own. Β How is it that we live in a society where passive children are rewarded, but creative and active children are punished. Β Real life does not work this way. Β Not anymore.

Β Contemporary schooling is all about controlling the child and training him to be a good student. Β A good student is expected to be silent, to stop asking questions, and to stop being active. Β  The highest praise goes to the students who can follow a teacher’s instructions… instead of their own hearts. Β The applause goes to the child who can fill in the blank and memorize facts, not to the child who would prefer to explore his own interests. Β 

Why? Because schools are designed to train people for institutional jobs. Schools were invented during the industrial revolution, at a time when the best job you could get was in a factory. Β Schools follow a model that require individuals to let go of all of their individuality. Β The child is trained from a young age to be a good employee who will work for the boss, no questions asked. Β The goal is to train them to complete assignments and be dependent on an authority figure to control the their time and activities.Β 

During the 20th century almost all parents expected children to get a good education and a good job. Β The good education was expected to be the golden ticket to a good job. Β All the parent had to do was put the kid on the big yellow bus, no worries. Β The government would take care of everything, mom and dad could go to work, junior would spend all day in a nice school and get educated for free. Β The world has changed. Β People who want to live the “good life” are no longer finding good jobs. Β Many highly educated people are living on unemployment or living with their parents at age 35. Β Many people who own businesses are no longer looking for employees. Taxes are high, risk is high, minimum wage is more than they want to pay, minimum wage is less than an educated person is willing to work for anyway. Β Β (click Page 2 below to continue reading)

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Sarah.Β  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 β€œHow 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