Multiplication is all fun and games until you hit the tricky numbers on the number line. As a remote-working homeschooling parent, I noticed how often we breeze through our 2s and 3s, but get weak in the knees when it's time to tackle the 8s, 6s, and many more of these. I mean, I was the same way until my mom made us study the one multiplication math sheet for 7 months straight and only gave us rewards if we aced the 100-question pop quiz.

Of course, if we didn't pass her quiz, our TV and MP3 player was taken away from us forever. 😿

Well, I'm not here to share how awesome and crazy my mom was way back when. I'm here to show you what I'm doing with my kids, especially our oldest daughter who's at that age with learning what multiples are and double and triple digit addition and subtraction.

Motivation and Mistakes

I started my homeschooling journey back in 2021, shortly before having our youngest daughter, AhnLee. I would walk to my kid's school every day to pick up our daughter. Sometimes my sister would drive and pick her up and talk to her teachers.

After having AhnLee, that's when my full blown homeschooling journey began. Honestly, I didn't know what the heck I was doing. I thought it was a piece of cake, but it wasn't.

At first, we would use the old school Hooked on Phonics my mom had. I never had the chance to use book 1 through 7. We also played some Teachin' Teddy Videosmarts on YouTube hour hours on end.

All of the kids loved it.

All of the parents hated it after 7 months of straight Teachin' Teddy and his friends.

Still, it got the job DONE!

Now, I know I mentioned in the title about making mistakes. My biggest mistake was having little to no patience for my oldest daughter, or all kids, and forcing them to learn on an advanced level when they weren't ready. Also, there were other elements, but I won't dive deep into that department.

Another mistake was when I didn't ask for help. Instead, I allowed those who supported me to walk over my parental authority and what I wanted to teach my kids. It wasn't right at all, and I should've known better.

Still, there's no time to mope. Not then, not now, not ever! Instead of throwing a pity party for myself and my lack of special teacher magic skills, I did what I could and researched the rest.

Thus, building homeschooling resources was born (of course, with the help of my kiddos)!

Budget-Friendly Homeschooling Tools

Creating budget-friendly homeschooling tools for my kids helped me out a lot. Most of the inspiration came from my kids. One would point out the commercials and ask me and their dad to buy them their own doll set or set of books to read. While I'm working a full-time position, most of my check goes to taking care of bills and helping my husband with helping us get out of a financial rut.

Seriously, in this upcoming pay period, I'm getting paid $777 after advancing $687 to pay for unexpected expenses and emergencies. Paired with my husband's part-time income, we're doing the best we can to make all of their childhood magical, even if it's a little unorthodox.

Because of what's going on at home, I wanted to do something for other families. Even if it is an extra $30 here or a quick $15 there, our kids are super grateful when we invest in them and their futures.

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Final Thoughts

Thank you for slowing down with me, listening to my story about how I started out with homeschooling and what I'm doing to right my wrongs. I'm not a perfect parent and I strongly believe that when we invest in our child's learning, even in small ways, we're showing our kid just how valuable they are to us (the parents).

I want my kids to feel supported. I also care about your children, their likes and dislikes, and whatever makes them unique. Melody and her siblings are constant reminders of why I do what I do, between working between 80 to 130 hours every other pay period, and still finding time to bless them with educational treats like this puzzle.

I just want them to know that I do see them, just like I see you, and that they make me happy. Without them and my husband, I can't imagine what good I could do for this world...except talk your ear off and do nothing.

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