Freebies Archives - Kara S. Anderson

Kara S. Anderson

Homeschool connection, not perfection.

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Hey there!

I'm Kara, homeschool mom, writer, tea drinker, yoga-doer and girl with the overdue books. I spend very early mornings and very late nights writing about homeschooling and parenting. I'm so glad you're here!

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You are welcome to link to my blog (of course!), but please do not use my words or photos without my written consent, that includes reblogging. Copyright 2013-2017. Read this site’s policies and disclosures here.

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karastephensonanderson

Can I share the story of this table? We bought it

Can I share the story of this table?

We bought it at an antique mall for $100 in 2004. It was right before our son’s first Thanksgiving.

(Editor’s note: They did not have the money to spend on a table.)

We bought it because we were hosting - we wanted to have both families over.

It was so sweet and naive. 🤦‍♀️ I desperately wanted my new baby to have extended family, so we dug deep to pay for a table and groceries.

That first holiday was … not a total disaster, but pretty bad. Most of my husband’s family refused to come over and they were insulted we were having an event.

The two people who came refused to eat and would not stop talking about … breast implants. 🤦‍♀️

When I tried to change the subject I was told, “I see what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work.” 😂

Lord, help us all.

But - after that Thanksgiving, we had a table. And we built our own little family around it.

We’ve homeschooled at this table for 14 years. We’ve done so many art projects; science projects …

We’ve used it when baking pies for Thanksgiving and rolling out cinnamon rolls every Christmas.

We’ll use it today to start Thanksgiving food prep, and we’ll use it tomorrow when we eat, and play games.

I got what I wanted - my kids absolutely have family - it just looks different than how I imagined.

And we have this beautiful, scarred table.

Last time we moved, I was carrying it inside with a friend and he offered to sand it and refinish it.

But I love the paint splotches. I love the scratches. I love the memories.

I even sort of love that this table always has random stuff on it.

You guys - see those K-Cups? We don’t even have a machine that uses those 😂🤷‍♀️

Also, pomegranate 🤷‍♀️

Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving from our family 🤍

Love, k 🤍

Does anyone else currently have what I am calling

Does anyone else currently have what I am calling “Emotional Scurvy?”

It’s like something is missing, but no one can really tell you what it is. We certainly can’t figure it out. What are we, doctors?

Maybe, like me, you have a body pulling some weird shit.

So you see doctors and they say, “that’s weird shit.”

They don’t know what it is. They don’t know why your body is doing it.

“Have you tried eating lemons?”

So you go home, and every morning you suck on a damn lemon and get more and more angry. Your anger is frustration. It’s a bubbling up of the *why* of it all.

It gives < zero damns how hard you’re trying.

This morning I decided it would feel really nice to go outside and scream. But I didn’t because we have a neighborhood Facebook group.

So instead, I opened my journal and wrote about how much I want to feel physically and emotionally better. How very much I want my two tiny, insignificant in the grand scheme of things health “issues,” to go away.

(V. quiet screaming.)

And then I wrote down that maybe, the cure to Emotional Scurvy is self-compassion + patience.

Damn it. I’d prefer lemons.

Now I need to be *good* to myself 🖕🤮

And I need to do it without expecting everything to change right away. 🤬

It’s like maybe my body wants to be loved and cared for. Like it needs it. Like it thinks it deserves unconditional love like a kitten or baby.

Ugh.

Like maybe the answer isn’t doctors or ointment or the crap I’ve been chasing.

Actually loving ourselves is stupid-hard, isn’t it?

Letting go It’s a windy, rainy day, and I sit h

Letting go

It’s a windy, rainy day, and I sit here with my tea, looking out the windows, watching the trees let go of their leaves.

I wonder how the trees feel about letting go.

Is it freeing? A relief?

Does it feel like a beginning or an ending?

Is there a part of the tree that tries to hold on too long? That tries to go against the wind and the rain and cold?

I ask myself (for the trees) is this letting go scary?

Or does it feel right?

I would say this place is not even real, but I go

I would say this place is not even real, but I go here every week and have watched this happen.

Sometimes I feel like homeschooling has kept my curiosity alive amongst the meal planning and laundry and driving the teens all the places.

I’m so grateful, though, that this year I got to learn about this local spot that has become a happy place for me.

And I’m just a little sad that it’s closing for the season 😭😭😭

My new happy place will have to be in front of my fireplace, and frankly, I’d like to do all the things from that spot until March if you please. ☺️🤍

Is it OK to just hire Ubers For The Teens until then? 😂🤷‍♀️ Is that a thing? It should be.

Hi friends! This is happening now! 🥰 All of my

Hi friends! This is happening now! 🥰

All of my ebooks, unit studies, talks and more are on sale.

Head over to karasanderson.com/shop for 30% off of everything! (Link in bio)

We got to do The Coolest thing today!! 💚 We at

We got to do The Coolest thing today!! 💚

We attended a tea grinding ceremony with a master stonecutter from Kyoto, Japan.

The stone grinder he used in this ceremony took a month to create.

💚💚💚

We got to enjoy fresh matcha - it was incredible. I mean - like - seriously unforgettable.

I also learned that people study the art of Japanese tea ceremony for years. My children’s Japanese tutor has been studying for 5 years.

The idea of continuing to learn during your whole life came up again and again today.

🍵 🇯🇵 💚

P.S. That’s my teen grinding tea in the photo and video.

What a gift, to get to live in this moment, with t

What a gift, to get to live in this moment, with the leaves changing + a hot tea in hand.

So … I always wanted a big family. I’m excite

So … I always wanted a big family.

I’m excited to announce that after 3+ months of fostering, our family officially adopted Pablo today.

Mac is on his way with a new adventure, and I’m taking a foster mama break. 💟

It’s been wonderful, but my heart is too tender right now for fostering.

I’ll still be sharing updates here and there about Pablo and our big ol cat family at @karacatsandkittens 🐈‍⬛🐈🐈‍⬛🐈

P.S. Yes - Pablo almost got adopted like 4 times. But he fits here and we are so glad he’s part of our family. 🖤

🎉Giveaway closed. Thank you for entering! 🎉

🎉Giveaway closed. Thank you for entering! 🎉
GIVEAWAY!! 🎉

Hi friends! Last week when my audiobook for More Than Enough hit No. 1 in homeschooling and motherhood new releases, some friends told me I should celebrate …

But I didn’t have any fun ideas …until I saw these bracelets!

So now, to say thank you for your support of my book, I am giving away one of each of these bracelets:

• I am Enough

• Beautiful Girl, You Can Do Hard Things

• Courage, Dear Heart

To enter to win a bracelet:

1️⃣ Like this post

2️⃣ Be sure you are following this account
@karastephensonanderson

3️⃣ Leave a comment letting me know your favorite quote, mantra or inspirational saying for when you need encouragement

For bonus entries:

⏺ Tag your friends to share the fun

⏺ Share this giveaway in your stories, and then come back and leave a comment letting me know you did so!

This giveaway ends Saturday, 9/25 at 12 p.m. CST.

Winners will be contacted directly.

Small print stuff: U.S. addresses only. This giveaway is not sponsored or endorsed by Instagram.

Good luck!! 🍀

Ever since my kids started learning Japanese, I ge

Ever since my kids started learning Japanese, I get lots of questions about getting kiddos started with Japanese learning.

But the truth is, we are very lucky. My kids work with a lovely tutor.

I literally found her by googling “Japanese tutor” and our town name 🥰

But if you want to get started on your own, I have a few ideas from my kids.

First, this is the textbook/workbook they use. We actually spotted it in the college bookstore when we went to pick up my son’s books for this semester.

I’m told it’s kind of the Gold Standard. I’ll put a link in my bio for you.

We also purchased the Genki app that goes with this book for both kids that plays the audio.

OTHER APPS:
- Anki (flash cards)
- OTO Navi
- tracing apps that allow you to practice writing
- Kana

WEBSITES:

They both highly recommend
- ToFuGu
- Web Japan

Finally, they both recommend watching Japanese documentaries with English subtitles.

🇯🇵 If you have Japanese resources, especially for younger kids, please share in the comments!

Book link: https://amzn.to/3Cnony7 (clickable link in bio - affiliate link)

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