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Zoe brings these great questions to the show around gift giving. Keeping spending, stuff, emotions and mom's sanity all within a reasonable limit.
Hard to do at Christmastime!

Join us for some discussion about how we do things, what worked, what didn't and trying to maintain some semblance of equilibrium.

2:10 - Avoiding burnout at Christmas
6:13 - Advent traditions
9:29 - Santa Claus and gift giving
19:33 - Online shopping and supporting local
24:23 - Stocking gift ideas
27:37 - When to open presents?
42:31 - Scaling back on gifts
47:48 - Managing high emotions
50:41 - Decorating and cultural traditions

Catholic Owned - Christmastide Shopping Guide

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Dear friends. This is a bonus episode that I wanted to get out quickly. Brooke and her husband Matteo, a homeschool family, started a business last year that gathers Catholic business owners under one platform to make supporting the values that we want to uphold easier for both buyer and seller.

They've developed a website and an app to make both local and national shopping ethical and simple. Their Christmastide shopping guide is available when you download the app or sign up to the website. It's so lovely, a shopping guide and an Advent and Christmas family devotional in one. Such a great way to support Catholic business.

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Christina joins me to discuss all things toys - curating, storing them, communicating our needs around gift giving and sharing some family favourites.

6:16 - Keep stuff or donate?
10:52 - Giving clear directives for gift giving
16:12 - Rotating toys
19:21 - Best loved toys in our homes
34:10 - When to let go
38:34 - Board games, clean up and creative play

Magnetic Tiles
Melissa and Doug Wooden Blocks
Schleich Animals
Squigs

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1:29 - joy is a choice
4:36 - homeschooling out of love
8:14 - connecting with your child
11:17 - being polite and friendly
14:44 - avoid pouncing on your kids
18:34 - developing relationships

Rest, Play, Grow by Deborah MacNamara
Nourished: Connection, Food, and Caring for Our Kids by Deborah MacNamara
Rest, Play, Grow: Interview with Dr. Deborah MacNamara (podcast)
Nourished: an interview with Dr. Deborah MacNamara on her new book (podcast)

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a lovely chat with my guest co-host Zoe

2:32 - Homeschooling all ages
3:48 - HOW do you do it!???
6:48 - What it looks like day to day
10:57 - Making curriculum work for the needs of your family
15:42 - When learning to read is a challenge
20:26 - Homeschooling fosters self-motivation
25:03 - Being ok with slower progress
26:44 - How do you keep little ones entertained during school hours?
31:39 - Efficiency in our day and phonics
34:55 - Overcoming learning challenges in education
37:40 - How many hours are you spending on school work?

Toe by Toe curriculum for struggling readers

Mother of Divine Grace School

mastery learning (blog post)

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Feel free to disagree.

blog posts on writing

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How do we spread joy and profess a life in Christ when we're so messed up? Some thoughts on this ever so human experience.

This is the last of a series of episodes on the basics of joy. The other episodes are:

What is joy? Back to basics.

The story of two moms.

Living joyfully when it's hard.

1:55 - Not time for perfect
3:37 - Being an apostle of joy even when I struggle with it myself
4:20 - Scattering joy in our messiness
7:48 - Accepting difficult circumstances
15:15 - You have been called to be a disciple

joy and kindness are simply good habits (blog post)

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