Stop scrunching your face like a raisin 🍇

You’re reading The Ten AM, a Friday ritual for the parents who traded the fluorescent hum of the institution for the quiet steam of a French press. Every week, I’m serving up a 1-minute hit of curated finds and field notes to help you remember that you aren’t just 'staying home. You’re building a world. Because coziness is a form of resistance, much like the first cup of coffee before the house wakes up, or my recurring belief that I can solve any existential crisis with a new stack of linen notebooks and a very expensive candle, which usually results in me being 'organized' in spirit while my actual life remains a beautiful, unscripted work of art.

XO,

Kimberly

A shot of soul to start the day.

The only child in me is so happy to read this. And so encouraged that there was beauty in having more seclusion (despite all those times I wished I could have a sibling).

Probably one of my favorite parts of homeschooling is quieting the noise our kids are forced to listen to every day by inviting them into more opportunities for seclusion. You too?

Trading system rules for home truths.

And this is exactly how my oldest had a “math morning” yesterday, where he opted to jump straight into his test because he was ready! Love to see it.

Neighborly finds and homeschool favorites.

Have you heard of Smash Books?

I hadn’t recently, but now I’m OBSESSED with doing this for our yearbook this year. I can also see doing this next year for every subject without a dedicated curriculum book, like science, social studies, geography, music... and maybe other units, too!

Smash books are a mashup (smash up?) of notebooks, scrapbooks, and creative processing where you basically get to take pictures, drawings, old documents, notes, and even QR codes to point to favorite videos or songs, and put them together into a notebook.

Instead of the bullet point outlines and chicken scratch notes I used to take, this brings the material to life in a much more tactile and beautiful way. It’s something you’ll want to save, crack open again, revisit, and show off.

These are a few examples I found online. 😍

Sightings of the classroom where it shouldn't be

Hybrid Homeschooling Anyone?

This year was a HUGE success for us, and I credit that to the hybrid homeschooling model we used.

Math, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies were done at home so I could give my boys the 1:1 support in each subject. (Plus, teaching these is just fun for me too!).

Then, we went to our co-op one day a week for bolt on electives. These electives ranged from entrepreneurship and civics (which always seemed to fit in perfectly with what we were learning at home), to archery and theatre (FUN! And so hard to teach in an isolated setting).

The beauty of homeschooling is that you get to choose how you design your days. If you’re in the camp of, “I want to make homeschooling better next year but I don’t want to have to teach ALL THE THINGS!” or “We’re starting to homeschool next year and I have no idea what it’ll look like,” this hybrid option is 10/10 my choice. We’re planning on doing it again.

The science and data behind the art of homeschooling.

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

While the traditional school system thrives on that sideways-glancing pressure to be perfect and keep up with your peers, homeschooling is your invitation to opt out of the sprint.

Look at Carl Lewis, whose story was featured in a 2020 episode of The Tim Ferriss Show. He won nine gold medals by staying relaxed while everyone else was scrunching their faces into raisins at the finish line. He leaned into the 85% Rule, understanding that peak performance lives in the smooth state, not the strained push. When we try to force-march our kids through a 100% intensity day, we push them and ourselves to exhaustion.

Consider this your radical permission slip to dial it back. The harder you grip the perfect homeschool day, the faster it slips through your fingers. It’s like trying to fall asleep by yelling at your brain to shut up (been there! 🤦‍♀️).

Let the curiosity lead. Stop glorifying the grind. Or, as the Marines (and the winner of my archery tournament who I was lucky enough to be shooting with) say, “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

Low-friction, high-magic things to try today.

In the traditional world, movement is a disruption that requires a raised hand, a hall pass, and a whole lot of performative stillness. (That is exhausting just to write — imagine living it?!)

Aren’t you glad we’re not running a waiting room? If the energy in the room feels like a coiled spring, stop fighting the biology. In our world, a fidget is a processing tool. It’s the brain’s way of saying it needs a little more oxygen and a little less proper sitting (although I do hate the slouching…always the slouching in chairs!).

Take five minutes to trade the slouching in chairs for a kitchen dance party or a brisk lap around the garden. After all, we’re here mentoring humans who were built to roam. Whether it’s spelling words on the trampoline or reading history while perched in a tree, let the body move. Yours included.

A little something sweet for your weekend.

Before you dive into the holiday weekend, I want to leave you with a tiny, beautiful tradition that requires zero prep and 100% presence: The Resurrection Garden.

But forget the fancy kits (not everything needs a fancy kit).

Grab a shallow dish, some dirt from the backyard, a few stones, and maybe a sprig of rosemary. Let the kids build a little landscape in the sunshine that showcases the meaning of Easter this weekend with the rock rolled away and the tomb empty because HE IS RISEN!

It’s tactile, it’s messy, and it’s a living metaphor for the season. There are no grades around the final look. It's about the dirt under their fingernails and the quiet conversations that happen while you’re hovering over the soil together.

Whether you’re hunting eggs or just hunting for a bit of peace, may your Easter weekend be slow, your coffee stay hot, and your heart feel that 85% ease. You’re doing a beautiful job. I’ll be back next Tuesday with my weekly letter from our homeschool to yours.

~ Kimberly