Each year, we choose a Word of the Year...something to focus on energies on for the upcoming year. It's akin to the New Year Resolution, but less of an actual task than a change in mindset.
Unlike resolutions, a word of the year is a constant, yet gentle, reminder to focus on creating positive change in your world. It's a personal and inspiring process. Some of the benefits to choosing a word of the year include:
- Simplicity - unlike a resolution, a single world is easy to remember and focuses on a clear theme
- Intentionality - the single word is a daily reminder for your actions to be intentional toward a goal
- Flexibility - life changes day by day, and a hard and fast resolution isn't always easy to follow, but a themed focus is flexible enough to change along with your days
- Positivity - choosing an inspirational word helps you remember to focus on a positive mindset as you act to achieve the goal
- Self-Reflection - choosing a word is an opportunity to be introspective with your aspirations
- Narrative - over time, the choices of WOTYs add up to a narrative of goals, change, and a lifetime of personal aspirations
Our previous words of the year include:
You can visit each of these posts to pick up resources and ideas for incorporating those principles and goals into your home.
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2025 - Explore!
Explore:
- to travel to a new place to learn about it or become familiar with it
- to search and discover
- to think and talk about something to find more about it
Curiosity and adventure are core parts of my personality...standing still in one spot for too long doesn't work for this gypsy soul! But exploration doesn't have to just be physical. There are multiple types of journeys one can take, including:
- Mental
- Physical
- Long
- Short
- Spiritual
- Emotional
Exploration can relate to creativity, food, ideas, travel, books, music, exercise, relationships, and fun. It's a word that exudes adventures and curiosity, and I'll be exploring my options as they arise to discover new things all year long!
Explore can also be a scary word for an introvert such as myself. It's an action word and one of those words that challenges me to be present in the world when it feels safer and more comfortable being hidden away. I'm not meant to be hidden away though. I should be shiny and vibrant -- I'm a LEO! I'm not meant to be caged.
Roadschooling
a form of homeschooling that involves traveling, allowing the places and experiences to drive learning (compatible with, but not the same as, Unschooling)
We spent nearly six years on the road, traveling around the United States and occasionally out of country, and I wouldn't trade a second of it. If you ever have the chance to roadschool, or even take an extended vacation, jump at it. The money spent on experiences creates memories, which can never be taken away. It gives you a connection with your children that can't be beat!
You can find all of the family travel inspiration and pre-made unit studies for a multitude of geographic locations around the USA at our Roadschool Page.
Exploring England with Teens
It's not just about myself either, but about helping the children to explore their world as they head off into it, starting new colleges. We took one to England for two weeks as a graduation trip. He helped with the planning, including transportation, finances, boarding, food, cultural activities, and all the little things that go along with international travel...and learned much more than he realized possible during those short two weeks.
You can take a virtual trip - or plan for a real one - and explore the art, history, geography, food, and culture of England in this cross-curricular unit study….perfect for families getting ready to travel abroad or folks who want to travel via unit studies! Each stop along the roadschooling trip covers a different facet of history and culture with unit information, resources, worksheets, activities, and more...
Geography Resources
Geography gets a bad rap for being boring, but usually that’s just because it’s not being taught in an engaging way. After all, who wants to look at a bunch of maps for places they’ve never been (or possibly never even heard of) and think about people and things they will never see? To really get kids interested in geography, you have to bring it to life! Check out Innovative Ways to Study World Geography for TONS of inspiration...
Geography Helpers
Geography Freebies
Visit our Cottage Shoppe for printables, e-books, and lots of fun resources!!
Visit our Cottage Shoppe for printables, e-books, and lots of fun resources!!
