Book Review: Slow Homeschooling by Milva McDonald

'Cinnamon Reads - warm books to curl up with': Slow Homeschooling: Short Essays About Mindful Homeschooling by Milva McDonald

Sometimes, you’re craving a good book and it pops out of the blue, just when you are totally ready for it. “Slow Homeschooling” is that book for me. While scouring the net, looking through slow living blogs and joyful homeschooling posts, I stumbled across Milva Mcdonald’s blog A Potluck Life, where she writes about her take on homeschooling and homeschooling 4 kids, the slow, relaxed way. It was after reading a handful of her posts that I spotted her book and downloaded it immediately.

Slow Homeschooling book cover

As a homeschooling parent and an author, who writes about homeschooling, working-from-home and homemaking, the whole discussion on slow homeschooling really appeals to me. Since we are transitioning into an eclectic and more relaxed form of homeschooling ourselves, this book is just what I wanted to sink into, with a cup of rich coffee to enjoy it with.

Each of the 23 chapters in the book is a short essay on the various facets of creating a homeschooling lifestyle focussed on joy, your children’s interests and a learning-rich home environment. Since Macdonald’s four adult children have created interesting and successful careers and lifestyles for themselves, you know that the concept of slow homeschooling does not just sound good, but works in the real world too.

6 Homeschooling Blog Posts That Newbie Homeschooling Parents Should Not Miss

Hey friends! Summer holidays are over and school sessions are back with a bang.
Are your kids enrolled in a school and doing classes online, or you are homeschooling in India for this whole school year? Maybe you are contemplating homeschooling in the long run and looking for homeschooling facts to begin with? Wherever you find yourself on the homeschooling smorgasbord, here is some homeschooling help for parents to start with. 

N with a DIY Homeschool Science project: A solar-operated cardboard plane

Many of you - my dear readers, have been sending me your questions about the why's, what's and how's of homeschooling. As much as I'd love to, I do not have the bandwidth currently to get on a call with each parent to explain the vast landscape of homeschooling facts. So, I've decided to consolidate all the homeschooling resources that I have created and make some more, to help you transition to this eclectic homeschool lifestyle.

Note: Scroll below to find out how you can be the first readers to read a part of my upcoming, still-in-progress book about creating a relaxed homeschooling experience.

So, here are the first few questions you may have about homeschooling and my answers to that:

6 questions you need to ask yourself if you are considering homeschooling your child/children. Go over each of these questions in the post and jot down your answer. When you mull over your answers honestly, they will help you make the decision and then ease into a homeschooling life.

5 Simple things you can do to transition into a homeschooling life with your Kindergartener. Often, we tie ourselves up in knots, wondering how we can create a rich and stimulating educational environment for our little one. We want Pinterest-worthy teaching tools and state-of-the-art kiddie furniture to make our homeschool days shine. But honestly, all your need are a few things and plenty of enthusiasm to begin.

The Brigade That Builds Brands: Army wife Ujvalpreet Kohli shares about her home based baking business

Hello readers! I often get queries from military wives, who want to know about employment from home opportunities and are keen on exploring home baking business ideas on the move. So, today we have Army wife and home baker, Ujvalpreet Kohli with us, who tells us how she started her home bakery and manages to build & grow her work from home business as she juggles service commitments. Her story on starting a baking business from home with a few resources and growing it on the move will, I'm sure, nudge aspiring milpreneurs to start something of their own to earn money working from home as well as earn income online through gourmet workshops, cake baking business from home, food blogs and food photography.

For more ideas on real work from home opportunities and military wife entrepreneur stories, check out our archives here.

Ujvalpreet Kohli - Army wife & Home Baker

CB. Please tell us something about yourself – what do you do, where are you based and how long have you been a fauji/military wife (and which service are/have been part of i.e Army/Air Force/Navy).

UK. I am Ujvalpreet Kohli - known to my friends as Ujval. I am an Army wife since 2005 and mother of two lovely daughters. I belong to Dehradun presently based in Delhi. I am a passionate home baker, totally in love with my profession.

Birthday cake crafted by Ujval

CB. What has been your business or creative journey been like, how & when did you start your brand/business/creative career?

UK. I had been teaching since my college days and did that for some time after marriage also. But with two kids and husband away, it was difficult managing, so I called quits to teaching. I loved cooking and have been baking at home for my family since long. Hubby was posted to field and I took up Separated Family (SF) accommodation in Hyderabad. Kids started going to school and staying alone I had some time for me. 

I started honing my skills with a few online cooking and baking courses. I guess my passion for cooking and some inspiration from the lady who helped me refining by baking skills (she is a very successful profession baker now) I got motivated. My girls' gang coaxed me to bake for them also and I started taking orders within our little fauji society. Initially even thoughts of competing with big bake houses within 1-2 kms of our society was discouraging, but slowly my home baked products were a big hit and even started getting orders from a few corporates, which gave a kickstart to my initiative.

Can we Slow Down in a Fast-paced World? Simple slow living tips

With most of us in lockdown or in semi-lockdown, it is a good time to re-think our pace, hunker down into our stay-at-home lifestyles and learn how to slow down. Here's my take on slow living and how to slow down your life a tad.

I’m the kind of person who likes to have a productive day and feel compelled to pack my days, even weekends with all kinds of things. But lately, I’ve begun to question this…this running from pillar to post at home, trying to prove to myself that I’m doing a marvellous job of balancing my work-from-home and stay-at-home life. 

The lockdown made me question this constant need to be on the move, doing something, checking things off my to-do list. Though I will be the first to vouch for the importance of having productive, purposeful days, I also realise that there are lots of times when I need to slow down and enjoy life. That doesn't mean lolling in the bed the whole day or staring at the sky mindlessly (though when done in moderate doses, that is meditation in itself).

Slowing down or building in pockets of slow in our lives is actually healing at so many different levels.

Photo credit: Unsplash

“Being slow” can look different and be different things to different people.

Ladies Who Launch: Shweta Verma and her journey as a socialpreneur and co-founder of Ginny's Planet

Ladies Who Launch: A  “fireside” chat with women entrepreneurs, who launch micro businesses from home and/or create a change-making venture

Welcome to Ladies Who Launch at https://chandanabanerjee.com. This is a brand new series that features women, especially mompreneurs, who launch micro businesses from home and/or create a change-making ventures. 

Our very first guest for this series is Shweta Verma, the Co-founder of Ginny's Planet, a social enterprise that aims to create a planet where "no one is considered the odd-one-out".

I came to know about Shweta and her work through Ginny Doll - a cute, smiley cloth doll wearing spectacles and with an adorable fringe. I'd bought the doll for my son last month and really liked the concept of learning to accept each other as we are. I was intrigued by Shweta's journey as a socialpreneur and mom, and her work through this unique change-making business that she has co-founded with her husband Jamal. Here is what we chatted about.

Note: Shweta is hosting a GIVEAWAY for 5 readers. Check out the details at the end of the story.

Shweta Verma, Co-founder of Ginny's Planet

CB. Please tell us about yourself, what you do, your educational background and where you’re based.

SV: We are social work professionals based in Delhi. We were batch mates in MA (Social Work) course. Each of us has an experience of 18 years in the social sector. I have worked in the area of disability rights and mental health since 2002. My work has interacted with child rights, gender, & psychosocial support in post disaster scenarios. Along with this my research degree (PhD) helps me take the workshops on research & inquiry forward with children with ease. My entrepreneurial perspective was strengthened through SSE India fellowship in 2019. 

Jamal has the experience of working with diverse international organizations and a keen interest in the creative fields. He has developed documentaries, public service advertisements, behavior change communication aids and campaigns.  He was a fellow of 2019 cohort of the India Inclusion Fellowship Program which focuses on innovations in the disability field. He is also an alumnus of the Aritra Leadership Acceleration Program, organized by IIM-Bangalore and Phicus.  

Ginny Doll

Book Review: The Chic Author by Fiona Ferris

‘Cinnamon Reads - warm books to curl up with’: The Chic Author by Fiona Ferris

Create your dream career and lifestyle, writing and self-publishing non-fiction books

Cinnamon Reads is our bookish series, where I review books that I've enjoyed and would recommend curling up with, and interview self-published authorpreneurs.

Here is a book that’s been like salve to my authorepreneur’s soul. The kind of book that I often flip through to assure myself that even though the hike up this hill is steep, it is worth every minute and every bit of hard work. 

The Chic Author by Fiona Ferris

For the past few weeks I’ve been immersed in the self-publishing world. My second Kindle book, “Queen Of The At-Home Lifestyle: A gal’s guide to working-from-home, homemaking and homeschooling” is just out on the virtual shelves of Amazon; but before it could be officially released, there were lots of itty-bitty things to look into. As an authorpreneur, you’re in-charge of end-to-end production of your book. From ideating and researching to the actual writing and re-writing to getting the cover designed and the book formatted, there’s tonnes to do before you birth your book and send it out to the world and in the hands of readers. And then, there’s all the posting and sharing to create a bit of buzz around the book.

A lot of this work is satisfying; while some of it is a tad exhausting. But every time I’d been coming up for air, I would grab my Kindle and flip open “The Chic Author” for the prose, gentle advise and the firm reassurance that being a self-published non-fiction author is definitely a “dream career and lifestyle” to eke out and aspire to. 

The 21 chapters and the bonus one with 100 tips at the end have a lilting quality to them, taking the aspiring or new indie author by the hand and guiding them through the many phases of an authropreneur lifestyle. From Fiona’s own story of how she became a successful indie author to how to make time for writing your book to structuring a book, this book is packed with lots of goodness. 

The chapters where Fiona writes about how to visualise yourself as a successful author, self-edit a book and get a cover designed are some of my favourite ones. Though I’m not entirely brand new to self-publishing, with two books out on Amazon, I still enjoyed her tips on structuring one’s writing, writing fast (no writer can have enough of these tips), developing a flow and getting past your fears. Every nugget that she has shared in The Chic Author is precious and it is so heartening to follow her author journey. 

When I finished this book, it gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling, like a hand-knitted blanket around my shoulders. I carry Fiona’s reassurances and advice with me, as I begin work on my next non-fiction book, and visualise what my successful authorpreneur journey will look like, as I write and publish one book after another.

Call to action: If you’re an aspiring author or a newbie writer, and have been wondering how to take the plunge into creating a writing career, check out The Chic Author by Fiona Ferris. 

If you’re wondering how to craft a work-from-home career while homeschooling the kids and tending to the home & hearth, take a peek at my brand new Kindle book “Queen Of The at-Home Lifestyle”.

My new Kindle book

Note: If you’re an author and would like your book reviewed on my blog and Instagram, please write to me at chandanabanerjeewrites@gmail.com.

Find my books here.

And do drop in and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here.

#indipublishing #selfpublished #selfpublishebooks #fionaferris 

The Brigade that Builds Brands: Fashion designer & Navy wife Tanvee Chaudhary on creating a self-employed & self-taught career on the move

Hello Friends! I'm so excited to share that my new Kindle book "Queen Of The At-Home Lifestyle - A gal's guide to working-from-home, homemaking and homeschooling"" is AVAILABLE on Amazon for all of you who're craving for a slice of purposeful home life!!! And the icing on the cake: it made it to the Amazon Best Seller List :)! Packed with tips on setting up a self-employed, work-from-home career and using homemaking rituals to boost your work-life balance, and also adding homeschooling to the mix - this book's for you if you're looking to carve out a happy, purposeful work + stay-at-home lifestyle, during the pandemic and beyond. Download your copy here (and let me know how you liked it).

Keeping with the rhythm of the book, in the Brigade that Builds Brands series, I'd like to introduce you to Tanvee Chaudhary, a sassy, work-from-home, military spouse Solopreneur. This young Navy wife has set up her own fashion label from home, and works her sewing/designing magic as she moves from one base to another. Yes, agreed that most of the time the Indian Navy has better posting places than our Air Force and Army ones, but this gal has the zeal to make her work work wherever she is on the map (hint hint: let's lose the emphasis on our geographical location and focus on what we can do, from wherever we are ;-)).

Tanvee Chaudhary in a Little Black Dress she has designed

What I Super Like about Tanvee Chaudhary and her Label Tanvee is her passion for her craft (she designs, sews, markets, ships out orders, models her dresses & connects with customers ALL on her own), her earthy designs executed on Indian handloom fabric, and her determination to carve out her own niche with joy. And of course, not to forget, her solo brand is just what earth-friendly, Slow Fashion is all about.

Let's dive into this interview and be ready to be inspired! And hey, check out the SPECIAL DISCOUNT that Tanvee is offering the first 3 readers of this story (offer at the end of the interview).

CB. Please tell us something about yourself – what do you do, where are you based and how long have you been a fauji/military wife.

TC. Hello, I am Tanvee Chaudhary. I am an engineer and marketer by education. However, my heart lies in designing and fashion. So, I founded LabelTanvee, a clothing brand where you can find eclectic mix of handmade clothing with a pinch of tadka. 

Since the last three years I have been married to a Naval Officer and we are currently based out of Goa. Yay!!