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Melissa Droegemueller | Rolling Prairie Readers

About Melissa

I am an elementary school teacher–turned–homeschooling mom with over 13 years experience working with babies through 4th graders. I believe in making learning FUN for ALL kids.

Around here, we are passionate about learning through play, chasing adventures, and good books!

Our mission is to create a community of lifelong learners where parents inspire and empower their children to follow their passions and use their unique gifts to make the world a better place.

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Melissa Droegemueller
Happy autumn, friends! 🍁 What a week it’s be Happy autumn, friends! 🍁 What a week it’s been! We went from record-high temperatures earlier this week to real fall weather today: mid-50s and rainy. The girls and I spent the day bundled up in cozy sweats with all the windows open -- and we couldn’t have been happier. With the arrival of a new season, I tend to get a bit reflective. Instead of choosing a “word of the year,” I pick a new word every three months. During our summer break, I focused on the idea of rest and separating my idea of self-worth from the number of tasks I get through each day. Instead, I focused on growing our deck garden, reading books, watching movies, and doing puzzles every week. Now that I have taken time to rest, it’s time to think about a new focus. I decided on the word build for fall. My younger daughter has gotten really into LEGOs lately, and she is constantly working on a new build while I read aloud every morning. Her new passion is a great metaphor for me during this season of life: start small, work consistently, and don’t be afraid to take risks. The great thing about LEGOs is that they can be rearranged and made into something new at any point. The three things I want to build this fall: https://rollingprairiereaders.com/build-new-fall-habits/ #intentionalmotherhood #thisismotherhood #motherhoodjourney #parenting #momlife #joyfulmamas #happyfamily #raisinghappykids #parentingwin #momentsinmotherhood #parentinggoals #raisingkids #sahmlife #growthmindset #emotionalintelligence
Happy #talklikeapirateday from us. ♥️ Happy #talklikeapirateday from us. ♥️
It's the middle of September, and my social media It's the middle of September, and my social media feeds are already full of parents scared that their children are "behind." Some are in homeschooling spaces -- parents who are realizing that their younger children might not learn the same way as their first did. (That's okay! Kids are ALL different.) And other worried comments from parents are popping up all over Instagram and TikTok as teachers are venting about their students on their PUBLIC profiles. Listen, I know that the last three school years have been different. But anyone expecting that things will return to "normal" without making any changes to curriculum or teaching practices is just spitting into the wind. What frustrates me the most is that it's vulnerable families who are bearing the brunt of this pressure to "catch up" and meet (developmentally-inappropriate) standards without ANY support. They think they are FAILING their babies, and that is not okay! Teachers, we HAVE to be better. Our students and their parents are counting on us to meet them right where they are and help them move forward at whatever pace is right for them. STOP VENTING on social media. Walk on down the hall and vent to a friend. You are helping NO ONE by talking about your students on social media, no matter how funny you think you are. Find some compassion, or get a new job. And parents, you need to know that our kiddos ARE going to be okay. This is not the first generation to have to learn during difficult times, and we need to remember that our kids ARE learning at the pace that is right for them. ❤ Try not to stress! All we can do is take it one step at a time and remind our children that they are safe, loved, and surrounded by adults who will help them reach their milestones. #learningathome #followthechild #letthembelittle #intentionalmotherhood #thisismotherhood #raisingkids #growthmindset #emotionalintelligence
Big kids like read alouds, too! My freshman and I Big kids like read alouds, too! My freshman and I are listening to A Tale of Two Cities together during her British Lit class, and my 6th grader's history curriculum is literature-based this year, so I read aloud to her every class period. (Peacemaker was SO good!) I'm even hosting an online book to movie club for some of our virtual friends, and 21 kids (ranging from 8-15) showed up last Friday to listen to me read to them for 30 minutes over Zoom. I remember in my Children's Lit class in college, our professor would end every class reading a chapter of Because of Winn Dixie to us. Oh my goodness, it made such an impact on me. ❤ My kids devour books on their own every day, but I love that we still get to experience the joy of reading a book together, too. What is your favorite "big kid" book to read aloud? #raisingreaders #littlebookworms #readeveryday #readingisfun #picturebookoftheday #readingwithkids #readaloud #readaloudfamily #readtome #readersofinstagram #whatwearereading #kidsbooks #kidlit #learningathome #learnathome #homeschoollife #homeschoolersofinstagram #365homeschool #homeschoolblog #homeschoolfamily #thisishomeschool #homeschoollookslikethis #homeschoolingmom #homeschoolmoms #homeschooling #intentionalmotherhood #thisismotherhood #happyfamily #raisinghappykids #parentingwin
I see the same two questions from parents in homes I see the same two questions from parents in homeschooling groups over and over: 1) What is the BEST curriculum for age/grade ___? 2) Why won't my (lazy) child work independently? I've talked many times about curriculum, so I'm going to focus on the second question today. I struggle with ANY kind of labeling of kids. Words like lazy and strong-willed have no place in our homes (or in our hearts and minds). Our kids will live up to the expectations we place on them -- if we believe they are defiant or stubborn, so will they. It really bothers me when I see parents use negative words to describe their children to strangers. When someone talks about their "lazy" child, I push back...as gently as I can. If a child is resisting schoolwork or chores, it's usually NOT because they want to make life harder for us. It's because there's some kind of obstacle in the way. A child who struggles to get work done independently doesn't need harsh words or punishments. They need to be UNDERSTOOD and helped! One of my children is a social learner. She learns better with other people. So even though *I* would rather learn by reading a textbook or watching a video alone, she needs discussion with other people to help her truly understand and remember new concepts. (Let me remind you that most rigorous college courses have study groups. It appears that social learners often go on to be quite successful in their fields.) And yet, many homeschoolers believe "successful" students can (and do) work independently to complete all their assignments without any "hand-holding" from their parents. This is an unrealistic expectation for many -- if not most -- children. If your child is struggling in school, it is on YOU, the adult, to figure out why! Work with your child's teachers, hire a tutor, talk to a doctor, seek out the advice of true experts -- but never, ever blame your child for a problem they didn't choose. The best thing we can do, IMO, is study our children and discover HOW they learn best. Put them in situations where they WILL be successful, and watch them flourish. For more, you can listen to episode 2 of our podcast: https://rollingprairiereaders.com/episode2/
A couple years ago, we made a big change to our ho A couple years ago, we made a big change to our homeschool schedule. Instead of taking off a bunch of random Mondays for federal holidays throughout the school year, we decided to smush them all togther into one extra weeklong break that we have dubbed 'Adventure Week.' For our first Adventure Week in 2021, we took off WEST to visit Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and the Grand Canyon (via Mount Rushmore and the Badlands on the way there and through Mesa Verde on our way home). We had such a "grand" (ha ha) time that we planned another Adventure Week for the following spring -- this time EAST to the Atlantic Ocean (via Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Smoky Mountains National Park on the way with a stop at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville on our way home). Our second trip was such a "blast" that we decided to kick off this school year with another Adventure Week NORTH to North Dakota, northern Minnesota, and northern Wisconsin across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and down through the lower peninsula on our way back to Iowa. Some of my husband's relatives have settled down near Itasca State Park, home of the Mississippi River headwaters, so I got to visit this majestic site for the first time! (You can see it, too -- by visiting the webcam here: https://paulbunyan.net/cooperative/newsweather/itasca-state-park-mississippi-headwaters-webcam/) We saw so many amazing things on our trip, from the Great Lakes to the Mackinac Bridge (and even a giant statue of Paul Bunyan and Blue!). Where should we head next?
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