Early Learning. Happy Teaching.
We’ve got four learners in our house under the age of 10, so we’re right in the middle of homeschooling little ones. As all of my mama readers know, when you have kids, there are lots of great days, a good amount of okay days, and a fair amount of rough days.
It’s important that we take a break to focus on what we have so we can appreciate it before it’s gone. I know that these days with my kids won’t last forever, so it’s up to me to value them NOW, rather than later.
Do your kids like to learn about weird science facts? Ours do! Especially since they tend to lose interest in a structured science lesson. đ
We got the chance to visit Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Orlando, Florida when Tigger was very young, but we haven’t been able to get back since. We did, however, get the opportunity to learn some of Ripley’s signature weird science facts right in our own home!
We’re back with yet another set of free printable flashcards for kids! In this edition, we’re focusing on learning the days of the week.
Our boys are working on calendar skills this school year, so we’ve been memorizing the days of the week and the months of year (in order) to help them keep up with the date every morning. I hope that you find our set Free Printable Flashcards Days of the Week Cards to be useful for your young learners as well!
This pack includes flashcards for all seven days of the week, along with their corresponding place in the calendar. The first set features both the name of each day and the calendar image, while the second set features the calendar image only.
Make a game out of the lesson by printing two copies and playing a game of “Go Fish”! If you’d like to add an art activity, print the cards in black and white and let the kids color them.
Want to include even more resources in your calendar unit? Try these books and activities for teaching the days of the week to preschoolers! (Affiliate links are provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)
To download your copy of our Free Printable Flashcards: Days of the Week, click the image or the link below to download them!
It’s time for another edition of our American Sign Language lesson videos! This time, we’re learning about common opposite pairs in ASL.
One of the great things about learning ASL is that you can skip spelling and pronunciation and go straight to comprehension. When you look at ASL opposite pairs, you can kind of naturally “see” how they relate. Often, if you learn one word, you may be able to guess how to sign a word with the opposite meaning.
We’ve been living frugally for quite some time, but when my husband was out of work, we took frugality to new heights. đ As a homeschooling family, we’re already living on a reduced income, since I don’t work full-time. But we managed to stick with homeschooling using lots of effort, budgeting, and patience.
We’re sharing some of these same tips with our new readers in our ebook “How to Afford Homeschooling!” And now you can grab your copy in our Store!
Read on to see how to get yours!
In this 24-page ebook, you’ll find helpful hints and tips for how to afford homeschooling, even if you’re a one-income family! Chapters in the book include topics such as:
There’s even a section on how to have an honest talk about finances with your spouse, especially if he’s not convinced that your family can afford to homeschool.
To get your copy of How to Afford Homeschooling, click the image or the link below to visit our Store!
We’ve been homeschooling for several years, but we still make adjustments to our homeschool schedule each year. And once we learned that some of our children had ADHD, we had to make some drastic changes to our daily routine.
I’ve been reading some great books on managing ADHD with kids, and I’ve learned some excellent tips about time and school management for kids with ADHD.
As a result, we’ve instituted a simple ADHD homeschool schedule. And it’s made a world of difference in making homeschooling days run more smoothly – for me AND the kids!
Read on to get a look at our typical day. And if you need more flexibility in your homeschool day, check our list of 15 different ADHD homeschool schedule ideas!
If you look at our ADHD homeschool schedule, you’ll notice that all of the school lessons are limited to 30 minutes MAX. That’s one of the important adjustments of this year, but so far, I’ve already seen improvements.
We also try to cover the basic subjects as early in the morning as possible. It generally makes the afternoon run smoother.
7:30 a.m. (ish) – Wake up
I don’t really set a strict wake up time for the kids. They’re generally up by 7:30 a.m., but if they’re not, I let them sleep until they wake on their own. Pooh, in particular, needs time to wake up before he starts his day.
8:00 a.m. – Breakfast
8:30 a.m. – Copywork/Handwriting
We go over a different scripture each day and I use that verse as our copywork for the day. The kids clean up the breakfast dishes and bring their notebooks to the table to do copywork. Piglet generally sits in and draws with her Color Wonder markers.
9:00 a.m. – Math
I separate the kids for math. Tigger does her own work on the computer. We use several programs, including A+ Interactive Math, Khan Academy, and TenMarks. I let her go at her own pace, and I generally keep the entire lesson to 30 minutes or less.
The boys and I do a math lesson in the living room using “Life of Fred” and math manipulatives.
9:30 a.m. – Daily chores
The kids do their chores (usually two tasks per person) and then they make their lunches for the day.
10:00 a.m. – Language Arts
I don’t require that we have a structured language arts lesson each day, but we do cover all of the subjects (spelling, English, and writing) several times a week.
10:30 a.m. – Individual Reading
Each child gets to read with me for a few minutes alone. I generally read a short story with Roo first, then Pooh and I read a section of an early reader chapter book. Tigger and I are working our way through the Nancy Drew series and we’re on Book 1: The Secret of the Old Clock.
11:00 a.m. – Family Lesson
Everyday, we have a family lesson where we all cover the same subject together. Monday is Science, Tuesday is History, Wednesday is Geography, Thursday is Art/Music, and Friday is Foreign Language. (More about these in a future post.)
11:30 a.m – Family Unit Study
I try to pick at least one topic per month for our family unit studies. We usually read from a textbook or storybook and do an activity together each day.
In the afternoon, our ADHD homeschool schedule includes more of the “extras”. Unless we don’t finish covering the essentials in the morning.
12:00 p.m. – Lunch
Since they make the lunch themselves earlier in the morning, I don’t have to do much during lunch. Tigger generally helps Piglet with her food and I get a little break.
12:30 p.m. – Clean up and change for P.E.
We’re having the kids “dress for school” this year, so after lunch they change into play clothes for P.E.
1:00 p.m. – P.E.
We use Family Time Fitness for P.E. So far, we’ve been focusing on basic physical movements and helping the kids learn the difference between sports terms like “pass”, “throw”, “jump”, “hop”, etc.
1:45 p.m. – Showers and change clothes
I’ve recently made the decision to start giving showers earlier in the day. By the end of the day, we’re all exhausted and Jay and I just don’t feel up to the task. The kids seem to relax a bit more for quiet time when they’ve had a shower beforehand as well.
2:15 p.m. – Storytime
I generally read a story or part of a story before quiet time. I try to choose calm stories that won’t work them up too much. Otherwise, they’ll get in the bed and play around the whole time…lol.
2:30 p.m. – Quiet Time
This is the first year that I am NOT requiring a longer quiet time for the kids. Tigger is actually sleeping more this year than last. We suspect that it’s because she’s entering puberty and her body needs the rest.
If she goes to sleep, then I don’t wake her. We can always move the other tasks to later in the day. (One of the many perks of homeschooling!)
3:00 p.m. – Workbox Time
We do our workbox time right after Quiet Time, since it’s a quiet activity the older kids can do while Piglet is asleep. She generally naps for an hour and, by the time 3:30 rolls around, she’s up and raring to go!
3:30 p.m. – One-on-One Time with Mom
In my dream world, I’d have individual time with each child everyday. That’s just not practical, though – at least not when we’re following our regular school schedule.
So the kids alternate one-on-one time with me each day. Pooh gets Monday, Roo gets Tuesday, Tigger gets Wednesday, and Piglet gets Thursday. Friday is Mom’s one-on-one time with herself.
4:00 p.m. – Media Time
Media time is saved for the absolute very last part of the day. It’s a treat that they get to enjoy if we’ve gotten everything else done that day.
In the past, I would let them watch some TV around 11:30 p.m., particularly while I was making lunch. But they got so worked up after watching TV that they made a colossal mess while eating. Now I save media time until the end and things are better.
And that’s a look at our ADHD homeschool schedule, for this year at least. I’d love to hear about your daily homeschooling plans this year! Feel free to share them in the comments.
Don’t miss these other ideas for planning your homeschool year!
And see more ways to schedule your homeschool on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!
This post is part of the “2014 Not Back to School Hop” from iHomeschool Network! Click on over to read how our fellow bloggers schedule their homeschooling days!
Our children love art and music! Tigger is extremely interested in dance and playing music. Roo and Pooh love drawing and painting. So, we try to find good art and music curriculum choices to keep them interested.
If you’re searching for homeschool art and music curriculum, check out these five options to add both subjects to your weekly lessons!
Language arts is one of the most important aspects of a good homeschooling education. Since we’re eclectic homeschoolers, we tend to mix and match resources for most subjects, including language arts.
Today, I’m sharing five homeschool language arts curriculum resources to help you put together your own language arts program! Trust me, it’s easier than you think. đ I hope you find these suggestions helpful!
How to Choose “Just Right” Books: Helping Kids Grow as Readers –Â Becky Spence
I’m a huge enormous bookworm, but that doesn’t mean that my kids will automatically love reading. A big part of helping kids love to read is choosing books that are a good fit for their age and comprehension level. We don’t want to set them up for frustration by handing them books that are above their reading ability. Becky Spence shares excellent suggestions for choosing books that are “just right” for your kids in How to Choose “Just Right” Books: Helping Kids Grow as Readers.
Designing Your Language Arts Curriculum – Jimmie Lanley
What’s involved in a good language arts curriculum? Ideally, we should be including grammar, reading, literature, spelling, and penmanship. If you’re wondering how you can possibly include all of those subjects in your lesson plan, Jimmie Lanley explains how you can in Designing Your Language Arts Curriculum.
Understanding Copywork – Amy Maze
Copywork is a grammar concept from the Charlotte Mason style of education. It involves having children practice penmanship and grammar by copying excerpts from examples of excellent writing. If you’re wondering just why copywork is beneficial and how to include it in your homeschool, Amy Maze’s Understanding Copywork is a perfect primer on the subject!
Writing an essay doesn’t have to be a difficult assignment for kids. In Essay Tune Up, Jimmie Lanley offers printable worksheets to help students break essays into sections: introduction, details, and conclusion. She also includes prewriting organizers, cheat sheets for better transitions, and a peer editing checklist!
Writing a Biography – Valerie McClintick
Since writing about a real person can involve lots of research and preparation, it’s important that students learn how to look up information, find good sources, compile their thoughts into an outline, and express them fluently. In Writing a Biography, Valerie McClintick takes elementary-aged students through the step-by-step process of writing a biography for the first time.
Do you have any great homeschool language arts curriculum resources to share? Tell us about them in the comments!
When I first began homeschooling Tigger six years ago, I felt that I had a pretty good understanding of homeschooling. After all, I’m a homeschooling graduate myself.
I quickly found, though, that being a homeschool student and being a homeschool parent are two very different things indeed. Now I was responsible for providing a quality education to my little preschooler and I wasn’t even sure I knew what preschoolers needed to learn!
We’ve already been through preschool with three of our kids, but we still have one more to go. đ As a result, I’m always on the lookout for tips for using homeschool preschool curriculum in our family. Even after six years of homeschooling, I still manage to find great suggestions for teaching homeschool preschool in the home.
