*waits patiently for many of you to raise your hand*

Now, how many of you are actually attempting to teach math to those same kids this year?

Anyone looking around nervously hoping we can talk about something else? Been there.

We’re teaching three kids at home this year and each one of them has a different relationship with math.

One loves it but wants to move at a faster pace than the public school system.

One likes it but loses interest very quickly.

The third outright despises it.

And I, as the homeschooling parent, get to figure out how to teach math to all three of them! Yay!

Not.

When I found out that I’d could try Teaching Textbooks with all three this year, I breathed an audible sigh of relief. I’d never used TT before, but I’d always heard it praised by other homeschoolers.

And now I see why.

Read on to see how we’re using Teaching Textbooks for all three of our homeschooled kids this year and how it’s making homeschool math a snap. Plus, find out how to get a free trial for your family!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

Common Problems when Teaching Homeschool Math to Multiple Kids

My youngest child is a learning dynamo.

If she could just be locked in a library with every encyclopedia in the world for the rest of her life, she’d be thrilled.

As much as I love her interest in learning, it can be a challenge to keep up with her everyday.

My sixth grader has a great aptitude for math. He picks up concepts quickly and masters them efficiently.

He does not, however, have the longest attention span.

And it’s hard for him to exercise the patience needed to get through a concept that he doesn’t grasp right away.

My seventh grader is another story.

When I tell you that this child hates math, I mean he HATES math.

Last school year, it was a struggle just to get him to complete his daily assignments. He spent most of his winter break that year catching up on past work.

And, then, there’s me.

I’m a veteran homeschooler, so teaching my own children is not new to me. But I’m busy!

I work from home, I have a house to take care of, and our oldest is a high school sophomore who is doing distance learning this year.

I’m barely keeping my head above water as it is *before* you add teaching math into the equation.

When I found out we’d need to homeschool again, I was just looking to get it done.

How Teaching Textbooks Makes Homeschool Math Easy

So – how does Teaching Textbooks 4.0 help?

My little one can go through the lessons at her own pace.

According to her age, she should be in second grade this year. But she was bored in first grade last school year, so we decided to let her skip to third.

I was a little unsure about placing her in Teaching Textbooks 3. As she worked on the first lesson, she let me know that it was way too easy.

Teaching Textbooks lets you move around in the curriculum as you like. So we skipped ahead about ten lessons and she started getting a bit more of a challenge.

She’s two-thirds of the way through Grade 3 and excited to start Grade 4 this fall! And she can view her grades easily on her daily lesson pages.

My sixth grader, who has a short attention span, is also finding Teaching Textbooks 4.0 to be a great fit.

The program includes a lecture for each day’s lesson. And the lectures use pictures, short paragraphs, and prompts to keep kids interested and attentive throughout.

Plus, when you’re working on a problem, you can use the onscreen Scratchpad to show your work, which he loves.

You can see how my youngest child uses the Scratchpad in the video below.

And what about my math-hating child?

Teaching Textbooks opens the school year with a gentle pace. So when he started Grade 7, he didn’t have to feel as if it was going to be difficult right away.

Whenever he has trouble mastering a concept, we just watch the practice problems again. Or we pause the lecture and work through the problems along with the lesson.

So, how’s it going with him?

Well, to be honest, he’s still not a fan of math. But he’s actually doing his work everyday! And he’s been getting mostly A’s this year.

That is practically a miracle.

I never thought he would be able to develop the self-discipline to sit down and complete his own work, but halfway through one school year with Teaching Textbooks, he’s doing just that.

Finally, there’s me with the packed schedule and almost no time to lesson plan for math.

Teaching Textbooks 4.0 comes with an ebook you can view inside the program.

So when a child needs help, I can take a quick look and refresh my memory before sitting down with them.

Honestly, because the program is so comprehensive, I haven’t needed to help my kids much at all this year. Particularly once they got the hang of using it.

It’s been a genuine lifesaver for all of us.

Ready to try Teaching Textbooks 4.0 with your family? Visit Teaching Textbooks and sign up for the free trial to get the first 15 lessons of any math level free!

Want to see more about our homeschool plans for this year? Take a look below!

The post How I Teach Math to Multiple Kids with Teaching Textbooks appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

But now that so many kids, including mine, use computers at an early age, typing is actually more important than ever.

The faster and more accurately a child types, the more capable he or she is of using a computer to interact with others, complete school assignments, and work online in the future.

Which is why I was excited to try out Typesy Homeschool Typing with my kids!

We’ve used several homeschool typing programs in the past, but my kids have enjoyed this one the most.

Read on to see why? And for more curriculum choices for early grades, take a look at our minimalist kindergarten curriculum picks!

Disclosure: I received access to this program in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own.

How to Teach Kids to Type with Typesy Homeschool Typing

When you first begin using Typesy Homeschool Typing, you have the option to set typing and accuracy goals for your children.

If you’re unsure about their abilities, you can simply use the recommended goals and then adjust as you see fit.

Naturally, Typesy begins with a discussion of correct hand and finger placement, as well as proper sitting posture. What I love about it is that the program uses short videos that do all of the teaching for you.

My kids just started a lesson and were off on their own in no time!

Like most typing programs, Typesy begins with a lesson on home row keys. As kids work on typing those letters fluently, they can simply follow the on-screen prompts. 

Since Typesy is completely online, there is no program to download and no special textbooks to buy. Students can simply follow the course and pick up where they leave off each day.

My six-year-old has been asking to do more of it every day since.

What about kids who tend to get bored easily?

Typesy Homeschool Typing has several online typing games for kids that are great for keeping their attention and improving their typing skills.

My most active learner was thrilled to see that they have a game called “Type-Man”, a typing version of Pac-Man. 

It was fun, it helped him practice his typing, and it was no-stress. After all, we want our kids to enjoy what they learn, right?

If you’re looking for a simple, no-prep, fun typing program for kids, I can definitely recommend Typesy Homeschool Typing. Check it out for yourself and see how your kids like learning to type with Typesy!

Don’t miss these other homeschool curriculum choices!

And see more choices for your homeschool year on my Homeschool Curriculum Choices Pinterest board!

The post How to Teach Kids to Type with Typesy Homeschool Typing appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

What’s more, we don’t have any local homeschool art programs that are affordable enough for us at the moment.

Last year, my son got to try the homeschool art courses from Sparketh and he was absolutely hooked. So when we found out that Sparketh now offers portrait style art courses, he jumped at the opportunity to try them.

In just a few days, he had produced his very first portrait – with no formal artistic training! It was amazing to watch. In fact, it actually made me want to try learning to paint myself.

Read on to see how Sparketh’s portrait style art courses work and how you can use them as a comprehensive homeschool art program with your family!

Disclosure: I received access to this program in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

Sparketh Portrait Style Homeschool Art Courses

Sparketh is an online video art program that offers various courses and projects for kids (and adults) to complete. Each course is broken into short videos that demonstrate exactly how to draw or paint a specific object or person.

As students go through each step, they gradually produce their own works of art.

In addition to their individual art project courses, Sparketh now offers an Art Style Portraits track with several portrait courses in various styles.

As you can see from the list, students can create portraits in Pop Art, Fauvism, Minimalism, and other specific artistic styles. There’s even a manga style course for comic fans!

My son wanted to begin with the Harlem Renaissance Portrait Course. In this project, students look at a snapshot and repaint it in the cultural style popular during the Harlem Renaissance – one of our favorite periods in history.

All he had to do was click “Join Course” and we were off and running!

Learning to Paint a Portrait with Sparketh Homeschool Art Courses

I should note here that we have tried other video art lessons. Here’s what sets Sparketh’s homeschool art course apart, in my opinion:

• The courses are short, which keeps students from getting overwhelmed. The entire Harlem Renaissance Portrait course is only 31 minutes long.
• The platform is very easy to follow. Students can read the supply list before getting started and then decide how much of the project they want to complete that day.
• Individual steps are broken into separate short videos. This is excellent for kids who have attention concerns (like several of our children do).
• The videos show the art instructors as they work. My son was able to pause the video and look directly at what the artist did and then recreate it himself.

Once he’d gathered his supplies (and we didn’t need many for this course), he got started.

The instructor showed him how to begin by sketching his portrait, which he did.

He simply paused the video to catch up and follow the instructor’s work.

Then he moved on to outlining his picture with marker.

Like so.

As you might be able to tell, he did the sketching and outlining all within one day. I had to make him stop for that afternoon. That’s how much he loved using Sparketh.

Later, he went back and added his watercolor paint and he was done!

I think he might have asked me for help to understand the instruction once during the entire course.

Sparketh is easy enough for a ten-year-old to follow all on his own, so it’s a stress-free homeschool art course for parents. You can just sign your child up for an account and let him or her work through the projects.

Art class for the year? Check.

Want to try Sparketh’s Portrait Style Art Courses with your child? Just sign up on the Sparketh website and let your child browse the list to find a project to try!

See how you can use also Sparketh to teach your child to draw in the post below!

Plus, follow my Art Ideas for Kids board on Pinterest to get more suggestions for homeschool art projects!

The post Portrait Style Homeschool Art Courses with Sparketh appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

No more phonics, no more decoding, no more CVC word practice. All four of our kids are off to the reading races.

Our youngest, though, has taken this to a completely different level.

She’s five and she’s in first grade this year. But she’s reading on a fifth grade level. She wants to read everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING.

So when it was time to work on reading for this school year, I was a bit stumped. How do you help a child who’s reading four grade levels ahead to improve her reading skills? Was an online reading program the answer?

Which is why I jumped at the chance to try out Reading Eggs from Blake eLearning, even though I didn’t think our child really needed it. A couple of days in, I found out I was wrong. She did need help – but not in the ways I imagined.

Read on to find out how we’re using Reading Eggs to strengthen our gifted reader’s skills and how you can get access to this program for free! Plus, score a discount on Reading Eggs’ new math and reading workbooks too!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

Does Your Gifted Reader Really Need Help with Reading Skills?

Honestly, before I tried Reading Eggs by Blake eLearning with our daughter, I thought it was just for very early readers. I didn’t know that the program contains several levels, including lessons for kids all the way to age 13.

We’ve used several reading programs with our kids over the years. But after just a few days, I could see why Reading Eggs has won so many awards.

Each of the levels are designed for kids of different age groups:

• Reading Eggs Junior: for children aged 2 – 4 years
• Reading Eggs: for children aged 4 – 7 years
• Reading Eggspress: for children aged 7 – 13 years
• Mathseeds: for children aged 3 – 9 years

But those age ranges are only a guide. You can let your child take a placement test (more on that in a bit) and then start working at the level that is best for him or her.

Each level of Reading Eggs is loaded with hundreds of reading lessons. And each of the lessons includes multiple interactive activities to help kids practice their own reading and comprehension skills.

Plus, they can read along with over 2,500 ebooks. It is truly a comprehensive literacy program.

Since our little one is such a bookworm, I was glad to see that Reading Eggs evaluated, not just her reading ability, but her comprehension.

She’s pretty good about asking for definitions of words that she doesn’t understand. (I can barely get through a sentence of a read-aloud before she’s asked to get the dictionary.)

But I like to see her show what she understands about a story she reads on her own. And Reading Eggs is awesome at that.

As you might be able to tell, she aced this particular storybook quiz. Only 2,499 ebooks left to read!

How We’re Using Reading Eggs to Boost Our Child’s Math and Reading Skills

So – Reading Eggs is great, but how does it help a child who’s already reading well?

Since the program includes lessons for so many reading levels, you can let your child take the placement test to see where he or she needs to begin. But then you can still adjust the level as needed.

As your child learns, you can track his or her progress and read reports to find out how many books they’ve read, lessons they’ve done, and even their estimated reading age.

Here’s what happened when our gifted five-year-old took the placement test. 

The program placed her one-third of the way through Reading Eggspress – on the level of a 9 or 10-year-old.

While I was initially pleased to see that kind of score, I wanted to know more about the level of work that would be expected at that place in the program.

And that’s when I learned that, while she could read and answer questions at that level, she was still missing some basic grammatical concepts she would be expected to know at that part of the program.

Even though she reads fluently a few grades ahead, she still needs ELA help to understand language before she can complete lessons at that level.

So, we went backwards and began toward the end of Reading Eggs and started her lessons from there. Her level of mastery went up and so did her understanding of the concepts.

Now when we come back to that part of Reading Eggspress, she’ll be ready!

Mathseeds works exactly the same way as Reading Eggs.

Kids begin by taking a placement test, called a “Driving Test”, to see where they should begin learning math.

There are tests for each grade and each mathematical concept.

Fair warning here: The tests are super cute. As students answer each question, they drive around a race track. The goal is to complete the entire track and finish the test.

Once they get enough right, they get to play a racing game for 60 seconds. That was definitely her favorite part of the exam.

Reading Eggs Reading and Math Workbooks

One of the biggest drawbacks to using reading apps and online reading programs is that they often don’t have enrichment activities that you can use without screens.

Since some of our children have ADHD, we try to limit screen time as much as we can.

Guess what? Reading Eggs now has print reading and math workbooks that kids can use as they work through the program!

The workbooks are designed to be used with the online lessons in the program: reading workbooks for Reading Eggs and math workbooks for Mathseeds.

Each of the workbooks has a explanation of how to use the materials along with the program, as well as a year planner to help you get an overview of how you can complete the workbook in a single school year.

And they’re available by level, so your younger and older students can work on practicing math and reading skills they need!

Ready to try Reading Eggs for yourself? You can get a FREE four-week trial to everything the program has to offer, including Reading Eggs Junior, Reading Eggs, Reading Eggspress, and Mathseeds!

Just visit Reading Eggs and sign up to get started!

You can also save 10% on the new Reading Eggs math and reading workbooks for grades K-5! Check out the Reading Eggs shop and enter promo code WK10A40CWG1 to claim your discount!

Want to find out even more about Reading Eggs? Check out the program on these networks!

• Facebook  
• Twitter  
• Pinterest  
• YouTube  
• Instagram

Get your little ones reading with these fun booklists featuring beautiful children’s books you can share with your family!

The post How to Boost A Gifted Reader’s Reading Skills with Reading Eggs appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

I have to admit: I’ve been super lax about getting my kids into the kitchen. Tigger knows how to prepare breakfast and lunch for us all, but the boys….not so much.

Since our kids have ADHD, it’s hard to help them exercise caution and take their time, which are two of the MOST important skills you need to learn if you’re going to cook.

So I was glad to get a chance to review this adorable Cooking Lapbook from Knowledge Box Central! With it, our boys got a lesson in kitchen safety and a chance to make their very first dessert!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this resource in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.

Learning to Bake with a Cooking Lapbook

First of all, we needed to assemble the lapbook, which did take some time.

Here’s the list of supplies you’ll need: (Affiliate links provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

• Colored file folders
• Hot glue gun with glue sticks (for gluing the folders together)
• Colored paper
• Stapler with staples
• Metal brad fasteners
• Tacky glue (for gluing the minibooks into the folders)

But look how pretty it is!

Here’s the inside of the first folder.

Then the second…

and the third.

We decided to begin at the beginning with the activity “What is the first thing you should do BEFORE cooking?” Anyone have an idea what it is?

*hums Jeopardy thinking music*

It’s “Wash Your Hands”! The lesson plan included in the Cooking Lapbook described how children should be washing their hands before they cook. So we all got up, used warm water, lathered for 20 seconds, and rinsed well.

See the lapbook in action on the next page!

The post Teach Kids to Bake with a Cooking Lapbook appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

She’s also very enthusiastic about doing “schoolwork” like her siblings, so I knew she would want a program that would challenge her and be able to grow along with her ability.

So when I got the opportunity to review ShillerMath Kit A and ShillerMath Language Arts Foundations, I was thrilled! This was just the kind of program I was looking for!

If you’re considering a Montessori homeschool kindergarten approach, take a look at how ShillerMath curriculum makes learning math and ELA into an interactive experience for young kids! Plus, see how you can score a discount on a ShillerMath order of your own!

And for books your early reader will love, check out our simple homeschool kindergarten reading list!

Disclosure: I received this product in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

Montessori Homeschool Kindergarten: ShillerMath Language Arts Foundations

When I opened my boxes from ShillerMath, I really didn’t know what to expect, so I was amazed by how complete the curriculum is.

Language Arts Foundations is a relatively new program from ShillerMath, which is designed to introduce ELA to children aged 4 to 5 (think: preschool through kindergarten).

The program includes lesson plan books and manipulatives – so, so many manipulatives. There is no way kids will get bored with this curriculum.

I have been aware of the Montessori method for some time. I haven’t used it with my children, but I have always liked the idea of helping children to take ownership of their education through hands-on learning, which is what Montessori teaches.

But – I’m not a Montessori teacher and I was unsure how to go about using this method with my kids. Which is why ShillerMath is so awesome. You don’t have to know the Montessori method to use it. It’s all outlined for you in the lesson plan!

This is one of the lessons in ShillerMath Language Arts Foundations. As you can see, the entire script is laid out for you. You can truly just open the book and read the instructions. Which is exactly what we did!

For this lesson, we used the movable alphabet, some playdough, and the grain. (All of this is included in the box, by the way.)

Once we identified the letter C, we spent a little time working with the wooden letters on the work mat. We turned them backwards and upside down until we recognized how to place them so that we could read them correctly.

Then it was time to break out the grain. As instructed, I gave my little one a small bowl and let her pour the grain herself. She was so psyched to do that on her own.

Of course, she had to have a little sensory play in the grain before continuing with the lesson.

We traced the letter C in the grain for some fine motor skill practice and a sensory experience.

Then it was time to make some playdough letters! We rolled out some dough and made playdough ropes.

Then we just shaped them into the letter C! We decided to do an uppercase letter C and a lowercase letter C.

That’s an example of the Montessori method in action. Instead of just showing a child the letter, you get to let them explore the letter in as many forms as possible. My kindergartner had a blast with it.

Keep reading to see how ShillerMath approaches Montessori math for early grades!

The post Montessori Homeschool Kindergarten with ShillerMath appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

Over the years, they’ve gotten to try lots of math programs and we’ve enjoyed most of them. But the real issue has been getting them to do a program regularly. If each lesson takes a while, they tend to lose interest rather quickly and then they start viewing lessons as chores, instead of something they actually want to do.

So I was excited to learn about the Smartick method – a math practice app that helps kids get math enrichment in just 10 minutes a day! And it’s been helping my boys do their math lessons without fussing and fighting – always a win in my book.

Read on to see how the Smartick method works and how you can score a free trial and a 25 percent discount on your subscription!

Disclosure: I received access to this product in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

The Smartick Method for Math Practice

Let me be clear: Smartick is NOT a math curriculum. So it’s not a primary math teaching program. Rather, the Smartick method is used for enrichment and regular practice of what kids are already learning.

Many parents use it as an alternative to Kumon or similar after-school programs, so instead of having to take your child to a math lesson after school, you could try Smartick for a quick math boost!

It’s easy to set up Smartick for your kids. Once you create a tutor account, you can add your children as students. Each of them will complete an initial assessment to see what math skills they already know and then the lessons can begin!

Smartick is not text-heavy. Each of the math problems does have written instructions (with optional audio), but there’s not a lot of reading involved.

This was great for my youngest son, who really isn’t much on reading. His patience is low because of his attention issues, so he loved how visual the program is.

Since he can do the lesson completely on the tablet, he can just pick it up, log in, and get started!

What I also love about Smartick is that he can keep up with his progress through the daily lesson and get an idea of how many more problems he has to do. That stops him from constantly asking “How much longer, Mooooom???”

At the end of each lesson, the boys could see their results: how many questions they got right and how many they missed. They’re also given the opportunity to fix their errors and, if they do, they get an extra point. It’s a nice way to encourage them to review their mistakes and try again.

Plus, there are games they can play after they’ve completed their daily lesson. And when they miss a lesson, which mine frequently do, I get an email letting me know that they didn’t do their practice for that day.

Smartick is a really good, simple to use math program that’s working well for my boys. It’s available in both the Google Play Store and the App Store.

And it’s worth the time to try it out with your kids too! If you decide to subscribe, you can score a 25 percent discount when you sign up with this referral link!

Need more math ideas for your students? Try these posts!

And see more ideas for teaching math on my Math Mania Pinterest board!

The post 10 Minute Math Practice with the Smartick Math App appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

There’s no doubt that homeschoolers use a lot of printer ink. And when I say a lot, I mean a LOT. I finally just set up a subscription ink service because I got tired of always running out…lol.

And, since I both use and make printables for homeschoolers, I go through even more printer ink and paper than normal. Which is why I was so excited to try the homeschool printing service from The Homeschool Printing Company!

If you use a lot of printer ink (and I’m sure you do), you’ll want to read on to learn more about how you can save money on ink this year and save yourself a lot of preparation time in the process!

By the way, to give you an idea of just how affordable this service really is, I’m sharing my actual estimates for each product I had printed. You won’t believe how inexpensive they are!

Disclosure: I received this service in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

Why Homeschool Printing Can Be So Expensive

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of homeschoolers use a ton of printer ink. If you haven’t noticed, printer ink is among the most expensive liquids on earth.

Think about it: We pay about $2 to $3 for a gallon of gas and when it gets much higher than that, we all start shouting about how gas is too expensive. But we’ll pay $30 or more for three ounces of printer ink without batting an eye. That says something about how much we actually spend in printer ink.

Public school educators go through a lot of printed materials each year and, increasingly, they have to cover some of those costs themselves. And for homeschoolers, it’s no different. Except we have to pay for everything out of pocket.

If you’ve got several children in different grade levels (like we do), then your printed homeschool curriculum can cost you a pretty penny each year.

How to Save Money on Ink With The Homeschool Printing Company

So what makes the service from The Homeschool Printing Company so incredible? They do all the printing for you! They provide the paper, the color and black ink, and the work that goes into printing them. All you have to do is send in the PDF files you want printed and they’ll do the rest.

Want your documents printed double-sided? They’ll do that.

Want your documents spiral-bound? They’ll do that.

Need some pages laminated? They can do that too!

They don’t provide more complicated services, such as cutting documents or folding them, so if you use a lot of lapbooks, you can request that The Homeschool Printing Company print the pages. But you’ll need to assemble them yourself. (Which is half the fun, anyway.)

I chose to have several of my store products printed, since we’ll be using some of them with the kids this year.

As you can see, you receive all of your documents from The Homeschool Printing Company in one shipment. My entire order was for 500 sheets – one whole ream of paper.

This is a look at my African Kingdoms Unit Study, which is designed for elementary grades. This unit study is 61 pages long.

My color-printed estimate: $4.88.

I chose to have my pages printed one-sided, because some of them include cut and paste activities. But if you decide to have your products printed double-sided, then you can really maximize your order and get twice as much printed. I also chose not to have anything laminated or spiral-bound. I wanted to do that myself (which I’ll talk more about in a bit).

As I mentioned, all of the products come in one stack, but this handy-dandy separator sheet is in between each individual item.

I used the to-do list on the back to keep up with what I needed to do with each product.

This is my All About Leaves printable unit study – 30 pages long.

My color-printed estimate: $2.40.

This is my ebook “Homeschooling with ADHD” – 67 pages long.

My color-printed estimate: $5.36.

Here are my Fall Alphabet and Number Playdough Mats – 41 pages.

My color-printed estimate: $3.28.

Our Construction Contractions Language Arts Unit – 68 pages long.

My color-printed estimate: $5.44.

Our ebook “How to Afford Homeschooling” – 24 pages long.

My color-printed estimate: $1.92.

Our Amusement Park Addition Flashcards – 42 pages long.

My color-printed estimate: $3.36.

Our Spanish Community Helpers Printable Pack – 33 pages.

My color-printed estimate: $2.64.

And our We Got Jazz Unit Study – 139 pages long.

My color-printed estimate: $11.12.

The grand total to have all of the resources printed in color: $40.40 plus $10.75 shipping. That’s it!

When I got the estimate, I was honestly shocked. I was expecting it to be way, way, way higher.

Now for the details:

When you place a request with The Homeschool Printing Company, the normal turnaround time after you get your estimate is two to three days. During peak homeschool planning season (July through September), it could take up to a week, but they’ll get back to you!

Since I opted not to have my pages bound, I had to do it myself for select products. But that’s okay, because it gives me a chance to use this beauty.

And then we could get to work with our African Kingdoms unit!

As you can see, the pages are printed clearly and cleanly, so there are no readability issues.

Looks like this service is going to be a big hit!

Interested in learning more? Visit The Homeschool Printing Company today and request a free estimate! If you decide to place an order, tell them Selena from Look! We’re Learning! referred you and get a 10 percent discount on your first order!

Get more tips for organizing your homeschool on my Homeschool Organization Pinterest board!

The post Save Money on Ink with a Homeschool Printing Service! appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

I have always loved homeschooling my children, but as they’ve gotten older (and my responsibilities have increased), planning just isn’t as much fun as it used to be. When I first started homeschooling, I eagerly shopped for new paper planners and spent hours color coding them, decorating them, and binding them the way I wanted.

Now that I have four children to teach, though, I just don’t have the time to devote to planning by hand like I used to. Plus, I work now and I have a lot more to care for around the home – with four kids and all.

So I was so relieved that I’d get a chance to try an online homeschool lesson planner this year – Homeschool Planet from Homeschool Buyers Co-Op! And after using it, I can honestly say that it is a wonderful tool for simplifying my entire routine (both home and school).

Read on to see how we’re using Homeschool Planet and learn how you can score a free trial for your family!

Disclosure: I received access to this product in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review. This post contains affiliate links. See our Disclosure Policy for details.

How an Online Homeschool Lesson Planner Works

So how does Homeschool Planet work? Well, the best way to learn is by signing up for the free trial. That way, you’ll get a first-hand look at all the features. But here’s a quick primer.

When you first access the program, you’ll get video tutorials that explain exactly how to use each feature of Homeschool Planet – everything from how to schedule assignments, how to plan lessons, and how to add calendar appointments for each member of the family.

This is the monthly calendar view. On the left side, you can add as many family members as you need to the schedule. Plus, there are widgets on the right side and underneath the calendar. The program automatically adds the Daily Quote widget, the To Do List widget, and the Shopping List widget, among others. But you can adjust those and add others (we’ll talk about this in a bit).

As you can see, the default view has a pink and beige theme. But you can change it to one of several color themes until you find the one you like best.

Ahhhh…that theme is much better. I love green.

How to Simplify Your Routine with Homeschool Planet

Okay, so that’s how Homeschool Planet looks and those are some of its features. Now, how can it actually make lesson planning easier?

Here’s a look at how to schedule your child’s lesson assignments. Start by adding the classes they will be taking. For this session, I focused on my two youngest children.

They won’t begin classes until after Labor Day, so I’m still in the pre-planning stages. But I know they’ll be working with Math and Reading. I started by adding my youngest son’s math class.

Since I already have his textbook, I can schedule the first day of class and the last day of class, as well as the time of day for each session. I can also add his daily assignments to the schedule. Once I choose what pages of the textbook to cover each day, I can continue adding them for the entire month.

The other tabs allow me to make notes, mark grades, count the hours spent on each class, and list the resources I intend to use. So I can use Homeschool Planet to schedule lessons and track them as we go through the year.

Once you schedule your regular class days and times, they’ll appear on the weekly calendar like so. Each day shows the class name and the child who will be taking it at that time. Classes are color coded, so there’s no confusion about what to teach when.

After all of the assignments have been added, they’ll appear on the calendar as well. You can even check them off as you go!

And speaking of checking things off, I can keep up with the progress of my To Do List. I actually got some stuff done as I was planning!

As I said earlier, you can add more widgets below the calendar view. A couple I chose to add were Weather and Reading List. We are big reading list fans here and I typically assign one for each child each year, depending on their grade level.

For my youngest son, we’ll be reading several books and I can keep up with them in the Reading List widget. But I can choose each grade from the dropdown menu and take a look at the books I’ve assigned to each child right from the planner. Homeschool Planet is truly one-step planning – a perfect fit for busy homeschool moms.

Oh, and did I mention that you can also buy prepared lesson plans in the Homeschool Planet Marketplace? Just scroll down to find the curriculum you’re using and then browse to find a lesson plan that you want to use! It is basically no-prep lesson planning. Plus, you can even sign up for virtual field trips the kids can experience!

But… I Still Love Paper Planners!

“But”, you may object, “I still love my paper planner!” Which is fantastic! I still use a paper planner myself. But I just don’t love writing things in it as much I used to.

Homeschool Planet can help with that also! Once I finish inserting assignments into the calendar, I can use the Print option to print out the kids’ schedule for the entire month.

If you’re on a budget with printer ink, you can choose to print it in color or “economy” view. I prefer the color version, because I want the kids to know which color means which class. But you could easily print it in grayscale and then just highlight their classes as needed.

What I like about this digital and print versatility is that I can let the kids consult the schedule, no matter where they are in the house. If they’re at a computer, they can log in and view it that way. If they’re not, they can check the paper planner to get an idea of what’s coming up.

He’s a little unsure about this whole calendar thing. But having all of his assignments in one place is going to be a HUGE help for both of us, especially since he has ADHD and often has trouble remembering what to do each day.

I will be hanging his calendar (along with my other children’s) on the memo board each month, so they can consult it on their own and get to work. Which makes my life so much easier!

Are you ready to get a look at Homeschool Planet? Stop by the Homeschool Buyers Co-Op and sign up for the free trial! You’ll get time to check out the program, try it for schedule and lesson planning, and see how you can use it to make your daily routine easier.

Trust me, it’s definitely worth your while.

Learn more about Homeschool Buyers Co-Op and the awesome homeschool deals you can score by following the company on social media!

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Google Plus
• Instagram

Need more homeschool planning inspiration? Check out these tips!

Plus, see even more ideas for getting your new homeschool year up and running on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!

The post How to Simplify Your Routine with an Online Homeschool Lesson Planner appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

But last year, we decided to streamline our homeschooling materials and practice minimalist homeschooling. Which is using the least amount of materials necessary to teach our kids. Instead of feeling tied to using up everything for each grade level, we focused on what they needed to learn and let them explore the rest on their own. It was life-changing.

So when it was time to plan to move on to planning our homeschool kindergarten program for her, I decided to stick with the least amount of materials necessary to do it.

Which is why I was thrilled to have an opportunity to try ABCmouse – an online early learning academy for kids ages 2-8! With this program, we’ll be using a simple homeschool kindergarten curriculum that requires almost no prep at all from me. And I’ll need all the extra time I can find, since my oldest is starting seventh grade this year. *scream*

Read on to see how we’re using this program to get our kindergartner off to the right homeschooling start!

Disclosure: I received access to this program in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review. This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

Simple Homeschool Kindergarten with ABC Mouse

ABCmouse is the most comprehensive digital early learning resource for kids in grades PreK through 2. The program covers over 8,500 different educational standards, so you can easily find out which ones your child knows and which ones he or she needs to master.

To get started, just go to ABCmouse.com and sign up for the 30-day trial. You can set up your parent profile and then enroll up to three children. From there, your child can create an avatar (Piglet loved this) and then take an assessment to find out what lessons they should start with.

The assessment takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, but that’s 45 minutes straight, which my four-year-old couldn’t handle. We ended up breaking it into three separate sessions of about 15 minutes. That way, she didn’t get irritable from sitting too long.

Since she’s already been doing preschool work for the past nine months, we gave Piglet the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, which tested her on 13 different skills, including shape recognition, picture recognition, early phonics, counting, and more.

Want to see the assessment in action? Take a look at this quick video!

The third time we had Piglet sit down to work on her assessment, we wised up and used the ABCmouse app on our tablet, which is super easy to navigate and follow. She could just select the answers with her little fingers and move along at her own pace.

By the way, when you sign up for ABCmouse, there are several apps you get access to that you can use without Wi-Fi, including ABCmouse Zoo, ABCmouse Music Videos, and ABCmouse Mastering Math. These apps are available in the Apple AppStore and in the Google Play Store. In fact, we used it with our Amazon Kindle Fire just fine.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg with ABCmouse.com! There are so many lessons, games, and activities that make learning fun! In fact, we had to tell Piglet “That’s enough school for today. You can do more tomorrow.” Which is a pair of sentences I didn’t think I’d ever utter in my life.

Ready to get your early learner off to the races? Visit ABCmouse.com and sign up for a free 30-day trial to see how much fun your child can have learning!

Check out these other early learning resources!

Want more tips for homeschooling early grades? Follow my Learning for Little Ones board on Pinterest!

The post The Simple Homeschool Kindergarten Method We’re Using This Year appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.