But I still like to reset my homeschool every January.

By that point, I’m almost halfway through the school year and I can take a look at which resources are working and which are…not.

I can also see how my kids are progressing and adjust our goals to suit their ability.

Every year, I make a list of things I’d like to change about my teaching method or our homeschool routine and I try to apply those throughout the year.

This time, I thought I’d share of my new school year resolutions with you and hopefully get to read some of your plans as well!

There are ten tips below that can help you get a fresh outlook on the school year – even when you’re already five months into it.

They can also help if you’re feeling thisclose to throwing in the homeschooling towel. Trust me, I know exactly what that feels like.

Read through the ten suggestions and let me know which one you think will work for your family!

Feeling overwhelmed in your homeschool journey?

See what to do when homeschooling feels like too much!

10 New School Year Resolutions for Homeschoolers

Images c/o: CreateHERStock

This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

1. Establish a daily routine.

As much as I like the idea of a “go with the flow” mentality, that simply does not work for our family, especially since some of us are living with ADHD.

Instead of attempting to schedule every single minute, though, we’re going to stick with our minimalist homeschool schedule and strive for consistency.

2. Spend more time outdoors.

I’m really not an outdoors person. I’d rather be inside with a thick novel than outside any day. Especially when it’s cold. Like January.

However, we have active kids who love the outdoors, so we’ll be working in more outside time this year. We’ve gotten a chance to share some great nature activities as a family and I’d like to make time for that on a regular basis.

Even I feel more relaxed after we spend time outside together.

3. Make good use of lapbooks.

We’ve used a few lapbooks with the kids in the past and we’ve enjoyed them quite a bit. But I’ve tended to shy away from using them much because they take so much time to prepare.

After the initial preparation, though, they are wonderful homeschooling tools that kids can use on their own.

We still have Knowledge Box Central lapbooks from years ago and the kids can grab them and complete an activity any time. They’re certainly worth the initial time investment.

If you want to see how they look, check out this cooking lapbook that even my sons loved!

4. Encourage independence.

My husband was the first one to teach this in our home, so I have to give credit to him for this resolution. He believed strongly that our kids should learn to take care of themselves as early as possible.

As a result, our three oldest kids can wash their own laundry, prepare their own breakfast and lunch meals, and clean their rooms. Even our youngest child has started helping to wash dishes. 

Less housework definitely takes a load off of my mind.

5. Slow down.

When I first started homeschooling years ago, I felt pressure to do ALL THE THINGS AT ONCE.

I planned every minute of our homeschooling day. I made a list of every single important children’s book with dates to read each one.

I collected every piece of homeschooling curriculum I could find. Then I almost killed myself trying to do it all.

Now that we’ve been at this for years, I’ve learned that it’s so much better to slow down, focus on what’s most important, and enjoy teaching the children.

See the next five school year resolutions and how to try them on the next page!

The post 10 New School Year Resolutions for Homeschoolers appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

You’re not alone.

Many, many parents are teaching their children at home for the first time ever this year.

As a veteran homeschooler, I want to say two things:

First of all – welcome! We’re not weird as we seem and we love to have new families join us. So hi!

Second – no matter how unprepared you feel, you’ve totally got this.

And, to help make the idea of learning at home easier, I’m sharing this super easy, nitty-gritty, get it done guide to first time homeschooling.

If you’re brand new to the idea of teaching your own children, this is a simple, streamlined way to get started.

And, honestly, even though I’ve been homeschooling for ten years, this is basically the way I approach it as well.

So I’m here to tell you: it works.

Want to make the first day of your school year special? Try some of these fun first day of homeschool ideas!

The Get It Done Guide to First Time Homeschooling

Images c/o: victoshafoto / depositphotos

To start, I need to make a confession: I’ve been working from home and homeschooling for years.

But, I’ve also sent my children to public school (twice) and worked out of the home as well.

So I understand how having your children always at home can be…a bit much. If you feel that way, you will face no judgment at all from me. I get it.

As I’ve been talking with other moms online and in person, the number one feeling they express is a sense of overwhelm.

Trying to work from home, manage their households, and teach their children seems like an impossible task.

Seem familiar?

So let’s start by taking a deep, deep breath together. Take two if you need to.

We’re going to get through this in four steps (five, if you want).

That’s it. That’s all.

You can do this.

Step 1: Look at your state requirements.

Before you do anything, and I mean anything, find out what your state (or province) requires homeschoolers to do.

If you search “(state) homeschool requirements”, look for an internet search result from the actual department of education for your state. Then read the list of regulations.

Some states are very hands-off and require almost no paperwork or specific standards, but others are very detailed and require regular evaluations and check-ins by parents.

Use those regulations as your homeschooling framework.

Step 2: Choose a math program.

After you read your state’s requirements, start selecting how you will teach each subject, especially the core subjects such as math and English Language Arts (ELA).

Fair warning: There are a ton of math programs out there. A TON.

Don’t get caught up trying to read through each one and compare them. Start with Khan Academy (it’s free!) and let your child start working through that from the very beginning.

You’ll get a good sense of where he or she needs to improve as they go along.

You’ll also see what they like and don’t like about that program, which will give you a good idea of how to choose something different, if you choose.

If you just want to keep moving for now, check your child’s appropriate grade level on Khan Academy and then buy a grade-level math workbook. Done.

Step 3: Choose an ELA program.

Once you get math going, find a way to teach ELA.

Khan Academy has some courses for this too, but they’re still working on them.

I generally use a grade-level workbook for ELA and then add a lot of books to read and discuss together through the year. (Look for my specific homeschool choices for this year coming soon!)

Still with me?

Step 4: Choose a way to learn science and social studies.

Okay. The biggies are done. Now it’s time to move on to the other subjects.

Science is actually pretty simple these days. Find a great and reputable kids’ science YouTube channel and off you go. Pick up a book with easy experiments to try if you like.

You can do the same with social studies. With younger kids, find an excellent world travel channel and learn about a new country each week.

For older kids, focus on historical events and their impact on society. (Further down, there are a few recommendations you can try for this.)

Step 5: Pick an elective or two (if you want.)

That’s basically a school day.

If you do math and ELA four days a week, plus science and social studies two days each, you’ve covered all the basics.

Want to add an elective? Great! There are plenty of those out there for free too, including art, music, American Sign Language (which I teach!), and more.

A simple internet search will point you in the right direction.

And we’re done!

Pat yourself on the back. You’re ready to go. Really.

Is All-In-One Homeschool Curriculum Good for First Time Homeschoolers?

You might be wondering why I didn’t mention any all-in-one boxed curriculum choices in the steps above.

Well, here’s why.

I have used several through the years. (BookShark was our absolute favorite.)

In fact, I was homeschooled myself from sixth grade onward with a boxed curriculum.

Here’s the thing about all-in-one-programs (at least in my experience):

They tend to fit well in some subjects and not at all in others. All of my kids were at different grade levels in each subject. They tended to need a grade-level math but an advanced ELA program or vice versa.

So I always ended up with materials I paid for, but couldn’t use. Boo.

Also – I found the big box a little overwhelming, especially when I was just starting out.

But you might be different. So, after you’ve gotten into a good routine, feel free to take a look at a few (especially BookShark).

Easy Homeschool Options for First Time Homeschoolers

Whew! I’ve said a lot here, but I can’t let you go without sharing a few good resources that will help you get started if you’re first time homeschooling. These are all excellent and, even better, free.

• YouTube: CrashCourse Kids – an excellent science channel for elementary grades
• YouTube: CrashCourse – comprehensive science and history for middle school and teenaged students
• Varsity Tutors: Virtual School Day – free online classes for all grade levels (read carefully; some have fees)
• Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool – a free comprehensive internet-linked curriculum for PreK through high school
• TED-ED – video-based science, social studies, and history lessons for all grade levels

Need more homeschooling inspiration? Try some of these ideas!

The post The Get It Done Guide to First Time Homeschooling appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

I’m from Florida and, whenever the temperature dips below about 60, I’m done for the year. 

But when you’re homeschooling, you can’t just opt out of teaching during the cold. I know. I’ve tried it.

So that’s why I wanted to find some ways to make winter homeschooling fun!

These winter homeschool ideas are a great way to get the season off to a great start with your family! These are simple enough to do in one day.

Plus, they’re actually educational.

Read on to see these tips for homeschooling during winter! And if you use a few, I’d love to know which ones were your favorites.

For more ways to teach about winter, don’t miss our All About Snowflakes printable unit or our list of must-read winter books for kids!

8 Must-Try Winter Homeschool Ideas

Images c/o: stockunlimited and Lorraine Cormier from Pixabay

1. Teach about winter weather.  Take time to learn about the different types of snow and ice weather, as well as why temperatures turn colder during winter. Here’s a great explanation of why we have seasons, including winter.

2. Teach about emergency preparedness. You don’t have to be a prepper to prepare for winter. In fact, most of us already do it without realizing it. Teach a homeschool lesson on how to make sure your home is ready for colder weather and why it’s important.

3. Learn how and why snow melts. Snow is magic! It’s a cold solid that turns into water! This is the perfect way to teach about solids and liquids! You could even have them bring snow indoors to the sink and watch what happens when it melts.

Our Superhero States of Matter science lesson offers a way to teach this concept, even if you don’t have snow outside!

4. Get creative and build a snow castle or artistic snowman. Need a winter art lesson? Get outside! Not only will your kids get off the couch for a while, but by making a snow castle or artistic snowman, they’ll be learning art!

Don’t have snow in your area? Make our pinecone snowman craft instead!

5. Make winter themed slime. Make a winter themed slime that includes fake snowflakes and teach your kids about the chemical reaction that makes the slime feel slimy.

To make wintery slime, change up our DIY Flubber recipe by skipping the food coloring and adding silver glitter!

6. Have a winter themed scavenger hunt. Bundle the kids up and send them outside with a list of things to find for a winter scavenger hunt. Be sure to include things such as pine cones, a tree branch without leaves, and other things that are common in winter.

Once they have found them all, have a discussion about how each item is different in winter and summer and what causes those changes.

7. Have a science lesson on how cold affects the human body. Most kids know they have to bundle up to go outside, but do they know why? Having a winter homeschool lesson about what cold weather can do to the body is the perfect way to teach them!

Here’s a great informative resource on the topic.

8. Make paper snowflakes. Snowflakes are amazing little things and your kids will love learning about them!

For an easy homeschool activity, pick up our Snowflake Math Factor craft and let kids cut out and decorate each snowflake before solving the math factor problems on each one. Be sure to hang them on the windows afterward!

Did you love these winter homeschool ideas? Try these other winter learning activities!

See more ways to teach about winter on my Winter Activities for Kids Pinterest board!

The post 8 Must-Try Winter Homeschool Ideas appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

For homeschoolers, though, standardized testing can create other concerns, especially because so many of us have students who are working at different grade levels in different subjects.

If you have a student who is working on fourth grade math and sixth grade ELA, will homeschool standardized testing even work?

In our family, we’ve resisted standardized testing over the years. Since our state only requires us to test every three years, we’ve been able to avoid a lot of the pressure that public school students in our area face.

But, we still have to administer a test, which means considering several factors before choosing an exam. Here’s a look at how we chose our homeschool standardized testing program and how you can use it with your own kids!

Image c/o: VIPDesignUSA / depositphotos

Does Standardized Testing Work for Homeschoolers?

At heart, I’m completely anti-testing. I was a good student in school and I always did well on my tests. But, times have definitely changed since then.

For several years, our local public school system used the CRCT. The test was so difficult that many educators and administrators were sentenced to jail because of providing false test scores in order to keep their jobs.

We didn’t want to place that kind of pressure on our kids, so we only tested every three years, as our state law required.

My husband and I aren’t interested in teaching children to test well. We want them to learn material that will help them in their lives and future careers and, for many years, I just didn’t see how testing would help them reach that goal.

As my kids have gotten older, though, I’ve started to notice some things that caused me to reconsider my anti-testing stance.

For one thing, all of my kids have different skills and talents. One of them is a natural linguist and was bored to tears by studying the ELA material for their specific grade level.

One of them is a natural mathematician who has almost no patience to learn the math lessons assigned to their grade level.

And yet another is so eager to learn that they have already skipped a couple of grades.

It was time to assess where everyone was so I could omit the material they already knew and work on strengthening each child’s weaker areas.

What to Consider When Choosing A Standardized Testing Program

Another reason why I was hesitant to use homeschool standardized testing with my kids was their attention issues. Two of our children have ADD/ADHD and, honestly, the length of some of these tests are a bit much for my ADD as well.

So I knew I would need to choose an at-home standardized testing program that would be simple enough for me to administer and relaxed enough for my children to complete.

Which is why I was thrilled to learn about the Stanford-10 test.

I wouldn’t need to take my kids to an offsite testing location. I wouldn’t need to have someone else proctor the test. And I wouldn’t have to grade it myself. The ultimate low-stress standardized testing option for homeschoolers.

Do you use homeschool standardized testing with your kids? How do you go about choosing your program? Share your experiences in the comments!

Check out these other ways to make learning simple in your homeschool!

See even more ways to plan your homeschooling year on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!

The post Should You Use Standardized Testing with Your Homeschooler? appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

But we’ve been at this homeschooling thing for nearly ten years now and I’m here to tell you that the excitement… is going to fade. In fact, it seems like the longer you homeschool, the quicker it fades. And a lot of that comes down to having a rough homeschool day – or two or ten.

It’s so easy to think that you’re going to start the homeschool day right, only to have it dissolve into two shouting matches, a sibling fight, and a crying fit over a math problem by 11:00.

For years, I fell into the trap of planning weeks of lessons and then falling off the homeschool wagon just a few days in. I thought I needed to change my curriculum, revamp my schedule, or even try public school for a while.

I didn’t realize that I was planning my homeschool years right, but starting my homeschool days completely wrong. Here’s what I’ve learned about how to start the homeschool day right.

Take a look to see what didn’t work for me and what finally is working – after all this time.

Disclosure: I am a BookShark brand ambassador and am receiving free curriculum as part of my role.

How to Start the Homeschool Day Right

Images c/o: lanakhvorostova and SIphotography / depositphotos

Plan your day’s lessons and activities in advance.

Please, please, please do not set yourself up for failure by thinking you can do this on the morning you plan to teach a lesson. You won’t get up early and plan for it. Trust me. You just won’t. (I cannot tell you how many school days I’ve given up on because I fell for this idea.)

Take some time to set up a flexible plan for your school week. Shoot for having the lessons for the week done by the previous Friday. Then try to schedule only a few full days and leave yourself some space for lessons that take a little…longer than expected.

Have a family meeting first thing in the morning.

This one took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out. And, really, this tip came from my husband. Whenever he’s home during the day, he gets up and goes into the kids’ rooms to talk with them about how they’re feeling that morning.

As he told me, “That’s the best way to find out what’s on their minds before we get started. Otherwise, they won’t be able to focus on what we’re teaching, because their minds are somewhere else.”

So I started doing this on our homeschooling days too. When everyone gets up, I talk to them all individually to see how they’re feeling, what they’re thinking, and what they want to do that day.

I tell them we’ll try to get at least some of what they’d like done – after we finish our school lessons. It really does help them put those thoughts aside (at least for a while) to begin the school day.

Eat a really good breakfast.

Remember those old cereal commercials we used to see on Saturday morning? The ones that show the bowl of cereal, along with toast, eggs, and a glass of orange juice as part of a “balanced breakfast”?

They weren’t kidding. Kids really need to eat a filling breakfast to start the day, especially once they hit puberty.

I was allowing my kids to make their own breakfast for a while. That led to eating less than they needed, because they often didn’t “feel” like cooking as much as they should have.

Now that I’m back to making breakfast (and they make their own lunches and snacks), they actually get full and their moods are ten times better, which makes our entire homeschool day run smoother.

How BookShark Helps Me Start the Homeschool Day Right

One of the biggest changes that’s helping me start our homeschool days off right is using BookShark with my youngest.

BookShark is a year-long, book-based curriculum that includes ELA, history, and science for grades K-8. I’m using it for our first grader this year and it has done wonders for my homeschooling routine.

Because BookShark plans the weekly lessons for you, I have her daily plans done in no time. I just look over the prepared plan, review the books we’ll need, and we’re off and running the next week.

Take a peek at my BookShark homeschool binder to see how it works!

Start the homeschool day (and year) right with these tips!

See more ways to plan your homeschool year on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!

The post How to Start the Homeschool Day Right appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

Instead, we structure our lessons to get done in a three day homeschool week, even though the program we use is designed to be covered in four days a week.

Shocker, right?

But it actually works for us and has worked well for a few years now.

Read on to see how we use a three day homeschool week in our family!

Note: We’re adapting BookShark with our youngest child to be a three-day-a-week program, but you could really make this work with any curriculum – as long as you’re willing to adjust a few things along the way.

Need to get more ideas for organizing your lesson plans? See how we use a homeschool binder to keep our objectives front and center during the year!

Disclosure: I am a brand ambassador for BookShark and am receiving free curriculum as part of my role. For details, see my Disclosure Policy.

Why You Might Need A Three Day Homeschool Week

Images c/o: Wavebreakmedia / depositphotos

How can using a three day homeschool week help you? If you think that you can’t homeschool because you’re too busy, compressing your school week can give you some much needed time in your schedule.

Personally, I’m a homeschooling parent who also works secularly. So I need to get our school lessons done for the week in about half of a normal workweek.

Generally, we complete our school lessons during those three days and then I use a couple of evenings and the other two full days of the week to work. That way, I can relax with the family on the weekends, instead of being chained to my computer trying to catch up.

Even if you don’t work, though, using a three day homeschool week can be a good thing. It will leave you with two extra days a week for chores, errands, appointments, or field trips.

How We Structure Our Three Day Homeschool Week with BookShark

If you take a look at our BookShark homeschool binder, you can see that each day’s lesson is completely planned in advance. This is a HUGE timesaver when it’s time to cover the material. Since we do a three day homeschool week, though, I have to make a few tweaks.

First, I put all of the week’s activities for ELA, history, and science together to see exactly what we should be covering. Then I count how many pages we need to read, experiments we need to complete, and worksheets we are expected to finish.

Finally, I just divide all of those activities by three to see how much we should do each day. Pretty simple!

BookShark is designed as a 36-week curriculum, so if you complete four days a week of the program, you should finish your child’s coursework within 36 weeks.

In our family, though, we homeschool year round. So I have a lot of wiggle room on the schedule. This means I can take out a day and make it up during our longer year without falling behind.

It’s working like a dream so far!

Need more homeschool planning ideas? Don’t miss these posts!

See even more ways to organize your homeschool year on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!

The post How We Structure Our Three Day Homeschool Week appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

Choosing whether to homeschool year round can be a tough decision to make. Which is why it’s normal to seek the guidance of experienced homeschooling parents when you’re considering this topic.

But the beauty of homeschooling is that you can do works best for you and your child. So whether you homeschool year round or not is totally up to you and yours.

If you’re considering homeschooling, then it’s clear that you want to understand your children and provide them with a good education. Homeschooling not only allows more family and bonding time, but it also creates an environment that supports the learning habits and needs of your child.

If you find that you are racking your brain with trying to decide if you should homeschool year round or not, here are a few things to consider before choosing one way or another.

Are you thinking of homeschooling but unsure you can do it? See how you can homeschool your own children, even if you’re not a teacher!

Image c/o: belchonock / depositphotos

Should You Homeschool Year Round or Not?

Homeschooling Year Round Does NOT Mean Schooling All the Time

While learning and education are important, it is also just as important to make certain that your little one doesn’t get burnt out from not being able to take a break.

If you choose to homeschool year round, a good alternative to a full summer break could be to take a couple of weeks off intermittently throughout the school year. This way, your child gets a little rest time (as do you!) and time for them to recoup and have a little fun in the sun as well.

Homeschooling Year Round Can Help You Avoid the Summer Slide

One of the biggest concerns that many public school teachers have is that it takes kids a few weeks after returning from summer break to get back into the swing of things at school. If you choose to homeschool year round, you’ll never have to worry about getting out of sync and schedule.

Being able to teach your child in an atmosphere and classroom setting that works perfectly for them and their learning needs is what homeschooling is all about. When you’re able to provide that education year round, you’re setting your child up for a great learning environment!

Homeschooling Year Round Doesn’t Have to Interrupt Family Vacations

Do you and your family have any traveling plans during the summer months or do people come to visit you and your family during the year? If so, consider that before deciding to keep up with the curriculum full-time.

While it doesn’t mean that you still can’t homeschool year round, it’s just important to understand that there may be times when you’ll be traveling or have guests over and you and your child will still need to get through your lessons and your work planned.

Talk It Over With the Kids

Instead of making this decision entirely on your own, talk to your child about their thoughts. You may be surprised by their answer in regards to what they prefer!

Some children like the scheduling and every day being the same, while others prefer a bit of time to recharge. Whatever the choice, rest assured that it will be the best one for you and your child.

How We Homeschool Year Round

We’ve been homeschooling year round for several years and here’s what we do:

We follow a typical school year for our start. We generally get started with our next grade in August, but we only school for three days per week. Every few months, we take a break for a week or two.

Over the summer, we take a very relaxed approach. We’re still homeschooling, but the majority of our learning comes from summer camps, field trips, and online courses. So far, this approach has worked well for our kids.

What about you? Do any of you homeschool year round? I’d love to hear how you make it work in the comments!

Still planning your homeschool year? Take a look at these posts!

Get more ideas for structuring your homeschool year on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!

The post Should You Homeschool Year Round or Not? appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

Here are 25 fun first day of homeschool ideas to celebrate NOT back-to-school with your kids this homeschool year!

If you decide to try one of these first day of homeschool ideas, let me know which one your kids loved the most! I think we’re going to try numbers 2, 3, 11, and 19.

Need some ideas for planning your new homeschool year? Don’t miss our list of 10 new school year resolutions for homeschoolers!

Image c/o: andrekaphoto / depositphotos

25 Fun First Day of Homeschool of Ideas

1. Decorate your homeschool room with your kids.

This is a great activity for right before your homeschool starts or for the very first day. Grab some fun decorations and get started! Not only will decorating be exciting, but it is also a great way for your kids to have a vested interest in their homeschool.

2. Create a vision board for the year.

Setting goals for your homeschool is so important! Start your homeschool year off right by creating a large vision board with your kids. Discuss everyone’s goals for the homeschool year and write them on the vision board. Decorate it and hang it somewhere you can look at it throughout year. It will be fun to see all of the progress that your kids have made.

3. Go out to eat a special breakfast on the first day of homeschool.

This is such a fabulous way to celebrate back-to-school! Skip the formal school morning and head to a cafe or restaurant to ring in the new school year.

4. Eat dinner at a fancy restaurant on the first day of homeschool.

Shake things up a little bit and take your kids to a fancy dinner. You can talk about your day and what they look forward to for the rest of the year.

5. Have a dress-up dinner at home for your kids.

Have your kids wear their fanciest clothes and treat them to a fancy dinner at home. Use a table cloth, fancy dishes, candles and music to imitate a nice restaurant. You play the part of the chef and waiter and go all out!

6. Have a picnic lunch at a local park.

Pack your food and drinks and head out! If you don’t have a park nearby, the backyard can be just as fun. Bring a picnic blanket and enjoy your time together discussing the new year!

7. Have a family movie night to celebrate the first week.

After a great week of homeschooling, why not sit back and relax with your family? You’ve earned it! Let the kids pick the movie and spend some time together on the couch. Watch one of our favorites “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and then try this Charlie and the Chocolate Factory unit study!

8. Gameschool for the first day (or week!).

Who says games don’t count for schooling? They absolutely do! Get back into the swing of things with a game schooling day or week. From board games to card games, your kids will build bonds and have fun!

9. Take funny first day pictures.

You can set up a “photo booth” with an awesome backdrop, or just make silly faces! The key is to get some great pictures that capture your child’s personality! Hang them up in your homeschool room to set the vibe for your homeschool year.

10. Surprise your kids with a photo book with pictures from the past year.

Kids love to see how much they’ve grown! This one takes some advance planning, but your kids will love this sentimental celebration! There are several online options for printable photo books.

11. Enjoy a day (or several!) at a local attraction (children’s museum, water park, etc.) when public school has started back.

Beat the crowds at your local hotspots by spending a day playing when public schools are back in session. After the summer rush, this is a nice way to take advantage of a huge homeschool perk!

12. Create a time capsule.

Use a shoebox (or a similar sized container) and create a time capsule that you won’t look at until the end of the school year. Items could include: first day of school picture, an interview with your child and goals he or she has. Put the box away (in a place you’ll remember!) and make a note of where it is and when to open it.

13. Start a scrapbook and add to it weekly.

What a great way to capture memories! If you can’t keep up with a scrapbook page per week, consider doing it monthly. At the end of the year, you will have captured so many precious moments!

The post 25 Fun Ways to Celebrate the First Day of Homeschool appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

In our family, though, homeschool planning season is practically a year-round event. Even after almost ten years of homeschooling, I’m always looking for new homeschool planning tips that will help us along our journey. After all, each child is different and each grade level is different, so what worked in the past may not work as you go along.

Get your new homeschool year started on the right foot with these tried-and-tested homeschool planning tips that work! There are 25 here – all from veteran homeschooling moms (including me!) – and they’re great for any age and stage you’re teaching.

Feeling a little overwhelmed by your homeschooling journey? Take a breather with this article about the things you don’t need to homeschool!

Image c/o: habovka / depositphotos

25 Helpful Homeschool Planning Tips for the New School Year

1. Simple Lesson Planning for Minimalist Homeschoolers – Look! We’re Learning!

12. How to Plan Homeschool One Quarter At A Time – Lara Molettiere

13. 15 Homeschool Schedule Ideas for Kids with ADHD – Look! We’re Learning!

25. Free Printable Homeschool Planning Pages – Classically Homeschooling

These homeschool planning tips are awesome for jump starting your new school year! But if you need a little more help to plan your homeschooling lessons, check out these other suggestions!

Follow my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board for even more suggestions!

And now for the Rainbow Resource Back to Homeschool Giveaway!

Whether you’re an early bird who already started your new school year or you homeschool year-round (like we do), I’m pretty sure you could use a little extra money for homeschool curriculum. Right???

I’m thrilled to share an awesome giveaway that I’m offering with a group of education bloggers. We’re giving away $250 to help parents buy curriculum, educational supplies, and more to stock up their learning library!

Well, actually, we’re giving away $250 twice.  Two people will win a $250 gift card to Rainbow Resource Center!!

To enter for your chance to win, simply use the Rafflecopter form below.  The more entries you do, the better your odds are of winning!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends July 27th, 2018 at 11:59pm ET.  Must be at least 18 years of age.  Must be a resident of U.S. or Canada to enter.  Selected winners will have 48 hours to respond to email notification to claim their prizes or another winner will be drawn.  By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers.  Please be sure to read the Terms & Conditions upon entering the giveaway.

The post 25 Helpful Homeschool Planning Tips for the New School Year appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.

Yeah, I’m not one of those moms.

But, after many false starts, I’ve finally started to get the hang of that kind of homeschool organization. The key? Learning how to use a homeschool binder.

A homeschool binder is a wonderful thing, my friends. In it, I can keep all of our family’s lessons, activities, and plans organized in one place.

If you’re ready to take your homeschool organization to the next level (or just start becoming organized), read on to see how to use a homeschool binder to organize your school year!

Need some tips on scaling back your lessons? Don’t miss our tips for simplified lesson planning!

Disclosure: I am a BookShark brand ambassador and am receiving free curriculum as part of my role.

How to Use a Homeschool Binder to Organize Your School Year

Images c/o: broker / depositphotos

Gather your lesson plans.

Here’s where it gets tricky for a lot of us. You have to actually have lesson plans in order to gather them. Personally, this is one of the reasons why I love BookShark. The lesson plans for the entire year are already written out. Talk about a timesaver!

We’re using BookShark for history, science, and language arts. And all of the instructor guides include 36 weeks of lessons for each of those subjects. I just opened them and collated them by week. Done.

If you don’t have lesson plans yet, don’t worry! You can write down your yearly objectives and divide them up into weeks. As you gather resources, you can add to those notes.

Create sections for each part of your school year.

Use tabbed dividers to section up your lesson plans. You can separate them by subject or by a timeframe (weekly, monthly, quarter, etc.) I find it easiest to keep all the lessons for each subject together by week. That way, I can just pull out the week’s lessons and get started.

On the other hand, if you complete monthly evaluations or quarterly progress reports, you might want to section your lessons by the month or the quarter.

BookShark makes it easy for parents to know what to do each week, because the lesson plans instruct you as to which resource to use and when. But you can always adjust each lesson as you see fit.

Add supplemental resources.

As homeschoolers, we tend to use supplemental resources during the year. A LOT of them. We might have book lists, curriculum guides, unit study ideas, and more that we want to keep up with as we go through the year. I like using a huge three-ring binder, so that I can keep all those things together in the back of my homeschool binder.

My BookShark binder is plenty big and comes with a handy carrying bag, so I can plan lessons on the go. Bonus!

You can always move your individual resources to the specific subject section or timeframe section in which they fit best. But I like to keep mine in the back in a reference section. Whatever works, right?

Do you use a homeschool binder to organize your school year? How do you make it work for your family? Share your experiences in the comments!

Check out these other tips for planning your homeschool!

See more ways to organize your homeschool year on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!

The post How to Use a Homeschool Binder to Organize Your School Year appeared first on Look! We're Learning!.