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Minimalist Homeschooling: Stop the Stress!

July 20, 2016 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

Having a house full of children to homeschool can be exciting, fun, and…well, a little bit stressful.

After all, we’re accepting the responsibility for educating our kids (even if they’re living with special needs) ourselves. It can be lonely and challenging, and I know this from experience.

But a huge incentive of adopting minimalism is reducing our things to reduce the level of stress in our lives. And that applies to minimalist homeschooling as well.

How can we stop stressing ourselves out over our homeschooling year? Try these tips!

Minimalist Homeschooling - Stop the Stress

Minimalist Homeschooling: Stop the Stress

Mothers excel at many, many things. Unfortunately, one of the things we’re best at is feeling guilty. When we read about homeschooling, we can start to translate tips and suggestions into a lot of “should do’s” and “wish I had’s”. Which leads to stress and unhappiness about our choices.

If you decide to use some of the tips from this series to declutter books, reduce your paper trail, cut down your crafting supplies, plan your lessons the simple way, and streamline your schedule, that’s great! I hope the suggestions help you!

But please, please remember: This is YOUR homeschool. If there is anything you or your kids dislike, you can change it any time you want to. You don’t need to wait for a new school year and you certainly don’t have to “get your money’s worth out of it”. Just drop it and refuse to make yourself feel guilty.

And if there’s anything you or your kids love and don’t want to change, by all means don’t! If it ain’t broke and all. 🙂

Whatever you decide to do, take your time and enjoy the journey, no matter how much or how little you homeschool with.

Need more minimalist homeschooling inspiration?

Simple Homeschool Lesson Planning

Minimalist Homeschooling How to Declutter Books

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

How to Homeschool as a Minimalist

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! Visit the series page to read all of the posts!


Filed Under: Homeschool Planning, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool planning, homeschooling, minimalism, minimalist homeschooling

Minimalist Homeschooling: How to Streamline Your Homeschool Schedule

July 19, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

One of the major reasons we decided not to stick with public schooling was the super-packed daily schedule our family had to endure.

Between getting  up early for classes, staying in school most of the day, completing hours of homework, and getting to bed early – we were frazzled.

Surprisingly, though, it’s easy to fall into a similar pattern as homeschoolers, especially if we’re active in extra-curricular activities,  lots of field trips, or just a busy schedule.

Personally, I work a job in addition to running my website, in addition to homeschooling, so my weeks are pretty full.

A few months back, my children actually said to me “Can we just stay home today?”, which is when I realized that there wasn’t much “home” about our homeschooling.

So I set to work simplifying our routine and things have vastly improved.

If you also need to learn how to streamline your homeschool schedule, here are a few tips that worked for us.

How to Streamline Your Homeschool Schedule

If you’re a new homeschooler, these suggestions may help you avoid falling into the trap of overscheduling your days. (Unfortunately, it’s so easy to do this.)

If you’ve been homeschooling for years, these tips may help you scale back and simplify your approach.

Need more ways to prepare for your homeschool year? Don’t miss our list of tried and true homeschooling tips from veteran moms!

If you feel overwhelmed by planning your homeschool year, take a look at these easy tips to streamline your homeschool schedule!

How to Streamline Your Homeschool Schedule

Reduce the number of daily/weekly activities.

Try to set a certain number of days per week you will stay home, if you can. If you have the leave the house every single day, work to reduce the number of different activities the kids have to do.

Try to get them on a workable routine they can expect to follow most days. It’s easier for them and for you!

Use a block schedule. 

Block schedules are blocks of time designated for certain subjects. Rather than trying to schedule each school activity down to the minute, use hour or 90-minute blocks.

That way, the kids can continue with an activity they’re enjoying without worrying about time running out.

And you’ll have some downtime before starting another lesson!

Avoid long-term commitments, if possible.

Some extra-curricular activities require long-term contracts and agreements, which can make you feel “stuck”, even if the schedule isn’t working for your family.

When you’re first embarking on a new hobby or activity for the kids, try to choose one that only lasts for a few weeks. You’ll get a chance to “try it out” to see how it works for you before committing to it for an extended period.

Don’t hesitate to stop something.

Years ago, kids were taught that it’s important to stick with something and never give up. I know. I was one of those kids.

Here’s the thing: If homeschooling is not working for Mom (or Dad if he is the primary educator parent), then it’s not working for anyone else.

When you feel overwhelmed, it’s okay to stop a routine, a homeschooling method, or a class that is adding to the chaos. Don’t feel guilty about “quitting”. Feel good about choosing what is best for your family.

Minimalist Homeschooling - How to Streamline Your Homeschool Schedule

Want more ideas to help you homeschool the simple way? Don’t miss these posts!

Minimalist Homeschooling - Stick to the Basics

Simple Homeschool Lesson Planning

 

How to Homeschool as a Minimalist

 

 

Filed Under: Homeschool Planning, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool planning, homeschool scheduling, homeschool scheduling tips, homeschooling, how to streamline your homeschool schedule, minimalist homeschooling

Minimalist Homeschooling: Stick to the Basics

July 17, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Homeschoolers, let’s have a little chat, shall we?

One of the huge draws to homeschooling is that we have the freedom to teach lessons and subjects the way that we see fit. But, to quote Uncle Ben from Spiderman, “with great freedom comes great responsibility”. Okay, I’ve totally just told you my age. 🙂

We have a LOT of options and a LOT of flexibility, but we also have the sole responsibility of educating our kids. And sometimes the endless options and choices can shift our focus from providing a good education to providing the bestest, most complete education ever – which is probably impossible.

It’s easy to start with a few school subjects at first. Then you add more and more. Next thing you know, your lesson plan has 15 or 20 slots to accommodate extra subjects such as Latin, crafting, foreign language, engineering, and technology. That may work for some, but it has become overwhelming for me.

So – this year, I’m sticking with the basics only when it comes to teaching school subjects. Here’s how.

Minimalist Homeschooling - Stick to the Basics

Minimalist Homeschooling: Focus on the Basics

  1. Look at your state requirements. What subjects are you required to teach? Start with those! In our state, we are required to teach math, ELA, science, social studies, and reading. When I started to really look at those subjects, I realized that covering them each day is plenty enough for us.
  2. Add in other subjects and interests, but sparingly. Say you want your child to study Latin. That’s fine. But do they really need to learn it every single day? Do you even have time to teach it every day? If not, do it once a week and let that be enough. Or: If you finish your required subjects for the year by summer, use the summer for those elective subjects.
  3. Leave room for your kids’ interests! Homeschooling isn’t homeschooling if the kids don’t have a little say in the planning, right? Leave a slot or two open for them to explore something they want to learn about. Your day will go much, much better that way.

Want to simplify your lesson planning? Take a look at how we’re doing that this year!

Simple Homeschool Lesson Planning

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

How to Homeschool as a Minimalist

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 8: Teaching Several Kids at Once!


Filed Under: Homeschool Organization, Homeschool Planning Tagged With: homeschool planning, homeschool planning tips, homeschooling, minimalist homeschooling, simple homeschool planning, simple homeschooling

Minimalist Homeschooling: Simple Homeschool Lesson Planning

July 16, 2016 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

We’ve been talking about minimalist homeschooling for the past few days and, so far, we’ve covered making changes in the way we store books, use paper, make crafts, and manage digital resources.

Today, though, we’re on to the granddaddy of them all: LESSON PLANNING.

Lesson planning is both my favorite and my most-hated part of homeschooling. I love the idea of doing it and I generally love doing it…for the first few weeks of the school year. Then I start to do it a little less and less. By week eight or so, I’m hiding the lesson planning book somewhere in the room so I don’t have to look at it…lol.

So I know it’s time to make a change in the way I plan our homeschool. And that’s why I’m giving simple homeschool lesson planning a shot this year!

Simple Homeschool Lesson Planning

How to Simplify Homeschool Lesson Planning

As I’ve mentioned many, many times before, I’m living with ADD. Which means that I tend to hoard and overcommit myself frequently. Nowhere does this tendency show up more in homeschooling for me than in how I plan our lessons.

I tend to overschedule our days, include too many activities, and then do almost none of them. So that’s pretty obviously not the ideal way to homeschool.

This year, I’m keeping it simple with the following format:

  • Our basic school subjects
  • One craft per week
  • One video per week
  • A field trip every month

As for choosing our craft each week, I’m going to use up the craft resources I already have (see: Cutting Down on Craft Supplies) and once those are gone, I’m sticking with resources from the library from here on.

When it comes to choosing a video, I’m going to use the videos I already have listed in some of our homeschool unit studies. I think there are enough there to keep us going for some time. 🙂

I’m also going to make use of a digital planning program, such as Evernote. I just don’t have the time to write things down by hand anymore. If I can’t see it on my phone during the day, it’s probably not going to get done. (I still love the paper planners! In fact, I use one for my overall day, but I’ve got to let them go for homeschooling. Sad, but true.)

How will we tackle our basic school subjects this year? We’ll be talking about that tomorrow!

How to Homeschool as a Minimalist

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 7: Stick to the Basics!

Get more ideas for planning your homeschooling year on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!


Filed Under: Homeschool Organization, Homeschool Planning, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool planning, homeschool planning tips, minimalist homeschooling, simple homeschool lesson plan, simple homeschool planning

What is Minimalist Homeschooling?

July 11, 2016 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

Confession time: I’ve struggled off and on with homeschool hoarding for YEARS.

I didn’t get a lot of support when I was a homeschooled student and I swore that my children would have all the books, resources, and materials they’d ever need. As a result, our bookshelves and closets are stacked to the gills with homeschooling supplies.

Here’s the problem: I will never in my life ever use all of those things. In fact, I’ve had things put away for years that I have found after my children are too old to use them. For example: I have a book full of toddler activities that I haven’t opened in nearly nine years (since Tigger was a toddler). Guess what? I no longer have any toddlers.

As my kids get older and my confidence in homeschooling grows, I’m finding that I don’t need nearly as much things as I thought to give them a quality education. So I’m stepping into the world of minimalist homeschooling.

What is minimalist homeschooling? And can a confirmed homeschool hoarder really embrace minimalism?

What is Minimalist Homeschooling

What is Minimalist Homeschooling?

Here’s where it gets a little dicey: what minimalist homeschooling actually is looks different in each family. For me, minimalism refers to a lifestyle that challenges people to make the most of what they have without buying more things. In short, it’s simplifying your life by getting rid of unnecessary possessions.

This lifestyle is well supported by the Bible. 1 Timothy 6:7, 8 encourages us to be content with “sustenance and covering”. Well, when it comes to homeschooling, I’ve got plenty to be content with. Too much, in fact.

So, it’s time to get rid of my unnecessary homeschooling things, no matter how much they may mean to me personally or how much money they may have cost me.

Can a Homeschooling Hoarder Become a Minimalist?

Since I’m a hoarder (when it comes to homeschool stuff), I know that embracing minimalist homeschooling is going to be tough. The challenge for me is letting go of my fear that I won’t have something my kids need when they need it. Which brings me to the most important reason why I’m venturing into this lifestyle.

I do not want to homeschool out of fear.

I’ve never been one to homeschool out of fear of the public school system. Nor do I homeschool out of fear that my children will do “something wrong” if they’re out of my sight. But I have been hoarding homeschooling materials out of fear that I won’t be a good enough teacher. And that fear has been draining the joy out of the homeschooling experience.

My hope is that homeschooling with the bare necessities will help me see that I am teacher enough for my kids, even without a closet full of supplies.

I’m looking forward to sharing more of my journey with you all in the next few days! Do any of you homeschool with a minimalist perspective? I’d love to hear how it’s going for you!

Need to homeschool on a budget? Grab my ebook How to Afford Homeschooling for just 99 cents!

How to Afford Homeschooling eBook - Look! We're Learning!

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

How to Homeschool as a Minimalist

This post is part of the 10 Days of Minimalist Homeschooling series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 2: Books, Books, Books!


Filed Under: Homeschool Organization, Homeschool Planning Tagged With: homeschool planning, homeschooling, minimalism, minimalist homeschooling, what is minimalist homeschooling

Superhero Free Student Planner Pages

June 16, 2016 by Selena Robinson 5 Comments

Getting ready for the new school year typically involves lots of planning for the parents. But as kids get older, they can start to take more responsibility for their school schedule, whether they’re in public school or homeschool.

My boys are nuts about superheroes right now, so I just knew they’d love these Superhero Free Student Planner Pages! Read on to get them for your little superheroes too!

Printable Superhero Student Planner Pages

If your kids aren’t really digging the whole superhero motif, take a look at our Strawberry Friends Printable Student Planner Pages too! And for more tips to get your new homeschool year going, check out my list of things you DON’T need to homeschool!

Pick up these superhero themed free student planner pages for your students this year!

Superhero Free Student Planner Pages

To use these free student planner pages, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are provided for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer paper
  • Pencils

Superhero Themed Student Planner Pages

This pack includes free student planner pages for each weekday (Monday through Friday).

Student Planner Pages for Kids

Since they’re unlabeled, you can use them to schedule subjects or assignments or chores or whatever else you’d like for your kids!

Superhero Planner Pages

The pages have spaces for items from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., which is typically the timeframe that students need to schedule.

Superhero Student Printable Planning Pages

And each page features a different superhero, including Superman, Batman, and Spiderman!

Printable Superhero Student Planner Pages

We structure our day like this for early elementary learners. But you can schedule yours however you see fit! Since each line is fairly long, you could even place more than one item on each line.

And, if you want to encourage your children to work independently, print a set for them to use and create their own schedule!

Scroll down to get your Superhero Free Student Planner Pages!

Don’t miss our other homeschool planning posts!

These Strawberry Friends student planner pages are so cute for the new school year!

How to Homeschool in Five Hours a Week

How to Keep Homeschooling Costs Down - Look! We're Learning!

And get ready for the new homeschool year with the ideas on my Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!

Superhero Free Student Planner Pages @ Look! We're Learning!

To get your free Superhero Student Planner Pages, sign up for our email newsletter! You’ll get access to it and lots of other exclusive printables after you subscribe. 🙂

This post is part of the Superhero Unit Study roundup! Click over to read other superhero learning ideas from my fellow bloggers!

Batman Books for Kids from The Jenny Evolution

Preschool Super Hero Printable Pack from Schooling a Monkey

Superheroes Coloring Pages from Mrs. Karle’s Sight and Sound Reading

Superhero Obstacle Course in Nature from Frog Mom

Notebooking Pages LIFETIME Membership

Filed Under: Homeschool Planning, Homeschooling Printables Tagged With: free printables, free student planner, free student planner pages, homeschool planning, homeschool printables, homeschooling, student planner printables

Strawberry Friends Printable Student Planner Free Pages

May 27, 2016 by Selena Robinson 9 Comments

Homeschool planning season is here!

Planning season is the bestest season of all. It’s time to think about the new school year, the grades our kids are going into (6th, 3rd, 2nd, and PreK here), and all the awesome lesson plans we’ll write down and never complete…lol.

This year, our oldest is going into middle grades, so I figured it was time to give her a bit more responsibility for her education. So I made up these Strawberry Friends Printable Student Planner Free Pages! Read on to get a set for your kids absolutely free!

Strawberry Friends Student Planner Free Pages

Looking for more ways to help kids get ready for the new school year? Don’t miss our Superhero Student Planner Pages! 

And, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list for the new homeschool year, take a look at my list of things you DON’T need in order to get started!

These Strawberry Friends student planner pages are so cute for the new school year!

Strawberry Friends Printable Student Planner Free Pages

To use these student planner free pages, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer paper
  • Pencils

Student Planner Free Pages for Kids

I had Tigger in mind when I made these. She loves Strawberry Shortcake and her friends, so I just knew she’d like these Strawberry Friends planner printables.

Printable Student Planner Free Pages

She took one look and fell in love with them. Let’s hope she falls in love with actually sticking to her weekly schedule. 🙂

Free Student Planner Pages

This planner includes one page for each day of the week and there are scheduled time blocks from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. How you use these is up to you!

Free Student Planner Pages for Kids

You might have your child write down a subject for each time block or use them to schedule out chores, activities, or field trips. The choice is yours!

Strawberry Friends Student Planner Pages

We structure our days pretty loosely for early elementary grades, but for middle school, this list will be a bit more comprehensive. Since we alternate subjects, Tuesday’s schedule doesn’t resemble Wednesday’s or Thursday’s. Which is why it’s all the more important to keep up with the daily lesson plan!

Printable Strawberry Friends Planner Pages

Scroll down to get your copy of our free Strawberry Friends Printable Student Planner Pages!

Check out these other tips for planning your homeschool year!

Learn how to use an online homeschool lesson planner to make planning for the new homeschool year easier!

Pick up these superhero themed free student planner pages for your students this year!

Think you're behind on homeschool planning You're not. You don't need a lot to homeschool, even if you're a newbie!

And see even more suggestions on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!

Strawberry Friends Printable Student Planner Free Pages

To get your set of our Strawberry Friends Printable Student Planner Free Pages, sign up for our email newsletter! You’ll get access to them and lots of other exclusive printables when you subscribe. 🙂

This post is part of the Strawberry Unit Study blog hop! Check out all the great strawberry-themed learning resources below!

Strawberry Unit Study

Find the Letter: S is for Strawberries from 3 Boys and a Dog

Strawberries Nature Study from The Usual Mayhem

Strawberry and Gardening Books for Kids from CraftCreateCalm

Fun & Easy Strawberry Paper Craft with Handprint Stem from Crafty Mama in ME

Strawberry Number Recognition Free Printable from Something 2 Offer

Strawberry Moon Outdoor Activities for Kids from FrogMom

How To Make Strawberry Shortcake from Tales of Education at Home

Strawberry Picking Sight Word Games from Books and Giggles

S is for Strawberry Letter Maze from Simple Fun for Kids

How to Make Strawberry Lemonade from The Jenny Evolution

Preschool Strawberry Math from Schooling a Monkey

Notebooking Pages LIFETIME Membership

Filed Under: Homeschool Planning, Homeschooling Printables Tagged With: free printables, free student planner, free student planner pages, homeschool planning, homeschool planning pages, homeschool printables, homeschooling, planning pages, student planner printables

The Secret to Homeschooling and Working Full Time

March 14, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

I’ve been a homeschooling parent – except for a brief flirtation with public school – for the past several years. For six of those years, I’ve also been a work-at-home mom.

Recently, though, something has changed – I’ve become a homeschooling mom who works full-time.

If you’d told me years ago when I left the workforce that I’d end up returning along WITH my four children, I’d have thought you were insane. But eleven years later, here we are.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: It’s been challenging to adjust to this new lifestyle. But I really think I’ve found the secret to homeschooling and working full time and I’m sharing it today!

The Secret to Homeschooling and Working Full Time

Image: c/o Tinatin1 / depositphotos

Why Homeschooling and Working Full Time is So Hard

This is a no-brainer, right? It’s hard because there’s only one you and there are kids, lesson plans, work deadlines, clients, assignments, grades, exams, and state reports to deal with – and that’s not all!

In the past when I’ve worked from home, I’ve had to pull full-time shifts for a short amount of time. But in those situations, I had the freedom to move my schedule around and get my work done when the kids were sleeping.

Now, though, I’m working both inside and outside the home. So I have less flexibility than I did before. Plus, my children accompany me to work. (I have a very understanding supervisor.) But that means keeping them still and quiet while I try to do my job. And that’s not easy.

The Secret to Homeschooling and Working Full Time

It’s really taken a few months to get the hang of this and I still can’t say that I’ve totally “got it”. But I have uncovered a huge secret that makes homeschooling and working full time easier. Are you ready to learn what it is?

It’s…outsourcing.

I outsource every single task I can to my children. And that includes choosing school assignments, doing housework, making meals, and completing lessons. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I only spend about five hours a week actually “teaching”. And that has greatly freed up my time to get my other responsibilities done.

After I started working outside the home, I explained to the kids that I would be contributing to the household in a new way: by earning additional money we could use to take a vacation, go to the aquarium, buy clothes, and so on. And that it was time for them to contribute to the household a bit more as well. 😉

For example, when it comes to housework, there are three chores that have to be done every single day and were taking up way too much of my time: laundry, cooking, and dishes. I rotate these tasks among my three oldest kids each week.

So one week, Tigger will prepare breakfast and lunch during the day, Roo will do the laundry, and Pooh will wash the dishes. Then the next week, they rotate.

Of course, they’re not skilled enough to be left to do all of these things without supervision, so I’m always nearby to keep an eye on them. But their daily chores are part of their school day, which is a win-win for everyone!

For more tips on planning and scheduling your homeschool, check out some of our other posts!

How to Keep Homeschooling Costs Down - Look! We're Learning!

How I Homeschool Four Kids for $250 a Year!

Our Year Round Homeschool Schedule

Our Year-Round Homeschool Schedule

Get even more encouragement for planning your homeschool year from my Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!

Homeschooling and Working Full Time

Are you homeschooling and working full time? Let us know how you do it!

This linkup is part of the Balancing Your Life & Homeschooling linkup from iHomeschool Network! Click over to read how my fellow bloggers keep everything together!

Balancing Homeschooling and Working Full Time

Homeschooling: what to do when you want to quit

Filed Under: Homeschool Planning, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool planning, homeschooling, homeschooling and working full time, wahms, work at home moms, working and homeschooling, working as a mom, working mothers

How to Homeschool in Five Hours a Week

February 15, 2016 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

Have you ever heard someone say…

“I wish I could homeschool, but I just don’t have the time!”

“You homeschool? How do you get everything done?”

“I’d like to homeschool, but it seems like it takes so long!”

I have. And I’ve tried repeatedly to get people to understand that it’s totally possible to homeschool in five hours a week. But it’s hard to get that message out in a way that makes it easy to understand, at least when I’m talking. So…

I’m writing it all down today! Check out how we get it done!

How to Homeschool in Five Hours a Week

Image c/o: yuriyzhuravov via depositphotos

How to Homeschool in Five Hours a Week

Before I get started, let me clarify: I do not mean that your total homeschooling time per week will be just five hours. Ours isn’t. Altogether, we probably spend 15 to 20 a weeks “doing school”.

But I have managed to get my hands-on teaching time down to five hours a week, which has been a HUGE help to my schedule.

The first hour of our school day (9 – 10 am) looks like this:

  • 30 min – teach a new concept and oversee practice
  • 10 min – assign independent reading and projects for the day
  • 20 min – answer immediate questions

The rest of the school day is spent on independent assignments, reading, an educational video, and generally a craft or a project. And, of course, I’m available for help as they need it throughout the day. But the real “Mom is teaching” time is done in that hour.

Here are three tips to help you do the same!

Plan ahead.

I cannot overstate the importance of planning here. I set aside time over the weekend to choose which objectives I’ll focus on that week and find the resources I have to teach them.

My goal is to introduce a new topic, observe the kids as they practice, and provide limited guidance. So I only teach one new concept per day and that keeps the amount of actual “teaching” time I have to do to a minimum.

Use the Internet.

I love to use the Internet when I teach. Love it. There are so many great YouTube videos and educational websites that can do a lot of teaching for us these days!

My kids use and love Khan Academy. And that’s one of my favorite websites because Sal does so much instructing that I don’t have to do much at all. I usually sit with the kids as they work through the videos and let them work the exercises on their own. Generally, I have my Kindle nearby. 🙂

Teach your kids to work independently.

This is probably the biggest step of all. When your kids start completing work on their own, you will get so much of your time back! And I will admit that this takes effort and LOTS of practice, but it’s worth it.

Start with little tasks: completing half of a worksheet, watching a short video, reading a page of a book and answering a question or two. And as your kids grow, they will start to enjoy the feeling of completing independent work.

As they work on their assignments, I get time to get my own work done, catch up on a household chore, or simply do nothing at all. It’s glorious.

Homeschool in Five Hours a Week

Need even more tips for managing your homeschool? Check out the amazing suggestions in the book The Big Book of Homeschooling Ideas!

The Big Book of Homeschool Ideas by iHomeschool Network

How do you keep a handle on your homeschooling time each week? Share your tips in the comments!

Need more help planning your homeschool? Follow my Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the “How Much Time Does Homeschooling Take” linkup from iHomeschool Network! Click on over to read the awesome posts by our fellow bloggers!

iHomeschool Network How Much Time Does Homeschooling Really Take Linkup

Filed Under: Homeschool Planning, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool planning, homeschooling, time management

5 Awesome Homeschool Planning Resources for Busy Moms

August 4, 2015 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

If you’ve already gotten your homeschool planning done for this year, you are my hero. (Needless to say, I am nowhere NEAR finished.)

Even though I’m finished with my college experience, I find that I am still so, so busy! And I think most moms are. It can easily feel like we just do not have enough time in the day to plan our homeschool lessons, especially if we’re parenting more than one child.

So I’m excited to share 5 awesome homeschool planning resources for busy moms today!

Today is also another edition of the Laugh and Learn linky, so you can check out our features from last week and read the newest posts shared below!

5 Homeschool Planning Resources for the Busy Mom

5 Awesome Homeschool Planning Resources for the Busy Mom

Creating a Schedule That Works – Marlene Griffith

Need to get your life together in a hurry? Marlene explains how you can go from unscheduled to scheduled in just 12 days. Since homeschooling parents need a schedule that everyone can stick with, she also talks about starting with a clearly defined purpose. That way, you have an overall goal to keep in mind as you stick with your routine.

Blueprint Homeschooling – Amy Kneppers

Amy’s book is a really great way to outline your entire year in advance. Yes, I mean, your ENTIRE year. She includes exercises you can complete as you read to help you get a feel for the rhythm of your home and how homeschooling can fit naturally into the life you already lead.

Homeschool Planner – Jolanthe Erb

If you want to have one homeschool planner you can use year after year, Jolanthe’s planner is the one. This homeschool planner is composed of editable PDFs, so you can type in this year’s lessons and then print them when you’re finished. Next year, you can do it all over again!

Homeschool Planner 2015-16 – Patricia Espinoza

Do you want a pretty paper planner that makes you feel happy to plan lessons? (I do.) Patricia’s Homeschool Planner is so beautiful that looking at it just makes me feel better. You can print the pages you need, skip the ones you don’t, and get to planning your year peacefully.

Planning Your Best Homeschool Year – Kyle McVay

One of the issues with homeschool planning is that we can get so focused on covering the material or finishing our curriculum that we forget to consider our kids! Kyle’s book is excellent for helping parents consider their kids learning styles right from the beginning. There’s no point in planning a homeschool year your kids will hate, right?

 

And now, it’s linky time!

Come join us every Tuesday for our Laugh and Learn Linkup! You are welcome to share any Parenting or Homeschool link. You will enjoy all the great links! #LaughLearnLinkUp #Homeschool #Parenting #Blog #Mom #Bloggers

Welcome to our 44nd week of Laugh and Learn – Homeschool and Parenting Linkup!

Last week was our best linkup ever! Thanks for sharing 78 links with us.

Laugh and Learn – Homeschool and Parenting Linkup will be open by 6 am every Tuesday morning.

Each and every week all of the hosts pick one favorite post to be featured on the next week’s linkup. All of your links will be shared on five blogs.

We are also sharing the top posts on Pinterest: #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites}. It’s added exposure for your awesome content!

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Tina
Me and Sawyerlos-gringos-locos-blog

Tina lives abroad in Latin America with her husband and four children. Currently in Mexico, Tina is active in homeschool, travel, and her Bible ministry. She blogs about all of their adventures and more at Los Gringos Locos.
Find Tina at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google +
Linkedin
Tsu

Selena
Selena - head shot Look We're Learning

Selena is a writer and a homeschooling mom to four kids, including three with ADHD/SPD. Selena and her husband, Jay, are committed to teaching their children at home and loving every minute of it! You can read about the family’s homeschooling experiences at Look! We’re Learning, written by Selena!
Find Selena at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Google +
Instagram

Sarah
sarah-dedicated-homeschooler Dedicated Homeschooler

Sarah lives in Kentucky, USA, where she and her husband homeschool three children. Sarah writes for and about, families with special needs. She hopes to provide support and encouragement to all special needs parents in the homeschool community. Visit Sarah at Dedicated Homeschooler.
Find Sarah at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest

Haley
Haleys Vintage Finds & DealsHaley's Vintage Finds & Deals

Haley hopes to encourage stay at home moms. She wants to help moms learn how to make an extra income, to stretch a budget, to make crafts, and other useful information. Haley always has updates on the kids and funny things that happen. Visit Haley at Haley’s Vintage Finds & Deals.
Find Haley at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
Twitter
Google+
YouTube

Lindsey
Lindsey is a passionate writer eager to touch the hearts and minds of homeschoolers and parents abroad. As a devoted mother to two, happy homeschooler, and scatterbrained housewife, she's on a mission to find love and joy in "the simple life" and invites you to join her! Lindsey is a passionate writer eager to touch the hearts and minds of homeschoolers and parents abroad. As a devoted mother to two, happy homeschooler, and scatterbrained housewife, she's on a mission to find love and joy in "the simple life" and invites you to join her!

Lindsey is a passionate writer eager to touch the hearts and minds of homeschoolers and parents abroad. As a devoted mother to two, happy homeschooler, and scatterbrained housewife, she’s on a mission to find love and joy in “the simple life” and invites you to join her! Visit Lindsey at Nitty Gritty Homeschooling. Find Lindsey at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Google+
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter
YouTube


The Winners for the Week of August 4th:

20 First Day of Homeschool Celebrations

20 First Day of Homeschool Celebrations

19 EXPLORING OUTER SPACE ACTIVITIES, CRAFTS, AND PRINTABLES FOR KIDS

19 EXPLORING OUTER SPACE ACTIVITIES, CRAFTS, AND PRINTABLES FOR KIDS

25 Free Educational Websites for Kids

25 Free Educational Websites for Kids

5 ADVANTAGES TO CREATING YOUR OWN HOMESCHOOL UNIT STUDY

5 ADVANTAGES TO CREATING YOUR OWN HOMESCHOOL UNIT STUDY

European Espresso Cake

European Espresso Cake

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post. Please check out the post above by clicking on the image.
[bctt tweet=”Come share your favorite #parenting or #homeschooling post with us. #ihsnet #ibabloggers”]

Now give us your best posts!

An InLinkz Link-up


Filed Under: Homeschool Curriculum, Homeschool Planning, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool planning, homeschooling, laugh and learn linky

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Hi! I'm Selena, a veteran teacher and homeschool mom to four. I'm so glad you're here!
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