homeschooling Archives

10 New School Year Resolutions for Homeschoolers

December 15, 2020 by Selena Robinson 5 Comments

It’s common to start a new homeschool year in August or September, which is the same time of year when public schoolers go back to class.

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

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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!

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5 Fun Homeschool Book Report Ideas for Kids

November 17, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Ah, the familiar (and sometimes dreaded) book report.

When I was in elementary school, we had to give book reports in front of the entire class. I never minded, because I loved books and always wanted to talk about them to my classmates.

But everyone didn’t love doing them.

And it’s easy to see why. Just writing a report about a book isn’t necessarily fun.

So I thought it would be helpful to share these five fun homeschool book report ideas you can try with your children!

These are simple to do and they’re engaging, so if you have children who don’t love writing about the books they read, these different book report ideas may help.

Read on to see the full list!

And, for more ways to bring books to life, take a look at our tips for making reading fun for active kids!

These five fun homeschool book report ideas are excellent for assessing reading comprehension with kids!

5 Fun Homeschool Book Report Ideas for Kids

Images c/o: AndrewLozovyi / Depositphotos

The Cereal Box Book Report

Take an empty cereal box and glue butcher paper or construction paper all around it.

Have your children draw an important scene from the book on the front and write the book title at the top.

Use the space for the nutrition facts on the side to list characters and places inside the book.

On the back, kids can describe the basic plot and explain what they liked about the book.

The Story Cube

Pick up a few dry erase dice and let kids draw a scene from a few of the book’s chapters on each side.

Challenge them to use the drawings to retell the story.

You can also do this with an empty tissue box. Let the kids draw scenes from the story and glue them around the sides.

Then they can use the story cube to retell the major parts of the story. Or “roll” the cube to tell random events.

The Comic Book Report

Hand out a couple of pieces of paper, with markers and colored pencils, and let the kids make a comic book summary of the story.

Keep it short (eight or twelve panels) and see if they can depict the events in the order they occurred.

Afterwards, they can use the comic book to retell the major plot events.

The Stage Play Report

If you have children who love to dress in costume and perform (like I do), why not have them try a stage play book report?

They can dress up as the main characters and act out a scene or two from the story. Let siblings help to make a “set” and play other roles too!

Older kids may want to try writing a soliloquy or monologue showing the main character’s internal conflict and struggles.

After the play is finished, let the kids hold a character “wax museum” while they’re still in costume!

Each one can hold up a sign with the name of their character and a few important facts about him or her. As parents, you can walk around to see each “exhibit” from the story.

The Build A Scene Report

Grab some art supplies and recyclables from around the house to build a model of a scene from the book.

Choose a specific setting from the story (such as a village, castle, apartment, forest, etc.) and challenge the kids to use as much detail as they can. This is a great way to help the kids pay attention to descriptive details in the book.

You can also use LEGO blocks to construct a setting from the story. With a smartphone, older kids can create a stop-motion video to show a few of the major events!

Which of these fun homeschool book report ideas do you think your kids would like? Let me know how they work for your family!

Try some of these other ideas for making reading fun!

These printable summer reading challenge bookmarks are a fun way to keep kids reading during summer!

This printable fall reading journal for kids is a simple way to help children analyze the stories they read!

Pick up this printable ice cream reading log for kids to keep little ones reading this summer! This printable reading kits with printable bookplates, a printable summer reading log, and printable coloring bookmarks!

The Get It Done Guide to First Time Homeschooling

August 6, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Suddenly homeschooling for the first time?

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.

The 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!

Banish overwhelm and start learning with this easy guide to first time homeschooling!

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.

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Seem familiar?

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

via GIPHY

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?

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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!

via GIPHY

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!

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

Do you want to homeschool but feel that you can't possibly spend all day with your kids? Here's how to manage it.

8 Must-Try Winter Homeschool Ideas

November 19, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I hate winter. Hate it.

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!

How Playing Sports Can Help Your Homeschooler

July 11, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

There are lots of studies that support the value of extra-curricular activities for kids. According to some, playing sports (in particular) improves a child’s overall academic performance.

But does that apply to homeschoolers? After all, homeschooling is a very different type of education than public schooling.

Homeschoolers usually have more time to spend pursuing their own interests. And they have less time that they are required to sit still than public schoolers.

It’s been our experience, though, that playing sports can help homeschoolers. Over the years, our kids have played several sports and we’ve seen the benefits personally.

If you’re planning your upcoming homeschool year and you’re considering a sport or two, here’s how playing sports can help your homeschooler.

Need more support to outline your school year? Don’t miss our collection of tips for planning your homeschool year too!

How Playing Sports Can Help Your Homeschooler

Playing sports can improve focus.

Participating in sports helps homeschoolers use up extra energy, which helps them focus better. This is particularly useful for children that struggle with excess energy and attention issues.

Since we have children who are living with ADHD and ADD in our family, this has been a huge benefit of having them play sports. Even my most active child is calmer and more focused after playing a game or two.

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Dad and son working on squats at track practice today. ❤️❤️ #ihsnet #trackandfield #running #fitness

A post shared by Look! We’re Learning! (@lookwelearn) on Nov 4, 2018 at 12:58pm PST

Playing sports can help kids develop discipline.

Sports help homeschoolers develop discipline. In our family, this was sorely needed.

Since the kids didn’t have to be up and at school at a particular time each day, they struggled with following a routine. When they had a practice to attend, though, it was much easier to get them up and moving.

In addition, playing team sports, especially track and field, helped them see how their actions affected others and taught them the importance of cheering for their teammates.

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We’ve worked our way all the way down to the smallest member of the family. It’s Little Bit’s turn to learn how to swim! True story: Before we left home, she asked me: “Do they let you swim laps during the first lesson?” To which I responded: “You don’t know how to swim yet!” 🏊🏽‍♀️🏊🏽‍♀️🏊🏽‍♀️

A post shared by Look! We’re Learning! (@lookwelearn) on Dec 10, 2018 at 3:30pm PST

Playing sports helps kids use practical math skills.

Do you have a child who’s always asking “But when will I ever use this?” during math class?

They’ll be surprised to learn how much they need math once they start playing sports. You can’t keep score, time your performance, or monitor your progress without it.

And if they really love their sport, they’ll pick these skills up quickly. Much quicker than mine ever did during a math lesson.

Playing sports gives homeschoolers time to work with others.

If you have an only child, you might want to give him or her time to spend with other kids. Playing sports is a fantastic setting for this.

Many people express concerns about homeschoolers and “socialization”. While I don’t think this is a major issue for homeschoolers, extra-curricular sports do give homeschooled kids more opportunities to meet and cooperate with people who are different from them. Which is always a good thing.

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Tired little ones after a session of homeschool soccer. And did I mention it’s drop off? We’ll definitely be back. ⚽️⚽️⚽️ #365homeschool #homeschooling #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife #ihsnet #soccer

A post shared by Look! We’re Learning! (@lookwelearn) on Sep 17, 2018 at 9:40am PDT

Playing sports contributes to good physical and mental health.

Sports are great for your child’s mental health. Getting a little physical activity releases endorphins that contribute to a feeling of happiness. Even my moodiest tween felt better after running, playing tennis, or swimming.

And, since so many kids spend time on screens during the day, sports can help kids get more physical exercise and avoid being sedentary all day.

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It’s a wonderful day for tennis! 🎾🎾🎾 #ihsnet #365homeschool #homeschoollife #homeschooling #tennis #tenniskids

A post shared by Look! We’re Learning! (@lookwelearn) on May 1, 2018 at 3:32pm PDT

Playing sports can open up new interests for kids.

If you have a child who never knows what they want to do (I have two like that), then playing sports is also great for helping them to develop new interests.

As kids learn more about their sport, they will start to determine what they like and what they don’t like. This is a great starting point for exploring new hobbies and even career ideas. And it helps them start learning new things too!

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What a difference a season of swim lessons makes! Two kids swimming, two more to go. 🏊🏾‍♂️🏊🏾‍♂️🏊🏾‍♂️ #ihsnet #homeschoollife #swimkids #365homeschool #homeschooling

A post shared by Look! We’re Learning! (@lookwelearn) on Apr 11, 2018 at 3:24pm PDT

Have you found that playing sports helps your homeschooler? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments!

Check out these other tips for happy homeschooling!

And see more ways to homeschool successfully on my Help for Homeschoolers Pinterest board!

Should You Assign Homeschool Homework to Your Child?

February 21, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

The very thought of homeschool homework might seem like a contradiction.

One of the biggest pros to homeschooling (at least for my kids) is that they thought they were getting out of having homework every day. And it’s easy to see why.

One of the biggest cons to public school is the sheer amount of homework that many kids have to complete before they return to class. I personally know families whose children spend hours on homework each night.

When my children went to public school a few years ago, I was shocked at the amount of homework assigned to them in elementary school. It’s changed quite a lot since my years in those grades.

Did you know, though, that some seasoned homeschool parents often decide it’s appropriate (and smart) to assign homeschool homework? It’s true!

In fact, I’ve been known to assign homework to my kids too.

The good news is that, as a homeschool parent, you get to make your choice based on what you know about your child and what you feel is best for them.

And, of course, you can always adjust as you go along when something’s not working. This is something I’ve also been known to do.

Want to read more about what it’s like to send your homeschooled child to public school? Take a look at our Great Homeschool Public School Experiment series!

Why Some Parents Assign Homeschool Homework

Images c/o: belchonock & TarasMalyarevich / depositphotos

When kids are in public school and have homework assignments to complete, they are responsible for finding out what is required, checking the due date, requesting help when needed, and turning it in on time.

Depending on the homeschooling approach you use, you might find that your kids struggle with these kinds of skills when they’re taught at home. Mine certainly did.

I’d assign something for them to do on their own, especially as they got older, and I was immediately inundated with complaints.

“Wait, what am I supposed to be doing?”

“I don’t understand the instructions!”

And, my personal favorite, “I thought I did it already!” (Really, kid?)

So I started using homeschool homework as a way to teach my children to work independently. I’d assign it and walk away. It was up to the kids to navigate any problems that came up, just as they would in a mainstream school setting.

I was always available when they needed guidance, not reteaching. And I’d provide them with reference materials and safe websites to use for research or review.

Initially, I felt guilty. Maybe I wasn’t being “there” enough for my kids or I was just “dropping” them after holding their hands for so long. But I was being unfairly harsh on myself.

If they were in a “regular” school and they had homework to do, there would be no teacher hiding away in their backpack to remind them to do it, or how to do it, or when to do it.

Whether they make the right choice by completing the work would be up to them. Whether they paid attention in class in order to know how to do the work would also be on their shoulders.

We all have to learn that, in life, each day is filled with choices, one after the other. And our decisions always have an effect, whether good or bad. This was just one way of helping my kids learn that lesson.

Should You Give Your Child Homeschool Homework?

Is it possible your homeschool kids may need a little homeschool homework to help them learn responsibility? Only you know the answer to that question. And, if you decide to implement it, the way you use it is up to you.

Some moms give the assignment, the due date and make it clear that the child is on their own. Others ask kids to choose a subject to study on their own and write discussion points and questions for the next school day.

Homework is up to the teacher!

If you’re feeling unsure about what to do, remember:

Homeschooling is a difficult endeavor, and the balance you strike each day as both a parent and an educator can be tricky. Still, whatever choice you make will be the right one for your children.

What about you? Do you assign homework? Why or why not? If you do, what’s your method? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Don’t miss these other homeschooling articles!

And get more help for your homeschooling journey on my Help for Homeschoolers Pinterest board!

How to Afford Homeschooling eBook Download

25 Veteran Tips for Happy Homeschooling

October 22, 2018 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

How many of you out there are either homeschooling or thinking of homeschooling? How many of you are homeschooling happily?

Making the decision to homeschool is a tough one, but one that usually brings a lot of excitement. As your homeschooling journey continues, though, you’ll start to face some challenges that can make learning at home feel…not awesome. In fact, it can get downright miserable if you’re not careful.

Which is why I wanted to share some veteran tips for happy homeschooling. After all, we’re teaching our kids at home because we want them to have the best education possible. If they’re unhappy while they learn, that’s not the best education, is it?

These suggestions cover some of the common challenges you’ll face as a homeschooler, but there are also tips and tricks for keeping your homeschool organized, feeding your hungry learners during the day, and teaching multiple kids at once (like we do).

Need some more homeschooling how-tos? Check out our list of homeschool planning tips to get your school year started right!

25 Veteran Tips for Happy Homeschooling

Image c/o: habovka / depositphotos

1. 10 of the Best Tips for Homeschooling Kids with ADHD – Look! We’re Learning!

2. How to Start Strong Each Homeschool Week – Table Life Blog

3. How to Stop and Smell the Roses – Rock Your Homeschool

4. When You Fear Your Homeschooled Teen is Behind – Annie and Everything

5. 9 Ways to Help Boys With Too Much Energy – Homeschool Your Boys

6. How to Start a Homeschool Routine with Young Children – Hodgepodge

7. Fun Math Books for Middle Schoolers – Look! We’re Learning!

8. 10 Tips for Starting to Homeschool – Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

9. Our Top Ten Lunches for Homeschool – iHomeschool Network

10. Tips for Changing Your Homeschool Curriculum – Triumphant Learning

11. 100 Ways to Have a Fun Homeschool Day – Rock Your Homeschool

12. How to Get Homeschooled Kids to Want to Learn – Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

13. 3 Essential Keys to Homeschooling Multiple Ages – Preschoolers and Peace

14. Practical Ways to Deal with Homeschool Burnout – iHomeschool Network

15. How to Keep Your Happy Through Winter – Nourishing My Scholar

16. Homeschooling Gifts You Don’t Want to Take for Granted – Look! We’re Learning!

17. The Best Way to End a Homeschool Day – Table Life Blog

18. The Power of Play: Using Game in Your Homeschool – My Little Poppies

19. 36 Ways to Organize Your Homeschool – Annie and Everything

20. How to Use Morning Time for a Happier Homeschool – Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

21. Easy Ways to Homeschool On the Go – Rock Your Homeschool

22. 100 Educational Shows to Stream on Netflix – Homeschool Hideout

23. What to Do When Gifted Kids Struggle – Raising Lifelong Learners

24. 3 Ways to Instantly Gain More Time in Your Homeschool Day – Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

25. 5 Ways to Make Geography Fun – Look! We’re Learning!

Want even more tips for happy homeschooling? Liven up your learning with these ideas!

And follow my Help for Homeschoolers board on Pinterest for even more helpful suggestions!

How to Start the Homeschool Day Right

September 6, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

It’s the start of a new homeschooling year and, for many of us, that brings a ton of excitement about our new books, our new curriculum, and the kids’ new grade levels.

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!

DIY Geometry Dice – A Fun Math Practice Tool for Kids!

August 30, 2018 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Duck Brand® for IZEA Worldwide. All opinions are 100% mine.

Since we are teaching multiple children with attention issues, we always try to make our school lessons as fun and engaging as possible. Particularly when it comes to math.

Math is one of those subjects that kids either love or hate or possibly love to hate. Because our kids need to move around frequently to remain attentive, I wanted to find a way to help them practice geometry terms without forcing them to write the definitions over and over.

And that’s how we came up with the idea for geometry dice!

These DIY math manipulatives only take a few minutes to make and they’re awesome for helping students develop geometry fluency while having fun and getting some much needed movement during the school day.

Read on to see how I used colorful Duck Tape to make our geometry dice and how to grab the printable dice templates you’ll need for yourself!

DIY Geometry Dice for Math Practice

Here’s what you’ll need to make your Geometry Dice:

Empty square tissue box (You’ll need one box for each die you want to make.)
Duck® brand duct tape
Printable Geometry Dice templates (These are available for free in our Subscriber Library. Sign up at the bottom of the post!)
Scissors
Glue stick

These geometry dice are designed to help students in upper elementary grades or early middle school grades practice recognizing and identifying basic geometric lines, angles, and shapes.

For younger students, you can use the set of shapes and angles with the identifying names. Have them roll the dice and call out the shape, line, or angle they see until they start to recognize them on their own.

Then switch to the dice templates with no labels to see if the students remember each line, shape, and angle.

Upper elementary and middle school students can use the Who Am I? style templates to try to identify each line, angle, and solid shape without seeing the pictures at all.

When it was time to decorate our geometry dice, I was so excited to use Duck® brand duct tape to make them as bright and colorful as possible.

And let me just tell you: Duck Tape is nothing like you probably remember. It now comes in Color Duck Tape® and Printed Duck Tape® – both of which are adorable and perfect for educators!

For our geometry dice, I went with bright purple and this super cute blue, red, and green chevron Duck Tape. I knew the colors would make the dice even more fun and attention-grabbing for the kids.

So – here’s how to make the Geometry Dice.

Start by wrapping the Duck Tape around one end of the empty tissue box. Since Duck Tape is made fairly wide, you’ll only have to go around the sides of the box three times or so to cover it.

After you wrap the Duck Tape around the tissue box completely in one direction, turn it upside down and wrap the remaining two sides the same way.

Finally, use scissors to cut the Duck Tape and press the open end closed. Easy peasy!

Cut out the Geometry Dice templates you plan to use and use a glue stick to attach one to each side of the tissue box.

If you’re making two dice, repeat this process all over again.

Just a note about working with the chevron-patterned Duck Tape: It takes a little bit longer to decorate the box with it, because you’ll need to stop and align the tape to make sure the pattern is even.

Totally worth it, though, because it’s adorable.

These are so fun for working on geometry. My kids wanted to play with them long after math class was over.

Scroll down to get your printable Geometry Dice templates – FREE!

Don’t miss these other ideas for teaching math!

To get your printable Geometry Dice templates free, sign up for our email newsletter! You’ll get access to these printables, plus lots more, in our exclusive Subscriber Library!

How We Structure Our Three Day Homeschool Week

August 16, 2018 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

We’ve always been rather creative in the ways we homeschool. While the idea of schooling at home might conjure up images of hitting the books from 8 to 2 Monday through Friday, we’ve never done it that way. Frankly, that doesn’t work for most homeschoolers.

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!