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Should You Homeschool Year Round or Not?

August 13, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

If you’ve been around the homeschooling world for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve heard of families who homeschool year round. In fact, we’re one of those families, so if you haven’t met someone before, you have now!

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.

Should You Homeschool Year Round or Not

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!

Are you thinking of homeschooling all year long Here's a look at what you should consider when you're deciding if you want to homeschool year round.

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 the new homeschool year off to a great start with these 25 helpful homeschool planning tips!

Struggling to keep your homeschool year structured? See how to organize your school year with a homeschool binder!

Overwhelmed by planning your homeschool day? Try this minimalist homeschool schedule to get started!

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

How to Afford Homeschooling eBook Download

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

25 Fun Ways to Celebrate the First Day of Homeschool

July 23, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Back-to-school is an exciting time of year, especially when you homeschool! With new ideas and a fresh start, there is a lot to celebrate. Homeschool parents usually ooze excitement and you want your kids to get excited about the beginning of the homeschool year also.

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

Make this homeschool year one to remember with these fun first day of homeschool ideas you can try with your family!

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!

Welcome the new homeschool year with these 25 fun first day of homeschool ideas! Choose a few of these back to homeschool ideas to try with your family!

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!

See more fun first day of homeschool ideas on page 2!

Pages: 1 2

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

25 Helpful Homeschool Planning Tips for the New School Year

July 16, 2018 by Selena Robinson 6 Comments

I just love homeschool planning season. Many homeschoolers start planning for the new school year during late spring and early summer.

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.

25 Helpful Homeschool Planning Tips for the New School Year

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!

*Don’t miss the fabulous Rainbow Resource curriculum giveaway at the bottom of the post!*

Get the new homeschool year off to a great start with these 25 helpful homeschool planning tips!

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!

2. My Super Simple Homeschool Planning Method – Homeschool Your Boys

3. Make a Homeschool Schedule – Homeschooling Ideas

4. Printable 2018-19 Homeschool Planning Form – Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

5. How to Use Mind Maps for Homeschool Planning – Triumphant Learning

6. Free Printable Homeschool Planner Pages for Relaxed Homeschoolers – This Simple Balance

7. Printable Homeschool Quarterly Planning Form – Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

8. Step-by-Step Instructions to Plan A Homeschool Year – Preschoolers and Peace

9. Planning for the Non-Planning Homeschool Mom – Homeschooling Without Training Wheels

10. How to Hold a Weekly Homeschool Planning Meeting – Hodgepodge

11. Five Simple Tips to Help You Schedule Your Homeschool Day – Finding Joy In the Journey

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!

14. How to Pre-Plan A Homeschool Year – Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

15. How to Frugally Plan Your Homeschool with Folders – Rock Your Homeschool

16. 2018 Weekly Homeschool Planning Worksheets – Table Life Blog

17. How to Plan A Homeschool Week – Blossom and Root

18. 7 Steps to Simplify Homeschool Planning – Triumphant Learning

19. The Ultimate Guide to Low-Stress Homeschool Planning and Scheduling – Hide the Chocolate

20. 7 Step Homeschool Curriculum Planner – Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

21. How to Create a Flexible Homeschool Schedule – Look! We’re Learning!

22. The Tools You Need to Plan Your Homeschool Year – Finding Joy In the Journey

23. How to Make Your Homeschool Planner Work for You – Rock Your Homeschool

24. Homeschool Planning with a Spiral Notebook – Blog, She Wrote

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!

Is choosing a secular science curriculum for your homeschool a challenge? Try these pointers to find the program that will work for your family!

Make your homeschooling dollar stretch with this list of homeschool tools that are truly worth buying!

Are you overloaded with homeschooling materials? Here's what to do when you have too much homeschool curriculum.

Follow my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board for even more suggestions!

How to Afford Homeschooling eBook Download

And now for the Rainbow Resource Back to Homeschool Giveaway!

Rainbow Resource Giveaway square

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.

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

40 Fun At Home Learning Activities for Summer

June 21, 2018 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

These 40 learning activities for summer are a great way to keep the learning going all during summer break!
Try some of these learning activities for summer to keep kids learning all year long!

I just love summer. In my opinion, it’s the time of year that basically makes life worth living.

The sun is out, you can walk around in flip-flops all day, no one cares if you eat ice cream for breakfast…it’s a good season.

The kids and I tend to take a more relaxed approach to learning over the summer, but I still like to keep them learning as much as possible.

So we found a bunch of at home learning activities for summer that are super fun and great for helping them explore science, math, STEM, literacy, and more!

40 Summer Learning Activities You Can Do at Home

There are 40 different summer learning ideas below, so you can try as many as you like during summer break.

If you decide to do some of these, be sure to come back and tell us how you liked them!

Want to spend summer boosting your children’s literacy skills? Take a look at this list of 50 summer books you can share with them!

Keep learning all summer with this list of 40 at home summer learning activities for kids!

40 At-Home Learning Activities for Summer

What I love about summer break is that you can keep learning with kids, but on your own terms.

No getting up to start school at a set time. No required amount of subjects or hours to cover.

Just time for fun learning with little ones.

40 Fun Summer Learning Activities for Kids

And these at home summer learning activities feature plenty of hands-on, low prep, and interactive ideas to keep preschoolers and elementary kids happy.

Take a look at the list below to get inspired for summer break at home!

40 Fun At Home Learning Activities for Summer

Use this list of 40 fun at home summer learning activities to keep your elementary kids excited to learn!

1

Pineapple Multiplication by Four Roll and Cover Game

This fun multiplication game is excellent for early elementary students! All you need is dice, a printer, and math counters!

2

Playground Science for Kids: Exploring Ramps and Friction on a Slide

Photo Credit: buggyandbuddy.com

Head to the playground to try this simple idea. See how simple machines affect friction with early learners!

3

Exploring Solar Heat – STEM Education

Photo Credit: www.steampoweredfamily.com

Go outside and use solar energy for this one. Show kids how the sun produces heat energy!

4

Human Sundial Shadow Science Experiments

Photo Credit: rhythmsofplay.com

Let kids act as their own scientific instruments! Use this activity to help them tell time with their own shadows.

5

Rescue the Shark Printable Battleship Game

Practice graphing and strategy with a fun summertime game. Plus, this makes a fun indoor activity for hot days!

6

Watermelon Seed Matching Game

Photo Credit: themamaworkshop.com

This is such a cute activity for early learners. And you can even bring it with you and use it as a busy bag!

7

Tide Pool Science Experiment for Kids

Photo Credit: buggyandbuddy.com

Show the kids how tide pools are formed with this simple experiment! And you only need a few supplies to do it.

8

Easy Ice Pop Math Patterns Activity for Kids

This ice pop themed activity is a fun math lesson for kids. Use it to help early learners practice building math patterns!

9

Heating Up Summer Creativity by Constructing a Solar Oven

Photo Credit: mosswoodconnections.com

Show kids how to harness the power of the sun to make an oven. It really works too!

10

How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag with Recording Sheet

Photo Credit: buggyandbuddy.com

We all scream for ice cream! Teach kids how to make ice cream in a bag and record their scientific findings.

11

Cosmic Colors! Solar System Coloring Pages

Teach the names of the planets in the solar system. And give kids a fun art activity too!

12

STEM Sunscreen Experiment – Spray vs. Lotion

Photo Credit: jdaniel4smom.com

Which lasts longer - spray sunscreen or sunscreen lotion? Find out in this summer science experiment!

13

Ice Cream Sounds! Short and Long Vowel Sound Sorting Activity

Have kids who are working on short and long vowel sounds? Let them use the digital or print version of this activity to practice sorting them!

14

Sink or Float Experiment: Physics for Kids

Photo Credit: www.kcedventures.com

Summer time equals time for water play. This fun water science experiment is perfect for little scientists!

15

Easy Sun Prints STEM Activity

Photo Credit: creativefamilyfun.net

Did you know you can use the sun to make color prints? Show kids how to use household objects and solar energy to make art!

16

Shadow Sidewalk Chalk Art

Photo Credit: rhythmsofplay.com

Add a fun art twist to measuring shadows! This is a simple STEM activity that's perfect for long summer days.

17

Simple Science Experiments: Simple Light Refraction Experiment

Did you know you can actually watch light bend? This simple light refraction experiment is so fun for kids to try!

18

Parts of a Dandelion Nature Exploration

Photo Credit: creativefamilyfun.net

Dandelions are all over the place during summer. Examine them with this nature exploration activity.

19

Travel Tales! Vacation Creative Writing Activity for Kids

Heading on a summer vacation? Let kids practice writing about where they went with this simple printable.

20

DIY Butterfly Number Stones

Photo Credit: www.craftsonsea.co.uk

These lovely butterfly number stones include math and art in one. And kids can do the painting themselves!

21

Bottle Rockets

Photo Credit: www.steampoweredfamily.com

Try an exciting science activity this summer with these bottle rockets. Perfect for outdoor play!

22

Amazing Coloring Flower Science Experiment

Photo Credit: www.kindergartenworksheetsandgames.com

See how plants receive nutrients with this simple experiment. And make some cool colored flowers at the same time!

23

All About the Solar System Printable Unit

Ready to explore space? This printable elementary science unit is a great introduction to the members of our solar system!

24

FREE Paint Gun Parts of Speech Game

Photo Credit: www.123homeschool4me.com

Get the kids outside for some messy play with this ELA activity. They won't even notice they're learning!

25

Build Vocabulary with a Summer Word Jar (Plus Tips and Ideas)

Photo Credit: www.whatdowedoallday.com

Encourage kids to keep reading and learning new words this summer with this idea! And it's so easy to set up!

26

Ocean Science for Kids - Easy Ocean Life Experiment Kids Love

Photo Credit: www.naturalbeachliving.com

Explore the zones of the ocean, even if you're landlocked, with this activity. Kids will love looking at it day to day.

27

Roll and Add Seashell Counting Math Game – Free Printable

Photo Credit: www.theartkitblog.com

Add a beachy theme to counting practice with this game. Such a great idea for preschoolers!

28

Ice Cream Printable Summer Reading Log

Keep kids reading over the summer with this printable kit! It comes with a reading log, coloring bookmarks, and more.

29

Make a Balloon Powered Sponge Boat

Photo Credit: www.thecrafttrain.com

This is a fantastic (and easy) STEM activity for summer. Kids can design and build a boat that actually travels!

30

How to Make a Solar Still

Photo Credit: theresjustonemommy.com

Did you know you can make drinking water from the sun's energy? See how in this cool science experiment.

31

Math in Nature Scavenger Hunt for Kids

Photo Credit: www.adventure-in-a-box.com

This printable scavenger hunt is excellent for outdoor exploring. Let kids look for math shapes in nature and record what they find.

32

Animal Houses: Engineering Game for Kids

Photo Credit: www.adventure-in-a-box.com

These printable cards challenge kids to build animal houses of their own. Use household supplies or materials they find outside.

33

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

Play this indoor math game to review angles and lines with elementary kids. Only needs a couple of household items!

34

Color Changing Slime Recipe That’s Sun Activated (Summer Science)!

Photo Credit: littlebinsforlittlehands.com

Have you been making slime with kids? Be sure to try this recipe for solar power-activated color changing slime!

35

Word Building Activity Travel Kit

Photo Credit: iheartcraftythings.com

Put this simple word building kit together for early literacy practice. Great for rides in the car!

36

Water Balloon Letter Smash: Summer Literacy Activity

Photo Credit: www.schooltimesnippets.com

Make learning the alphabet into a summer play activity with this idea. Plus, you could tweak it to use with numbers, shapes, and more!

37

Printable Summer Reading Challenge Bookmarks for Kids

Pick up this printable bookmarks for summer reading with the kids. It's a simple way to help them try new kinds of books too!

38

Sharks! - A Shark Food Chain Game

Get to know how sharks eat and grow with this file folder game. Perfect for shark fans!

39

Printable Beach Unit Study: All About Beaches

Live far from a beach? You can still learn about them with this printable unit for early elementary kids!

40

Printable LEGO STEM Challenge Building Cards

Use these LEGO STEM challenge cards for simple STEM fun. Let kids choose a card or two and see what they can make!

Pineapple Printable Multiplication Game

One of my favorite at home learning activities is a simple no-prep printable game.

And this printable pineapple multiplication by four game is as no-prep as it gets!

Pineapple Multiplication by 4 Game

Just print it out, add a six or ten-sided die, and use counters or buttons to get kids playing.

Best of all – it’s free!

To get your copy of this printable pineapple multiplication by four game, click the image or the link below to have it sent directly to your inbox!

You’ll also get our weekly newsletter this Sunday night!

Click here to get your free printable!

>>> Pineapple Multiplication by Four Game <<<

Did you love these learning activities for summer? Don’t miss these other fun summer projects!

Use this printable Deep Blue Sea ocean activity pack to keep early elementary students practicing ELA concepts at home or over break!
Make this easy sea animal suncatcher craft for a simple summer art project this year!
These simple summer crafts for kids are such a great way to spend time together!

Filed Under: Fun Activities for Kids, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschooling, summer, summer activities, summer activities for kids

How to Use a Homeschool Binder to Organize Your School Year

June 14, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Have you ever seen those homeschool moms who just seem to have it together? I mean, they have their lessons for the year arranged in advance, their kids’ extra-curricular activities are all planned out, and they keep monthly attendance religiously.

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.

How to Organize Your School Year with 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.

Struggling to keep your homeschool year structured? See how to organize your school year with a homeschool binder!

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!

Using a BookShark Binder for Homeschool Planning

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 Weekly Lesson Plan

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.

BookShark Daily Lesson Plan

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.

BookShark Instructor Guides

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

BookShark Supplemental Resources

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!

Is choosing a secular science curriculum for your homeschool a challenge? Try these pointers to find the program that will work for your family!

Overwhelmed by planning your homeschool day? Try this minimalist homeschool schedule to get started!

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

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

How to Afford Homeschooling eBook Download

Filed Under: Homeschool Planning Tagged With: homeschool organization, homeschool planning, homeschooling

Preschool Playdough Mats: Beach 0-9 Number Playdough Mats

June 7, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Your preschooler will love working on fine motor skills and number sense with these beach number 0-9 playdough mats!
Beach 0-9 Number Playdough Mats
Beach Number 0-9 Playdough Mats for Kids
These beach themed number playdough mats are fun for practicing recognizing numbers from 0 to 9!

Summer break is coming up, and I’m in a “beachy” mood. So I decided to whip up some fun Beach 0-9 Number Playdough Mats!

Piglet is starting Tot school this fall and she can recite the ABCs and count to 10. But she doesn’t recognize the letters and numbers yet, which means it’s time to get to work!

Fun Preschool Beach Number Literacy Mats

I love using playdough to reinforce number recognition, because it’s great for improving fine motor skills, it provides good sensory input, and (most of all) it’s quiet.

She’ll sit there and play quietly with playdough mats for a good 30 minutes. Win!

If you love these, take a look at our Fall Alphabet and Number Literacy Mats too!

These printable beach number literacy mats are perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners!

Beach Number Playdough Mats for Preschool

To use these beach number playdough mats, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer paper
  • Laminator
  • Playdough (or make your own with this edible playdough recipe)

Working with playdough is a great way for kids to build fine motor skills – the same skills they’ll need to write numbers and letters later on.

Printable Beach Number Playdough Mats

With these mats, kids can make playdough “snakes” by rolling the dough back and forth between both hands.

They, they can lay the dough out over the shape of each number.

Beach Playdough Mats for Learning Numbers

You’ll want to laminate the mats before you get started or else they’ll only last for one session. Trust me.

Beach Themed Number Playdough Mats

Since each mat features only one number, you can use them along with a number of the day lesson.

This allows kids to focus on recognizing one number at a time.

Number Beach Playdough Mats

How to Use Literacy Mats with Early Learners

Literacy mats are wonderful for early learners – from toddlers to kindergartners.

You can use them when reviewing letters or numbers. And you can use them when you’re covering a thematic unit (beaches, insects, transportation, etc.)

Beach Number Literacy Mats for Preschool

The key here is to keep the learning open-ended and relaxed.

As long as the students get to work with the playdough and practice forming letters and numbers, they’re doing great.

If they don’t remember each letter or number right away, they will over time.

Get a look at these number literacy mats in action below!

Scroll down to get your copy of our Beach 0-9 Number Playdough Mats!

Stop by to check out these other summer fun ideas for kids!

Share some of these lovely beach books for kids this summer!
Try some of these easy and fun prek beach crafts with early learners this summer!
This fun confetti ocean slime recipe is perfect for summer sensory play!
Number 0-9 Beach Playdough Mats for Kids

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>>> Beach Number Playdough Mats <<<

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Teaching Printables Tagged With: beach playdough mats, free printables, homeschool printables, homeschooling, math, number playdough mats, playdough mats, preschool playdough mats, printables

What to Do When You Have Too Much Homeschool Curriculum

April 10, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

The question of what to do when you have too much homeschool curriculum might seem like a strange one to ask. The more curriculum, the better, right? Well…

Remember when you first started homeschooling? Did you look at your bookshelves and imagine them filled one day with gorgeous picture books, beautifully-illustrated encyclopedias, and resources your kids would love?

I did. I wanted to make sure that my kids had the opportunity to learn from any book they wanted and that I had any resource I needed to create an engaging and happy homeschooling experience in our home.

Fast forward nine years later. Instead of staring lovingly at our academically-equipped bookshelves, I was fighting to keep the door of our homeschool closet closed. Actually, I was in the habit of hurriedly slamming it shut before an anchor chart fell on me. Something…went wrong somewhere.

What went wrong is that I went on a curriculum hoarding spree over the years. In my desire to make sure that my kids had every homeschooling resource they’d ever need, I’d managed to store materials for literally every grade level and their first two years of college. And, no, I’m not exaggerating.

Rather than feeling comfortable and secure in my homeschooling arsenal, I felt overwhelmed at the very thought of trying to plan the new year. So, I had to take some drastic steps to minimize our homeschool. And if you’re overloaded with homeschool curriculum, these steps might help you too.

Are you overloaded with homeschooling materials? Here's what to do when you have too much homeschool curriculum.

What to Do When You Have Too Much Homeschool Curriculum

Images c/o: belchonock & ArturVerkhovetskiy / depositphotos

Revisit Your Educational Goals.

Before you dive head first into your curriculum hoard, take some time to revisit your homeschooling goals. After years of homeschooling, we can get so used to following a “routine” that we lose sight of exactly what we’re trying to accomplish with our kids. It’s understandable, but it’s also counterproductive.

Grab a notebook and write down a homeschooling mission statement. Imagine what you want your children to be able to do by the time they finish homeschooling and then write it down. Or imagine what you want to have accomplished for them by the time they graduate and then write it down. Be very, very specific with this.

Keep the Resources That Align with Your Goals.

Read what you just wrote. Then read it again. Think about what you’ll actually need to make your goals a reality.

Now, open the door of your homeschooling closet (watch our for falling charts!) or venture over to your overloaded bookshelves and start pulling everything down. And I mean everything. If it’s a LOT (like ours was), do one bookshelf at a time to avoid collapsing into a puddle of overspending regret.

As you sort through each resource, reread your homeschooling mission statement and ask yourself: Will this help me accomplish my goals? Trust me, you’ll know when it will. If it will, put it off to the side.

Get Rid of Everything Else. Really.

Okay. We’re at the hard part. You have to get rid of every other thing that will not help you accomplish your homeschooling mission statement.

Complete curriculum you personally love? Get rid of it.

Expensive reference book you saved up to buy? Get rid of it.

Program you’ve kept for years just waiting for the right time? Get rid of it.

Just so you know: If you’ve been homeschooling a long time, this might be excruciating. So, to ease the pain, do NOT flip through any of the materials you plan to discard. It will not help.

Now when I say “get rid of it”, I don’t necessarily mean throw it in the garbage. Find another family to donate or sell the program to. Donate it to your local library. Feel free to pass it on, but just get it out of your house. Once you do, your homeschooling space will look better and you will feel wonderful!

Do you have too much homeschool curriculum?

One last thing: Now that you know what to do when you have too much homeschool curriculum, resolve never to get into this predicament again.

The next time someone offers to “give” you a program, reread your homeschooling mission statement. If it won’t help you accomplish it, it’s okay to say no! When you find out about a curriculum that’s on sale, read the details and reviews carefully to see if it will harmonize with your learning goals. If not, don’t buy it! It’s that simple.

Don’t miss these other homeschooling tips!

Make your homeschooling dollar stretch with this list of homeschool tools that are truly worth buying!

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Get more tips for managing your homeschool on my Help for Homeschoolers Pinterest board!

How to Afford Homeschooling eBook Download

Filed Under: Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool curriculum, homeschool planning, homeschooling

50+ Free Winter Printables for Kids!

January 15, 2018 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

Free Polar Animal Notebooking Pages - Look! We're Learning!
Free Snowflake Counting 1-10 Flashcards - Look! We're Learning!
Free Arctic Animal Flash Cards - Look! We're Learning!
Free Snowflake Math Factor Printables - Look! We're Learning!
50 Free Winter Printables - Look! We're Learning!
Free Winter Printables for Kids - Look! We're Learning!
Keep learning all winter long with these fun and free winter printables for kids!

If you liked our 50 free fall printables list earlier this year, you’ll love this roundup of over 50 free winter printables for kids! These are perfect for homeschoolers or parents who want to help their kids keep learning during winter break!

In this list, you’ll find worksheets, coloring pages, word searches, drawing exercises, notebooking pages, and free printable flashcards featuring winter themes, scenes, and animals. If you have any free winter printables for kids you’d like to recommend, feel free to share them in the comments!

And be sure to see our other winter activities, including snowman crafts for kids and our list of 50 winter books for kids to read!

These free winter printables for kids feature plenty of fun learning ideas for the winter season!

50+ Free Winter Printables for Kids:

1. Snowflake Counting Flashcards – Look! We’re Learning!

2. Winter Printable Pack – Gift of Curiosity

3. Winter ABC Printable Pack – 3 Dinosaurs

4. Winter PreK Pack – This Reading Mama

5. Snowman Packs – Royal Baloo

6. Printable Winter Word Search – Real Life at Home

7. Hibernating Winter Animals Printable – 3 Boys and a Dog

8. Winter Pack – 3 Dinosaurs

9. Winter Math and Language Pack – A Little Pinch of Perfect

10. Color the Snowman Buttons – Gift of Curiosity

11. Printable Winter Picture Book List – Library Adventure

12. Free Polar Animal Notebooking Pages – Look! We’re Learning!

Winter Playdough Mats for Kids

13. Winter Spelling Activity Game – The Measured Mom

14. Free Winter Memory Game – Powerful Mothering

15. Winter and Summer Clothing Sort – From ABCs to ACTs

16. Hibernation Toss and Sort Printable Game – Enchanted Homeschooling Mom

17. Winter Math Board Game – Inspiration Laboratories

18. Printable Winter Social Story – And Next Comes L

19. Winter Alphabet and Number Cards – The Kindergarten Connection

20. Penguin Printable Coloring Pages – Kids Creative Chaos

21. Printable Snowflake Matching Game – No Time for Flashcards

22. Winter I Spy Game – Pleasantest Thing

23. Winter Reading Charts – 3 Dinosaurs

24. Winter Word Recognition Printable – Mama Miss

25. Roll a Snowman Printable – Wise Owl Factory

Pages: 1 2

Filed Under: Free Printables, Homeschooling Printables Tagged With: free printables, homeschool printables, homeschooling, printables, winter, winter activities, winter activities for kids, winter printables, winter printables for kids

I Want to Homeschool But I Can’t Be With My Kids All Day!

January 4, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We have been homeschooling for nine years now and, over the years, I’ve heard many parents express reasons why they feel they can’t homeschool (even though they’d like to).

The reasons I’ve heard range from “I’m too broke to homeschool” to “I’m not a teacher” to “I’m too busy to homeschool my kids”.

But my favorite reason ever is “I could never homeschool, because I can’t be with my kids all day!”

Do you feel that way? It’s understandable. The idea of spending all day homeschooling your own children can be overwhelming, especially if you have more than one child. But it’s likely that the idea of homeschooling you have is quite different from what homeschooling can be.

See how you can homeschool your kids, even if you’re not the most patient person on Earth.

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

I Want to Homeschool, But…I Can’t Be With My Kids All Day!

Images c/o: Lenanichizhenova & aletia / depositphotos

This is a perfectly natural feeling.

First, I just want to reassure you of something: It’s fine that you feel this way. I’ve heard a few homeschoolers shame other parents for expressing this sentiment. But we shouldn’t.

Parenting is HARD. And sending the kids off to public school everyday is the only break that many parents get. So the idea of not even getting that break everyday can be overwhelming. I also thought I was going to get that shot of daily “me” time when we sent our kids to public school for a few months. And I was sorely in need of a break myself.

So if you’ve said this or felt this way, you are not alone. I get it.

You do NOT have to be the sole educator.

When you picture homeschooling, are you imagining yourself at the chalkboard teaching classes from 9 to 3? If so, stop. You don’t ever have to put that kind of responsibility on yourself. Homeschooling can be flexible and versatile and, thanks to technology, you can use tons of teaching resources that will make your job easier.

In our family, we use several educational websites (including BrainPop, Khan Academy, and my new favorite Flocabulary) to put together our lesson plans. I only spend about five hours a week actually teaching.

The rest is watching educational videos, completing activities, and letting the kids show what they’ve learned. I’m just one of many teachers on the faculty at our school. 🙂

It’s okay to take a break from your kids.

Does that mean you won’t ever want or need a break from being with your kids? Of course not! It’s exhausting parenting and teaching little people all day.

If you had a full-time job outside the home, wouldn’t you get a lunch break each day? You should get one when your full-time job is educating your children too.

So I’m telling you: Get your break every. single. day. I’m serious. Do not go a day without carving out time for yourself to just breathe and think.

I’m not ashamed to say that I totally use the television for this. I put on an educational television show that the kids like (Curious George, WordGirl, Wild Kratts, etc) and let them watch for half an hour and I go straight to my room where I either read, take a nap, or shower. Sometimes I even use that time to go for a run in our neighborhood. It does wonders for my mood.

I Want to Homeschool But I Can't Spend All Day With My Kids!

Feeling like you can’t homeschool? Get help and support from these posts!

Do you want to homeschool but think you can't because you're not a teacher? See why you can still homeschool your kids!

Think you're too broke to homeschool your kids Believe it or not, homeschooling doesn't have to cost a lot!

Are you an overwhelmed homeschooler Trust me, I get it. Here's what I do when homeschooling feels like too much to handle.

Get more help to homeschool on my Help for Homeschoolers Pinterest board!

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How to Afford Homeschooling eBook Download

Filed Under: Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschooling, homeschooling tips

Teach Kids to Bake with a Cooking Lapbook

December 19, 2017 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

Learning to Bake with a Cooking Lapbook
This cooking lapbook is a fun way to teach kids how to cook for themselves!

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

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

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

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

Teach kids how to cook with this fun, hands-on cooking lapbook!

Learning to Bake with a Cooking Lapbook

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

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

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

Cooking Lapbook Review

But look how pretty it is!
Cooking Lapbook Review

Here’s the inside of the first folder.

Cooking Lapbook Review

Then the second…

Cooking Lapbook Review

and the third.

Cooking Lapbook Review

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

*hums Jeopardy thinking music*

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

See the lapbook in action on the next page!

Pages: 1 2

Filed Under: Curriculum Reviews, Lapbooking Tagged With: baking for kids, baking with kids, cooking for kids, cooking lapbook, cooking with kids, homeschool lapbooks, homeschooling, lapbooking, lapbooks, teach kids to cook, teaching kids to bake

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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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