homeschooling Archives

Preschool Playdough Mats: Apple Tree Counting Mat

September 9, 2016 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

Piglet, our youngest, is starting PreK this year. She is so excited about it.

Of course, she also thinks that she will begin kindergarten immediately after the first day of preschool.

Since she’s working on PreK concepts, I’ll be sharing a lot more preschool resources this year, including preschool playdough mats!

Here in the U.S., we’re all gearing up for fall, so here’s a fun Playdough Apple Tree Counting Mat you can use with your toddler or preschooler too!

Read on to see how to grab this for your students.

And for more apple fun, don’t miss our Apple Alike! Same or Different Worksheets or our Apple Preschool Counting Puzzles!

Preschool Playdough Mats: Apple Tree Counting Mat

Here are the supplies we used for our mats: (Affiliate links provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

That’s it! You definitely want to laminate these first so that they can be reused.

Since the apples are grouped on the trees in sets of four, this was a simple way to work on skip counting.

Just add four apples to each tree and count them.

Use a different color to work on counting and sorting. (How many green apples are there? How many red apples are there?)

Then a little reinforcement. If there are four green apples on this tree and four green apples on this tree, how many green apples are there altogether? Oh, so four plus four is how much?

Next thing you know, your preschooler will be saying that 4 x 2 = 8. 🙂

Scroll down to get your copy of our Playdough Apple Tree Counting Mat!

Check out these other fall learning ideas for preschoolers!

And don’t miss our list of awesome fall books for kids to share this year!

Get more ideas for fall fun with kids from my Fall Activities for Kids board on Pinterest!

Grab your copy of our Printable Apple Tree Counting Mat for free when you sign up for our email newsletter! You’ll receive access to this printable, plus loads of other learning resources, in our exclusive Subscriber Library!

This post is part of the Free Unit Studies roundup! Stop by to see more fun posts about Apples and Pumpkins from my fellow bloggers!

Corn Kernel Fall Tree Craft from Play Dough & Popsicles

Kids in the Kitchen: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from Crafty Mama in ME

Learning About Pumpkins {Free Printables Round Up} from Faith and Good Works

Books about Pumpkins for Kids from CraftCreateCalm

Pumpkin Recipes for Kids from FrogMom

Harvest Theme Word Search from Tales of Education at Home

Board Books About Apples and Pumpkins for Toddlers from The Jenny Evolution

Pumpkin Science Activities from iGameMom

Apple Read and Play from My Storytime Corner

Pumpkin Preschool Printables from Living life and learning

Pumpkin Patch Alphabet Match from Schooling a Monkey

Apple Sight Word Game from Books and Giggles

Challenge Math – Apple Theme from Planet Smarty Pants

Teaching Money Management with a Lapbook

September 8, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We’ve been loving our lapbooks recently and I thought I’d share one that is seriously terrific for teaching money management to middle schoolers. It’s called “Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees” and it. is. fantastic.

Kids usually love to learn about money, at least how to count it and pretend to spend it. But they’re often a little less than enthused about learning how finances work and why financial responsibility is important. After all, in their minds, the whole point of growing up is being able to spend money the way you want, right? 🙂

So, I was thrilled to try out this lapbook, because it’s focused on helping middle schoolers understand what it takes to earn and save money, not just blow it on things you want. Read on to see how we’re using this lapbook to teach money management skills to our tween!

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

Teaching Money Management with a Lapbook

This is a tremendous unit from Knowledge Box Central. The file has 130 pages in it. So be prepared to spend some serious time putting the lapbook together.

Here’s the list of supplies you’ll need:

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)

Most of the lapbooks we’ve made so far use two folders, but this one uses three. And, boy, is it packed.

See what I mean? 🙂

Here’s a look at the first folder.

And the second…

And the third.

By the time kids get into the middle grades, it’s time for their learning to take a more independent route. And this lapbook does just that. There are sections in the study guide that are written directly to the student, which I loved.

On those sections, I just handed the laptop over to my daughter and had her read aloud. She really liked the content, also. Some of the things that were included in the guide were feelings about finances that she could relate to personally, such as “Why don’t my parents always buy the things I want?” I couldn’t stop nodding at the reasons why….lol.

Since this lapbook was so extensive, I had her help me assemble some of the smaller books. The Money Terms minibook in the first folder includes definitions for each term, so she matched them up and glued them in. All of the matching definitions are in the study guide as well.

She did a pretty good job of choosing the correct ones on her own, but there were a few she was unfamiliar with. On those, she checked the guide and then went forward.

We did the same thing with the banking words section in Folder 2. There are several minibooks with matching definitions there also. So it was up to her to find the right definition and glue it in the minibook.

Like so. Again, the answers are in the Guide.

Naturally, kids want to do the stuff that looks grown-up, such as writing checks. The checkbook activity in the lapbook is really comprehensive. It has a check register, practice checks, and deposit slips.

Which meant we had to do an exercise on how to balance a checkbook.

Then it was time to pay bills. *cue horror music*

Look at that! Isn’t that neat? It’s a sample electric bill and we discussed how to read the statement: why account numbers are important, where to find the due date, and how to write out the check to the correct company name.

Then she wrote her very first check!

I realize, of course, that we don’t really use checks that much anymore, so we will eventually talk about online bill payment. But this was a great introduction to the world of bill paying, AKA, being an adult. And there’s a practice debit card in the lapbook too. 😉

Another activity in the lapbook teaches kids the basics of inflation by comparing current prices of basic goods to the prices of those same goods 50 years ago. We researched the price of gas, milk, and housing in 1966 to compare.

Then we started filling the figures in to note the difference.

32 cents for a gallon of gas???!!!! Sign me up for that!

This was really, very fun to do as a unit and my tween, who typically hates math, loved it. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that we were basically doing a math lesson. 🙂

Learn more about the awesome lapbooks available from Knowledge Box Central! And get a closer look at the Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees lapbook on the company website!

Money Management Resources for Middle School:

Use these other resources to round out your money management unit!

See more of Knowledge Box Central’s lapbooks below!

Get more ideas for your homeschool unit studies, including lapbooks, from my Unit Studies board on Pinterest!

A Minimalist Homeschool Program for 6th Grade, 3rd Grade, 2nd Grade, and PreK

September 5, 2016 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

We usually hold off on beginning our new homeschool year until the first week of September each year. Which means we’re starting up this week! Woohoo!

Since we’re entering our 8th year of homeschooling, I don’t have the same intense excitement I once did. Now it’s more of a relaxed anticipation to what we’ll learn this year.

I’ve also changed my entire homeschooling approach this time around. After many years of hoarding curriculum and books, I’m making the change to minimalist homeschooling. I’ve been exploring it for the past few months and now I’m finally ready to take the plunge.

So – what does minimalist homeschooling look like when you’re trying to teach four children? Take a look at our minimalist homeschool program for 6th grade, 3rd grade, 2nd grade, and PreK!

Image c/o: Mr. Webicon / depositphotos

A Minimalist Homeschool Program for 6th Grade

Our sixth grader has definitely become a more independent student. So her workload is substantially heavier than the younger kids, as it should be for a middle schooler.

Still, since she has ADHD, it’s important that I don’t overwhelm her with lots of different curriculum choices. All that changing up takes a mental toll on her and adds to her stress level. This year, we’re keeping it pretty simple.

Here are my 6th grader’s homeschooling resources for this year:

ELA: National Geographic Hampton-Brown Edge Interactive Level B – A teacher friend of ours gave us this book and the accompanying practice workbook when she retired and, boy, am I glad. This is an excellent resource for teaching reading, writing, and language.
MATH: For math, we’ll be using CTC Math, which my daughter is loving. Plus, we’ll be supplementing with pre-algebra classes via Mr. D Math.
HISTORY: This year, we’re focusing on the 1920s using the book The 1920s in America from Kendall Hunt Publishing. We’ll also be reviewing ancient civilizations
SCIENCE: We had so much fun with Real Science-4-Kids Level 6 that it’s going to be our science curriculum!
GEOGRAPHY: I’m putting together her geography curriculum based on the National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers and the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. We’ll be covering both world cultures and the inequalities of human society.

A Minimalist Homeschool Program for 3rd Grade

My third grader has a huge interest in animals, so we’ll be visiting the zoo a TON this year. Since he’s an avid reader (as are all my kids), he’ll have a substantial reading list to complete. (I’ll be sharing all the kids’ reading lists in the coming weeks.)

For 3rd grade, we’ll pretty much be using these three resources:

What Your Third Grader Needs to Know – The CoreKnowledge series is excellent for giving you a framework for the elementary grades.
CTC Math – We have the Family subscription, so all of my three oldest kids are using this program.
Ancient and World History Unit Study Bundle – It’s time to introduce my boys to ancient civilizations, which is one of my favorite history topics! This is a super huge unit study bundle that is worth every penny.

With these, we’ll get the math basis we need and we’ll get the introduction to our other topics as well. When we find a topic of interest, it’s off to the library we go!

Since this is a standardized testing year for him and for my 6th grader, I picked up Spectrum Test Prep: Grade 6 and Spectrum Test Prep: Grade 3. But other than that, I’m not stressing too much about teaching to the test.

The Ultimate Guide to Brain Breaks eBook

A Minimalist Homeschool Program for 2nd Grade

My ultimate goal is to combine my 2nd grader and my 3rd grader into one mega grade each year. Think of how much lesson planning energy I’d save! Plus, they could study together and help each other out! One day…

For now, I’m doing a sort of 2/3 year with the two. So their topics of study are pretty much the same this year. I’ll just be adapting specific lessons as needed to make sure they each understand everything they’re learning.

Our 2nd grader will be using these resources:

What Your Second Grader Needs to Know – Yes, again. It’s a really good way to make sure you cover all the bases.
CTC Math – This is my most active child and he has really taken to CTC Math. I couldn’t be happier!
Ancient and World History Unit Study Bundle – My boys are pretty much on the same level with reading comprehension, so they’ll be taking history together this year. Plus, it saves me time!

A Minimalist Homeschool Program for PreK

It feels a little strange to think about what a minimalist homeschool program is like for a preschooler. After all, we’re talking about a preschooler. But I’ve been a first-year homeschooler and I remember stressing about planning my preschool curriculum for my first daughter. Oh, how times have changed.

My preschooler’s homeschool program will consist of two main resources:

Teach Me Mommy – A wonderful preschool-at-home program written many years ago that is affordable and thorough. Just really, really good.
Starfall – This is a free website and app, but you can pay $35 a year and get the full version. It’s worth it. My preschooler loves it! And because it’s has PreK through 1st grade content, she can skip around and learn whatever she likes. She’s already learning about parallelograms!

What are you using for homeschool curriculum this year? Have you ever tried a minimalist homeschool program? Let me know about your experiences in the comments!

Interested in learning more about minimalist homeschooling? Check out these posts!

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

This post is part of the 2016 Back to Homeschool Blog Hop hosted by iHomeschool Network! Click on over to read other awesome homeschool curriculum choices from my fellow bloggers!

Giant Panda Lapbook

August 29, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We had so much fun learning about the animals of the African Savannah with a lapbook that we decided to learn about a new animal this week: the Giant Panda! And we used another awesome lapbook from Knowledge Box Central to do it!

Giant pandas are probably one of my personal favorite animals. They are the epitome of squishy! If I could, I would pick one up and squeeze it for the rest of my life.

But it turns out that there’s a lot more to pandas than cuteness. Check out some of the amazing panda facts we learned using our Giant Panda lapbook!

For more on how to use lapbooks for other lessons in your homeschool, see our reviews of other great lapbooks from Knowledge Box Central, including a Cooking lapbook, a Math Mini Office, and a Hurricane lapbook!

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

Giant Panda Lapbook

As I’ve mentioned before, Knowledge Box Central is a superb lapbook manufacturer. I never have any trouble assembling the lapbooks or teaching the unit because all the minibooks and instructions are in the downloadable file. Super simple!

I was even able to use the cover page of the lapbook file as the lapbook cover!

Here’s the supply list I used to make this lapbook:

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)

So fun!

There are minibooks about the geographic range of the Giant Panda, how pandas are affected by poaching, the unique structure of panda hand bones, and the general characteristics of this species.

Plus, a tabbed book about how pandas interact with humans, the environmental impact of pandas, conservation efforts, and a panda word search!

There’s even a fold-out crossword puzzle!

My second grader couldn’t wait to get started! I actually had to tell him, “Wait, don’t do that one yet! We have to talk about it first!”

We started by examining the geographic range of the giant panda, which I’m sorry to say is not very wide. Pandas are only found in parts of three Chinese districts these days.

The minibook even shows how drastically the range of the giant panda has been reduced over the years. The culprit? Bamboo deforestation. As the available amount of bamboo dwindles, pandas have to climb higher and higher to find it, which takes a toll on the population.

And then there’s poaching, which causes more of a direct impact on panda survival. Sad.

We learned something really neat. The Chinese name for the giant panda literally means “Bear cat”. Know why? Pandas’ eyes are shaped like cat eyes, with a slit down the center! We spent some time drawing anatomically correct panda eyes.

Naturally, there was some time spent coloring the panda coloring pages.

And doing the word search!

My second grader really enjoyed this lesson and there were so many minibooks we didn’t even start! We’ll be learning about the giant panda with this lapbook for some time to come!

Check out this lapbook, plus plenty others, by visiting Knowledge Box Central today! There are a LOT of lapbooks to choose from and many are just $5!

Giant Panda Resources

Add these fun and educational resources to your study of Giant Pandas!

Giant Pandas by Gail Gibbons – A lovely picture book about this amazing species
Melissa & Doug Peek-A-Boo Panda – This sweet wooden toy is perfect for babies and toddlers
National Geographic Reader Level 2: Pandas – A good book about pandas for kids who are able to read on their own

Want to see more Knowledge Box Central lapbooks in action? Check out these posts!

Build your own unit studies using lapbooks and more with the tips on my Unit Studies Pinterest board!

Using Bouncy Bands for Kids with ADHD

August 24, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Can we talk about wiggle worms for a minute? As I’ve mentioned extensively on the blog, we’re homeschooling multiple children with ADHD, which means that wiggly kids are an everyday occurrence around here.

Using a simple fidget is a proven way to help kids with ADHD improve attention span and executive functioning. And, since attention span is important for successful homeschooling, fidgets are pretty much a necessity in our family.

But, a lot of fidgets are rather…distracting. They go around the finger or the hand and are designed to be moved with the other hand. Which means that my other kids are staring at my fidgety kid fidgeting with his or her fidget. Not ideal. 🙂

So I was thrilled to try Bouncy Bands! These inconspicuous fidgets are awesome for keeping kids attentive without attracting too much attention. Read on to learn more about this great product!

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

What are Bouncy Bands?

Bouncy Bands are simple resistance band fidgets for kids’ feet. They’re designed to go around the legs of a desk or chair, so that kids can rest their feet on them and move them whenever they feel like it.

Here’s a look at the chair model.

And the desk model – which is particularly good for older kids who might have longer legs.

When you buy a set of Bouncy Bands, you can expect to receive a box like this.

Inside are the band, the support pipes (which come in blue or black), and a simple instruction sheet.

Assembly couldn’t be easier. Just wrap the band’s left and right holes around the tops of the support pipes. Done!

However, here is the issue we faced: The band’s pipes wouldn’t fit around our dining room table legs. And the dining room is where we homeschool.

So I bought a simple stackable school chair. But then I discovered that the support pipes STILL wouldn’t fit around the legs. (The legs of this chair are kind of oblong-shaped.)

Eureka! I just removed the support pipes and the band fit just fine.

BTW, if you want to get a chair that these pipes are sure to work with, try this model. If you want to try the desk version, this school desk should do the trick.

Using Bouncy Bands for Kids with ADHD

Our seven-year-old is, by far, the most active of our kids. He’s basically in constant motion. So he was the best tester in our family for Bouncy Bands.

I had him sit in a chair and read a book while using the band as a fidget. Guess what?

It worked!

I thought he would bounce his legs like a maniac and get even more worked up. But he didn’t. He just bounced them occasionally – very gently – and kept his eyes on his book. I was thoroughly impressed.

Want to see Bouncy Bands in action? Check out my video review from my YouTube channel!

To learn more about Bouncy Bands, visit the product website for details about assembly and to read more reviews! Plus, keep up with Bouncy Bands on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for more!

Need more tips for homeschooling kids with ADHD? Follow my ADHD Tips board on Pinterest!

Don’t miss my Homeschooling with ADHD ebook! It’s packed with tips and suggestions to make this special homeschooling journey a success!

Art Study Coloring Books for Middle Schoolers

August 15, 2016 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Scrambling to find art study resources for your middle schooler this year? These art study coloring books for middle schoolers are absolutely awesome ways to study classic paintings!

We’ve loved these books and today – I’m giving four of them away to one of my readers! Woohoo!

Read on for more about these books and for your chance to win them!

Art Study Coloring Books for Middle Schoolers

Let’s face it: Studying classic art can be a bit of a challenge, especially if your tween is not into art. Getting to “recreate” classic masterpieces, though, can bring these artistic styles to life!

Take a look at these!

Color Your Own Impressionist Paintings

Color Your Own Famous American Paintings

Color Your Own Still Life Paintings

Color Your Own Italian Renaissance Paintings

Get more ideas for teaching art in your homeschool with my Art Appreciation board on Pinterest!

Now – for the fun part! You can enter to win all four of these coloring books, plus a set of colored pencils! Use the Giveaway Tools widget below to enter!

Entry -Form

Want to enter to win even more awesome resources for your homeschool year? Stop by the iHomeschool Network Gift Basket Giveaway to see all of the other amazing gift baskets you can enter to win!

Why I’m Not Using a Homeschool Planner This Year

August 5, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Okay. If you’re shaking your head at the title of this post, stay with me! 🙂

When I first started homeschooling eight years ago, the number one thing I would have said homeschooling moms needed was: a complete homeschool planner. I had the most fun choosing a planner, organizing it, and filling it out each fall.

Here’s my problem: I was great at filling out the planner. I was not so great at following what was in it. I can make lesson plans like no other, but when it comes to following same plans, well…I pretty much stink.

After year after year of tossing out old (and unused) homeschool planners, I decided to do something drastic this year – figure out how to homeschool without a planner. And, surprisingly, it’s not as hard as I thought! Here’s why I’m not using a homeschool planner this year – and what I’m doing instead!

Image c/o: grekoff via DepositPhotos

How to Homeschool Without a Planner

So…how do I plan to homeschool without a planner?

I’ll be using our state’s list of grade objectives as the framework. As for actual resources, they’ll include lots of different books, websites, and videos. (Similar to the way I do our unit studies.) I’ll be sharing more about our homeschool resources for this year in an upcoming set of posts.

As for the actual lesson planning…I’m outsourcing it to my kids!

I’ll give them a timeframe within which to complete each objective, using the materials I collect, and they’ll have to decide how much to do each week to finish it. They’ll be using their own printable student planners each week to write down what lessons to complete on each day.

For example, one of my third grader’s ELA objectives is to compare and contrast themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters. We’ll be heading to the library so he can choose a few books in a series to compare. I’ll give him about four weeks to do it and he’ll have to decide how much to read each day in order to complete his assignment on time.

Every few weeks, I’ll sit down with them to check their progress toward their yearly objectives and talk with them about any lesson plan changes they’ll need to make. (Basically, I’ll be serving as their college adviser this year…lol.)

Have you ever considered trying to learn how to homeschool without a planner? Were you successful? Share your tips!

If you’d like to help your kids plan their lessons, grab these free printable student planners!

And for more about minimalist homeschooling, check out our series!

Ready to plan your homeschooling year? Check out the tips and suggestions from my Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!

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

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?

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

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

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.

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!

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.

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

Minimalist Homeschooling: Teaching Several as One

July 18, 2016 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

We’ve been talking about minimalist homeschooling a lot lately and I’ve shared lots of tips for scaling down your homeschooling supplies, books, paper, and more.

But what can you do if you’re homeschooling several children? I mean, you can’t really minimize them, right? 🙂

You can, however, minimize the way you teach them and that can make your entire homeschooling journey much, much simpler.

Here are some tips for teaching multiple children in your minimalist homeschool!

Tips for Teaching Multiple Children

Combine grades, if possible. I got this idea from a good friend who is homeschooling three sons. Since she has twins and one child that is one year younger, she’s teaching them all at the same level. When she told me that, a lightbulb went off in my head. After all, I have two boys who are one year apart.

When I asked my soon-to-be second grader if he wanted to learn along with his soon-to-be third grade brother, he said “I don’t want to skip second grade.” Which is fine. But we’re going to do a 2/3 year for the two of them. His brother will get a much needed review and he’ll get a chance to move on a little early. And, best of all, Mom will only have to plan one lesson for the two of them. Win!

Use technology to your advantage. When you teach multiple kids, it’s generally easier to teach some subjects with the kids all together. History, science, and geography come to mind. This is especially true when you want to watch a video, do an experiment, or complete a craft project.

This year, I’m going to use a LOT more videos in our homeschool. Then the video can do the teaching and the kids can write reports about what they learn. Since it’s tough for the kids to crowd around a computer screen, we’ll be using the YouTube channel on our Roku. If I find other things on my mobile device, I’m going to use a smartphone projector so that everyone can see. Simple, right?

Those are a few ways I’ll be teaching multiple children in our minimalist homeschool this year. For more on simplifying your homeschool, check out these posts!

Learn more about planning this homeschool year with my Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 9: Skip the Overscheduling!