Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Random Thoughts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 10, 2017
Does your homeschool change a lot from day to day, week to week? It’s been a busy semester and the flow of our homeschool has changed quite a bit. That’s not really surprising, though is it? We’re always adapting and changing things up in our homeschools. One of the joys and benefits of homeschooling is flexibility. We have the ability to go on tangents, dive deep, reschedule things, go faster...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 1, 2017 · Last modified August 29, 2018
Do you have what it takes to homeschool? Of course you do, but let me tell you a little story! There is a shadowy figure that lurks outside of our homeschools. At the beginning of the year, this figure is so distant, we don’t realize it’s there. But just about this time of year, it starts to make an appearance. Sometimes it just pokes its head around the corner. Sometimes...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 27, 2017 · Last modified September 28, 2017
What strategies work for you when your kids are extremely upset, angry, or frustrated with something (or someone)? This was the discussion question I posted last spring as a discussion topic over in our Homeschool Den Chat FB group. As homeschoolers, we are with our kids much more than the average family. I know that my kids can become grumpy, frustrated, angry, resentful… and wrestle with a wide array of emotions…...
All About Homeschooling! / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc) / Homeschooling in the News / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 13, 2017
This time of year, many people are looking into homeschooling for the first time. It can feel momentous to make the decision to homeschool. I thought I would share some stats so you know that you are not alone! This post shares some graphs and statistics about some of these topics: How many homeschoolers are there in the U.S.? How do the numbers of homeschoolers compare to the numbers of...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 10, 2017 · Last modified April 9, 2017
In our culture, we seem to reward and admire those who put in long, hard hours at work. Even school districts have succumb to the notion that longer school days and less recess will improve student performance. But scientifically that doesn’t make sense. When you are truly working hard, your brain needs a break. The brain represents 2% of the body’s weight, but requires almost 25% of its oxygen. If...
Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Random Thoughts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published March 22, 2017 · Last modified March 21, 2017
One strong benefit to homeschooling is that we can bring joy to learning. We have the ability to engage the kids with activities, experiments, projects, books, play, field trips, and more. Homeschooling allows us to keep learning and education both creative and challenging. And hopefully, we can help the kids find what they love doing, which is the very best reward of all!! There have been a number of famous...
Freebies / Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc) / How to Start Homeschooling / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published March 17, 2017 · Last modified August 10, 2023
How to Create Your Own Homeschool Curriculum: Grade 4-5 Today I want to share this free 50+ page Resource Guide for Creating Your Own Homeschool Curriculum. It has been created to help answer some basic questions: What subjects should I teach my 4th or 5th grader? Where do I start? How do I know what to teach my kids? We are eclectic homeschoolers, which means that we use a wide...
Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Random Thoughts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 18, 2017
Those words automatically suck us in, don’t they? They evoke feelings that we might miss out. But what if we applied this to the small choices we make each day? To the small actions that really make a difference in the long run? Don’t miss this opportunity of a lifetime! Today day is the day… to say I love you to your family. to be a good friend. to smile...
Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Random Thoughts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 31, 2017 · Last modified January 29, 2017
There are so many things that go into homeschooling… good curriculum, engaging lessons, keeping the house (reasonably) organized, the laundry done, and meals on the table. But the kids are learning SO much from us. They are watching most everything we do! How good of a role model are you? Are you a good homeschool role model? Take this Quiz! I get enough sleep. I am always prepared for class....
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 16, 2016 · Last modified December 24, 2017
Congratulations! After a busy semester, we are all ready for a well-deserved break! The kids are excited for the holidays and we educators need time to regroup, relax and re-energize too! Here are some tips for getting the most from your holiday break! 1. If you have time before the holidays are upon us, try to wrap up your schooling completely. Even if you are in the middle of a...
Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Random Thoughts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 30, 2016
Two different people reached out to me this week and asked similar questions — How do we stay motivated? How do we go on, when we just don’t have the energy? If you’re feeling discouraged or out of patience, if you are having a hard time… know that you are not alone! It is quite common for homeschoolers – and teachers – to reach a tough patch in the middle...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc)
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 26, 2016 · Last modified October 13, 2016
In homeschooling and education in general, we can’t always see spectacular results from one small snippet of our day. Our homeschool activities are like a small drip of water rolling down the ceiling and falling to the ground.That water droplet seems pretty inconsequential. It doesn’t appear to make much of a difference. What it has left behind seems almost insignificant. With the passage of time, you start to notice the...
Today I want to share some of the new features we have on the blog. Everyone needs some homeschool encouragement from time to time, right? Over the weekend I put together a new page called Avoid Homeschool Overwhelm (though it includes so much more than that!!). It starts off with 10+ Tips for Homeschooling Without Feeling Overwhelmed…. Things like… Don’t compare your reality to your thoughts, plans, and aspirations before...
Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Organizing and Cleaning / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / How to Start Homeschooling / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 18, 2016 · Last modified July 10, 2017
Back to Homeschool Challenge: Day 9 Family Homeschool Meeting There are so many positive things about holding a family meeting. They give everyone – including the kids- a sense of belonging and ownership of the rules. We want the kids to know that they have a real and important voice in the family. Family meetings give everyone a platform for making your family a better team. And one reason to...
Do you believe education can be exciting, inspiring, and full of joy? We do too!
I love the quote by William Butler Yeats, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." It's about getting the kids involved, engaged, and fired up about learning (while juggling the rest of life too!)
A bit about me: I have my Master's from Brown University. I have more than 20 years of teaching experience. I was a high school teacher for many years both in the U.S. and internationally and also taught for the University of Maryland before leaving to homeschool my 3 wonderful kids.
To read more about us CLICK HERE.
Click on the image to find out more about the units and packets we have available.
This post has links to dozens of posts and resources both for new and veteran homeschoolers for everything from finding homeschool curriculum to general homeschool advice and encouragement.
Click on the image above to see the History Units we covered in our homeschool.
What science topics could I teach my 5-7 year old - Homeschool Science Curriculum
Click on the image above to see the Science Units we covered in our homeschool from elementary through middle school (and beyond!).
A list of the books we've used most in history, science, math, language arts, etc.
Click the image to check out our packets on Earth Science, Rocks and Minerals, the Atmosphere, Weather, Energy and More!
Units are also sold separately.
This is one of our most popular units. It covers the Layers of the Earth, Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, Volcanoes and More! It is included in the Earth Science Bundle (see the picture/link above).
Click the image to see our Biology Units on Animal and Plant Cells; the Biology Unit on Biomes, Food Chains, Symbiosis; Scientific Classification & Taxonomy (Domain/Kingdom/Phylum/Class, etc.); Botany - Plant Kingdom and Oceans and Oceanography.
Click on the image to see our Animal Bundle - including the Animal Unit, Life Cycles, the Rainforest, Winter (Polar Animals) & Hibernation, Chameleons, Wolves, Cicadas and more!
The Human Body Systems, Skeletal, Digestive, Circulatory, Muscular, Nervous, Endocrine Systems and More (with lots of hands-on activity ideas)! We usually study a different body system each year.
Click on the image to see our units on the States of matter, Properties of Matter, Electricity & Circuits, and the Chemistry Unit (Get to know the Periodic Table in a fun way!)
This is a free checklist I put together of the various science units I hope to cover in the elementary and middle school years.
Do your kids know the 4 largest countries? Which countries have the most people? The longest river? This packet covers basic world and U.S. facts and also covers geographic features and land forms.
Click on the image to check out our 100-page unit on World War I.
We have used AAS for 6 years! AAS is an affiliate link.
Dozens of posts about how to create a homeschool writing workshop.
Click on the image to check out all of our fun K-2 Math Packets.
This is one of the best values we have... more than 20 PDFs with games, activities and worksheets to learn/practice the multiplication facts ($7.00).
Click on the image to discover some of the pages, posts and homeschool resources within our blog that might be the most useful for you including a long list of our freebies!
Click on the image to check out our 100+page Rocks and Minerals Unit.
This is a fun, hands-on unit for early elementary students!
How the body is organized from cells to tissues... organs to body systems
Click on the image to check out some of the Spanish worksheet bundles we have available!
Click on the image above to check out our German worksheets.
Click on the image to find out more about our units and packets.
