Category: Homeschool: Random Thoughts

Homeschool Resources 2

Our Homeschool Resources

Finding materials on the Homeschool Den! I wrote this post to help you find some of the pages, posts and homeschool resources within our blog that might be the most useful for you. Over the years, I have made homeschool packets on everything from history and science to spelling, math, spelling and foreign languages (German & Spanish).  And, many of those are free! We have materials from preschool through high...

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Homeschool Life – Take It Easy When you Need To

With a title like that and with the time we’re living in, let me first say our family is healthy, but we had some sad news which has weighed on my heart. I just love writing and if you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that I usually write regularly. It used to be that I would write 3-4 times a week! (That was when this blog...

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12 Hands-On Science Activities You Can Do Today!

Here are 12 Hands-On Science Activities that you can do with minimal preparation! It can be daunting to know just where to start with science, but in our household it has been one of the kids’ favorite subjects. Why? Because of hands-on activities! With so many parents now wondering what to do and how to get their kids intrigued and excited, turning to hands-on activities can be just the secret...

10 ways to transition from School to Homeschool - Tips and Strategies for School at Home 0

10 Ways to Transition from School to Homeschool

Tips and Strategies for Doing School at Home Around the country and around the world, there are widespread school closures because of the coronavirus. Students and parents are facing a huge transition from a daily school routine to life at home. How can you help your students transition and even thrive given this huge change? Assuming (and that’s a big assumption here!) that you are able to take time off...

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Homeschool Goal Setting

Hi! Happy New Year!! I hope you have had a restful, joyous winter break! For those of you in Australia, I hope you, your family and friends have been safe from all the bushfires. I’m thinking of you! Do New Year’s Resolutions Work?”  That’s what one of the latest news headlines asks. An article I just read said that 80% of New Year’s Resolutions are abandoned by February. Another article...

Course For Teens on Happiness and Well-Being 0

Course on Happiness and Well-Being for Teens

Recently, our family decided to dive into a (free) course on happiness and well-being. It was most popular class in the history of Yale and is available free online at coursera.org. It was called “Psychology and the Good Life” and was first taught in the spring of 2018.  It is now called The Science of Well-Being – Stuff That Makes us Happy.  Nearly a quarter of all Yale undergraduates enrolled...

Free Homeschool Planner Printables 0

FREE Homeschool Planner

New! Homeschool Planner Printable Booklet We now have two FREE Homeschool Planners. One version is a 1/2 sized printable Homeschool Planner booklet, the other has full-sized pages. Grab them both with the links below! With the holidays coming up, family coming into town, and more on our plate than ever before, I needed to get everything down on paper.  I wanted something slightly smaller than the normal homeschool planners I...

Dear Homeschool Mom - inspire motivate be passionate 0

Inspire and Motivate Your Kids!

Becoming passionate, inspiring educators! This summer, we did a camping trip in the Great Smoky Mountains. On the way there, we stopped at the Civil Rights Center in Greensboro, NC.  We read about the sit-ins before-hand, but it was incredible to be at the Woolworths where the 1960 sit-ins began. But that’s not what this post is about! This post is about being a passionate educator, inspiring others, and encouraging...

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Homeschool Challenges – Organization, Schedules, and More!

As homeschoolers we wrestle with a lot of questions, issues, and challenges: planning, preparing, organizing, scheduling, juggling, managing (moods/squabbles) AND getting things done. Plus, we have the added challenge of having our kids watching us and learning from us every moment of the day! “Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” ~John Cotton Dana As we look at a new year (or even when we look at the...

Free Spring Homeschool Planning Pages 0

Free Spring Homeschool Planning Pages

I am excited to share with you some bran-new spring planning pages. They’ve been add to our free 150+page Homeschool Planner! Over spring break, I’ve been doing a bit of homeschool organization. Not only have I gone through out books and pulled out things to donate, but also I printed out new pages for my homeschool planner and have been spending time planning out the last 6 or 7 weeks...

Facts about homeschooling - How many homeschoolers are there Why do people homeschool What are some of the challenges of homeschooling - Do homeschoolers get into college 0

Facts about Homeschooling – How Many Homeschoolers are There? Do Homeschoolers Get into College? and more!

As people begin to look into homeschooling, they want to find out some basics: How many homeschoolers are there? What are the benefits and challenges of homeschooling?  Will my child be able to  get into college?  How will my kids do if they haven’t been to a formal school? What about socialization? Will they have enough friends? Let’s dig in to some of these common homeschool questions! How many homeschoolers...

Coming Clean about Cleaning 0

Homeschool Life – Coming Clean about Cleaning

I like having a clean and tidy house… or rather, I dream of having a clean and tidy house, but I have always found that to be a challenge.  My friends will lovingly tell me that the house has a normal “lived in” look.  But, to be honest, it’s been a struggle over the years… Just check out this picture of our dining room table… not exactly tidy, is it?...

Motivation and Control 0

Exploring Motivation, Control & Decision Making with the Kids

We are always trying to encourage our kids on this wonderful homeschool journey, right?! This semester we started off with a family discussion… a discussion that I hope will get to the heart of the kids’ own motivation, self-determination and the path they’ll/we’ll be creating for this semester. You guys know it, I am a planner. I am a curriculum creator… but when it comes to the day-to-day I am...

Mid-Year Homeschool Assessment Packet 0

Mid-Year Homeschool Assessment Packet: Evaluate, Reflect and Assess How Things Are Going

Free Mid-Year Homeschool Assessment Packet About this time of year, I get itchy.  I know that the holidays are coming up and we will take a well-deserved break! Right around the holidays, I also take the time to think about how things are going. Today, I wanted to share this Free Homeschool Assessment Packet with you (I updated and expanded it a bit this year.). This packet has several pages...