Category: Starting to Homeschool

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Last Day of the Back to School Challenge – First Days of School!

We’ve done it — we’ve talked about our systems, routine, and chores. We’ve double checked that we have the books and supplies we need.  We’re primed and excited for the new school year.  Now… just one thing left… to be ready to jump right in!! Have you decided how you want to mark the first day of school? Will you take back to school photos? Write a time capsule letter...

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Why You Need a Family Meeting!

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...

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Sick Days for Home Educators!!

Right now you’re healthy, you’re excited, you’re energized… Motivation is at an all-time HIGH.  But let’s be realistic… there are times when we don’t feel up for homeschooling.  It might be because of a seasonal cold. It might be because we have a series of errands/appointments that fill up the morning. It might be because we’re downright *tired*!! So what do you do when you feel it coming on? When...

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Taking Care of Ourselves

Welcome to Day 6 of the Back to Homeschool Challenge! Last week our challenge was to work on some of the nuts and bolts of our homeschools: Our first challenge was just to spend a few minutes reflecting on the journey we’re on and being grateful for the opportunities we have as homeschoolers Then we spent time Organizing our Homeschool Work Space And we made sure we’re *actually* ready to...

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Homeschool Planning: Subject Area Checklists

Welcome to Day 3 of the Back to Homeschool Challenge!! Today, let’s tackle the Subject Planning… I don’t know about you, but I really mull things over in the summer.  I generally have tentative plans at the end of the year for the new school year, but given some time, I often change course slightly. Do you need to add in a different topic?  Last year in history, for example,...

Homeschool Organization - Dealing with our Homeschool Stuff 0

Strategic Homeschool Organization!!

We all hear a lot about getting organized and keeping the clutter down.  But today I want to talk about becoming organized in a strategic way… a way that helps our homeschool day run smoothly.  It’s not really about making the pencils and markers look pretty and organized, though that definitely has its appeal.  It’s about making sure our days flow smoothly. That the kids have some sense of what...

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Starting to Homeschool – Where to Start!

Over on Facebook, a reader said, “trying to figure out how to homeschool my 7th grade daughter any advice would help…” For those who are new on their homeschool journey and/or new to our blog I’ll share some resources with you that will hopefully help you as you embark on your own journey to find curriculum, resources, and to make this educational adventure an amazing one for your family!! I...

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5 Things you Can Do This Summer to Get Ready to Homeschool

For many of us it is mid-summer. Homeschooling seems far away still, though we know it’s lurking around the corner. We don’t want to be caught completely unprepared, right? Here are some things that we can do now to make the transition easier when we return: 1) Turn in your Notice of Intent (if your state requires one) – Get this done and turned in so you don’t have to...

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10 Step to Take When Planning for a New School Year

Someone once asked me, “How do you plan for your school year?” Here are 10 steps you can take to figure out what next year’s homeschool will look like for your family.  These are some of the questions I ask myself as I try to determine what we’ll cover and what skills the kids need to develop. Remember, your path as a homeschooling family will be completely different from anyone...

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Homeschool Thoughts: Spending Time Reviewing

One topic that I don’t hear discussed much in my homeschool circles (or online) is taking time for review. My guess is that it’s not quite as exciting to talk about going backwards (so to speak) as finding new topics and new curriculum. But I find it important to review some of the topics and units we’ve covered in the past. We do that on a daily/weekly basis (with cards...

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Homeschool Science in Early Elementary (K-2): Video Post

How do I start teaching science to my kids?  This is a very different answer if your kids are K-2 than if they are a bit older.  Here are some of the science topics you might want to consider if your kids are in early elementary. I put together a video of some of the activities we did when the kids were in early elementary. Some of these activities my...

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Homeschool Science Units – Video Post

This is a video post about Homeschool Science in the Elementary and Middle School Years.  It highlights some of the activities and experiments we’ve incorporated in our science units over the years. How do we know what science units to cover?  I created a homeschool science checklist that I think about as we move from unit to unit.  I have a general goal of what I’d like for the kids...

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Hands-On Homeschooling – Video Post (with DD and ED!)

Last week we did some pretty fun science experiments for our ocean unit.  We always get so pumped up doing hands-on activities & the salinity experiment was especially impressive. I thought I’d talk a little bit what a big impact these kinds of experiments add to our day… the kids get excited and engaged they ask a lot of good questions the activities and projects are memorable so they often...

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What We’re Up to in Our Homeschool (Gr. 2, 5, 7)

This week I’m changing our “Thoughts on Teaching” series up a bit to write about how our homeschool days flow in general.  Each day is pretty different from the one before and is usually a result of what we didn’t get to (or got to only minimally) the day before.  But I keep a general running tab (mentally if not by checklist!) of what we’re doing in each subject. So...