Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
History and World Cultures Units / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / How to Start Homeschooling / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 4, 2015 · Last modified May 6, 2023
Today I’m sharing the history checklist, not only of some of the basic units I hope we cover K-8, but also of some of the historical skills I want the kids to start to master and some of the activities that can make history really come alive for them. In the early years, it’s easy to make history fun with hands-on projects… We have grown the Nile River Valley and made...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / How to Start Homeschooling / Science / Science Units / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 2, 2015 · Last modified March 15, 2024
Science in the Elementary and Middle School Years – Free Homeschool Checklist – K to 8 When I’m planning our units for the upcoming year, I think a lot about the science topics should we cover in our homeschool by the time they finish 8th grade. I have a general checklist of topics that I go consider… and try to fill in the gaps as we go (and as the kids’ interests...
Arts and Crafts / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc) / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 1, 2015 · Last modified April 23, 2021
I typed up a list of more than 350 activities, projects, trip ideas, and patches the kids can work on this summer. When I handed these pages to the kids you should have seen them pour through the list! Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads, they were so excited! Each of the items on this list have patches that scouts (and others!) can earn. But let’s face it, it’s just...
The past week or so we were away from home… enjoying the tranquility and pre-summer crowds of the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Since my sister homeschools (and thus also has a flexible schedule), it seemed the perfect time to meet up with her family and my folks! Homeschool Graduate: Before I share a couple of pictures… let me brag on my niece (who has been homeschooled K through 12)....
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 27, 2015 · Last modified November 3, 2016
ED is just beginning to work on multiplication. She has been practicing skip counting all year, but is only now starting to work on multiplication itself. I made this bug-themed packet for her for math this week. There are 3 skip counting pages and 5 pages of multiplication practice (using skip counting). She really liked the bug theme… and that’s perfect as we move into summer, right?! These are currently...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool at Home / Ages 2-6: Preschool for ED - Fall 2011 (age 3 1/2) / Kindergarten Math / Math--Addition / Math: Preschool Math
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 22, 2015 · Last modified February 22, 2016
I made a cute flower-themed math packet for kids just starting on basic addition through 10. There are a couple different activities to practice working with the 5s and 10s Number Families. There are two worksheets for kids to supply the missing number for the 5 and 10 Number Families. My kids always loved games and would beg to play games like the one below over and over! This is basically a...
What math homeschool curriculum works well for your family? We have tried out many different homeschool curriculums. I tried to come up with a fairly comprehensive list of math curriculums that are available. This week, I updated and added to last year’s post on Choosing a Homeschool Math Curriculum. That post was so meaty and has so many good links, I’m going to send you straight there! Just let me add,...
We’re trying to fit in some fun schoolish activities as the year winds down. It has been quite a while since we pulled out the fraction dominoes and the kids all enjoyed playing this game. Even ED, who hasn’t done much with fractions yet quickly caught on and played with us! You can either match up equivalent fractions or you can match fractions that add up to 1. Below, we’re...
Homeschool Den / Science: Human Body Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 18, 2015 · Last modified February 21, 2022
90+ Page Skeletal System Packet! This 90+ page packet covers the following topics: Identify the bones of the body Basic functions of the skeletal system (support, protection, assistance in movement, the storage and release of minerals, blood cell reproduction), How bones grow and repair themselves, bone remodeling, bone marrow, and the spine Bones and Cartilage Activity How the skeletal system is divided (axial and appendicular skeleton) Types of Joints Bone disorders Note: This was...
At the beginning of the week, I thought it would helpful for the kids to think about some fundamental questions about writing… Why do we write? Why do we read? What makes for a good story? What makes a story interesting? What inspires you? What kinds of techniques can we use in our writing? What writing habits work best for you? And finally, I had the kids brainstorm alternative words for...
Homeschool Den / Language Arts - Grammar Worksheets / Language Arts: Writing
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 14, 2015 · Last modified May 16, 2015
What skills do I want the kids to have in order to become successful writers? For this post, I shared a list of some of the language and literary skills I want the kids to build in elementary and middle school. These are topics and terms I want the kids to be familiar with. As they get older I hope they are able to use and incorporate these naturally into their own...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / How to Start Homeschooling / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 13, 2015 · Last modified March 17, 2016
I got an email from someone a few days ago from someone who said they were in “full blown school panic.” She is considering homeschooling next year and is wondering how to start planning. And not only that, she wondered, “How do you even know what to teach?” I thought it was about time to write about planning again… especially as I start looking ahead to next year. How do you decide what...
Let me start off by saying that everything is just fine, though I am still quite tearful simply because I was so scared. The unexpected happens… it comes out of the blue and you’re never quite prepared. In our case, we had just hopped into the car for afternoon activities. I was rumbling up our very steep driveway. But suddenly I could tell somethings was wrong with ED… she was...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 11, 2015 · Last modified May 10, 2015
Last week all we did for history was continue reading The Adventures of Robin Hood. (affiliate link). The kids are really loving the book (and so am I!). Each chapter is a complete adventure unto itself. This week we’ll be going into a lot of detail about feudalism (and I created a simulation that I think the kids will really love!), but before we do that, I really wanted to review all...
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.
