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Highlighting Past Posts / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 1, 2015 · Last modified June 25, 2015
So, I wanted a bit of alliteration to make a catchy title… and actually had to look up the definition of passel to be sure I was using it correctly. Sure enough, it means “a group or lot of indeterminate number.” Perfect! This post has a collection of posts from the past… and I’m not quite sure how many I’ll wind up highlighting. But why talk about posts from the past?...
This summer I won’t be posting quite as often, but I will try to post most Mondays (at a minimum)… and will keep FB going once or twice a day with some of our older posts. In the meantime, I’ll be working on other projects to get ready for the fall. I’m working on a couple of cute math packets (addition/subtraction and multiplication), a packet on mammals, an ocean unit...
Years ago, we became members of the Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op (a place where homeschoolers can make group purchases on various curriculum). They have an amazing offer this summer for Discovery Education Streaming Plus: homeschoolers can now enjoy a subscription to this award-winning resource for their entire family ABSOLUTELY FREE for the summer (until August 31) — exclusively through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op! They do not require you to enter your credit card...
Homeschool Den / Math: Pre-Algebra
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 9, 2015 · Last modified March 18, 2019
If you’ve followed our blog for a while, you know that we use a lot of different curriculums. Math is no exception! This year LD used five different math curriculums… two that polished up some 6th grade math (arithmetic) skills (such as percents/decimals/fractions) and three PreAlgebra texts. They all covered different skills. The main spine for PreAlgebra was the Art of Problem Solving–Prealgebra. (affliliate link) [See the update about this resource below!]...
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...
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...
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...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Trips We've Taken
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 6, 2015
Hooray! We’re done with standardized testing!! The kids are really happy! In those hours and hours of sitting by witnessing the kids toil, I have a come up with a bunch of hands-on activities and blog post ideas! Hope to get those written up soon. But in the meantime, I just came on to celebrate! Jumped through that hoop… Now back to our fun stuff… like our Middle Ages Unit, Human...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc)
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 1, 2015
I am drawn to books and stories about amazing teachers and inspiring mentors who help their students achieve greatness. What are great teachers teaching students along the way? To love learning. To learn and think for themselves. And to work hard on the fundamentals. The common thread among many of the inspiring books I’ve read is that great teachers set high standards for all of their students. They believe in...
Homeschool Den / Language Arts - Grammar Worksheets
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 29, 2015 · Last modified February 24, 2016
We are reviewing some of the basic grammar rules (again) and I wanted to share this sheet I made for the kids about semicolons. These sheets covered these 4 rules: Use a semicolon to join two or more closely related independent clauses that are not connected with a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so). Use a semicolon to join two closely related independent clauses that have a...
Yesterday we ordered the standardized tests we’ll take to fulfill the homeschool requirements of our state. We used Brewer Testing Service because of the ease of ordering. Their customer service has been excellent. (I’ll tell you more about that below.) This year, all three of my kids will be testing. They will be taking different tests: First Grade: I am having ED take the Terra Nova Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills....
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.
