Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
History: American History / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 4, 2017 · Last modified January 5, 2017
Today I have a free packet for you that reviews our US Presidents. At times in our homeschool, we take the opportunity to review the 45 U.S. Presidents. We do that by singing a song that lists them in order. 🙂 We then spend time highlighting 6 or 8 of them and talking about the major events that happened during their presidency. Then we’ll learn a bit more about...
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...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 9, 2016 · Last modified July 10, 2019
This page came about because I’ve gotten so many email and notes from homeschoolers who are feeling lost, overwhelmed, and/or are not sure quite where to start. I hope this post will offer some support and encouragement. Hopefully, you’ll find links to some posts that might give you the boost you need today. First, congratulations taking up homeschooling! I want to say that you’re awesome! All homeschoolers need to high-five...
Language Arts - Grammar Spelling Reading Writing Categories / Language Arts - Grammar Worksheets / Language Arts: Reading / Language Arts: Spelling / Language Arts: Writing
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 13, 2016
Check out the NEW Language Arts Tab! I have created a resource page with links to dozens of our language arts posts. We have all kinds of resources: Our free grammar pages have always been among the most visited pages on the blog. You’ll find links to our Comma Rules and Practice Pages Apostrophe and Quotation Mark Practice There/They’re/Their and Its/It’s Worksheets and many more!! We have at least 20...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 13, 2016 · Last modified March 21, 2018
We have so many writing and language arts resources on the blog, I thought it was time to create a tab so our resources are a bit easier to find. Almost all of our grammar pages are currently free!! We have posts in these language arts categories: Writing Workshop – How and Why we started using a homeschool writing workshop. Mini-Lessons about Writing Comma Rules and Practice Pages Other Free...
Happy Labor Day! This is a post you definitely don’t want to miss. It has links to dozens of freebies in science, history, language arts, math, PreK, German and Spanish!! Today is a holiday that honors the hard work of men and women across America. This blog has been my labor of love for more than seven years! It started as a way for me to document our homeschool journey...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / How to Start Homeschooling / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 28, 2016 · Last modified July 6, 2020
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...
Homeschool Den / Science: Natural Disasters Unit and Activities / Science: Weather Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 16, 2016 · Last modified January 24, 2021
Our Natural Disasters Packet has notebook pages and worksheets as well as some hands-on activity ideas covering the following events: Flooding Mudslides Tsunami Tornado Hurricane, cyclone, typhoon Blizzard Heat Wave Drought Wildfire Sinkholes In this packet you’ll find one page on each of these events. Often, natural disasters occur because of geologic changes or extreme weather conditions. Students explore the cause of each of these events. They also find out what ...
Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc)
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 26, 2016
This week our family is doing Standardized Testing to fulfill the requirements of our state (to show “proof of progress.”) For our family, doing testing is easier than creating a portfolio of work or meeting with a certified teacher. I know that I would spend endless hours pulling together a portfolio… and meeting with a teacher to discuss the kids’ work doesn’t appeal to me again because I know I...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Organizing and Cleaning / Homeschool: Our Homeschool (what our day is like, curriculum choices, etc.) / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 21, 2016
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...
Language Arts - Grammar Worksheets
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 7, 2016 · Last modified April 8, 2016
This time of year, we spend quite a bit of time polishing skills and reviewing material. ED still needs more practice working on to/two/too, there/they’re/their, and some other homophones. Plus, I thought she could also use some practice on plurals and adding endings. She has that down most of the time, but not always. So, if anyone can use these, they are FREE to download! The answer keys are also...
Language Arts - Grammar Spelling Reading Writing Categories / Language Arts: Spelling
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published March 3, 2016 · Last modified September 22, 2023
DD is a natural speller but both LD and ED have really benefited by the logical layout of the All About Spelling lessons. (affiliate link). I do my very best to stay consistent working through those lessons. It helps if we can work on spelling at least three times a week. During the spring semester, we also spend more time/attention on grammar, but we try to keep going with spelling...
Homeschool Den / Language Arts - Grammar Spelling Reading Writing Categories
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 25, 2016 · Last modified November 27, 2020
A week or so ago, we started reviewing irregular verbs and the plurals of nouns again. I realized the kids could use a bit more practice, so I pulled out some of the old grammar worksheets I made several years ago and had them work on those as well. I thought I would put all three of these together here in the same post for anyone who might need to...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Our Homeschool (what our day is like, curriculum choices, etc.) / Outdoor Fun
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 19, 2016 · Last modified February 18, 2016
A lot of the time I write posts focused just on one topic… like the Renaissance sheets I just shared on Wednesday or the comma worksheet I’m going to share next week. But other times, I just want to chit-chat about what’s going on… and that’s what this post is going to be! Homeschooling has been going pretty well lately. We are trying to keep going at a steady pace...
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.
