Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Random Thoughts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 17, 2016 · Last modified July 10, 2017
Back to Homeschool Challenge: Day 8 As we begin the year, don’t let any of these ruin your homeschool day… Comparison – Every homeschool is unique. Don’t worry about what your friends are doing. Don’t feel like your homeschool has to incorporate every project on Pinterest. Don’t compare someone’s best day to your worst day. Remember that when someone tells you about their homeschool day or writes about homeschooling online...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Organizing and Cleaning / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc) / How to Start Homeschooling / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 16, 2016 · Last modified July 10, 2017
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...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 15, 2016 · Last modified July 10, 2017
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...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Organizing and Cleaning
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 12, 2016 · Last modified July 10, 2017
One of the huge challenges for me is not necessarily the homeschooling itself… It’s keeping on top of everything. Today, your challenge is to think about how your family will handle chores this year. In this post, I wanted to share a variety of chore systems that other families have tried. Maybe one will work especially well for yours this year. Each year our kids are just a little older....
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 11, 2016 · Last modified July 30, 2019
I love this time of year… fresh pencils, new binders, and colorful fun writing journals. And apparently I’ve given my joy and excitement of office supplies to my kids. Today your challenge is two-fold… check to see what you need, but being careful not to OVERSHOP!!! This is a voice of experience saying this!! 🙂 One year we wound up with so many glue sticks we had to donate a...
Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / How to Start Homeschooling / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 10, 2016 · Last modified July 10, 2017
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 Den / Homeschool: Organizing and Cleaning / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / How to Start Homeschooling / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 9, 2016 · Last modified January 22, 2019
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...
Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / How to Start Homeschooling
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 8, 2016 · Last modified July 9, 2017
Up until the last minute, I knew exactly what our first challenge would be… You know it, I know it… We should discuss organization, right? It’s at the core of keeping things running smoothly during the year. But then much to my surprise, an idea popped into my head. I realized there was something more important to tap into first… and this post kind of wrote itself! Cartoon graphic purchased...
Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 3, 2016 · Last modified August 2, 2016
Hi Everyone, For those in the northern hemisphere, I hope you’ve been having a restful, relaxing, rejuvenating summer! Time is flying by quickly and maybe you — like me — are wanting to make sure we’re ready for the new school year!! The Back to Homeschool Challenge starts next week… 10 days of small daily tasks to make sure we’re ready for a fabulous new homeschool year!! Join us each...
All About Homeschooling! / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool Mastermind Group / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 1, 2016 · Last modified August 2, 2016
I’ve hinted this summer about a Homeschool Mastermind Group… It’s going to happen!! I’ve been working hard to iron out the details and plan out a really great course. It’ll be a 14-week discussion group that will delve deep into how we can make our homeschool extraordinary! What is a Mastermind Group? It’s a group of experts who come together to get support, inspiration, advice and encouragement from others who...
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...
Free Calendar Planning Pages / Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Organizing and Cleaning
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 25, 2016 · Last modified July 15, 2016
In last week’s post, I mentioned an online-planner that many homeschool families use. I still need to be able to see everything at a glance and to be able to check things over the course of the day, so I like having everything gathered in a 3-ring notebook. Last year I got a notebook that has a built in file dividers where I can place invitations and keep important papers...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Organizing and Cleaning / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc) / Technology
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 18, 2016 · Last modified August 19, 2018
This summer I am spending some time looking at some education apps, tools and websites. I thought I’d talk about a few that I’ve heard other educators mention so that you have a chance to look at them before the school year starts as well. 🙂 These look like they might be a fun way to incorporate a bit of technology in those “checking for understanding” moments. I don’t know...
It’s taking me longer to go through the pictures to share them than the trip itself!! I’m excited because today not only do I have some photos to share, but I also put together a 5-minute video of Yellowstone. A week or so ago I shared our photos from Canyon de Chelly. From there we continued west through Arizona, first to the Petrified Forest and then on to the pueblo...
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.
