Showing posts with label Back to Homeschool Blog Hop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Back to Homeschool Blog Hop. Show all posts

August 23, 2018

Thankful Thursday: Blessings of Rural Homeschooling {5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement Blog Hop}

There are lovely benefits to homeschooling in the city. You have access to culture and resources at your fingertips. So much of our nation's history resides in large cities. Museums, zoos, aquariums, parks, historical structures, large co-ops, sports leagues, large libraries, and so much more. These are all things that rural homeschoolers (especially extremely rural) typically do not have access too. It can be frustrating at times being isolated in the country when you are homeschooling, but there are also some incredible blessings. Today, I'd like to mention some of the Blessings of Rural Homeschooling as part of Thankful Thursday of the 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement Blog Hop.

I have put together a list of my five key blessings of rural homeschooling and at the end, I've included quotes from other rural homeschoolers about what they are thankful for as rural homeschoolers!
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August 9, 2015

Are You Ready for a Back to Homeschool Blog Hop?

It is that time of year again--school is starting! All around the nation, children are getting their new supplies together and climbing into that big yellow bus to kick off a new year! In some homes, it might not be about the yellow bus, but it's still definitely back to HOMEschool time! This means that it's time for our 2015 Back to HOMEschool Blog Hop to get you in the mood for all things school!


Mark your calendars - 10 to 14 August - it's time for this years Homeschool Blog Hop.  The
Schoolhouse Review Crew will be joining forces with Homeschool Blogging Connection to bring you a week full of back to school encouragement.

We have 56 homeschool Mom's sharing their combined wisdom and insights covering everything
Homeschool related. That's 280 posts of encouragement and information just for you!

Meet Your Back to Homeschool Blog Hop Hosts


Marcy @ Ben and Me

Rebecca @ Raventhreads
Annette @ In All You Do

Aurie @ Our Good Life
Katie @ DailyLife
Melissa @ Mom's Plans
Annette @ A Net In Time

Crystal @ Crystal Starr
Shawna @ Tenacity Divine
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning 

I can't wait to see what all of these ladies have in store for us this week! I am still finalizing my own list of what I am going to talk about, but it will DEFINITELY include anything related to how we school here on the farm! As I finalize my topics, I will add them here at this anchor post for you to keep track of! There is also going to be a fabulous GIVEAWAY--so stay tuned so you can learn more about what's up for grabs!

I will see you tomorrow as we kick off this great week!

Day 1: It's all about the Prep
Tips from a hardcore procrastinator [aka. me!] on ways you can make your homeschool year easier

Day 2: Tips for Rookie Homeschoolers from Veteran Homeschoolers
It is exciting and a bit scary to be starting a homeschooling adventure--let some homeschooling veterans share tips that might make it a little easier for you as you get started.

Day 3: What Picking Curriculum REALLY Looks Like in My House
You always hear about how excited moms are to be deciding on curriculum. Well in my house, deciding on curriculum is the equivalent of a state of organized chaos until it's done! Come see how UNorganized the process can be! It's my confessional!

Day 4: Four Important Lessons I've Learned from Four Years of Homeschooling
Out of all the things that I have learned about homeschooling--four lessons jump out at me, and it's interesting to see that they tie into each of the four years we've got under our belt. Come see if you can relate to these lessons!

Day 5: What's the Scariest Part About Homeschooling?
Did you know that every homeschool mom has something she fears relating to homeschooling? Well I have a confessional from 10+ moms on the top thing (or things) that scare them about the homeschooling adventure! Is your fear on anyone's list?

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August 15, 2014

Back to Homeschool Blog Hop: Day 5 ~ My 10 Favorite Homeschooling Blogs

It's Friday and that means it's Day 5 of the Back to Homeschool Blog Hop. It's been a great week and there have been so many incredible things that were blogged about! I hope you had a chance to check out some of the other blogs participating in this weeks hop...but if you didn't, here is the anchor post so you can see the other 49+ bloggers.

Looking back on this week I've spoken about homeschool essentials, my five favorite online resources, steps to pick a curriculum, and lesson planning methods. As a close to this blog hop, I decided that I would share links to ten of my favorite homeschooling blogs--the blogs on this list are ones that I regularly visit and I believe they help me out a lot in encouragement, ideas and resources and I hope they will help you out too!
homeschool blogs

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links. 

There are so many incredible homeschool related blogs out there. I could easily say there are easily several hundred--maybe even a thousand or more. But there are some blogs which draw me time and time again because of their content and writing style. Some of them I go to for encouragement more than anything else. Some I use as a resource. Others offer regular printables or downloads which are useful to my curricula. 

I have narrowed them down to my top ten choices...not an easy task I assure you! These are the blogs I find myself visiting the most and I hope that you will be able to find them just as valuable as I have.

This blog is a lesser known blog....but I absolutely adore it. Anna, the owner of this blog, is a personal friend and a mom of soon-to-be six. Anna's blog is devoted to sharing about life on the farm up in Michigan, life as a SAHM, life as a homeschooler, her focus on the Charlotte Mason method, sharing recipes to encourage healthy eating, and encouraging moms in general. She has an excellent regular series called Mothering Mondays and has hosted several book clubs. She shares a passion of reading "living" books and regularly hosts small giveaways to share "favorites" with her readers.

Where My Treasure Is is a blog that I turn to for encouragement regularly and I hope that you will consider joining her readership!

This is a fairly well known blog in the homeschooling world--especially if you have ever used the FIAR (Five-In-A-Row) curriculum. But I love this blog for more than that--I love it because #1 Michelle has become a dear friend, #2 Michelle shares her heart in her NON-homeschooling posts, #3 Michelle shares such an incredible glimpse of life in their homeschool that I want to come and homeschool in HER classroom! Did I mention she regularly shares about their meals and with the photos she posts, I just want to lick the screen of my laptop? (ooops, did I just say that out loud?)  

I have pinned many of Michelle's posts because of the ideas she shares, her recipes and just the fun that they seem to be having. If you have yet to visit Delightful Learning, make sure you head on over soon!

Dusty is the author of this blog and she has turned her blog into a must-have for me. She has reviews of so many different products in the homeschool world that I have regularly turned to them to help make decisions. She shares a lot of great recipes--especially her ABC series on Homemade Playdough. (Her playdough recipes by the way makes the best ever.) She is passionate about her walk as a Christian and her faith shines off her blog. She has recently been creating some really useful printable packs that she offers her readers for free.

If you haven't been To the Moon and Back (teehee) I hope you will consider visiting soon! (especially since she's in the Back to Homeschool Blog Hop this week!)

Jill is the author of this fun and helpful blog. Jill regularly features guest posts and provides valuable product reviews. She is also the owner of  E.H.M Members Only Store which I spoke about on Tuesday as being one of my five favorite online resources. She regularly adds new curriculum and printables to her shop and I love that for just $15 you can have access to anything she's ever created and will create--forever. She just created a colorful and fun Back to School Activity Pack. She is passionate about learning and adores books. She is the founder of the Poppins Book Nook book club and host of the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop every Monday.

I hope you will pop on over and check out her blog and say hello!

If you are seeking out a host of free printables for the elementary age--especially pre-school and kindergarten, I highly recommend the COAH blog! She has a complete kindergarten curriculum which I have used several things from. If you want something for the older students she has some great unit studies--we will be using her artist and composer lapbook studies this year. We are also going to be using her literature lapbooks with our read-aloud books. She has some incredible stuff that I have always found very useful. She blogs about other things too and I find her blog to be very helpful and encouraging.

I come to the Schoolhouse Review blog when I need more information about curriculum. The Schoolhouse Review blog is devoted to bringing homeschoolers reviews on new and old product and curriculum and have a 100+ team of homeschool moms to make it happen. I also enjoy the guest posts (I did one!) and other extras the blog shares.

I had the pleasure of meeting the owners Wendy and Leann in Cincinnati this past April. This is a must-have blog because of the full spectrum of topics that they blog about...it's definitely NOT just about homeschooling! The bloggers who share here are "real" and share things that are very relevant to life as a homeschool mom. I find a lot of encouraging posts here about just being a mom, about battling the challenges of homeschooling in a public school world and much much more!

If you have a PreK to 3rd grader this is the blog for you! Erin is a genious with creating fun and exciting educational packs in crazy fun themes. One of our favorites is her Zoomin' Moving Alphabet. She also has a very very popular Frozen themed activity packs that your Frozen lovers are sure to enjoy. 

9. 1+1+1=1

Here is another blog that has fabulous free packs for the preschool and kindergarten ages...even tot school! I love her daily binder for the kids as well as her Raising Rock Stars curriculum. She includes a lot of biblical studies including copywork and scripture memorization. I have pulled from her printables many times and planned on incorporating a lot of her stuff into Preschool this year.

This is a blog by a friend named Marcy. I love this blog, because not only does Marcy share homeschooling tips, reviews and product links...but she shares her heart. It's another one of the encouraging blogs that I love to visit. She recently began an adventure into using essential oils which I've been enjoying reading about. This mama adores her family and it shows in all that she shares in her posts. I have pinned a lot of her posts to come back to later. I have met Marcy in real life and she's just as sweet and "real" as she comes across on her blog!
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These are only ten of the incredible blogs out there...but these are ten that I feel are absolutely worth your time and attention. I believe all of them have email subscription available so that you never miss a post. I like finding a new post from these blogs in my email because it's always going to be something good!

I hope that you will take the time to visit them--or maybe just ones you haven't visited before--and I hope that they bring you as much joy as they bring me!

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Back to Homeschool Blog Hop
There are 50+ bloggers more bloggers in this blog hop---here are a few to to get you started! I've seen some of what is being blogged about and it's going to be a great week!

Marcy @ Ben and Me
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning

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And don't forget about the INCREDIBLE (and I do mean that in every sense of the word) giveaway that is going on this week--there are two HUGE prizes that are sure to bless two homeschool families for the new school year. You can get the details about the giveaway--and get entered to win here:
Back to Homeschool Giveaway
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Well this is the end of a great week! I am looking forward to the weekend and a blogging break...until next week when I am bringing you three product reviews! Enjoy your weekend and I hope to see you back here on Monday!
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August 14, 2014

Back to Homeschool Blog Hop: Day 4~ Lesson Planning

Happy Thursday! It's Day 4 of the Back to Homeschool Blog Hop from the Schoolhouse Review Crew. It's been a great week so far and there have been lots of incredible posts in the hop. I hope you have been enjoying the topics I've been discussing. So far we've chatted about Homeschool Essentials, My Favorite Online Resources and yesterday I shared Seven Steps to Pick Curriculum. Today I'm going to be talking about Lesson Planning. 
Today I want to share some ideas for how to plan out your lessons...but these aren't just from me! I asked some of my homeschooling friends what lesson planning looks like for their family! To get started I will share what lesson planning looks like for me.

In the last few years, lesson planning has been pretty easy because we've used all-in-one curriculum and those actually come with their own lesson plans. The only thing I've ever needed to add to the schedule was a few extra things like music or art. I have a great post about how I planned last years lessons including the worksheets I used that you can check out. I will be using some of that same method this year with some minor changes.

This year, we are stepping away from all-in-one curriculum for Little Britches. Yes, we are diving into the world of piecing a curriculum together! One of the ways that I started lesson planning this year was to make a list of everything we were going to use for curriculum. Next, I plugged these into a rough schedule for a week with time blocks. I did it all on 3 x 5 cards one day. LOL! 

Nothing fancy here--but it allows me to carry it with me and work on it a lot as I remember things. I do a LOT of erasing on these. LOL! I now have these pinned to the bulletin board on my fridge so I can find them easily and to keep them where I can view them and make changes. I like calculating out time blocks not to stick to a set schedule but to get an idea about how much I can do in one day.

I use this as a rough guide and rework things as I need to. Once I have a rough schedule for Little Britches done, I can see where I will be able to work with Baby Britches. We are going to be using Before Five In a Row this year as our "core" for him, so there isn't much planning needed. I did find some great planning worksheets that I will be using for his lessons just to help keep me more organized. I only plan out about a month at a time, though I sometimes do a quarter year to see what will be covered in that period of time and how any vacations work into it. I haven't made our "final" schedule yet...but I am definitely still using those 3 x 5 cards!

I have set up a Pinterest page where I collect ideas for lesson planning and organization that you could check out for more ideas.
Follow Lisa @ Farm Fresh's board Homeschooling: Planning/Organization on Pinterest.



Now I'd like to shift gears and share what some of my friends have said about lesson planning in their homeschool. I hope you enjoy hearing different ideas and it helps you when making your own decisions!

Meredith is a mom of four (16, 12, 10 and 8) and she's homeschooling the three youngest: We use a modified form of Robinson Curriculum, so we only really have three subjects: Reading, writing, and math. Science, literature, history, social studies, and financial skills are all incorporated into the reading list. We modified the RC reading list to better incorporate all these areas into it. So there isn't much in the way of lesson planning. They each spend and hour or two (depending on the age) reading their current books in the reading list, they write a page about whatever they want (which I check for spelling and punctuation, and they correct), and they do a lesson a math. 

We also have added in what we call “Class Time”, which we do together and can be just about anything. Sometimes we discuss in issue, sometimes we work on memorizing something, sometimes I read a book out loud to the kids (we are just about to go through the book called Hungry Planet that shows and contrasts what foods families around the world eat in a week), and if I don't have anything specific I want to do right then for Class Time, we just watch a documentary from the Homeschooling queue of our Netflix account. 

The only lesson planning I do is to make a note of upcoming Class Time things I want to cover, and the rest is just reminding the kids to do their reading, writing, and math.

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Beverly is homeschooling three kids in grades 2, 5 and 8: I do a breakdown of our year and figure out how much we need to accomplish in each subject per week (We aim for a 40 week school year). For example, we use Horizon's Math and it has 160 lessons in the workbook. I divide 160 lessons by 40 weeks and get 4 lessons/week. The kids love to see what they have accomplished, putting a check mark in each box and how much they need to do as the week goes on. Here is one of our weekly lists that are on the bulletin board in front of each child's desk:
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Liz shares honestly: I put a pile of books in a cupboard and when it is gone, the school year is done! LOL! 
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Megan is a homeschooling mom of seven (15, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1): Right now we're unschooling except for math, Rosetta Stone and I make them read. So our day is based more around meal/chore times. I have an attendance sheet I keep and we do keep track of math (for those who don't do Khan academy).
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Michelle is a homeschool mom of six ranging from preschool to high school: I only lesson plan for FIAR (Five-in-a-row). For all other subjects, I just figure out how many lessons are in a book and divide it by the number of weeks in our school year. Then I know how many to do each week. 
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Stephanie is homeschooling grades 2, 7 and 8: I copy Tables of Content for all curricula, textbooks,etc. that we're using for the year. We do six, 6 week sessions. I find our midpoint and mark the date halfway down the TOC and divide each half into thirds. The olders put the assignments weekly into their undated Dollar Store planners. We usually do that together to avoid surprises. I use the dated Dollar General planner for my calendar and whatever notes I need regarding assignments I need to teach or supplies I need to gather for certain days. This is the first year I've simplified and it is by far my most productive and least stressful year yet (as we finish week 6).
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Kate is a homeschool mom of three: Well, I usually start out really organized/planned out and then have to make major adjustments (which may or may not be very organized) a few weeks in to meet my child's changing needs. It's stressful. I am a mixture between insane perfectionist and fly by the seat of my pants--it can make my head spin.
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Diana mom of one: I plan out some subjects (that are not open and go) by the week. I use google calendar so I can easily adjust which week we are doing things on. I don't do any more than that until the week prior when I write out the next week's stuff (I request the next set of library books a couple weeks before as well).
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Eva is homeschool mom of seven:  I do a loose plan for the year at the beginning. Then I plan it week by week after that. It usually takes me an hour on Sundays to plan out the week and print off or gather anything I need. The basics are planned by the curriculum, so that is day by day.
Eva has a post it color for herself and each of her kids on this incredible planning board!
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As you can see, there are all different styles of lesson planning. I think you will find that your lesson planning method will change as you go--especially if you start adding more students into the mix. Lesson planning can take you hours or it can take you no time at all--just find a style that works best for you!

Back to Homeschool Blog Hop
There are 50+ bloggers more bloggers in this blog hop---here are a few to to get you started! I've seen some of what is being blogged about and it's going to be a great week!

Marcy @ Ben and Me
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning

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And don't forget about the INCREDIBLE (and I do mean that in every sense of the word) giveaway that is going on this week--there are two HUGE prizes that are sure to bless two homeschool families for the new school year. You can get the details about the giveaway--and get entered to win here:
Back to Homeschool Giveaway
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Thank you for joining me again this week. I hope you will stop by for my last post as part of this blog hop tomorrow. I have a collection of my favorite homeschooling blogs to share with you--could yours be on the list?!
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August 13, 2014

Back to Homeschool Blog Hop: Day 3~ 7 Steps to Pick a Curriculum

Welcome back to Day 3 of the Back to Homeschool Blog Hop! So far, I've discussed Homeschool Essentials and shared my favorite online resources. Today we are going to get a bit more meaty and discuss one of the hardest aspects of homeschooling---picking a curriculum!

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links. 

Let's face it. When it comes to having to pick curriculum for homeschool, the choices are endless and can rapidly become overwhelming. And that's if you only have ONE child...much less eight! There is just SOOOOOOOOOO much out there that it's hard to know where to begin. It doesn't matter if you are a newbie getting ready to dive into a brand new homeschooling adventure or if you are a pro who is planning out a new year---finding the right curriculum can be a chore and rather intimidating. 

So where do you start? Is there a way you can keep it from getting overwhelming? An "easy" way out might be to go with a boxed all-in-one curriculum. These eliminate a bis hassle of sorting through subjects...but there are a LOT of boxed curriculum out there too! Trust me. I know. LOL. With the 7 steps I'm going to suggest, you should be able to tackle this curriculum mountain and find just what you need, without too much hair pulling!

Note: These are obviously just guidelines--steps that I have used for my own curriculum adventures. They might not work for you, but from what I've heard in discussions with others, I think they are a basic 7 steps for everyone to follow.

1. Make Lists

In a recent post, I talked about how I am learning the benefits of serious list making. While I don't do it enough (yet!) in my daily life, I am a HUGE list maker when it comes to homeschooling and particularly homeschooling curriculum. I have a notebook (or two!) devoted to all things homeschooling, where I write down my thoughts, ideas, things I want to remember for later, and where I list items of curriculum I want to check out for later. 

I suggest you use something like this from the very beginning of your curriculum search. So what could you list?

*list the kind of things you'd like to do in your homeschooling experience...field trips, experiments, studies. Write them down. This will help you pick curriculum that lets you match those things.

*list the subjects you want to teach in your homeschool...for each child. Not all children will do the same subjects each year. You can list the ones that you want to be done as a group subject.

*make a list of your current curriculum inventory...you would be surprised at how many moms I hear say "Well I was going through my cabinet and I had totally forgotten I had this curriculum in there!" A list of current inventory will help make sure this doesn't happen!

*make a list of any curriculum or resources you want to check out

*make a list of homeschool curriculum company names you have heard and want to research 

Keep these lists handy because as you continue your curriculum search you will be adjusting this list...a lot!

2. Make a Budget

Before you start your curriculum search you need to know what you are willing to spend. Curriculum is all across the board when it comes to cost, so you need to be prepared and have yourself a homeschool budget to work inside of. Every year I ask my husband what my budget is and I make sure that I keep it all within those boundaries. There is always curriculum I'd love to try out and use, but I don't have a budget to make it happen. 

As part of your budget, make sure you include the cost of supplies, books, apps for iPads or Kindles...these little expenses can add up quickly. Another thing to consider is whether or not you will be using materials for more than one student--do you have a budget per student? Or just as a family? 

Are you willing to search out free product online and print it off for your use? If you are going to need to print things, make sure you include the cost of ink and paper. 

With a budget laid out, this will help you move on to the next step.

3. Get Product Catalogs

Let me tell you. I have an addiction to curriculum catalogs. You should have seen me at the 2013 homeschool convention. If a booth had a catalog, I snagged it. By the time I was done my wheeled bag weighed a crazy poundage and I had a stack of catalogs at LEAST 12" high. I am a physical book kind of person, so I like having actual catalogs that I can thumb through and mark up. Some of them (like Sonlight) are more of a wishbook, but I still love looking through them.
My current catalog stash...
Once you have your lists of what you are looking for, and you have your budget so you can start writing down prices, catalogs will be your best friend! Most companies have them to mail out (visit their websites to request one) and those who don't usually have a pdf version for you to look through. Once you get the catalogs, sit down with a highlighter and a pen and just start going through them and marking or taking notes on what looks interesting. Use your lists to help you and take note of the pricing for budget purposes!

4. Take Advantage of Reviews

Now that you've had chance to look around at product and you've got a nice list of possibilities, it's time to take advantage of reviews. Most companies send product out to be tried and tested by homeschooling families. I am on a curriculum review team that does just that! We are sent products and curriculum from major and minor players in the homeschool world and we use them in our homes with our families for 6-8 weeks and then write about them. I have a Curriculum and Product Review page on my blog where I add any reviews that I do. Feel free to check it out!

Where can you find reviews?
* Schoolhouse Review Crew
A division of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, this team reviews products from companies great and small in the curriculum world. This allows you to see what this curriculum looks like in action and to find out what homeshcool families think are the pros and cons. This will save YOU time and money in the long run having someone else checking it out for you!

*Cathy Duffy
If you are looking for a great way to sort through a lot of the top curriculum in book form, make sure you check out this book by Cathy Duffy. Ms. Duffy does the hard work for you and narrows down the list of curriculum out there to just 101 choices. She also guides you in how to determine whether or not her picks will even work for you. I own this book and I love it.

Ms. Duffy also has a website full of the same information plus new reviews on other products far beyond the 101 products she mentions in this book. I love getting emails notifying me of any of new reviews she's done.

*Magazines
Homeschool magazines are another great place to see reviews on products.

Most of them review at least 1 product per issue. Some have special issues devoted to curriculum--like the 2014 Annual Print Edition from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. In this issue they have their curriculum award list which lists the top two winners in all the curriculum categories. This is a great thing to consider as these were all voted on by the readers--who have been using the product!

*Friends
Word of mouth. You will get some of the best reviews from your friends who have used the curriculum. Once you have made your list and narrowed it down, ask your friends if any of them has used any of the curriculum you are interested in. You might be surprised at the quantity of material that has been used and some might even offer to let you borrow it---freeing up your budget for something else! I ask a LOT of questions about curriculum choices to my friends before I ever reach my final decision. I trust them to give me a good idea on how it all works and the pros/cons of everything. 

*Pinterest
I have mentioned Pinterest three days in a row now...but I did say it was an essential, remember? When it comes to reviews...use Pinterest! If you type in keywords like "Moving beyond the page review" you are going to get links to actual reviews. So save yourself time searching on Google...use Pinterest instead.

5. Ask your Children

Now I know that you aren't going to be inclined to ask your toddlers whether or not they will like a curriculum, but once your child is older--I highly recommend asking your child for their imput on the curriculum. It is going to be THEIR curriculum. Show them your lists and let them add their own ideas. 
This year I let my son guide our choice for math as he told me (upon being asked) what math he preferred and why. The same thing with our Science. I let him flip through the Apologia catalog and decide which science book he'd like to use this year. He was excited to be involved and really thought about it hard before making his decision. He is looking forward to getting started this year because he had a hand in making some of the decisions.

I will note that he didn't get to choose everything. Sometimes you have to choose for them on subjects they aren't interested in doing. But if you let them be a part in other ways, this won't be a problem.

6. Meditate and Pray

Once you've reached this point, you should have a good idea about what you are going to be doing...but before you make the final move and purchase, take time to meditate on it. Let it sit and simmer for awhile. As a Christian, I highly recommend praying about it. I will pray before I start looking for curriculum and then I typically pray the night before I make purchases. I especially will pray if I'm stuck on curriculum. I will ask God to make it clear to me what I need to do. God is a major part of our homeschooling and we believe He gets a "say" in it too. 

There have been days where after time for meditation and prayer I just throw a curriculum out. And it's always been a good choice in the long run! So make sure you take time to think and listen to God about the curriculum you are choosing.

7. Take a deep breath and go!

It is so hard to push that "process order" button. I'm always second guessing myself. What if he doesn't like this program? Am I really brave enough to teach this? What if it doesn't work for us? I've learned to just take a deep breath and go. 

I've discovered that some of my curriculum choices ARE going to be flops. But that's okay. I can shelve them to try with another child or I can sell it to someone else looking for curriculum. That's the thing about curriculum...you can't completely predict the outcome. So you just have to take a deep breath and go for it.

Once you've started buying curriculum, it will get easier...sometimes. LOL! There is always that moment before pushing the "process order" button that never seems to go away for me. But it's getting easier.
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I hope that these seven steps will help you realize that picking a curriculum isn't so scary. If you remember at the very least to make lots of lists and take advantage of catalogs, you will find the process much easier. Good luck with your curriculum planning---once you successfully get that out of the way, it's going to be time for the next thing homeschool moms dread...Lesson Planning! I am going to talk about that tomorrow, so make sure you check back in!
Back to Homeschool Blog Hop
There are 50+ bloggers more bloggers in this blog hop---here are a few to to get you started! I've seen some of what is being blogged about and it's going to be a great week!

Marcy @ Ben and Me
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning
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And don't forget about the INCREDIBLE (and I do mean that in every sense of the word) giveaway that is going on this week--there are two HUGE prizes that are sure to bless two homeschool families for the new school year. You can get the details about the giveaway--and get entered to win here:
Back to Homeschool Giveaway

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August 12, 2014

Back to Homeschool Blog Hop: Day 2 ~My Favorite Online Resources

It's Day 2 of the Back to Homeschool Blog Hop! Yesterday I shared a list of five things I consider to be Homeschool Essentials. Did you have any of them on your own list? One of things I could have put down as an essential is internet access. I can't imagine how families ever homeschooled before the internet! LOL! Seriously though, having internet access when you homeschool is invaluable because it puts so many incredible things at your fingertips. I have my favorite online sites that are my must-haves and I want to share a few of them with you!

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links. Using them doesn't cost you a dime, but it does help our family out. Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support!

Before I get started, let me state that even though I live in the country, I am very blessed to have access to high speed internet. Some of the resources I will direct you to, may not work as well for you if you don't have it if downloading or videos cause you issues. 

When it comes time to start planning for the new year there are a few sites I will always check out and add to my lists of references. Some of them contain free material like printables and curriculum, others offer online classes and some are purely for research/reference.



Have you visited Homeschoolshare.com? I first discovered this incredible site when I was using the Five-in-a-Row program with Little Britches. Since then I have revisited MANY times and have plans to make sure of it this week. 

Why do I like It?
One word. FREE. Everything on the site is free. Free printables galore for a wide variety of ages. Have a subject that you would like to expand on? Visit the site and type in a keyword and it will pull of anything on the site related to it. Doing a unit study and looking for some books about it? You can find that too. Are you a lapbook fan? Well this place will be your new best friend! Want to design your own lapbook components? No problem! Sign up for the newsletter and you get a HUGE download for you to edit and revise and type in! 

Seriously, if you are looking for a specific topic to have printables for--you need to check out here first! I always do. I also am a member of their forum, a reader of their blog and fan of their Facebook page! I like to stay in the know of any new things they add to their site!

2. Pinterest


I mentioned Pinterest as being one of my Homeschool Essentials, so it's only right I include it here as a favorite resource. I pink puffy heart Pinterest.

Why do I like it?
The amount of time it saves me when I need to find a project or review on a curriculum is incredible. All those times in the past where I used to go "I KNOW I saw something where I could make _______ for ______ somewhere. Where was it?"--yeah that doesn't happen anymore. I can just add things I want to remember for later to my boards. Like my Crafts for Kids board...I pin all KINDS of crafts and activities there--one place to find anything I ever thought we might make.
Follow Lisa @ Farm Fresh's board Crafts for Kids on Pinterest.

Or a board to keep anything related to Bible activities
Follow Lisa @ Farm Fresh's board Homeschooling: Bible/Sabbath School on Pinterest.

So much time saved to just go to a specific board to find something...

3. Currclick.com


Currclick.com is a site that I sometimes forget I love. It's so awesome, yet I regularly forget about it's awesomeness--until I visit it and then remember. LOL!

Why do I like it?
Currclick.com is an incredible resource because of all the curriculum that is offered. Not all of it is free, but much of it is very very inexpensive. They also regularly do fantastic sales and their "Pay What You Want" sale is not to be beat. There are e-books, lapbooks, unit studies and even FREE clubs (American Girl or LEGO Club sound good?) They have LIVE classes taught by accredited teachers--yes your child can take an online class by a teacher and get a class credit for their transcript! We have done a LIVE class through them before and it was excellent and Little Britches loved it. Currclick.com offers higher level courses as well--classes like high school level/college prep Biology, American History Camp 2014: Redcoats and Revolutionaries,  or how about Mandarin Chinese? I don't dread high school level classes in my future because I know I have access to a resource like Currclick.com! They even have an annual science fair which your children can be part of--this is something that I look forward to enrolling Little Britches maybe this year.

4. Enchanted Homeschooling Mom Members Only Website


E.H.M. Members Only Website is a treasure trove. Jill (owner and creator) is a creative genius with the quality of product she produces!

Why do I like it?
For $15...just $15 you get a LIFETIME subscription to her site. That's it. NO other fees. NO annual renewal. It's a one time fee and *poof* you get access to everything she has created and everything she ever will create! Jill has printables, curriculum, activity packs and more! Right now she has over 450 items in her shop--and she adds stuff weekly! Her work covers a wide range of subjects (history to music) and ages (pre-K and up!).

5. SchoolhouseTeachers.com


SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a resource that is fairly new to me, but one that I am so thankful to have found. Covering subjects from sign language to astronomy there is a curriculum or course for anyone!

Why do I like it?
I like this resource because it is a one size fits all program. For one price you get daily/weekly/monthly lessons anytime you need them. There are core subjects and fun electives. There is a database of over 30 teachers producing and teaching curriculum on this site. There are print, audio and video resources available. The curriculum is taught at a wide range of styles from Classical to Charlotte Mason. There are archived teacher lessons, free planners, e-books and recorded expo sessions! Did I mention it's just one price for your whole family? You could and can teach a whole day's worth of lessons from just this one site. Your first month subscription to the site is just $3...and then only $12.95/month or a super low price of $139 for a whole year. You can teach your whole family (pre-school to high school) a complete curriculum for just $139...can you find that anywhere else? They are always adding new courses and curriculum too. We especially love the material available on the Dailies page--Everyday Easel is one of our favorites.

*****
These are only 5 of the incredible online resources out there, but I think these 5 are the absolute best for any homeschooling family to have. You can cover a wide range of subjects and grade levels and the prices can't really be beat for the quality and quantity of product they offer.

Do you have a favorite online resource that I haven't mentioned? I'm always on the look out for new awesome resources, so make sure you comment to share with me what you use for your family!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you will continue to hop with me through the rest of this week as I continue the Back to Homeschool series! See you tomorrow!
Back to Homeschool Blog Hop
There are 50+ bloggers more bloggers in this blog hop---here are a few to to get you started! I've seen some of what is being blogged about and it's going to be a great week!

Marcy @ Ben and Me
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning
*****
And don't forget about the INCREDIBLE (and I do mean that in every sense of the word) giveaway that is going on this week--there are two HUGE prizes that are sure to bless two homeschool families for the new school year. You can get the details about the giveaway--and get entered to win here:
Back to Homeschool Giveaway


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August 11, 2014

Back to Homeschool Blog Hop ~Day 1: Homeschool Essentials

Happy Monday! Here we are in the middle of August and all around us we are seeing things devoted to school--from the incredibly addictive school supplies (who can resist 50 cent boxes of crayons?) to college dorm decor to seeing the big yellow bus go rolling by! But for some of us, we just wave to the school bus as it passes us by--because we are a homeschooling family. Well, it's time for US to start school too, and what better way to celebrate a start of a new year then with a...  
Back to Homeschool Blog Hop

Over the next 5 days I will be sharing posts about things related to homeschooling--so make sure you check in every day! This week I'm going to be talking about Homeschool Essentials, Choosing a Curriculum, Lesson Planning, My Favorite Online Resources and My Favorite Homeschooling Blogs! I have had fun planning out these posts and hope you will join me each day!

***
What do you think of when you think of a school essential? I'm sure that good old supply list they give you each year (have you seen the size of it these days?!!) comes to mind and the staples that are on it every year. But what about Homeschool Essentials? 

1. New Supplies

Yes, even for homeschoolers, there is just something incredibly exciting about new school supplies! Did you know that I make a list for my own "students"? A lot of what I put on the list depends on our curriculum, for some curriculum requires specific supplies--subjects like Art, Science, History (for the maps and timelines), English and others. This is when having material lists in each curriculum are very useful! But after a few years I can usually guess what I'm going to need.

To be honest...I make a bigger deal about needing new supplies than necessary. Do they need a brand new package of crayons or coloring pencils? Well since we have a crayon jug and a crayon box and a recently purchased box of 94 Crayolas? Eh, probably not. Pencils? Well, I do only have about 50, and I might need more, right? So there are a FEW things I don't buy...but because I remember the thrill of new supplies for school each year and how much it really did make my first day of school better, it's a little splurge we indulge in each year anyway. Besides, I've learned from experience that we go through a lot of Crayons and pencils throughout the year. And glue. LOTS of glue. LOL.
The main thing each boy gets to choose is a new folder, a new binder and a pencil box. I take care of picking the supplies for everything else. But the joy they have in getting to pick whatever their heart desires for those three items is so worth it. They know that school is going to start soon when they get to pack up their pencil boxes to put on their desks and it brings a level of excitement to the house.

2. White Board

I was incredibly blessed when we started our journey into homeschooling. My husband was demolishing a school in Cincinnati for work during that time. If you know about demo work, the company doing the demo has rights to anything left behind--and in this school EVERYTHING was left behind. Imagine the thrill of excitement when I got the call from my husband that he was going to be able to outfit our "classroom" with real school stuff! We were blessed with desks, a filing cabinet, 2 bulletin boards, piles of paper, full size classroom maps, and my best friend---a full size white board.

Now for most families this would not be an essential, mostly because they would never have one. But for us, this white board has become an essential. We have really been using it the last year as our subjects got more challenging--especially in writing and English lessons. Being able to do work up on the white board has helped tremendously and I forsee us continuing to use it in the many years to come.

Want a white board, but know you aren't going to be able to get one? I ALSO consider the mini student white boards to be an essential. 

We use these for the many days when we are not in the classroom for work. I also enjoy using this for Baby Britches. The best thing about these is that you can usually find them at Target in their $1 bins! I just picked up this new one there a couple weeks ago. We use these just as much as we use the big board.

3. Pinterest

Pinterest is a teacher's best friend. With a simple keyword search, you can pull up a plethora of things from ideas to printables to clip art---and a LOT of it is free! I have used Pinterest countless time to help me find ideas for crafts, to find themed worksheets, to find free fonts I can use, to find free clip art that's school related. 
Follow Lisa @ Farm Fresh's board Homeschooling: Science on Pinterest.

I have made boards for each subject in homeschooling from planning and organization to art to Charlotte Mason to Preschool to History. This allows me to separate out the gems I find to places where I can pull them up easily. 

Seriously. If you haven't been using Pinterest for homeschooling, you are missing out on a great tool that will save you a lot of time and frustration! I'd love for you to follow me on Pinterest so I can help you make connections with great homeschooling resources and ideas.

4. Homeschool Planner (or planning sheets)

This essential is new for me. I spent my first 2 years of homeschooling without one but last year I decided to try out using one for the whole year. You can read about what I used and how it worked for me and it worked VERY well. But this year I am going with something else to assist me. 

Hey Mama! Physical Schoolhouse Planner $23 (US)
This is my planner for this year. It is spiral bound and beautiful! It has blank calendars, blank weekly sheets, a place for curriculum lists, attendance, and more. I am looking forward to using this to try to stay on top of not just school, but of blogging too. I plan on using this in conjunction with my lesson planning forms--I will be going into that more in another post this week.

I have discovered I am FAR more organized using a planning sheet of some kind. It gives me a "routine" to follow and a way to keep myself accountable for what I have planned. There are tons of free forms out there and yes, even free full planners if you don't have the funds to invest in one like this.

5. Homeschooling Friends

This is perhaps one of the most important essentials for me. I could not homeschool without my fellow homeschooling friends. They support me and help me out when I'm ready to throw in the towel. They know what it's like to swim upstream in the educational world. We share ideas and resources. We share sales and big curriculum finds. Having an incredible network of friends carries me through the days when I'm THIS close to wishing the big yellow bus will stop at my house to pick up two crazy monkeys. 

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There are far more things that I could list as homeschooling essentials, but these five are at the top of my list this year. I will be diving more into aspects of this list as the week continues, especially into curriculum and lesson planning, so please make sure you check back in with me!

Back to Homeschool Blog Hop
There are 50+ bloggers more bloggers in this blog hop---here are a few to to get you started! I've seen some of what is being blogged about and it's going to be a great week!

Marcy @ Ben and Me
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning
*****
And don't forget about the INCREDIBLE (and I do mean that in every sense of the word) giveaway that is going on this week--there are two HUGE prizes that are sure to bless two homeschool families for the new school year. You can get the details about the giveaway--and get entered to win here:
Back to Homeschool Giveaway

I hope to see you at the same place and same time tomorrow as I share with you some of my personal favorite homeschooling resources--most of which are FREE!
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