Homeschool Curriculum

How to Fail at Homeschooling….

May 18, 2019 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

Homeschooling your children is a monumental task. If you ask, most homeschool moms would tell you that their biggest fear is failing! Everyone wants to get it right and do the best for their children. However, sometimes trying hard not to fail at homeschooling is the surest way to fail! Here are seven ways to fail at homeschooling and what to do instead.

Making Homeschool Your Number #1 Priority

This would seem like a positive move. Making homeschooling your top priority will make you work harder and focus on success which will guarantee you do not fail, right? Wrong! Your homeschool is important but it cannot come before all the truly important people in your life. Your husband, your children, and God should always be your primary focus. When homeschooling ranks above everyone and everything else, you will be missing out on the special opportunities to enjoy your family and will quickly burn out. You need clear priorities that place homeschool in its proper place, as something you do not your sole reason for being.

Tips for Success:

Homeschooling is important and can become consuming. However, it should never take the place of your focus on your family and faith. After all, those are probably the reasons you started homeschooling in the first place. You will have more success if homeschooling is a family priority that does not get in the way of living your life.

Great Expectations

You start your homeschool journey or the new year with high hopes. You are going to make this the best homeschool ever. Your children will love every activity and excel in every subject. You will show the world how superior the homeschool model is! Failure is not an option. With homeschooling, you children will be perfect. They will enter college at 15 and earn full scholarships to the most elite programs. Your homeschool room with be the envy of every social media maven and you will still cook nutritious, three course dinners every night before spending hours in front of the fire while Suzy plays Schubert on the piano and Johnny recites Plato from memory. Ah, you will not only not fail, you will be perfect! Nothing is perfect though, and hoisting high expectations for perfection on your children will squash their desire to learn, as well as their creativity.

Tips for Success:

Goals and standards are good, but they need to remain in check. Perfection doesn’t equal success. If you don’t want to fail, accept that learning requires failure sometimes. Your children will not do everything perfectly. That is part of learning. Instead, be realistic. Kids will be kids. Let them explore and make messes. Give your children room to grow at their own pace. Enjoy the journey instead of rushing for the goal. Failing sometimes is actually the best way to succeed!

Too Many Extracurricular Activities

What about socialization? Homeschool kids need socialization. If they spend too much time at home they will be social failures. They need time with other children and rigorous activities. So, signing up for every extracurricular under the sun makes sense. You don’t want to raise socially awkward children. However, running to all the activities causes homeschool failure. Parents and children get tired and worn out. Family life suffers. Getting school work done gets stressful because of time constraints. Instead of giving kids a happy social experience, you create misery.

Tips for Success:

Extracurricular activities are good. They just need balance. Socialization happens everywhere. Homeschool children do not need to be at activities every day. Focus on a few activities that your child really want to do. Pick ones that fit your schedule, budget, and family values.

Not Addressing Learning Needs

Taking a one size fits all approach is a sure way to fail. You choose the top rated curriculum. You know, the one “everyone” at co-op is raving about! This is what will make your homeschool successful. Your child struggles with the work. It isn’t working for him, and you don’t understand why. You keep at it. He just needs to try harder. Failure is not an option. But instead of progress, you both get more frustrated.

Tips for Success:

The beauty of homeschooling is that it is personal and individual education. Trying to force a square peg into a round hole will never work. Every child has learning needs and a unique learning style. If a program isn’t working, the problem is probably the program. When you find resources that fit your child’s learning needs, your homeschool will thrive.

Self Defeating Attitude

There are two sure fire ways to fail at homeschooling. The first is to believe that you will fail. The second is comparing yourself to others. Comparison is the thief of joy. There is no one right way to homeschool. When you set yourself up as not being good enough, you set yourself up to fail. It’s easy to think that someone else, especially someone you only know through social media or blogs, is doing a better job that you. Everyone has struggles and everyone experiences homeschooling failures sometimes.

Tips for Success:

Instead of feeling like you don’t measure up, look at what is going well. Work on building the homeschool that works best for your family. No one has it all together, all the time. You can do this, believe in yourself!

Expecting School at Home

Most homeschool parents went to traditional brick and mortar schools. They know how school works, so they model homeschooling on their experience at traditional school. However, homeschooling is not school at home. Schools are designed like a factory, they are setup for production and testable results. There are rigid standards and strict schedules. Alternatively, homeschooling is an education model, with more flexibility. If you are trying to replicate school at home, it will increase your chances of failure.

Tips for Success:

Homeschooling should be about education at home. It is a lifestyle, not a school choice. Develop a love of learning in your home. Focus on the experience, not checking off boxes to keep up with public schools. You chose to homeschool because you wanted to escape public school education. Dare to be different and educate your children as a family, not a school. There is a fine balance between pushing for childhood development, hitting suggested milestones, and the standards of educational growth while allowing self-led learning, engagement, and natural discovery. Finding that balance for your own homeschool will lead to a successful outcome.

Free Homeschool Student Portfolio

Simple homeschool planning resources you will actually use! These resources will help you meet state homeschooling requirements as well as add a little organization to your homeschool goals for the year. Inside you’ll find the following resources:

Colorful Cover Sheet
Student Profile Sheet
Monthly Tracking Log
Weekly Tracking Log
Daily Attendance Sheet
Quiz & Test Scores
Field Trips Log
Physical Education Log
Volunteer Hours Log

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Free Homeschool Portfolio

May 16, 2019 By Crafty Team Leave a Comment

Print our Free Student Portfolio!

Homeschool record keeping is an important part of a successful homeschool. There are many systems for record keeping available. One of the most popular and flexible systems is a portfolio. This quick start guide will show you how to easily build a portfolio successfully for each of your children. Here are our favorite tips and tricks for keeping a homeschool portfolio. Our Homeschool Portfolio is a limited time Subscriber Freebie Available Here

What is a Homeschool Portfolio?

A portfolio is a means of record keeping and assessment. It demonstrates what has been learned by a child in a specific area of study or over a particular time period. The portfolio is more than just a collection of grades or transcripts. Portfolios show a student’s ability and experiences. It is a living collection that grows and changes over time

Portfolios eliminate the stress of completing an end of year assessment. Instead of expecting students to demonstrate everything they have learned in a large test, portfolios allow them to show how their learning has progressed. It also allows for creativity and personalization, something that can never happen on a paper and pencil test.

Why are Portfolios Important?

Portfolios are important for many reasons. Some states require families to maintain homeschool portfolios. Other states give the option of creating a portfolio or taking a standardized test. The portfolio is a concise way to show everything that was accomplished over the year. Knowing your state homeschool laws should be the first step in planning a portfolio. Check out Understanding Your Homeschool Requirements by State to learn more about what your state requires.

In addition to state homeschool requirements, there are other reasons to keep portfolios. Some homeschool charter schools require student portfolios. Also, portfolios are a perfect option for high school. Since portfolios are highly personalized, they are a perfect choice for demonstrating high school credit earned. Even if you are not required to keep a portfolio, it is a very useful record keeping system.

What are the Daily Logistics of Maintaining a Portfolio?

The portfolio is a yearly assessment but has to be maintained daily. The single binder portfolio is the most popular, and required by some states. Other options include an accordion file portfolio and digital portfolio. It is important to make daily maintenance simple. Keep one binder for each subject. Also have a binder for additional logs and sheets. (see below) Each day add completed work to the subject binder. Also. record grades, attendance, etc in appropriate logs. Keep all binders in a central location. (Students can help maintain binders, too!). At the end of the year, you can pull what you need from these binders. That will make year-end assessments quick and easy to complete.

What Should Be Included?

Every portfolio is unique. There are as many different styles as families who keep them! Always include whatever is required by your state. You can then get creative with the rest. Remember that less is more! A portfolio is a snapshot of the homeschool year. It should not include EVERYTHING! Include just enough to meet state requirements and demonstrate growth. Here is a sample list of what to include:

Colorful Cover Sheet: This should include the title “Homeschool Portfolio” and space to write Student’s Name and School Year
Student Profile Sheet: This contains all pertinent information about the student. It will include strengths, weaknesses, course of study, and other personal details.
Monthly Tracking Log: The log sheet shows how many days each subject has met. There is a log for each month of the school year. The page is a grid with subjects across top, room for 31 Days on left side, and totals on bottom
Weekly Tracking Log: Similar to the monthly tracking log but it breaks the records into weeks. This is set up with subjects on left side, days on top, and totals on right.
Quiz & Test Scores: This is a record of all quiz and test grades received for each subject.
Field Trips Log: Include where you went, the date, and what was learned.
Exemplary Examples of Work: Show off student progress. Include a collection of the best work from the year in various subjects.
All State Requirements: Make sure that all requirements are met and included.
Physical Education Log: Keep a log of what activities/sports were counted as physical education and time spent on each.
Extra Curricular Log: This is a place to record what is done outside the classroom. Include clubs, activities, and performances. Be sure to also note any special awards or recognitions earned.
Volunteer Hours Log: Volunteering is real work learning. It is also a requirement for graduation in some states. Record all volunteer activities, dates, and how long was spent on each event.

Subscriber Freebie!!

For a limited time, our Student Portfolio is available to our newsletter subscribers for FREE! All you have to do is claim your free download by confirming your subscriber email address. If you’d like to join our subscriber list, we would LOVE to have you! It’s free to join and all the details are here.

Also…..Dont’ Miss our FREE Homeschool Planning Pack

Simple homeschool planning resources you will actually use! Less is more when it comes to organizing and planning out your homeschool year. These resources will help you set goals, keep track of curriculum decisions and orders, and teach your student to keep an independent weekly calendar.

Homeschool Goals
Homeschool Curriculum Planning
Independent Student Calendar

Can You Afford to Homeschool?

May 10, 2019 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

Homeschooling, like anything with kids, can be very expensive! You may be hyperventilating when you search for curriculum options. This can lead many prospective homeschoolers to quit before they begin. They feel like they could never afford homeschooling. Homeschooling does not have to be expensive!With a little planning, it is very doable. Before diving into purchasing curriculum, learn how to budget like a ninja for homeschooling. Here’s a four step plan for you to make an annual plan that works.

Take an Inventory of Income and Expenses

The key to making anything affordable is knowing how much you have to spend. Knowing how much you have coming in and going out is vital. If you already keep a budget, great! Look over it and decide how much you can allocate to homeschooling.

If you don’t have a written budget, or your budget is tight, dig a little deeper. Take some time to look over your expenses. What other expenses need to be covered? Is there anything that can be cut or modified to make more room for homeschool resources? You may want to get a budget tracking app, such as MINT, to help with tracking expenses. After a few months, you will have a better idea of where your money is going.

Decide What You Can Afford

Now that you have analyzed your expenses, it’s time to build your budget. How much can you afford to spend? How much money and how much time. Time probably wasn’t what you were thinking. Saving money takes time! Yes, there are ways to homeschool for almost nothing but, everything has a cost. If you are choosing to create everything yourself to save money, you need to find a way to budget more time. There’s no such thing as completely free. Buying a boxed curriculum is expensive, but you will not have to create lesson plans, activities, etc.

On the other hand, you can save hundreds of dollars by building your own curriculum. You will need to budget time to gather all the materials, write out lesson plans, make up tests, and so on. Homeschooling can be affordable, just be realistic when budgeting your time and money.

Create Goals for Each Student

Homeschooling can also get expensive when you don’t have a goal. It is easy to get swept up in the amazing curriculum options. It is important to know what you need and truly want your children to learn. What subjects are required? Is there anything else that you want to add? Be careful not to add too much. One or two additional subjects is plenty. Remember this is about budgeting time and money. If you buy more curriculum than you can use, you are wasting money.

Try our FREE Homeschool Goals Worksheet!

Look at your goals and make a list of exactly what you need for each child. Are there any special tools you will need( such as a microscope or laptop?) See how many resources you already have or can borrow. Now it’s time to divide your overall budget between your children according to their needs.

Do Your Homework

Research is an important part of being prepared. Know what you want and research the options BEFORE attending any type of curriculum sale or homeschool conference. This will help you stay focused and make an informed decision. Look into how the curriculum works and what learning styles it serves. Read over reviews for potential curriculum choices. Know how much the curriculum choices cost and what they go for used. Having a short list of ideas will keep you from getting overwhelmed with the options. Also, an informed consumer makes better decisions. Your research will keep you on budget and help you avoid buying something you don’t really want. Remember sales representatives can be very convincing. Of course, they all sell the “best” resources around.

Try our Free Simple Homeschool Planning Pack

How to Conquer the Clutter in the Classroom

May 9, 2019 By Crafty Team Leave a Comment

Are the papers starting to get out of control in your homeschool or classroom? Have you accumulated a ton of curriculum over the years and it’s overwhelming? It’s time for a clean space — here’s how to conquer the clutter in the classroom.

It’s easy to allow your homeschool space or classroom to get messy. But, there’s a solution for all of it — declutter! It’s time to get your organization skills sharpened along with those fresh, new pencils. Here are 5 quick tips on getting your room tidy and neat before the school year ends. Less mess, less stress!

1. Write a quick list of homeschool curriculum

First, you need to know what you have before making decisions on what homeschool curriculum to keep or toss. Once the list is finalize, mark the curriculum that you need to keep for the next 2 years. Now that you have a comprehensive list of unnecessary homeschool materials, take them through a triage process. It’s very simple — reuse, recycle, or remove!

2. Removing unwanted homeschool curriculum

It’s now time to get rid of the paper pile up! You want a clean classroom, don’t you? You’ve loved on this curriculum for many years, and it worked for your homeschool child or classroom. Yet, it’s ready to go to a new home. I know, it’s tough. You have fond memories and know how valuable it is, so let someone else enjoy it too.

Here are some questions to consider:

Will I use this in the next 2 years? If yes, it’s a keeper! Put it in the keep pile for organizing later.
- But, can I reduce the double copies, ripped pages, or broken materials to make it more manageable?
- Can it be stored digitally and/or displayed on a tablet?

If I won’t be using it in the next two years, it’s time to give it away, sell, or store it digitally. Below you’ll find ways to sell or donate your used homeschool books, manuals, worksheets, and materials.

Remember, storing too many items takes up time and space, which ultimately takes up precious time from other important obligations. Plus, if you are getting a paycheck, it reduces your pay. Yes, you heard that right! If you are taking time to store unneeded items, you’re making less money based on the hours it takes to store them. If you’re a homeschool teacher, your wasting time without your family or doing something you love.

Also, recycle any of those papers, including duplicate copies, you longer need. Just think of it this way — your messy papers just may be transformed into thoughtful greeting cards to brighten someone’s day!

3. Remove the Broken Writing Utensils

Yes, we could come up with a hundred projects on how to recycle those broken crayons. But, if the ‘Recycle Old Crayons in the CrockPot’ is not on your school calendar this year, toss them! Plus, get rid of any pencils or pens that don’t work, are short, run out of ink, or just not useful anymore.

Now it’s time for some homeschool organization! Gather all of those colored pencils, markers, pens, and pencils you are keeping. You’ll find all you need to know below under Permanent Storage Solutions.

4. Resell Your Teaching Curriculum and Homeschool Resources

Make some extra money by reselling your previous purchases or inherited items. You’d be shocked at how much you can make by free advertising online using Craigslist, Facebook or a small percentage on eBay.

For free advertising, just search for “Craigslist + Location” and you’ll find a section ‘For Sale’. Facebook is also an easy way to make a little money from used homeschool materials. Click on Marketplace on the left hand tool bar, then select the ‘+Add something’ button on the left.

5. Permanent Storage Solutions

Now that the clutter is finding a new home, let’s discuss your homeschool curriculum and materials you want to store. Classroom organization is key to a stress free space.

There are many permanent storage solutions, and there’s not a perfect solution for everyone. But, here is what I’ve seen worked best digitally and physically.

Digital Storage Solutions

Google is a great way to store digital homeschool curriculum and printables. All you have to do is create a Gmail account, and you have 15G of free electronic space. Create folders based on grade then subject. It will make your job a lot easier when you’re looking for homeschool curriculum!

Another great tip is to name your digital files by product and brand. If you ever lose a file, you can always search for it by name.

Physical Storage Solutions

There are many homeschool hacks and classroom organizing tools available, but here are my frugal favorites:

What organizing tips do you have to help clean out the classroom clutter? Whether you are a homeschool mom or classroom teacher, we all deal with messes whether its paper, pencils, or programs. It’s time to get organized for a happy, stress free school day!

September Fine Motor Activity Pack

September 17, 2018 By Crafty Team Leave a Comment

Fine motor skills are important for children to build during the early years. Provide your kiddos with lots of hands-on activities, games, and manipulatives they can use to work those small motor muscles. These small motor movements will help children with their coordination as well as develop the necessary strength and control they will need for handwriting down the road.

Recently, I’ve begun to create a set of Fine Motor Activity Books for students. Each pack is filled with thematic activities and workbook pages that will encourage fine motor movements throughout the month. Here is a little peek inside our new Fine Motor Activity pack for September:

Thematic Mazes and Worksheet prompts:

Tracing pages and Geoboard pictures to make:

Thematic Play dough activity mats:

Pin & Poke Pictures:

Dab & Dot Mystery Pictures and more!

September Fine Motor Activity Book

Homeschool Dollar Deals

April 8, 2018 By Crafty Team Leave a Comment

Do you have a student that is learning to read? Finding the best reading resources online can be hard. While I love Pinterest and the ability to search out FREE products, sometimes it’s helpful just to pick up a small pack of worksheets to target a specific skill.

That is one of the reasons why we are offering small worksheet packs on EdZone. These packs are pieced out from our most popular curriculum and can be used as a stand-alone resource to help your student reach a specific goal.

Best of all, these resources are priced much lower than a complete curriculum. In fact, they are so low that we’ve created a Dollar Deals section on EdZone to make it easy for you to look through all of the products. To prevent duplicate purchases, if a product is included in a larger curriculum it will be noted in the product description.

Shop Dollar Deals Here

Shop all EdZone Products Here

10 Places to SELL Your Used Homeschooling Curriculum

March 28, 2018 By Crafty Team Leave a Comment

What do you do with your used homeschooling curriculum after the semester is done? Each time you need to purchase new homeschooling curriculum, you also have old curriculum you need to get rid of. One of the best things you can do is to sell your used homeschooling curriculum, helping fund the next set you need to buy.

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Dollar Bin Homeschool Deals… Are They Really Worth It?

February 14, 2018 By Crafty Team 1 Comment

These days, homeschooling on a budget means you look for every deal or discount you can. If something is free – you grab it. If something is a great deal – you stock up. So what about those dollar bin homeschool deals? You know – the little school supplies, notepads, and other trinkets you often find at the front of large megastores? Are they really worth it?…

Read More

Thanksgiving Math & Literacy, Art, Science & More….

October 26, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

Do you ever wish someone would just plan out your entire homeschool year for you….then maybe bundle it all up and email it to your inbox on Monday morning?

Yeah….me too.

Well, I don’t have an entire YEAR of curriculum to send you, but I do have something that will make your homeschool planning super easy this November.

SMART: Science, Math, Art, Reading & Take Home activities for Thanksgiving! This helpful set is filled with a week’s worth of fun, educational math games, hands-on activities, science experiments, art projects, early readers, writing prompts and a Bible memory verse. Everything you need to add a little holiday fun to your kindergarten classroom this year!

Thanksgiving Science: This set includes five simple science experiments and challenges. Each thematic activity guides students through a fun, hands-on science exploration with very little prep-work. Students work their way through the scientific method using the step-by-step science journals. Each experiment includes a follow-up activity for added learning.

Thanksgiving Math: Each day students will play a fun game or activity then follow up their learning with a lesson sheet to show mastery. Games focus on learning to frame numbers to ten, basic addition, counting to 100, and counting by 10’s.

Thanksgiving ART: We include five stunning autumn art projects that are perfect for Thanksgiving. Each project comes with a full photo tutorial, printable templates and easy to follow materials list. Students work with oil pastels, paint, textures, blending and more.

Thanksgiving Reading (and Writing): This set includes three early readers covering social studies and history. Each story includes a carefully controlled word list and incorporates key vocabulary for extended learning. Students are provided narrative and comparison writing prompts that are not only simple to follow, but would make wonderful educational keepsakes.

Take Home/Review Work: T is for Take Home Review Sheets. These sheets can be used as review work in the homeschool classroom or as homework in a standard classroom. Each page features reading, writing, vocabulary, and scripture memorization activities. Character thinking points are available instead of Bible memory for those using this resource in a public school setting.

Interactive Math Notebook for Kindergarten

June 28, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

As a homeschooling mother of four, I know all about the daily math struggles. I am currently using THREE different math programs in my classroom because each curriculum lends itself to a particular child and grade level. Of course, this is one of the many benefits of homeschooling….picking and choosing the curriculum that will aid in the development of individual skills.

Now, my youngest child just graduated Kindergarten this past year and one of the things that helped us build his Math skills was a daily learning folder. This folder became our go-to resource for covering key skills in a fun, engaging way. Each morning before his math lesson, he would pull out his folder and we’d verbally review different parts. This was very unscripted and simply intended at a warm-up activity. I would ask things like, “Find the number 55 on the hundreds chart,” or “What shape has four equal sides?” and he would use his folder to help solve the problem. Let me tell you that this folder WORKS! He quickly began to internalize and commit many key math concepts to memory and it only took about 5 minutes each morning. This was such a successful setup for our family so we wanted to be sure to include it in our new Interactive Math Curriculum:

Preview our newest Homeschool Math Curriculum Here

Our Interactive Math Notebook is Comprehensive:

Interactive Math covers 4-days/week over 36-weeks and is a complete kindergarten math program. Prior to starting, students should have a good foundation in number recognition and number names. Over the course of the curriculum, students will learn number patterns, ordinal numbers, number value, addition, subtraction, counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s, place value, number bonds and more.

Practical Math: Each month students will focus on practical math concepts to develop necessary life-skills. These topics include counting money, telling time, using a ruler, estimating, reading a calendar and more.

Review Weeks: Review weeks cycle every 5 weeks and provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of concepts learned during the previous 4 weeks. Online math games targeting each concept are suggested for some extra fun practice while assessing student skill level. For more details please see the sample pages above or the chart below.

Our Interactive Math Notebook is FUN!:

Daily Warm Up Folder: Each day your student will review their daily warm up folder prior to starting any new lessons. This folder serves as a simple way to work on key math skills in small time chunks over the entire year. While we have teaching suggestions available, this is intended to be quick, unscripted time for you to connect with your student to cover key concepts.

Daily Lesson Worksheet

For each daily lesson, students receive an instructional worksheet covering a new concept or skill. Students follow simple instructions to complete the activity. As the week progresses, students build upon each specific skill with new and engaging activities. Each daily lesson is reinforced with a hands-on activity that prints on the back side of the page.

Daily Hands-on Activities & Games

For each daily lesson, students complete a hands-on activity page or game to reinforce the new concept or skill. We’ve taken great care to make sure these games require minimal prep work and use supplies that you are likely to have on hand.

Our Interactive Math Notebook is Organized & Ready to Go!

No more endless hours spent on Pinterest searching for fun, hands-on printables to keep your students engaged! Interactive Math includes everything you need to teach over the entire year and it prints out in the exact order you need it. With over 250+ pages, this set covers the following weekly topics:

Our Interactive Math Notebook is Engaging:

Best of all….Our Interactive Math Notebook is Inexpensive:

Interactive Math Curriculum Notebook

$25.00

Free Simple Homeschool Planning Pack

May 24, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick 2 Comments

This set of simple homeschooling resources is intended to help you simplify your goal setting, curriculum shopping and daily schedule. Today, we are offering this small collection FREE for all of our newsletter subscribers.

Print Simple Homeschool Planning Pack Here

Homeschool Goals: Sometime before you start your curriculum planning we suggest sitting down and writing out your goals for each student. This doesn’t have to be detailed, it can be as simple as, “Get through 5^th grade math.” However, there may be subjects that you have more detailed answers for, “Develop empathy and self control.” Doing this for each student is a great way to customize their education.

Homeschool Curriculum: Print one page for each student and use this sheet to keep track of what products, resources and classes you’ll be using during the year to cover each subject. Take this sheet with you to homeschool conventions and curriculum sales so you can always update and keep organized.

Homeschool Schedule: This sheet is intended to be an independent planner for your students. Print and add in your daily subjects and a photo of your student. Laminate or store in a page protector then provide your student with a dry erase marker to keep track of their daily tasks. Encourage students to mark off the boxes as they complete each task.

Print our Free Homeschool Planning Pack Here

Still looking for Homeschool Curriculum?

Shop our eStore Here

Summer Reading for Middle School

May 21, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick 1 Comment

Have you ever wanted to join a Summer Reading Program for homeschoolers? There are many available options if you know where to look. Here is a helpful list of resources you can use to encourage your homeschool children to stay busy reading over the Summer:

Local Library
Local Bookstores (Barnes and Noble, Boards, etc..)
Pizza Hut Reading Program
Scholastic Books
Chuck-E-Cheese

Personally, I like to incentivize my own children with our own Summer Reading Charts! This is what my middle schoolers will be doing over the Summer:

Want to join us?

Print your Free Homeschool Summer Reading Chart Here

Paragraph Writing Prompts

April 13, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

Today we have a handy set of writing freebies to share with you! This collection includes five different writing prompts, each with fill-in-the-blank paragraph frames for students to fill in. Across the top is room to draw in sequenced pictures of the story.

My Birthday: Paragraph Writing Prompt

A free kindergarten paragraph frame for students to complete. Children write about their birthday and draw sequenced images to match.

Field Trip: Paragraph Writing Prompt

A free kindergarten paragraph frame for students to complete. Children write about a field trip and draw sequenced images to match.

Favorite Relative: Paragraph Writing Prompt

A free kindergarten paragraph frame for students to complete. Children write about their favorite relative and draw sequenced images to match.

Park Trip: Paragraph Writing Prompt

A free kindergarten paragraph frame for students to complete. Children write about a trip to the park and draw sequenced images to match.

Animal: Paragraph Writing Prompt

A free kindergarten paragraph frame for students to complete. Children write about an animal and draw sequenced images to match.

Print Paragraph Writing Prompts Free from KindergartenMom.com

Looking for more? Try our new How to Write a Paragraph Pack:

Scientific Method Charts for K-2

April 11, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

Smart Start Science is a new and engaging series of Low-Prep, Hands-On experiments, and activities designed for K-2 students. This specific pack, “Scientific Method Anchor Charts” includes six posters displaying the parts of the scientific method. Both color and black and white are provided.

Scientific Method Posters
-Ask a Question “What is something you want to know?”
-Research “Find information about your question.”
-Hypothesis “Take your best guess to answer the question.”
-Test your Hypothesis “Experiment with and test your hypothesis.
-Analyze Results “Organize your data to see what it means.”
-Report “Share your data with other scientists.”

Black and White versions are provided as well. These can be used as coloring pages, or printed onto colored paper for classroom displays. These would be fantastic when printed smaller to make flashcards to small booklets for children to take home.

Smart Start Science: Scientific Method Anchor Charts

Shape of the Week Program

April 11, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

Shape-of-the-Week covers 10 different shapes over a 10-week period. Each week includes 4-days of activities and hands-on learning designed to keep little minds engaged. This curriculum is print-&-go, meaning you can print it out, place it in a three-ring binder, and everything is presented in the order needed during the 10-week program. Best of all this set coordinates with our Letter of the Week Alphabet Curriculum!

Shape of the Week Program

4 Days a Week for 10 Weeks

Coordinates with our Letter of the Week Program

Kindergarten Science Curriculum

February 28, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick 47 Comments

If there is one thing I’ve learned in my 9 years of homeschooling it’s that Science doesn’t have to be daunting….it really doesn’t! That is why I’m thrilled to announce the release of a brand new series called, “Smart Start Science.”

Smart Start Science

Experiments for St. Patrick’s Day

Smart Start Science is a new and engaging series of Low-Prep, Hands-On experiments and activities designed for K-2 students. This specific pack, “Experiments for St. Patrick’s Day” includes five complete experiments and follow up activities that are sure to add a little color to your classroom.

St. Patrick’s Day Experiments:
-Cultivating Clovers (Plant & Life Cycle)
-Traveling Rainbow (Capilary Action & Color Mixing)
-How Much Gold Can One Boat Hold (Engineering & Data Graphing)
-Lucky Scoop (Prediction, Graphing and Data Analysis)

-Super Shiny Coins (Chemical Mixing & Reactions)

Experiment #1: Cultivating Clovers

Students plant their own pot of clovers, track growth and learn the plant life-cycle.

Experiment #2: The Traveling Rainbow

With this super simple experiment children learn about capillary action and color mixing.

Experiment #3

Students build three different boats and put them to the test.

The boat that holds the most gold wins!

Experiment # 4: Super Shiny Gold

Leprechauns want their gold super shiny and this experiment will lead students through a test to see which chemicals will react together to make the perfect cleaning solution.

Experiment #5: Lucky Scoop

Students estimate and graph how many lucky marshmallows they find in their scoop!

Smart Start Science Curriculum Overview:

For each experiment you’ll be provided with the following teaching resources:

Experiment Overview & Steps:
This sheet features a full color photo example of the experiment, skills in focus, materials list and step by step instructions for completing the experiment.

Pre-Experiment Journal Page:
Students gather materials, form questions and develop a hypothesis.

Data & Conclusion Journal Page:
Students track their data or draw their procedure and write in their final conclusion.

Follow Up Activity:
Each experiment includes a unique activity to follow up the experiment. Many are hands-on, fun and relatable projects, games or handouts for students to try at home.

BONUS Appendix:
6 Full Color Charts outlining the Scientific Method
6 Black and White Coloring Pages of the Scientific Method

Smart Start Science

Experiments for St. Patrick’s Day

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We’re giving away 5 copies to 5 lucky winners!

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St. Patrick’s Day Bible Activity Pack

February 22, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

Where did the time go? It’s almost March and you know what that means…….St. Patrick’s Day!!

St. Patrick’s Day is a great time to teach children about the Holy Trinity and we’ve added our own spin on things by touching on the Beatitudes and storing our treasures in heaven.

Our Holiday Packs are some of our most popular teaching resources because they are NO-PREP, available in an instant download and include TONS of hands on activities, games, crafts, printables and teaching resoruces for K-5 students. Each set comes with special take home activities too, making them perfect for Children’s Ministry and Outreach.

You can purchase any or all of these sets in our Teachers Pay Teachers store here.

Here is a sneak peek inside our St. Patrick’s Day Activity Pack:

St. Patrick’s Day Bible Worksheets

This set features the eight beatitudes and includes crossword, word search and word scramble.

St. Patrick’s Day Bible Bingo

This set includes six different bingo cards featuring the beatitudes, scriptures and different colored shamrocks.

Shamrock & Rainbows Bible Verse Coloring

Each coloring page features a key scripture reminding children of God’s wisdom

St. Patrick’s Day Mazes

A collection of FUN St. Patricks Day Mazes with Bible verses.

St. Patrick’s Day Bookmarks & Tic-Tac-Toe

Print up these colorful bookmarks for take home treats. Play Tic-Tac-Toe with Chocolate Coins.

Beatitudes Game

A fun and easy multiplayer game. Be the first to collect all 8 beatitudes to win!

Cut & Paste Trinity Shamrock (Younger Kiddos)

A simple Cut and Paste Bible Craft for children to make a Trinity Shamrock

Cut & Paste Trinity Shamrock (Older Kiddos)

This trinity shamrock is perfect for older kiddos and involved a little bit of art. Children uses colored pencils or markers to design a plaid pattern across the shamrock.

Beatitude Scripture Coins

Colorful, printable coins you can print each featuring a different Beatitude. These are great for memorizing and can be sent home with children in a small envelope.

Treasures in Heaven Bible Craft

This is a simple craft that produces a colorful result. Provide children with strips of colored construction paper or colored streamers. Cut out and assemble together. You might even punch a hole in the top and hang them from your classroom ceiling.

St. Patrick’s Day Songs & Chants

These simple tunes are great for early morning circle time and children love to sing along.

This pack is filled with multi-age resources which are sure to be a hit in your homeschool or Sunday School classroom.

St. Patrick’s Day Activity Pack

$5.00

Christian Character Curriculum

January 15, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

Parenting is SUPER EASY!

(Said NO Mom EVER!!)

Parenting is likely the hardest JOB you or I will ever have.

It’s truly NONSTOP.

Which means it really NEVER Stops.

Like Never Ever Ever Never Stops.

Sometimes it slows down for a while…

A short while…

Just enough for you to catch your breath and lick your wounds,

but then it’s right back up again

Pedal to the Metal, one-hundred and ten percent effort on two hours of sleep!

And it’s not all about potty training, vegetable eating or learning to read.

Parenting is mostly about training children to have good character

Obviously, this happens mostly by setting a good example in your home.

However, a solid identity and self-awareness can also be achieved through purposeful, and thought-provoking study.

i.e…Children who can identify character qualities (or lack thereof) in others can certainly take time for introspection and self-analysis.

And really, there is something to be said about learning character qualities beforehand.

Am I right?

And by beforehand I mean BEFORE said child is screaming in your ear, reaching for that toy or hitting the poor cat.

As problems arise, we can certainly use each opportunity to correct and train…but when emotions are high, and adrenaline is running, cognition and higher thought is not so much….

Isn’t it far better to start building character vocabulary and understanding while your child is calm and able to “risk” their heart of hearts in a safer and less challenging….maybe even FUN environment?

Why YES, there is…

I’m so glad you asked

We Choose Virtues is a character building program designed to fill such a need.

Fun, tangible ways to learn good character that lasts.

Youth Virtue Cards are designed for tweens and teens ages 10-16.

For each character quality there is a simple catchphrase:

I am Diligent.

I start fast, work hard and finish strong.

As well as character antonyms:

I am not slow to get started, lazy or disinterested and I don’t procrastinate or quit early.

On the Faith Based versions there is also a corresponding Bible verse for children to learn.

The back of each character card includes five key areas to continue learning about the virtue:

Define The character quality is defined and children are prompted with activities to learn more about this specific virtue. Example: Find a quote about this virtue, Research a famous person who had this virtue.
Discern Children are asked to think about specific situations in which this virtue can be used. Example: Describe a time when someone with dilligence blessed you.
Dream Children are asked to think ahead to see how this virtue can help them in the future. Example: Can being dilligent help you overcome an obstacle?
Detect Self Analysis questions are given for children to answer to see how diligent they are and where they can improve. Example: Do you work hard when no one is watching?
Do A call to action for children to apply this virtue right away! Example: How, When and Why will you be diligent today?

With We Choose Virtues, everything is top quality.

They cards are full color, high gloss and printed on thick/sturdy cardstock to ensure they will last through the years.

I keep mine in page protectors in a three ring binder for easy access.

The Virtue Cards are perfect for a variety of settings and We Choose Virtues offers many different options available to suit your specific needs:

We have even used the Virtue Cards during our American Heritage Girls meetings. With all of the discussion questions on the back, it makes for simple planning with very little prep-work. Our Troop Shepherd can easily hold the card for children to view while she asks the questions written on the back.

Co-Op and Group Teaching Tips:

Provide children with small blank journals or the Youth Virtue Journals to write in answers to the questions and to keep track of their weekly virtue goals.
To break the ice, bring small snacks or incentives for children who answer questions.
Split children in to smaller discussion groups to talk over the ideas on the back.
Use the tasks on the back to assign children something to do before the next group meeting.

Family & Homeschool Kit for Youth

How to use this tool:

A parent can facilitate this program, or a student can work through the program independently. There are instructions for each scenario.
With only seconds of prep time, and only 10 minutes of discussing Virtues each day, you will be surprised how fast your students will learn to choose and use Virtue!
Simply choose one card to work on each week. The order you teach them in is flexible.
When you have finished with each card, start over again. Each time students go through the questions, they will be at a new place in their life, so you can go through them often, a few each day.

Included:

12 full color, printed, 8.5×11 glossy cards
2 11″x17″ posters
10 Youth Virtue Journal page styles and instructions (PDF)
Youth Character Assessment (PDF)
Youth Virtue Handbook (PDF)

Click Here to Learn More

For the entire Month of January We Choose Virtues is offering a special coupon code:

Don’t Miss January’s Special Code: Homeschool20

This will take 20% off any Homeschool Product from We Choose Virtues.

Hurry, Offer Expires Jan 31, 2016.

Maze Writer Handwriting Program

November 29, 2016 By Valerie Mcclintick 4 Comments

So….hey there. Are you looking for a FUN handwriting program for your kiddo? Well, guess what? Today we are releasing a brand NEW handwriting program called, “Maze Writer.”

Maze Writer is a 26 week handwriting program that is filled with FUN activities and mazes….as well as handwriting practice for the entire alphabet. This program was especially designed for children who struggle or have little interest in other homeschool handwriting programs.

As a homeschooling mother of four, you can be sure that I have had my share of handwriting struggles….and I KNOW that not every child enjoys writing. Most children however, do enjoy mazes and activities so that is the thought process behind this new product. Reel them in with the mazes and then sneak in the handwriting practice. Mazes are also fantastic for building logic, reasoning, and small motor muscles needed for handwriting.

Best of all we’ve organized this program into a structured 4 day a week outline over 26 weeks. You simple print and place inside a binder and you are good to go!

Alphabet Formation Chart

There is simple instruction to help children with understanding formation of the uppercase and lowercase letter. Children can practice tracing the letters with different colors for each stroke.

Beginning Letter Maze

At the top of this activity page is a beginning letter shape maze to solve. A blank uppercase and lowercase letter is provided for children to roll out play dough, fill with stickers or stamp with bingo markers.

ASL Uppercase Maze

This activity page provides children with an uppercase letter maze to solve. The ASL hand sign for the letter is shown for children to practice forming the letter with their own hand. A row of uppercase handwriting practice is provided.

Beginning Letter Coloring Page

This activity page features a lowercase letter maze for children to solve, alongside a beginning letter coloring page. Lowercase lettering practice is provided across the bottom.

Uppercase Maze w/Blank Handwriting

This activity page features a large uppercase letter maze alongside blank spaces for children to practice their letters. This is a good opportunity to remind children to go slow as they form each letter.

Lowercase Maze w/Animal Trace

This activity page features a lowercase letter maze for children to solve as well as a beginning letter animal to trace. Lowercase letter practice is provided across the bottom in a dyslexia friendly font.

Letter Maze and Font Recognition

Children work their way through the maze by following the correct letter. Below is a variety of different letter and fonts for children to practice visual discrimination skills to find and circle the letter.

Letter Review Page

The final page for the week reviews the ASL hand sign and stroke order. Children solve the maze with a colored marker to reveal a hidden letter inside, then complete the handwriting practice at the bottom.

The Maze Writer program provides you with eight unique mazes & handwriting pages each week over 26 weeks. If you child is younger or an extremely reluctant writer (I have one too), you can have them complete a single page per day and stretch the program out over the entire year.

This brand new program is now available in our eStore:

Want to WIN a FREE copy?

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USA State Mazes

September 13, 2016 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

This project has been in the works for a while now, and I’m so excited to release it this week in time for the 2016/17 school year! 50 State Mazes is a great addition to your US History or Geography studies and the perfect accompaniment to our USA State Activity Pack.

This new activity pack is included in our $15 USA Activity Bundle which includes:

U.S.A. Activity Pack

5o State Activity Pages: For each of the fifty states children map the location, capitol, landmarks, abbreviation, nickname, state flower, and state bird. Children color the state flag as well as the state flower and state bird with ample room to add interesting facts and notes. This activity pack includes two games to finish out your unit: USA Bingo & Roll Across America.

U.S.A. State Bird Art Cards

Children can color their way through our Nation’s state birds with these fun and realistic art cards. Each bird is shown with it’s unique markings for children to copy and color their own. Each bird features a coloring card, visual fact card for children to fill in, and memory matching cards. This set include 27 different birds as many states have the same state bird.

U.S.A. 50 State Mazes

50 State Mazes includes a fun and challenging maze for each of the 50 states. This activity pack is sure to excite your children during your U.S. Geography studies. Suggested age range is K-3rd for a challange, but older children will enjoy them as well.

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Free Homeschool Student Portfolio

Print our Free Student Portfolio!

What is a Homeschool Portfolio?

Why are Portfolios Important?

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