Barbour Publishing Kingdom Files Biography Series (Review)

Barbour publishing

We wrapped up what we came to call our ‘summer of reading’ with a read aloud of Who Was Jonah? which is a part of the Kingdom Files series by Barbour Publishing. This review book along with another book in the series Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? proved to be a great fit for our family. These are fun and fairly short chapter books that feature a biography of a Bible character, an investigation into their lives, and lessons that we can learn from those stories.

We read Who Was Jonah? together and really enjoyed it. The book starts with a Fact File that gives basic information about Jonah. I really appreciated this because even as an adult I sometimes struggle with the timeline of events in the Bible . Then comes the Action File. This section of the book was the story of Jonah and included great illustrations and clues that you could apply to your own life and to help you understand the story of Jonah. For example, “No matter what you’re going through, your heavenly Father sees you and accepts your prayers. That should be as comforting to us today as it was to Jonah. ” There were also some very well done black and white illustrations of the story in this part of the book.

Barbour Publishing2

Another feature of the book that I really enjoyed are the scripture references for the portion of the story that he was telling. The story of Jonah was told through the words of the author but the references allow you to go and read the actual scripture for yourselves and compare it to the book. I found that the book did a great job of following scripture while also using a writing style that was very engaging for the children. In the Power File section, each ‘Power Up’ or lesson has a memory verse as well.

For Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus?, I had my daughter read it independently. The short chapters and engaging narrative made it an enjoyable read for her. This book was set up in the same style as Who Was Jonah? with the Fact File, Action File, and Power File. While she enjoyed reading it and I think these books are fine to be read independently, I really think that they worked best for our family when we read them together. There were so many great lessons to be learned that I felt it was ideal to be able to pause after the chapters and have family discussions about what we were learning. I did not get a chance to use them for this reading (which we began while we were on vacation) but Kingdom Files has some great educator resources and games that you can print to take your study even further. These include word searches, creating trading cards, and mapping activities just to name a few.

These biographies can be read independently (recommended for ages 8-12) or used as a family read aloud or part of your Bible study time. I highly recommend checking out this great series. Our family is hoping to purchase some others in this series, particularly Who Was David? and Who Was Esther? Tell us in the comments which book you think your family would most enjoy and check out the other Crew Reviews below!

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Letter B Preschool Activities and Printable!

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

Our first week went wonderfully! I know that it may not always be as smooth but he was so excited to have his own work and feel like one of the ‘big’ kids. He loved learning all about letter A and practicing finding it and writing it. He also loves our nature studies so he enjoyed finding ‘ants’ and learning about them. I thought we were going to work with shaving cream and drawing our letters but we switched it up and made the letter A with Play Doh for one of our tactile activities.

This week we will be using the printable cards (free download below) in a sensory bin, eating “B” snacks, doing some physical activities with balls, and a study on birds. Now that we have two letters worth of cards we can also start working on sorting them and matching the picture with the beginning sound.

I’m really excited about the bird study because my son loves birds! We often take walks to look for birds and we even got him an inexpensive bird feeder to hang in our front yard so that he could watch the birds from the kitchen window. Bird studies can be as simple as sitting outside and watching for birds. If your child shows interest there are also some great simple bird guides both in print and online to help you identify the birds. You could even just talk about their size and colors.

bird picture

He has a set of sorting bears that we may use to work on the concept of big and small in keeping with the ‘b’ theme (big bears). This is a great way to also help develop fine motor skills. You could also use stuffed animals or other household objects.

Remember that it is important to keep it simple and engaging. Children learn best through play, so while we will learn about the letter B I want to keep it fun and active. This is one letter that my son actually already knows (it is the first letter in his name) but I think it will be fun to review the letter. Also, keep in mind that letting them help prepare the snacks can be a great way to start teaching them the valuable life skill of cooking and preparing food.

Snack Ideas:

Banana
Biscuits
Blueberries
Bagels

Extra Resources:

Letter B Upper Case Craft Freebie

Letter b Lower Case Craft Freebie

Optional Activities:

Play Ball (This is a great way to get in some physical activity and work on gross and fine motor skills.)

Nature Study on Birds or Bees ( This can be done for free by just going outside and observing nature at your home or local park, but if you want to attract more birds to your yard or make it an on going project you can add in an inexpensive bird feeder or this simple field guide for backyard birds.)

Work on Big/Small or Bitter/Sweet concepts (You can use sorting bears or choose activities from around the house to work on big/small and for bitter/sweet you can choose simple foods like lemon juice/ candy or fruit)

Don’t forget to download your free letter B sensory bin pictures to use this week!

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies!

Apologia Digital Back to School Sale 25% off through 9/15!

Wind in the Willows on Audio for only $2.95

Alice in Wonderland on Audible for less than $1!!

FREE: Check out this great new FREE resource for classical and Charlotte Mason education! Classical Christian Education & Charlotte Mason. Great for folks already homeschooling or if you have friends that are looking into it!

SoTW Ancient History Week 1 and a few other fun lessons!

20180904_131201

We eased back into our homeschool routine this week after enjoying some summer fun last month. While not perfect, I was pleasantly surprised at how the transition went. It can be really hard for my children to transition from the freedoms of break to the more structured ‘school days’. I intentionally kept this week just a little lighter and shorter to help ease the transition and we were finished most days by lunch time.

IMG_20180904_090610_193

For our first week of volume one of Story of the World we did the introduction lesson. This is a shorter chapter that explains history and archeology. This was very much a review for my older children and we kept it fun and simple. I read the chapter aloud and then we did a fun chocolate chip cookie archeology activity.

My four year old helped me bake cookies with chocolate chips and pecans in them. Then each child was given a cookie, a toothpick, and a pastry brush. They used the ‘tools’ to excavate the cookie and count how many chocolate chips and how many pecans were in their cookie. Then we snacked on cookies and milk! The activity was a big hit but if I had it to do over again I would have purchased some small paintbrushes to use instead of the pastry brushes just to have the sizing work out better.

20180905_191136

Then one night this week we settled in for a family viewing of The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells. This fun and lighthearted show has a great explanation of archeology and had the children laughing while they learned. If your children are new to these concepts, you might want to include some of the other activities from the activity book or our free lesson resources guide.

In other Story of the World news I have updated the book list through chapter 26! I’m hoping to work on it some more this weekend and I am still on pace to be finished by the end of September with all 42 chapters. Check it out and let me know in the comments if there are any great books that I missed.

Next we will dive into chapter one and learn about the earliest people and the nomadic way of life. I’m looking forward to letting them do a cave art activity. We will be reading the chapter and completing both the map from the activity guide and a Nomadic Life notebooking page. I am hopeful that the notebooking pages will be a good way for them to show me what they learned and help it ‘cement’ into their memories.

20180907_154652

In our Apologia Science text we were learning about gravity, friction, traction, and drag. This was a lot of fun and they are excited to finish the chapter next week. We had the chance to look at their bikes and the hand brakes that they use to see how friction is used to stop their bikes. In addition to a few other small science experiments that were included with that chapter, we decided to make a homemade slip and slide and test out what they had learned about friction and using a lubricant to reduce friction. It maybe September here but the weather is still quite warm so this was a fun way to cool off on a Friday afternoon and probably their favorite activity this week.

The preschooler had great fun learning about the letter A and doing chalk pastel art lessons on his trampoline! We have all been enjoying working through the Forensic Faith book that we are reviewing and I can’t wait to share more about that with you in a few weeks. The older children did a wind in the trees art lesson that turned out really cute. Just in case you think that our week seems to have gone too smoothly or easily, I will say that we lost a DVD that was integral to my son’s writing curriculum and my daughter is missing her science notebooking journal. There were also some moments where we had to work through issues with them, but all in all it was a good first week back and we are excited to see what this year brings.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies!

As we enter into the fall season and return to our routines it often feels much like a new year and a chance to start over. What are you doing to get/stay healthy? I am trying to drink more water and take daily walks.
If you are looking for some starting over with a healthier lifestyle you might want to check out the Healthy Living Bundle that is on sale for just a few days. At only $37 for 93 ebooks, ecourses, and printable packs it is an excellent deal. This includes help with allergies, nutrition, gardening, exercise and more.

Free 5 Day Learning without Worksheets Challenge: FREE 5-Day Learning Challenge We have done several of her different challenges in the past and they are lots of fun and easy to implement.

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

What About Dad?

20180218_190914

Everyone’s family situation is different but whenever possible it is a great idea to involve dad in your homeschool. This can be a way to connect as a family, give mom a little break and bring a fresh perspective to your studies.

Schedule

In our family my husband runs his own business which means that he has a fairly flexible schedule but also that he works more than the standard ’40 hour week’. Prior to running our home business, he had a non-traditional schedule and worked shifts that meant he might be home on Monday and working Saturday one week and home Thursday the next week. If I kept to a strict Monday through Friday school schedule we would lose time together as a family. We have learned that by being flexible with our school schedule we can spend more time together as a family and my husband can also be available to help in the areas that we need assistance.

Evening Education

We have found that our Evening Education time is a great way for my husband to be involved in our schooling in a fun and positive way. It allows him to support our schooling and stay involved without the children feeling like all of their time is spent ‘doing school’. We pick a few fun subjects and activities that we can do in the evening together as a family. For example, we can do our music studies or watch Drive Thru History as a family. Check out our Evening Education post for more information.

Subjects

Another way to utilize dad is to let him help in the areas that he is strong. If dad is a biologist, maybe he can take the lead in science. In our situation, my husband loves American history and so he does a lot to supplement our history studies. He can also provide a fresh perspective when that math concept just is not clicking.

Field Trips

Field trips are another way that dads can be involved. This looks different depending on your situation, but maybe you save field trips for dads day off, or maybe you turn your family vacation into a giant homeschool field trip. If dad has flexibility, maybe he could get off early and meet you for local trips. These could be elaborate trips to see the monuments and buildings in Washington, DC or a several hour trip to a local museum or historical site. It could even be a nature walk at your local park.

Indirect Support

Many times when we talk about dad being involved in our homeschool we think about them actively teaching or assisting the children with schoolwork. However, I think it is important to remember that there are many ways our husbands can support us that are more indirect. Many times our husbands are working to provide the funds for curriculum and supplies. They can also take the children to participate in other activities while we plan and prepare. My husband also takes the time to listen to my ideas and plans and helps me talk through what will be best for our children.

It will look different for every family, but whenever possible it is beneficial to have dad be involved in your homeschool even if it is only by asking the children what they are learning as you sit down to dinner in the evening. Homeschooling is such a major part of the life and culture of a family and making it a ‘family affair’ builds unity and strengthens both the family and the children’s education. How is your husband involved in your homeschool?

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies!

Free 5 Day Learning without Worksheets Challenge: FREE 5-Day Learning Challenge We have done several of her different challenges in the past and they are lots of fun and easy to implement.

The Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle is on sale only through 9/10. Normally Healthy Living isn’t a big part of what I blog about BUT one of the courses that I love for our homeschool, the Fit2B Girls E Course is included with this bundle AND the entire bundle is cheaper than the ecourse is regularly priced by itself. There are 96 wonderful products included in this bundle with resources for your whole family.

Apologia Digital Back to School Sale 25% off through 9/15!

Wind in the Willows on Audio for only $2.95

Alice in Wonderland on Audible for less than $1!!

FREE Fantasy and Fairytales StoryBuilders from Write Shop!

Reading Eggs Review and FREEBIE!

When I agreed to review Reading Eggs, I thought I knew exactly what to expect because my daughter had used this program several years ago. We enjoyed the program then, but I was very pleased and surprised to see how much more it included now.

For this review I was using Reading Eggs with my four year old son. I was a little concerned about whether or not it would be too difficult for him as he has just recently started expressing interest in letters and numbers. However, when I logged in I found that not only could he work on the reading eggs program that I remembered but they have a new section that is designed for ages 2-4. This gave us a lot of flexibility.

readingeggs5

When we tried the first lesson of the regular reading eggs (designed for ages 3-7) my son was able to do it but it was a little more difficult and he honestly did not really enjoy it. I feel that it is a great program and some children may be ready for it at age three but some children will need to be a little older before they are ready for that component. It started with the letter m and was teaching the sound (not the letter name) using a variety of activities related to m. He did the first activity or two but grew tired of it before the lesson was over, but he could easily go back and finish at his own pace.

Though my son was not quite ready for that portion of the program it is still a great program. Reading Eggs starts at the very beginning with letter sounds and continues through fluent reading, their highest levels Reading Eggspress works on reading comprehension and fluency for children ages 7-13. It is a fun and thorough program that works great to help improve a child’s reading ability. Luckily for us, they also now have Reading Eggs Junior.

When we tried the Reading Eggs Junior section (ages 2-4), we knew we had found the right fit. He absolutely loved it and could not get enough. They had books that he could look at and listen as they were read aloud, short videos that worked on letters and other educational concepts, and lots of different games to help him with preschool level skills.

readingeggs6

He knows all of his colors but really enjoyed playing the color games where he would match part of an object to the rest of the object in the same color. For example, they might have a purple and a pink car and two cut out circles form the cars (one in each color). He would then have to move the colored circle into the right spot. He enjoyed a game where he had to sort butterflies onto flowers based on their color.

They also had counting games, alphabet games, puzzles and more. The one thing we noticed with the games is that you needed to be used to using a mouse in order to successfully complete the activity. While many children have this skill, it was not something that my four year old had mastered because most of the time he does his activities on the kindle and uses a touch screen. He did get more proficient with the mouse as he worked through various activities.

Each game/activity is done in a map style layout (see the pictures above) and gets progressively harder. They program will let him return to one he has already completed but it will not let him move ahead until he completes that level. This helps keep the children from getting frustrated by the difficulty level. I should also note that in the regular Reading Eggs program it is set up in a similar manner but children can take a placement test to determine where they need to start so that they do not have to go through the lessons from the beginning.

My one real complaint about the program is that it is not compatible with Kindle. While this will not be an issue for many families, we find that logistically it is better if my son’s programs can be done on our kindle. He is better able to navigate the kindle than our desktop and can be more independent. However, this is still a wonderful program and we will work around the kindle issue using it on our desktop. Thankfully, my older children enjoy helping him and can assist him when I am not available.

If this sounds like a program that might be a good fit for your child, I have a wonderful offer for you. Reading Eggs has agreed to give my readers a FREE four week trial of the program. This is a great way for you to try it out and see if it is a good fit for your family.

In addition to the wonderful online program, Reading Eggs has just released new workbooks to accompany the program. While we did not personally use them I am hearing some great things from the reviewers that used the new workbooks and I encourage you to check out the other reviews to learn more about those.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Letter A Preschool Activities and Printable!

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

As a part of our relaxed preschool plan and my son’s strong desire to learn his letters, we are going to study a letter each week. Each week I’ll share snack ideas, sensory bin cards, crafts, and other resources for that letter.

I strongly encourage you to use only what seems to work for your child and keep it fun. It is far better to wait until they are ready to learn than to push them too early.

We will be using the printable cards (free download below) in a sensory bin, eating “A” snacks, practicing making the letter in shaving cream, and doing an ant nature study this week.

We won’t be able to pick apples for another couple of weeks but we may also do some fun apple pages from the extra resources depending on how interested my four year old seems to be as the week progresses.

Letter A Snack Ideas:

Almonds
Apples
Apricots
Asparagus (might be better with dinner but still a fun ‘A’ food)
Ants on a Log (celery w/ nut butter and raisins)

Extra Letter A Resources:

Letter A Upper Case Craft Freebie

Letter a Lower Case Craft Freebie

Optional Letter A Activities:

Apple Picking

Ant Nature Study (you can observe them outside, create a habitat in a jar, or purchase an ant farm)

Don’t forget to download your free Letter A Sensory Bin Pictures to use this week!

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies!

Free 5 Day Learning without Worksheets Challenge: FREE 5-Day Learning Challenge We have done several of her different challenges in the past and they are lots of fun and easy to implement.

You Are An Artist Clubhouse Memberships are now Open for enrollment! and having a 25% off Sale through September 4th!!

Apologia Digital Back to School Sale 25% off through 9/15!

Wind in the Willows on Audio for only $2.95

Alice in Wonderland on Audible for less than $1!!

Memorable Monthly Musical Genre Study

Music Genre

In the past we have focused our music appreciation on famous composers and studied a single composer for a semester or a year. While I believe these are valuable we wanted to do something a little different this year that would introduce the children to a wide variety of music and help us create some fun family memories at the same time.

A little while back we were camping at a campground in Virginia and the folks next to us were playing some music that my husband and I had listened to when we were a little younger than we are now ( I won’t date myself too badly). The songs would come on and sometimes one or both of us would sing along because we remembered the lyrics even after all of these years. The children were amazed that we knew the words and wanted to learn more about the music we used to listen to. We realized that we wanted to expand their musical knowledge while still being careful about the language and content that we filled our ears and hearts with.

So this year we have decided to choose a different genre of music each month. Throughout that month we will listen to a variety of songs from that genre and learn about some of the famous musicians. Whenever possible we will attend a free or inexpensive local concert related to that genre. I will mostly use music that is available from Amazon Prime or YouTube to make this an inexpensive study.

Our first month we are starting with Bluegrass music! I know that it is not as popular or mainstream as some genres but I think it is so much fun. I love the instruments and the fun songs. Fall also tends to be a time when I can find more bluegrass concerts available locally. There are always several at our North Carolina State Fair and the apple orchard where we are hoping to pick apples later this month hosts multiple local bluegrass bands (among other genres). If timing works out we will hear a band at the apple orchard and if not we can catch a concert next month at the fair.

I have not scheduled out the other eight months because we will use the availability of free or inexpensive local concerts to help with our scheduling. We intend to study jazz, classical, gospel, big band, classic country, blues, rock, and Celtic music. I know that there are many other genre’s and sub genres that we could have chosen but we felt that those included many favorites that we wanted to expose the children to as well as a well rounded variety. Each month I’ll share a short post with the genre we are studying and some free resources that you can use to share with your children.

What favorite genres or musicians do you want to share with your children? Share your ideas in the comments!!

Bluegrass Resources

Please check these before using with your children to make sure they align with your family. I have listened to some of the tracks but not all of them.

Best Loved Bluegrass

True Bluegrass Gospel

A Brief History of Bluegrass

What is Bluegrass?

Bluegrass Instructional Materials

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies!

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

If you have been considering adding an art program to your curriculum, you need to check out the newest upgraded membership over at You Are An Artist. My children love the lessons with Nana and now they have two different membership levels, the newest one includes all of their lessons with some great new additions including the Presidents, hymns, and famous artists. They are also offering 25% off of any of their courses (not memberships) until 9/3!

September Hymn Study “All Things Bright and Beautiful”

bright and beautiful

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

While God did not gift me with musical ability I love music and find that it really has a lasting impact on me. I can remember the lyrics to songs that I have not heard in years as soon as I hear it start to play. When I am upset I often turn to music to help comfort and focus me. We enjoy listening to hymns, praise songs, and contemporary Christian music but I have found that my children won’t get that connection with the traditional hymns if I do not make a point to introduce them and share about the history behind the hymns.

This year we’re going to try something a little new. Each month I will be sharing a different hymn study with you. I will include links to background information and several different renditions of the hymn. The links are typically either free versions on Amazon Prime Music or YouTube. I will also have copy work and a worksheet to go along with the hymn each month. Finally, you will find nature study or other supplementary activities.

We find that hymn study is a great way to become familiar with traditional hymns as well as really connecting with them and understanding their meanings and backgrounds.

September’s hymn is “All Things Bright and Beautiful” by Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander. It was written to help the young children in her Sunday school class and was first published in 1848. You can find more background information about Mrs. Alexander and the hymn here and here.

It is our plan to listen to discuss the hymn as a family during our morning time and then have the children complete one page of the copy work each day until it is complete. Throughout the month we will listen to various renditions of the hymn and discuss what they song means in our lives. I also plan to have the children complete the fact sheet about the hymn and do the nature study activity.

Text and Sheet Music

Links to the Song:

Cambridge Singers (Prime Music)

Clovercroft Kids (Prime Music)

Instrumental (Prime Music)

Scottish Festival Singers (Prime Music)

Nature Journal Activity: Find something that is mentioned in the song (ex. Bird, river, sunset) and do a nature journal entry. You can draw a picture and describe what you saw. For older students you may have them research more about what they choose.

Hymn Study Fact Sheet (Free Printable)

All Things Bright and Beautiful Copywork(Free Printable)

I hope that you enjoy this hymn study and come back next month for another great hymn. I would love to have you share in the comments which hymns you would like to see us cover.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies!

Free 5 Day Learning without Worksheets Challenge: FREE 5-Day Learning Challenge We have done several of her different challenges in the past and they are lots of fun and easy to implement.

You Are An Artist Clubhouse Memberships are now Open for enrollment! and having a 25% off Sale through September 4th!!

Apologia Digital Back to School Sale 25% off through 9/15!

Alice in Wonderland on Audible for less than $1!!

FREE Fantasy and Fairytales StoryBuilders from Write Shop!

Final Days for this awesome sale!

How Do I Get Started Homeschooling?

34863457_1969339063090811_2077962773316239360_n

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

No Two Homeschools Are Exactly Alike

There are as many variations on homeschooling as there are children. Each family has the flexibility to choose what works for them and sometimes that even varies from child to child with-in a family. That said, I hope these resources help provide a path and support to get you started on your own journey.

The very first thing you need to do when you are thinking about homeschooling or have just decided to homeschool is spend some time in prayer asking God for his guidance and talking with your spouse so that you are both on the same page.

Homeschool Laws

Then, check your state’s laws. Each state has different requirements for starting and annual reporting. In some states you do nothing, some you simply register, and some have testing or portfolio requirements. I will discuss North Carolina’s laws because I homeschool in North Carolina but if you live in another state I encourage you to look up the laws of that state. The HSLDA website is a great place to get information on the laws of each state.

In North Carolina you must register your homeschool with the state once your children reaches compulsory attendance age, which means that you register during the school year your oldest homeschooled child turns 7. In order to register you must hold a high school diploma or equivalent. If all of your children are younger than 7 there are no requirements and you do not need to register or report. You do not register each child in North Carolina so once your homeschool is open any, or all, of you children can attend your homeschool without further registration.

Once you have registered your homeschool, you are required to keep attendance, immunization records (or waiver), and complete a nationally standardized achievement test annually. You are required to “operate the school on a regular schedule, excluding reasonable holidays and vacations, during at least nine calendar months of the year.”(NCDNPE) You are also required to notify them when you close your homeschool. There are other recommendations but those are the only requirements in North Carolina.

Picking a Homeschool Curriculum

Once you have registered, you will probably turn your attention to curriculum. One of the most common questions I answer is, “What is the best curriculum?” There is no one right answer to that question. As we mentioned earlier each family and each child is different.

There are many wonderful curricula available and before you dive into researching them I highly suggest researching homeschool philosophies and determining which one you lean towards. This in no way means that you need to dogmatically follow one philosophy but by narrowing down your preferences you can narrow down the curriculum choices and help you find one/s that will work well with your family.

Personally, we lean towards what I like to call ‘Charlotte Mason Eclectic’ which basically means that I use some of the ideas and Charlotte Mason methods but I adapt them to meet the needs of my family. I have friends whose children thrive under a classical education and others who prefer a Montessori education, even a couple who ‘unschool’. For more information on the various styles I recommend this post by eclectic homeschool.

Based on our preferences, I tend to spend more time looking at resources that align with the Charlotte Mason approach though I keep an open mind to others as well. Once you have found the style/s that aligns best with your family, you can use that information to narrow down curriculum choices.

Homeschool Curriculum is Not One Size Fits All

There are many good programs available and it is important to remember that just because it works for one family does not mean it is the right fit for your family. Honestly I recommend buying used, or at least on sale, whenever possible, especially that first year. In addition to lowering your initial costs, it means that if you need to resell it because it is not a good fit you should be able to get close to what you originally paid for it.

I have many reviews here on the blog and the Review Crew also has reviews of hundreds of programs to help you get more information about what is available.

Research philosophies, read reviews, talk to other homeschoolers, and then make your selections. This should help you find curricula that will be a good fit, but most (if not all) of us have purchased curriculum that turned out not to be quite right.

This does not mean that homeschool isn’t the right fit nor does it mean you have to settle for a bad year. If a curriculum isn’t working for you I suggest first trying to tweak it to work for you, but if it simply doesn’t work ditch it and move on. Resell it if you can and try something different.

IMG_20180506_115906_220 (2018-05-16T19_48_07.000)

Creating a Flexible Homeschool Plan

Now that you have prayed, talked to your spouse, followed you state laws, researched philosophies, and chosen a curriculum it is time to make a plan. I am a big proponent of having a flexible plan. A plan gives you a road map to get where you want to go and the flexibility allows you to make it work in real life. Many veteran homeschool parents will tell you that it takes the first two years to really get your feet under you and you still need to be prepared to change as you go through various stages and life events.

You can decide to school year round, five days a week, four days a week, on a traditional school schedule, on a modified year round or anything in between as long as it falls with-in the laws of your state you have a great deal of flexibility. We personally tend towards four days a week of ‘book work’ with the fifth for field trips, special events, appointments, or catching up on housework. For more information on how I plan out our year check out my planning post here.

37740280_10216496568155946_6143305419566612480_o(1)

Finding Your Homeschool Tribe!

Now that you have a plan you are ready to get started. I highly suggest finding a ‘tribe’ of homeschool parents to help you along this journey. This could be in person through local groups, co-ops, or it could be online. There are many great Facebook groups including Schoolin’ Swag where you can ask questions, share successes, and get encouragement. You may also want to read some encouraging and informational books about homeschooling. You are ready to begin this difficult but completely worthwhile journey. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them or point you in the right direction for assistance.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies!

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale! I have multiple reviews on the blog about different courses we use from them.

If you are looking for a fun way to encourage reading this summer, check out the FREE summer reading materials from Your Morning Basket with Pam Barnhill. The passport and reading bucket list are a great way to encourage reading!

Homeschool Complete is offering a special 10% off discount to my readers! Just use code: SWAG

Evan-Moor is offering their Daily Fundamentals book FREE right now to help out during this time.

Get a FREE Literature Kit from LitWits using Code 11READ4FUN. We are currently enjoying the Heidi kit but have also previously loved the My Side of the Mountain kit.

IEW is offering some great free resources right now.

FREE Baby Yoda Art Lesson from Nana!

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Friday Favorites: My 5 Must Have Supplies That You Might Not Think About

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

Today’s blog hop theme was Friday Favorites and I decided to share five of my favorite homeschool supplies that you might not have thought about. There are other supplies that we need as well (pencils, paper, books). I also did not include chocolate milk which I find to be necessary for me to function homeschooling or not, since I know many of you prefer coffee or tea. However, these are supplies that make my life as a homeschool mom a lot easier. I’ll share what they are and how we use them in no particular order.

Velcro Dots

39502219_227180141295788_2844870115055370240_n

39454018_224262574934407_3599174699898109952_n

I am not sure how I would have survived homeschooling without velcro dots. Especially the preschool and early elementary years. I used them for our calendar time, I used them for counting games, for matching activities, and for identifying things on a map or timeline. I recently realized that I could use them on sheet protectors to make an extra pocket in our three ring binders. This was really helpful in keeping the pieces in my four year olds calendar notebook. I love that with velcro dots it is easy to keep reusing things and to switch things out as needed. They are also inexpensive, you can get 250 sets for less than $10.

Primary Journals

These are my favorite nature journals for young children (even through upper elementary). It gives them lines spaces to write and blank spaces for drawing, leaf rubbings, or even gluing flowers or leaves. They are fairly durable and handle being in and out of bags on nature walks without being overly heavy. My children get new ones whenever they fill one up and at the beginning of the school year. They are also great for young children who are learning to write and want to illustrate what they have written.

Boogie Boards

When I hear the term ‘boogie board’ my mind immediately goes to the ocean, but this is a different kind of Boogie board. This is more like a high tech etch-a-sketch and we love them in our homeschool. You draw or write on the board with the stylus and then when you are done you simply push the button and it erases. My children use them for school and play. One way we use them for school is spelling practice. They find it to be more fun to write it on the board than in their notebooks. They also use them to work out math problems and for doodling while they listen to me read aloud. It saves paper and clutter while being fun and reasonably inexpensive.

Magazine Holders

I love these for sorting books, particularly books that we are using during the current year or unit study. I sit them on top of the shelves and for example I can put all of our “Ancient Greece” books in one, and all of our “Skeleton Books” in another. I also use them to sort loose papers, extra folders, and extra notebooks. This allows me to keep those supplies handy and available without having them cluttering up desks or tables. The children could also use one on their desks to store folders or notebooks that they need throughout the school day.

Glider Rocker

Almost 13 years ago my husband bought me a glider rocker when I was pregnant with our first child. I have used that chair ever since. First, it was in the nursery but when we began to homeschool when he was six and his younger sister was four we moved it up to our school room. It provides me with a comfortable but supportive place to sit while I read, teach, or monitor progress. Even if you do not have a separate school room I highly recommend a comfortable and supportive chair. The glider rocker is also a great place for me to hold my littles and read. I even ‘sneak away’ to sit and relax or read in it by myself occasionally.

Those are five of my favorite homeschooling items. What items do you love in your homeschool that people don’t always think about?

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies

Back to School Bundle Sale going on now!! Back to Homeschool Online Course Bundle

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Check out these other posts:

Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool
Angie @ Run Ran Family Adventures & Learning
Annette @ A Net in Time
Ashley @ Gift of Chaos
Betty @ Let’s Get Real
Brenda @ Counting Pinecones
Carol @ Home Sweet Life
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses