6 Reasons to Include Audiobooks in Your Homeschool

6 Reasons to Include Audiobooks in Your Homeschool

If you’ve ever wondered if using an audiobook was a bad replacement for reading, wonder no more! There are at least six reasons to include audiobooks in your homeschool.

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#1 Audiobooks grow kids’ vocabulary

Reason #1 to use audiobooks in your homeschool is because it grows your kids’ vocabulary. Vocabulary is not only the best predictor of academic success but the best predictor of life success. That is just stunning to me.

If you have a child who is dyslexic or has another reading challenge, don’t let that discourage you. When my son was a four-year-old prereader, a workman was at our house and commented on my son’s large vocabulary. He said, “He talks like an eight-year-old!” That is likely because he was exposed to high-level vocabulary in our conversation and in books read to him by me or a narrator.

Audiobooks can present high-level vocabulary to students in a way they can benefit from. There is more than just the unknown words to tell the story. What we want is lots of exposure to new words, more than workbook drills. Audiobooks are a great vehicle for vocabulary exposure.

#2 Audiobooks teach pronunciation

Reason #2 to use audiobooks in your homeschool is because they teach correct pronunciation. Even advanced students who read voraciously can benefit from listening to audiobooks. Typically, students will not look up pronunciation of new words, leading my daughter to pronounce archives as arCHIVEs.

Even we as parents may not know how to properly pronounce a word when we are reading. It took me a while to learn that facade wasn’t pronounced facade. A professionally narrated audiobook provides valuable education in pronunctiation that doesn’t take your or your student’s time to look up the words.

#3 Audiobooks improve reading fluency

Reason #3 to use audiobooks is improved reading fluency. Having your child read along in the print book while listening to the audio will improve your child’s ability to read and read quickly. Have your child read out loud with the narrator. But even if your child isn’t looking at the book, the narrator’s reading cadence will help your child learn appropriate phrasing, proper pausing, and changes in tone required when reading aloud.

And if your child can read fluently, you’ll have a more confident child who will benefit greatly from reading more.

#4 Audiobooks engage readers

Reason #4 to use audiobooks in your homeschool is to engage readers. Whether you have a reluctant reader or a child who isn’t interested in a particular genre, using professionally produced audiobooks is a way to hook your child. Unless you’re a trained reader, your child will have better attention listening to a narrator’s characters in fiction or to a narrator’s commanding voice in nonfiction than to you. Reluctant readers are often happy to listen to a book, without realizing that the benefits of audiobooks are almost as great as reading a print book.

Audiobooks are fantastic for evoking emotion in listeners–something we know aids learning. Humor in particular is enhanced in audiobooks. The librarian’s voice in Grammar Galaxy Nebula cracks me up. Because she is funny, I remember her talking about tall tales. Your kids will remember too.

#5 Audiobooks are an incentive

Reason #5 to use audiobook is as an incentive. I talk with homeschool parents about how to motivate their students. It can be confusing to determine what to use as reinforcers. We can feel good about using educational materials as rewards, and audiobooks are the perfect option.

Have your child read the book first if you have a reluctant reader. Then play the audiobook. Or use the audiobook as a reward for completing chores or less desirable work. The more we present the audio as a treat, the more willing our kids will be to use it. They’ll have no idea that you want them to listen to the audiobook as much as you want them to complete the other tasks.

#6 Audiobooks save time

Reason #6 to use audiobooks is your time. Reading aloud is so valuable, but our voice only lasts so long. In some cases, we can’t read from a book. I can’t read in the car because of motion sickness. Audiobooks make long drives or even short commutes much more pleasant. They also allow Dad to be involved in what the kids are learning if he isn’t already.

You can use an audiobook for some children while you’re working with others. You can listen to an audiobook while you eat or do chores. You can play it at bedtime to keep kids quiet or for when they don’t have the energy to read themselves, if reading is a challenge. Audiobooks expand your educational time significantly.

Grammar Galaxy Nebula, the first volume of the elementary language arts curriculum kids love is now available as an audiobook! Listen to a sample and add it to your homeschool.

Conclusion

Audiobooks should be a part of your homeschool because they grow vocabulary, teach pronunciation, improve reading fluency, engage readers, motivate, and save time.

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CSI Science for Middle and High School Students: A Review

CSI Science for Middle and High School Students: A Review

If you are teaching middle or high school students, you know how challenging it can be to engage them in learning. I have written a review of what I think is the best science curriculum for homeschool students of any age. But I wanted an elective science curriculum that would capture the interest of my 13-17-year-olds. I believe I found that in what I’m calling CSI science from Crosscutting Concepts.

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I received a discount on the Small Class Edition PLUS Geared for Homeschooling and FACES software in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

What’s Included in the Science Kits from Crosscutting Concepts

The science kits from Crosscutting Concepts help your students solve the Lyle & Louise murder mystery.

The Small Class kit includes units on:

  • blood spatter analysis
  • forensic entomology
  • footprint analysis
  • blood detection and evidence processing
  • questioned document analysis
  • fingerprint analysis
  • bite marks analysis
  • glass fragment identification, and
  • drug testing and analysis

The Small Class PLUS kit also includes units on:

  • fire debris
  • gunshot residue
  • bullet striations

Kits include everything needed for 1-6 students to complete the experiments. Kits are designed for a one-semester class meeting five days a week. The teacher’s manual that includes the reading material and lab reports is available as a digital download, making it economical for multiple students.

FACES 3.0 software for Windows allows students to create composite drawings of suspects that can also be used to solve the murder mystery.

Our Fingerprint Analysis Unit Experience

After initially telling my teens about these forensic science kits and that I wanted to do at least one unit right away, my daughter was relentless in asking me to do it. That. is. crazy. Science or any school my 15-year-old is begging to do? I’m for that!

I printed the digital teacher’s manual for the fingerprint analysis unit and my daughter 3-hole punched it and put it in a binder for me. Yes, she was THAT motivated. The boys were curious and didn’t complain about starting.

I read them the mystery aloud. By the way, this is a murder involving an unfaithful spouse, so consider your child’s maturity and sensitivity with this. There are no sordid details, however.

I also read the history of fingerprinting analysis as well as the scientific material aloud to them, showing them the figures in the text. This material is to be read by students in preparation for class, but I (I mean my daughter) wanted to get the experiments going. It isn’t a lot of reading, but some of it is highly technical. In my opinion, those portions would overwhelm the average 5th-6th grader. In fact, Scott Moening (owner of Crosscutting Concepts) tells me the same materials are used in college classes.

Discussion questions and lab sheets checked for comprehension. My kids did okay with identifying fingerprint patterns, but I found it challenging. Visual-spatial skills aren’t my strength. I’m a verbal girl.

We took our fingerprints. I loved that the ink pad for this was included. Lab sheets are digital, so you can make as many copies as you need. But I will say my kids were not good at the fingerprinting technique. The lab sheets (had we completed them as written) would have taken a loooong time to complete. We completed them as a group effort.

We analyzed our fingerprints. We found it challenging to do this well. I wished there were an expert at hand to tell us what we were seeing. We were supposed to do a time-consuming numerical computation on our prints as well, which we honestly did not do. For me, it was like being asked to do long division with a calculator at hand. The numerical computation is the old-school approach. However, I was glad to have the history and the information about how it was done. It made the unit feel very meaty and thorough.

We lifted our fingerprints. We learned about how forensic experts extract fingerprints and this was the most interesting part for me. We added our prints to my picture window intentionally, but this honestly wasn’t necessary. There are ALWAYS prints on my window, even now that I don’t have toddlers. Come to think of it, I need to lift the prints next time to see who the culprit is! You can see the prints reflected on the newspaper on the left. We used dusting powder and hinged adhesive (included) to pull the prints from the window.

The class nature of the kit allows for some fun activities of matching prints to people. In the interest of time, we did not do this.

Finally, we used what we learned to evaluate the fingerprints obtained in the murder mystery. I won’t tell you what we determined. 🙂 Depending on what experiments we were doing going forward, the teacher’s guide suggests holding a mock trial in which the evidence is presented. We are not doing our regular co-op next year, but a mock trial would have been a blast with a group.

Our FACES Software Experience

I did not realize that the FACES composite drawing software is also used to solve the murder mystery until I printed the teacher’s guide. It is another week-long unit to use with the kit.

The version I have is for Windows. The program allows you to choose various facial features such as head shape, chin shape, nose type, wrinkles, scars, tattoos, and more. Everything can be resized. It’s the same type of software used by police to create a drawing of suspects.

We played a game with FACES. I used the software with my daughter–you know, the excited one. 🙂 We did the easiest level with it. We were shown a composite drawing for a few seconds and were then asked to recreate it using just a few options. In other words, just a few types of eyes and chins were given as options, making it much easier to recreate the drawing. We were given a score, and working together we did very well. This was fun and something I can see my kids spending time improving in. It requires both attention and an artist’s eye to do well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drew my husband with FACES. With all the facial feature options available to us, and even having my husband and his picture available, it was challenging to make the composite look a lot like him. We enjoyed working on it, though, and the software is easy to use. In fact, it’s fairly addictive. I kept saying we were done, but then I’d try again. If I didn’t have to finish this review, I’d be playing with it some more. 🙂

We did not complete the FACES unit. There is an entire teaching unit that goes along with the software that will be a lot of fun to do with my kids in the fall.

What I love about Crosscutting Concepts CSI Science for My Homeschooled Middle and High School Students

  • I’m interested in these forensic science kits. I was almost as excited to work with the kits as my daughter. When I’m interested, school gets done.
  • My kids are interested in learning forensic science. None of my kids complained about using these kits. That is HUGE.
  • Everything you need is there. I can’t stand hunting around for science supplies when I’m ready to get school done.
  • It’s story-based. Each set of experiments is connected to one murder mystery involving Lyle and Louise. As the author of a story-based language arts curriculum, I know how powerful that is in aiding learning.
  • It’s a unit study. I’ve always loved unit studies for gaining students’ interest, but many them are only suited for elementary students. These kits teach math, biology, chemistry, physics, genetics, entymology, history, art, and more in one fascinating set of units.
  • It has real-world application. Your kids cannot say that you’re teaching useless information. They’ll know more about crime investigations they hear about on the news. Using FACES software, they can learn to pay attention to detail and improve art skills. They can even create a composite drawing of a crime suspect at home! Finally, they might discover a new career path.

Crosscutting Concepts Forensic Science Kits Are Best Suited for:

  • Advanced middle schoolers and high schoolers on grade level
  • Reluctant and other students who are interested in crime scene investigation
  • Families with more than one student or homeschool co-ops
  • Teachers who are willing to do the experiments with students, instead of having students work independently
  • Families who can commit to doing experiments several times a week.
  • Families who can afford a higher-end science kit. Use code HOMESCHOOLSANITY for 10% off and free shipping. You can also purchase individual kits.

Conclusion

I love this curriculum. I feel that completing most of the material with my three kids will make for a fun, educational homeschool year. Hover over the products link at Crosscutting Concepts to find the kits best suited to your family. You can also contact the company on Facebook and Instagram if you have questions.

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Why You Should Study Movies as Literature with Your Teens

Why You Should Study Movies as Literature with Your Teens

I believe you should study movies as literature with your teens! Here are six reasons why and then I share my review of Cinema Studies, the best way to study movies as literature with your kids.

#1 Movies really are literature.

At one time, novels weren’t considered worthwhile for instruction. Imagine! Now we know that reading novels improves vocabulary, comprehension, spelling, and writing.

Today there is a continuing stigma that movies can’t add to our children’s education. Movies are what our children should watch in their free time, right? Wrong! Movies, like plays, are based on written scripts or books. Because they are literary, movies can be used to teach concepts like character development, plot, setting, and much more.

#2 Movies are taught as literature in the public schools.

Many homeschool parents I talk with are afraid that watching movies isn’t worthy of high school credit. I assure you: The study of movies is credit-worthy. My son took this course as a public high school junior. Because he was taking a number of AP (read time-consuming) courses, his guidance counselor recommended that he take an easier class like a movies as literature course to complete his schedule.

Movies as literature courses count as English elective credits and are an excellent addition to a college-prep transcript.

#3 Movies create great opportunities for discussion.

Kids are used to talking about the movies they see. If you have a teen who isn’t a talker, discussing a movie is a great way to understand your teen’s views on life. Movies can expand your teen’s understanding of others’ motivation and can be used to teach social skills. Teens are more likely to talk about movies than other topics because there are few wrong answers–just opinions.

#4 Movies provide excellent writing prompts.

A movies as literature study provides interesting and personal writing subjects. Writing prompts are rarely dry and students with multiple learning styles can recall and respond to the movies they’ve seen in writing.

#5 Movies are fun for kids to watch.

Even though your kids are learning, they think of watching movies as inherently fun. You’ll get less procrastination and pushback on watching a movie for homework than nearly any other assignment you might give.

Movies mimic the more entertaining lessons of childhood and can be enhanced with great snacks!

#6 Movies are a fun family and friend activity.

Parents of teens rarely do math with them just for the fun of it. But a movies as literature course can get parents involved in the learning process. Some movies have mature themes and aren’t appropriate for younger kids (or you may want to save the films for when they’re older). But the teens and adults in your house can enjoy time together while still putting in homeschool hours.

A study of movies as literature is also a lot of fun in a group setting. It’s the perfect class for co-ops and learning centers. Your teen will enjoy discussing the movies watched with their homeschool friends.

Why Cinema Studies is the Perfect Way to Study Movies as Literature with Your Teen

I used another movies as literature course in the past and highly recommend Cinema Studies instead. Here’s why:

  • It includes some more recent films teens enjoy. Studying movies as literature doesn’t mean that the films have to be painful to watch because they’ve become culturally irrelevant. While Cinema Studies includes classics like Casablanca, it also features Rudy — a personal favorite! The movies are easy to find, unlike the previous curriculum I used.
  • It doesn’t require you to stop the film over and over again to answer trivial questions. If your teen watches the movie (especially with the questions at hand), answering questions correctly should be no problem. Your student may need to watch the movie a second time (as recommended) to write the paper. In our co-op, we discuss the movie one week and review papers the next, so students may forget specific examples to use in their writing.
  • Writing assignments are short and engaging. Writing a long paper on every movie is way more work than students in traditional schools are required to do. Tedious writing assignments can kill interest students have in studying movies. Students always have a personal response option for their papers, which they love.
  • Cinema Studies is digital and economical for more than one student. I am able to make copies of the materials for all three of my kids using Cinema Studies.
  • The answers are in the teacher’s guide. I have been loving watching the movies with my kids and my husband has joined in too. BUT if I wasn’t able to watch the movie for some reason, the discussion question answers are right there for me.

Be sure to check out Cinema Studies and get ready to teach movies as literature in your homeschool! What is a favorite movie you would love to study with your teens?

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How to Choose the Right Homeschool Curriculum

How to Choose the Right Homeschool Curriculum

Choosing homeschool curriculum is one of the most challenging tasks for a home educator, especially for someone new to homeschooling. I want to give homeschooling families sanity when it comes to choosing the right curriculum.

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The Right Homeschool Curriculum Fits Your Intentions

In How to Choose the Right Homeschool Curriculum, author Amy Michaels says that curriculum choices should help us meet our intentions for a student. If we intend for a child to learn to love reading, we will choose a different English curriculum than we would if we want a child to learn to write impeccable book reports.

Of course, before we can choose that right curriculum, we have to be clear about what our intentions are. What do you want your child to learn, experience, and feel in the study of each subject? Be clear about why you have those intentions too. If you are hoping to impress an anti-homeschooling relative with a child who is a top speller, you may be disappointed with the other effects of your choice (i.e., a child who dislikes spelling because of the emphasis put on it).

The Right Homeschool Curriculum Engages Your Child at a Higher Level

Students can be induced to regurgitate facts and perform well on tests with enough practice. But if your intention is for your child to love learning, you’ll be dissatisfied with a curriculum that merely asks for facts.

As homeschoolers, we have the opportunity to look for curriculum that provides opportunities to use facts in real-world applications. Our kids will be motivated and inspired to keep learning when they can use them in games, puzzles, and conversation. We are then asking our kids to think and not just recite.

Our students can take their learning to an even higher level with curriculum that asks them to create projects that demonstrate learning. Writing papers, creating posters or videos, and teaching others will cement the lessons they’ve learned for the long haul by demanding high-level thinking skills.

The Right Homeschool Curriculum Fits Your Unique Family

Your friends may rave about the reading-based, online, or activity-rich curriculum they’ve found, but there is no other family quite like yours. Learning style, teaching style, time available, and budget will all impact your choices.

Putting together a list of the characteristics of each curriculum choice is time consuming to say the least! That’s why I’ve created a features list of the best homeschool science, language arts, and math curriculum for you.

But even these lists won’t help you if you don’t know which of these characteristics matters most to you. My favorite part of the book How to Choose the Right Homeschool Curriculum is help in creating your unique rating form. Once created, you’ll be able to use it to evaluate the curriculum you already own as well as potential choices to determine if they are the right choice for your family.

Save 10% on the book with code SANITY

Kids can help us find the right decions too. Grab your free kids’ rating sheet for reviewing homeschool curriculum from ThriveHomeschooling.com.

Conclusion

When you know your intentions, when you look for curriculum that engages students at higher level thinking skills, and when you create your own rating rubric, the process of finding the right homeschool curriculum for your family is much, much easier!

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6 Back-to-Homeschool Mistakes Veteran Homeschoolers Don’t Make

6 Back-to-Homeschool Mistakes Veteran Homeschoolers Don’t Make

How can we get ready for back to school in the best way possible? We want to avoid making these six common mistakes that veterans don’t tend to make.

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Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #1: Not Purchasing Materials Ahead of Time

The first mistake veterans don’t make is not purchasing materials ahead of time. Few things can make back-to-school more stressful than having no idea of the tools you’ll be using. Veterans know to start the research process early and to take advantage of discount pricing many vendors offer. Securing your materials early allows you to do some critical planning for the year ahead. While I don’t recommend planning your entire school year lesson my lesson, I do recommend that you review your materials so you can plan your students’ time accordingly.

You’ll want to make sure you not only purchase curriculum but any supplies you need. Now is the time to buy school, art, and science supplies so you’re not missing sales or having to pay for expedited shipping.

If you haven’t begun the process of choosing curriculum, don’t worry. I have guides that well help you choose the best science, language arts, and math curriculum for your family.

Writing Kids Love

Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #2: Not Having Your School Space Prepared

The second mistake you don’t want to make is to not have your school space prepared. If your children don’t know where to look for their daily schedule, their individual books, or their materials, you’re going to be stressed because your kids will be stressed.

Your primary school storage space does not have to be IKEA beautiful. But it does have to be user-friendly. Make sure your children can remove books from the bookshelves and colored pencils from their container without creating a mess. Make sure that even the laziest child or teacher can replace materials easily. My kids’ books don’t look as neat piled on shelves as they would in bins, but my kids are more likely to put them back on the shelf.

If the thought of organizing your school space sends you into a panic, commit to spending just five minutes a day there until it’s ready. I promise you that you will make progress even at this rate. Begin by removing things that don’t belong because you aren’t using them. Don’t worry about selling or even donating at this point. Just put them out of sight for now. Remove everything from one bookshelf or cubby at a time and clean it. You will do better if you replace things without purchasing containers to begin. I had a mountain of plastic containers at one time. You definitely want to see what you have before purchasing new organizing supplies.

Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #3: Not Making Back-to-School Special

Normal kids resist back-to-school. Even though they’re likely bored with a vacation routine, they will complain about having to do traditional studies.

Whenever we have to do hard things, a great strategy for motivating kids is to look for a way to make it fun. Back-to-school is a fantastic opportunity to model this. I have surprised my kids on the first day of school for many years now. The anticipation of the surprise tends to block out any negativity. Believe me, it will reemerge later, but my back-to-school surprises get us off to a great start.

Some ideas for you to consider are a special meal, a field trip, and games. Some moms like to make a special breakfast treat just for back-to-school. It might be pancakes in a special shape or cinnamon rolls that take forever to bake but are so delicious. You might consider taking the kids out for breakfast. I took mine to Waffle House and they loved it.

Another idea for a back-to-school surprise is to not do school at all. One year I surprised the kids by taking them to a local theme park that was still open. That is one of our favorite memories. If you’d like to make this idea more educational, consider taking the kids to a park as I did one year. We took out paddle boats and got some exercise after enjoying a picnic lunch.

Still another idea is to make back-to-school special with friends. Plan your back-to-school with another homeschooling mom. You could have a whole day of fun activities like an egg toss or water balloon fight. This is a great idea if your local support group does not offer a back-to-school party like mine does.

Finally, you could give your kids new school supplies in a fun way. Send them on a scavenger hunt to find them.

Check out 120 more ideas from ASLRochelle.com.

Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #4: No Meal Planning

New homeschoolers are often most concerned with curriculum and forget that they will have to plan lunches for their kids. And when you’re caught up in the school day, dinnertime arrives quickly. No matter how wonderful your school day was, dinner chaos has the capacity to end your day on a sour note.

Pretend that you are going to have a new baby even if you aren’t. Homeschooling is your new baby. You will be teaching your children full-time. Spend some time making plans with shopping lists for quick, popular meals. In your meal planning, make sure you include meals the kids can help you make. If your child can operate a can opener, he or she can make chicken tortilla soup for the family. 

Add to Plan to Eat

Six-Can Chicken Tortilla Soup

Source: allrecipes.com

Course: Main Course

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Total Time: 20 min

Serves:

Ingredients

  • 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn drained
  • 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
  • 1 (10 ounce) can chunk chicken
  • 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
  • 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers drained
  • 1 bag tortilla chips
  • 1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 container light sour cream

Directions

  1. Open the cans of corn, chicken broth, chunk chicken, black beans, and diced tomatoes with green chilies. Pour everything into a large saucepan or stock pot. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through.

Amount Per Serving (6)

  • Calories: 214
  • Protein: 17.2g
  • Sugar: 2.7g
  • Carbohydrate: 27.2g
  • Fat: 4.9g
  • Cholesterol: 32mg
  • Sodium: 1482mg
  • Fiber: 6.7g

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Plan To Eat

If you’d like to make cooking a part of your homeschooling this year, consider the excellent Kids Cook Real Foods curriculum.


If you’d like to take meal planning a step further, get some meals put into the freezer. The easiest way to freezer cook is to make multiples of meals you’re already preparing for your family.

Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #5: Having Unreasonable Expectations for the School Year

If you are a newer homeschooler or just more of a dreamer, it’s easy to have high expectations for the coming school year. A child’s newly discovered special need, the toll of seasonal affective disorder, or the flu bug that hit hard last year are long forgotten. They won’t be an issue; you’re sure of it!

To some extent our idealism serves a good purpose. It gets us back in the saddle and homeschooling again. But in another sense, our overly optimistic expectations set us up for discouragement. I’m certainly not advising you to consider everything that can go wrong. It’s important that we have a positive outlook on what we and our children can accomplish in the Lord’s strength.

But this year, let’s be sure that our goals and expectations can be met. What would a normal, somewhat lazy teacher and students be able to do given your commitments and lifestyle? If you have a learning center on Monday and you’ve never been able to get school started up again when you’re back home, don’t plan to do school at home on those days. I know, it’s heresy. I would much rather have you be disappointed in having lower expectations now than disappointed by having your unreasonable expectations unmet later. Plan to do less so you are more likely to achieve your goals. It’s better to do more than you planned than less. Make your homeschool plan easy for your kids and watch their motivation soar.

In addition to keeping our expectations in check by having reasonable goals, each week of your homeschool, consider any obstacles that will stand in the way of you getting things done. I prompt homeschooling moms to consider this in the Organized Homeschool Life Planner. I ask them to not only consider what may get in the way during the upcoming week but how they will overcome that obstacle. For example, if you’re going on vacation this fall, plan for how to transition the kids back to a regular school routine. It won’t happen automatically.

Instructions for The Organized Homeschool Life Planner

Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #6: No Plan to Keep the Momentum Going

We homeschooling teachers tend to be pretty good at planning those first days or weeks of school. We have our curriculum, space, meals, and reasonable goals in place if you’ve been following along. Now we have to have a plan for keeping our homeschools running smoothly.

You need a chore plan. Any chore plan will work, but you need a way of making sure that your kids are helping you maintain your home. Public school kids have to clean up too. In a previous episode of The Homeschool Sanity Show on organizing, FLYLady gave us wise advice for cleaning up after every subject. Make that habit a part of your day in addition to assigning regular responsibilities.

Even when you assign chores and clean up as you go, you still need a plan for maintaining your home and life. Without one, there are things you’ll never get to that can make your homeschooling a lot less enjoyable. You may have clutter hotspots, upcoming holidays to plan for, or finances that need attention. Without a plan for when and how you will address these other areas, you can quickly find yourself overwhelmed. Take the time to create a plan for giving these other crucial areas attention or use the plan I’ve developed. Check out The Organized Homeschool Life book and Planner.

Conclusion

If you avoid these six back-to-school mistakes, you are well on your way having a peaceful and blessed back to homeschool. Have your curriculum, school space, special back-to-school surprise, meal plan, reasonable goals, and maintenance plans ready. That is my prayer for you.

Which of these mistakes have you made?

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The Best Homeschool Math Curriculum for Every Grade Level

The Best Homeschool Math Curriculum for Every Grade Level

When you’re searching for the best homeschool math curriculum, you have your work cut out for you. Unless you landed here!

As a homeschooling mother of 19 years, I know that one of the most time-consuming tasks in homeschooling is researching curriculum. So I am saving your sanity by providing you with not just my top picks but a PDF of the top homeschool math curriculum options for every grade level. You can easily find the style of teaching, difficulty level, and time requirement that you’re looking for. You’ll easily see the best features and common criticisms of each. Plus, you’ll have access to the links to the best reviews. You’re welcome!

Download a List of the Best Homeschool Math Curriculum

Click the “Best Homeschool Math Curriculum” image below to request your complete list of the best curriculum. When you add your email address, you’ll also receive the Sanity Savers newsletter and updates on the schedule you request.

Best Homeschool Math Curriculum

The Best Homeschool Math Curriculum According to My Family & Friends

Math wasn’t a particular struggle for my kids, so my choices reflect this. I did include friends’ top picks that include options for those who find math more challenging.

Top picks for elementary math

Learn Math Fast

This curriculum helped my younger kids learn their math facts and operations better than anything else we’ve tried. And we’ve tried a lot of things! Save $5 on one volume with code SANITY5 and $10 with code SANITY10 for orders over $140.

Horizons Math

I used Horizons for my young elementary students before I found Learn Math Fast. I like that it’s straightforward, covers a range of introductory math, and does not have an inordinate number of exercises.

I have friends who recommend Singapore Math, Teaching Textbooks, Math U See, and CTC Math.

Top picks for middle school math

Learn Math Fast

My youngest two kids have loved using Learn Math Fast for middle school. Here’s a video review that my kids participated in.

Life of Fred

Most of my kids loved Life of Fred for middle school. I had one son who stopped using it and then came back to it. The funny story line and the lack of exhaustive exercises were popular with them. I interviewed the author on The Homeschool Sanity Show.

Teaching Textbooks is another top pick among friends for middle school math.

Top picks for high school math

Mr. D Math

My first exposure to Mr. D Math’s online, interactive math courses was when my high schooler took ACT Math Boot Camp. I have since enrolled two of my children in Algebra I and one in Geometry and Algebra II. I have a third student taking Algebra I in the fall and another son is taking Pre-Calculus. We are big fans of Mr. D as a math teacher. I have never once heard him be anything but energetic and enthusiastic when teaching my kids. I wish I could say the same about me!

Learn Math Fast

My kids love the no busywork, easy-to-understand algebra and geometry lessons in Learn Math Fast. Be sure to use code SANITY5 to save $5 on a single book order.

Teaching Textbooks and Saxon Math get high marks from friends for high school math.

Conclusion

Do you have a favorite math curriculum I didn’t include? Comment and let me know.

Are you looking for the best science curriculum? Check it out here. The best language arts curriculum can be found here.

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