For homeschoolers who follow a traditional school schedule, and even those who take a break in summer, this is go time!
Get Inspired
Your excitement is contagious, mom. Check out these great ideas for planning, organizing, and the first day of school. Choose a few of them and set aside some time to put them into practice. Ask your husband to take the kids on an outing, trade childcare with a friend, or go somewhere you can focus.
If you haven’t even started planning, don’t panic. You can use either of my crazy easy approaches to homeschool planning and record keeping and be ready in no time.
If you want a simple reminder of what you should be doing every day, every week, every month, and every year, you’ll want to nab the free printable PDFs I’ve created that you can put into page protectors in your homeschool planner. When you download one of them, you’ll also get access to a monthly and yearly to-do list in the subscriber freebies folder (linked at the bottom of this email for subscribers).
If you’re looking for help with your homeschool schedule, check out the amazing free printables from Pam Barnhill at EdSnapshots. She not only provides you with the free printables, but the help to go with them.
If you just need direction for getting organized, you’ll want to start with the Back to School challenge and continue with the weekly Organized Homeschool challenges. Just 15 minutes a day will do it!
Parents of traditionally-schooled children are busy looking for school lunch ideas, but homeschooling moms need ideas, too! Check out my 10 lunch ideas and be sure to check out the other iHomeschool Network bloggers ideas, too. Then be sure to download my free meal planning ebook that will help you simplify this process that takes so much of our time.
Once you’re prepared for school, you’ll want to make plans for the first day. My favorite thing to do is surprise the kids. We have gone out for ice cream and last year we went to a theme park the last day it was open. I’m still trying to come up with a unique surprise, but I love these ideas.
I tried Periscope a few weeks ago and I’m hooked. I love it and if you homeschool, I think you will, too. Here are six reasons you should try it.
Wait! What’s Periscope?
Periscope is a new social media platform that allows viewers to chat with live broadcasters. Currently, you can only give comments and hearts (via taps on the screen) via the mobile app. You can watch replays for 24 hours on your mobile device and on the web and even longer at katch.me. Follow me @Psychowith6 for saner homeschooling and living scopes. You can also follow me at WatchonPeriscope. Click the red Follow button on the right when the page opens. If you want to know more, check out my Periscope page.
#1 Make friends
I couldn’t have homeschooled these past 16 years without my friends. But I am in awe that in just a few weeks, I have made great new homeschooling friends online. Watching live video of people is a much faster way of getting to know them than on any other social media platform. You can make new friends by watching other homeschool scopers, but getting in front of the camera yourself is even better! To make connections quickly, join our homeschool Periscope group on Facebook. Disclaimer:There are occasionally some rude people who will make inappropriate comments. If the broadcaster doesn’t share their location, that’s less likely. The scoper can just tap the comment and block that person. But for that reason, you may not want younger readers to watch scopes with you, even if you trust the broadcaster.
#2 Get real
One of the biggest problems in homeschool circles and especially with other forms of social media is the idea that everyone else has it more together than you do. All those perfect Pinterest photos and projects and even blog posts can make you feel inferior. What’s great is your homeschool heroes appear on Periscope sans makeup with kids screaming, misspeaking, and doing all kinds of very human things. What I also love is the confessions people make. They don’t speak like holier-than-thou experts, but like friends. That can take the pressure off of all of us imperfect homeschoolers. In that vein, you might enjoy 6 Reasons I’ll Never Be a Perfect Homeschooler.
#3 Ask questions
You can ask questions of your new real-life friends as they broadcast. If you want to know how to help your dyslexic student, homeschool Montessori style, or tailor an easy recipe, just ask! Scopers love to answer your questions. If your friends are always asking how you do something, why don’t you broadcast and share with all of us? Homeschoolers are all teachers and we would love to ask you those burning questions.
#4 Inspiration
Let’s face it. While I absolutely love Pinterest, it can be overwhelming. But the little doses of ideas you get through Periscope broadcasts are perfect. I’m doing challenging and fun workouts with RocaBody on Periscope, have found a new mascara to try, and have watched new recipes being made that I’m going to make asap. I have been way more active in putting ideas from Periscope into use, probably because I *see* how easy they are. Periscope is the perfect prescription for homeschool burnout or boredom. If you need that little extra motivation to organize your homeschool, join me on Thursdays!
#5 It’s fast
While there is currently no way to fast-forward or rewind videos in replay, I find that I can get tips and ideas very quickly from Periscope. Most broadcasts are short and good scopers get to the point quickly. You don’t have to stay for the whole broadcast and you walk away smarter. Contrast this to homeschool sessions at a conference. It’s rude to walk out of a talk, right? But viewers pop in and out of broadcasts on Periscope all the time.
#6 It allows you to multi-task
It’s not as freeing as listening to a podcast, but you can listen to broadcasts on your phone or computer while doing something else. I listen to them as I get ready in the mornings and even while I drive. I am not typically commenting when I’m busy doing something else (like driving), but I can tap and give some hearts and I feel like I’ve hung out with my friends.
What are you waiting for?
Download the free app (you’ll need a Twitter account if you don’t have one), search for Psychowith6 with the magnifying glass icon, and join us today and Monday through Saturday at 3:45 p.m. Central time for Homeschool Happy Hour with #homeschoolscopes. I’ll tell you about some great replays to catch (there is no topical search function on Periscope as of yet) and we’ll chat about what’s happening in our homeschools right now. Can’t make the live broadcast? No problem! You’ll see the replay in your list of broadcasts if you’re following me. I’ll also share the replays at Homeschool Sanity on Facebook. We’d love to have you join the Facebook Homeschool Periscope group, too.
Have a homeschooling friend who would love this? Share it! Looking forward to connecting with you.
I shared a daily to-do list for homeschoolers, but that doesn’t cover everything we should be doing, does it? This weekly list is a great goal for six other tasks. If you’d like a free printable copy, click the orange button below to subscribe to Psychowith6 and you’ll receive it in your inbox lickety split! Current subscribers can find it in the folder linked at the bottom of your Psychowith6 email. Click Here to Get the FREE Printable
Add your printable to your homeschool binder in a page protector, laminate it, or frame it and you can use it every week with a dry erase marker. It’s a great reminder for me and I hope it is for you! Note that this is a PDF as pictured above and is not editable. If you want a to-do list that you can create yourself, check out the Homeschool Record Form or the Quarterly Checklist.
#1 Group Time
I admit that I once thought homeschoolers couldn’t possibly get enough social time. How wrong I was. But it’s a vital part of our homeschool to get together with other homeschoolers for co-ops and classes. We’ve also enjoyed having the kids participate in other sports and activities that aren’t just for homeschoolers. I don’t have to worry about forgetting this task. My kids insist upon group time!
#2 Field Trip
While we don’t go on a formal field trip every week, I do aspire to regularly take the kids out where they can learn and explore. Nature walks, parks, museums, and even the grocery store can work. Ask questions of the different workers you come into contact with. We’ve learned so much from just doing that!
#3 Rest
Some of you laughed when you read my suggestions of group time and field trips, because all you do is go, go, go! But homeschoolers need a day of rest, too. Sunday is our day, but we all have different schedules. Allowing everyone to relax and do what interests them with no schedule is so important physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
#4 Review
I believe it’s so important to review what we’ve learned–not through formal testing–but by discussing it and answering verbal questions, especially when kids are younger. I haven’t done a great job with this and that’s a shame, because review reminds mom how much she has actually accomplished and helps move information into long-term memory. Every day, write a couple of questions on notecards based on what you’ve learned and play a little Jeopardy game at the end of the week. It could be everyone’s favorite time. That’s my goal.
#5 Clean
If we didn’t clean up twice a day, our house would be condemned in no time. But we still need time for more time-consuming tasks like dusting, vacuuming, and laundry. Build time for this more concentrated cleaning into your school schedule so you won’t be stressed. I assign various tasks based on the kids’ ages. We have been doing a little of these throughout the week for years, but we are going to try to knock these chores out on one day. We’ll see how it goes.
#6 Worship
We see our worship as part of our homeschool. We all learn something in Bible class and from sermons, even though we study in depth as part of our studies. Church is something we don’t want to miss! But when illness strikes, my husband will often read and discuss the Bible with us. I have some Bible study DVDs that I would love for us to watch together as well. We haven’t made the time for them, so that’s a goal, too.
Want a copy of this daily to-do list to print and place in a page protector or frame to use with a dry-erase marker? Click here:
To-Do List Please!When you’re a new homeschooler or even when you’re experienced, you can become overwhelmed by everything you think you should be doing in your homeschool on a daily basis. The good news is there’s nothing wrong with you! You may have just overloaded your to-do list. To save our sanity when we’re trying to add too many things to our days, I created a simple to-do list with six tasks that we can accomplish most days.
#1 Pray
As a Christian homeschooling family, this is foundational. I shared in the video below that we pray about what we’re thankful for, sorry for, and what we need help with. It never fails that when I’m feeling stressed, prayer will calm me down. We also pray for family and friends by selecting a few of the Christmas cards that are sent to us each year. Want to read more about establishing a family devotional time? Check out this post.
#2 Read
Reading is our favorite homeschooling activity. If it’s not your child’s favorite, check out these tips for reluctant readers. We enjoy reading individually, but love reading books out loud that correspond to our Mystery of History volume. One of our favorite books this year was Raiders from the Sea (a Christian fiction series about the Vikings). Reading is also a critical skill for our kids’ academic and life success, so it’s going to be high on our to-do list. I hope it is on yours, too.
#3 Solve
Math skills are also very important for life success. Avoid the college remedial math courses by making sure your kids are practicing their math facts, playing math games, and regularly learning math principles. We love Life of Fred math for this because it’s reading based and just plain fun. Check out my Homeschool Math board on Pinterest for some great activities to try.
#4 Create
I’ve written before about my angst about art, but I’ve found programs I really liked such as Atelier. But creating time (which is so important to our children’s happiness and future accomplishment) can be writing time, Lego time, robotics time, Minecraft time, or music time. Time to create and some basic materials are all you need.
#5 Test
Science is becoming more important to future careers than ever before. Doing experiments with a science curriculum you love (click to see a list of the best!) is a great way to give kids the opportunity to test their hypotheses, but nature walks are too. Cindy West has created an amazing curriculum for this purpose that you can use on the fly. There’s no reason not to put a little science into your day!
#6 Play
When the day becomes so crowded with seat work and classes and activities that there’s no time for play, there’s a problem. It’s even a problem when we don’t get time to play as homeschool moms. We all need a little margin in our day and dare I say it, a little boredom, to help us unwind and find our own fun. I think it’s really important not to dictate what the play time is used for, because then it isn’t really play. I do, however, believe in setting some screen time limits. I encourage you to pick up your free homeschool daily to-do list if you haven’t already! To-Do List Please!>If you already subscribe to Psychowith6, you’ll find the link to the Subscriber Freebies folder in your welcome email.
Is there anything else you think is important to do daily (if possible)? Let’s chat about it at Homeschool Sanity on Facebook.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent way too much time trying to make digital homeschool planners work for you, when they just don’t!
That’s why I created the Easiest Homeschool Record System Ever that you can easily customize for your kids. I still think it’s a great way to keep homeschool records. But something happened that made me create a form that I think is even more MOTIVATING for kids (and for parent teachers, too).
I call it the Quarter Checklist, but you may call it a lifesaver!
Here’s how I came up with the idea. We were nearing the end of the school year. Some of my kids were behind in some subjects and were close to being finished with others. I really wanted them to be done with their independent work before we went on our family vacation. So I asked them what lesson they were on in each subject. I then made them a checklist of lessons to complete to be done with the school year. Here’s what happened.
My daughter became obsessed with finishing her school work, even begging to stay home from scrapbooking so she could work.
My son began working through multiple math lessons a day.
My older son spent hours finishing up his history reading.
All without any nagging on my part! That’s when I got to thinking.
How could I motivate the kids to work this way all year long?
I thought about what made that list so effective and here’s what I realized:
It was a closed list. My kids knew that if they finished the list, they didn’t have to keep working.
It was a short list. Unlike the list in their regular planners, the list seemed very doable.
It offered a reward. Not only were we going on vacation when they finished, but the kids worked for the reward of having free time.
I could do this during the school year too!
So I created a school quarter checklist for next school year.
The great news is I created one for you, too. Here’s how it works:
Make a list of each subject your child will do independently. Label one column with that subject. For example LOF for Life of Fred Math. You may need more than one sheet per child, depending on the number of subjects. If you end up with multiple sheets, note the page numbers at the top of the forms. Don’t have something next to each checkbox? Even better! Your child will feel like they have very little to do!
For each subject, determine how many total lessons s/he will complete in a year. Divide that number by four.
List the lesson or page numbers for the first quarter next to each check box on the form. If your children’s handwriting is neat enough, you can have them complete these forms themselves. If that isn’t a sanity saver! (If you run out of room for that subject, circle NEXT PAGE; otherwise circle YOU’RE DONE!)
Write the date the quarter officially ends in front of the year and plan a reward. We love to go out for breakfast. If your student finishes before that date, s/he enjoys the reward of no independent work (even if family subjects and classes continue through the quarter).
Store your completed checklists on clipboards. There’s something about a clipboard that’s so motivating! I love these Dexas clipboard cases that have space for notebooks and pencils and have a carrying handle. Don’t you? There is a color for every student.
Even if your child has multiple pages to work with, the perception will be that their lessons are very, very doable! Because that’s the case, your student is likely to be extra motivated. One tip: only plan one quarter at a time. Life happens!
How to Use the Quarter Checklist as a Teacher
I know I’m not the only one who gets discouraged when I get behind on my school plans. Using the Quarter Checklist, I think I can not only stay on schedule, but even get ahead. Here’s why:
The kids will be motivated to move through lessons quickly so we can get done with ALL of our schooling ahead of schedule.
I will be motivated to finish all the lessons because I’m working with a closed list.
I can use the form to show them how we’re doing after taking a sick day or free day to motivate them to spend extra time with me on subject.
I’d love it if you’d share the sanity with homeschooling friends and let me know how it’s working for you on Facebook. Check out the other great ideas I’m pinning on Pinterest.
When I heard about free learning resources for the summer, I was interested. But when I learned that Discovery Education and myOn Literacy were some of the free programs available to us homeschoolers, I couldn’t contain my excitement.
I have used Discovery Education with my family and the incredible videos and teaching helps they include are absolutely perfect for low-key summer learning. My association with myOn is a little more interesting! I used to be a sales rep for this incredible program that is marketed to public schools. Whether you have a beginning, struggling, or avid reader, you will be amazed by the interactive books that are available with reading supports (audio and highlighted text and more). It is like having an entire library in your home.
But that’s not all that’s included as freebies for and if you’re smart, you’ve already started scrolling down to see what you get! I’m definitely claiming my freebies now. Have a great learning summer!
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
For homeschoolers who follow a traditional school schedule, and even those who take a break in summer, this is go time!
