This post is about helping your student to independently be in-charge of their life, at least teaching them how anyways. So I created my own homeschool planner for them. 

I thought about what subjects we will be covering, what would tie in with our morning basket, what their chores and other responsibilities are and even fun things. I looked all over the internet and pinterest for ideas. I began compiling different free printables to be added to their planners.  

After doing all of that I began creating the weekly pages which make up the bulk if this planner. 

For the months and first page I used student planners(Click here to find them) that were offered free one month, now they aren’t free but she does offer specials and freebies each month. You can search around on the web to get other monthly printables for free too. 

So this is what I did:

1. Once I got everything printed, I put it all in order. I did take a LONG time, especially making sure I printed on both sides of the paper as much as possible.
2. Next I looked at my year at a glance page that I had marked the numbers of weeks of school we would be doing and then added it to their planners, that way I knew how many weeks were in each month. (we are doing 36 weeks)
3. Then I made the front cover. I purchased a few scrapbook pages from hobby lobby and some chalkboard paper and chalk markers. Once the whole planner was made, I took the pages to OfficeMax where I had them put on a front and back and then had it bound.
4. Lastly I added sticker tabs to the months. I only did the first semester.

My kids were SOOOO excited to see this and began using it. Not only does it make my life easier, they are beginning to take charge of their life and their schedule. 

Feel free to use these homeschool planner pages I have created for your student and take advantage of the free printables i found below. Or even go find some that your student likes! 

**Click link below for your FREE planner pages**

• Student Planner- Green or Student Planner-Pink (editable, made on a Mac so may not work on other computers 
• Student Planner-Green PDF or Student Planner-Pink PDF

Free printables I used in this planner: 

• first day of school questionnaire 
• bible verse coloring pages
• Starwars pages
• Starwars reading log
• princess reading log
• owl coloring page
• blank faces drawing page
• Disney coloring pages
• Easter coloring pages
• a few from this site, including the year at a glance, coloring pages, bible knowledge, piano log and christmas story
• some pages for beginning/ending of school
• some pages from a calendar notebook
• some pages from this back to school fun pack
• *calendar pages that were offered free before, they may be offered again anytime!

I hope this helps you on your journey! Happy Homeschooling! 

The post Homeschool Student Planner {plus Free Printable} appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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If you’ve read any of my homeschool posts, you know we take time to reevaluate each year. So this year we have made a decision to homeschool without doing the hybrid way we had been doing. 

Lincoln is going to be in 3rd grade and Julia is going to be in 2nd grade. London, our 2 year old will be just playing, puzzling, playdoughing and other fun things like that. Coby, well, he’s just along for the ride. We plan on starting our day with a morning basket that I will discuss in another post. 

So without further ado, here are our curriculum choices: 

Language Arts

• Bob Jones University English (Julia 2, Lincoln 3) BJU emphasizes traditional grammar, such as parts of speech, sentence structure, and mechanics, and provides practice with essential reference skills. As well as the writing process. **review
• **if we do spelling, we’ll use Spelling city (use words from reading curriculum) 
• All About Reading 2 & 3(Julia) interactive hands on approach to reading and becoming a fluent reader for life
• Christian Light Education Reading Level 3 or 4(Lincoln)reading and comprehension 

Math

• Math-U-See  (Julia-Beta, Lincoln Gamma) hands on approach with math manipulatives **review

Penmanship

• A Reason for Handwriting 

Bible

• Verities Press (check out their free trial)

History

• Story of the World v.1 and Activity guide
• multiple resource books

Geography

• Expedition Earth
• multiple resource books

Science 

• Apologia Botany 
• Nature’s Workshop Science kit for apologia botany 
• multiple resource books

Others & Extra-Curriculuar 

• Several STEM activities, games, math games, etc from timberdoodle.
• Critical Thinking workbook julia, lincoln
• typing instructor 
• various things for art and maybe some online art
• interest-based research (project)
• Youtube videos for digging further into subjects
• karate
• gymnastics
• piano
• co-op classes
• etc.

…And here’s a video recapping all of this: 

If you’re homeschooling, what resources are you using, any of the same ones we are using?

The post Our Homeschool Curriculum for 2016-2017 appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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Last year was our very first year homeschooling our oldest daughter, Abigail. While, both my husband and I were homeschooled growing up, going from homeschool student to homeschool parent and teacher can be kind of overwhelming!

We tested the waters of homeschool pre-k and absolutely loved it. So, this September, we officially started homeschool Kindergarten! Or, Spena School, as we call it. We have been at it for almost two months now, so I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite things to use in our school days(aside from lots of coffee for Mom, a bumbo seat for the baby to chill out in, and lots of outside time to burn extra energy for Abigail) 

Our Must Have Homeschool Supplies:

1. Tons of Crafts

.

If there is one thing that makes my daughter happiest, it is the ability to create something with a giant pack of markers and an even more giant stack of paper. Construction paper, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, paints, and tape are all kept close at hand and always readily available to help stretch her big, BIG imagination.

2. Books, Books, and more Books

We finally got our act together and joined our local library! It has been absolutely wonderful for our school year. We go every Thursday for story time, return our books, and check out a whole slew of new books that sound interesting, fun, and coordinate with our curriculum’s theme for the week. (Things like, Nest, Apple, Leaves, Moon, Sun, etc.) 

3. Youtube

It is amazing to me all of the knowledge that we have right at our fingertips! As soon as Abigail asks a question, if we can’t find it in our books at hand, all it takes is a quick search to figure out the answer. We listen to all sorts of classical music and learn about the composers, watch videos about animals, and learn new life lessons from video shorts that appeal to both me and her! We love taking a brief break from sitting down to dance around the kitchen to music(our favorite- Eine Kleine) and youtube makes it incredibly easy for us to do that. 

4. The Jesus Storybook Bible 

My personal favorite book to read through with the girls is the Jesus Storybook Bible. It is written in words that the girls can understand, but it speaks to all of our hearts in incredibly profound ways. At the end of the day, it’s all about Jesus and every single story- as the book says- whispers His name. I love being able to incorporate that into our school days. One of the biggest, best, and most wonderful blessings about doing school at home! 

We absolutely love homeschooling and have been so blessed by the gift it has been to our family. 

What are some of your absolute must have homeschooling supplies?

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5 Homeschool Tips for Wiggly Kids Reinventing the Cold Lunch Five Fun Fall Activities For Children

Here we are half-way through the school year.  Cooler weather can make the days seem longer as the kids can’t always get outside to run off their excessive amounts of energy.  The excitement of the new homeschool year has worn off by now and we’re all ready for something new in the New Year!

After a couple weeks off from school and many routine busting holiday events, late nights and cookies galore…it’s been hard to get back on track around here.  Everyone seems more wiggly and distracted…myself included!  So we’ve had to do a little brainstorming  on how to get our groove back.  

Here are a few ideas that have been working for us…

1. Start Your Day With a Family Dance Party/Workout

You gotta shake, shake, shake, the sillies out!  As none of us in my home are morning people, it takes a bit to get our brain power activated.  So, some fancy dance moves and yoga stretching are a great way to wake up our minds and bodies.  Or maybe if that get your little ones TOO SILLY, save it for the mid-morning or afternoon slump to get the blood pumping again.

2. Hand Fidgets

I’ve heard it said before that our minds are only as active as our bodies.  That sure seems to be true with my boys.  If I want them to actually listen to me while I read or teach them something, it works best to give them something that will keep their hands busy.  And sometimes it takes more that just their hands being busy.  An exercise ball or a mini-trampoline can really come in handy while chanting multiplication tables or reciting memory verses!

Some hand fidget suggestions: Pipe Cleaners, Nuts and Bolts, Links, Dollar Store Items, Legos, Rubix Cube, etc.

3. Get Outside

If even just for a few short minutes, a breath of fresh air can be…well,  a breath of fresh air!  Even for myself when my mind goes cloudy or I am feeling frustrated, getting out of the house clears my head a lot and quickly, too!  If you can’t get outside, check out these indoor winter games for kids…

4. Let Them Choose

Is there any reason that Math has to be first thing on the schedule?  If it’s practical, why not let your children choose what comes first on the agenda once in a while.  They may show more interest if it is the subject that they have chosen themselves.

5. Change Of Scenery

Make it fun! Working/studying in a different area of your home (or not at home!) can inspire more interest in learning as well.  Set up a fort, throw a blanket under a tree, snuggle up by the fire or in a big bed, take a field trip, head to the library.

Some days are better than others!  Don’t force it or it becomes miserable for everyone!  Just enjoy being together as a family!

What does your family do to inspire and encourage learning?

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I’ve been a mom for 7 years now and in no way am I am expert, but I am getting much better at this gig than I was when I first became a mom.

A few weeks ago we hosted small group at our own home for the first time and I was amazed by how young, yet grown up the other couples were. When I think back to my early mothering years I wasn’t anywhere close to how mature, financially responsible or spiritually strong these couple are now. 

My husband was finishing his doctorate and I was finishing my degree, we were broke and just beginning to learn about real health and real food. And we were addicted to Diet Coke. I could never imagine we’d have the pleasure to be where we are now. 

Over the 10 years of our marriage we’ve experienced needing governmental assistance while we were in school, having dreadful jobs, asking for help from family, not able to give gifts to others, to church or to each other, dealing with what seemed like one closed door after another, heartache and pain, but also so much blessing through all of that.

We’ve learned to wait on God, to look at situations through a godly lens, that it’s OK to not have it all together, and when trials come, they’re to bring glory to God. 

The past couple of years when I’ve shared my days, I had been going through hard seasons of trustand now I am in a season of peace. Not always clearly knowing God’s plans, but always seeing parts of his plan living out in a way I would have never thought possible. 

So I’d like to share with you one of my days from the beginning of the school year. I have a kindergartener,  a first grader and a 6 month old. We “do” school with a 3 times a week co-op and homeschool. (You can read more about it here if you are interested.)

August 21, 2014

8:08 a.m.

I woke up to my husband saying goodbye and thought I’ll rest for a little longer. It’s a Thursday, I went to bed later so I slept in a bit later than I had planned.  If you are an early bird, I want to be you! I just couldn’t do it today.

I rolled out of bed about 30 minutes after he left. 

It’s a homeschool day, and it’s going to be filled to the brim, so I better get up… to finish reading about my day, click on over to Keeper of the Home, where you see the rest of my jam-packed day! 

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Written by Contributing Writer, Jenn @ A Simple Haven

For me, August feels a bit like January. It’s a time to evaluate routines, dream about the (school) year to come, set some new goals, and get inspired.

My kids aren’t even school-aged yet, but having been a teacher for so long and with my husband in school, I naturally break the calendar into semesters.

So I look forward to the fall semester with anticipation, knowing that I have just one more year with my big girl before she starts formal schooling, that my little guy will be a preschooler by Christmas, and that I only have a few more months before baby #3 makes his appearance.

I get much inspiration from books, so this month, I am turning to old favorites to refresh me for the months ahead. I’ve also picked up some new ones that I have a feeling I’ll be referencing for years to come.

My plan for now is to homeschool, so several of the books listed have a homeschool-y bent. However, having been a high school teacher for six years, I can confidently say that the principles in any of them can be applied no matter what schooling choice you make.

Quality parenting/educating books abound, but to keep the list manageable, I picked only the ones I find most inspiring, encouraging, or grace-filled.

On Parenting

The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

Simply put: this book made me excited to be a mom. I was pregnant with my first when I first picked it up and I remember thinking, man, this motherhood thing is more important that I realized.

But rather than leaving me overwhelmed by a list of to-dos, Sally simply inspires me to love my children well, nourish their souls, and rest in grace.

Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic

Blessed be the brief book on parenting. Not only do I feel like I lose brain cells with each pregnancy, my attention span in non-fiction has never been awesome.

Full of personal anecdotes, practical wisdom, and encouragement from another mom “in the trenches” (read: at the time of publication, she had five kids five and under, with one set of twins), this short reads is one of my favs.

Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne

I’ve not finished this one yet, but I find myself recommending it to friends already. As a recovering over-committer and one prone to sensory overload (toys with lots of noise and lights do me in), I naturally tend toward an uncluttered schedule and environment for my kids.

But through scientific studies and his many years teaching and counseling families, Payne makes the case that the simple, slower, uncluttered childhood is vital for our kids’ well-being. And he makes such a childhood seem do-able for any family.

On Educating

The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer

The classical education Bible. I was years away from having school aged kids when I picked this up, but as a former teacher, I was amazed at the logic of the classical approach to learning. (Or rather, at the illogic of many of our public school ways).

But even if you’re not homeschooling or following the classical method, this book is an excellent resource for supplementing your child’s education. It’s full of annotated resource lists and includes practical guides to approaching each subject at all grade levels.

For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macauley

A inspirational guide to making education rich, joy-filled, and soul-nourishing. McCauley draws a lot on Charlotte Mason’s teachings and the result is a book that makes me excited about hours of outdoor play, nature journals, and reading quality books with my kids.

On Finding Quality Books for Kids

Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt

An annotated list of books for kids of all ages, organized by genre. It’s such a fantastic resource and I find myself returning to it year after year.

Read for the Heart by Sarah Clarkson

Another fantastic resource for children’s book recommendations, written by Sally Clarkson’s oldest daughter. Bonus: Sarah just launched an online literary resource/publishing house called Storyformed. It’s pretty great.

What are your favorite sources of inspiration for parenting and education?

*note: this post contains affiliate links, thank you for supporting this site. Read full disclosure here. 

The post Parenting and Educating Inspiration for the Fall appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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*note from Rachel: Kristen first started contributing in May of last year. She’s talked about homeschooling (a topic she loves!), freezing blueberries, organization and more! Today she’ll be sharing her last post here. I’m sad to see her go, she’s on to new endeavors and focusing on her family. I I have been blessed by Kristen and hope you have as well!!  

After researching homeschooling options and approaches years before we actually started formal education (yes, I tend to over-research), I knew that I wanted our homeschool to be focused more on hands-on experiences and less on textbooks.

When it comes to science, a hands-on approach often involves nature study. I’m someone who likes to tinker in gardening, foraging, and herbs, so nature study seemed like a great fit for us!

However, during our first couple of homeschooling years, I consistently found myself feeling overwhelmed, lost, and really uncertain with the whole area of nature study. I was never quite sure if I was doing it the right way and our projects took twice as long as I thought they should.

Looking back with a little more experience under my belt, I realize that I made nature study way more complicated than it needed to be.

Nature study can be as simple as spending time outside, finding something interesting, recording it with drawings and words in a notebook, and perhaps researching it later. Sure, you can make it more involved, but if you’re not quite sure how to tackle the whole process, those simple steps are the best place to start.

Whether your children are homeschooled or attend school, adding some nature study to your schedule is a great way to learn about God’s great creation. Keep in mind these following tips to make sure it is an enjoyable experience for you and your children. 

Go With The Seasons

The seasons offer us a very simple way to organize our nature study lessons:

• In the winter, we look for animal footprints in the snow or stick with basic science experiments inside.
• In the spring, we study tree buds swelling, signs of the new season starting, and animal tracks left in the mud.
• In the summer, we watch butterflies, birds, and insects in the garden, talk about helpful plants, and identify bird calls.
• In the fall, we compare seed shapes, examine abandoned nests, and do leaf rubbings (of course!).

Let Nature Come to You

While field trips to nature parks, zoos, aquariums, and museums are fantastic ways to enrich nature study, so much can be done in our backyards!

Just a simple walk through the yard offers an abundance of plants to be discovered, and many of them are edible or useful. Clouds can be studied, bird feeders set up, and earthworms unearthed all from the comfort of the backyard. Doing nature study right at home helps keep things simple and doable!

Follow Their Interests

Sometimes I suggest a topic to study for our nature study time and my children are less than thrilled. Rather than make it an area of contention, I ask them for their input based on what is available to us that season.

I also try to keep in mind if something has recently grabbed my children’s interest. For example, when we had a groundhog lurking in our backyard, we did a couple of nature study lessons on groundhogs!

Stocking a Nature Study Tool Chest

You really don’t need many special tools for nature study, but certain materials will make the process more exciting and educational for your children. I like having these simple materials on hand:

• Inexpensive blank spiral sketchbooks serve as nature study journals
• Colored and graphite pencils are used for nature journal entries
• Magnifying glasses help see simple details and are just plain fun to use
• Simple microscopes show smaller details but are easy on the budget
• Binoculars allow us to observe animals up in trees or off in a field

 Keep Some Good Nature Guides on Hand

Nature guides are our go-to when doing nature study! In fact, we have a fabric bag that we keep stocked for our nature study time that holds nature study journals, pencils, and a big stack of small nature guides. When we do nature study, the bag comes along, and so much information is right there with us!

My top suggestion for finding nature guides is to check with your state’s department of natural resources. In Ohio, I can write in for free nature study guides sent right to me as a home educator! We rely heavily on these, as well as other resources from the department.

This book (affiliate link) provides a lot of basic information that will apply to most of the Unites States. We also keep it in our handy nature study bag so it’s always with us when we head out.

Take advantage of these summer months with some simple nature study with your children!

Do you do nature study with your children? What tips do you have?

The post Simplifying Nature Study appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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