013. Homeschooling on a Budget

013. Homeschooling on a Budget

Can I afford to homeschool?
What do I need to buy to homeschool?
How much does curricula cost?

Tune in this week while we discuss these topics and more!

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Are you just starting your homeschooling journey? We’re here to help! Begin with our Get Started in Homeschooling page and Homeschooling FAQ to make the transition smoother. If you’re guiding a young child, explore our How to Homeschool Kindergarten. to make those first steps special. For middle schoolers, don’t miss our Middle School page packed with tips and advice. And if you’re heading into the high school years, our Essential Steps to Homeschool High School will guide you every step of the way!

Show Notes

The holidays are over and we once again overspent even though we said we wouldn’t, and now it’s the new year. We are all fresh off our downward holiday spiral and riding that new year motivational high. So let’s start the year financially savvy. If you haven’t already, creating a household budget in general with line items for things like homeschool supplies, memberships, educational classes, and activities/travel can help you stay on track.

Can I afford to homeschool? (3:06)

Real life is messy, no matter how your family looks. Home education is as diverse as the families involved! The beauty of homeschooling is the flexibility—it can fit any individual, lifestyle, or family type.

Whether you are dual income,single income, or single parenting, most of us probably need to be mindful of whether we can actually afford to homeschool. Sometimes it is simply not going to be realistic for this season of your life, and that’s ok. We’ve discussed some other options to having your child at home that aren’t necessarily homeschooling in our “Getting Started” episode. But if you can, let’s talk about some ways to make homeschooling work in your home! Just keep in mind that a low-cost education does not mean a substandard one!

Even if you’re not a single parent, Oftentimes, this is going to involve a shift to a single income. So how can you continue to provide for your family and school your children at home? Working from home would be the ideal situation. If possible, pursue bringing your job home. Perhaps your boss is open to you working remotely, at least maybe part-time. Since the pandemic, this has become more and more common.

You may need to do some juggling while you try to balance schooling with different work schedules. One fantastic aspect of homeschooling is that you can do it anytime, from anywhere. Evaluate your family— age, temperament, etc. Can they go to the office/worksite with you? Maybe there’s another family member who can stay with the kids while you work? Could you do school in the evenings and on the weekends? We discussed in our episode about homeschool styles and philosophies that possibly your child may perform better doing school at a different time than a traditional schedule. You may find that it works for you to hire a nanny or do independent or online schooling? You may have to think outside the box, but that’s what home education is all about!

The good news is homeschooling does not have to be expensive and there are lots of ways to save money, supplement a single income, and school on a budget.

Envelope Budgeting System

Making a very strict budget is one way to be successful. And one of the ways we found to stick to a budget was through an envelope system. Although it’s not a secular financial program, we used an envelope system program suggested by Dave Ramsey. It’s a really practical way to budget and when you’re using a cash system, you cannot overspend, and it’s really important for your children to see the money move.

Ways to save money while homeschooling:

Making all your meals at home/packing lunches/ menu planning
Shopping dollar stores/dollar bins at Target
Garage sales
Thrift stores
Shopping discounts
Hand me downs
Gift lists for family- memberships, educational toys, games

Ways to supplement a single income or make money from home:

Work from home- build a business
Pet sitting
Babysitting
Blogging
Picking up kids from school and dropping them off at home or after school program
Online tutor
Music lessons
Refurbish furniture
Work from home- selling
Sell online-eBay, Amazon, Facebook marketplace
Sell other people’s stuff
Sell at farmers markets -vegetables or crafts
Start Etsy shop
Dropshipping
Work from home-online jobs
Teach international students English
Virtual assistant
Freelance writer
Virtual Customer service, reservations
Gig work-Door dash, GrubHub, Instacart, Shipt
Usborne books
Surveys or Studies
Secret shopper/studies with UT southwestern, Curion, kid studies

What do I need to buy to homeschool? (13:39)

There are definitely things you want when homeschooling and then the things that you actually need. You do not need a fabulous Pinterest homeschooling classroom with tons of bookshelves and fancy desks, computers, and beautiful framed inspirational education posters. Even if you do have that, often your kids are going to want to slump on the sofa or their bed with a pile of library books. Don’t overcomplicate things.

Homeschooling necessities- what do you really need

Consumable items- paper, pens, markers, crayons, pencils
Extra-curriculars- not really necessary, but for a low cost option, you may want to consider rec center, pooling resources with another parent, or a non academic co-op – check all our suggestions below!)
Equipment- microscopes, books, project supplies

A great way to get supplies is by attending Curriculum swaps, retiring homeschooler sale, Ebay, Facebook marketplace, and Facebook homeschool sale groups. You may also check if your town has a homeschool store- we have one in north Texas and they even offer used curricula at a discount. We would also say that once you’re done with curriculum and you’re not going to use it for consecutive children, sell it as soon as possible. It will hold its value better before newer updates are created. A homeschool group we were in for years, had a lending library with curriculum and supplies, including a microscope. Totally free!

If you have multiple kids, you may want to choose reproducible resources. Or you can make your own reproducible resources (laminating pages and dry erase markers.) You may want to consider a really good printer or use Office Depot specials to print. For example, with SOTW, someone turned us on to having Office Depot cut the binding and then having the activity pages spiral bound, while we had the consumable worksheets 3 hole punched. This allowed the same set to be used for multiple children, and then pass it on to another family afterward.

Be sure to check with your curriculum to make sure this is actually allowed. Many will have information on that publishing page and you do want to be mindful of copyright rules. It’s also important to remember that many homeschool curriculum providers are homeschooling parents, as well, and this is their side business that has allowed them to afford homeschooling. Please be sure to be ethical in your sharing of resources.

How much does curricula cost? (17:31)

There are a ton of free and cheap resources out there, but curricula can also be really expensive. Again, one of the first things to do when selecting something, is to make sure you know your homeschool style and worldview. It may not be worth it to use a completely free curriculum if it doesn’t align with your family’s belief system or is otherwise problematic.

And If you’re not completely sure, that’s ok! Just check out episode 4 where we walk you through identifying your homeschool philosophy and worldview. In the show notes on our website, we provided some great information and resources to help you uncover the worldview hidden in curriculum.

037. 7 Steps to Choosing Curriculum

Another tip is to refrain from buying more than a year in advance. It may be tempting when you see some mom selling 5 years of Saxon math on Facebook marketplace to just snap it all up, but that’s not a great idea unless you know for sure that that program is still going to work for your child down the line. We recommend purchasing for the next year, sell when done, and roll that into the next year.

One thing to look into with older students is Clep testing or Dual Credit. Many times these are offered free or at a discount and can be used for college credit. This can save an enormous amount of time and money long term. We’ve mentioned our local community college offers free or discounted dual credit classes and this was a fabulous resource for us both.

Look into group buys with sites like Homeschoolers Buyers Club -they also have a lot of free resources, and you can also get free homeschool ids here-we download them every year for the first day of school! They often pool resources to get programs that are otherwise financially out of reach or only available to schools or groups with huge numbers of students.

You can make your own curriculum. From writing it yourself, or using resources like Pinterest, blogs, homeschool Instagram, YouTube, sites like Enchanted Learning, 123Homeschool4me, homeschool share, or Teachers Pay Teachers. These may require a membership fee but then allow you access to tons of resources.

Enchanted learning

Teachers pay teachers

123Homeschool4me

Homeschool Share

You can look at publisher’s websites for resources or supplemental material, too. Sites for book or book series like Magic Tree House had a downloadable passport, quizzes, and all kinds of lesson plans and printables that went with each book. It was such an easy way to make an entire class work on the fly. And there are several books in this series, readily available at the library or second hand, too.

Audiobooks — **Tons of FREE Audio Books**

There are so many great apps or online educational streaming resources. Sometimes you can access passwords from local school districts (or just by googling)- we used Brain Pop this way for many years. Discovery streaming is also popular. We LOVED Reading eggs and Starfall. Before buying, Look for free trials to check things out to see if they will work for your family.

The encyclopedia is also awesome and available free online. Using Libby/Overdrive through your local library or in conjunction with Broward County or NYC library systems allows you unlimited audio/digital book options. Your library can also be a resource for free passes, language classes.

There are also thousands of books available on the public domain and they are available as Ebooks and Audiobooks. Loyal Books.com is a fantastic website and easy to search titles

Scratch is a fantastic free program produced by MIT to teach young children how to code. There’s tons of free YouTube videos, and books you can check out step you through learning. Our kids started there and eventually programmed a raspberry pie before building their first computer. Also we love John and Hank Greene’s Crash course video series on YouTube. Really, just anything YouTube! What a great free resource!

Khan Academy is a fabulous free website that offers free programming. It’s great for entire classes or sometimes we may use it to look up videos for things, like math concepts, that we may need additional help with.

We’ve talked at length about co-ops and otherwise pooling resources with other parents. This can be a huge money and time saver, while also offering a wonderful social outlet for your kids. Along with this, you could also try bartering tutoring with a friend or acquaintance or volunteering your time with another group in exchange for classes or access to resources.

Another way to save money on curricula and supplies is to shop sales. Many curriculum companies have sales multiple times a year. Be on the lookout for those and plan ahead. You can also look at office supply rebates, or using teacher discounts, and piggybacking on back to school sales or tax free weekends.

Printing out your own teacher ID can net you some teachers discounts. These are available at Barnes and Noble, Half Price Books, Joanns, etc. You can print your a free ID at Homeschool Buyers Club

Scholastic book warehouses are located in several cities and offer huge sales a couple times a year. You can register as a homeschool teacher and show up and save money on classroom items.

We also don’t want to forget activities and extra curriculars! And just because you are on a strict budget does not mean you have to pass these things up. There are so many cheap and free educational resources out there.

For one, you can look at sites like Groupon, Citipass, or Pogo Pass for discounts to area attractions or activities. One year, several of us bought Pogo Passes and met up together at various places. They may have museum entry, or go-carting, or waterpark tickets included. Also, it’s important to know that you can always create your own extracurricular and invite friends! Do you know tennis? Teach a group tennis class! Do you know art? Teach an art group. People are always willing to participate when you’re the one organizing. Pick something that your child has a strong interest in and just do it.Lego club? Book club? Gardening? The possibilities are endless!

Museum family memberships can be a great value if they are a place you visit more than once or twice. Oftentimes a membership pays for itself in just a couple visits. These are also great gifts to ask for from extended family. Many also partner with reciprocal programs.

There is a science museum program (Association of Science and Technology Centers) and an arboretum program (American Horticultural Society). These are great locally and can be really handy when traveling out of town or planning a family vacation.

If you have access to any State or National Parks nearby, these are a fantastic resource for education. Many have Junior Ranger programs that are free to access, sometimes you can even do these online without physically visiting a park. Amtrak also partners with the NPS in the summer and offers programming onboard trains. The Every Kid Outdoors Program gives all 4th graders a free National Parks Pass. This pass allows access for all children under 16 in the group and up to three accompanying adults (or an entire car for drive-in parks) to most federally managed lands and waters.

You should also look at local historical sites and places. Many areas may have local villages, farmsteads or other sites that offer demonstrations, or self-guided/guided tours. These are often free or very low cost ($5) but may require advanced reservations.

Look at your local museums. Many offer programming sometimes just for homeschoolers. Some may also have homeschool days- our zoo and science museums do that as well and it’s a great way to spend a day exploring!

For the arts, you can often find free or low-cost community concerts, or student matinee shows. For several years we attended our local Opera House’s dress rehearsals for shows. These were totally free and typically the full show without interruption!

Check out your local community or rec center for classes, field trips, sports opportunities. This is a great way to try out an activity with a short commitment or join a specific art or dance class at a great price. Just having a membership to your local rec center can be a huge value for access to a gym, pool, courts and other rec activities.

Field trips are often a great way to get free or discounted entry. Our local Aquarium never has coupons available but you can get a significant discount if you book as a group. Often, if you are the organizer, you get your entrance for free! Some government sites are open to the public or offer free tours- the Federal Reserve and US MInt are two, you can also typically tour your state capital this way. Consider this when traveling (Washington DC has the BEST museums, and they are all free to enter.)

100 Awesome Homeschool Field Trip Ideas — Be sure to Download your **FREE Field Trip Bundle**

We’ve given you so many tips and ways to save and budget. But honestly, homeschooling does not have to be complicated! Sometimes less is more and it’s important to remember that this is not a race and it’s OK to minimize all of the things. You’re here for the experiences so stay in the moment and teach your children to appreciate and value what they do have.

This Week’s Freebie:

Free Homeschool Budget Sheets

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012. Q&A Special Episode

We meet so many people that ask random homeschool questions all the time and we decided to do a special Year End Episode to answer YOUR questions!

Tune in this week while we answer all your questions and more!

TWO WAYS TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
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Show Notes

We put out a request for listeners to send us some questions for a Q&A episode and we actually received some! We appreciate you all listening and please keep sending things you’d like to hear us talking more about in future episodes.

How do you introduce a foreign language? (4:23)

Studies show that the earlier children are exposed to a foreign language, the more likely they are to become fluent as opposed to when they begin to learn another language in their teens or as young adults. Some reasons for this are that they are in a stage when they have a more
natural acquisition to learning language, in general, and they have more space in their brain for new ideas. Kids are already learning speech and grammar just as they are learning to speak, and that is often the hardest part of beginning to learn another language.

Here are 7 ways to introduce a foreign language in your home, whether you have other native speakers or are doing something totally new:

Learn together
Play games in a foreign language
Watch cartoons and shows in another language
Sing songs
Read books
Include in your daily activities
Learn online

There are tons of resources for online Foreign Language learning:
DuoLingo
Mango Languages

Rosetta Stone is now **HALF** Price at Homeschool Buyers Club!

Many homeschoolers tend to start with Latin. Even though it is considered a “dead language” 50% of all English words are derived from Latin along with 80-90% of all polysyllabic words. It could also help with career fields that include law, medicine, science, music, theology, philosophy, art, and literature.

We really liked these series of books. They are a great little 10-15 minute a day lesson and review:

Getting Started with Latin: Beginning Latin for Homeschoolers and Self-Taught Learners of all Ages by William Linney

French

German

Spanish

Usborne First Words:

French

Spanish

How to approach art with young children? (10:58)

I remember the time as a young homeschool mom, when I asked where to find art ideas, like handprint turkeys and feet reindeer like we made in school and a friend turned me on to Susan Striker. She’s the author of a series called the “Anti-coloring books.” There is a huge difference between craft projects and actual art. Things like
coloring between the lines are not art and it is not a necessary skill. We want to encourage creativity.

It’s the process not the product! Letting kids experience different mediums and methods is a great way to “teach” art. And it does not have to be super structured. Having a dedicated art space in your home, maybe a corner or table or shelf with a variety of supplies and paper accessible will attract young artists. We liked programs that may introduce an artist or style and then let you create something with those mediums (oil, charcoal, watercolor) or in that style.

Preschool Art by Maryann Kohl

“Young at Art” Susan Striker

Anti Coloring books:

The Anti-Coloring Book: Creative Activities for Ages 6 and up

The Second Anti-Coloring Book for Ages 6 and up

It’s never too early to expose kids to great art and artists. Visit local museums, follow local art studios or exhibition places. Many museums also have free or low cost classes, sometimes even just for homeschoolers.

I make artist study really simple in my house. I like to grab art calendars on clearance and cut out the high quality prints to frame for when we are studying a particular artist. I got really cute magnetic frames that open from the front and I can switch the pictures out weekly. I actually hang these in the bathroom. You’d be surprised how much learning happens with a captive toilet audience. I’ll link these frames in our show notes:

Open from Front Art Frames

If you could choose to spend money on one extracurricular, which would be most important? (15:29)

It is totally possible to homeschool without spending a lot or really any money on extracurricular activities but if you do have the money to spend and feel this is important, what would you choose? There are people who place different values on certain things, sports is a good example, and others who may solely focus on academics and college prep. There really is no right or wrong answer for this, it’s going to vary for each family.

Extracurriculars can make for a more well-rounded student. Dedication and commitment, teamwork, following directions, learning from another person, are all benefits to extracurricular activities.

I would say the most important one is the one that your child wants to do. There are things that look good on a college application, and things that can open a door to scholarships or other opportunities, but ultimately, it is up to the child. Follow their passions. But we did have a rule that your “passion” couldn’t change until we were done paying for that 8 week session! It’s ok to try a lot of things but also ok to set boundaries about how long you must commit.

This Week’s Freebie:

Year-end Reflections

011. All About Family

All About Family

How do you balance multi-age students?
How do you encourage strong sibling relationships?
How do you encourage extended family support?

Tune in this week while we discuss these topics and more!

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Sibling Kindness Poster and more!

Show Notes

How to balance multi-age students? (2:11)

One of the biggest reasons people give for wanting to homeschool is to spend more time with family. That can be more quality time with your immediate family or more flexibility in visiting extended family, as well. Whatever your reasons for choosing this lifestyle, it’s a true whole family commitment.

Parenting is not always pretty. What you see on social media doesn’t always paint a true picture of what’s going on in the home. We may have this expectation that everybody else has this happy, peaceful home and that is even more of a concern when we homeschool. Conflicts will arise, but keep in mind that we are here to teach our kids much more than just curriculum. We are teaching them appropriate ways to deal with their emotions, frustrations and how to problem solve.

Much of our early homeschooling journey was balancing the needs of younger kids that still needed a lot of one-on-one help, while keeping a nursing baby happy, or keeping a toddler from climbing on the table or screaming during a read aloud, to keeping a preschooler occupied during events or activities that were meant for older kids.

Sometimes it is easiest to have a short early morning routine with breakfast and reading on the couch and go get some energy out – either at the park, go for a long walk or sometimes head to the mall, if the weather isn’t favorable. We would also have regular play dates with families that meshed with our family and the younger siblings were ALWAYS involved. If we met up with friends in the morning, then we would do school in the afternoon and vice versa.

In those early years, we did most activities as a family. Both kids helped with meal prep, household chores, and even the household budget. Reading was always a huge part of the day, and we spent a lot of time at the library. A good way to get littles motivation in the morning is activities like morning baskets, shared crafts, or schooling certain subjects together before moving on to one on one or trickier subjects. Once a little one’s attention needs have been satisfied, it is often easier to move on to harder things with older students.

Morning Basket Ideas

A big help for schooling with multi-age students is encouraging the older ones to help to teach the younger sibling. Teaching is a great way to help solidify ideas and concepts that they have learned, and it is beneficial for the older child, as well as the younger sibling. Project based homeschooling is also a great way to include everyone.

Sometimes it also helps giving a younger one “work” to do too. Preschoolers don’t really need a ton of formal education, but some may want to do what older siblings are doing, so it’s totally fine to make them a binder full of coloring or handwriting pages or give them their own age-specific craft or activity to do at the same time.

Trading time with other friends with similar spreads- we and another friend did a mom camp with younger siblings while older siblings attended a camp one summer. We each traded off a day each and it was a great way for the younger friends to bond while the older were occupied and the moms got some me time, too. We also created clubs because all the girls were in one group and we needed a place or activity for the boys. And we’ve both also done field trips and activities where there is an age limit and perhaps one parent went with all the older students, while another hung out with the youngsters at a nearby venue.

It was important to us to search out inclusive family groups or activities. We almost always did multi age events and groups- park days, hiking group, clubs. Most of our friends were in the same boat, none of us had time to attend 2, 3, 4, single kid activities several times a week, and we had a lot of overlap in friend groups, too.

For a while we had to say no to a group that my older kids very much wanted to be a part of just because there was an age minimum that little sister hadn’t met yet. It wasn’t worth the drama to send them when she also really wanted to go, so we just waited a year until everyone was old enough to participate.

Some favorite books about parenting and family relationships:

“Siblings without Rivalry” by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish:

“How to Talk so Kids will Listen…” series, also by Faber and Mazlish:

The original

For little kids

For teens

How to encourage strong sibling relationships? (14:56)

Sibling relationships are key to a strong family unit and if you foster a great bond early, this will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Siblings influence one another on development, friendship, support, personality, identity, and emotion regulation.

Sibling conflict is normal. Most behaviors children’s exhibit serve a function- understanding that will help you effectively honor the child’s mission and correct the behavior. Sometimes a scuffle over a toy or an older child picking on a younger is meant to elicit a response and some attention from mom. These moments can be frustrating but if we just shift our thinking, we can see them as opportunities to teach Conflict Resolution!

Some ways we can foster healthy sibling bonds:

Avoid competition and rivalry, cheer each other on, promote the idea of a sibling/family team.
Check your own emotions when kids argue, take a break, help kids work out problems without making anyone wrong.
Encourage siblings to nurture one another, taking care of each other, having a sibling ask if the other is ok after they get hurt.
Create sibling special times.
Letting kids play together even if it interrupts learning time. Notice and promote the activities that get your kids playing together-do not interrupt happy play.
Promote family activities that put kids in charge and let them make decisions.
Have a great nighttime routine! Winding down, reading together, saying goodnight to one another, talking about the day or plans for tomorrow. Often in the dark, side by side, it’s easier to say things out loud that maybe you struggle to say in person, don’t rush. Listen to your kids. There’s a reason kids put off going to bed. They want to be with you, with each other, work through their emotions, etc.

How to encourage extended family support? (25:08)

There are many different families and types of family support.

How to deal with Negative support:

Spend less time with unsupportive people- don’t put yourself in situations where you are going to feel on the spot or criticized for your choices. If you have a hard time saying no to that, think about whether it’s fair to put your kids in that situation.
Have strong boundaries- your choices are not up for discussion.
Stop the info train-when you invite people into the conversation, sometimes they think they get a vote.
Respect is earned, not expected. Do not be afraid to walk away from relationships that do not benefit your family.

How to encourage Positive support:

People do not need to understand your choices, to support you.
Include positive information about what you are learning, doing, activities with extended relatives.
If grandparents, aunts, uncles, other extended family have special skills or interests, include them in your schooling or encourage them to share with the kids.
Encourage gifts like museum memberships, books, supplies, or class tuition.
Being present, if you have local family and friends, inviting them to your kids’ activities or events is wonderful. It’s great for them to see your kids thriving.

This Week’s Freebies:

Sibling Kindness Poster

010. But What About High School?

But What About High School?

Feeling confused and lost as you start homeschooling high schoolers? Don’t worry – you can do this! Overcome the overwhelm and the fear of failure with us. Wondering if your homeschooler can get a diploma, if you need to teach calculus, or if they can go to college? Tune in this week as we dive into these questions and more! Join us for an enlightening and empowering discussion on navigating the high school homeschooling journey.

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High School Planning Sheet (pdf)
Extracurricular Planning Sheet (pdf)

Show Notes

The High School Series is a great resource to help you get through those high school years! It covers these topics plus many Free Resources to help you on your journey. You will be learning how to homeschool high school right along with your teens and the homeschooling parent we are now is not the homeschooling parent we will be at the end of this process. Be patient with yourself. The longer you homeschool high schoolers, the more you will notice your imperfections! But, remember: Perfection is NOT required! Remember, homeschooling is about teaching your child how to LEARN and to foster that love of learning.

We, as parents, are not going to be the best at everything. Rather, we want them to learn that as adults, they can look for resources to keep learning things they need to know.

Take time to enjoy your teens

While your teens are in high school, academics will be high priority. However, try not to get so focused on those academics that you do not have time to enjoy your child. Your teen does not need to work on academics intensely all day, every day. Use the flexibility of homeschooling to your best advantage.

SNL Skit – Back Home Ballers
(Funny skit when the kids come home for the holidays)

If you’re new to homeschooling high school, be sure to check out the Essential Steps to Homeschool High School. This episode is part of our High School series, offering expert advice, comprehensive documentation, and resources like Free Transcript Templates to help you stay organized.

**12 Steps to Homeschooling High School**

Prepare Teens for Life and Career

To truly be prepared for life and career, homeschool high schoolers need to believe in themselves. We need to help teens find their self-knowledge and self-confidence. We can do this by:

Many teens are figuring out who they are by experimenting with various ideas and behaviors.
Teens will have struggles with friends or personal situations that will affect them deeply and stress them out. Sometimes this causes them to butt heads with safe people while they are figuring things out. And that safe person is probably you. Try to give them some grace and not take it personally.
Do what works for your family.
It’s important to keep yourself in check and avoid feeling pressure of comparing yourself to others that may have a more high-achieving teen. Some homeschool high schoolers want to own everything about their education and assignments and others want daily engagement with you. And, sometimes what they want is not what they need. Maybe they think they want to do everything on their own, but then get bogged down. They’re still trying to figure it out. This is where you can step in to help and guide them. You may choose to handle this by finding common goals with honest, regular check-ins, maybe daily or weekly.
If you are struggling and butting heads-especially in a certain subject, it might be a good time to outsource a class. You want to try to avoid bringing on additional stress to your relationship.
There will also be bad days when no schooling gets done. Some days are rotten, and schoolwork needs to be set aside. Tomorrow is a new day. You can model resilience for your teens- it is a GREAT life skill.

Can my homeschooler get a diploma?

Many people think homeschoolers cannot get a high school diploma or have to go through the state or get a GED to graduate. Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states. In many, like here in Texas, a homeschool diploma carries the same weight as a public or private school diploma. There are some states where this differs- NY and there are some places that don’t take a homeschool diploma- beauty school, overseas colleges. But at the end of the day, a diploma is also just a piece of paper. Very rarely are you ever asked to produce this document. You can make one yourself or order a professional quality one from sources. What is really important, especially if your student is college bound, is a transcript.

A transcript is a record of classes, grades, and GPA. A transcript should contain grades and class names for all levels of high school and any college coursework completed before high school. There are numerous transcript templates available online and you can choose to make a transcript by year or by subject. A subject transcript is a great option if you are including classes from 8th grade, or doing a Super Senior year, or perhaps, taking a lot of classes in a semester- like shortened semester classes (a lot of dual credit courses are offered this way, but it can look weird to have so many credit hours in one semester). You also may want to include a resume or second sheet that lists all your child’s accomplishments, awards, any volunteer work, clubs and other activities. This is typically called a resume, and is also detailed out in a college application or Common App.

We will include a high school planning template in our future high school series show notes.

Many homeschool groups host graduation ceremonies or you can host your own. It is also completely fine not to do one at all. You can order your own graduation gear and supplies without going through a pricey graduation company. We ordered our beautiful high school diplomas from here:

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA – You can also make your own!

Do I need to teach calculus?

You do not need to know upper level math and science to teach it. There are several options for teaching these subjects. You can outsource- we use an upper level math and science school that we are lucky to have locally. It’s a brick and mortar homeschool school, run and taught by a man with his PhD in Chemistry. The kids love the class, it allows for labs not to be done in your kitchen, and they get to hang out with friends, study together, etc. If you are in the Dallas area, here’s a plug for Thinking Reeds Math and Science in Plano. We love Dr. Reid! Thinking Reeds

You also can opt to do dual credit classes through colleges. Dual credit courses are nice because they satisfy high school credits while knocking out college credits at the same time. We both did this through a local community college but there are tons of options for dual credit online, as well, if you don’t have a local option. Arizona State has a Universal Learner program that is awesome- you can take a course for free and then only pay if you want to keep the grade.

There are also several online single class curricula for different courses or al carte classes available from sources like Outschool, or Well Trained Mind Academy, and several others. You can even choose courses at Arizona State Universal Learner: https://ea.asu.edu

Learn more about:
OUTSCHOOL CLASSES

Most homeschool curricula is scripted and/or you can learn right alongside your student.

A lot of homeschool curricula is organized so that parents present the information as written, students then do the work, and then parents’ grade or assess from there. You absolutely do not need to be an expert in any of these subjects.

Can my homeschooler go to college?

There are so many different pathways that homeschoolers can choose to take after completing high school. While many are college bound, several also choose military, trade, certification programs, or community college.

Determining what path your child will want to go can help you to craft your homeschool high school experience. I do see a lot of people struggle with trying to figure this out early and I want to stress that it is totally normal for a 14-year-old not to know what they want to do for the rest of their life. A lot of kids might think they want to do one thing and then change their mind later, again, that is ok. It is our job to give them the ultimate schooling experience that will prepare them for *any* of the pathways they may choose along the way. For many, that means a full high school academic plan with college in mind, along with a variety of extracurricular activities and community service. These can be volunteer work, scouting, clubs and other activities, theater, musical instruments, etc.

If you are looking to do a college prep type approach to your homeschool high school education, I’d recommend looking at a variety of colleges and looking to see what they require for admissions from students. Many have a section for homeschooled students specifically, but many review homeschool/private/public applications in the same way. Either way, this is a good source for seeing what colleges want in terms of classes (a lot are looking for traditional 4 years of Math, English, Social Sciences, 4 years of science with 3 lab, 2-3 years foreign language, etc). They will also talk about what they require as far as test scores go and so you may then want to incorporate test prep into your coursework as well and figure out the schedules for taking those.

A big concern for many homeschoolers is testing. For those of us in states that do not require any kind of testing or have kids that have never been in a school environment, testing can be an overwhelming idea because it is possible the ACT/SAT or TSI/Accuplacer may be the very first test your students take. It can also seem confusing taking in information regarding PSAT and all the other different testing option. CLT is another test some people opt for, as well (it is more of a classical style test, so often recommended for homeschoolers who have come up through a traditional classics trivium style of learning). Get test booklets, take practice tests online, see where any weaknesses are that may need improvement. Invest in a test prep course of some sort if you want.

Some schools are now labeled as “test optional”. Test optional sometimes does not apply to homeschoolers, however. Also, sometimes scholarships are tied to test scores, so it is usually recommended to at least attempt tests. You may surprise yourself, and testing, whether we like it or not, is going to be part of their college experience regardless.

Another route to college to avoid testing and/or to save money, is to go to community college first and then transfer. This can be done as dual credit or after high school graduation. Do keep in mind that most colleges do not consider classes earned while still in high school as transfer credits. Even when students graduate with associates degrees in high school, they are typically still encouraged to apply to all colleges as freshman students and remain freshman level until those credit eventually hit (sometime after first semester). Some schools may still require a 4-year program, but they may reap the benefit of priority registration and 1st choice in housing, due to upper-classman status. Most community colleges require some sort of placement test. These are more informational for the college than they are a test of what students know. Many people want to avoid these, but they really are not a stressful type of test at all.

Must Reads for Dual Credit

Jennifer Cook-DeRosa also has several facebook pages- one main and then several state-based. This is her main page:
https://www.facebook.com/HomeschoolingforCollegeCredit/

Not everyone is socially prepared for college, regardless of whether they were homeschooled, public schooled, or private schooled. College involves a lot of big changes for kids. Living on your own for the first time, experiencing all kinds of different freedoms and ideas, and learning to manage your own time is a big change. Not all students adjust. Many homeschooled students feel like they were better prepared than a lot of their counterparts- they had been exposed to a lot of different people and social settings in their lives, as well as taken a lot of different style classes, and were used to managing their time. So again, you may be surprised at how your student adjusts, but it really will not be because of the way they were schooled. It will be a lot more about personality and perseverance.

It’s also totally fine for kids to choose military, trade school, or a certification program, too, or other things like go into family business, or become an entrepreneur, which we will talk more about in another episode. The options are endless for these kids, and because they have been given freedom to learn in a more flexible and creative environment, don’t be surprised when they want to choose that for their future too.

You determine the credit hours required, but if you have a child planning to attend college be sure to check their admission guidelines so you meet the minimum requirement for admission.

Most states require 19 or more credit hours for graduation with 24 or more needed for college prep.

General High School Graduation Guidlines

English – 4 credits
Math – 4 credits
Science – 3-4 credits (at least 2 with labs for college prep)
History – 3-4 credits
PE – 1 credit
Health – .5 credit
Foreign language – 2 credits (of the same language)
Electives

Be sure to check out our High School Series for details guiding you through the high school years.

This Week’s Freebies:

High School Core Planning Sheet (Blank)

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Basic Extracurricular High School Planning Sheet

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009. Schedules, Routines & Rhythms

Schedules, Routines & Rhythms

Do you feel overwhelmed trying to figure out the best way to organize your homeschool day? Not sure whether you need a strict schedule, a simple routine, or just a gentle rhythm to guide you? This week, we’re talking about these questions and more, exploring different ways to plan your days so they flow smoothly and feel right for your family. Whether you’re craving structure or looking for a bit more flexibility, we’ll share ideas and tips to help you find what works best. Tune in and let’s make homeschooling easier and more enjoyable together!

Episode 009:

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Show Notes:

Like many adults, children thrive with a predictable routine, which helps them develop self-discipline. They like to know what happens next. But there’s no two homeschool days will be exactly the same, and your plans may not always go as expected. So, set yourself up for success by choosing the method that works best for you, while staying flexible and open to reevaluating over time. What works in one season of life might not work in another.

What’s the difference between schedules, routines, and rythms? (3:06)

BTDT Homeshool Lesson Planner & Ultimate Organizer is a great tool to keep you organized. Whether you have one child or a bustling household, this planner has everything you need from planning to keeping a budget.

View a Video Walk-through

Schedules

Schedules, for many, implies a rigid system of structured start and end times. When it comes to homeschooling, perhaps this also means adhering to a standard 180 day school year (two 18 week semesters, 36 week school year).

A lot of newer homeschool parents get really ambitious with these, often scheduling out every hour of the day. This can backfire or be hard to stick to.

Awesome magnetic calendar that my kids loved!

Routines

Routines have less structure to them but give a gentle pattern to your day. Perhaps you start each day with read aloud, then move on to math and other seat work, then work one on one with a younger child while an older one does some independent work, etc. Because a routine does not have the rigidity of a strict, time-based schedule, you do not need to feel the pressure of cramming, say a certain amount of problems into a set math time slot, you have the flexibility of reading aloud extra when you are in a good spot in a book, etc. Learn more about Planning Your Homeschool Year.

Rhythms

Rhythms are even more unstructured and may take into account *all* your daily activities- chores, meal prep, meals, hygiene, rest and bed times. Make a list of everything you do- this is an especially great type of plan to have with babies, toddlers, preschoolers.

How do I organize my day? (5:23)

What is a typical homeschool schedule?

Some states may have an outlined number of hours for daily homeschooling but your typical homeschool day may run for two or three hours. Homeschoolers also may not do 5 days a week- we often did 4 with a co-op or field trip day.

With your attention only directed to your child, you save more time than when attending to 20+ learners. To help you overcome the challenges of your weekly daily schedules, these points could help.

Be flexible

Learning should be fun and you might need to adjust whenever necessary to fit into the day’s need and challenges because each day brings its trouble. Flexibility could include things like changing your starting time, interchanging subjects, delaying some subjects, and so on.

Not sure what curriculum to use?
Check out our 7 Steps to Choosing Curriculum

Be routine minded

Following hard rock schedules will bring frustration at some point or the other. Instead of wearing yourself out with schedules, be routine mined, and follow routine patterns that can always be adjusted to fit into the current circumstance.

Have every child in mind

When planning your schedules, consider every child in your home, and bring them onboard smoothly and systematically. You may give time to your younger children first, followed by the older ones.

Have allowances

In your weekly homeschool schedule, be flexible and allow time for unforeseen situations.

The schoolwork part of your day

Time for school! Check out the **Jello Cell that we made and get your free Cell Pack**

Be Prepared

I learned early on that the more organized and prepared I was, the better our days would flow. If I slept in and tried to wing it, it was always a more stressful day.

If I was running around looking for paper, pencils, or that scrap of paper I jotted down an idea on for science that day, my kids would lose interest or just disappear from the table altogether.

Do yourself a favor and spend some time preparing in the evening before– Spend 10 minutes looking over what you’re doing the next day to gather your materials and make any copies necessary.

I like to also sit down on Sundays and work on my “Blueprint for a Beautiful Week”. I plan out what we are doing for lessons/classes/activities, as well as meal plan and insert our household chores and any big errands we need to squeeze in.

Time for Math! Learn more **Math Tips**
Check out our favorite **Math Games**

Make it Fun

Children respond well to fun and games. Create games out of tasks that seem too boring or unstimulating to them. Also make it a point to include fun activities in their routine e.g. playtime. Get your FREE Boardgame Templates to help teach any concept (reading, math, social studies, and more!)

Make it magical

Simple things like lighting a candle at the beginning of read aloud, or having fancy writing implements can take the drudgery out of the things you need to get done.

We loved these Peggy Kaye books and HIGHLY recommend them!
Check them out:

Games for Math: Playful Ways to Help Your Child Learn Math, From Kindergarten to Third Grade
Games for Reading: Playful Ways to Help Your Child Read
Games for Writing: Playful Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Write

Let Them Have Some Say

By letting your kids have a say in some things they do or in what order they do them, they will be more cooperative and invested in their learning.

Social Time & Outside Classes/Events

To figure out how your routine will go on inside your home each week, you will need to start with what happens outside your home!

When my kids were younger, we would usually structure our school around social activities happening. If there was a field trip at 10 AM, then we would do a school when we got home. If there’s an afternoon park day, we would be sure to school in the morning.

I’ve always done more outside classes as my kids got older, so a lot of what we did was arranged around those classes. When they were young, we did a park day every Tuesday and Friday morning, hike every Wednesday morning and Board game club every Friday afternoon. Those regular meet ups were not only fun memories for my kids, but they were also for my sanity as well!

Those regular meet ups were not only fun memories for my kids, they were my sanity

Hike every Wednesday morning
Board game club every Friday afternoon
Field Trips were a great additon to our learning

Choose the kind of schedule/routine/rhythm that works best for you

Life happens and we are constantly thrown off that schedule.

Don’t try to do every subject every day

Feel free to alternate days or choose an alternative scheduling method. Everything needs to be done regularly— not daily.

You are never going to squeeze 4 hours of schoolwork into a 4 hours. Something is going to happen — the washing machine will flood, the dog runs out the front door or someone decides this is the day for math tears. You will most likely not get it done, and you will end up frustrated. Plan to do 2 hours of school in a 4 hour tmeslot.

Want to be sure something gets done each day? Then add it on to one of the natural breaks of your day. A natural break is a meal (we all eat) or naptime or a nursing session, etc. Use these set times of things you know you will be doing certain things for important parts of your schedule — reading aloud, math, memory work, art. Move right from your natural break into your subject and soon it will become a habit. Check out our Favorite Books for New Readers.

Short Lessons to Help Stay on Task

The idea of short lessons stems from the Charlotte Mason philosophy. Your child can focus and learn more if you keep the lessons short and end them BEFORE he tires, even though he’s spending less time on his schoolwork.

When my kids struggle with math, I just have them do a few problems, and then we pop over to reading a chapter and then back to math. Or for my musician, have him go practice for 15 minutes and then come back.

Schedule the siblings

Ironically, the most important part of your schedule is probably where there is no school at all. When sitting to plan your routine, the infant to preschool set should probably be considered first, as this will help to create a routine that will run smoothly. Some ideas:

If baby wants to eat every morning at [8:00], then that is a great time to read aloud to the other kids. I kept a book basket next to my nursing spot. Since we know reading aloud is important up until your older children leave the home, gather everyone together and enjoy this time. Little ones can play on the floor and everyone can find something to do with their hands. If you can’t read and nurse at the same time due to a wiggly older baby then pop in an audiobook or allow an older sibling to read. In fact, nursing time is also a great time for mom to be read to, so schedule time for reading aloud for emerging readers during nursing time as well. Get Daily FREE Homeschool Resources INSTANTLY on our Facebook group. These resources are a collection from all over the world and we recently posted a FREE morning basket planner we found online.

You can also make toddler care and entertainment part of the bigger kids’ school time. While you work with one, the other’s required task can be to play with little brother or sister and see to their needs for an allotted amount of time.

music, headphones, listening-791631.jpg — **Get an AUDIOBOOK for everyone to enjoy!**

My kids liked to teach baby sister finger plays and rhymes and we really enjoyed this book:

Put preschoolers first: Often a little one-on-one attention from mom goes a long way towards the little one going off to play alone happily for a while. Schedule in story time and a fun activity for your twos, threes, and fours before you get started with the bigger kids. Fill their cup! Learn more about Homeschooling Preschool

Utilize the nap time. School does not have to start early in the morning. If you have two or three young kids and one or more of them still take a long afternoon nap, then don’t start school until the little ones go down. School can go from 1-3 and can be done peacefully and with less frustration. Schedule the messiest, hardest, or most mom-consuming subjects for nap time. Even for small children who no longer nap, scheduling a mandatory rest time can be a great way to make your day run smoother and keep everyone happy.

Follow your natural inclinations

If your family does not jump out of bed running in the morning, then resist scheduling an early start to your day. Enjoy the flexibility of homeschooling and work at your times of peak productivity. This also means taking into consideration your children’s natural schedule and the fact that they have variations (which may not match yours!) as well. Got one early riser? Schedule his or her independent work first. Let the others get up right before group time and then do their independent work after.

Do not try to change your life and adapt it around your schedule

That’s a prescription for disaster. First, it’s important to have an understanding of your family’s natural habits. You don’t want to choose a schedule that starts at 7 AM if your kids thrive when they sleep in. Try letting your child do school in the afternoon or evening if he seems to be more alert and functions better. He may be a different student. There is NO law saying school has to start at 8 am! In fact, there’s no law that says it has to be done Monday through Friday.

A Funny Candle School Time

Traditions

Designing a mini prototype of their annual cardboard boat regatta. Check out our **Elementary Hands-on Science Ideas**

Make sure to include lots of traditions into your schedule or routine. It gives everyone something to look forward to and makes for happy family memories.

Here’s some ideas of traditions that we both did:

Starting back after a holiday break FREEBIE!
First Day of School Year
Birthday on school day
Hike & Pie
Saint Patrick’s day hunt
MLK day
Shakespeare in the park
Dog birthday party
Homeschool days at different places in town for variety
Cardboard boat Regatta

What are some different planning methods?

Workboxes, Block and Loop Scheduling

Workboxing is a cool planning tool that was all the rage when our kids were little. It involved using a set of boxes/folders/shelves that a child would work through every day. Some would include independent work, some might have “work with mom” or “work with sibling” slots. I loved these- I had 10 drawers, 5 were everyday tasks and the other 5, I switched out, but I had a master weekly schedule, so it was super easy to load the boxes up at night. Learn all about Workboxes and download your Free Workbox Labels.

Loop scheduling doesn’t assign a particular subject to a certain day, but you may have a list of work you do during a certain time period, and when it’s time to work, you just move to the next thing on the list. A day off for an emergency car repair does not derail.

Block scheduling is for when you may want to devote more time to a certain subject. So you give it a dedicated time period, like several weeks or a semester- this allows you to stay focused and move through material faster. This is great for elective type classes, but also work with things like science/history. Math and language arts are typically subjects you want to include every day. Block scheduling might look more like a college or high school schedule. Download your Free Block Scheduling Template

This Week’s Freebies:

FREE Homeschool Year Planner Templates

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FREE Reading Log and Tracker

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Free Year End Reflection

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Daily Student Planner

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Simple Homeschool Weekly Planner

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Preschool Routine Charts

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008. Holiday Break & Homeschooling

Holiday Break & Homeschooling

Wondering how to keep your homeschool momentum going during the holidays? This week, we’re talking about how to stay on track during a long break, incorporating holiday fun into your lessons, and motivating your child when school after a long break. Don’t miss out—tune in and also scroll down for exclusive freebies to make your holiday season both educational and memorable!

Episode 008:

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Advent Calendar Cards (pdf)
Year-end Reflections (pdf)

Show Notes

The holidays are here! Hot cocoa, warm fires, time with family and making memories. It can also be stressful thinking of all the things you have going on this time of year. We want to tell you that the holidays are a great time to relax and take a break from structured homeschooling.

A lot of homeschooling parents take off most or all of December! You can, too. Kids can still learn during this time and formal schooling will be waiting for you in January.

We are coming up on what Juliana and Lydia from Rants to Mommyland used to refer to as the “Halloween to Holidays Death Spiral”. Rants to Mommyland Blog. Nicole’s Christmas Movie Bingo Cards: https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator/preview/pkbr9cb

How do you stay on track in homeschool during a long break? (4:32)

Some kids do just fine taking a break from homeschooling and can just pick up where they left off. In fact, some kids really benefit from that. Other kids can get undone when taking a break which can force you into doing a ton of review before you can get back into your groove. Some ways to avoid this are:

Schooling year round
Dropping all subjects but 1 or 2
Encouraging other activities that still build skills
Changing existing lessons to incorporate holiday themes

How do you incorporate the holidays into your homeschool? (5:59)

Homeschooling during the holidays is an excellent example of how homeschooling can be adapted to your lifestyle. It’s okay to slow down, relax, and take a break from the regular book learning.

From Julie Bogart’s “The Brave Learner,” “ Kids who bake, woodwork, and quilt have a better grasp of what fractions are about then a child who encounters them on worksheets.”

Embrace it! For years my family struggled with getting off track at this time of year and I would joke that we were bagging everything for a Home Ec semester.

Some great organizational pages that I used as a base for my Home Ec semester. We will be including a downloadable version soon!

Household Management 101

Here’s some ideas of things to do instead of formal schoolwork:

Make festive memories instead

Add in craft days

Holiday cooking and baking

Cooking/Baking Book Recommendations:

Alton Brown, “Good Eats” series:

Good Eats: The Early Years

Good Eats 2: The Middle Years

Good Eats 3: The Later Years

Good Eats: The Final Years (Good Eats, 4)

The Pioneer Woman Cooks―A Year of Holidays: 140 Step-by-Step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations

Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters

These are excellent cookbooks with picture step by step instructions for littles:

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up

Salad People and More Real Recipes: A New Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up

Honest Pretzels: And 64 Other Amazing Recipes for Cooks Ages 8 & Up

Create a holiday writing assignment

Holiday Writing Recommendations:

Story Starters: Helping Children Write Like They’ve Never Written Before

Jewish Creative Writing, Yom Tov and Holidays!: 77 Jewish Story Starters, Journal Prompts, Comic Creations, and Haiku

Make a budget

Check out our **Episode 071: Financial Literacy** and Download your **Free Savings Bundle**

Money Ninja: A Children’s Book About Saving, Investing, and Donating (Ninja Life Hacks)

Do a holiday inspired science projects

Gumdrop Engineering — Gumdrop engineering

Holiday STEM Recommendations:

Star Wars snowflakes

Snow Slime:

Directions: https://www.instructables.com/Snow-Slime/?amp_page=true

Ingredients Super Snow Powder

Christmas Slime Advent Kit

Solder kit- Ornament (beginner)

Solder kit- Blinking Snowflake

Solder kit – Musical Christmas Tree

Holiday STEM Activity Book: “How to Build an Elf Trap The Ultimate Holiday STEM Activity Book for Kids with 12 Traps and 12 Bonus Activities”

There are 14 different religious holidays in the month of December

Holiday Celebration Recommendations:

What Do You Celebrate?: Holidays and Festivals Around the World

Winter Holidays Around the World

This Winter unit study is great for 6-12 and is packed with activities and challenges, with map work, atlas work, reading and response passages, exploring cultures and languages, crafts, coloring, recipes, and more:

Sparkles of Joy: A Children’s Book that Celebrates Diversity and Inclusion

World Religion Book Recommendations:

The Kids Book of World Religions

See Inside World Religions

Holiday field trips or festivals

Boardgames

Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman: Easy to learn and fun, interactive card game for all ages

Ticket to Ride

This is a family jigsaw puzzle that has big pieces for little fingers and small pieces for adults

Christmas bingo

Cuddle up by the fire and read!

“A Christmas Carol”

Top 50 Books for New Readers

Favorite Middle School Books

Top 10 Books Every Homeschooler Should Read

Volunteering

How to motivate your homeschooler after a long break? (34:25)

After all this excitement, we welcomed a return to our regular school programming in January!

Make things magical
Start a new tradition
Ease in or stagger school start
Study one subject per week

This Week’s Freebies:

007. How To Find Your People

007.

How To Find Your People

What are co-ops, university model and micro-schools?
How to find support?
How to start your own group?

Episode 007:

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Homeschool Weekly Planner (pdf)

Show Notes

How to find support (2:42)

There’s a myth that homeschooling is socially isolating. That is often what keeps lots of families from trying this immensely beneficial form of education.

If you are brand new to homeschooling, be sure to visit the Getting Started Page

The truth is that there are so many ways in which parents can connect their homeschoolers with others their age–they just need to be PROACTIVE.

Given homeschooling’s increasing popularity, especially in the wake of COVID-19, parents can take the following measures to ensure their children interact meaningfully with peers:

Plug into homeschool groups online and in person

Ask questions and learn from other families that have been there.

Show up and keep showing up-join clubs and activities

Use your local library

Volunteer

Invest in relationships

How to start your own group (20:56)

Plug into homeschool groups online and in person
Ask questions and learn from other families that have been there.
Show up and keep showing up-join clubs and activities
Use your local library
Volunteer
Invest in relationships

I can’t find other homeschoolers like me or that like to do what we do?

Is there a need for this? Build it and they will come!

Build a core group of people who regularly attend.
Tap into the excitement of young moms and encourage them to plan events.
Plan things that you want to do and would do anyway so you are not disappointed if others do not show up in the beginning.

What are Co-ops, University Model, and Micro-Schools (29:15)

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Simple Homeschool Weekly Planner

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What Should Your Preschooler Know?

006.

What Should Your Preschooler Know?

When should I start homeschooling?
What age should my child learn to read?
What curriculum do I need?

Tune in this week while we discuss these topics and more!

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Show Notes

Preschool is a popular topic on homeschool message boards and often a controversial one, too, because established homeschool parents can get quite territorial over “what is school age.” While preschoolers are often still in more of a parenting than schooling stage, there are things you can do with them to get started on your homeschool path.

When should I start homeschooling (2:05)

When we speak of educational outcomes, statistics also show that kids that receive an intense early education tend to peak by kindergarten and the educational benefits are not noticeable at all by 2nd grade. Everyone eventually evens out.

You can find a lot of preschool activity lists online, just by searching things like “What should my preschooler know?” if you really feel like you need a game plan for homeschooling a preschooler.

Some people also really want to know how to schedule learning with your preschooler. We’d recommend you adopt more of a routine rather than a schedule for your child. Children thrive on routines. Honestly, we’re all happier when we know what to expect.

This book covers all the essential knowledge and skills that children need to acquire before entering kindergarten, from language and literacy to math, science, and social studies: What Your Preschooler Needs to Know: Get Ready for Kindergarten:

MAGICAL CHILDHOOD:
https://magicalchildhood.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/what-should-a-4-year-old-know/

WHAT DOES MY PRESCHOOLER NEED TO KNOW:

Preschool time can include nature walks, seed planting, pretending to be animals, measuring ingredients and stirring cake batter, taking turns in simple board games, feeding animals, making letters with clay, timing naps, and reading stories and alphabet books together.

Minimizing formal schooling for little kids is highly recommended. You can write down developmental milestones in a journal.

Save samples of drawing and of beginning attempts at writing. Also consider recording your child’s progress on video, especially if your child has special needs. Improvement may be slow, but you’ll be able to see changes year by year. Your records will prove to be far more than educational recordkeeping. They will become treasured keepsakes.

Use your journal to keep track of your child’s skills. Develop and write down your own goals or use a skills checklist from a book. In a homeschool preschool, you can tailor your list to your child. Simply list the beginning skills that you’re looking for and check off when your child can do them.

Basic Preschool Skills:

Know what Love is – How to love and be loved
Respect for others and themselves
Communicate in sentences, ask and answer questions, say full their name
Talk about position and direction (left, right, under, over, in, out, etc.)
Explore, observe and talk about the world around us
Help with simple chores
Work cooperatively with others
Work independently and ask for help when needed
Learn how to play with friends of all ages
Practice manners and kindness
Listen, share, and take turns
Self care without help (eating, toilet, dressing, hand washing, etc.). Free routine charts
Safety (what not to touch, stay away from the street, stranger danger, etc.)
Enjoy music and sing simple songs
Develop a sense of humor
Enjoy books
Play with sounds, numbers, letters, colors, textures, clocks, and timers
Count objects
Explore rhymes, same and different, big and small, light and heavy
Tell stories, beginning, ending, what comes next, cause and effect
Remembering numbers, names, letters and sounds, I Spy, hidden pictures
Begin to read and trace words with three letters, names of family members
Fine motor skills (beading, building, stirring, squishing, cutting, pouring)
Draw a person with six parts, using basic shapes (i.e., cross, circle, lines)
Understand real and pretend, alive and not alive
Gross motor skills (jumping, swinging, catching, throwing, tricycle riding, games)

Download the FREE Complete Skills and Checklist Guide for PreK-12th Grade

Children will vary greatly in their strengths and weaknesses in all these areas. It’s true that kids need to be emotionally, physically and mentally ready to do new things. However, don’t get too caught up in learning skills in a certain order. Different books may list a “preschool” skill under kindergarten, or even first grade.

**What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know** is a great resource when your child is ready to move on.

Example Homeschool Preschool Routine:

For PRESCHOOL, we recommend you adopt more of a routine rather than a schedule for your child. Children thrive on routines. Don’t compare yourself with others. Many people post highlight reels on social media but don’t fall into that trap!

Here is an example of a preschool routine:

Morning cuddles and re-reading a favorite book to them
Help mom with Breakfast
Morning chores (clean up breakfast, make the bed)
Personal hygiene (brush teeth, comb hair, get dressed)
Building block or other game fun
Watch a favorite show or free play
Sidewalk chalk, water outdoor plants
Learning activity (make slime, build pyramids, snap circuits, make cookies)
Play with friends – park, host them, go to their house, field trip at the museum
Lunch
Errand with mom – bank, post office, grocery, new shoes?
Nap if needed
Drawing, Painting Art, sidewalk chalk, music and dance
Free Play
Help with Dinner
Clean up dishes
Go for a Walk or jump on a trampoline, ride scooter or tricycle
Personal hygiene (bath, brush teeth, wash face, pjs)
Pick up toys
Cuddle and reading

What age should my child learn to read (17:14)

Most children eventually learn to walk, talk, read and do algebra. Experts say that most children learn to read by age 6 or 7, meaning first or second grade, and that some learn much earlier.

015. How Do You Teach Your Child To Read?

Be sure to listen to Episode 015:
How Do You Teach Your Child to Read!
We will walk you through the entire process!

U.S. Department of Education reading programs often say children should learn to read by age 8, or third grade, because learning to read transitions into reading to learn other subjects soon thereafter. The single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children.

Once your child begins to read and you are ready to bridge the gap between reading board books and lengthier chapter books, check out our TOP 50 BOOKS FOR NEW READERS:

What curriculum do I need (22:52)

You do not need anything. Read lots of picture books together, do messy art and science projects, cook in the kitchen, have lots of imaginative/building toys- blocks, legos, trains, etc. Spend a ton of time outside- go for nature walks. Get binoculars, magnifying lens, specimen jars and so local bird/wildflower/tree identification guides and take them with you. Sing, dance, play musical instruments. Get a tub of dress up items. Play board games for math. Preschool is so much fun! As you begin research and make a plan for Kindergarten, visit our Kindergarten Curriculum Guide.

One of the biggest advantages we can give our children is a simple, carefree childhood.

Educate Yourself

When your kids are Preschool age, it is a great time to educate yourself. What are your eduational goals for your children? What KIND of homeschooler do you want to be? Help you fine-tune your goals with TOP 10 Books Every Homeschooler Should Read

This Week’s FREEBIES

FREE Nature Scavenger Hunt

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Preschool Routine Charts

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20 Best Tips for Teaching Reading and Spelling

005. But What About the Prom?

005.

But What About The Prom?

Can my child go to college?
How do I deal with naysayers?

Tune in this week while we discuss these topics and more!

TWO WAYS TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
1. Click PLAY Button Above ^^ to listen here.
2. OR Listen on your favorite podcast platform:

Subscribe on Your Favorite Podcast Platform:

All Published Episodes

Scroll Down for this week’s Freebie:
100 Ways to Socialize Guide

Show Notes

Homeschool Myths and Facts

Top 10 Common Homeschooling Myths

Homeschooled kids don’t get to go to the prom or other big milestone events. (3:24)
Homeschooled kids are weird and unsocialized. (8:16)
Parents are not qualified to teach their children. (10:37)
There aren’t that many homeschoolers, your kid will be lonely. (15:31)
Homeschooled kids can’t go to college. (17:51)
Homeschool families are all alike. (19:29)
Homeschool kids won’t learn as well as they will in a traditional school setting. (22:24)
Homeschooled kids don’t get to participate in extracurricular activities. (24:55)
Homeschool students won’t be prepared for life. (28:28)
Homeschooling is expensive. (29:49)

Our Homeschool Prom:

Maria did a walk through before our prom this year to show you that homeschoolers get to have ALL THE FUN! Some families even fly in from other parts of the country to attend this grand event:

Dealing with Naysayers (34:48)

How to Respond to Haters

Homeschool Lesson Planner and Ultimate Organizer

This Week’s Freebie:

100 Ways To Socialize Your Homeschooler

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004. Homeschool Styles and Philosophies

Homeschool Styles and Philosophies

Schools often rely on workbooks, textbooks, and traditional teaching methods, but homeschooling opens up a world of alternative approaches. It’s essential to identify your worldview, understand the different homeschool philosophies, and recognize your child’s unique learning style. Tune in this week while we discuss these topics and more!

Episode 004:

TWO WAYS TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE:
1. Click PLAY Button Above ^^ to listen here.
2. OR Listen on your favorite podcast platform:

Subscribe on Your Favorite Podcast Platform:

All Published Episodes

Scroll Down for this week’s freebie
Homeschool Reflections Workbook (pdf)

Show Notes

Homeschoolers are not all cut from the same mold. We aren’t all choosing to homeschool for the same reasons and sometimes it’s even the opposite. There are a million options for homeschooling out there so a little decision making on your worldview and style/philosophy is going to go a long way in helping you narrow down curricula choices.

**Books that can help determine YOUR homeschool style**

What is my homeschool Philosophy and Worldview?

These terms are often used in homeschooling to personal family ideals and to describe educational and homeschool materials (curriculum, books, movies…)

Authors, curriculum creators, sellers, youtubers, and reviews, don’t always clearly communicate or label materials as Religious/Christian, Neutral/Inclusive, or Secular. Before any purchases and any enrollment, it’s recommended to get further clarification. Check their FAQ page or ask questions.

It’s important to understand your core beliefs and values regarding education. When choosing a curriculum, you need to find one that aligns with your philosophy, values, and worldview. Here are some points to consider:

Secular, Non-religious

You may prefer a curriculum that focuses on academic subjects without any specific religious influence. Secular curriculum is designed to provide a neutral educational experience, free from any particular religious worldview.

There are so many different types of faiths and religions and often the creators and the program don’t align with a family’s beliefs. Those families typically choose a curriculum without religion, and then teach their moral, ethical and religious values outside of a curriculum.

There’s a lot of reasons why families choose Secular Curriculum – even a lot of religious families choose a secular curriculum:

Why Choose Secular Resources?

Choosing a secular resource may be the right fit for you. It may surprise some people but there are Religious and non-religious families that seek out secular resources. It isn’t just atheist homeschoolers who are looking for these resources for their children. Families usually chose secular resources or choose a secular curriculum for the following reasons:

1. You aren’t religious

There are many homeschool families who homeschool for non-religious reasons. There is a growing body of homeschoolers who do not follow any sort of religion. These families usually homeschool due to schedule issues, or because they believe their children can get a better education at home. Some homeschoolers may have been raised in a religious home and want to move away from a religion they see as harmful, but still have a personalized faith they want to teach their children on their own terms.

2. Maybe you are religious but not Evangelical Christian

Many homeschoolers of faith are Islamic, Jehovah’s Witness, Jewish, Wiccan, Catholic, Mormon, or follow some another religion. Many homeschool resources follow traditional Evangelical Christian beliefs, which may not be a fit for your family when you follow another religion.

3. You don’t follow the young earth theory

The most common reason homeschoolers seek out secular curriculum and local resources is that they do not believe in the Young Earth science theory. Young Earth theory states that the entire world is somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years old, with the world just getting started with the first recorded stories from the Bible. Current scientific theory refutes this claim offering evidence that the earth was formed somewhere around 4.5 billion years ago.

4. You may have a special circumstance

For many families that have a child with special needs or learning differences, homeschooling may be the best choice.

5. You may want to prepare your children like a traditional school

The traditional school system is secular. Religion is not taught in most public schools and universities. Some parents would rather keep religious instruction separate from other subjects in school or teach all world religions equally.

Faith-based

On the other hand, if incorporating your religious beliefs into your children’s education is important to you, you may opt for a faith-based curriculum. These curricula integrate religious teachings and values into the academic subjects.

Neutral / Inclusive

Materials marketed to everyone.

What is my homeschool style?

A curriculum may fit your budget and homeschool values well, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best fit for your student. Every child has a unique learning style, and homeschooling offers the flexibility to tailor their education accordingly. Consider each child’s unique struggles and needs before you select a curriculum. Schools often rely on workbooks and textbooks and traditional group teaching methods, but homeschooling opens up a world of alternative approaches.

Each family has unique preferences and approaches to homeschooling. Familiarize yourself with different homeschooling styles:

Traditional Homeschooling

Follows a structured and formal education model similar to traditional schools.
Involves textbooks, workbooks, and teacher-led instruction.
Focuses on following a predetermined curriculum and meeting specific learning objectives.

Classical Homeschooling

Draws inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman education methods.
Emphasizes the development of critical thinking, logic, and rhetorical skills.
Follows a three-stage model known as the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric).

Charlotte Mason

Focuses on living books, nature study, and the development of good habits.
Values a broad and liberal arts education, incorporating subjects like literature, art, music, and nature.
Utilizes narration and short lessons as common practices.

Montessori Homeschooling

Emphasizes hands-on learning and self-paced exploration.
Provides a prepared environment with carefully selected materials that promote independence.
Focuses on sensorial experiences, practical life skills, and individualized learning.

Waldorf Homeschooling

Emphasizes a holistic approach to education, nurturing imagination, creativity, and emotional development.
Incorporates artistic activities, storytelling, crafts, and rhythm into daily lessons.
Often discourages the use of electronic media especially in the early years.

Unit Studies or Project-based Learning

Integrates multiple subjects into a themed unit of study.
Explores a specific topic or concept across various disciplines.
Allows for an in-depth and comprehensive exploration of a subject.

Eclectic Homeschooling

Combines various approaches and resources to create a customized learning experience.
Allows families to pick and choose from different methods, curriculum materials, and teaching styles.
Offers flexibility and adaptability in designing a personalized education.

Relaxed Homeschooling

Takes a laid-back and flexible approach to learning.
Focuses on creating a low-stress environment and allowing children to learn at their own pace.
Emphasizes fostering a love of learning rather than adhering to a strict schedule or curriculum.

Unschooling

Emphasizes child-led learning and natural curiosity.
Encourages children to explore their interests and learn through real-life experiences.
Learning happens organically through everyday activities and self-directed exploration.

Online Schooling/Outsourcing

Not really a philosophy, but a delivery method
Focus is on traditional skills and content but delivered in a more tailored way, allowing for parents to be more hands-off
Could include live online classes, asynchronous classes, video lectures, or software based learning

Remember, these descriptions provide a general overview of each homeschooling style, and there can be variations and combinations of methods within each approach. Feel free to explore and adapt different approaches to create a homeschooling experience that best suits your family’s needs and educational goals. Some people start off with one method, and totally regroup as their child gets older. Some may even use a variety of methods with different children in their own home. And that’s the beauty of homeschooling: customizing your experience for your student. There is no right or wrong choice when it comes to selecting a style and curriculum. Take a quiz to determine your homeschool style

What is your child’s learning style?

By considering your student’s unique struggles, needs, and preferences, you can select a curriculum that is engaging, effective, and well-suited to their individual learning journey. Don’t be afraid to explore different resources, experiment with various approaches, and adapt the curriculum to create a personalized learning experience that supports your student’s growth and success.

Here are some key points to consider when selecting a curriculum that best suits your student’s learning needs and preferences:

Individual Learning Needs

Take into account your student’s specific learning needs, strengths, and weaknesses.
Consider their preferred learning style, whether they learn best through visual, auditory, or hands-on methods.
Think about any specific learning challenges or areas where they may need extra support or accommodations.

Personal Preferences

Recognize that what works for one child may not work for another.
Each child has their own interests, learning pace, and preferred methods of learning.
Consider their preferences for interactive activities, group work, or independent study.

Age and Developmental Stage

Keep in mind that what was effective for an older sibling may not be the best fit for a younger one and all kids mature at different ages.
Consider age-appropriate materials and activities that align with your student’s developmental stage.
Adapt the curriculum to match their readiness and abilities.

Learning Styles

Visual (spatial):You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.
Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.
Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.
Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.
Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.
Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.
Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.

Flexibility and Adaptability

Remember that homeschooling allows you the flexibility to tailor the curriculum to meet your student’s needs.
Be open to adjusting and customizing the curriculum as you go along, based on your student’s progress and feedback.

The Week’s Freebie:

FREE Choosing to Homeschool Reflections Workbook

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BTDT Homeschool

013.

Homeschooling on a Budget

Can I afford to homeschool?What do I need to buy to homeschool?How much does curricula cost?

Episode 013:

Can I afford to homeschool? (3:06)

Envelope Budgeting System

Ways to save money while homeschooling:

Ways to supplement a single income or make money from home:

What do I need to buy to homeschool? (13:39)

Homeschooling necessities- what do you really need

How much does curricula cost? (17:31)

This Week’s Freebie:

012.

Q&A Special Episode

We meet so many people that ask random homeschool questions all the time and we decided to do a special Year End Episode to answer YOUR questions!

How do you introduce a foreign language? (4:23)

Usborne First Words:<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1" height="1" oyncfegd1="" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=cmservices-20&amp;language=en_US&amp;l=li2&amp;o=1&amp;a=0979505135" alt="" data-eio="l">

How to approach art with young children? (10:58)

Anti Coloring books:

If you could choose to spend money on one extracurricular, which would be most important? (15:29)

This Week’s Freebie:

All About Family

How do you balance multi-age students?How do you encourage strong sibling relationships?How do you encourage extended family support?

Episode 011:

How to balance multi-age students? (2:11)

“How to Talk so Kids will Listen…” series, also by Faber and Mazlish:

How to encourage strong sibling relationships? (14:56)

Some ways we can foster healthy sibling bonds:

How to encourage extended family support? (25:08)

How to deal with Negative support:

How to encourage Positive support:

This Week’s Freebies:

But What About High School?

Episode 010:

Take time to enjoy your teens

Prepare Teens for Life and Career

Can my homeschooler get a diploma?

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA – You can also make your own!

Do I need to teach calculus?

Can my homeschooler go to college?

Must Reads for Dual Credit

You determine the credit hours required, but if you have a child planning to attend college be sure to check their admission guidelines so you meet the minimum requirement for admission.

General High School Graduation Guidlines

This Week’s Freebies:

Schedules, Routines & Rhythms

Episode 009:

What’s the difference between schedules, routines, and rythms? (3:06)

Schedules

Routines

Rhythms

How do I organize my day? (5:23)

What is a typical homeschool schedule?

Be flexible

Be routine minded

Have every child in mind

Have allowances

The schoolwork part of your day

Be Prepared

Make it Fun

Make it magical

Let Them Have Some Say

Social Time & Outside Classes/Events

Choose the kind of schedule/routine/rhythm that works best for you

Don’t try to do every subject every day

Short Lessons to Help Stay on Task

Schedule the siblings

Follow your natural inclinations

Do not try to change your life and adapt it around your schedule

Traditions

Here’s some ideas of traditions that we both did:

What are some different planning methods?

Workboxes, Block and Loop Scheduling

This Week’s Freebies:

Holiday Break & Homeschooling

Episode 008:

How do you stay on track in homeschool during a long break? (4:32)

How do you incorporate the holidays into your homeschool? (5:59)

Here’s some ideas of things to do instead of formal schoolwork:

Make festive memories instead

Can I afford to homeschool?
What do I need to buy to homeschool?
How much does curricula cost?

Usborne First Words:

How do you balance multi-age students?
How do you encourage strong sibling relationships?
How do you encourage extended family support?

What are co-ops, university model and micro-schools?
How to find support?
How to start your own group?

Can my child go to college?
How do I deal with naysayers?