ChristianBook.com is my favorite website to snag our homeschool materials.  I’m so excited that they are offering 10% off your purchase + Free Shipping on orders over $35 on July 16-17!!  Simply use code DUODEALS24 at checkout!  What an amazing deal!  I’m going to go order the rest of our homeschool materials!

I’m so excited about the new Erin Condren Homeschool Planner!  It looks to meet all the needs of a busy homeschooling family!  Erin Condren planners are my favorite and I love the layout of this one!

Layout Features:
• Undated monthly, weekly, and yearly planning
• Monthly calendars & pages for logging curricula & resources
• Reading log pages
• Attendance tracking pages
• Yearly academic goals & requirements pages
• Additional notes in the back

Includes:
• 4 sticker sheets
• 1 double-sided pocket folder
• 1 sheet protector

Head on over and check out the fun patterns and styles in the Erin Condren Homeschool Planner!

We have been homeschooling ever since we had our oldest child nearly 19 years ago.  It definitely wasn’t something I planned to do, it just happened. The Homeschool Awakening is in theaters June 13 &14!  I got a preview of it and I found it very informative for anyone considering homeschooling.  As a veteran homeschooling mom, I also found it interesting hearing from other homeschooling parents of why they chose the route they did and how they homeschool their kids. There isn’t a simple “one size fits all” with homeschooling.

 

About Kirk Cameron Presents: The Homeschool Awakening
Families across the nation are experiencing the homeschool awakening, taking advantage of the freedom and opportunities for self-discovery — with the world as their classroom. Join award-winning actor, Kirk Cameron, as he dives into the adventures of dynamic American families on a mission to put fun and faith back into learning. The Homeschool Awakening explores the ins, outs, and honest answers to homeschooling’s most frequently asked questions.

You can watch the trailer below:

 

Interested in seeing it in theaters?  Head on over to buy your tickets now.

Giveaway:

One lucky reader will win a $10 Amazon gift card!  Simply fill out the Rafflectopher below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that we have been homeschoolers since the very beginning of our children’s school years.  A few years back, I started writing down our homeschool plans since I would have friends and readers ask me what we used each year.  If you care to look back, you can see what we used in the 2015-2016 year here or in the 2016-2017 school year here. 2017-2018 can be found here. 2018-2019 can be found here, 2019-2020 can be found here, and 2020-2021.

This year, we have kids in 9th, 6th, 5th, and Kindergarten and we are switching it up a bit.  Since we graduated our oldest this past year and our youngest is officially school age, we’ve decided to make some changes.  My youngest 2 will be going to a local hybrid homeschool/private school a couple times a week.  They will be doing all their subjects there and then have homework to work on the other days.  My husband or I will be assisting them with their homework on their off days.

The older two are going to be going to a one day a week program that covers English, History, Logic, and a few other subjects.  Below, I’ll share a little of what we will be doing at home.

Math:

We are continuing with XtraMath.org for my 5th and 6th graders.  It’s a completely free way to make sure your kids understand all of their math facts.  As a mom, I can login and see how they are doing as well and what needs improvement.

For my oldest student, he will start his high school with Math-U-See for Algebra 1.  6th grader will start another year of Horizons Math.  The other 2 will do math with their school and are using Saxon.

Bible:

As a family, we are going to be working through Who is God? And How Can I Really Know Him? from Apologia.

Extracurriculars:

Everyone will be continuing with American Heritage Girls and Trail Life, and of course youth group activities.

 

Hope you all have a great school year!  I’m looking forward to having a lighter load this year and outsourcing more.  Plus, if you missed this on a previous post, I’ll be returning to work after 18 years at home!  So excited about that!

I have to say that the Tennessee Aquarium is one of our favorite places to visit. It’s well worth the drive to visit. I love the way it is laid out to walk through and of course all the animals.

On Wednesday, Sept. 23, the Aquarium will celebrate the indispensable role of parent-educators with discounted admission for homeschool families and groups.

“For homeschool families, the Aquarium offers exciting opportunities because it is a place where family members of all ages can learn together,” says Dr. Brooke Gorman, the Aquarium’s director of science education. “In a homeschool setting, there is more freedom to let students’ interests guide their learning, and the Aquarium offers many opportunities for one student or a group of students to get excited about different topics.” 

On Homeschool Day, eligible guests can take advantage of discounted, timed-entry tickets at $29.95 for adults and $9 for students ages 5-18. Homeschool families visiting on Homeschool Day also can purchase IMAX tickets and Aquarium memberships at a discounted rate.

Discounted tickets may be purchased in advance by visiting: https://community.tnaqua.org/events/2020/homeschool-day-at-the-tennessee-aquarium . In accordance with local health mandates, all guests ages 12 and older are required to wear a face covering during their visit. All tickets are timed-entry to ensure proper physical distancing within the Aquarium’s buildings.

Here’s a place we haven’t been to before and this looks amazing! The North Georgia Zoo is offering free drive thru admission to homeschoolers on 9/24. Here are the details from their facebook page:

To say thank you to all Homeschool Teachers, we are offering FREE admission to our Safari Drive Thru. Join us Thursday September 24th from 11-3pm. Offer only valid for homeschool teachers & their family. For more info on our Safari Drive Thru visit https://www.northgeorgiazoo.com/safari-drive-thru.html No ticket purchase necessary for this offer, simply show up and you will be admitted to the drive thru!

This park is located in Cleveland, Georgia.

I currently have a homeschooled high schooler. One thing that overwhelmed me was trying to figure out how to create her homeschool transcript. I’m happy to tell you guys that we found a great way to create a beautiful transcript for her!

We having been using a website called FastTranscripts.com. On this website, I can type in her grades and classes and it will formulate her homeschool transcript. We used this to get her driver’s license as a homeschooler and other various things.

Here is a sample of how it looks when you type in your information:

It calculates GPA, keeps track of credits, and makes it very clear and professional. Then you can print it or whatever you need to do.

I definitely recommend this program to anyone wanting to create a student’s homeschool transcript. If you want to check it out, you can snag a 30 day free trial!