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Our Homeschool Plans 2021-2022

August 15, 2021 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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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!

Our Homeschool Plans 2020-2021

July 14, 2020 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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We are most definitely homeschooling again this year. I had some thoughts before all the craziness happened of sending a couple to school, but we are back to homeschool now. I plan to start some of our school next week and ease back into it. It’s been so hot lately so it’s time to go ahead and get started.

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. Last year 2019-2020 can be found here.

This upcoming school year, I will have an 11th/12th grader, 8th grader, 5th grader, 4th grader and a pre-K/Kindergartener. When I mention half grades, it’s because they are smack dab in the middle of the two. That is the joy of homeschooling. We can speed up or slow down as needed depending on schedules, learning styles, etc. My oldest has an early August birthday so if she were in public school, she could be either the oldest or youngest of her grade, depending on how we moved forward. I think we aim to graduate her in December of 2021 so she will be 18 at graduation.

My youngest has an early September birthday. Many pre-K things are too young for him, but some Kindergarten things are too advanced. He’s right smack in the middle. We are going to proceed forward with him but will back off as needed throughout the year.

Math:

All 3 middle kids are going to use an online program, Teaching Textbooks this year. Honestly, it’s not one of my favorite curriculums, but it’s needed this year since I will have my hands full teaching my youngest to read. This program automatically teaches math skills and grades instantly. I will be supplementing them with a program called Prodigy. They absolutely love this game. They complete math questions in order to gain items and fight evil in the imaginary world.

My youngest will probably start Horizons Math later this year depending on how school is going for him. All of my kids have started off using Horizons Math.

We are also continuing with XtraMath.org for the 4th and 5th graders. I can’t say enough great things about this website! 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, we will continue with Math-U-See to finish Algebra 2 and then she will be moving on to Stewardship. That is a consumer math program.

Language Arts:

We are continuing Building Spelling Skills for the middle 3 to work on spelling.

My youngest will continue with Explode the Code.

My youngest will also continue Reading Kingdom about 2-3 times a week. You can get a FREE month here. We tried it out for a review and several of my other kids have completed this program in previous years.

We will be using A Reason For Handwriting (various levels) with the younger three kids as well.

Easy Grammar will be used with most of the kids to cover Grammar topics.

Bible:

As a family, we are going to be working through Who is My Neighbor? from Apologia. My middle 3 will have workbooks to go along with the program. From the website, this textbook focuses on the questions:

Does Anyone Really Need Me?
How Can I make a Difference?
Who is my Neighbor?
Why did God Make Families?
What Can I Do for my Country?
Why Can’t we all just Get Along?
Who is God’s Family?
Why Does the Church Need Me?

I felt that this year was a great year to cover loving our neighbors.

Social Studies:

We will continue to pull from Allinonehomeschool.com for the middle three and of course the vast variety of books at the library.

Science:

I will be using Apologia’s Anatomy with the middle three. I really like Apologia’s sciences! We had a lot of fun with their Zoology last year.

Electives and Extracurriculars:

My 8th grader is going to get a jump start on his high school courses by starting Apologia’s Health and Nutrition course. We used this with my oldest and we liked how it flowed.

Other than that we are going to work on some online drawing classes and develop some hobbies this year instead of doing a lot of activities outside the house. It will be a little bit crazy around here now that we will have FIVE students this year!!

Final Thoughts:

If you are new to homeschooling this year, know that it is doable! If cost is prohibitive for your family, consider Allinonehomeschool.com, which is a completely FREE homeschool curriculum! Have a great year!

Our Homeschool Plans 2019-2020

July 25, 2019 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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I’m so not ready this year! It’s going too fast and I want time to slow down and summer to stay a bit longer. Time to face the facts that school is upon us!

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. Last year’s 2018-2019 can be found here. Some of it is the same and some has changed.

This upcoming school year, I will have an 11th grader, 7th grader, 4th grader, 3rd grader and a preschooler. That sounds crazy that we are so far along in our homeschool life now. The past 2 years my older two have done the majority of their school work with a local homeschool co-op, however with budget changes due to medical bills, we are bringing it back home this year. I’m definitely nervous about taking everything on again.

Math:

Math, we are once again using Horizons Math, but only for my 3rd and 4th graders. For my oldest, we will continue with Math-U-See and she will be moving on to Algebra 2. My 7th grader will be using Teaching Textbooks this year.

We are also continuing with XtraMath.org for the 3rd and 4th graders. I can’t say enough great things about this website! 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. We actually bribe the kids and each day they get a green light, meaning that they did well, they get a piece of candy. Once they completely finish a chart, they earn $1 Usually it takes many months for them to complete the chart, but that’s okay!

We will also be continuing to use Whizz.com to supplement in our math. I feel it’s well worth the investment.

Language Arts:

My 3rd and 4th graders will continue through on Saxon Grammar and Writing. I have been pleased with this program.

We are continuing Building Spelling Skills for the middle 3 to work on spelling.

My preschooler will begin with Explode the Code.

We are continuing Reading Kingdom with our 3rd and 4th gardens, as they are both almost finished with the programs. I feel it’s been very thorough and has been teaching typing along with reading. You can get a FREE month here. We tried it out for a review and loved it. When he’s old enough, we will add our preschooler.

My middle schooler is going to continue working through Jump In!, which he started this summer for a review. I also purchased their high school version to use with my oldest.

We are going to be pulling more stuff for them from All in One Homeschool this year.

Bible:

We are going to work more on Catechism questions this year and reading together as a family. I am still researching Bible curriculums and haven’t decided if we will do one or not.

Social Studies:

History we will continue to pull from Allinonehomeschool.com for the little girls and of course the vast variety of books at the library.

My 11th grader will be beginning Government and Economics using Allinonehomeschool.com.

My 7th grader will be using Memoria Press’s The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic and 200 Questions about American History.

Science:

Science we will be using Apologia’s Zoology with the middle 3 kids.

We will also continue to pull from Allinonehomeschool.com, enjoy homeschool day at Sandy Creek, and of course the library as well.

My 11th grader will be doing Apologia’s Physical Science this year and my 7th grader will be using Apologia’s General Science.

Electives and Extracurriculars:

My 11th Grader is going to be taking Psychology and Sociology. She’s super excited about that!

My 7th Grader isn’t taking any extras but he will continue in the local Trail Life Troop.

My 4th and 3rd graders are hoping to take trapeze this year!

The preschooler is hoping to just be outside and play 😉

Our Homeschool Plans 2018-2019

June 25, 2018 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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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. Last year’s 2017-2018 can be found here. Some of it is the same and some has changed.

Also, be sure to read my article- Homeschooling a Preschooler – See What Works for Us!.

This upcoming school year, I will have a 10th grader, 6th grader, 3rd grader, 2nd grader and a preschooler. Last year I told y’all that my older 2 were going to do the majority of their social studies, science, and language arts with a tutor one day a week. That went VERY well and we will continue again this year.

Math:

Math, we are once again using Horizons Math, but only for 2 of my children. For my oldest, we will continue with Math-U-See. My 3rd grader will also be starting with Math-U-See since she is struggling with Horizons. We are also continuing with XtraMath.org. I can’t say enough great things about this website! 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. We actually bribe the kids and each day they get a green light, meaning that they did well, they get a piece of candy. Once they completely finish a chart, they earn $1 🙂 Usually it takes many months for them to complete the chart, but that’s okay!

Language Arts:

We will be starting Easy Grammar with my 2nd grader. My 3rd grader will start on Saxon Grammar and Writing 3.

My 1st and 2nd grader will continue working on Horizons Penmanship since they didn’t finish last year. From there, they will move on to A Reason For Handwriting.

All 4 of my school age children will continue working through Q&A For Kids: A 3 Year Journal. I am going to get the Q&A For Teens for my oldest, though. Also considering getting one for myself!

We are continuing Building Spelling Skills for the middle 3 to work on spelling. We really slacked on that the past year.

My 2nd and 3rd graders will also continue working on Explode the Code. This is a very simple program, but can help with the fundamentals for the little kids. Takes just a couple minutes each day and they are fun!

We have actually decided to stop paying for ReadingEggs and have switched to a program that we like better called Reading Kingdom. I feel it’s been much more thorough and has been teaching typing along with reading. You can get a FREE month here. We tried it out for a review and loved it.

My 6th grader will be using IEW Ancient History along with Rod & Staff English. My 10th grader will be using Easy Grammar Ultimate Series.

Bible:

This past year, once again we greatly slacked on our Bible lessons, however my son has taken it upon himself as a challenge to read through the Bible. He’s been doing well with that. For now, all the kids will also continue with VeritasBible.com.

Social Studies:

History we will continue to pull from Allinonehomeschool.com for the little girls and of course the vast variety of books at the library.

My 10th grader will be using Notgrass Exploring World History. My 6th grader will be using Story of the World Volume 2.

Science:

Science we will also continue to pull from Allinonehomeschool.com for the little girls, enjoy homeschool day at Sandy Creek, and of course the library as well.

My 10th grader will be using Apologia’s Chemistry and my 6th grader will be using God’s Design for Science

Our Homeschool Plans 2017-2018

July 7, 2017 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Wow. I totally feel like I was just making last year’s homeschool plans. This year has flown by incredibly fast. It’s time to start planning for the upcoming homeschool year, where I will be homeschooling a 9th grader, 5th grader, 2nd grader, 1st grader, and of course, the ever-busy preschooler.

We are mixing things up a bit and my big 2 kids are going to do the majority of their social studies, science, and language arts with a tutor one day a week and I’ll be reinforcing their learning throughout the week. That’s definitely different for us and I am hoping it goes well. Sometimes you get to a point where you need to outsource a few things, and that’s okay!

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. Some of it is the same and some has changed.

Also, be sure to read my article- Homeschooling a Preschooler – See What Works for Us!.

Here’s what we are doing this year:

Math:

Math, we are once again using Horizons Math, but only for my middle 3 children. We use the math books plus we supplement with the extra worksheets for more practice. For my oldest, we will continue with Math-U-See. We are also continuing with XtraMath.org. I can’t say enough great things about this website! 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.

Language Arts:

We will be using Wordly Wise 3000 for my 5th grader to cover vocabulary and reading comprehension. We will be continuing Easy Grammar with the older 3 children. It only takes a couple minutes a day.

My 5th grader will continue with A Reason For Handwriting, however the 1st and 2nd grader will be working on Horizons Penmanship since I think they need a little more writing practice before moving on to cursive.

All 4 of my school age children will also be working through Q&A For Kids: A 3 Year Journal. I’m pretty excited about this and that it will only take a few moments to work on.

We are continuing Building Spelling Skills for the middle 3 to work on spelling.

My 1st and 2nd graders will also continue working on Explode the Code. This is a very simple program, but can help with the fundamentals for the little kids. Takes just a couple minutes each day and they are fun!

Little 2 girls are going to continue with ReadingEggs since it’s a fun program and helps greatly with reading and phonics. This is one of those things that is worth outsourcing to me, even though it’s an online program, so it frees me up to help someone else with something.

Bible:

This past year we greatly slacked on our Bible lessons. For Bible this year we are continuing to use Catechism for Kids, which I just love and the kids enjoy, too. I also plan to introduce more scripture writing for handwriting practice. I’ve been writing scripture to help get myself more in the Word and I think that the kids would enjoy this, too, especially with fancy journals and colored pens.

All the kids will also continue with VeritasBible.com.

Social Studies:

History we will continue to pull from Allinonehomeschool.com for the little girls and of course the vast variety of books at the library.

Science:

My littles will be continuing through Apologia’s Zoology. We really enjoyed their Astronomy set last year and are eager to learn more with their Zoology program.

I think that’s it! Seems like a nice rounded program this year, however I’m not super eager to start. I’m enjoying having a break right now from teaching, but planning is still in order! What are your homeschool plans for the year?

Our Homeschool Plans 2016-2017

July 13, 2016 By MommyOctopus 3 Comments
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Our Homeschool Plans

Homeschool Plans! I think that I’m in denial that school is about to start again! I just realized I needed to finish ordering curriculum, but first I needed to figure out what we were using this year.

We have had a marvelous summer and stayed extremely busy – busier than I would have liked, but we have had a ton of fun.

It’s time to start buckling down and making plans for homeschool again. Last year we did have to switch up math for my oldest. She just wasn’t understanding pre-algebra with Horizons. We switched to Math-U-See thanks to a review and she has been thriving! You can see what we used in the 2015-2016 year here.

This year, I will have an 8th grader, a 4th grader, a 1st grader, a Kindergartener, and a toddler. Below I will show you what we plan to use for the kids throughout the year.

Math:

Language Arts:

We are once again using Wordly Wise 3000 for my older 2 kids. This starts in 2nd grade and helps with vocabulary, reading comprehension, and sentence writing. We started Easy Grammar last year and have had great success, so will continue with it this year. It only takes a couple minutes a day.

All of the middle 3 kids are also using A Reason For Handwriting, again. My oldest has completed all of the books now so we will be working on other copywork for her. We are also adding Building Spelling Skills for the older 3 to work on spelling.

My kindergartener and 1st grader will also be working on Explode the Code. This is a very simple program, but can help with the fundamentals for the little kids. Takes just a couple minutes each day and they are fun!

Big 2 will also continue working on Writer’s in Residence that we started a couple months ago.

Little 2 girls are going to continue with ReadingEggs and have just started with ABCMouse. I’ve seen great improvement in their reading since beginning last year.

I know this sounds like a lot, but most of the workbooks mentioned only take a couple minutes.

Bible:

For Bible we are continuing to use Catechism for Kids. We didn’t get as far along as I hoped last year, but with a new baby, things just don’t quite work out as planned. We will finish questions 11-20 and then move along to the next set. I’m also continuing to read through the History Lives set to the bigger kids when the littles are occupied. Some of the stories can be fairly intense so it’s taking longer to go through them so we can digest and discuss.

All the kids will also continue with VeritasBible.com.

Social Studies:

History we will continue to pull from Allinonehomeschool.com and of course the vast variety of books at the library for my younger 2 students. We also plan to start using Notgrass Uncle Sam and You for my older 2.

Science:

My littles will be continuing through Allinonehomeschool.com and the bigs will start on Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Astronomy.

That’s it, I think! Going to be busy! Always feels great to have a written plan! Now I just have to write up a schedule and stick to it! What are your homeschool plans?

Our Homeschooling Plans For 2015-2016

July 23, 2015 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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I’ve been working on getting everything in order for the upcoming homeschool year. With our baby boy due in September, I’ve really got to get on the ball! This year we are still using most of what we did last year but changing a few things as the kids age and learning styles change.

Math, we are once again using Horizons Math. This seems to be working well for my kids. We use the math books plus we supplement with the extra worksheets for more practice. We are also continuing with XtraMath.org. I can’t say enough great things about this website! 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 Language Arts, we are utilizing a few things this year. We are once again using Wordly Wise 3000 for my bigger kids. This starts in 2nd grade and helps with vocabulary, reading comprehension, and sentence writing. For spelling, we use SpellingCity.com. I do purchase the premium membership for $29.99 for my kids, but I’ve heard many use the free version as well. I like the premium because it keeps track of everything and has more features. At the $29.99 price, I can include up to 5 children. A new thing we are adding this year is Easy Grammar. I have heard great things about it and it seems fairly self-taught. We also debated on Daily Grams and may end up adding that in once we get everything else rolling. The big kids are also doing IEW to further enhance their writing skills. My 3rd child is going to be working on Draw Write Now. All of the kids are also using A Reason For Handwriting.

For Bible we are using the Catechism for Kids. We did questions 1-10 last year so we will continue with questions 11-20 this year. I like that you can purchase the PDF fairly cheaply so I can print for multiple children. I’m also continuing to read through the History Lives set to the bigger kids when the littles are occupied. Some of the stories can be fairly intense so it’s taking longer to go through them so we can digest and discuss.

History we will continue to pull from Allinonehomeschool.com and of course the vast variety of books at the library.

Science we are pulling from God’s Design for Life. This will be our first year using it. We are borrowing the books from my sister in law. She really enjoyed using it last year with her kids.

I think that’s it. I’m sure I’ve left something out! All the kids are taking classes at local co-ops as well depending on what each child needs. Between homeschooling 4 kids and a newborn, looks like I will have my hands full this year 🙂 What curriculum are you using this year?

Review: Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year

June 6, 2019 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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I love making plans on paper. I’m more likely to follow through with them if they are in front of me! If you are a homeschooling parent and are looking for lesson plans, I’ve got an awesome product for you! Check out the Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year with devotions written by Gena Suarez and published by The Old Schoolhouse®.

I’m always hesitant to buy something like a planner online because I prefer to thumb through it first and make sure it’s a fit for me. I’m glad I had a chance to review this planner because it’s now my favorite! Within it’s 189 pages, you’ll find everything you need to keep your homeschool organized including calendars, forms, record-keeping, devotions, and more! The planner consists of full size sheets of paper but with the binding, it’s easy to use on a desk.

Check out all that is included by looking at the Table of Contents:

When the planner first arrived, I was very pleased! I love that it is spiral bound so I can easily flip through it. I also like that it has room for plans for 5 different children!

One improvement that I’d like to see in next year’s version is some sort of tabs so I can flip to the page I need with ease. It can be a pain to find the spot I’m wanting to work on with all those pages. I am probably going to buy some sticker tabs to use in this planner. I also noticed that on one month, the numbers were off on the calendar, but with some white out, it was an easy fix.

I haven’t done a lot with the planner yet since we are still finishing up the current year of school, but I plan to soon! (Maybe I should write that in the planner! Ha!) I have started making lists of curriculum I plan to use with the kids next year.

I also like that there is an area to record books that my children have read, their yearly goals, and plenty of areas to make notes on each of the children. The kids are already planning how we will fill up these sections once we work more on planning for the school year.

The Devotional section is nice. After each devotion, there is a fully lined piece of paper so I can jot down any notes or reflect back on what I’ve read. This is a lovely feature that I know I will use.

The weekly planner has plenty of room for seven subjects or categories for each of the five children spaces. The blocks are a nice size and allow for writing down numerous assignments in each box.

This planner was a win for me! I will most likely use this again the following school year!

For More Information:

For more information, you can visit the Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year website. I heard that they are almost 98 percent sold out, so you’ll want to grab one soon if you are interested. They are currently on sale for $22.

You can also find out more on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Please click the banner below to read more reviews on this product and others from the Homeschool Review Crew.

Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year {The Old Schoolhouse® Reviews}

Our Homeschool Schedule 2016-2017

July 18, 2016 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Now that I have made our plans for homeschool next year, I made our homeschool schedule for multiple children. I find it helpful to make a schedule for the entire family so that I don’t have 2 kids trying to use the same computer and so I’m not stretched thin. It helps to know exactly who needs to be where during the day. With 5 kids to balance, 1 being a toddler, I expect that this next year will hold some tremendous challenges.

I think this schedule will work for the first several months, or at least until the baby drops his morning nap. I also schedule in time for the kids to play with the baby. This helps him to stay out of trouble and the big kids love taking a break from school and unwind by playing for a bit.

Take a peek and maybe it will help you in your plans for the year.

Screen Shot 2016-07-18 at 1.52.18 PM

How do you plan for your year?

Our Homeschool Schedule 2015-2016!

August 14, 2015 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Since I’m due with by #5 in about 3 weeks, I finally finalized our schedule so that daddy and grandma can take the reins while I’m taking care of the baby. My husband fortunately will get 6 weeks off so things should go fairly smoothly for us.

When creating a homeschool schedule, you have to remember which kid is going to need assistance on which subjects. You also need to make sure you have time to check the work and go over problems with your kids. It’s really hard to find that balance while teaching so many different age levels and have littles running about as well. Last year I created a schedule so I would know which kid was working on what and who was supposed to be using the computer and when. It helped our year go so smoothly! Here’s what our schedule looks like for this year. If you want to know what curriculums we are using, you can see that here on a previous post.

As you can see, we have scheduled time for studies and time for fun. Of course we never know how a day will actually go, so I do allow for some flexibility. I’m a stickler to having some quiet time each day. The kids are much more pleasant if they all have some down time away from each other. This mama is much more pleasant as well with downtime.

Due to the intensity of homeschooling 4 kids plus having a newborn soon, I’m sure you’ll completely understand why I’m not posting as much anymore. There just isn’t the time! I hope you’ll still stop by and read my blog, though! I still love writing when I find the time.