Homeschool – Page 3

Kennedy Space Center: Free Ticket for 5th Graders

April 2, 2018 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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It’s like the Kennedy Space Center read my mind! We’ve been talking about taking the kids for a visit! Currently 5th graders can snag a free ticket to visit the Kennedy Space Center. This offer is for a limited time only and open to 10 and 11 year olds or 5th graders in 2018.

Here are the details:

Free admission offer is valid for students that are in the 5th grade in 2018 or are between the ages of 10 and 11.
Domestic public and private students will need a relevant report card or school transcript.
International and home school students will need a passport or birth certificate.
Students must visit with a full admission-paying adult to receive free admission ticket.

Offer not valid for groups or field trips and cannot be combined with any other discounts.

Free admission is limited to three (3) students per paying adult. Boarding Pass to Mars is valid through December 31, 2018.

All coupons must be printed. Smartphones, PDF or electronic copy of the coupon will not be accepted.

To get your ticket and for more information, visit the Kennedy Space Center website.

Review: Thin Stix Creativity Pack

November 8, 2017 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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A few months back, we tried out the Thin Stix products for the first time. We were so excited to receive Thin Stix Creativity Pack from The Pencil Grip, Inc. to review one of their other great products.

About the Product:

The Thin Stix Creativity Pack consists of 24 wonderful colors from solid tempura paint. Included are 12 classic colors, 6 neon colors, and 6 Metalix. Drying in only 90 seconds, Thin Stix are prefect for mess-free creativity. To create, simply uncap and twist up the paint and then use it on paper, wood, poster board, cardboard and more! Very much like coloring with a marker, only it’s with paint! Thin Stix are intended for ages three and up. They are non toxic and no water, cups, or even smocks are needed for use!

Our Thoughts:

Thin Stix! Oh how I love you! I am seriously not a fan of art projects with kids and avoid them most of the time! Thin Stix make painting a million times better with it’s mess-free aspect, plus the kids love using them!

When our package for this review arrived and I opened it, the kids gave a cheer when they realized that we were reviewing the Thin Stix again. This followed by oohing and aahing over the different colors that were in this package. The kids couldn’t wait to get their hands on them!

We saved it for a rainy day activity during the toddler’s nap time and then I let them have at it! I was impressed at how sparkly the Metalix Thin Stix are and how vibrant of the colors seem to be.

I asked my 6 year old what she liked best about the Thin Stix Creativity Pack and here is what she said:

I like that there are sparkly ones and lots of different colors and shades of my favorite colors. I really like the pink sparkles one! I am going to use them to make lots of pretty pictures!

And here is what my 11 year old had to say:

I like that they are paint and dry very quickly. I plan to use them to color and paint, especially when I have a school project that needs a decorated poster board.

At the time, only those 2 and the toddler were home, but when the other 2 walked in the door, they immediately joined in on the fun!

Even after page upon page of creations were made, the Thin Stix kept on hanging in there. These can definitely be used for an extended period of time. We look forward to checking out more items from The Pencil Grip, Inc company in the future.

For More Information:

You can purchase Thin Stix from BJs website and many other places as well. The Pencil Grip, Inc company has a lot more to offer than just the Thin Stix! See their website to check out all the varieties and colors of the Thin Stix, a variety of therapeutic toys and products, fidgets, and pencil grips.

For more information, you can also visit The Pencil grip on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also click the banner below to read more reviews on this product and others by other homeschooling families below:

Thin Stix Creativity Pack {The Pencil Grip, Inc. Reviews}

Catechism for Kids Website Closing – All PDFs are FREE!

October 5, 2017 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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A few weeks ago, I read on Facebook that a website we have been using for years, Catechism for Kids is closing. I am super bummed by this. However, since they are closing, they are offering ALL of their PDF workbooks for FREE! I just went through and grabbed all the ones that I didn’t have. October 31st will be your last day to grab these freebies.

I highly recommend checking out their Westminster Shorter Catechism for Kids program. We really like that with our children.

Review: Channie’s Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks

October 4, 2017 By MommyOctopus 1 Comment
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We have recently had the opportunity to review a product we hadn’t seen before through the Homeschool Review Crew. One Page a Day: Double Digit Math Problem Workbook from Channie’s Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks is perfect for young children needing a little extra math practice or busywork.

About the Product:

Channie's One Page A Day Double Digit Math Problem Workbook

As simple as it sounds, Channie’s Visual Math Workbook, One Page a Day Double Digit Math Practice has 25 problems on the front and back of every page that are each 2 digits. Geared toward grades 1st-3rd, this workbook strives to keep math simplistic, helping children practice and keeping their problems in line.

Channie’s Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks

Channie’s Math Workbooks also offers a Single Digit Math Practice for grades pre-k through 1st grade and a Triple Digit Math Practice for 2nd and 3rd grade. Also available from the same company is their line of handwriting workbooks, which includes Easy Peasy Alphabet, Quick & Neat Cursive, Quick & Neat Alphabet Pad, and more!

Our Thoughts:

I’m always game for a little extra math practice, however my 1st and 2nd grader weren’t thrilled with a paper filled with problems and without a fun aspect. Their actual response was “Do I have to do all of it???”. Once they got started, however, I didn’t hear any more complaints and I don’t think they really minded.

Being geared toward 1st-3rd graders, I thought the workbook would stick to just the basics of addition and subtraction. I found that some pages in the workbook that we received needed my children to have already learned the borrowing concept in subtraction. In my children’s math program, borrowing isn’t introduced until the middle of 2nd grade. That doesn’t deter me, though, as we will keep those worksheets for my 2nd grader to do later this year. My 1st grader is nowhere near ready for that concept.

I do like how everything is neatly lined up so it’s easier to see and make sure you’re adding and subtracting the correct numbers.

However, as a parent of 5 children, I would have loved to have had a quick answer sheet in the back. Of course I can figure out the answers to correct my children’s work, however I would love to use my time in other ways rather than correcting a math sheet.

I think this book would have been better geared toward 2nd-3rd grade, with maybe an easier book for 1st grade without the borrowing. Overall, I’m happy with how easy it is to just tear out a page for extra practice and have it ready to go.

For More Information:

For more information, you can visit Channie’s Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks website. You can also find them on Facebook.

More reviews on this product and other products by this same company can be seen by clicking the banner below.

Channie’s Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks {Reviews}

Review: Super Teacher Worksheets

October 2, 2017 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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As a homeschooling mom, I like to supplement some of our work with printable worksheets. It can be hard to find some that are topic specific. I love the variety of printables available with the Individual Membership from Super Teacher Worksheets.

About the Membership:

With a Super Teacher Worksheets Individual Membership, you’ll gain access to thousands of worksheets and printable materials in all sorts of subjects. You’ll find everything from Algebra, Counting Money, Skip Counting, Writing Prompts, Spanish, and tons more! Many subjects have lots of worksheets under them, not just a couple.

In addition to pre-made worksheets, you can also make your own printables with the printable generator tool. For example, below I have it creating an addition worksheet with 50 problems where the addends are both between 2-10. This is a wonderful tool since you can create as many unique worksheets as you wish instead of just printing the same thing.

For further fun, you can use the word search, bingo cards, flash cards, fill-in-the-blank or crossword puzzle generator. This is especially helpful with remembering facts and finding a fun way to keep them fresh instead of a normal worksheet.

This program is wonderful for school teacher as well as parents that either homeschool or want to have some busy work for the kids to do on occasion. Many of the resources are also available in Spanish, too.

Our Thoughts:

Many years ago, when I was first starting my homeschooling adventure with my oldest, we used Super Teacher Worksheets all the time. When they moved to a being a paid subscription, I stopped using them because I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it. Now after having the chance to view all the wonderful printables available and especially the worksheet generators, I’m wishing I had went ahead and subscribed back then! I really like how easy it is to find and print worksheets on a number of different topics for my children. I also like the worksheet generator so I can make learning a little more fun.

Since we received a subscription, I have used Super Teacher Worksheets for fun printables for my kids such as above, in addition to supplement work. The girls are working on math facts, but now they can have fun coloring it and creating a picture at the same time. This definitely is a much needed break from book work!

Something that is worth noting is that most worksheets have 2 pages that will print. The first one is the worksheet for the child and the second page will have the answers or solutions. If you want to save paper, make sure to adjust the options when you print to only print the first page.

For More Information:

For more information, you can visit the Super Teacher Worksheets website. For only $19.95 per year, you can join this website and have unlimited access to all the materials.

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

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

Printable Scripture Writing Plan for Teens: Grace

August 31, 2017 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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About a month ago, I shared with you all that I have been enjoying scripture writing to stay in the Word. My kids wanted to follow suit and so I created the first in our series of scripture writing for teens and tweens. This month, I ask my older kids what they wanted the scriptures to be about and they suggested Grace. I though that was a great idea, so I’ve spend the better part of today searching for verses. It took a bit, but I came up with enough for this scripture writing plan.

I think they will enjoy this one. It’s the perfect length for teens and tweens to take a few moments out of the day and write. It would be great for adults that want to try out scripture writing for the first time as well. As for myself, I really enjoy the longer writings and follow a website called Sweet Blessings for my writings. This upcoming month, she’s created a plan about joy! I’m really excited about that one!

Free Printable Scripture Writing Plan: Grace

Without further ado, below you will find the scripture plan. Click on the image to download it and print. I would love to hear any feedback.

You can also find our other printable scripture plans here:

Printable Scripture Writing Plan for Teens Self-Control & Purity

Have an idea for a future study? Leave me a comment and tell me what you’d like to see as our next topic.

Printable Scripture Writing Plan for Teens Self-Control & Purity

July 28, 2017 By MommyOctopus 6 Comments
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My sister-in-law and I were part of a great Bible study recently with a few friends. One of the ladies in the study mentioned that she enjoys writing scripture to help her remember to read and to help keep her mind on track and not wandering. I have the exact same problem. I’ll try to read and then my mind will start to wander toward the day’s to-do list or other random things.

Along this same time as our study, a friend of mine shared a website called Sweet Blessings that offers scripture writing printables for adults. We absolutely love the ones that she has created. I definitely recommend checking out her site as has a ton of great plans for adults to use.

Being a homeschooling mom, I thought about how this would be a great thing to incorporate into our school year for the older kids. We could easily knock out Bible reading and handwriting simultaneously.

Together with my sister-in-law, we created a printable Scripture Writing Plan August. Self-Control and Purity is the theme for this month. This Bible writing plan is geared toward tweens and teens, however I think anyone would enjoy it. It should only take about 5-10 minutes to be written nicely, but most likely less.

A Prayer Journal can be easily be used in addition to this Scripture Writing Plan.

Free Scripture Writing Printable: Self Control & Purity

To download and print, simply click on the image below. Enjoy!

Using this printable with your kids? Leave a comment and tell us how it went. Also leave a comment and tell us which printables you would like to see in the future. Our plans are to continue making them for a few months and see how it goes. Press the share button to help others see it as well.

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?

Tracing Practice for Preschool and Kindergarten

June 4, 2017 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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I have a hard time keeping my littler 2 busy while I do school with the big kids. My sister in law shared an idea that she had and we have put it into practice with great success! It’s super easy to do as well!

First up, find some printable tracing pages. I did a search on pinterest and came up with a ton! Here are some of my favorites:

You can search on pinterest to find some that you are wanting for your kiddos as well. They are easy to find.

Once you have your printables, I hole-punched mine and put in a three ringed binder and labeled it “Tracing”. Each day I can pull out a new worksheet or repeat an older one and put in the clear folder for tracing. Using an overhead marker or dry erase, my daughters can practice their letters or numbers. When they are done, I simply pull it out and put it back in the binder to be reused another day. They love having a variety of tracing options available and I love that it keeps them busy for a bit.

For the folders, I bought the Shop Ticket Holders, Assorted Neon Colors, 9 x 12 Inches, 10 per Pack. They were $13.99. Much cheaper and pretty much the same as the Learning Resources Write And Wipe Pockets.

What ideas do you have for your preschooler?

Painting with Toddlers WITHOUT the Mess!

May 16, 2017 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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My youngest is now 20 months old and he always wants to keep up with the big kids. When they are painting, he wants to jump in as well, however I’m not quite fond of the huge mess that a toddler and paint can bring! I remembered a trick that I learned when I was teaching preschool before kids on how to paint with a toddler without the mess. Painting with toddlers doesn’t have to be a disaster! If you don’t mind a little water, they can have fun, too.

First you need a piece of colored construction paper. Pretty much any color will do and the brand doesn’t matter. The darker the color, the more your toddler may enjoy watching the transformation.

After you have your construction paper, also gather a paintbrush and a shallow container with just a little bit of water in it. Know that the water will likely get spilled, so I recommend keeping the water to the bare minimum. For my son, I used about 1/4 inch or so.

Next, let them have at it! When the water hits the construction paper, it makes the paper a little darker! This gives your toddler the illusion that they are “painting” without actually using paints! It’s a win for the toddler and a win for easy cleanup!

Afterward, you can even give your toddler a rag and encourage him to cleanup any spills. Easy Peasy! I’ve done this trick will all 5 of my kids and numerous kids that have been in our kid and they all love it! You can set the paper outside to dry and then even reuse it a time or two.

This is how our family conquers painting with toddlers. Do you have any other tips to add? Leave me a comment and let me know