We can all use a few more hands
If you’re looking for some reading help for your kids ages 2-7, check out this incredible deal right to to try out ABCmouse.com. They are offering 2 Months of ABCmouse.com for only $5! That’s the best deal I’ve seen! Great way to try it and see if you like it.
Cancel anytime if you do not love the program.
Starting today, Christianbook.com is promoting a sale on select Apologia Elementary Science Print Curriculum thru July 26th. Select resources will be available for up to 35% off retail price! We have been very pleased with the Apologia curriculum that we have used and plan to use this year as well! Head on over to check it out!
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.
How do you plan for your year?
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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
My kids all love to paint, but let’s face it. There are not many Paint-by-Number sets for the over 8 crowd. Fortunately, we have found one that we really love!
Timberdoodle recently sent my big kids the Faber Castell Paint-by-Number Museum Series set to check out. At first glance, I didn’t see how this would really work out. The paintings looked pretty intricate.
This set includes four painting kits, each with a 6″ x 8″ canvas, pop up easel, brush, 6 acrylic paint colors and instructions. In this set, children can make an interpretation of The Eiffel Tower by Georges Seurat, The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, The Japanese Footbridge by Claude Monet, and the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.
The canvases come with an instruction sheet with some guidelines to help make your masterpiece. My children found these very easy to follow and the final results really DID look like it was supposed to look! They took a bit of patience to paint in the small areas and so they were occupied for quite a while during art time. The techniques it taught will be useful in art for the future. Now we have their beautiful art standing in the easel that came with it. We have the lovely Eiffel Tower piece on a bookshelf in our room.
Definitely a win in my book!
For more information, you can check out this product at Timberdoodle.com. It is also included in Timberdoodle’s 2016 Third-Grade Curriculum Kit!
The end of our homeschool year is coming up soon! Per Georgia homeschool laws, I need to do an end of the year homeschool evaluation to keep for my records. Each year, I have been typing something up and printing it for my files, but this year I decided to make something a little more organized and open-ended to chart from year to year.
Honestly, just be honest. In Georgia, we write a report, but no one else sees in outside of my husband and myself. I’m sure other states are different, but this is the best way to find your child’s strengths and weaknesses. It also helps to evaluate their curriculum to see if it was a good fit or if perhaps you might need to check out other options the following year.
Get your child involved as well. Ask them if they liked their curriculum or not. Ask about their favorite subjects and why they like them. You just might be surprised on what they prefer.
We have a free printable homeschool evaluation form available for you to use. I had my fabulous sister in law make this homeschool assessment form so that I could share it with you guys. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to use it each year to keep track. I’m very excited about using it this year! Click to download the PDF file.
Do you write end of the year homeschool reports for your family? What do you do or use to keep track?
Once again, Barnes and Noble is offering their fantastic Summer Reading program! We love going to Barnes & Noble to score a free new book! Here’s how it works:
Step 1. Fill out the Summer Reading Triathlon Reading Journal (PDF).
Step 2. Bring the completed Reading Journal to your local B&N store.
Step 3. Choose a FREE BOOK from our selection on the Reading Journal list at the store… Enjoy reading!
You can start redeeming on May 17th, 2016 for your free book. It’s easy!
I was very excited to have the opportunity to review Math-U-See with the Schoolhouse Review Crew the past few weeks. I’ve been wanting to put my hands on this material and check it out, so this was the perfect opportunity. We packed away my daughter’s current curriculum so we could focus completely on Demme Learning’s Math-U-See Pre-Algebra Digital Packs. We were so glad we did.
Math-U-See is now offering an enhanced version of their Instruction Packs online! With the Digital Packs, you can purchase a 12 month subscription to access to streaming instruction videos and Instruction Manual PDFs, accessible through any internet browser, plus an online version of the Digital Manipulatives. Math-U-See is perfect for on the go learning.
Other free online and downloadable resources are included with each level, as appropriate. It’s important to note that the Digital Packs do not include workbooks.
The Digital Pack features 30 lessons and an introductory lesson where the teacher fully explains the concepts and provides sample problems.
With the Digital Pack and the Math-U-See Manipulatives, she finally understood the why! This program is wonderful for more visual or tactile learners like my daughter.
I asked my daughter what she thought about this Pre-Algebra program and his response floored me. “It’s easy, Mom”. It’s Easy. For a child who struggled with math and “hated” math. It’s Easy. Things are clicking and I couldn’t be more happy!
We have actually officially switched her over now to Math-U-See and I’m exploring it for our other children as well. Who knew math could be understood so easily using blocks and manipulatives! It’s a winner in my book, for sure!
You can find out more about Math-U-See on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also click the banner below to read more reviews on Math-U-See on other levels.
Every Summer, I love attending used homeschool book sales. I’ve found some fantastic deals on materials I needed and have been able to thumb through curriculum that I was interested in purchasing. Sometimes actually putting my hands on the homeschool materials helps me decide if it’s right for our family. There are many places online and offline that you can use to sell homeschool curriculum.
Before you sell, there are a few things that you want to consider.
When you are selling, be sure to be honest about the condition. If it has highlighting, mark it as such. If it has been written in pencil, mark it. Nothing worse than thinking you’re getting a blank workbook than receiving one that is completely filled out.
I usually do a little research before I price an item. Unless it is completely brand new, I don’t ask near the original list price. Brand new you may be able to get full face value since the buyer will not have to pay extra for shipping if the transaction is local. If you’re selling online, consider the cost of shipping and make sure it’s not overpriced once shipping is added. I typically mark things down about 1/3 off or 1/2 off the original cost depending on condition, age, and popularity.
Double check the edition of your book and be sure to label your listing with the correct edition. Book companies tend to revise their curriculum several times throughout the years. It can be hard to find consumables for older books and therefore the older books aren’t usually worth as much. Consumables and books need to match up for optimal learning.
This is a very basic site but is fairy easy to sort through. I suggest searching for the exact item that you need to sell and price competitively. I’ve bought and sold on this website without any problems in the past and find it to be the best place to sell homeschool curriculum in my opinion.
I’ve had good luck selling on eBay. Make sure to post the description very thoroughly to prevent and problems. There are stipulations regarding selling teacher’s manuals, though, so be sure and familiarize yourself with their rules in order to continue selling homeschool curriculum on eBay.
Facebook:
Find your local homeschool page or even local yard sale page and list what you have. As always, meet up in a safe place.
I’ve never sold on Amazon, but I have several friends that like to sell textbooks on Amazon and have done so successfully. Depending on the textbook, you could get up to 80% of the cover price!
Homeschool Legal Defense Curriculum Market:
Anyone can list on this site, but you must be a member in order to buy. If you are a homeschooler, I highly HIGHLY recommend joining the Homeschool Legal Defense.
Local Co-ops:
Reach out to local homeschool co-ops and find out if they will be having a sale. Even if you do not attend a co-op, they may be willing to let you set up a table during their used curriculum sale.
Create Your Own Sale:
Find a church or location and create your own sale with friends. Advertise on homeschool groups to bring in other sellers and charge a small flat rate per table to donate to the hosting location.
Garage Sale:
I’ve found that generally homeschool supplies do not do well in a yard sale unless you advertise it as such. Even still, it will be hit or miss to find the right buyer for your supplies and generally people will want it for a super bargain.
Selling your no-longer-needed curriculum items is a great way to minimize and declutter the shelves. It’s amazing how much stuff we can accumulate and never use. I encourage you every summer to purge your shelves. Get rid of the things that all the kids have outgrown. Rehome the materials that you’ll never use because you don’t like it. Might as well put a little money back in your pocket during the process.
In our homeschool, we always incorporate Bible studies and opportunities to further learning on topics of the Bible. Coming up soon in the calendar year is the joyous resurrection of Christ! Knowing that Easter is coming, we have been working through Grapevine Studies Resurrection – Student with the bigger kids and are using the Resurrection – Student Traceable with my younger girls. This is another great product that we are checking out with the Old Schoolhouse Review Crew.
I am loving the concept of Grapevine Studies. Grapevine Studies presents a program where you can “Stick Figure Through the Bible”. Children are encouraged to draw to grasp the subject and no professional drawing is needed! Stick figures are encouraged! That works great for me because I’m probably the world’s worst artist!
Through the Resurrection study, my children went back to the last week of Jesus’ walk here on Earth. Through this 11 week study (or 22 daily lessons if you prefer), the kids start with The Last Supper and continue on through the crucifixion. Then of course it continues to the Resurrection. These studies take only about 15-20 minutes a day and are perfect for homeschool, Sunday School, or just extra learning on the subject.
With these studies, you have the option to purchase the physical copy or the download version. Normally I prefer the physical copy, but when I plan to use something with multiple children, the download works best. This is when I really appreciate having a HP Instant Ink subscription!
After we printed out our studies, I read through the teacher’s manual so I could know what I was doing and how to best present the material. Students study each lesson by reading passages from the Bible and drawing each section of Scripture using stick figuring. Stick figuring is using stick figures, symbols, colors, charts, and words to illustrate each Bible passage. The teacher’s manual shows simple stick figures that you can use as a guide if your children get stuck and aren’t sure how to illustrate a particular section. I really appreciated the notes and read-aloud verses in each section.
My kids really took right to the lessons. We were able to sit down as a family and work on each part of The Resurrection. Everyone, except the baby of course, was able to follow along and have a better understanding of the Resurrection after this study. My kids are ages 5-12 for reference. Above, you can see my 6 year olden my 9 year old working on their separate level of studies. I found that each level was very age appropriate according to the guidelines on the website.
I have been very pleased with the Grapevine Studies and will most likely purchase others to use in the coming months and years of our homeschool. Other studies available on their website include Esther, Birth of Jesus, Joseph, Ruth, Moses and the Exodus, and more. I am thankful to have been given an opportunity to try these studies first hand.
For more information, visit the Grapevine Studies website. You can also find Grapevine Studies on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
