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Search Results for: homeschool plans

Our Homeschool Schedule 2015-2016!

August 14, 2015 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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School Schedule

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.

Screen Shot 2015-08-14 at 10.44.12 AM

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.

25 Free Homeschooling Resources

April 23, 2015 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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25 FREE Homeschool Resources

Homeschooling your children is a big decision and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. There’s a lot to consider and one of the biggest is whether your budget has room for you to purchase curriculum, supplies and everything else that comes along for the ride. Luckily, there is a boatload of free homeschooling resources on the net that you can use along with your curriculum or by themselves if you aren’t using a set curriculum. Take a look at them and see if there’s anything you can use. I’m sure you’ll find something that you like!

  1. Free Kindle Books – Amazon is chock full of free Kindle books that are great for homeschool. They change almost hourly too so you’re always able to look and find a few new ones.
  2. Open Culture – When it comes to homeschool freebies, Open Culture really is the place you want to be. Currently they feature over 200 free videos, online textbooks, games and more.
  3. Educents – While Educents is technically an online store, they do offer a large amount of freebies each day. You’ll find them in a range from single printable to entire unit lesson plans. Most of the printables are created by either homeschooling Mom’s themselves or certified teachers so you can count on getting quality freebies for your kids.
  4. Ambleside Online – If you’re a fan of the Charlotte Mason learning style, Ambleside Online will provide you with an entire curriculum to use from Kindergarten to grade 12 in the 5 basic subjects as well as electives such as art, Shakespeare, folks songs and more. This is a religious based curriculum so just keep that in mind if you’re a secular homeschooler.
  5. Free Lesson Plans from Scholastic – If you’re looking for unit plans for specific things, Scholastic is a great resource for grabbing freebies. They offer multiple lessons in grades Pre-K through 12 on subjects like “Remembering Anne Frank,” outdoor learning centers and so much more.
  6. Free Piano Sheet Music – If you’re including piano in your homeschool music program, Virtual Sheet Music is perfect for you! You can download free sheet music for the classics on piano as well as some that are duets for piano and other instruments.
  7. Free Science DVD’s – Looking to supplement your science curriculum? The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has you covered. You can order over 25 free science related dvd’s for free! They’re great for adding onto what your child is already learning.
  8. Discovery Education – If you’re a fan of the Discovery Channel, you can add them to your homeschool! They offer several free lesson plans on a few different topics. They’re great for when you just need a quick supplement.
  9. Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool – Easy Peasy is another heavily religion based curriculum, but it is a full curriculum for grades K-12. She includes all of the core subjects plus a few extras.
  10. Free homeschool planners – When it comes to homeschool planning and record keeping, Donna Young is the queen. She offers planners, records, calendars and more and they’re all free. If you’re keeping a homeschool binder, you’ll definitely want to take a look.
  11. Free Tech Classes from Google – Every kid should learn a bit about coding and things and Google is the place to be for that. They offer a few different videos and lessons on coding and other tech services. Just be sure to select “student” from the drop down menu.
  12. Free Art Lessons & Projects – Don’t let their name fool you. KinderArt is a great free resource for free art lessons or art projects for students of all ages. You can sort them out by age or medium to be sure that you find what you need to.
  13. NASA Kid’s Club – Have a future space cadet in your homeschool? They’ll love the NASA Kid’s Club and you’ll love that they’re learning about space.
  14. Free Kid’s Money & Budgeting Curriculum – The Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank offers their kid’s money & budgeting curriculum called “Great Minds Think Alike.” You can order a free physical copy or download it by PDF.
  15. Free First Aid Classes – Homeschool isn’t just about the 3 R’s and these Free Basic and Advanced First Aid classes are perfect for adding an extra elective.
  16. Free Sign Language Classes – Why not learn a new language that isn’t Spanish, French or German?
  17. Free Banking Lessons and Curriculum – Head over to Hands on Banking for lessons and curriculum to help you teach your child the ins and outs of banking, budgets and more.
  18. Project Gutenberg – With over 46,000 free e-books, you’ll never want for something to read. You can find both older classics and new ones indexed here and they add more every day.
  19. Encyclopedias Britannica – Remember those thick books that sat on your book shelf? They’re not available online and for free.
  20. We Give Books – Books can be super expensive and We Give Books is trying to help with that. Your child can read current books (Such as the “Who is” series, Nat Geo books and more) online in digital magazine form for free.
  21. Free Nutrition Lessons – The USDA offers multiple free brochures, posters and worksheets to help you teach your child proper eating habits and nutrition. Just remember to read each option carefully because you could end up with 30 of each if you don’t.
  22. Free Learning Worksheets – K5 Learning is an awesome site for worksheet in every core subject in, you guessed it, grades K-5.
  23. Free Curriculum on Water – Learning the water cycle or how to conserve it? Head over to Water.org for free curriculum. They offer 3 different ones in Elementary, Middle and High School ages.
  24. Free Teacher Resources – The Library of Congress offers multiple resources to both teachers and homeschoolers for free.
  25. Free Online Clubs – Curriclick offers several free online clubs for homeschool students. Choose from things like American Girl, Lego and more. Topics change from semester to semester.

Homeschooling doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t have to break your budget. Use these 25 freebies as a jumping off point. The internet is full of them and they’re all perfect for homeschooling on a budget!

Introducing the HP Envy 5660 e-All-in-One Printer – This Homeschool Mom Approves! #HPSmartMoms

March 25, 2015 By MommyOctopus 1 Comment
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HP Envy 5660 e-All-in-One

We’ve all heard of smart phones, smart tablets, etc, but have you heard about a smart printer?  I was chosen as part of HP’s #HPSmartMoms team and was sent a brand new HP Envy 5660 e-All-in-One Printer as part of the program.  I have to say that this has to be one of the coolest printers I’ve used!

For starters, it was a breeze to set up!  It practically set itself up!  It walked us through everything and easily connected to our computers.  Next came the fun part!

HP Printables

This printer, while connected to the internet, can instantly print fun printables for your kids or yourself with a click on the screen! I’m talking Disney coloring pages, Meals Plans, Recipes, Checklists, and more without even getting on your computer!  Even better, you can set it up to print your child a new coloring sheet every morning if you wish!

HP Worksheets

Homeschooling parents will also love this printer as it has an education.com printable as well.  You can add your children’s grade levels and set it up to print a fun educational worksheet every day!  You select the days of the week and the time it will be printed!   LOVE this option!  I have it set up to print my kids fun educational worksheets a couple times a week!  You can set up multiple kids as well!  Perfect for our houseful 😉

I’m still exploring the printer’s capabilities and I’m sure I’ll be sharing more with you throughout the year.  I’m totally in love with this!

Big thanks to HP for selecting me to take part in this program and for my new printer!

Review: Writing with Sharon Watson

June 19, 2019 By MommyOctopus 2 Comments
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I have been looking for a good middle school composition program for my soon-to-be-seventh grade son.  We found  Jump In, 2nd Edition from Writing with Sharon Watson through this review and it has been a great fit for us.  So much, in fact, that I am checking into their high school composition books for my oldest.  This is a keeper!

The Jump In, 2nd Edition Student Book retails for $40 and the Teacher’s Guide is $10.  I definitely recommend getting both to get a good grasp on this program.

Teacher’s Guide:

On one of the first pages inside the Teacher’s Guide, there are schedules for the Jump In, 2nd Edition program that can be tailored to your student and your time frame.  There are schedules for one year, two year, and three year plans.  Each daily lesson will take anywhere from five to twenty minutes to complete.  Students will learn how to write different types of paragraphs, topic sentences, and main ideas.  They will also be guided in writing nine types of essays and a research project.  This program is not designed as a stand alone program and you will need a separate grammar course to round out your English lessons.

Inside the Teacher’s Guide, there is “The Teacher’s Backpack” section that includes reproducible pages for constructing paragraphs.  There are also sample essays and examples on how to give grades.  I really appreciated this part since it helped show which sample essay paper would have received an A and compare it to an essay that would have received a C.

The 10-Minute Writing Plunges were my favorite part of the Teacher’s Guide.  There are enough Writing Plunges to last all year.  The guide recommends giving new prompts to students every day Monday-Thursday and then Friday choosing a paper out of those to proofread and turn in for a grade.

An answer key to the Daily Lessons and Assignments is also included. In the very back, there are Grading Grids for each type of essay and writing format.

Student Workbook:

The Jump In, 2nd Edition is filled with 286 pages of writing lessons, assignments, and lots of opportunities to improve writing.  Some assignments may be a persuasive essay, a book response, a haiku poem, a how-to paper, and even a newspaper article.  The student workbook is designed to be used by one student and consumed.  In the past few weeks, my son has learned about an opinion essay and has started learning about persuasive essays.

My son decided to write his opinion declaring that “Poppyseed Chicken is a Great Meal”.  I thought his topic was very creative and I loved reading his supporting sentences.  Later in the program, he wrote his essay that was almost all put together from the prompts in the book.

I like that it gives sample essays and has the students pull out supporting statements and topic sentences so that they can see first hand the different parts of the paragraphs or essays.  After they pull apart essays, they are guided through creating their own essays.

Our Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this review and look forward to continuing the Jump In, 2nd Edition this fall with my son.  He liked it as well since the work is broken down into bite size chunks to work on throughout the weeks.  This one will definitely be going on our homeschool plans list for fall!

For More Information:

For more information, please check out Writing with Sharon Watson.  You can also find out more by visiting Facebook and Pinterest.  To view more reviews on this product and others, please click the banner below.

 

Jump In, 2nd Edition {Writing with Sharon Watson Reviews}
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Review: Hake/Saxon Grammar and Writing 3

June 27, 2018 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

Hake Publishing Writing and Grammar
Over the past few weeks, we have been looking through Hake/Saxon Grammar and Writing 3 from Hake Publishing with my soon to be 3rd grader.  I had been on the hunt for a good grammar and writing program for my younger daughters so this review for the brand new Hake/Saxon Grammar and Writing 3 came at a great time.

About the Product:

Like I mentioned above, the Hake/Saxon Grammar and Writing 3  program is new this year.  Already available is Hake/Saxon Grammar and Writing for grades 4-8.  Throughout Grammar and Writing 3, basic concepts of grammar are going to be covered, including the eight parts of speech, sentence structure, sentence diagramming, capitalization, punctuation, and correct word usage.

Grammar and Writing 3 is offered as both a classroom or a homeschool edition.  The homeschool edition includes a consumable Student Textbook, a Teacher Guide, and the Writing Workbook.  Both the Teacher Guide and the Writing Workbook are 3 hole punched for notebook usage.

The Student Textbook includes 111 lessons and reviews and the Writing Workbook includes 21 writing lessons.  The Teacher Guide includes instruction for each of the lessons, 22 Tests, and extra practice worksheets, along with an answer key.

Our Thoughts:

When we received the products, I first flipped through the Teacher Guide and loved what I saw!  There is an easy to follow schedule with 146 days worth of instruction included.  That makes this busy mom smile!  Once I flipped to the lesson part, each section was simple to follow.  It told me exactly what to say and what to have my student do for that day.  Each lesson is divided into sections of Speaking & Listening, Vocabulary, Grammar Lesson, and Review Set.  I felt like each day’s lesson was adequate and not too overwhelming.

We’ve already started Grammar and Writing 3, but at a slower pace than we would have in our typical school since it is summertime.  A lesson typically takes about 20-30 minutes to complete for my daughter.  The website indicated that many children take from 30-50 minutes to complete a lesson.  I have to say that it’s not quite my daughter’s favorite thing to do, but she’d much rather be outside playing than having to sit still and work on school work.  The workbook is definitely a “no frills” type.

I think this program will continue to be a great fit for my soon to be 3rd grader.  She has been a struggling reader so we have put off most grammar instruction as we worked on reading for the past few years.  Since we are finally making progress with reading, it’s time to add in more grammar and writing instruction.

If you haven’t started a grammar program with your children, I think Grammar and Writing 3 is a good place to start if they are close to 3rd grade.  As homeschooling parents, sometimes we forget to include some of the basics in our instruction and this program is perfect for that. We definitely plan to pick back up on it come fall and include it in our homeschool plans for the 2018-2019 school year.

For More Information:

For more information, you can visit the Hake Publishing website.  You can also read other reviews on this product from members of the Homeschool Review Crew by clicking the banner below.

Hake/Saxon Grammar and Writing 3 {Hake Publishing Reviews}
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Meal Plan Monday

July 18, 2016 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Screen Shot 2016-07-17 at 11.16.49 AM

Happy Monday yall!  Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.  My youngest is getting even more teeth and he looks so silly sometimes!  Thought you all would enjoy the photo!

I can’t believe that school is about to start again!  I spent most of the weekend working on my homeschool plans for next year.  Schedules made, checklists made, community classes scheduled, extracurricular plans made, it’s a lot to balance.  I think I’m there now, though.   Now on to planning food for the week!

MO-monday

Monday: Lazy Lasagna – from page 140 in the Trim Healthy Mama cookbook, salad

Tuesday: Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas, salad

Wednesday: Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner!

Friday: Black bean burritos

Saturday: Chicken quesadillas

Sunday: Leftovers!

Review: The Story of Ping Study Guide by Progeny Press

August 19, 2022 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.Progeny PressAs a homeschooling family, we love reading books in our house.  You can take the books a step further by using a literature study guide.  We’ve been working through The Story of Ping Study Guide from Progeny Press with our first grader.

A couple of years ago we reviewed Hound of the Baskervilles Study Guide  from the same company and loved it, so we knew this one was going to be just as wonderful for our family.

 

About the Story:

Ping, the duck, lives on a boat on the Yangtze River in China. Every day he and his duck family are taken by their owner to feed on the riverbank. Later, when it is evening, Ping is the last duck to return to the boat, so he hides to avoid being spanked. The following day Ping, feeling lost, begins to swim in search of his family. Along the way, Ping observes some cormorant fishing birds. A boy captures Ping for his family’s dinner, but the boy releases Ping that evening. Upon being released, he sees his master’s boat. He hurries to return to his family knowing he will be the last duck again, but this time he accepts the punishment

Our Thoughts:

The Story of Ping is such a great book.  In fact, it was my husband’s favorite book as a child so I had him work through The Story of Ping Study Guide with our son.  This story guide is an interactive PDF file so we can print the work or we can type in the answers online.  We ended up orally discussing the answers together instead of doing either of those options, but we did print the fun coloring pages, word search, and maze.

I really liked the pre-reading activities.  This gave us a links to watch videos online to help enhance learning.  It also listed Bible verses to read together and discussion questions. In addition to discussing the story, there are opportunities to discuss the artwork as well.  After-You-Read Activities of course are activities for after the book is read.  These were amazing ideas on discussing family trees, emergency plans, and even planning field trips.

So much great information and activities were packed into The Story of Ping Study Guide.  I’m so thankful we had the opportunity to use these great materials and I look forward to checking out more literature study guides from Progeny Press.

For More Information:

For more information, please visit the Progeny Press website. You can also find out more on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can read reviews from other homeschooling by clicking the banner below.

literature study guides

Review: Super Teacher Worksheets

August 19, 2022 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Super Teacher Worksheets

As a homeschooling family, we occasionally need a little extra work in certain areas or even just some busy work. One of my favorite websites to turn to in times like that is Super Teacher Worksheets. Through this website, we can print a variety of worksheets for the whole family!  I have been using this website since my oldest, who has now graduated, was little.  

At a quick glance, I can easily see that worksheets are provided for math, reading comprehension, writing, phonics, grammar, spelling, literacy units, science, social studies, brain teasers, and more. This barely touches the surface of the vastness of the website, though. The more I looked for worksheets, the more I found! There is even a huge section for foreign language worksheets! It would take all day to tell you about the many things included in a membership, so I will tell you about the top ones on my list.

My favorite aspect of this program is the Worksheet Generator. This is as awesome as it sounds! All I have to do is select the type of worksheet I’d like, from addition problems to classroom Bingo, to word searches. Then I adjust any settings and instantly I have a brand new worksheet for my kids! This is great, especially for when I have a student struggling with a particular concept. The generator can also help create quizzes and tests with ease!  My co-op students love it when I make a word search with all of their names in it and then they have to find everyone.  

In addition to just busy work and learning enhancement, Super Teacher Worksheets offers worksheets for holidays, special events, and topic studies, too.  

I have been using the worksheets often with our local homeschool co-op and the kids are always excited when they see what new ones I have for them each week.  I’ll be teaching science this year and I’ve already made quite the lesson plans just using the wonderful worksheets available.  We will be focussing on Space and Weather, both of which have plenty of worksheets available.  

For more information and to browse to see what is available, you can visit the Super Teacher Worksheets website.  You can also find out more on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Although there are some worksheets available for free, you can also purchase a subscription to have access to far more worksheets and the generator. A year subscription to Super Teacher Worksheets is only $24.95. In my opinion, and with this variety of worksheets at your fingertips, it’s well worth the investment.

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

printable activities

Starfall Education Foundation Review & Giveaway!

September 4, 2021 By MommyOctopus 5 Comments
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

Starfall
We have been fans of Starfall Education Foundation for as long as we have been homeschoolers.  We have enjoyed their free program for years and have always debated on upgrading to the paid version.  My youngest has enjoyed learning the past few weeks while checking out The Starfall Home Membership from Starfall Education Foundation.

About the Product:

Starfall

In addition to many free games and activities, Starfall also offers The Starfall Home Membership for only $35 a year.  With The Starfall Home Membership, you will receive full access to the Starfall website for an individual family.  This also includes downloading the Starfall app to your Apple and Android devices.  There are even more games added recently, so if you haven’t checked it out in a while, I’d recommend visiting it again now!

With the Starfall Home Membership, there is a Starfall Education – Parent-Teacher Center.  This area of the site can be used to make printable worksheets via the worksheet generator.  Worksheets are available for up to 3rd-grade.  Math is available now, with ELA coming soon.  You can also find free lesson plans from our prek and kindergarten curricula.  These include Character Development, Snack Suggestions, and Outdoor Activity Supplements.

On Starfall, you will find activities for math skills, phonics, colors, and more geared from preschool up to the 3rd grade, with 4th and 5th grade coming soon!  There isn’t a release date on that yet, but I’m told that it will be soon!  Starfall is not a stand alone curriculum, but it is an excellent way to reinforce skills learned.

Also check out the Starfall Store.  There you can find the ‘Phonics and Sight Word Book Kit’, which currently ships for free.  You can also purchase math games for prek and kindergarten and find low-cost workbooks, journals, and readers.

 

Our Thoughts:

I have been using Starfall with my Kindergartener, although we cannot wait for the older grades to be added so my 5th grader can play, too. He has really enjoyed the programs and I like that he is learning.  The songs are all catchy so this helps to memorize concepts through listening.  With the Home Membership, the kids are able to use the program on the computer or on the iPads.

 

 

The Parent-Teacher center is a favorite of mine so I can make worksheets for the kids based on what I think they need.  I can find everything from flash cards to math and phonics worksheets and more!  I can even find Projectables in this area!  Starfall’s Projectables make it possible for you to project workbooks, big books, and posters from  Kindergarten ELA and Math curricula using a Smartboard or similar device.

We are so thankful to have been a part of this review so we could check out The Starfall Home Membership.  It’s definitely helped to bring a little more fun through learning into our homeschool.

For More Information:

For more information, you can visit the Starfall Education Foundation website.  You can also find out more on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

There are free 30-day trials available (no obligation or credit card needed) for anyone who would like to try the membership. At the end of the trial, if you choose to join, you will receive $5 off, making the membership only $30 a year!

Giveaway:

We have 2 year-long memberships to give away to lucky readers!  Simply fill out the rafflecopter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meal Plan Monday

May 10, 2021 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

It’s been a while since I wrote out a meal plan, frankly because we’ve been crazy busy trying to wrap up our school year and getting my oldest finished! That’s right – I’m graduating my first homeschool student! It’s a weird feeling, her being done, but I know God has big plans for her future. She’s going to take a semester off and then go to college to be a teacher. I’m fine with the break since she’s only 17 and could use some downtime before more adulting starts.

This past week, we took a trip to Tennessee to have some family time with Grandma in Dollywood. We had a great time! I know I’ve said this before, but we are totally turning into Dollywood fans instead of the mouse. It’s closer to us, less expensive, and much less stressful. Plus I’m a huge fan of the mountains!

We are finishing up most of our school year this week and then planning on having a fun summer. Have a great week!

Monday: Lime Mojito Chicken, brown rice, veggies

Tuesday: Black bean burritos

Wednesday: Chili

Thursday: Tacos

Friday: Sandwiches

Saturday: Bratwurst, beans, chips

Sunday: Eggs, biscuits

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