Create Your Curriculum + Weekly Planner Log Book

Welcome back! And best wishes for a fun and educational homeschool year!

Starting out, you might want to create own curriculum based on your family's goals and objectives for your children.

To write your curriculum, you’ll want to list your educational philosophies, goals, and objectives.

You can download the Homeschool Educational Goals PDF here. Then list your goals and objectives for each child and keep with your homeschool papers.

To record daily activities in a logbook, you may use our Weekly Planner Log Book forms. The Log Sheets can be downloaded at this Weekly Planner Log link.

Print as many as you'd like to plan your days and weeks in advance, or to easily jot down the activities and learning events at the end of each day, week by week.

These Google Doc forms might prompt you to request permission, but I'll see the notification and enable downloading.

For more in-depth planning for the upcoming homeschool year, feel free to read the following post.

Happy Homeschooling!

Planning pointers for the coming year:

As you prepare for the upcoming homeschool year, revisit – or create – a list of your educational goals for your children. If you didn’t reach all your homeschool goals last year, simply move them to this year’s list of goals.

Educational goals for your child might include:
* Developing a love of learning
* Enhancing curiosity in special interests or topics
* Finding joy in daily activities or hobbies
* Managing time and responsibilities better
* Volunteering in the community

Educational objectives and outcomes could include:
* Reading classic literature or books by favorite authors
* Trying more advanced science experiments and recording results
* Applying mental math skills or logic for solving problems
* Researching famous people or current events
* Focusing on daily life skills to increase abilities and self-confidence

From these goals and objectives, you can begin planning a curriculum (the knowledge and skills you’d like your child to acquire) along with creating lesson plans (the activities or studies that support or complement your curriculum).

Curriculum Plans

When planning a curriculum, consider your children’s wishes and input on what they’d like to learn in the coming year. Children will often surprise you with the wonderful ideas and learning suggestions they come up with! Together, you and your children can create a curriculum that is fun, interesting, and challenging to ensure a well-rounded education.

To create a curriculum, think about your educational goals, philosophies, or ambitions for your child. Then determine the objectives or plans needed to achieve those goals. These are explained more fully here:

• Educational philosophies center on what you believe your children should learn in order to achieve happiness and success in their lives. This can include morals and values, respect and responsibility, manners and kindness toward others, faith and spirituality, a love for learning, and a love for life.

• Educational aims or ambitions for your children could include life skills and self-reliance; critical thinking and reasoning skills; creative thinking skills; the ability to work well with others; to enjoy one’s work, life, and career; to show love and respect for one’s family; to be a responsible and upstanding citizen; and to contribute to one’s community.

• Learning goals and objectives should support your educational philosophies and aims for your child. For instance:
* Learning self-discipline and self-control is critical to a happy family life and career.
* Proper manners, social skills, and speaking skills are important when working with others or when contributing to the community.
* Good reading, math, science, or technology skills are imperative to all areas of one’s life, from daily living to getting ahead in one’s career.
* Artistic and creative skills add joy and meaning to one’s life.
* Healthy habits and life skills contribute to a long, productive life.

Write a Curriculum

Once you’ve determined your family’s philosophies, as well as your ambitions for your child’s education and the goals or objectives to support those ambitions, you can begin designing the curriculum. But don’t forget to consider your children’s interests and learning styles!

To write your curriculum, you’ll want to list your educational philosophies, goals, and objectives (see the Homeschool Forms link here), and keep them in a special folder labeled “Curriculum.” On the days when you forget where you are headed with your child’s education, reviewing the list of goals and objectives will be a great help!

A curriculum outline for Grade 5 Social Studies, for instance, could include:
* United States history
* Discovery of America and early settlements
* Colonial and pioneer life in America
* American Revolution and independence
* Westward movement
* Geography of United States
* Industrial Revolution
* Natural resources
* Cultural resources and relationships

Lessons and activities you do with your children will be based on the topics noted on a simple curriculum outline, similar to the above outline.

As you continue determining subject areas your child will study (i.e., Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, Science, Technology, Arts and Music, Health, and Life Skills), you’ll want to slant them toward the goals and aims that you have listed for your child’s education.

For instance, a goal for your child might be having a good, healthy life. Therefore, in studying the human body in Science, you might want to:
* Emphasize lessons on health and nutrition
* Focus on the way the body functions
* Learn how the bones and muscles work in tandem
* Determine how blood carries nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the body
* Research the respiratory and digestive systems
* Point out how proper nutrition, exercise, and healthy habits help the body function as it was designed to function.

As you can see, once you have your goals established for your child (for example, being a healthy individual), you’ll be able to focus on the objectives that you want the lessons to convey (in this case, how to achieve and maintain a healthy body).

Children master skills at varying ages and rates. Keep in mind that your child might read well at age 6, but another might struggle with reading at age 8. Or one child might grasp the relation between fractions and decimals at age 8, while another might not grasp the concept until age 10. One child might write well in cursive at age 9; another may not display attractive penmanship until age 12 or later. So, consider your child’s unique skills and abilities when setting educational goals and objectives.

Less Formal Curriculum

Designing a curriculum might seem like a lot of work. Yet, most parents already have an idea of the educational goals or ambitions for their children, even if they haven’t written them down in a formal outline.

Most parents are already in tune with their children’s interests, abilities, and learning styles, so it might not be necessary to document the objectives of each lesson. You might not need to go into detail regarding the studies or activities that will complement your child’s learning goals.

Unschooling

Unschooling is a nice option for many families. In an unschooling environment, the curriculum tends to accommodate the children’s curiosity and their interest-led activities. Don’t worry! When children are interested in a topic, they will learn! Plus, they’ll retain what they learn for a longer period of time.

If you need to present evidence of the “curriculum” you use for your “unschooled homeschool,” you can illustrate how your children’s interests and activities (such as their hobbies, experiments, creative projects, talents, discussions or books read) accomplish the goals and philosophies your family believes in – even in an unschooling environment.

Convey the unschooled curriculum with photos or short videos showing daily or weekly activities, projects, or experiments. Your child can create artwork or build models or sculptures depicting various projects. Perhaps, together, you can build a bookcase or shelves to hold the projects, sculptures, art, experiments, and displays, then take photos or brief videos of that, too. This serves as proof of continuous learning, regardless of your family’s style of home education.

To record activities in a logbook, you may use our Weekly Planner Log Book forms. The log sheets can be viewed and printed via this Weekly Planner Log link. You may use the log sheets to plan your days and weeks in advance, or to easily jot down the activities and learning events at the end of the day.

Create Lesson Plans

Lesson plans are the activities or studies that complement and carry out the intent of the curriculum and educational goals for your children.

For instance, one of your goals might be for your child to play an active part in your community as a caring, concerned individual. Therefore, you might want to create a lesson plan for Social Studies that has the objective of interacting with others for the good of the community.

Lesson plans, for this objective, could include researching the history of volunteerism in communities. Examples could include Benjamin Franklin, who helped to establish the first volunteer fire department, or Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross through volunteering her services. Your children could read biographies of these people, as well as books on how to volunteer. Then they could write or share their thoughts and ideas on how they could help others in your community.

Other parts of the lesson plan could include drawing posters of volunteers, visiting the headquarters of local volunteer associations, and taking an active part in community volunteer programs, such as canned food drives, clothing or toy collections, animal shelter assistance, or visiting with the elderly in nursing homes. Be sure to take photos or videos documenting these activities, too.

In our next post, we’ll cover Lessons Plans in more detail. Stay tuned!

Happy homeschooling!

Re-Energize Your Homeschool

Re-Energize Your Homeschool: Coping with “Burnout” and Sparking New Ideas

Burnout is usually a result of trying to do too much or trying to stick to an old format. It can be a sure sign that it’s time to try something different, to broaden your horizons, to make changes not only in your homeschool, but in your lifestyle. Change can help us keep growing and lead to many happy years of exciting, rewarding homeschool experiences.

Encouragement for Your Homeschool Journey

Burnout can occur after ten years of homeschooling or after two years. Parents may feel that they have exhausted all the ideas that once seemed so fabulous and endless. After a few years of homeschooling, the kids might not be as excited about the homeschool experience as they were in the beginning. Getting them to open a book or finish an assignment seems like a losing battle. But it needn’t be a battle with the kids nor yourself.

Eliminating Stress

Stress is one of the main causes of burnout. Parents may find themselves trying to fill two full-time roles in the home: as a parent and as a “schoolteacher”. This adds unnecessary stress to your life. As we've noted in previous articles, learning is a natural part of living, and homeschooling should be a natural part of your family’s lifestyle. Homeschooling is not “school at home”. Teaching your children is simply a part of parenting your children.

Burnout also comes from setting expectations too high, then trying to reach them, day after day, and finding yourself falling short. If you feel you’d be a “better teacher” if your children were ready for learning every morning at 8:00 A.M., dove into their lessons with glee each day, stayed on task throughout the morning and afternoon, achieved 100% on all their assignments, and were able to deliver the Gettysburg Address over dinner, then you’re only setting yourself up for disappointment. Occasionally, a day may work out this way, but it’d be a miracle for nearly any teacher to experience such success.

If you, on the other hand, feel you’re accomplishing your goals when your children enjoy most of their lessons, like to explore things that interest them, are learning new information and skills, and can deliver the Gettysburg Address by the end of a school year, then you and your kids are probably enjoying the homeschool process, and you won’t be as likely to burn out.

Preventing Burnout

As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Lower your expectations for yourself and for your children, and you will lower your feelings of stress and chances of burnout. It’s true that you’ll want your children to attain certain goals, so you naturally have some expectations of them. Just remember that you have an entire year to reach those goals. And then there’s next year, too, and the year after that.

When you begin to get that nagging feeling that maybe you’re not doing enough in your homeschool, or read or hear about the fantastic adventures of other homeschool families, take some moments to step back and look at your own family. Consider the happiness and well-being of your own children. Consider how much they’ve grown, how much they’ve learned since you began homeschooling.

Overcoming Boredom

If your children are exhibiting signs of boredom, then they may not be challenged enough. Set the learning rail a little higher for them—just enough to entice them to try a little harder. But not so high that they become frustrated, which will lead to feelings of frustration and burnout for everyone.

Revisit areas of interest or new ideas for learning. Explore new hobbies. Learn new art techniques, try a different musical instrument, or try a new sport or recreational activity. Create something, invent something, no matter how simple. The fun and learning occur as a result of "doing" and "exploring".

Less Structure and More Flexibility

Remember that childhood is a time for being a child, not for squeezing hundreds of lessons or extracurricular activities into their lives. Remind yourself that childhood is a time for being curious and explorative, for daydreaming and thinking, playing and learning, having fun and being happy. The child who has plenty of time for these simple activities will grow into a curious, creative, thinking, happy adult who enjoys the freedom and fun of learning.

More Helpful Tips

For more Helpful Homeschool Help, visit us often at EverythingHomeschooling.com site. (Portions of this article are excerpts from our Everything Homeschooling Book by Sherri Linsenbach.)

Happy homeschooling!

Art Helps Children Learn

ART HELPS CHILDREN LEARN. And Art helps us see -- and feel -- in profound ways. From critical spatial-temporal concepts to improved motor skills and cognitive functions, art enhances our lives exponentially.

ART for ALL! Although our Weekly Lessons at EverythingHomeschooling.com have always provided a well-rounded education in all subjects, each year we focus on a special topic. This year, it's Art -- so important in so many ways for children and adults! Regardless of how well we think we may -- or may not -- draw, paint, mold, create. We can do it! And kids love it and learn from it! Today, put together a sketchbook, or gather paper and pencils in a folder, and we'll get started drawing, learning, and having fun!

SKETCH A VIEW from your window today. Don't worry about perfect lines, accuracy, or precision. Sketch your view, take a picture of it, and email it to us. We'll showcase some of the photos on our site. Remember to keep your drawing in your sketchbook or art folder, too.

SEE US at EverythingHomeschooling.com and Enjoy Learning Through Art this year!

Happy homeschooling!

Mid-Year Homeschool or Second Semester Homeschooling

Second Semester Homeschool or Mid-Year Homeschooling

You can begin homeschooling your children at any time of the year. Many families prefer to make the transition during the semester break.

Here are some helpful ideas to make the transition go smoothly:

• Check state laws by contacting your state's homeschool association or the homeschool division of your state's department of education.

• Allow plenty of time for your children to decompress, to reconnect with the normal rhythms of family life, and to "find themselves" again.

• Don't stress over what "to teach" or be intimidated by Common Core Standards. The Standards only pertain to public schools. Your homeschool need not be governed by Common Core Standards. If you want to follow the Standards for English and Math, you may read them on the CoreStandards.org website. (Note: State standards have been around since the beginning of public schools and continually evolve or are changed.)

• Discuss your children's interests, then take a field trip to your local library. Check out armloads of books, DVDs, and educational games that relate to your child's current interests.

• Observe your child's best learning style, i.e., visual, auditory, tactile, or kinesthetic learning styles. Incorporate specific activities that best support or supplement your child's unique ways of garnering, processing, and absorbing information.

• Start a scrapbook at the beginning of your homeschool and allow children to be as creative with it as they want to be. Encourage them to add to the scrapbook regularly. This will become a type of "portfolio" or "record" of your child's daily or weekly homeschool experiences.

• For daily and weekly homeschooling, see our Home page at EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Happy homeschooling!

Your Child's Best Learning Style

Observe and Highlight Your Child’s Learning Style -- Plus Enter to Win a Book on Learning Styles

As you prepare for your homeschool year, remember to observe your child’s best learning style. The style that works for one child won’t necessarily work for another. When children process information in the way that works best for them, they’ll soar! And your homeschool adventures will be more successful and more enjoyable! For 9 months of Weekly Lessons for Grades K-12 in all subject areas, see our Home page at EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Three Common Learning Styles

1. Visual learners. These children prefer to spend time poring over pictures and graphics, and respond to bright colors and visual stimulation. They tend to learn best through visual presentations.

2. Auditory learners. These children enjoy listening to music, CDs, or audio tapes, and to people reading aloud or talking. They can learn best through discussions and verbal information.

3. Tactile-kinesthetic learners. These children like to move around, touch things, and talk, plus they have a difficult time sitting still. They learn best through an active, hands-on approach.

Although a child may appear to be a visual learner or kinesthetic learner, it doesn’t exclude him from trying other learning styles, too, or a combination of styles. The important part is to help your child learn in the way that makes the most sense to him, while still providing a well-balanced learning environment.

* * *

Activities for Different Learning Styles

Visual learners need to see visual images, in order to fully absorb information. When thinking and processing information, they often see pictures in their minds.

Visual tips for visual learning environments:

• Create posters, artwork, or colorful pictorials to accompany lessons.
• Hang educational charts, displays, illustrations, maps, and mobiles.
• Make flow charts, pie charts, and diagrams to illustrate math and science concepts.
• Design colorful flashcards for spelling, vocabulary, English, and math skills.
• Use computer applications, software, or games for learning topics.
• Watch educational videos or DVDs.
• Read illustrated reference books or picture books.

* * *

Auditory learners learn through hearing. They grasp information better by listening to someone reading aloud or to CDs or audio books, hearing descriptions or experiences, or by participating in discussions.

Auditory tips for auditory learning environments:

• Read material aloud to auditory learners.
• Use rhythm and voice inflection when reading and talking.
• Present material in an interesting storytelling format.
• Create musical or dramatic presentations of topics studied.
• Record lessons for children to play and replay.
• Engage in lively discussions and debates on various subjects.
• Use CDs, audiotapes, or recorded books relating to topics studied.

* * *

Tactile and kinesthetic learners absorb information through touching and moving. This learning group is sometimes broken into two separate categories: tactile and tactile-kinesthetic. Both groups are similar, with the tactile-kinesthetics enjoying hands-on experiences as well as lots of movement in their learning styles.

Tactile-kinesthetic tips for tactile-kinesthetic learning environments:

• Understand that movement and touch is imperative for learning.
• Provide a variety of manipulatives for hands-on learning.
• Incorporate games, construction sets, Geoboards, and Cuisenaire rods into lessons.
• Use lab equipment for experimenting with science and math concepts.
• Perform dramatic plays that bring social studies and literature to life.
• Read or study while swaying to music or tapping feet.
• Create lessons choreographed to dance music.
• Take frequent field trips related to topics studied.

* * *

Most children will benefit from a combination of these activities. And children who lean toward a specific style will benefit greatly when more focus is placed upon their particular learning style.

*** Material above is an excerpt from my book, The Everything Guide to Homeschooling, Copyright © 2015, available through our website at EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Have a Happy Homeschool Year!

Free Homeschool Activities and Weekly Homeschool Lessons

Free Learning Activities This Week

- Valentine’s Day Crafts: Hearts Quilt, Be-Mine Jewelry, Bumpy Love Bug Sculpture
- Valentine’s Day Coloring Pages
- Valentine’s Day History and Origins
- Plus: Build Paper Skyscrapers
- Learn about Skyscrapers and Tall Structures
- Static Electricity Activities
- Library Activities and the Dewey Decimal System
- Learn about Charles Dickens and his books
- Learn about Submarine Technology, and more free activities!

For Free Activities, click:

EverythingHomeschooling.com

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Black History Month Activity

Read and Research these African-American Women Inventors:

Write brief descriptions about these women. What did they invent or accomplish? Which is most amazing to you? How have they inspired you?

1. Miriam Benjamin
2. Sarah Boone
3. Sarah Goode
4. Lyda D. Newman
5. Judy W. Reed

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This Week's Lessons: Week 20

Language Arts:
- Take the Book Adventure;
- Write and Illustrate a Book, with Activity Lab;
- Play the Educational Language Arts Games on Nouns, Verbs, Grammar, and more;
- Practice the Vocabulary, Spelling, and Reading Skills;
- Read the Featured Book Online, Starting Today!

Social Studies:
- Learn about Black History Month;
- Explore Culture, History, Geography, Government, and Economics;
- Learn about Natural Wonders, World Geography, and more;
- Play the History and Geography Games;
- Choose a Variety of Social Studies Games to Test Your Knowledge Base.

Math:
- Practice Math Skills with Math Magician, Multiplication Bridge, Olympic Challenge, and more;
- Learn from Probability Activities, such as Fish Tank, Coin Toss, Train Race, and more;
- Refresh Fraction Skills with Flowering Fractions, Wise Up, and Who Wants Pizza;
- Enhance Algebra, Geometry, Graphing Skills, and Overall Math Skills;
- Play the Money Games, Fraction Games, and Improve Everyday Math Skills.

Science:
- “Visit” SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Discovery Cove online, to Observe and Learn about Animals;
- Try the Activity on Food Chains and Draw Examples of an Ecosystem;
- Learn about the Animal Kingdom, Vertebrates, Invertebrates, and more;
- Explore the “Cells” page to Learn More about Plant Cells, Animal Cells, Mitosis, Meiosis, Cell Biology, and more.
- Learn about Energy, Matter, Light, the Solar System, and more, with This Week’s Science Lessons!

Life Skills, Health, and Safety:
- Get Kids and Teens Cooking with the Featured Kid-Friendly Recipes;
- See Healthy Recipes for Kids and Help Them Understand Nutritional Information;
- Learn about Being a Hero in the Community;
- See How to Develop Good Character;
- Learn about Compassion and How to be More Compassionate.

Art and Music:
- Create Art Online with the Interactive Art Applications and Ideas;
- Use the Interactive Ideas to Replicate Art on Drawing Paper or Canvas;
- Learn How to Read Music through the Basic Instructions;
- Create Music Online and Play the Music Online;
- Duplicate Your Online Musical Compositions on Your Piano, Recorder, Guitar, or Other Musical Instrument.

LEARN All of the Above and MORE! Just click the Grades K-2 Lessons, Grades 3-6 Lessons, Grades 6-9 Lessons, or Grades 9-12 Lessons on our Everything Homeschooling site at:

.EverythingHomeschooling.com

Happy Homeschooling!

Learn about Microscopes, World Geography, Electrifying Facts, Self-Education, and more

This week at EverythingHomeschooling.com, learn about:

- Microscopes
- World geography
- Electrifying facts
- Green living
- Self-education
- Famous authors
- Math and literature
- History and literacy
- Science experiments
- Art and music
- Life skills
- And much more!

Start with our Home page at EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Happy New Year!

Weekly Homeschool Lessons: Week 3 Overview

Week 3 at "Everything Homeschooling"

For 36 Weeks of Weekly Lessons for Grades K through 12, visit our Everything Homeschooling website weekly at EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Overview of Week 3

* Language Arts:

- Learning about, and discussing, the many different types of literature, drama, and poetry.
- Read the excerpts and examples of the different types of literature and poetry.
- See and read the suggested genres, stories, and books for experiencing more of the different types of literature and drama.
- Act out or perform the plays, comedies, or tragedies, using the suggestions provided for each grade level.
- Become familiar with the list of authors everyone should know.
- Choose books from the Picture Book Database.
- Do worksheets (if desired) on Reading Skills, Vocabulary, Spelling, Grammar, Phonics, Writing, and more.
- Create and write stories or poems, as described on our Daily Writing page.
- Try the fun learning games to enhance vocabulary skills, special skills, critical thinking skills, and more.
- Print the Reading Logs for books you read and use this week in your homeschool.

* Social Studies:

- Researching your community, your city, your state, your world.
- Creating replicas of your community with the fun, hands-on projects provided.
- Use libraries and museums to research the history of buildings and historic homes in your area.
- Use the various activities to practice and enhance map-reading, map-making skills, and creative-thinking skills.
- Use the ideas to create a “Community Journal” and add to the journal throughout the year.
- Browse and print History Worksheets, Crossword Puzzles, and Word Searches on topics such as Famous People, Medieval Times, Pioneer Life, Civil War, World Wars, Presidential Elections, and more.

* Math:

- Focusing on problem-solving techniques and strategies this week.
- View the problem-solving strategies outlines.
- Use the techniques described in the activities to help enhance problem-solving skills.
- Try solving the 30 Math Problems, using the step-by-step instructions.
- Print the Math Problem-Solving worksheets and solve the problems together.
- Try the challenging Brain Boosters to stimulate reasoning and logic skills, and more.
- For worksheets on math skills, choose Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Units of Measure, Fractions, Decimals, Negative & Positive Numbers, Geometry, Algebra, Graphing, and more.

* Science:

- Comparing living and non-living things.
- Cataloging, discussing, and sketching living things.
- Using estimating skills to guess the size of various living things.
- Visit the insect zoo and research insects.
- Using creative-thinking and critical-thinking skills.
- Creating new creatures and imaginative stories about creatures.
- Try the Science Worksheets and Activities on topics such as Animals, Birds, Insects, Reptiles, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Magnets, Machines, Weather, Seasons, Marine Life, Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and more.

* Life Skills, Health, & Safety:

- Discuss heroes and what being a hero means.
- Visit the heroes/heroines website for researching and writing.
- Read and discuss the heroes in Greek mythology.
- Write about favorite heroes/heroines.
- Use the ideas for enhancing character education.

* Arts & Music:

- See where to learn more about Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Brahms, and other amazing composers.
- Play the educational online game based on composers in various periods, such as Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, etc.
- Play the musical online game about Beethoven.
- Have fun making the musical instruments and singing favorite children’s songs.
- Continue with the Art Appreciation Program discussed in Week 2.
- Continue with the Music Appreciation Program discussed in Week 2.

Plus, Free Activities, creative writing, weekly challenges, hands-on projects, unit studies, unschooling ideas, and more at: EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Happy homeschooling!

Weekly Homeschool Lessons: Week 2 Overview

Week 2 at "Everything Homeschooling"

For 36 Weeks of Weekly Lessons for Grades K through 12, visit our Everything Homeschooling website weekly at EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Overview of Week 2

* Language Arts:

- Make books, using a variety of different, yet easy, methods.
- Reading Comprehension: Read stories together, then help children answer comprehension questions. Use the charts and worksheets described.
- Do worksheets (if desired) on Reading, Vocabulary, Book Reports, Story Maps, Poetry, and more.
- Creating and writing stories and poems.
- Vocabulary games to enhance vocabulary skills, word building, root words, suffixes, prefixes, antonyms, synonyms, spelling, phonics, and more.
- Reading suggestions for practicing Reading Comprehension.
- Reading Logs for printing and recording books read and books used in your homeschool.
- More Language Arts Activities to enjoy and learn from, for reading and writing skills, adverbs, adjectives, mnemonic skills, and more.

* Social Studies:

- Research your family history and learn about genealogy and creating family trees.
- Make a family tree out of real branches!
- Interview family members, grandparents, and other relatives and record family stories.
- Correlate family histories with other historical events and create timelines of events.
- Browse and print History Worksheets, Crossword Puzzles, and Word Searches on topics such as Famous People, Medieval Times, Pioneer Life, Civil War, World Wars, Presidential Elections, and more.

* Math:

- To practice Math Skills, use the Math Worksheets and Activities on Decimals, Estimating, Money, Geometry, Algebra, and more.
- Geometry: Do the fun activities, such as 3-D Drawing and Geometry, Buckyballs, Tessellations, Crystalline Structures, and more.
- Money Concepts: Try over 30 Money Lessons, such as Funny Money, Money Values, Shopping Skills, Banking Skills, Cash & Credit, and more.
- Play the online cashier game to practice money skills.
- Try the money activities, such as Money Word Problems, Money Order Form, Money Unit and Activities, and more.
- Learn more about Consumer Math topics, on understanding Commission, Discounts, Sales Tax, Interest, Unit Prices, and more: Click here and scroll down to “Consumer Math.”
- Read the suggested books on money concepts and skills.
- For worksheets on money and money concepts, choose Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Units of Measure, Fractions, Decimals, Negative & Positive Numbers, Math Challenges, and more.

* Science:

- Science is all about making new discoveries. What new discoveries have been made about our solar system recently?
- What makes a planet, a planet? See the differences in planets, their composition, surface, atmosphere, and other unique characteristics.
- Do the activity on the size of the planets and their distance from the Sun.
- Construct a miniature replica of the solar system, using the example.
- Create a replica of the solar system in a new or different way, using your imagination.
- See how to think like a scientist, exploring and analyzing your ideas and experiments.
- Read the suggested books on scientific-thinking, science experiments, and the scientific method
- Try the Science Worksheets, Science Reports, Crossword Puzzles, and Word Searches on topics such as Animals, Birds, Insects, Reptiles, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Magnets, Machines, Weather, Seasons, Marine Life.

* Life Skills, Health, & Safety:

- Read about the many benefits of exercise and physical fitness, as well as mental and emotional fitness.
- Discuss the benefits with children and how fitness helps us to handle everyday activities.
- Encourage children to create a Physical Fitness program or routine for the upcoming homeschool year.
- Choose from the exercise ideas, such as Wiffle Tag, Long Rope Skipping, Watermelon Crawl, Upper Body Strength, and other activities.
- Read the suggested books on exercise and physical fitness.

* Arts & Music:

- Begin an Art Appreciation Program to complement your child's interests this year.
- Begin a Music Appreciation Program with the Mozart Music Appreciation Lesson.
- Browse the ideas to best suit your child's art interests.
- With your child, play the suggested online games about arts, music, literature and dance.
- See the art lessons and activities for imaginative artistic ideas.
- Read the suggested books on art and masterpieces.

Plus, Free Activities, creative writing, weekly challenges, hands-on projects, unit studies, unschooling ideas, and more at: EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Happy homeschooling!

Weekly Homeschool Lessons: Week 1 Overview

Week 1 Lessons & Activities at "Everything Homeschooling"

Here are some of Week One's lessons and topics, as we gently ease into the New Homeschool Year! Enjoy!

Explore, Do, and Learn About:

* Language Arts:

- Writing, thinking, sketching, drawing, and keeping a Writing Journal.
- Reading and discussing a variety of books.
- Reading "Animals of the World" to learn about Geography.
- Reading stories about endangered animals online or from the library.
- Reading Classic Stories online, such as Aesop's Fables, Alice in Wonderland, Jungle Book, Time Machine, O Pioneers!, Great Expectations, and many more!

* Social Studies:

- Learning World Geography by reading about animals of the world.
- Reading and learning about habitats of animals around the world.
- Finding endangered species in your region through the interactive map.
- Visiting virtual zoos in locations around the world.
- Creating and crafting animals, habitats, dioramas, visual displays, and collages.
- Choosing history and social studies worksheets to do, if desired.

* Math:

- Measuring how high a rocket or kite flies.
- Making a geometric T-shirt with geometric designs.
- Creating animals, and more, with tangrams and your imagination.
- Choosing math worksheets on topics such as basic or advanced math skills, fractions, decimals, percentages, geometry, algebra, graphing, trig, if desired.

* Science:

- Observing and drawing constellations in your night sky.
- Visiting a planetarium online and viewing constellations.
- Learning 88 constellations to share with family and friends.
- Making a shoebox constellation viewer.
- Playing the Constellation Matching Game.
- Reading books on constellations.
- Building an easy DNA Model.
- Choosing science worksheets to do, if desired.

* Life Skills, Health, & Safety:

- Remembering to take care of ourselves.
- Having a stress-free homeschool year.
- Reading "cooking with kids" cookbooks for healthy meals.
- Trying some healthy recipes online.

* Arts & Music:

- Learning about different styles of art and artists.
- Designing and creating artistic hot air balloons.
- Printing and drawing art pages.
- Being creative with arts and crafts ideas.
- Choosing a new instrument to learn to play.
- Building the DNA Model on the Free Homeschool Activities page.

For 36 Weeks of Weekly Lessons for Grades K through 12, remember to visit our Everything Homeschooling website weekly at EverythingHomeschooling.com!

Happy Homeschooling!

Easy Homeschool Forms for Keeping Homeschool Records

Our Homeschool Forms make record-keeping easy!

Subscribers can print and use the following homeschool forms from our EverythingHomeschooling.com site.

* Weekly Planner Logs - Includes space for recording daily lessons for all subjects, week by week. Tip: Use the 36 Weeks of Lessons on our site. Then jot down the activities for each subject area each day, along with any other educational activities you do.

* Reading Logs - Includes space for recording all books read, plus all reference materials you use, along with the authors' names.

* Attendance Records - For recording the days that your homeschool is "in session."

* Report Cards - For recording your child's grades, if desired.

* High School Transcripts - For recording grades and credits earned in each subject, semester by semester, year by year.

* Notice of Intent to Homeschool - For submitting to your school district, if required.

* Educational Philosophies & Educational Goals - For determining the directions you want to go with your homeschool, along with your goals and expectations for your child's education.

* High School Diploma - For awarding to your child upon his or her graduation, when your child has met the goals and standards you set for your family's homeschool.

To print these Homeschool Forms, click the "Homeschool Forms" button in the menu on the left of our EverythingHomeschooling.com site.

Happy homeschooling!

Plan Homeschool Lessons & Homeschool Lesson Plans

Use These 5 Tips to Plan Your Homeschool Lessons:

1. As you go about your day, think of topics that you and your children would like to learn more about.

2. Keep several small notebooks handy for jotting down learning ideas as they come to you throughout the day.

3. Briefly search book websites, such as Amazon.com, to find books to complement your topics of interest.  For History lessons, for instance, you'll find "The Civil War for Kids" or "The American Revolution for Kids."  For Science experiments, try "Science in Seconds for Kids" or "150 Captivating Chemistry Experiments."  Note the book titles on your "Library List" and take a field trip to your local library this week to pick up the books.

4. With your ideas and books in-hand, spend a comfy afternoon relaxing, sipping tea or hot chocolate, and jotting down homeschool lessons for the coming week.  Use each book's table of contents and the index for lesson plan ideas, including reading and writing activities, hands-on projects and art-related projects, plus math and reasoning exercises, all gleaned from the books you've selected.

5. Follow this format with every topic or idea that comes to mind, and you'll have plenty of homeschool lessons and activities for each month.

Or, Use the Homeschool Lesson Plans Already Created for You and Your Children:

1. See our Home page at EverythingHomeschooling.com.

2. Click your child's grade level and follow the "Weekly Homeschool Lessons" outlined for you.

3. If you'd prefer to follow the "Free Homeschool Lessons" and "Free Creative Writing Lessons," you may click on those, instead of the Weekly Lessons.

4. Print the "Weekly Planner Log" and "Reading Log" Sheets from our "Homeschool Forms" page, and fill them out with the "Weekly Lessons" and "Books to Read" Suggestions.

5. Do lots of fun Hands-On Activities and Experiments to complement the Weekly Lessons. Keep the Log Sheets, your child's completed projects, and photos of projects in your child's portfolio or homeschool binder or box.

Happy homeschooling!

Weekly Homeschool Lessons & Homeschool Activities

How do you find weekly homeschool lessons to keep your children actively involved in learning each day? New Weekly Homeschool Lessons are provided at EverythingHomeschooling.com.

It's simple, easy homeschooling, designed to make your homeschool run smoothly every day. It's a huge time-savings for you, too! The homeschool lessons and the homeschool activities are right there at your fingertips, any time, day or night! The research has been done for you, and your children can start learning and exploring right away, in a fun, interesting way.

At EverythingHomeschooling.com, we provide lessons for Grades K-2, or Grades 3-8, or Grades 8-12 Weekly Lessons for your children.

In addition, we provide Hands-On Activities, Homeschool Unit Studies, Virtual Field Trips, Writing Activities, Creative Thinking Activities, Unschooling Activities, Book Lists for Homeschoolers, Weekly Challenges, Science Experiments for all ages, and much more.

This site is here to make your homeschool experiences enjoyable, educational, and successful! Stay tuned!

Happy homeschooling!