There are two different types of planning that are important in homeschooling. They are…
…“Big Picture Planning” and “Detailed Planning”.
The Big Picture Plan is a zoomed-out view of our kids’ entire education. All the subjects. All the years. Everything from ABC and 123 up through high school graduation.
(There may be affiliate links in this post – click here to learn more. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Kids are natural-born inventors.
I’ve seen children invent games together using only their vivid imaginations.
I’ve seen them occupy themselves for hours with a pile of rocks or a piece of ribbon.
As parents and caregivers, we can encourage our kids’ innate creativity even more by providing them the time and materials to pursue their many ideas.
I say it every year and I’ll say it again…. I can’t believe another school year is ending! Where does the time go?!
Over our last decade of homeschooling, I’ve learned just how fast summer flies by, too. So even though the door is still swinging shut on this past school year, it’s time to think ahead and start planning next year’s homeschooling adventures!
I recently found this never-published post of mine from four years ago. In the Covid blur of early 2020, it got lost in the shuffle. But, better late than never, right?
My three homeschooled kids are currently in 9th, 6th, and 2nd grade. It’s been fun to look back at this glimpse into our lives four years ago when Oldest was in 5th grade, Middle was in 2nd grade, and Youngest was still a preschooler!
I’ve always loved “Day in the Life” posts – especially when I was a new homeschooler trying to figure out what those crazy homeschool people do all day.
(There may be affiliate links in this post – click here to learn more. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in over a decade of homeschooling, it’s that learning can happen anytime, anywhere, and in many different ways.
We definitely don’t need to be in a classroom. And it doesn’t even have to be a school day!
In past posts, I’ve shown how kids are always learning – on weekends, on vacations, and even when they’re bored, sick, or having a bad day. This past New Year’s break I was reminded, yet again, that kids are always learning… even on a holiday!
(There may be affiliate links in this post – click here to learn more. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Board games are an awesome supplement for a lot of school subjects, but they’re an especially great way to teach and learn economics. Buying and selling, bartering and trading, and money in general are easy themes to work into fun board game formats.
So far in this Board Games for Kids series, we’ve looked at great games for teaching US History, US Geography, World History, World Geography, and Government/Civics. Now I’ll share some great ideas for board games for Economics for the K-8th grade age range.
(There may be affiliate links in this post – click here to learn more. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
World history is apparently a theme that board game makers love. There are so many great choices for games to supplement world history lessons in classrooms and homeschools!
This list includes a lot of different types of games: trivia games, card games, themed board games, cooperative games, and strategy games. And all the games on this list are aimed at the elementary or junior high age range. (If you’re looking for world history games for high schoolers, check out the video links at the end of this post)
(There may be affiliate links in this post – click here to learn more. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
In this series of Games for Kids posts, I’ve been sharing some of the best educational games for the elementary and junior high age group.
(If you missed the US History Board Games for Kids post, you can check that out here.)
Our homeschool has benefited so much from using board games to supplement our other school work. We use games to teach new things, to review what we’ve learned, and just to make things more fun.
One of my new favorite t-shirts says, “Hold on. Let me overthink this.” It’s perfect for me.
I’ve always been a Type-A, planner-loving, I-prefer-my-ducks-in-a-row momma. I tend to over-analyze and over-complicate most things – especially when it comes to our homeschool.
Thankfully, over a decade of homeschooling has mellowed me out a little bit. I’ve seen firsthand how powerful spontaneous teachable moments can be. I’ve witnessed my kids retain more from playing made-up games than from carefully crafted lesson plans. I’ve realized that it’s less about finding the “right” curriculum and more about nurturing relationships and encouraging a love of learning.
If time flies when you’re having fun, then we must be having a blast!
It seems like just yesterday I was wondering if this crazy idea called “homeschooling” would work for our family. Now we’re ten years into our home educating journey and my oldest is starting high school!
Each year I’ve shared Our Curriculum Choices and plans for the year. Read on to find out what homeschool resources we’ll be using this coming year with our 9th, 6th, and 2nd graders.
