Typing: I added in some fun typing lessons to get my kids started using the computer keyboard correctly. They love these free lessons!
I haven’t created a Fourth Grade Weekly Schedule yet, but if you’d like one, feel free to email me, and I’ll send you the link to download one when it is available!
Do you need weekly lesson ideas for other grades? I’ve got them for you here!
Note: this blog may contain affiliate links. I paid for all these products myself, and 100% of the opinions shared are my own. It is no additional cost to you if you purchase with the links. Thanks for supporting The List Mama!
Math: Math-U-See Gamma Universal Set (use the placement tool to decide which one your child is ready for). As some bonus activities, we will also use games from the Osmo Genius Kit to continue to practice and reinforce math concepts. Games like Numbers, Tangrams (both in the Genius Kit), and Pizza Co are some of my favorites.
Science: Adventures on Planet Earth Level 3 by MasterBooks. My kids really enjoyed the Masterbooks science lessons, and the activities are very simple to set up.
Social Studies: America’s Story Vol 1 from MasterBooks. I also included some suggested supplemental reading books to go along with the topics for each week.
Typing: I added in some fun typing lessons to get my kids started using the computer keyboard correctly. They love these free lessons!
Music/Art/PE: I’ll be doing the same activities/lessons for Jeremiah and Evelyn. See the description in the Kindergarten section of this post to see what we will be doing.
Want to give the Third Grade Weekly Schedule a try? Click here to download the first three weeks for FREE!
Or, download the complete Third Grade Weekly Lesson Schedule* for the entire year! 36 easy-to-read charts of suggested daily lessons and activities all planned out for you.
Do you need weekly lesson ideas for other grades? I’ve got them for you here!
Note: this blog may contain affiliate links. I paid for all these products myself, and 100% of the opinions shared are my own. It is no additional cost to you if you purchase with the links. Thanks for supporting The List Mama!
Do you feel overwhelmed thinking about homeschooling? I’ve created weekly homeschool schedules so that you can see what you are doing each day with just a glance. The WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR of planning has all been done for you! Keep reading to find out more!
Math: Math-U-See Beta Universal Set (use the placement tool to decide which one your child is ready for). As some bonus activities, we will also use games from the Osmo Genius Kit to continue to practice and reinforce math concepts. Games like Numbers, Tangrams (both in the Genius Kit), and Pizza Co are some of my favorites.
Science: Adventures in the Physical World: Level 2 from MasterBooks. Since I taught science, I added in some of my favorite videos that correspond with the topics covered from Magic School Bus & Bill Nye the Science Guy. These video suggestions are all included in the Second Grade Weekly Lesson Schedule.
Social Studies/Language Arts: The really fun part of Second Grade Social Studies, is it corresponds perfectly with the literature from the Language Arts curriculum! I love the vocabulary and discussion/comprehension questions for the novels. We will be reading the following books:
Handwriting:The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting Level 4. I love how it reviews proper print formation AND introduces cursive writing. It also has more activities than just writing, so I know it will be fun for Jeremiah to work on!
Typing: I added in some fun typing lessons to get my kids started using the computer keyboard correctly. They love these free lessons!
Want to give the Second Grade Weekly Schedule a try? Click here to download the first three weeks for FREE!
Or, download the complete Second Grade Weekly Lesson Schedule* for the entire year! Keep homeschooling simple with 36 easy-to-read charts of suggested daily lessons and activities all planned out for you.
Second Grade Lesson Plan Week 4
Note: this blog may contain affiliate links. I paid for all these products myself, and 100% of the opinions shared are my own. It is no additional cost to you if you purchase with the links. Thanks for supporting The List Mama!
Do you feel overwhelmed thinking about homeschooling? I’ve created weekly homeschool schedules so that you can see what you are doing each day with just a glance. The WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR of planning has all been done for you! Keep reading to find out more!
Math: Math-U-See Alpha Universal Set (use the placement tool to decide which one your child is ready for). As some bonus activities, we will also use games from the Osmo Genius Kit to continue to practice and reinforce math concepts. Games like Numbers, Tangrams (both in the Genius Kit), and Pizza Co are some of my favorites.
Science:Adventures in Creation: Level 1from MasterBooks. I love how kids learn about the world through the lens of the Creation Story!
Social Studies:Me on the Map. I’ve found lots of fun videos to supplement the topics for each week. If you want to see the video recommendations, download the First Grade Weekly Lesson Schedule for all the details.
Music/Art/PE: I’ll be doing the same activities/lessons for Jeremiah and Evelyn. See the description in the Kindergarten section of this post to see what we will be doing.
Want to give the First Grade Weekly Schedule a try? Click here to download the first three weeks for FREE!
Or, download the complete First Grade Weekly Lesson Schedule* for the entire year! 36 easy-to-read charts of suggested daily lessons and activities all planned out for you.
Do you need weekly lesson ideas for other grades? I’ve got them for you here!
Note: this blog may contain affiliate links. I paid for all these products myself, and 100% of the opinions shared are my own. It is no additional cost to you if you purchase with the links. Thanks for supporting The List Mama!
Math: Math-U-See Primer Universal Set (use the placement tool to decide which one your child is ready for). This math curriculum was recommended to me by a veteran homeschool mom of five kids. She’s also tried quite a few other curriculums, and this has been the one they’ve liked the best. It comes with video lessons (yay for having a teacher explain math!) as well as a manipulative set. After looking at it, it seemed like the best fit for Evelyn, who is definitely a very visual, hands-on learner!
Reading/Phonics: First Start Reading: Phonics, Reading & Printing. This is a FABULOUS curriculum to teach children how to read, and I love how simple it is to get kids reading using letter sounds. The teacher’s guide tells you exactly what to say to teach your child the letter sounds and blends covered. It lays a great foundation, and also includes writing, so your child can practice their handwriting as well. I couldn’t believe how quickly Evelyn picked up reading simple words, and it was exciting for both of us! I also added in BOB books for extra reading practice.
Do you feel overwhelmed thinking about homeschooling? I’ve created weekly homeschool schedules so that you can see what you are doing each day with just a glance. The WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR of planning has all been done for you! Keep reading to find out more!
Literacy: Even though this is a preschool curriculum, I’ve decided to use the 5 Year ABCJesusLovesMe curriculum to guide our literacy activities. It has a book of the week and various activities to go with it. The curriculum also has songs, art, science, and more, so it’s a wonderful way to round out homeschooling. There is a free version you can use online. I may add on the Bible lessons and memory verses from the curriculum as well, if I feel like we have time in the day for it!
Science/Social Studies: 5 Year ABCJesusLovesMe curriculum covers these basic skills as well. You can also sign your kids up for science lessons at a local science museum, or join a homeschool co-op that covers these topics. Since I have two kids I’ll be homeschooling, I’ll have Evelyn and Jeremiah do the same lessons (his second grade curriculum) to keep things simple.
Music/Art/PE: For music and art, I’m enrolling my kids in music and art lessons at a local private classical school. They will meet twice a month, and will get the chance to have a performance once each semester. This is really exciting for Evelyn, since she has her heart set on performing on stage. I’m also teaching my kids piano lessons, which is another wonderful way to have music be a part of school. For PE, the kids will be playing soccer in our community rec program. If you’re needing to find other resources, check with your local homeschool group…there is likely a co-op you can join that would cover these topics!
Social/Emotional Skills: This is REALLY important for me, and probably the most challenging aspect of homeschooling. I make sure to be intentional about giving my kids opportunities for unstructured play time with other children each week, if possible. They may be the same age, or a range of ages, but unstructured play is so important for helping kids learn how to cooperate, problem solve, and get along! Other ways I’m going to give my kids opportunities to grow in this is by having them participate in our church’s AWANA program and attend Sunday School. These are great places to be intentional about giving my kids the chance to learn and grow socially as well.
Want to give the Kindergarten Weekly Schedule a try? Click here to download the first three weeks for FREE!
Do you need weekly lesson ideas for other grades? I’ve got them for you here!
Note: this blog may contain affiliate links. I paid for all these products myself, and 100% of the opinions shared are my own. It is no additional cost to you if you purchase with the links. Thanks for supporting The List Mama!
This is year two of us home/hybrid schooling, and looking back, it was a huge learning curve last year on figuring out how to manage our school days well.
I was a professional teacher for seven years before my oldest son was born, so some aspects like choosing the curriculum and figuring out a pacing schedule were like riding a bike…you never forget how to do that! But the one thing I had never done before was teach young children (3/4 who couldn’t read) at different ages. So figuring out our school ROUTINE for the day was a completely different matter! I tried various routines throughout the school year, and finally at the very end of year one, I found one that worked for our family. Woo hoo!
Today, I’d like to share 10 things I learned about creating a homeschool routine:
1. Remember: Your family is unique, so you need to find what works for you! Ask other homeschool families about what works for them, but don’t expect to copy what they do and get the same results or try to force your family to fit into their schedule.
2. Don’t get discouraged if you and your children don’t settle into an ideal school routine right away. Adjust your routines until you find one that works for your family. It literally took us a year to find a good groove, and that’s ok!
3. Have a clear goal of what you want each child to accomplish each day/week. I created weekly schedules for each child (K-3rd) that we follow to stay on schedule. Here’s what they include. For the preschoolers, it’s already been created for me in the ABCJesusLovesMe curriculum bundle, so I just take a look at it each day to see what we need to cover!
4. Let your children make choices and have a say…but don’t let them manipulate you into letting them off the hook! It doesn’t matter how good of a kid you have, or how good of a parent you are, your kids will cry about doing their school work sometimes. I’ve found that having a consistent routine every day has helped minimize the crying/avoiding school work. When it becomes a daily routine, my kids go along with it better. It’s the adjustment from no routine (like summer break or a week-long vacation) where they give me the most resistance when we try to get back to doing school.
It’s important to be firm and kind, but also give them some choices on what assignments they want to work on. I’ve heard of some micro schools that have each child come up with their own daily goal and share it with the group at the start of each day. It’s a great way to give your child the chance to take ownership of their education. If your child really fights you on school work with an “I can’t do that” attitude, here is a great resource on how to help your child become more resilient when things are tough.
*I will say that if your child is really struggling to do their school work and fighting you or crying about it regularly, please look into why that is happening. It could be an undiagnosed learning disability, etc. that is causing them to struggle with school work. Occasional bad attitudes about school are to be expected, but daily or prolonged battles/meltdowns could be a way your child is showing you there is something deeper going on.
5. Try to “batch” similar activities together. One way I do this is to have all four of my kids snuggle up with me on a big chair and we read all the “parent read-aloud” stories together. It’s usually 4-5 books, and we really enjoy this time. By batching it, it saves us transition time from one activity to the next (like going back and forth from the kitchen table to the living room chair once for each child) and makes the day go smoother.
6. Have all the school work set out and ready to go (with supplies) BEFORE your kids wake up each morning. I put all the daily worksheets on a clipboard and use a chart that shows the lessons we need to complete each week. Here is how I use it to keep our homeschooling day simple.
7. Create an “Ideal Day” routine, but be flexible. Don’t let perfection take the fun out of school or derail your day if things don’t go according to plan. I discovered that doing lessons for the youngest child in elementary school first was important, because they need the most help reading their school work and getting started on their lessons. The older child can start on his/her assignments independently. I do make sure to spend time with each child working with them on their school work daily, even if they are fully capable of independent work.
Elementary school is my priority, so I work with those kids first to make sure they have time to get their lessons done, then do the preschoolers’ school later. While the big kids and I are working on school, the little kids usually play together. Here’s an example of my ideal day for my family where we homeschool two preschoolers, 1st grade, and 3rd grade.
8. Let older children practice reading out loud to their younger siblings. The best way to learn something is to teach! So, if you have multiple kids, give them opportunities to teach their siblings what they are learning. My second grader was able to read some of the story books for my preschooler and kindergartener. By allowing him to read these books to his siblings, it gave him read aloud practice time AND the younger kids were able to listen to their school stories at the same time!
9. Spend about 20-30 minutes on one activity, then switch to something different. Make sure to give your child times to get up and move around like playing outside or dancing. I planned the school-part of our day in 20 minute sections, to keep things interesting. Now, this is not a hard-fast rule. If the kids are really into their project, I will let them keep working, of course! But I don’t always force them to finish an assignment just to move on to the next thing. Sometimes even taking a five-minute break to move around can help!
10. Use the Family Do Dots system to motivate kids to do their school and responsibilities without nagging or reminders. This system has been a HUGE lifesaver to our family! I think it’s best suited for 5+ year olds, but my four year old likes to use it too! This is a tracking system where the kids work to complete their responsibilities first to move on to “extras” like media time or extracurricular activities. It’s been so helpful for me to keep track of who is doing what around the house, and I no longer have to remind my kids to complete their school work, practice piano, clean their rooms, etc. I just ask them if their Do-Dots are finished, and they can run to the board and see for themselves.
Ok, I know ten things are a lot…I learned a lot in our first year of homeschooling! If it feels overwhelming, just choose one thing you’d like to try and focus on that first. Take your time, don’t give up, and know that you are giving your children a wonderful education experience that is just the right fit for your family!
Five Things I Wish I Knew Before My Dog’s Surgery and Recovery Supplies You’ll Need
Our 100 lb Golden Retriever needed TPLO surgery to repair his torn CCL (the same as the ACL in humans) in his knee. He’s 10 years old, and thankfully, he’s back to running free all over our yard after 10 weeks of recovery!
*Note: I am not a veterinarian or medical professional. All suggestions are from my own personal experience and are NOT medical advice. Please consult with your vet for any medical advice or recommendations for post-surgery care. For large dogs, you will probably need TPLO surgery, which is only offered at some vet clinics. Be sure to ask about the post op therapy options…some vets offer it and some don’t. Plan to go back to the clinic where surgery took place for all the post op visits (and there are lots of those), so a clinic near home is much more convenient than one hours away, if you have the surgery option available nearby! If you have the finances and ability to do therapy as your dog recovers, I’d say that’s your best bet. Therapy can help your dog not lose as much muscle mass during the recovery time, which is very important…especially for senior dogs. Therapy our vet provides includes things like laser therapy and water treadmill exercise. The first two weeks are awful. You will regret ever doing the surgery (they basically cut the leg bone, shift the angle slightly, and reattach it with a bracket & screws, so it’s a lot). But with how successful the recovery is, it was worth it. I slept beside Toby on the floor or couch for the first three days, just to make sure he didn’t get up in the middle of the night and hurt himself.
Day 1: Home from surgery. His leg actually looked worse days 2-7 than it does here (more bruising and swelling).
Mentally prepare yourself for the first few weeks to be tough. I’d say it’s comparable to the first few weeks of caring for you first baby…lots of guessing, lots of wondering what they need, lots of care needed, lots of worrying about them.
2. Have another adult available to help with taking them out to the bathroom the first few days. My husband held the sling while I walked ahead with the leash and opened up the doors/gates to get to the potty area outside. If you have a big dog, you’ll probably want two people to help get him in the car for vet visits, and to sit with him in the car to make sure he doesn’t stand and stumble around while you’re driving. Our dog Toby has an iron bladder (he can easily go 7am-3pm without an accident), but I set timers on my phone to take him out to go to the bathroom every 5-6 hours during the day. After a week or two, you’ll start to recognize signs that they need to be taken out. If you can, start letting them out to go to the bathroom at the SAME TIMES every day before surgery, so their body is used to going to the bathroom regularly. 3. Have your dog start going to the bathroom in the location you want them to go post-surgery for a week or two BEFORE the surgery. We didn’t do this, and Toby would NOT go to the bathroom in the front yard near the front steps. He did not pee or poop for 3 DAYS (talk about stressful for ALL of us!), until we finally tried taking him to the backyard where he usually goes to the bathroom. We ended up walking him around the house every time he had to go to the bathroom in the backyard for the next 10 weeks because he won’t go anywhere but there. 4. Make a ramp to go down any stairs he will use to go outside. We made a plywood ramp down our front steps, and it was much better than trying to navigate steps. We used it all 10 weeks of recovery. Make sure it’s not a slippery surface, and not too steep.
Keeping Toby calm was one of the most challenging parts of recovery, after the first few weeks!
5. Get these things. Borrow or buy them, but they are absolutely a life saver while the dog is recovering.
Sling (practice using it BEFORE surgery…it takes some practice to figure out how to support your dog with the sling and manage the leash at the same time. It also takes time to get the dog used to feeling it on their stomach when they are going to the bathroom!): Your dog will likely pee on it while going to the bathroom (you have a to time it just right and slip it up on their stomach right before they start to pee), so we wrapped it with a puppy pee pad and swapped the pad out when it got wet. That was much easier than washing it every time they go to the bathroom. You could use a towel around their waist to support them (our vet suggested this for a low-cost option), but the ease of using the sling made buying it worth every penny! We used it daily for the first 6 or so weeks, and also to support Toby when we could start taking our dog for walks.
Baby play yard: We made a pen using 6 of the pieces to make a recovery area in our living room. Get one that has a gate opening.
Week 8 After Surgery. Excited to roam free around the house again!
Multiple ice packs to place on his knee/leg. Wrap them in a damp towel before putting them on his leg. It makes it cold, but not too cold. The vet will give you instructions on how long/often to ice the leg.
Two cheap rugs to go under the play yard. This area gets furry, wet, stinky, so it’s nice to have a couple rugs to alternate. We have wood floors, so we put a puppy pee pad UNDER the rug to catch any water drips from the water bowl.
Comfy dog cone. This gave me peace of mind at night when I couldn’t keep an eye on Toby to make sure he wasn’t licking his leg. We used it for about 1-2 weeks.
Soft dog bed. This is nice because it’s machine washable. It gave Toby a soft place to lay, since he had to spend all his time there for 8-10 weeks.
Dog pee pads. The pain meds can make some dogs have an upset stomach (Toby didn’t, but a friend’s golden did after the same surgery). We used them a lot (although we cut them into smaller sections, so only needed one package) for the sling & under the carpet to protect it from water bowl spills/drips, not really for actually catching accidents.
A new dog toy or two to help with boredom. Eight-ten weeks is a LONG recovery time…even for an old dog like Toby!
We put a sign on our door that told people not to knock or ring the bell (they texted us if they were friends visiting), just to keep our dog as calm as possible. No need for the dog to go nuts each time someone delivers a package.
If you have wood floors, get rugs to make a path from the dog pen area to the door to go outside. You don’t want them slipping on the floors as they are walking. We still are using the rugs, even though our dog has recovered, since his leg muscles are still weak after not using it for so many weeks. I think that’s everything I wish I knew BEFORE we had the surgery so we could be better prepared. Honestly, it’s something I hope we never go through again, but it’s also good to know that the recovery from the surgery was very successful and Toby can now enjoy running around, playing with the kids and his “dog brother” pain free!
This post may contain affiliate links. I paid for all these products myself, and 100% of the opinions shared are my own. There is no extra cost to you, but using the links gives a very small percentage of the sale back to me, and helps me continue to create helpful ideas to share with you!
Can you believe how fast May is flying by? We have a couple weeks left of school for the big kids, and we are ready for summer weather and activities! This past winter, I created a guide with indoor play ideas for each day of the week. It really helped us get out of a rut and branch out to try different activities throughout the week. Our family loved it so much, I knew I had to make one with play ideas for summer time as well! But, I can’t just keep it to myself, so I wanted to share it with you. Remember…these aren’t rules for each day, but if you are all sitting around wondering how to spend some time together, this is a great tool to help you try something different. Print it out and hang it on the fridge (or anywhere you’ll look at it regularly). Then, when you need an idea of something fun to do, just look at the guide and choose an activity from that day to do.
Since I have four kids, we have a “pick day” rotation. On the child’s assigned pick day, they get to choose the activity, lunch for the day, or anything else we can think of. It keeps the arguing to a minimum, because each child knows they get at least one day a week where they get to pick their favorite things to do. Don’t forget…parents can have pick days too! We ususally have parent pick days on the weekends.
I also created a Gift Guide that coordinates with the play ideas and is perfect for summer birthdays, or just adding to your stash of fun creative play activities. If you click on the item pictures on the gift guide, it will take you directly to linked items for easy shopping.
I’d love to hear from you! What are some of your family’s favorite activities to do together in the summer?
Daily ideas of indoor activities to do with your kids.
“What do you want to do? I don’t know…what do you want to do?”
Image from Disney’s “The Jungle Book”
Does this sound like you? Do you find yourself bored with turning on Netflix or Disney + every evening? Or wish your kids would do something other than play video games every day? Would you like to have less conflict and arguments over what activities to do every evening?
Or maybe you’re tired of looking at Pinterest for indoor play ideas, but get overwhelmed by all the ideas and options. Would you like your family to spend more time playing creatively, but don’t know what to do?
One thing I really value is creative play time for our family. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not someone who feels like I have to come up with entertainment ideas for my kids all day. My kids spend at least 1-2 hours every day having “quiet room time” and creating their own play activities in their rooms OR playing outside in the backyard.
I strongly believe that boredom is the gateway to true creativity, and is actually very beneficial for my kids to experience!
Because they are used to creating their own play activities, my kids have longer attention spans and behave great in school when they complete their work because they know how to come up with their own entertainment. They don’t depend on adults or technology to come up with activities for them.
But, in the evenings, sometimes it’s nice to have a routine of play activities to do indoors…especially now in 2020 when families are spending more time together at home than ever before!
Let me tell you, creating a weekly routine has made my life SO. MUCH. SIMPLER. Here’s a little example of what we’ve done:
Instead of creating a list of 20 different play options, I decided to break it down into themes/days. Then, each day one person gets to pick an activity for that day to do together as a family. We rotate “pick days” with the kids, so everyone gets a turn to choose the activity for the day.
Would you like the entire weekly list? Click here to get it now.
I also made a list of our family’s favorite indoor creative play toys. These all correspond with the activities in the weekly routine, and if you’re looking for birthday or Christmas gift ideas, this is a great place to start! They all are perfect for boys or girls and come from a variety of price ranges, so there is something just right for everyone.
If you’d like a copy with the links to the actual items we love to save you time, you can grab a copy here.
With four kids ages 1-7, we’ve put these toys to the test, and these are definitely some of our favorites…and as a bonus, they really help encourage engaging and creative play.
I’d love to hear from you. If you’d like me to review these gifts in more detail, let me know in the comments if that would be helpful!
*The gift guide does contain affiliate links. I paid for all these products myself, and 100% of the opinions shared are my own. There is no extra cost to you, but using the links gives a very small percentage of the sale back to me, and helps me continue to create helpful ideas to share with you!
We are now into Week 4 of home schooling my preschooler, kindergartener, and second grader. We’ve had our good days, and our really tough days. But that’s not too surprising to me. As a mom of four young children and a former middle school teacher, that’s just how life is.
If you know me, you know that I really like to streamline and simplify pretty much everything. The same goes for our schooling day. I have to keep three different kids doing school moving as smoothly as possible, because I don’t want to drag our or school day until bedtime. Or fall ridiculously far behind. In the past, I’ve had both of those things happen with our preschool curriculum at home.
Today, I want to share three simple items and how they have simplified our homeschooling day. So, whether your kids are doing virtual school, home school, or some sort of hybrid option, these school supplies may just make your day easier too!
The first item is a clipboard.
Every morning, I clip any worksheets or pages my kids need to do for the day to the clipboard. It all started because the table they use has a rough surface, and I wanted to give them something smooth to write one, but I quickly realized what a useful tool this really is! The stack of worksheets is a great visual for my kids to see what they need to accomplish and what they have finished each day. They know that (pretty much) once the worksheets are completed and their clipboard is empty, they are done with their work. I’ve clipped things like a reading log to complete, a math worksheet, or handwriting page to their clipboards. No lost papers, and they can move at their own pace, if I’m not available right when they finish to give them their next assignment.
The second item that has simplified our homeschool day is a plastic three-prong pocket folder.
I used mine to hold our daily lesson schedule. When I was a teacher, we had our students complete an agenda calendar weekly that showed their lessons and assignments. Having a quick visual of the week all in one place is so beneficial. It makes sure you don’t forget anything, skip ahead, or fall behind. It holds you accountable to the activities you want to do for the week. Yes, many homeschool books have a lesson schedule printed in the front of each book, but you still have to open it up and look at many different books each day.
At the beginning of the week, I tear out all the worksheets for the week and put them in the front pocket of the folder. Then, each morning, I just pull out the worksheets for the day and clip them onto the clipboard. Completed pages go in the back pocket. At the end of the week, I pull the completed pages out and either recycle them or put them in a binder I keep to show work samples my children have completed during the school year.
Want to see the curriculum I’m using for homeschool this year? Check it out here!
The preschool curriculum I use already has a calendar included in the teacher’s guide, so I went ahead and created one for my kindergartener and second grader as well. You can create your own lesson schedule a number of ways. Just add some notebook paper to the folder and write out a list of subjects and their activities you are planning on doing for that day. Or, create a simple chart on your computer and print it out. I also have my daily lesson schedule for kindergarten, first, second, and third grades available for you to use, along with links to all the curriculum to make ordering easy. My main tip is to plan out your lessons at least a week at a time. I went through my books and planned out my entire school year (36 weeks). Now that it’s done, I just open up our folder and see what we need to do for the day…no stressing or excess brain-power needed! 🙂
The third item is a highlighter.
My kids and I use it to highlight the activities we’ve completed on our weekly schedule as we go through our day. Not every day goes as planned, and sometimes you move faster or slower. By highlighting what you’ve accomplished, you not only get some satisfaction in seeing what you’ve done, but it also helps you see what you still need to do at a glance.
If you’re like me, and new to schooling at home, we are all learning as we go! We will try things that work, and try things that flop. The main thing is to make sure that we are having fun and creating a positive learning experience for our kids. And we are also gracious to ourselves and our kids on the bad days, knowing that we will have a fresh start tomorrow!
Share with me! What are your favorite homeschooling “hacks” that make it simpler for you? I can’t wait to hear your ideas!
The List Mama 