I was asking this question 4 years ago, so I'm writing the post I wish I'd had. 🥰A little background: Our family began officially homeschooling when our oldest son was entering kindergarten. I wasn't homeschooled and only knew a few homeschooling families, so I had a lot of questions (and trepidation) about choosing a curriculum.Here's what I've learned along the way:+ An open-and-go, boxed curriculum can be very helpful for your first year. We used Sonlight (with no regrets!) and I have many friends who love My Father's World. You go to their website, select your child's grade level, and order the materials. All you need for the year - the instructor's guide, books, and supplies - arrives at your doorstep. You're ready to homeschool! This helped me feel confident that yes, I was doing enough, and had advisors ready to help me if I needed it.+ A trusted homeschool mama in your community is an invaluable resource. If there's a homeschooling mom in your church whom you admire, ask her all your questions. How did she get started? What curriculum would she choose (or stay away from) if she could do it all again?+ Start simple, as it will take a while to find your rhythm. For example, all that a kindergartener *really needs* is a reading/phonics program, a math program, and (for Christian families) a morning Bible/devotional time. If that's all you do for your child's kindergarten year, great! You can add history, handwriting, science, and other electives as you grow more confident.+ Remember that you may not land on your favorite curriculum or educational philosophy your first year. And that's ok! If you're interested in finding your homeschool style, I've linked a helpful quiz in my profile.+ After you've narrowed it down to a handful of curriculums you're interested in, I love Cathy Duffy's review site (cathyduffyreviews.com). Her reviews are straightforward and very helpful.
Deschooling definition: planned period of adjustment a child needs when transitioning from public school to homeschool. Understanding how long it takes and why the deschool process has major, necessary benefits in helping a child decompress and successfully prepare for switching to home school and formal school work. Get tips for de-schooling, learn how to start homeschooling with deschooling, the difference between deschooling vs. unschooling and more!
This is our second year homeschooling and my first year teaching two kids. I have a first grader, kindergartener, and 3.5 year old. We have been using this weekly binder system for organizing our curriculum for a couple months and it's just simplified the mornings so much for me! I feel organized instead of scattered.
fun and simple ways to learn all about herbalism in your homeschool.
How does unschooling spelling work? Learn ways unschooled kids pick up on spelling naturally, resources if they don't, & lots of reassurance.
I've made a list of 100 field trip ideas for homeschoolers to provide inspiration and help you plan your homeschooling. Don't miss the free printable at the end!
Download a Daily Homeschool Schedule developed by a Teacher & current Homeschooling Parent below OR use it as a template to create your own!
This post may contain affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Sisters, What! I've recently went down the rabbit hole of home school resources that you can buy and that are also available to download for free. There are so many talented home schoolers these days and they have used their amazing art skills to create such beautiful unit studies and they're quite affordable. I thought I'd share both some that you can buy and that you can download for free. You may also enjoy: Homeschool Gift ideas Favorite Home School Resources to buy on Etsy (skip to second part of the post for free resources) *You can find a full list of my favorite Home School Etsy Favorites HERE and my Etsy Profile of Favorite things HERE This is a favorite Charlotte Mason Quote digital download that is perfect for any home school room Honey Comb Shop is one of my favorites, they have so many different mini unit nature study and the art is beautiful. Raising Wild Things Shop also does some great and beautiful nature unit studies printables I love all these life cycle physical prints from The Rewild Shop And more life cycle prints (printables) from Lovely Wild Sunflowers Shop Pretty Nerdy Press makes some really beautiful graphics for home school and for the home. Such great quality too. So many great simple Charlotte Mason unit studies from CM Simple Studies. MATH HOMESCHOOL PRINTABLES TO BUY Know It All Shop offers not only beautiful ABC prints but also so many great, colorful math printables you can download at a great price. This shop, Artsopomc, also contains some fun multiplication printables and if you're Korean, some Korean printables as well. I love all these very bright and colorful prints from Petunia Be Designs. They also come in black and white as well. Home School Resources to Download for Free First of all, I have created a few free printable resources here on this blog. Free Printable Coloring Reading Bookmark printable Free Printable Reading log/planner (perfect for summer) and free home school planner printables And these free printable Writing and Number Charts. Also these garden journal/books you can download for fre And from around the internet: Jessica over at Simple Wonders has created so many great printables to get your home school started. Much is aligned with Charlotte Mason Philosophy. Along with a great reading and spelling list to download. She even has created a great curriculum outline for you to download. Everything is free or pay what you can. She only needs just enough to keep the site maintained, any profit she donates to a non-profit. She has been so generous at what she offers. You can also find free artist studies to download for free HERE I love all the Humble Place has to offer. She has created so many great artist study units. Most cost a little something, but she offers a few of them for free. I love This Reading Mama. She offers so many free printables, especially for preschool and younger elementary age. I have used her Learning to Read Printables for so many of my kids. Life Abundantly Blog has so much to offer and has some great printables that you can download for free like this nature collection journal Silo and Sage has created some great printables and even has some free ones, but you should also check out the ones for sale. The Measured Mom is another great blogger that offers so many free home school resources like these Math printables and these Free Handwriting Pages which I have used for all my kids. Those are what I have for now. I'll probably keep updating this resource list as I come across others that I think are great!
Teaching parents how to Homeschool high school
Have you heard about The Good and The Beautiful controversy? It is a hot topic in homeschool circles and I'm sharing my thoughts here.
Homeschool elective classes made easy with these fun online art classes, music resources, and more!
Lifestyle blog about motherhood, marriage, recipes, style and the beauty of everyday life sharing all about my homeschooling day
Hey fellow unschooling families! As we eagerly prepare for another enriching year of child-led learning, I can’t help but feel a rush of excitement and curiosity for the journey ahead. Unschooling …
After way too many Christmas posts, I'm finally back to writing about homeschool stuff (although you shouldn't assume Christmas post...
Freedom Homeschooling lists free high-quality complete all-in-one homeschool curriculum for all grades and learning styles.
We all get a bit lost sometimes, even us homeschool moms! So I have created a list of amazing homeschool activities you can do together.
Homeschooling families tell you what is unschooling and why it's the best way for children to learn.
Just a bunch of useful links! There are so many more sites than I listed but these are my favorites. Everything listed has something for free and most of the sites are completely free resources!
100 Activities to do with your kids - that are Free!
Practical tips for planning Ambleside Online Curriculum
Just stepping your toes into the world of homeschooling? Wondering what the different types of homeschooling methods are and which one is the best fit for your family? Choosing a homeschool style can seem daunting and overwhelming at first, but taking the time initially to learn all the different methods will help you to understand … The Different Types of Homeschooling Methods Explained Read More »
The Good and The Beautiful, Everything you want to know about The Good and The Beautiful Curriculum, The Good and The Beautiful language arts and reviews on the homeschool curriculum, Good and The Beautiful Organization, Pre k and Kindergarten
Are you looking for a typing program for homeschoolers? This one gives kids excellent touch typing instruction. And they play fun games to cement skills!
We have many homeschool families who have gone before us to guide us and give us confidence that we can create a useful, purposeful, and impressive homeschool transcript. So, let's dive into what colleges like to see on a homeschool transcript.
Teaching parents how to Homeschool high school
Yes! FREE homeschool math curriculum for K-8th grade does exist and it's wonderfully Charlotte Mason. Click, print, and done! Watch the video
How does one combine homesteading with a homeschooling lifestyle? Find out how and why in this interview with a homesteading homeschooler.
Homeschooling schedule ideas, discussion of homeschool schedule vs rhythm, and ideas for keeping track of homeschooling
"Every day, every hour, the parents are either passively or actively forming those habits in their children upon which, more than upon anything else, future character and conduct depend."-Charlotte MasonWelcome to my favorite little corner of our homeschool room! I am in love with every tiny detail of this spot. Shout out to Hobby Lobby for always having the cutest cork boards and wall decor! I always display the Letter of the Week and our Art of the Week here. It's also where I display our da
Freedom Homeschooling lists free high-quality homeschool science and nature study curriculum for all grades.
Many say the psychological effects of homeschooling later in life are damaging. But that wasn't my experience. But, what does the evidence say about it?
Welcome to Rooted in Abundance Farm! Your Download Link for Free Gardening Curriculum Should Pop Up in a Moment! 🌿 Welcome to the Child-Led Homeschooling and Wild Mothering Resources Landing Page! …
Forest school ideas, books and activities! Forest schools are a wonderful way for kids to learn outside. Best forest books for kids
Are you looking for fun national days to celebrate in your homeschool? You have come to the right place! Check out this awesome list.
Want to schedule some new field trips for your kids? Check out this huge list of homeschool field trip ideas!
Welcome to Week 2 of the iHomeschool Network's 10 in 10 blog hop! Last week I shared my Top Ten Sites for Homeschooling . This week I have photo collages for you of my favorite homeschool items. (You know how much I love collages , don't you?)
Homeschooling isn't exactly easy, but public school also has its own things that irritate and exhaust me. Check out the 20 things that drove me nuts when my daughter was in public school and how homeschooling has changed and benefited our family now!
If you're looking for the best planner for homeschool moms then I've got you covered. This planner is amazing and I highly recommend it!
Considering homeschool this fall? Here are 5 Things To Do Before You Start Homeschooling from a homeschool graduate and homeschool mom.
