I have heard of Homeschool Planet over the years and always intended to check it out. I wish I had done this earlier because this looks like a great resource for you. Homeschool Planet has taken the unenviable task out of lesson planning and record keeping, giving you more time to spend teaching and being with your family. When you purchase the lesson plan bundle it will automatically schedule your whole year or semester for you. Right there is something to consider and what a time-saving feature this is for you! The lesson plan package gives you the publisher- recommended course of study; assignments with boxes to check off to show completed work; and automatic lesson updates if you need to change things. Other features include:

• “Daily Digest” email reminders to help you and your child stay on track
• Grade your student’s work to recognize or reward completion.
• Track attendance for states where this is required.
• Generate reports and reminders

There are so many subject areas to choose from (language arts, science, math, history, art, unit studies, and other subject areas). You can see if you like it since they have a one week free trial to see if you like it. HOMESCHOOL PLANET

Have a great week! ~Lisa~

All views are my own and I was not asked to review this nor do I receive any compensation. I just thought this would be helpful to you. 🙂 

May not only means spring but for many of us, it means the end of the academic year. Huzzah!  Congratulations to you for completing a successful school year. I always liked to do something fun to finish off the year. Here are some ideas:

• Make your own pizza
• Water balloon fight
• Picnic lunch
• Lego project
• Create a mural that features things your son/ daughter enjoyed this year
• Make coke floats
• Create an obstacle course with a finisher certificate
• Make a video sharing about the year
• Write a list of things to do this summer
• Go for a bike ride
• Play soccer or frisbee in the back yard

What do you do? Care to share? I would love to hear what you do to celebrate.

Have a great week!  ~Lisa~

Since all public school students in Ohio are home for the next three weeks (or longer) I have seen some fantastic online opportunities for students. I hope you find some resources here for your family.

Scholastic Learn at Home– This website has cross-curricular units with reading and can include science, math, writing or fine arts. Grades Pre-K – 6th grade and higher

Storytime Online– This website has videos, websites, and podcasts that help promote early literacy.

Amazing Educational Resources– This has a very long listing of various companies and services that are being offered. Note: All of the resources are not free, but the listing lets you know if it is or not.

Mr. Otter Art Studio– You can go here for free art classes for your student. Even though I have zero ability (or confidence!), I think I could do this!

Museum Tours Would you like to go to an art gallery in England or France? No problem! Check out these collections and virtual tours.

$5 Dinners Erin and her sons have live daily cooking lessons or you can watch them later. Taco Soup is on the menu for today.

The Cincinnati Zoo is having a Home Safari Facebook Live every weekday at 3:00pm where they will feature an animal and have a home activity to do as well.

The San Diego Zoo has a Galapagos Tortoise video. The youngest animal is 85 years old!

Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems! If your daughter or son likes Elephant and Piggie or the Pigeon books, Mo Willems draws and talks about his books. This is so inspiring for your budding writers. Mr. Willems is such a great host!

Just a quick reminder that there is one more week for you to enter my Giveaway for one of two free portfolio reviews. See last week’s post for more details. 

Have a great week!  ~Lisa~

Last week I discussed the option of the Written Narrative option.  This week I wanted to give you some resources if you would like to do testing. (NOTE: for the 2019-2020 school year you do not need to have your student take a standardized test due to the extenuating circumstances of the covid-19 pandemic.)

Here are things to consider:

• Which test do you want your child to take? The ITBS? CAT? Standford? Think long term and stay with the same test so that you can compare how your son/daughter measures up from the previous year.
• How well does your child test? If you have a student that is anxious and you do not think it would be a good indication of what they know, consider doing a portfolio review/ assessment instead.
• Does your child read well? Much of the test is read independently, even in the younger grades.
• Has your child taken a standardized test before? If not, practice filling in bubbles beforehand. This can confuse some students if they haven’t done this before.
• Qualifications– Some standardized tests have administrator requirements. Others do not so be sure to check on that detail.
• Time– Consider the amount of time it will take for the test. You do not do the test all in one sitting and it will take several days. Also, order tests early as some companies (BJU Press) only allow you to order until a certain date.
• Cost– If you are ordering a test that will need to be mailed, how much will it cost in order to do this? Doing an online test can be less expensive and the results will be given to you much quicker. Prices vary from $25.00- $45.00

Here are websites to order standardized tests.

https://www.bjupresshomeschool.com/content/home

https://homeschooltestingservices.com

https://www.setontesting.com

Have a great week!  ~Lisa~

As we begin 2020 this is a good time to do a quick evaluation of your school year so far. It’s easy to get mired in the day-to-day routine of school and not consider changing things if needed.

What is going well? I take it for granted when things are going well, but perhaps it would be better to figure out what is going well. Here are some questions to ponder:

• Is it the curriculum? Does your student love math because of the way it is presented? There may be other types of teaching styles for other subjects that are not going well.
• Does your daughter/ son enjoy the subject matter?  Consider incorporating that into other subject areas. For instance, if dinosaurs are a loved topic, how about not only using this for science, but also math (measuring the distance of various creatures, graphing the lengths), or Language arts (writing a report; doing a lap book, or reading books about them).
• Is it the time of day or where it is placed in the day that works well? Do you have a son who likes to sleep in or a daughter who is an early bird? Fit the schedule (within reason) that accommodates their sleep patterns. After all, you have the flexibility to begin and end when it is best for your family.

What do you think needs to change? Let’s face it, some subjects are just not our daughter/ son’s favorite and no matter what you do, it doesn’t seem to go well. But, what about a heart-to-heart talk to her/him about making the most of the school day? These are things to consider why things aren’t working:

• How are attitudes? Bad attitudes breed bad lessons and bad school days. I know, I have done this myself. 😦 Teaching with the right attitude and expecting the same from your child will help with the tough things.
•  Is the curriculum or subject too hard, not challenging enough, or just plain boring?  You do not need to stick with the curriculum if it is not helping you to teach your children. If you are looking for some curriculum ideas check out Cathy Duffy’s website: https://cathyduffyreviews.com/
• Do you need to change your daily routine? If you teach the easy subjects first and the harder ones last, your child’s focus could be waning. How about teaching the hard things first, take a 10 minute break and come back to it?
• Is your son/ daughter sitting too long? Everybody needs a break. How about for your younger son/ daughter having wiggle breaks or brain breaks?  Set the timer for 2- 3 minutes and choose an activity such as do jumping jacks,; run outside; get a drink of water and a handful of nuts or granola; carry the books you have already used back to their place of origin, etc. Your older daughter/ son can stretch their legs; get a small snack; get a drink of water, etc.

If you have other ideas please let me know. 🙂

Have a great week! ~ Lisa ~