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Homeschool Planning

May 15, 2019
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Top 3 History Curriculum Choices

By | Homeschool Planning | No Comments

History is a tricky subject when it comes to choosing curriculum. Using traditional textbooks can make the subject less than desirable for homeschool students. Since it can be so difficult to decide on, I wanted to share our top 3 history curriculum choices for the year.

I remember a conversation I had with my son early last year. I had him, yes, using a textbook. He was frustrated one day, and said, “LOOK, mom! Look at all these pages I have to read with no pictures!” Bless his heart; he was struggling.

I was so focused on our activities and struggles with math that the other subjects fell by the wayside. Not that we didn’t do them, I just figured he was OK with every other subject because the struggles with math overshadowed them.

I almost made him disenchanted with history — a subject that I know he can be interested in if only there were a resource that caught his attention. Even now that he is enjoying his curriculum, I still do extra activities with him at least once every few weeks to keep him engaged and interested.

Here are a few things I do to add our history curriculum that may also help your child get excited by history:

  • We have cooking lessons if we are studying particular regions.
  • We incorporate history in unit studies.
  • We listen to music from the period or location we are studying.
  • We research sports that are popular in the area we are studying. (My son loves sports)

Know that if you are searching for a history curriculum, yet again, or for the first time, it is OK to take your time and do what you can until you find the right one. Use some of the approaches above alongside other lessons until you find a history curriculum that works for your family.

Here are some of the 3 top history curriculum choices on the radar for the year to give you a place to start in your journey to find the best one for your kids:

The Story of the World

The Story of the World is an award-winning 4-Volum set history curriculum that covers human history from ancient times until the present. Your student will find out what happens in countries like Africa, China, Europe, the Americas times long ago. This is a read-aloud series designed for parents to share with elementary school-age children. The books have an accompanying activity book for each volume and use classical methods of teaching. The Story of the World is affordable, easily accessible, and can be used by the entire family to learn history at the same time.

The Mystery of History

The Mystery of History is a “Chronological, Christian, Complete” World History curriculum for all ages. Your whole family can all study the same subject together, which is a huge benefit for large family homeschools. This curriculum has been known to be a favorite among homeschoolers because it is easy to use, accurate, thorough, biblically based, and encompasses numerous learning styles and various methods of education. Whether you have children who different learning styles, The Mystery of History is easily adaptable to most. This curriculum has four volumes that include an audio option.

Veritas Press Self-Paced History

Veritas Press self-paced history has been excellent for busy homeschool families. The Veritas Press SP History course teaches a chronological sequence or timeline of history with an interactive approach. The curriculum has 160 lessons, covering 32 historical events. It also includes music to help memorization and has multi-sensory experiences that include games and exciting videos with talking historical characters.

Lesson Plan Marketplace

Each of these top 3 history curriculum picks has Lesson Plans ready to go for your homeschool in the Homeschool Planet Lesson Plan Marketplace.

The Lesson Plan Market place has a lesson plan ready for both The Story of the World (Volume 1: Ancient Times, Revised Ed.  For Grades 1 – 8, Volume 2: The Middle Ages, Revised Ed.  For Grades 1 – 8, Volume 3: Early Modern Times  For Grades 1 – 8, The Modern Age  For Grades 1 – 8) and The Mystery of History (Volume I  For Grades 3 – 12, Volume II  For Grades 3 – 12, Volume III  For Grades 5 – 12, Volume IV  For Grades 6 – 12). For Veritas Press’ Self-Paced History, the Lesson Plan Market Place has a complete lesson plan for  Old Testament and Ancient Egypt  For Grades 2 – 6, New Testament, Greece, and Rome  For Grades 2 – 6, Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation  For Grades 2 – 6, Explorers to 1815  For Grades 2 – 6, and 1815 to The Present  For Grades 2 – 6.

It is as easy as 1-2-3 to incorporate each Lesson Plan in your Homeschool Planet online planner.

All you have to do is follow the steps below:

  • Purchase the lesson plan for your curriculum
  • Sign into Homeschool Planet
  • Answer a few questions, and voila!

Homeschool Planet will automatically schedule your whole semester or year with assignments, notes, and links to online resources (if applicable).

Remember that you are not alone in trying to select the best history curriculum for your homeschool students. I hope this has helped you find one that your kids will love. You can easily purchase a lesson plan that is already set-up for the entire school year or semester for any curriculum choice listed in our Lesson Plan marketplace.

Have any history curriculum questions? We would love to help. Feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below.

 

Check out Homeschool Planet for yourself with a 30-day FREE trial. No credit card information is necessary to give it a try!

At last — an easy, flexible, full-featured online planner that doesn’t require hours to learn. Just launch, click on the calendar, and start adding classes, assignments, and appointments!

With Homeschool Planet lesson plans, homeschooling has never been easier!

May 8, 2019
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Top 3 Math Curriculum Picks

By | Homeschool Planning | No Comments

Have you been contemplating changing your math curriculum next year? There are so many out there that I know it can be overwhelming. If you are like many other homeschooling families, you may have gone through one or two already and don’t want to have to go through the change again. We want to help you with your decision making if you need it, so here are our top 3 math curriculum picks for the year.

Change is not easy for anyone, when it comes to your child’s education things aren’t any different. You want a curriculum that works well with your child’s learning style. You want a curriculum that is complete and is understandable.

Some of us have more than one child, making the focus on learning styles even more difficult and tricky to select. One curriculum may not work for all your kids – although in a perfect world that would be pretty amazing.

We understand how hard it is to select curriculum by searching online and reading recommendations and reviews, so we wanted to share with you the top 3 math curriculum picks that have complete lesson plans in Homeschool Planet’s Lesson Plan Marketplace.

Top 3 Math Curriculum Picks for Your Homeschool

Horizons Math curriculum

The Horizons Math curriculum is for grades Kindergarten through 8th grade. The well-balanced spiral approach to math is composed of manipulatives, memorization, and drills that follow a pattern of gradual development to ensure a student’s success. Note: A spiral approach is when students master concepts through a natural process of introduction, review, and reinforcement.

This math curriculum helps students develop solid math reasoning skills and enables them to apply these skills to real-life situations. The major themes covered in the Horizons Math curriculum are Numbers, Order, and Value; Addition and Subtraction; Ratios, Measurement, and Decimals; Fractions and Comparison; Equations, Colors, and Geometry; Graphs, Estimation, and Solving; Multiplication and Division; Linear and Quadratic Equations; Radical Expressions; Monomials and Polynomials; and Functions.

This is not a common core curriculum and children who love worksheets and are visual learners do really well with Horizons.

Math-U-See curriculum

The Math-U-See curriculum system is structured with step-by-step procedures for introducing, reviewing, practicing, and mastering concepts. Each lesson teaches using multi-sensory tools such as videos, manipulatives, and other resources. This approach appeals to most types of learning styles.

Math-U-See has a simple but effective set of colorful manipulatives allows abstract math concepts to be represented in clear, relatable ways. The curriculum isn’t governed by grades as the approach focuses on the actual understanding of math concepts before progressing.

This math curriculum does meet common core standards because of its master approach of math concepts. There are also plenty of opportunities for student hands-on experience and practice.

RightStart™ Mathematics curriculum

The RightStart™ Mathematics curriculum is a hands-on program that provides visual strategies for learning math facts.  This curriculum has a significant focus on understanding and problem-solving. The RightStart™ Mathematics homeschool program is set up with levels, rather than grades so that your child can begin at the proper level and advance at their own pace.

Practice for the lessons is provided with math card games that provide interesting and varied repetition and application needed for the automatic responses to the math facts.

Twenty-one different materials are used in this curriculum to approach topics in various ways to create an understanding and to build critical connections necessary for learning.

Lesson Plan Marketplace

Each of these top 3 math curriculum picks have lesson plans ready to go for your homeschool in the Homeschool Planet Lesson Plan Marketplace.

It is easy as 1-2-3 to incorporate each math lesson plan in your Homeschool Planet online planner.

All you have to do is follow the steps below:

  • Purchase the lesson plan for your curriculum
  • Sign into Homeschool Planet
  • Answer a few questions, and… voila!

Homeschool Planet will automatically schedule your whole semester or year with assignments, notes, and links to online resources (if applicable).

Remember that you are not alone in trying to select the best curriculum that is right for your student or students. We, at times, have to go through trial and error, and that is OK. You will find it. Whether you explore Horizons Math, Math-U-See, or RightStart™ Mathematics, you can easily purchase a lesson plan that is already set-up for the entire school year or semester.

Have any math curriculum questions? We would love to help you find the best math curriculum picks for your homeschool. Feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below.

Check out Homeschool Planet for yourself with a 30-day FREE trial. No credit card information is necessary to give it a try!

At last — an easy, flexible, full-featured online planner that doesn’t require hours to learn. Just launch, click on the calendar, and start adding classes, assignments, and appointments!

With Homeschool Planet lesson plans, homeschooling has never been easier!

April 10, 2019
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Homeschool Planning that Doesn’t Suck the Life Out of You

By | Homeschool Planning | No Comments

Some of us are planners and some of us – not so much. I know some moms, including myself, who love order love to plan out the school year and get it laid all out for goals to tackle and achieve. On the other hand, I have heard some moms calling their planning period the month of dread. I know these moms can use homeschool planning that doesn’t suck the life out of them.

Have you ever felt as if homeschool planning sucks the life out of you every year or every quarter? If this time of year is especially grueling for you, it might be wise to try something new to make things so much easier for yourself.

As much as I love order and planning out goals for our homeschool, I have to admit it stresses me out – without fail – every time. So, I can imagine what someone who doesn’t love the planning seasons feels.

I picture a mom plopped down on the couch with stress written all over her face paralyzed with the fear of failure. This happens to me after the planning period. I buy supplies and get everything all planned out in my Homeschool Planet homeschool planner online, and then I plop down on the couch.

I wonder if all I have set forth for us is even possible. I don’t even know if the first weeks I planned are feasible. I wonder if we are doing too much then I wonder if we are doing too little. I wonder if we will go through the same struggles this year as last year and what do I do if I want to give up?

Then I come to my senses and remember that there are things I do that get me through.  Here are a few things that I keep at the forefront of my homeschool planning to get past it sucking the life out of me:

  1. Remember why you needed to homeschool in the first place.

I remember how many years I wanted to homeschool and my husband was just NOT on board. I have two degrees, and my husband just couldn’t understand why I would want to homeschool when I could be making money in a “real job.” It was tough when my heart was wanting to be with my children as they grow older. We cannot get back these years, we are doing what we feel is best for our home.

  1. Remain flexible and use your homeschool planning as a framework.

Like I said homeschool planning is good for me because I like order and it keeps me in line for the year. I use Homeschool Planet to plan my entire school year, specialized for my son and daughter. It does take me hours of building the framework then it just takes a few clicks on the Homeschool Planet organizer to build the year. The Homeschool Planet planner is super flexible, and you can reschedule assignments and due dates easily without losing the bird’s eye view of what needs to be made up and caught up on. There is like a method to the madness that is flexible enough to fit any crazy lifestyle of a homeschool family. We also don’t have school on Fridays which gives all something to look forward to, and it is nice we have the freedom to do that.

Homeschool Planet’s homeschool organizer and planner has truly taken any type of planning stress away and keeps everything in order for us.

Homeschool Planet’s planner online is a quick and easy planning system. My favorite features of Homeschool Planet’s online planner include:

  • Being able to create your school calendar in minutes utilizing semesters, terms, or quarters with an automatic and instant calculation of the number of school days per term
  • Easily clicking to create classes, assignments, field trips and appointments which are timed or untimed and single or recurring events
  • Adding, editing, or deleting weblinks to assignments for one-click access to online curricula and resources
  • Uploading PDFs to lesson plans for one-click access for your student
  • Creating, saving, and reusing plans with other children in the future
  • The automatic assignment generator is a savior and saves you tons of time

  1. Have an established routine in place for your homeschool.

When children automatically know what they need to do, the day flows smoother. There may be some outliers, maybe when grandma slips in some candy to the kids the night before or if someone is cranky that day. However, a routine schedule helps their stability and normalcy even if things get a little crazy throughout the day. We know if something comes up during the week, Friday is or make-up day and everyone is OK with that because they are prepared for it.

When I remember these three things have saved us year after year, I feel better. I know I can do it. I know I can make it one more year. Public school seems less appealing ad I am excited for the year to come.

What are your reminders to keep you going when you feel like homeschool planning has sucked the life out of you?

Check out Homeschool Planet for yourself with a 30-day FREE trial. No credit card information is necessary to give it a try!

At last — an easy, flexible, full-featured online planner that doesn’t require hours to learn. Just launch, click on the calendar, and start adding classes, assignments, and appointments!

With Homeschool Planet lesson plans, homeschooling has never been easier!

April 3, 2019
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How Homeschooling and Homemaking Can Be Planned out More Efficiently

By | Homeschool Planning | No Comments

The most efficient way to manage your homeschool and homemaking is to get your kids involved. Did you know that researchers in Harvard found that children who were given chores became more independent adults?  I totally believe this. I was pretty strict on my daughter when she was a teen. She had lots of responsibility as I worked full time and she was the oldest of three. It’s just what we had to do. She didn’t like it then, of course. However, things changed after she was out of the home.

One day, out of the blue, she called me from her apartment that she shared with some other college girls. She began to tell me how much she appreciated me giving her chores and making her learn how to do laundry, clean, and cook.

She said her roommates were super messy and even took their laundry to their parents on the weekends, not because their parents wanted to help but because they actually didn’t know how to do laundry. I had a moment of silence and almost cried. See, what we do in training our kids has a lasting effect on their lives.

Although our kids may hate doing chores, assigning your children chores goes way beyond you getting some help around the house (which is awesome too,  by the way). Many kids grow up and have to teach themselves basic life skills they could have easily learned while they were under your care.

If you are wondering if you should give your children chores, the answer is YES. Yes, you want your kids to enjoy their childhood but not giving them responsibilities is a great disservice to them as they grow older. I have read that chores are the best predictor of which kids were more likely to become happy, healthy, and independent adults. Let’s explore why.

Assigning chores to your children can help you plan your homeschooling and homemaking more efficiently.

Here are a few benefits to assigning your children chores:

Chores build confidence.

Kids feel confident when they do chores, especially when you show them how much it means to the family. Whether it’s making their bed or sweeping the floor, you are building your child’s confidence for them to know they are indeed capable of getting the job done.

Chores help with team building.

Kids aren’t just born into a family without responsibility. A family unit is a team. Working together will help your kids understand the value of teamwork and that they are crucial to making the home flow smoothly. Being a good citizen can stem from you giving your child chores This will also encourage participation in their future endeavors. They feel as if they can make a difference, and they can!

Chores help build life skills.

I was reading a comment on a blog where a daughter stated her mom did everything for her and her brothers. However, when she got older she had to learn life skills on her own. She said she is definitely giving her kids chores because not having them has negatively impacted her as an adult. One of the most evident causes of over-indulgence of adults is parents doing too much for them as kids. You want your kids to function well in the outside world, don’t you? Then equip them with what they need to survive out there. It starts with self-care, responsibility, and learning to do minimal tasks like iron, cook, and clean; all of which can be taught by assigning them chores.

Chores can help build your child’s self-esteem.

When your child completes a chore, it gives you the opportunity to praise them for a job well done. They can be struggling in a subject or not doing too well at a sport they love, but even in little things like contributing to the home can give them a sense of feeling appreciated. I honestly, love to notice one of my children’s chores done well. I make sure they know how much I appreciate it. They love to help mom and know that mom appreciates their help.

If you don’t assign your kids chores just yet, incorporating them into your homeschool day can be the best way to introduce them to your kids. It truly is our job to prepare our kids for life. We have so many opportunities to include our kids into taking care of the home that it would be wise for us to plan it out.

Homeschool Planet has a built-in option for you to make sure your child can incorporate chores into their homeschool day. It is quite useful and helps kids to know that chores aren’t just another thing to do but are part of what they do during the day. Chore time can be counted as school time which may shift your child’s perspective some.

Homeschool Planet offers a chore and household organizer that can be tailored for each of your student’s calendar. When your child logs in, they will be able to see their weekly or even daily schedule and what chores you have assigned them for that week or day. Making chores a part of their daily routine will help you manage your homeschool and homemaking easily.

It may not be easy at first to get your children to want or to even enjoy doing chores but it is worth every effort to prepare them for life.

I wanted to share a few tips they may help you include chores to better manage your homeschooling and homemaking plan:

  1. Use Homeschool Planet to organize your homeschool and your homemaking schedule all in one place.
  2. Count chore time as school time so that your child will not see homemaking as something they dread but as something they contribute to.
  3. Choose age-appropriate chores.
  4. Set a certain time for your family to complete chores during the day.
  5. Make sure to show your family how much you appreciate their contribution to homemaking.
  6. Try to also do your chores at the same time as your kids. Work alongside them, it will really help motivate them and YOU to make it part of your daily routine.
  7. If at all possible, try to make homemaking fun. Make it a race or give awards for weekly accomplishments both in homeschool and homemaking.

There is definitely a way to make Homeschooling and Homemaking Planned out More Efficiently. It takes some effort and it takes involving kids no matter what their age. Being efficient in your homeschool and homemaking takes the whole family. Plan out your homeschool and homemaking schedule with Homeschool Planet’s organizer and take the stress out of trying to handle it all on your own.

Check out Homeschool Planet for yourself with a 30-day FREE trial. No credit card information is necessary to give it a try!

At last — an easy, flexible, full-featured online planner that doesn’t require hours to learn. Just launch, click on the calendar, and start adding classes, assignments, and appointments!

With Homeschool Planet lesson plans, homeschooling has never been easier!

March 6, 2019
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How You Can Make Lesson Planning Simple

By | Homeschool Planning | No Comments

I know this homeschooling journey is different for many of us. Our families are different, our lives are different. Some of homeschool 6 children, some of us are also work-at-home moms, whatever your home dynamic is, one thing holds true—simple is better. Many of us have lives that are chaotic at times, if not most of the time, and simplifying is perfect for the chaos. It is not any different with lesson planning. I found a way to make lesson planning simple in my homeschool and I hope it can do the same for you.

I have to admit that when I first started homeschool I was super organized. I was previously an early learning teacher, so the preparedness I needed to turn in my lesson plans spilled over to how I set up my lessons for my kids. I set the term up into what I wanted my kids to learn in the main subjects (Math, Science, History etc.) and the everyday Bible, reading time, and extracurricular lessons. The order I set outworked for a while, but I found that we would need to reschedule lessons often because of “life” and it became harder and harder for me to ensure we were caught up. Lessons changed. I had to move on to another lesson because of the time constraints I gave myself.

I started working from home which added to the madness. The next terms came and I found myself getting less prepared for them. I pushed off doing my lesson plans a month, two weeks, and then to a week in advance. Eventually, I drove myself mad trying to rush my plans on a Sunday for the week.

I thrive on organization and order, so putting off my lesson plans until Sunday really threw me off my game. I was uneasy and unsettled which was not good for anyone. I was trying to do everything and it was all too complicated.

I knew I needed to find a system that would hold me accountable but I knew, unequivocally, that I could not go to a system that was complicated. I already had complicated and I didn’t want to go back. I needed something to help keep me organized, something to keep me on track, but above all, I needed something simple.

Homeschool Planet had a quick and easy planning system that my friend was raving about. I quickly found out that I could plan my whole homeschool year’s framework in this all-encompassing tool. I was hooked.

I created my children’s school calendar individually in terms like I prefer to run our school year. More importantly, I wasn’t wrecking my brain with lesson plans for the major subject areas. Looking through the Lesson Plan Market Place I was able to select lesson plans that were exclusive to Homeschool Planet.

Once I selected which lessons I wanted for my kids, the lessons were automatically scheduled out for the entire homeschool year. If I wanted to add some resources, I simply could upload the assignments, notes, and online resource links to add to the lesson. I can also do this at all times throughout the year. Homeschool Planet lays out the entire year’s framework, and I can add resources or fun assignments if I come across them online.

I was looking for simple and I got it. I have to dedicate some time at the beginning of the year to set up the lessons, and I also review what I have set up before each term to add some fun resources where I can. Other than that I feel as if there is a weight taken off my shoulders when it comes to homeschooling. I am still a hands-on mom, I still dedicate Monday through Thursday during their homeschool hours to be available for them. However, using Homeschool Planets lesson planning has simplified our days, terms, year and freed up so much time to dedicate to work and home life.

This is the simple way to build lesson plans in your child’s Homeschool Planet planning tool online:

  • Visit the Lesson Plan Market Place and select a lesson or lessons that will fit what will be best for your children.
  • Choose the dates and times you want this class to run. Click next. Note: Homeschool Planet will let you know how many days you have on your school calendar for assignments.
  • The next section will make suggestions on how you should grade the lessons. You can also adjust your grading system at a later time.
  • Homeschool Planet then builds your new lesson plans for you, when you press “OK”. You can edit the class and see all the assignments, resources, and grading information all in one place.

It is super simple to set up a lesson on your child’s schedule. Homeschool Planet provides step-by-step tutorials to help you through its processes. Search through Homeschool Planet’s Lesson Plan Market Place for hundreds of lessons separated by subject. After selecting your lessons, buy the lesson for your curriculum, sign in to Homeschool Planet, and at the click of a button, the lesson is automatically added to your child’s school year.

I am so glad that my child is learning, and that I can trust that the lessons on their schedule are quality lessons. You can also make lesson planning simple with Homeschool Planet. View some of Homeschool Planet’s features to make your lesson planning simple and to help keep you organized.

Check out Homeschool Planet for yourself with a 30-day FREE trial. No credit card information is necessary to give it a try!

At last — an easy, flexible, full-featured online planner that doesn’t require hours to learn. Just launch, click on the calendar, and start adding classes, assignments, and appointments!

With Homeschool Planet lesson plans, homeschooling has never been easier!

February 18, 2019
0

Seeing the Big Picture of Your Homeschool Year

By | Homeschool Planning | No Comments

I cannot function without an end goal in mind when it comes to homeschooling- or anything else for that matter. I like order and organization, therefore I want my children’s schooling to be done with intention and focus. Seeing the big picture of my homeschool year is what helps me take one purposeful step at a time.

The big picture of homeschooling begins with thinking about what is really important and what you want your outcomes to look like. I see it in my mind like a rainbow. The big picture is like an overarching arching rainbow were you can track from beginning to end  –and hopefully the iris a pot of gold at the end. The pot of gold is the end point where you have achieved the key outcomes you intended to from the beginning.

Planning for my homeschool year starts with lots of prayers. I want to get the Lord’s guidance on what the main things I would like my kids to accomplish by the end of the school year. This year the major things I wanted my kids to come away with was their core subjects (Math, Grammar/Writing, Reading, History, and Science), to grow a love for God’s Word, and focus on one extracurricular for the whole year (that they picked). My daughter picked to work on her skills in playing the ukulele and my son, of course, was to play rugby.

From these overarching things, I then can build my lessons upon them. Planning a big picture approach for your homeschool allows you the flexibility you need to plan lessons under the major aspects of the homeschool year.

According to your state requirements, some of the subjects may not have much flexibility. For instance, you may want to look into what your children, at their age, need to know for math or language arts and reading. However, the flexibility in the big picture approach is that kids can choose what extracurricular they want, what books they want to read, and what science topics they find most intriguing.

How to see the big picture of homeschool planning is the fun part. I love to plan the overarching needs of the year, then see the kids progress throughout the year. Having a visual of what they do when they begin, how much they have left throughout the year, and reaching their endpoint really gives my kids, AND ME motivation to get there.

I have comfort in making this a reality with using Homeschool Planet’s online scheduling for home, school, and work all in one place. Homeschool Planet truly has all your planning needs, when you need it, and available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The big picture of my homeschool year is laid out for each of my family members in our Homeschool Planet calendars. Once we gather what we want to learn to achieve the big picture goals we just dump it all in the Homeschool Planet calendar for the entire year to keep us focused, intentional, and accountable.

I schedule classes, assignments, chores, field trips, sports practice, doctor appointments, and music classes all in our calendars. This is really important to me because it keeps me on schedule to develop my lessons for the week, or month if I have extra time. My outline for the year is set, I know what lessons to prepare for, what field trips to set up, and what dates are known as time goes by. I love how we can adjust our schedules if we need to, and still be accountable to complete what we needed to reschedule.

After knowing what our big picture needs to look like at the end, it feels so good to create my homeschool calendar in only minutes to keep me organized. The Homeschool Planner allows us to view our calendars in the semester, term, or quarter views with an automatic and instant calculation of the number of school days per term.

I really didn’t know how much I needed Homeschool Planet until I began using it years ago. My children have their calendars set for weekly views in order to complete assignments and lessons, but I keep my calendar on a monthly view to see how the month is progressing for them.

Seeing the big picture in your homeschool year really opens your eyes into just how much you can accomplish in a school year. In the public school arena your children are confined to learn and dump. If they love a subject like Astrology, they can’t stay there for a little longer. They are forced to move on because of the need to cover every single lesson in someone else’s ideal curriculum for your child.

Homeschooling is a freedom for you to work towards what your kids are interested in while making sure they progress and keep learning. In every subject, we can point out kids back to the Creator and back to a Christian worldview.

Instead of taking your homeschool through a rigorous intense whirlwind of needing to cover subjects, focus on reaching your big picture rainbow. See how it evolved from start to finish to see the prize at the end–happy, healthy, learning kids.

At last — an easy, flexible, full-featured online planner that doesn’t require hours to learn. Just launch, click on the calendar, and start adding classes, assignments, and appointments!

With Homeschool Planet lesson plans, homeschooling has never been easier!

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February 11, 2019
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How to Stay on Track and Keep All the Children’s Schedules in Order

By | Homeschool Planning | No Comments

When I first started homeschooling, I didn’t know whether I was coming or going. It was like a whirlwind and I was just along for the ride. I was initially so excited about homeschooling my kids that I honestly didn’t plan like I should have or go in it with realistic expectations. Staying on track and keeping my children’s schedules in order was just not something that happened my first year.

Here we are mid-year and I know I could have done better. If you are new to homeschooling, take heart. You are not alone, we have all been there. You can do this! You just might need a little help, and that is OK. I needed a lot of help and I am not ashamed to admit it.

Organization and order bring me joy. When my house is clean, I can concentrate so much better. When my desk is in order, I can work so much more efficiently. I am not quite sure what happened when I started homeschooling. I really struggled with keeping the house clean, and cooking dinner, and working from home. Please tell me someone else out there understands.

I have a paper planner that keeps my business life together. I order a new one every year and it has everything work related in it to keep my freelance work going smoothly. I am meticulous about my work and cannot afford to miss any appointments, being late or not completing tasks. I needed to be as organized with my homeschool as I was with work, and I was determined to do so.

Staying on track and keeping my children’s schedules in order took me years to get right. I think it took so long because I didn’t have anything to motivate me to “get it together”. I let the days slip by my fingers, telling myself I will do better tomorrow–while dreading that failing feeling Ihad when I laid down to sleep. It felt like groundhogs day, stressful, hectic, and repeating itself daily. Something had to give.

I heard of Homeschool Planet’s homeschool planner online and I knew I had to give it a try. I have never looked back since.

I want to share with you what in Homeschool Planet’s online planner keeps me on track and keeps my kiddos on their schedules.

1. Homeschool Planet allows for an easy whole year planning system from start to finish. 

I cannot describe the weight lifted off of my shoulders when I knew I could just plan out my children’s WHOLE homeschool year. Homeschool Planet’s user-friendly options to plan out the year make moms happy campers. I was able to break up each child’s calendar into terms, although you can also break them up into semesters or quarters.

2. I can use Homeschool Planet to communicate with my family when I just don’t have time to chat. 

This sounds horrible I know. However, texting my hubby to pick up dinner on his way home from Homeschool Planet’s site is incredible to me. It has saved me many of times from needing toilet tissue for the house or picking up the kids from a friends house—you name it. Assignment reminders for the kids can be sent via email or text, which really helps when they have their headphones on.  I literally can send a text or email lists, notes, and messages right from within Homeschool Planet to family members. How cool is that?

3. Homeschool Planet has widgets for everything. Really, everything.

We can complete our to-do lists in Homeschool Planet; in “we” I mean my husband and me. We are in the process of renovating a rental property. We don’t have a huge budget for it, so we track every cent we pay and we log in our next steps. It really helps keep us accountable to our goals.

My kids love that they can use the Homeschool Planet widgets to look up reference tools like a dictionary/thesaurus or search Google right from the planner’s site. I love to check the weather while I am on and read the Bible verse/inspirational quote on the screen whenever I turn it on. The planner can track and report class hours with a convenient clock icon that lets you see exactly which items you are tracking.

4. Calendars and reports are everything I need to keep my family on track and to stick to our schedules.

Each child is able to access their very own calendar and I can adjust it as needed. I clearly can see their calendars and what they have planned for the day. All of our appointments and game days are on the calendars. I truly love being able to see where our kids are at any given time and they like to keep tabs on me as well. The calendar system can hold my daily routines, chores, and activities while letting me view my kid’s as well.

The online planner has extensive reports to help manage grades, attendance, activities, and more. The report is filterable to obtain the exact information we need. I let Homeschool Planet handle these administrative tasks for me and it is a blessing on my workload. Rescheduling assignments are super easy, and I appreciate that so much. I can have one on one with a child if they are struggling, then re-assign a task to them. It keeps me involved and proactive in their learning.

5. I saved the best for last. Homeschool Planets have an ever growing list of lesson plans for any student.

The lesson plans are exclusively made for Homeschool Planet. There are over 750+ professionally designed lesson plans that we can select from. Each of the lessons is customizable to fit the schedules you have set out for each child. The lessons are printable and you can even print out free homeschooling worksheets for your kids to use offline.

Staying on track is as easy as a click of a button with Homeschool Planet. I only wish I would have known about it my first year of homeschooling.

Homeschool Planet keeps me on track at home and in my homeschool all one place, and it’s available 24/7/365 days a year. I already use it for school and for my home. I am seriously considering using Homeschool Planet’s planner online for my work as well. I will always be a pen and paper planner gal, but keeping organized and logging down my ideas, meetings, and deadlines sounds more and more appealing by the day.

At last — an easy, flexible, full-featured online planner that doesn’t require hours to learn. Just launch, click on the calendar, and start adding classes, assignments, and appointments!

With Homeschool Planet lesson plans, homeschooling has never been easier!

February 1, 2019
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FREE Membership to Homeschool Planet (Contest for Existing Members)

By | Homeschool Planning | No Comments

We want to hear how Homeschool Planet works for your family!

Over the years we have heard from die-hard “Planeteers” who attest that Homeschool Planet has changed their lives. We have over 500 customer testimonials and 125 blogger reviews raving about our homeschool life planning software.

Would you like to win a LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION to Homeschool Planet or even a FREE YEAR? Keep reading!

 

We are not looking for perfection, we want authenticity. We want you to record your video testimonial telling other homeschool moms how much you love Homeschool Planet.

Have you already submitted a written testimonial? No problem! You can still make a video letting others know what you like about Homeschool Planet and enter it for a chance to win.

You can submit your video throughout the month of February. We will choose 4 winners. This contest ends on 2/28/19.

Prizes:

  1. Grand Prize Winner: LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION to Homeschool Planet
  2. Three Winners: ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION added to your account

You don’t have to be scripted (we would rather you be authentic!), no need to get your hair done, or lock yourself in a closet (but you may want to). We are looking for videos that will appeal to moms just like you. Have fun!

P.S. We are releasing some amazing new lesson plans this month.Our lesson plan marketplace continues to be a magnet for families who want to try us out. Cathy Duffy has raved about the features. Have you checked them out for yourself?

HOW TO ENTER THIS CONTEST

This contest is for existing Homechool Planet subscribers, AKA “Planeteers.” We are seeking quality video testimonials from real moms like you who love Homeschool Planet. Here’s what you need to do to enter to win.

Record a video testimonial talking about how much you love Homeschool Planet. Here are some ideas that you can use for good talking points:

  • Talk about how many children you homeschool, how long you have been homeschooling, etc.
  • If other planners have failed you but Homeschool Planet works, that’s good to mention. Please no bashing of other programs though. 
  • Mention your favorite features of Homeschool Planet and how long you have been a user.
  • If Homeschool Planet has benefited you in other ways of life (appointments, scheduling, grocery lists, etc.) be sure to tell us about it.
  • If you feel you cannot live without Homeschool Planet, let us know!

Please make this your own. The list above are merely suggestions, we really want you to be authentic and share your heart with us.

After your video is complete, you can submit it here. Please be sure to read through the submission guidelines found on the form and contact us if you have any questions. Contest ends on 2/28/19. The winning entries will be announced on social media and this blog post no later than 3/31/19 as well as contacted via email. Void where prohibited by law.

 

SUBMIT YOUR VIDEO TESTIMONIAL!

December 31, 2018
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Why Staying Organized in Your Homeschool is Important

By | Homeschool Planning | No Comments

When I first started homeschooling I miscalculated my success rate. I was excited about the freedom that homeschooling would afford our family. I envisioned a wrinkle-free environment where my kids would willingly love learning from me, would be enthusiastic to be home, and would not face bullies or disenchanted teachers.

They received a determined mom in the beginning, but 6 months in, I was a momster momniac struggling to get through the day and to put dinner on the table. I realized that no structured order in my home meant utter chaos. Even in the freedom that homeschooling allows, some organization is exactly what we need to succeed and just frankly, not throw in the towel.

I decided that something had to give. I should have known better. As an early education teacher, I knew that every year, the beginning of the year needed to start with a set routine and a set of rules to follow before I even thought about teaching lessons. Why I thought schooling would be different for my own children just boggles my mind now. Well, we live and we learn.

The honest truth is that you can plan to “get organized” and take steps to plan your homeschool, but then the house cleaning flops or dinner doesn’t get done on time. Then what? It is important to realize that at that very moment we decide everything is too much, we also easily forget the very reason why we decided to homeschool in the first place.

In whatever space you find yourself in today, whether it be spending hours on one lesson that should have taken you 15 minutes or your laundry is piling up miles high, some organization will help you tremendously. Taking steps to get organized didn’t help me immediately, and you will see that it won’t have lasting effects either. Let me explain.

Usually, when I find myself out of sorts, I can trace it back to putting my MAIN priority in the back burner. My son is super hyperactive. Even with cutting out red dyes and sugar during the week, along with assuring he gets ample sleep time at night, he still can’t sit still for long periods of time. God love him, he would rather be knee deep in the dirt and playing rugby any day, especially during homeschool.

His reading lessons were taking me all day; it literally had me in tears. I couldn’t attend to his needs and deal with my home at the same time. I had to face the day knowing dinner wasn’t getting ready on time or housework wouldn’t be getting done the way I liked. My son was overwhelmed, I was a momster momniac, and my daughter was being ignored. Why did I think I would be soo good at this homeschool thing?

Oh, that is right! I knew that the Lord would get me through. I trusted, when we first made the homeschool plunge, that this was the Lord’s will and I trusted Him to finish the good work he started. If I knew that was true, then why wasn’t I turning, better yet running to him for help?

In my time with the Lord, I read about God being a God of order. I have talked to people about this plenty of times in the context of order during the assembly of believers. I knew that the Lord was meticulously detailed and exemplified order to us in his good word. I knew it was true for a body of believers but ignored that it might be true in my home as well.

God ‘s Word is everlasting and living water. It truly provides guidance for us in our everyday lives. He showed me that I could apply order to my home and homeschool. There would be blessing in the obedience to follow his word and guidance.

Paul advises the Corinthian church, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). If we stop for a moment to contemplate just how this applies to our life we would see that it would benefit us to bow the knee and ask the Lord to help us bring order into our homes.

God’s creation was perfect, the sun sets and rises without a change. His divine nature is weaved throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. God’s blatant unfolding of order in scriptures lets us know that without it, chaos will soon follow.

A key to getting organized lies with the PLANNING stage. God was a perfect and good planner. God prepared a way for us and purposed us to be his handiwork (Ephesians 2:10). Having an understanding of his plan, along with how he establishes our steps beforehand (Proverbs 16:9), gives us a clear picture of how intentional we should be about organizing our home; the first ministry that was assigned to us.

The Bible as a whole is a great plan of salvation for us all, Ephesians 1:5 -6 tells us that God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

I understood how it really does bring great pleasure to bless my children and home with a plan that will organize them both. Knowing that our good Father exemplified order for us helps us to submit the chaos to him and to establish an organized home. We know this obedience would please the Lord, and everything else will stem from that.

After realizing that he would be pleased with me seeking him first in my home, my next step was finding a tool to help me. Even the Proverbs 31 women needed help!

Homeschool Planet provides a planner that would help you keep your home schedule and homeschool organized. A few of our most popular features include automatic rescheduling assignments, having your home, school, and work schedules in one place, customizable grading/attendance/reporting, and daily/weekly reminders.

Homeschool Planet is an easy, flexible, full-featured online planner you can use on multiple devices and doesn’t require much effort to learn.

Check out Homeschool Planet to help you calm the chaos with a 30-day FREE trial. No credit card information is necessary to give it a try!

At last — an easy, flexible, full-featured online planner that doesn’t require hours to learn. Just launch, click on the calendar, and start adding classes, assignments, and appointments!

With Homeschool Planet lesson plans, homeschooling has never been easier!

 

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