We had really good success with Easy Grammar around 6th/7th grade. Highly recommend. We will be going back to it at some point in highschool to review.
It sounds like you may like Learning Language Arts Through Literature! Thank you for sharing about your burnout and need for a reset! Homeschool burnout is so real. Hoping you get a fresh start this year and find some new things that work for you!
We have enjoyed Guest Hollow, Easy Grammar, and IEW Fix It Grammar and IEW Structure and Style. We enjoy Generations Curriculum literature for middle school grades as well.
Surely you know Wingfeather Saga, but if not, your kids will love it. All four of my 4, ages 4-11 do. Also we snagged Organ Attack on sale and love it! I remember seeing that one from you.
Chantel, thank you so much for this video. Our homeschool is also in need of a refresh for a couple of my kiddos. With regard to screen time, a year ago we completely eliminated it during the school week. It became their goal for finishing school. They are allowed to have screen time on the weekends, but our weekends are so full of soccer games, hikes, and other outings, that they are now barely on their screens for leisure and the change we've seen in our kids has been amazing. For language arts - check out Learning Language Arts Through Literature - a fantastic, no frills literature curriculum. For science and history, my son thrives on Notgrass and Dive Science, while my girls thrive on A.C.E. Paces. Both so full of information from a Christian perspective and have really grabbed their interest in a way that encourages them to pursue topics on their own without our prompting.
I feel you on the newer picture books! My favorites will always be from when I was younger were the Russel Hoban and Lillian Hoban books! They had the prettiest pictures and the cutest stories for young kids! I honestly still love them!!
The Unhurried Homeschooler by Durenda Wilson is good. She has another book called Raising Boys to be Men (or something close to that) and I really enjoyed that one as well. Teaching from Rest is another good one. Thanks for the video, Chantel! ❤
I could definitely go for a re-read of The Unhurried Homeschool, and I don't think I've ever read anything else by her, I need to look into more of her stuff!
Hi Chantel! Great video and very relatable. We tried TGTB twice and each time it fizzled out for us pretty early. We’ve used First Language Lessons, Fix It Grammar, and will be trying Hearth & Story when we start back up. Wonderhousecreative and silo and sage have some really good resources as well. Harbor and Sprout has some great unit studies. We’ve loved using Berean Builders for science. Also, The Alveary has really been great for science and history for us at different times. They have a YT channel where you can see the books they plan to use with each school year. Good luck!
Hi Chantel! I HIGHLY recommend Durenda Wilson. She has wrote a few books, her many children are all grown, and her podcast is amazing! She is a believer and is so encouraging. I love your videos ❤
We listened to Pollyanna as an audio book this past summer and all of my kids really enjoyed it. (I have a wide age range.) We have also loved Treasures of the Snow and Deerwood Incorporated (from BJU Press). I'm not sure if either of those is an audiobook however. For nature study, we don't typically take journals outside. Instead, we will do a nature walk, and I will take pictures of anything my kids want me to. Later, we will nature journal around our dining room table.
Khan academy has added a lot more options than just math now. There is science and grammar and reading comprehension. My high schooler and middle schooler are utilizing it for science, math and grammar now.
Sorry if it's annoying to have my comments broken up, but as I'm listening, I have things to comment on. Haha For the Language Arts question, we use just the basic Evan Moore Spelling workbooks. They do the job and my kids like the independence that comes with them. For the grammar portion of Language Arts, we use Masterbooks as well as First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind. They are both to the point and don't take a ton of time. We don't do both on the same day. My kids did not enjoy TGTB Language Arts, but do like what we are currently using. We used TGTB for one year. This is our second year using Masterbooks and the Evan Moore Spelling books, and our first year using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind.
I often post multiple comments for a video, usually cause it takes me all day to get through one video, so I get it! I'm going to write down all these resource recommendations and look them up, thanks for sharing!
@@IntentionalHomeschooling haha glad I'm not the only one. Yes, it took me much longer to actually watch the video than the 25 minutes or so that it was. I'll be praying that you are able to find something that works for you and the kids. ❤️
Since July we have loved Layers of Learning for inspired fun learning! We have been using it one subject a week. But recently after the New Year we have taken a break from it and we are taking some time in interest led learning. My oldest is working through a high school Funschooling journal and adores it. Sarah Janisse Brown is completely amazing especially as a homeschool mom with launched children and as an inspired learner. My younger kids are doing a book study from Literary Adventures for Kids that I have expanded into unit studies. Mr. Poppers Penguins for the win!
I own a few Fun Schooling journals and yet we've never done any, should definitely do that! I'll have to check out Layers of Learning, thanks for sharing!
I think re-set is on a lot of our minds. Going back to Awakening Wonder and getting inspired helps. I can't say enough good things about that book. For us I am cutting out some things, that though they may be good, are not aiding my kids in the directions they need to go, and are taking that spark away. Letting go and doing things that inspire are necessary for us right now. On the forefront is Biblical knowledge and spiritual formation as well as reading books together that we enjoy. Oh yeah, and less screen time as well. 😅
A new book just came out we are all loving everyone from me all the way down to our four year old. It’s called The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies. It is so funny, such fun writing style! And we have all enjoyed the Gregor of Overlander series as a family.
Getting a dysgraphia diagnosis would be helpful. One of my children is dysgraphic and the accommodations will follow all the way to college. Accommodations like it…..Not counting off for spelling or handwriting, allowing to have text read aloud and allowing for extra time on exams may be really helpful.
We do add spelling, our tweaked version of Spelling You See. With some of my fabulous spellers, I stopped spelling curriculum after 6th grade. For those who have trouble, I continue through high school as needed. We also add Charlotte Mason elements through Queen Homeschool's Language Lessons series using parts of it once a week and then finishing it through the summer, mostly using the copywork and picture studies. I add handwriting instruction and reading lessons as needed for young ones too. For middle school and up I add literature curriculum(Teaching the Classics or Christian Light) a few days a week, rotated with Writing Strands.
My oldest also loves to learn independently.One thing we do to connect is read one or two things together. First I do grammar with her because I'm awful at grammar and she's encouraged to see me struggle along side her ;) . Then we read one or two denser books together aloud every other week. Also, want to bring back more game schooling for us this year, and just more time together outside. It's been a rough year and we struggled to get outside much all together. Middle grade books we have enjoyed lately- Highly recommend the Restorationist series. Christian but not heavy handed with it, think book wanderers but with art! So so good, they were all begging for more. But you definitely want to get the book because they have some nice artistry along with it. Gaurdian's of Gahoole series also has my kids super excited right now from age 9-14, reading independently but I listened to first book on audio to preview and it was very good, content consideration though its a bit intense and there are small owls taken from their parents by nefarious owls. Beautiful living book though with exciting fantasy elements. Oh and great independent logic game for all ages, Kanoodle- we have junior up to extreme and they are fun for my preschoolers all the way up to my husband.
Can you give more detiail on the reverse planning, maybe an example day? I think this might help me. I am so type-a (love a good checklist and schedule) but can't apply that to my struggling student. I think I set up expectations that she isn't even aware of and then when she doesn't meet them she feels it, even if I don't say anything.
I’m a stay at home mom to two kiddos 2 and 4. The youngest doesn’t really do screen time unless he wants to see what brother is doing or it’s on the living room tv he may kind of care lol. This is how I view screen time. I dont worry about it. I make going outside and playing such a priority and other stuff that I know when they want screen time that they are wiped out lol the 4 year old was out in the snow for 3 hours total yesterday and didn’t want to come in 😅
Yes, it's definitely different when they are younger. Some of my kids are really good at doing other things and the others, if screen time is available, that's all they can think of to do, so they need some limits.
I do "morning basket" at lunch so my teens have to join in. 😂 read alouds, games, professor noggin quizzes, that way we still do family subjects but they think its just me reading at lunch! But also we start back on Monday after Christmas break and I don't want to. I don't feel like homeschooling anymore, I am just feeling over it after 12 years.
We have never been able to do a morning basket successfully. Everyone wants to get their individual work done! But if we do an audiobook during lunch, then a few more things here and there after, it is close enough to the same idea and, like you said, just feels like a bit of reading during lunch
We are currently reading the And They Found Dragons series by Ted Dekker as a read aloud and we are all loving them! They are recommended for 9 and up, but our youngest is about to turn 7 and is enjoying them as much as the rest of us.
@@IntentionalHomeschooling a friend of mine that teaches upper elementary told me about them after she read them to her class. There's 6 books in the series, but they are quick reads. We're just about to finish book 2 and have book 3 on hold at the library already.
I am interested in seeing what you think of the good and the beautiful. I think it’s a good curriculum for the most part, but it killed the love of learning and reading in my youngest daughter. Over the past year we have been going in a totally different direction trying to bring the wonder and fun back too. And I’ll have to do that even more now.
Yes, we're definitely in the it's-killing-the-love-of-learning stage with TGATB. Did you share a video about what you guys are doing for your homeschool this year? Anything working well?
@ my oldest daughter has been creating a grammar program for her that is using stories and characters the two of them have made up, so hopefully that will work well. I decided to have her read books I knew she loved for this year and next, so she is reading the Harry Potter series, and I have just been making the curriculum to go with it. We have used Master books and Notgrass for history and geography. She likes them more, but so so far still isn’t loving them. She is enjoying the zoologist unit we are doing for science from Campfire curriculum. I’m going to be working on her next semester next week. I’ll probably do a video on it soon and then do a wrap up in the summer to see if we have made any progress.
We have used Learning Language Arts Through Literature and it served us well great while we did. They are very affordable and they have zero frills. Pretty much all encompassing as far as LA goes. 💛
I’m going to be trying WriteShop - no idea if it will be any good, it was affordable with a focus on writing texts with lots of guided writing as part of the input. It seems quite fun and although it is adult led it isn’t loads to prep. It incorporates some spelling and grammar but through the text types. Mine are very reluctant writers so we shall see how it goes down! We also do some copy work (I do a mixture of poetry, facts, motivational quotes etc) usually just a couple of sentences. They also write a brief summary of the chapter they heard in the family read aloud - they’ve got very good at coming up with the shortest possible sentences to describe what happened! 😂 That’s how we do literary arts in our homeschool.
I thought I would share a really valuable resource I found that another RUclipsr was talking about using in her homeschool. It’s called, Ducksters and it has pretty much any subject and it gives more in-depth info on each subject. We also changed to Science in the Beginning mid year and it looks real good so far! Sassafras Science also looks really fun! We love Fix it Grammar and Writing and Rhetoric for writing those both start out slow and easy which I really appreciate ☺️ I also love 180 days of spelling. I use to buy an all in one curriculum for everything, but now I piece things together!
Awaking Wonder is so good! I need to pick it back up because I’m also feeling the burnout. Teaching from Rest by Sarah MacKenzie and the Read Aloud Revival (by her as well) are also some of my favorites. I love the changes you’re making to adapt to your family’s specific needs! 😄
I have that Sally Clarkson book but I’ve not read it yet. Guess I should get on it! This year, for grammar and spelling, I’ve been using Simply Charlotte Mason’s Using Language Well and Spelling Wisdom with my 10 year old. Very no frills and quick.
screen time in the morning and evening before dinner time. 1 episode of a show , if it is bluey I will let them watch a couple more because they're only about 8 min long
When I get that fire and excitement about something new I want to try, my kiddos never seem interested...huge let down :( sometimes I feel like I'm not cut out for this.
It's definitely a lot of trial and error! Many of the things I think they'll like, they don't. And then I realize that I'm pushing things I like, which has its benefit, sometimes my enthusiasm rubs off and sometimes it's a flop. 🤷♀️
I'm not sure if you mean that you try something and your kids are interested or they aren't interested when you explain the idea to them. Just in case it's a situation where they say they're not interested in something that you want to do but have not yet started, I want to just share what usually happens in our home. If I tell my kids about something, they may or may not be interested. But if I go ahead and start it and stick with it for a few weeks, they usually get on board. I have to not let the initial reactions discourage me. Several times, they have ended up loving something that they swore they were going to hate.
Hi Chantel, we are also doing a re-set here after Christmas. I am trying to figure out LA for my third grade son. We have found TGTB LA to be so-so and I want to do something different for him. One thing we are adding is reading through the Holling C Holling books. I also have a 5th grade son. We read Paddle to the Sea last year and all loved it. I decided to get the Beautiful Feet Books curriculum that includes great maps to complete. I made my own ancient history unit studies (basically lists of books to read aloud) for this year and we are on our second one, Ancient Rome and we are going to try out Take Time for Art to go with that. I am not great at arts and crafts so I hope this will be a fun addition! I love all of the books recommendations that you share. I have been a big reader since I was a child. I have read aloud to my boys a lot since they have been born. Neither have gotten the reading bug from me (despite always having lots of interesting library books available to them),they only want to read Calvin and Hobbes 🤦♀️ but they will listen to anything I read aloud and enjoy it so we do a lot of that in our homeschool 🙂
Thanks for sharing what's been working and what hasn't for you guys! I can so relate to having a kid that's obsessed with Calvin and Hobbes, do they ever grow out of it?!? Haha. (I mean that half seriously and half jokingly.) It's been a long time since I've checked out Beautiful Feet Books, I need to look into it again and see if it would be a good fit for us now.
I love easy grammar! Right now we are just doing daily grams. It only takes about 10 minutes a day. It’s very black and white with a repetitive spiral but it sticks and takes such a minimal time each day. Also very independent once they are about second or third grade.
What if instead of screen time when the first grader comes homes you instead plan to have a fun only read aloud time. I’ll bet you would find your oldest listening in. You could have snacks and quiet toys like Lego or coloring/sticker books out and ready and then choose the type of books that are delicious and everyone just can’t wait for that next chapter. The little boy would have that rest he craves, you would have that together time and the screens would not have to be on 😊❤
My fathers dragon, odd and the frost giants, fourtantley the milk, all of a kind of family, where mountain meets the moon, planet earth is blue all books my kids liked
We had really good success with Easy Grammar around 6th/7th grade. Highly recommend. We will be going back to it at some point in highschool to review.
It sounds like you may like Learning Language Arts Through Literature!
Thank you for sharing about your burnout and need for a reset! Homeschool burnout is so real. Hoping you get a fresh start this year and find some new things that work for you!
Oh! Also, apologia didn’t work for us either. It was so dry!
I found this so useful and inspiring! You have been so helpful to us over the years, thank you so much for all your content!
Aww, thanks! 💕
We have enjoyed Guest Hollow, Easy Grammar, and IEW Fix It Grammar and IEW Structure and Style. We enjoy Generations Curriculum literature for middle school grades as well.
Surely you know Wingfeather Saga, but if not, your kids will love it. All four of my 4, ages 4-11 do. Also we snagged Organ Attack on sale and love it! I remember seeing that one from you.
Yes, we loved the Wingfeather Saga!!!! Would love more like that!
Chantel, thank you so much for this video. Our homeschool is also in need of a refresh for a couple of my kiddos. With regard to screen time, a year ago we completely eliminated it during the school week. It became their goal for finishing school. They are allowed to have screen time on the weekends, but our weekends are so full of soccer games, hikes, and other outings, that they are now barely on their screens for leisure and the change we've seen in our kids has been amazing. For language arts - check out Learning Language Arts Through Literature - a fantastic, no frills literature curriculum. For science and history, my son thrives on Notgrass and Dive Science, while my girls thrive on A.C.E. Paces. Both so full of information from a Christian perspective and have really grabbed their interest in a way that encourages them to pursue topics on their own without our prompting.
Thanks, I've haven't heard of most of these so I'll look into them!
I feel you on the newer picture books! My favorites will always be from when I was younger were the Russel Hoban and Lillian Hoban books! They had the prettiest pictures and the cutest stories for young kids! I honestly still love them!!
The Unhurried Homeschooler by Durenda Wilson is good. She has another book called Raising Boys to be Men (or something close to that) and I really enjoyed that one as well. Teaching from Rest is another good one.
Thanks for the video, Chantel! ❤
I could definitely go for a re-read of The Unhurried Homeschool, and I don't think I've ever read anything else by her, I need to look into more of her stuff!
Hi Chantel! Great video and very relatable. We tried TGTB twice and each time it fizzled out for us pretty early. We’ve used First Language Lessons, Fix It Grammar, and will be trying Hearth & Story when we start back up. Wonderhousecreative and silo and sage have some really good resources as well. Harbor and Sprout has some great unit studies. We’ve loved using Berean Builders for science. Also, The Alveary has really been great for science and history for us at different times. They have a YT channel where you can see the books they plan to use with each school year. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing all those resources!
We love The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. My son was 7 when we first read it and daughter 11, I also really enjoyed it.
Hi Chantel! I HIGHLY recommend Durenda Wilson. She has wrote a few books, her many children are all grown, and her podcast is amazing! She is a believer and is so encouraging.
I love your videos ❤
I've read The Four Hour School Day and The Unhurried Homeschooler by her but will have to check more out, thanks! 😊
We listened to Pollyanna as an audio book this past summer and all of my kids really enjoyed it. (I have a wide age range.) We have also loved Treasures of the Snow and Deerwood Incorporated (from BJU Press). I'm not sure if either of those is an audiobook however. For nature study, we don't typically take journals outside. Instead, we will do a nature walk, and I will take pictures of anything my kids want me to. Later, we will nature journal around our dining room table.
Thank you so much for this video! I am thinking about starting Homeschool next school year and your words are so helpful!
Oh yay, I hope you enjoy homeschooling!
Khan academy has added a lot more options than just math now. There is science and grammar and reading comprehension. My high schooler and middle schooler are utilizing it for science, math and grammar now.
I haven't looked at the Khan Academy site in a while, thanks for the heads up, I'll have to check that out!
Sorry if it's annoying to have my comments broken up, but as I'm listening, I have things to comment on. Haha For the Language Arts question, we use just the basic Evan Moore Spelling workbooks. They do the job and my kids like the independence that comes with them. For the grammar portion of Language Arts, we use Masterbooks as well as First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind. They are both to the point and don't take a ton of time. We don't do both on the same day. My kids did not enjoy TGTB Language Arts, but do like what we are currently using. We used TGTB for one year. This is our second year using Masterbooks and the Evan Moore Spelling books, and our first year using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind.
I often post multiple comments for a video, usually cause it takes me all day to get through one video, so I get it! I'm going to write down all these resource recommendations and look them up, thanks for sharing!
@@IntentionalHomeschooling haha glad I'm not the only one. Yes, it took me much longer to actually watch the video than the 25 minutes or so that it was. I'll be praying that you are able to find something that works for you and the kids. ❤️
@crystalh28 thank you!
Since July we have loved Layers of Learning for inspired fun learning! We have been using it one subject a week. But recently after the New Year we have taken a break from it and we are taking some time in interest led learning. My oldest is working through a high school Funschooling journal and adores it. Sarah Janisse Brown is completely amazing especially as a homeschool mom with launched children and as an inspired learner. My younger kids are doing a book study from Literary Adventures for Kids that I have expanded into unit studies. Mr. Poppers Penguins for the win!
I own a few Fun Schooling journals and yet we've never done any, should definitely do that! I'll have to check out Layers of Learning, thanks for sharing!
@ You’re welcome!!
Awaking Wonder sounds like a book I would love to read.
I highly recommend that you do! 😊
I think re-set is on a lot of our minds. Going back to Awakening Wonder and getting inspired helps. I can't say enough good things about that book.
For us I am cutting out some things, that though they may be good, are not aiding my kids in the directions they need to go, and are taking that spark away. Letting go and doing things that inspire are necessary for us right now. On the forefront is Biblical knowledge and spiritual formation as well as reading books together that we enjoy. Oh yeah, and less screen time as well. 😅
A new book just came out we are all loving everyone from me all the way down to our four year old. It’s called The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies. It is so funny, such fun writing style! And we have all enjoyed the Gregor of Overlander series as a family.
I've never heard of that book, going to look it up!
@@IntentionalHomeschooling So sorry that should say Millicent Quibb not Quinn lol my phone autocorrected.
@LearningPlantingGrowing Google helped me figure it out. 😊
@@IntentionalHomeschooling 😂😂😂
Getting a dysgraphia diagnosis would be helpful. One of my children is dysgraphic and the accommodations will follow all the way to college. Accommodations like it…..Not counting off for spelling or handwriting, allowing to have text read aloud and allowing for extra time on exams may be really helpful.
Yes, this is my thought process exactly!
We piece together language arts. Fix It Grammar and Writing Strands are current favorites.
I'll look those up!
I second Fix It! Grammar. It has been great for us!
All 3 of mine like Fix It. Actually like it. ❤ quick and to the point and they are learning a lot
Would you add a spelling workbook to complete the language arts?
We do add spelling, our tweaked version of Spelling You See. With some of my fabulous spellers, I stopped spelling curriculum after 6th grade. For those who have trouble, I continue through high school as needed.
We also add Charlotte Mason elements through Queen Homeschool's Language Lessons series using parts of it once a week and then finishing it through the summer, mostly using the copywork and picture studies.
I add handwriting instruction and reading lessons as needed for young ones too.
For middle school and up I add literature curriculum(Teaching the Classics or Christian Light) a few days a week, rotated with Writing Strands.
My oldest also loves to learn independently.One thing we do to connect is read one or two things together. First I do grammar with her because I'm awful at grammar and she's encouraged to see me struggle along side her ;) . Then we read one or two denser books together aloud every other week. Also, want to bring back more game schooling for us this year, and just more time together outside. It's been a rough year and we struggled to get outside much all together. Middle grade books we have enjoyed lately- Highly recommend the Restorationist series. Christian but not heavy handed with it, think book wanderers but with art! So so good, they were all begging for more. But you definitely want to get the book because they have some nice artistry along with it. Gaurdian's of Gahoole series also has my kids super excited right now from age 9-14, reading independently but I listened to first book on audio to preview and it was very good, content consideration though its a bit intense and there are small owls taken from their parents by nefarious owls. Beautiful living book though with exciting fantasy elements. Oh and great independent logic game for all ages, Kanoodle- we have junior up to extreme and they are fun for my preschoolers all the way up to my husband.
I'm writing down all these resources, thanks so much for sharing all of this!
Can you give more detiail on the reverse planning, maybe an example day? I think this might help me. I am so type-a (love a good checklist and schedule) but can't apply that to my struggling student. I think I set up expectations that she isn't even aware of and then when she doesn't meet them she feels it, even if I don't say anything.
Just finishing your video. We also use Spelling Zoo (also from IEW - Fix It Grammar) it is nice and simple and easy to do independently.
Great, thanks!
I’m a stay at home mom to two kiddos 2 and 4. The youngest doesn’t really do screen time unless he wants to see what brother is doing or it’s on the living room tv he may kind of care lol. This is how I view screen time. I dont worry about it. I make going outside and playing such a priority and other stuff that I know when they want screen time that they are wiped out lol the 4 year old was out in the snow for 3 hours total yesterday and didn’t want to come in 😅
Yes, it's definitely different when they are younger. Some of my kids are really good at doing other things and the others, if screen time is available, that's all they can think of to do, so they need some limits.
@@IntentionalHomeschooling totally get it!
We use Spelling You See but we tweak it alot. We're mainly using the passages in a Charlotte Mason way.
I've never heard of that one!
I love Sally Clarkson but haven’t read her homeschool books so excited to start with this book thanks for the recommendation!
I hope it's as inspiring to you as it is to me!
I do "morning basket" at lunch so my teens have to join in. 😂 read alouds, games, professor noggin quizzes, that way we still do family subjects but they think its just me reading at lunch! But also we start back on Monday after Christmas break and I don't want to. I don't feel like homeschooling anymore, I am just feeling over it after 12 years.
I love the idea of doing your morning time at lunch! I'm sorry you're feeling over homeschooling! 💕
We have never been able to do a morning basket successfully. Everyone wants to get their individual work done! But if we do an audiobook during lunch, then a few more things here and there after, it is close enough to the same idea and, like you said, just feels like a bit of reading during lunch
We are currently reading the And They Found Dragons series by Ted Dekker as a read aloud and we are all loving them! They are recommended for 9 and up, but our youngest is about to turn 7 and is enjoying them as much as the rest of us.
Oh, I've never even heard of that series!
@@IntentionalHomeschooling a friend of mine that teaches upper elementary told me about them after she read them to her class. There's 6 books in the series, but they are quick reads. We're just about to finish book 2 and have book 3 on hold at the library already.
I am interested in seeing what you think of the good and the beautiful. I think it’s a good curriculum for the most part, but it killed the love of learning and reading in my youngest daughter. Over the past year we have been going in a totally different direction trying to bring the wonder and fun back too. And I’ll have to do that even more now.
Yes, we're definitely in the it's-killing-the-love-of-learning stage with TGATB. Did you share a video about what you guys are doing for your homeschool this year? Anything working well?
@ my oldest daughter has been creating a grammar program for her that is using stories and characters the two of them have made up, so hopefully that will work well. I decided to have her read books I knew she loved for this year and next, so she is reading the Harry Potter series, and I have just been making the curriculum to go with it. We have used Master books and Notgrass for history and geography. She likes them more, but so so far still isn’t loving them. She is enjoying the zoologist unit we are doing for science from Campfire curriculum. I’m going to be working on her next semester next week. I’ll probably do a video on it soon and then do a wrap up in the summer to see if we have made any progress.
@CandlewickLibrary thanks for sharing!
We have used Learning Language Arts Through Literature and it served us well great while we did. They are very affordable and they have zero frills. Pretty much all encompassing as far as LA goes. 💛
I’m going to be trying WriteShop - no idea if it will be any good, it was affordable with a focus on writing texts with lots of guided writing as part of the input. It seems quite fun and although it is adult led it isn’t loads to prep. It incorporates some spelling and grammar but through the text types. Mine are very reluctant writers so we shall see how it goes down!
We also do some copy work (I do a mixture of poetry, facts, motivational quotes etc) usually just a couple of sentences.
They also write a brief summary of the chapter they heard in the family read aloud - they’ve got very good at coming up with the shortest possible sentences to describe what happened! 😂
That’s how we do literary arts in our homeschool.
Thanks for sharing!
Look onto occupational therpay for your child who might have writing issues.
I thought I would share a really valuable resource I found that another RUclipsr was talking about using in her homeschool. It’s called, Ducksters and it has pretty much any subject and it gives more in-depth info on each subject. We also changed to Science in the Beginning mid year and it looks real good so far! Sassafras Science also looks really fun! We love Fix it Grammar and Writing and Rhetoric for writing those both start out slow and easy which I really appreciate ☺️ I also love 180 days of spelling. I use to buy an all in one curriculum for everything, but now I piece things together!
Thanks so much for sharing, I'll check all these resources out!!!
Awaking Wonder is so good! I need to pick it back up because I’m also feeling the burnout. Teaching from Rest by Sarah MacKenzie and the Read Aloud Revival (by her as well) are also some of my favorites. I love the changes you’re making to adapt to your family’s specific needs! 😄
It's been a long time since I read Teaching from Rest, I could probably go for a re-read of that as well!
I have that Sally Clarkson book but I’ve not read it yet. Guess I should get on it! This year, for grammar and spelling, I’ve been using Simply Charlotte Mason’s Using Language Well and Spelling Wisdom with my 10 year old. Very no frills and quick.
I'll check those out, thanks for sharing! And yes, you definitely need to read the book!
I feel the same way about Sally Clarkson.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. 😊
Audiobooks- GA Henty books or The Robe?
screen time in the morning and evening before dinner time. 1 episode of a show , if it is bluey I will let them watch a couple more because they're only about 8 min long
Thanks for sharing what you do for screen time!
Read Aloud Suggestions: Mr. Lemoncello's Library series, Stone Fox, Narnia, The Wild Robot
When I get that fire and excitement about something new I want to try, my kiddos never seem interested...huge let down :( sometimes I feel like I'm not cut out for this.
It's definitely a lot of trial and error! Many of the things I think they'll like, they don't. And then I realize that I'm pushing things I like, which has its benefit, sometimes my enthusiasm rubs off and sometimes it's a flop. 🤷♀️
I'm not sure if you mean that you try something and your kids are interested or they aren't interested when you explain the idea to them. Just in case it's a situation where they say they're not interested in something that you want to do but have not yet started, I want to just share what usually happens in our home. If I tell my kids about something, they may or may not be interested. But if I go ahead and start it and stick with it for a few weeks, they usually get on board. I have to not let the initial reactions discourage me. Several times, they have ended up loving something that they swore they were going to hate.
i enjoy your day in the life vids❤i recommend fun schooling books by the browns
I should definitely look into some Fun Schooling books for this season, thanks for the recommendation! Do you have a favorite of theirs?
I feel the exact same way about screen time 😂 it’s tricky
Right?! 🤪
Since my word for homeschool is wonder, I should pick up Awaking Wonder. Haha
I would say that sounds like a good idea!
Hi Chantel, we are also doing a re-set here after Christmas. I am trying to figure out LA for my third grade son. We have found TGTB LA to be so-so and I want to do something different for him. One thing we are adding is reading through the Holling C Holling books. I also have a 5th grade son. We read Paddle to the Sea last year and all loved it. I decided to get the Beautiful Feet Books curriculum that includes great maps to complete. I made my own ancient history unit studies (basically lists of books to read aloud) for this year and we are on our second one, Ancient Rome and we are going to try out Take Time for Art to go with that. I am not great at arts and crafts so I hope this will be a fun addition! I love all of the books recommendations that you share. I have been a big reader since I was a child. I have read aloud to my boys a lot since they have been born. Neither have gotten the reading bug from me (despite always having lots of interesting library books available to them),they only want to read Calvin and Hobbes 🤦♀️ but they will listen to anything I read aloud and enjoy it so we do a lot of that in our homeschool 🙂
Thanks for sharing what's been working and what hasn't for you guys! I can so relate to having a kid that's obsessed with Calvin and Hobbes, do they ever grow out of it?!? Haha. (I mean that half seriously and half jokingly.) It's been a long time since I've checked out Beautiful Feet Books, I need to look into it again and see if it would be a good fit for us now.
I love easy grammar! Right now we are just doing daily grams. It only takes about 10 minutes a day. It’s very black and white with a repetitive spiral but it sticks and takes such a minimal time each day. Also very independent once they are about second or third grade.
What if instead of screen time when the first grader comes homes you instead plan to have a fun only read aloud time. I’ll bet you would find your oldest listening in. You could have snacks and quiet toys like Lego or coloring/sticker books out and ready and then choose the type of books that are delicious and everyone just can’t wait for that next chapter. The little boy would have that rest he craves, you would have that together time and the screens would not have to be on 😊❤
Yes, that's definitely an option, thanks for the idea!
Oh boy the comparison! 😅 “sweet little homey place where they just learn and love each other” my view of every homeschooler on the internet 😂
🤪 Right?!
My fathers dragon, odd and the frost giants, fourtantley the milk, all of a kind of family, where mountain meets the moon, planet earth is blue all books my kids liked
Fortunately the Milk is a FAVORITE here! I'll add some of these to our list to check out, thanks!
What about doing some of the science-y RUclips videos when your 1st grader is taking some down time?
That's a really great idea!