Homeschool Planner Pages

Today I’m sharing with you my Big Happy Planner pages for the Teacher Edition that I’m using with homeschooling this year. I’m linking a blank one so you can fill in your own personal schedule, looping, materials, etc. I decided to still post what mine looks like in case you’re just beginning and are looking for how a daily schedule *might* look like (it does not necessarily mean it does, but it’s my ideal perfect day lol).

I will try to explain as I go!

We try to keep to a routine so the subject order remains the same, but sometimes we work longer on a particular subject and the things that change are what we do for our looping and tea time (aka morning basket, but I have other plans to begin my morning that include bible study and coffee…not schooling when we get up, haha).

My 10 am time slot is where you’ll see the looping. In case you’re new to this (as I was just last year) this means that we’ll use that time frame to dig in to those studies, usually including reading and games. Something other than worksheets for those.  Since we do each one only one day a week, we take more time in it and take our break between, then resume where we left off. You could do reading before the break and games afterward or vice versa.

11:30 is kinda our quiet time. My children are way too old for naps (wait, no one is really too old for naps – scratch that. My children just don’t take naps anymore. Or sleep at night. They are next level human beings or something. Anyway, to keep things interesting (again, not worksheets all the time) we kinda have a loop schedule for this time frame, too. This is our audio time (yes, that’s quiet around here) and hands-on/calm creativity time.  I’ve bought most of my CD’s on Amazon and have created others from YouTube. We are currently using Hoopla and Audiobooks.

Our tea time is when we implement “morning basket” time. I’ll post soon about what we do in our basket, but if you haven’t heard of it, it’s kind of when we do “one school room” type of work and reading aloud, but they get snacks and we try to do it picnic style! hahaha

Our educational movies line up with our weekly theme in any subject I can find. We use our subscription services for those, such as Amazon Prime tv.

Full disclosure, they don’t always have chores to do, so that’s not a daily thing. I’m a little bit of a perfectionist and am faster than our schedule, in that it’s usually just done before that time frame rolls around. Eventually, I’ll (hopefully) move that. They have certain chores they’re responsible for and I just have them do them together so there aren’t arguments about one getting preferential treatment or it not being fair.

The key is how I track the school work in the HP. Instead of writing “math” or “writing” or any of the subjects over and over every single day, I just use my pens to make the colored squares ahead of time and just write the pages down, books, games, etc.

Here are our weekly themes.  Feel free to use this to get your own ideas going or to just do the same ones. I tried to line them up with holidays and with our weekly work (based off our Classical Conversations week at home).

I also learned a nice tip as I used my punch for the first time ever on my Big HP. I’ve only had the classic for a month, so a couple of weeks ago I got the punch. I couldn’t understand why they just didn’t make it for the large size and you put your classic pages in it, too. Anyway, back on track…I messed up and had huuuge holes because it wasn’t lined up properly and I didn’t want to waste my page. I thought, well, I need to reinforce the page now and still make holes. Solution: I got out my white cardstock, cut two strips down the length of it, glued (glue stick) one strip to the back side of the page along the messed up holes, and glued the other strip on the front. Let it dry for a few minutes and punch the holes. It turned out PERFECT!! You can see it in that photo above. It will hold way better and longer than just reinforcing with washi tape or reinforcement tabs. You can use scrapbook paper, too, and match it with your theme to look nice.

Below is a blank loop schedule for you. You can fill in your material (books) in the curriculum boxes and the subject looping is where I put down the “fun” books, games, and cards we use.

The resources page is where I list our material books at a glance, all our games, cards, fun type of learning tools (all color coded to match the subject we’d need them for), magazines we check out at the library, apps on the tablet, and websites for the pc.

I hope this helps your school year and is a blessing. Here are the links for printing pages for your BIG HP.

Blank Daily Schedule Big Planner

Blank Material and Looping Planner Page

Units of Study

Blank Resources Planner Page

Lightweight, Easy, DIY Dry Erase Board

Looking for a cheaper “dry erase” board? A shower board is a great alternative, but it’s SO heavy! I’ve used it for 2 years and finally have decided the best use for the shower board…hanging on my wall and as a lego table, lol.

This year, I am trying something new. At the end of our last cycle I made a dry erase board from dry erase foam boards that I purchased at Michaels, with a coupon. 🙂 They come in a package of 2 and while that is plenty large enough for some of you, you can purchase another set and still make a trifold or use all 4! What would that be called? A quartfold? Hahaha. Someone out there probably knows. 🙂

Anyway, it was really simple. I just used dry erase duct tape to hold the edges together and I used mini page protectors that are made for the small binders to hold the Timeline cards. I taped the inside top of the protector to the top of the board and folded the tape over the back. The woodland critter subject titles are a post from a couple of years ago on the blog.

Back To School Celebration and Traditions (Apple Theme)

 

So, “Back To School” is different for everyone. Some homeschoolers take a break, some go year round, and some of us don’t know what we’re doing, lol. 🙂 So, there may not be a specific “back to school” day. If you homeschool year round, maybe you can still celebrate between cycles: after testing, after finishing a grade level, or a set number of books if you don’t do any of those.

This year our plans were derailed! I had planned to not take a break and we ended up taking a break so long that our first official day of schooling was certainly memorable for me, but not what I expected, haha.

I kind of pick my BTS theme based on what I find in the store that I think is cute when supplies make their ways to the shelf. This year, it’s apples…again, rofl. Really, those woodland critters are still a winner, but it’s hard to find that stuff and it also makes a perfect First Day of Fall theme, so it’s taken.

Here is our simple, easy celebration for our first day of school!

I found these apple printables on Google because I wasn’t having much luck finding free ones on Pinterest.

I found this cute chalkboard sign at Michaels. 🙂 ❤

The “pencils” are pretzel sticks with candy melts. My daughter absolutely loves covered pretzels. I have no idea why. Lol.

We created these little apple pretzel bites in the kitchen together. She is 7, so she loves helping in the kitchen and especially if it’s sweets.

I used construction paper and taped some leaves and stems to the red balloons. I hope they look like apples and not tomatoes. hahaha

The printables are from DimplePrints.com but I got them from Google images.

 

Back To School Annual Breakfast

I just want to share our fun morning with you all that we had for our first day back to school this past year. I know it’s a bit late to be posting back to school, but we’ve been busy since school started! 😉

I just usually set up their back to school new supplies and make a sweet treats breakfast for them (and then they usually want eggs!) and take a few photos. I crepe paper their doors so they can bust through them when they wake up and then we just have a fun, relaxed first morning together starting our day. It eases them back into the routine. 🙂

Today they had cinnamon rolls on a cake pop stick, cinnamon streusel muffins (I think we have these with every.single.celebration. Lol…it’s their fave), cherry turnovers, chocolate donuts with sprinkles, yogurt, and fruit. Don’t worry…they don’t get it ALL today (and actually, we share with neighbors, too – I’m sure they appreciate that, hah!). They get to pick one sweet and I make eggs. 😀

I got these cute new plates from Target and I thought they were perfect for an autumn back-to-school theme with forest animals and the orange and green colors.

I printed some school jokes (my son loves funnies).

This cardboard “chalkboard” banner is also from Target and I just used my chalk markers to put our Classical Conversations logo on it. 🙂

I save this little chalkboard sign for our first day photos. I got it a couple of years ago and wish I could find more, but I have yet to see them again.  The gel clings they get to put on the windows and then we watch a dvd and have hot cocoa after they do their first day of school work!

These cute apple bags were also from Target this year. I put bubbles in them and we took a break between the school work to go outside.

I tried to get back to school supplies that pertained to our cycle we’re on this year (except the US puzzle, it was just too cute to pass). I printed some coupons they can earn with reading. My son still doesn’t want to voluntarily sit down and read unless it’s a “fun” book to him, like Captain Underpants. O.o

I just tell them an amount of minutes they have to reach reading and then they can pick one of the coupons. Working well so far!

We started our “school work” off with these annual interviews. I like to see how their answers change (or stay the same) each year. So far, their handwriting hasn’t improved much. 😦 Eeek…something to work on this year, right? 🙂

I love having our little celebrations for days that would otherwise be ordinary or a struggle. It really helps put them in a better frame of mind to tackle the things they don’t like and put a different mood in the room for us. I love, love, love being able to stop when we need a break and do what works for us. This year seems to have been a bit easier than last year because I started a tip I read from another CC Mom and it’s working like a charm (for us!). We have breakfast, start our family devotion (I read from the devotion book and bible, they answer, I write the answers), pray, and then start 20 minutes of school work. I set the timer and they know they get a break. They get a 10-15 minute break and come back and we do 20 more minutes of work. It takes us about the same time as it was last year to get our school work done (we finish around 1:30/2), but the time spent doing the school work is completely productive. They are more eager to get it done (don’t take this for rushing through) and in a better, more positive mood about it. They don’t have as many struggles and meltdowns now and they politely have been waiting for me to help them if I am helping the other. 🙂 It’s been a lot smoother and we are making progress. I know, on average, it takes 3 years to get into a homeschooling groove and adjust and now I feel like we just may get there! 😀

 

 

It’s SUMMER!!!

Can you tell I am excited? It is my favorite season. Flip flops (ok, so around here those are a staple year round), the beach, the pool, no getting up early for community day (I still love you, CC), watermelon, cook-outs, and vacations! Of course, you have mosquitos and you have to start shaving your legs, ROFL, but other than that…best season of all!

We kick it off every year with new summer toys for…well, pretty much the above list. 🙂

I get to push our school bookcase into the corner and bring out the summer supplies! Usually I inflate most of the pool floaties, but we weren’t sure if we were moving the following week and I certainly didn’t want to deflate them all the week later. Seriously, there are about 10…and they’re pretty huge. I believe I posted my tip on inflating them in just a couple of minutes (each) on a previous post from the beginning of my blogging days.

You might be wondering about all these new things for summer. First, I think they are pretty much a necessity for my sanity during the couple of weeks here and there that we take breaks from homeschooling during the summer…so well worth spending to get. Second, and just as importantly, I get the majority the year before on clearance at the end of summer and save them in a tote in the attic or garage. 🙂

Most of these things are what everyone usually gets for regular summer days at the pool, beach, and backyard: the inflatable pool that my hubby says is a waste and I say it’s the last one, every year. Really, it is. I can do it! The sidewalk chalk, bubbles, play dough, and kinetic sand: all favorites around here for (mostly) quiet, no-help-from-Mommy-play. Although, side note: these do require clean up once I know my little ones are done playing with it. Some water balloons  – I highly recommend the ones that fill up and tie. You pretty much have to use them right away because they slowly leak, but they fill up so fast, using them asap doesn’t seem to be an issue. 😀 New goggles, like every year…they seem to outgrow them faster than shoes. That may be because they only wear flip flops, but whatever. Lol. Dive toys and the new water bounce ball my son wanted to badly last year. There were tons of them clearanced. New flippers that my daughter begged for but doesn’t like because they are hard on her feet. O.o Gotta love SPD. Water guns, beach towels, and water bottles are pretty vital. We go through the towels like crazy and last years’ water guns were wore out, so I knew they were worth getting.

The other side has some silly string, some science stuff, pool noodles, and the bubble station container. I got a mini container from Dollar Tree and just put a chalkboard label on it. Cute and easy. I will have to “tie” it down with small bungee cord so little ones don’t knock it over.

One other thing that I got, that was a splurge for ME…to save my back from lugging all this cool new stuff at the pool and beach:

Yes, the Rio beach cart. I am SO excited (like the night before the first day of back to school) for this new thing. I have used it since getting it and LOVE it. It goes through the sand when it’s all weighed down with so much more than I could carry…just turn it around backward and pull it (don’t push) and it works like a charm. Bonus numero uno? It also worked my legs, lol. But NOT my back, thank goodness. No more huge bag on each shoulder and arms full of other stuff!! Oh yeah, and where the seats can hang on…when you take them off at the beach, hang the kids’ towels and they don’t get sand in your bags anymore while reaching for their towels. And “park” it slightly away from where you will lay and they won’t kick sand up all over you while going for their towel, either. Lol.

Bonus numero dos? See that grey pattern bag in above picture? 😀 That is my bag for CC community days. Yes..I plan on using the Rio beach cart to put all of our things in so I *hopefully* make one (unpainful) trip in and out with our supplies for the day. All my tutoring supplies are in my bag and I will just put it on the bottom platform and all the children’s things in the mesh bag. Yay! I get so excited over “my school supplies.”

One reason why I splurged on the cart was because I thought I would give it a shot for CC. The bag on top near the handle…it’s removable! 🙂 This beach cart is totally worth it. I didn’t get it from Amazon, either. I got it from Walmart, online. Had it delivered to my store so I didn’t pay for shipping. I feel like this is going to be utilized well in our household. 😀 I feel like I’ve graduated from strollers to more fun stuff! haha.

And just in case you like the bag for my CC stuff, that is also from Walmart, from the sewing section. It’s for a sewing machine, but those long pockets are MADE FOR our tin whistles, lol…I’m certain of it. It was calling my name. All the organization loveliness of it! ❤

Free Printable Subject Cards

These are nothing fancy…just some subject cards I made to print out to put on my dry erase board so I can save a bit of time from writing it every single week. I attached them with tape so I can move them around. It seems to be working and not leaving any stickiness behind, so far. 🙂

I guess I can make some plain ones, lol. Or another theme if you want something specific, just message me. I am really liking the forest critters/woodland animals lately. They are so cute! My duct tape border on my dry erase board is this theme, so I thought I would just keep it tied in to match. 🙂 I am debating whether or not to change it up next fall.

I laminated mine so I could use tape. 🙂 I will hopefully upload a pic of these on my dry erase board after I erase this last week’s material on it. I made a spare set that I use to tape on the chairs for musical chairs for review, I put some on my rubber square mats from Candyland for a cupcake walk review, and you could use them for other review games, as well!

If you would like this printable, click this link:

Subject Cards

Book Report Prompt

I found a couple of different printables for book reports and reading prompts, etc, but I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, so I made one (of course). 🙂 My son is not a fan of book reports. I am hoping that by combining a couple of different ideas, I can at least keep it creative and fun. And short.

We’re going to use this as our master copy. He can write in his journal the answers and three sentences a day to start with. Simple for beginners (or late bloomers, like ourselves, lol). We’ve had a busy year with our co-op, so there are some things we just haven’t made a priority and book reports weren’t one. But with summer on the way, it seems like the perfect opportunity mix lazy summer days of book reading with a little bit of education!

If you like the printable, here is the link for my pdf:

Reading Homework

 

1st Day of School Celebration

Here are some Back to School celebration ideas I have done with my lo’s.

I decorated our dining room the night before to surprise them with their back to school supplies and a yummy breakfast (may not be the healthiest, but it’s still yummy!).

Here they are posing for their first day!  My little 1st grader and Preschooler.  🙂

   

Here are some of the goodies on the table.  I printed out some water bottle labels and a sign for decor.

I put together a small box of treats for his teacher and assistant teacher.

His favorite muffins with a little school flair…

And a few more of their supplies that wouldn’t fit on the dining table with their breakfast and yummies…

And a couple of school related books to read to get the day started while they eat breakfast.