Homeschool Collection {First Edition}

Welcome to the first edition of the 2019 Homeschool Review Crew Homeschool Collection.  Grab a cup of tea, bookmark this page and allow our diverse homeschooling team to share encouragement, ideas and freebies with you today. We have FORTY-ONE homeschool families who invite you to join them on their homeschool journeys as they share a wealth of wisdom and encouragement for the month ahead.

Debra @ Footprints in the Butter

• Student-Teacher Conferences – Creating a tradition with my high school students of semi-annual student-teacher conferences was the best homeschool decision I ever made!
• 1998 vs. 2018: Why We Homeschool – This post from last year, comparing my reasons for homeschooling twenty years ago to my reasons as my children have gotten older, still hits home for me. My reasons now are so much more positive than my reasons two decades ago.

Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool

• Favorite Homeschool Needs – There are some needs in our homeschool that we love!
• Yes Field Trip Friday – We had the chance to go to a one-room schoolhouse and learn about how they are similar to us homeschooling!

Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses

• Dear Mom Who is Feeling Overwhelmed – From a Mom who has been there to a Mom who is there, know that who you are is enough and how to find balance.
• 10 Charlotte Mason blogs to Follow – Are you wanting to know more about homeschooling with Charlotte Mason?  Here are some encouraging bloggers to follow
• Factors influencing learning to read – Teaching our children to read can be a stressful experience, however it does not need to be!  Did you know there are physical factors that influence when and how easily your child can learn to read?
• Mother Culture – Time Out – Just what is Mother Culture and should you be incorporating this valuable practice in your homeschool ?

Michele @ Family. Faith and Fridays

• The Good Ole Hard Days – There were days early in our homeschooling years that were hard…like call-your-husband-and-tell-him-the-kids-would-be-waiting-in-the-driveway-for-him-when-he-got-home hard. You know what I mean- the you-are-going-to-the-worst-public-school-I-can-find-tomorrow hard.
• Keeping Your Homeschool Alive – Yes, even after 19 years I still swim in doubts some days.
• Life Hacks From a Homeschooling Mom – Contrary to popular beliefs, the life of a homeschooling mom is not all fun and games. 😉 Nor do I have lots of extra time on my hands because I stay home with my kids… .
• Schooling Boys –  Before I had kids I knew everything about them. I mean, I was a Child Development major for Pete’s sake. I studied hard, read a lot of books, took a bunch of tests, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. I had this thing called kids mastered!

Tess @ Circling Through This Life

• Making Time for Reading by Listening! – Tess shares how she is reading more books by listening to audio books.
• Menu Monday: Using up Left Overs: Broccoli Cheddar Soup! – Tess suggests another way to sneak veggies into lunch.

Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break

• How Do You Make Time For Yourself? – Why homeschool moms need to make time to pursue their own interests, and some ideas about how to make it happen.
• How Do You Get Back on Track?–  Every time we have a break or an interruption in our homeschool, we have to figure out how to get back on track. Here are some of the approaches that have worked for us.
• How Do You Stay Motivated When Homeschooling is Hard? – How to get through the times when homeschooling is difficult, or you’re weary and discouraged.
• Books in Print and Handwritten Notes – With all the power of the internet and electronic devices at our fingertips, we often assume it’s more efficient than old-fashioned books or pencil and paper, but research indicates that the printed page and writing by hand may be much better.

Jennifer @ A Peace of Mind

• So Delight FULL – Homeschooling is a walk of faith. Let us find ways to delight in it as we watch our children explore and learn and grow. And we do right along with them.
• God is in the Room – This is our missions field. God is with us!
• Can We…Together? – We need to work together. We cannot be against, we cannot fight one another. Let us fight for one another. Together.

Lisa @ Farm Fresh Adventures

• 5 Lessons I Have Learned to Make Homeschooling Less Stressful ~Lesson 1: Keep Public School Out! – When it comes to homeschooling and helping decrease the level of stress, start by throwing out any ideas that your home needs to resemble the public school system in any way, shape, or form!
• 5 Lesson I Have Learned to Make Homeschooling Less Stressful ~Lesson 2: Kindergarten Is About Exploration -Today I want to share some lessons I have learned, and a few mistakes I made relating to homeschooling preschool and Kindergarten. I will also be sharing some mistakes that other homeschool moms said THEY made during these years as well…and some success stories too!
• 5 Lessons I Have Learned to Make Homeschooling Less Stressful ~Lesson 3: Don’t Rush the Readiness – One of the the mistakes that many homeschooling parents make is to start pushing reading too soon, and misinterpreting an interest in school and activities for readiness. Your child may not be behind in their reading skills. They just may not be ready for the adventure yet.
• Homeschool Planning and Record Keeping w/Free Printables – One of the biggest questions that homeschool parents have for each other is “What curriculum works best for (insert age)?” The next question most common is, “How do you plan out your year?” Followed by, “What do you do for grades?” Let’s talk a little bit about planning curriculum lessons, and then recording WHAT we do—i.e. record keeping.

Monique @ Early Learning Mom

• 75 Books We Read Aloud : Homeschooling Kindergarten – One of the main reasons I love to homeschool is the amount of time Zakari and I can dedicated to Read Aloud Time. Helping my child grow into an avid reader is one of the most amazing feelings ever. Come check out why we love read aloud time and what books we read during Zakari’s Kindergarten school year.

Annette @ A Net in Time

• Learning about Telephones – A hands-on look at what is inside your telephone, links to on-line resources and a comparison between phones.
• Five Tips to teach yourself art – Teaching yourself art is quite doable, five useful tips to expanding your abilities .
• Trench Foot Experiment – Hands-on exposure to the dangers of trench foot. Making history come alive.

Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag

• 2019 Book List – A fun and descriptive list of the books that are in my personal stack for this year.
• When a Word is Not Enough – I wanted to pick a word for 2019 but instead I was led to a phrase, Be Still and Be Present.
• Foot Prints Across the Year – Join me each month for this fun but simple way to track your child’s growth and share some fun projects with family and friends.
• Treating Time Like a Video Game – What a childhood video game taught me about time management and how to make things in your life fit together and flow a little smoother.

Crystal @ Castle View Academy

• The Best Homeschool Advice for Homeschool Moms – Homeschool moms who have been there and done that give the best homeschool advice for other homeschool moms. Here are 5 pieces of homeschool advice I was given.
• The Home Ed Socialization Question…. – The number one question you’ll be asked about home education is about socialization.  How will your child be ‘socialized’?  I’ve learned not to take offence from it as certainly it’s not like our children are being raised by a pack of wild dogs!
• Why Homeschool Dads Rock! – There are many reasons why every father is fabulous, but homeschool dads rock for some unique reasons; here are just a few of them provided by us homeschooling moms.
• The Importance of Homeschool Electives: Let Student Choose! – Choosing homeschool electives are one of the most wonderful things about homes education! Freedom to tailor lessons; the sky’s the limit!

Tawnee @ Adventures in Homeschooling

• Curling up with a Good Book – Winter Reading List – List of good winter related books for preschool to high school
• 10 Books for Good Read Alouds – Selection of good read alouds to include in your homeschool planning
• – Tips to help your kids learn to love reading

Ta’Neisha @ Marriage, Motherhood, Makeup,Homeschool

• MOMMY MOMENT: PERFECTION NOT REQUIRED – I’m sharing some encouragement to all the imperfect mothers out there trying their best to be obedient to God in every way. It is my hope that these words and the video strengthen you to endure the race and comfort you with contentment in Motherhood.

Cassandra @ My Blessed Mess

• Homeschooling Questions I am Always Asked (with answers) – Volume 1 – A collection of often asked homeschool related questions with answers from a veteran homeschooling mom.

Aimee @ The Otto Family

• 10 Ways to Add Some Hygge to Your Homeschool Day – Here are a few of the ways we’re seeking to keep our sanity in the cold winter months by inserting little opportunities for coziness and connection into our homeschool days.
• A Homeschool Day in the Life with a 7- and a 5-year-old – A window into our real homeschool day (the good, the bad, and the ugly) where my husband and I share homeschooling responsibilities for our kindergartener and second grader.
• Life-Giving Water for the Homeschool Mom – In this post I share practical ways I refresh my Spirit daily so that I can pour into my children from a well that is overflowing with grace and goodness.
• Who Inspires Your Homeschool? – Here are a few of the places I’ve found inspiration, community and like-minded kindred spirits as a homeschooling mom.

Kari @ Ranching with Kids

• 5 Steps To Finding A Rhythm in Your Homeschool Routine – My five steps to keeping a daily rhythm in our homeschool. By keeping a rhythm and having good communication, the chaos is kept to a minimum when homeschooling on the ranch.

Meredith @ Powerline Productions: Being World Changers/Raising World Changers

• How I Teach English in High School – I share what I did to teach English in the high school years…curriculum, books, writing assignments.
• Teach History with Food – Using cooking and baking to bring history alive.
• What is Classic Literature & Why Should I Read It – Brief overview of classic literature plus how we used classic literature in high school.
• How We Study Art Appreciation with American History – Including American Artists and their artwork in our history studies for all ages together.

Shannan @ Captivating Compass

• Latin – Struggle No More – Our families love of Visual Latin and how we use it at home and while we travel.
• What’s In a Worldschooler’s Carry-On? – What we use to learn when we travel and learn on location.
• Let’s Study Ireland: Deals & Freebies For Your Digital Homeschool – Great resources to help your family learn more about Ireland.

Sheila  @ troutwife

• Finding the square root of an “easy” number – quick and easy way to find a square root of a number with a whole number root
• Science Fair part 2 – encouragement/reminder to trust God 🙂
• Geotags and the privacy of your photos and family – Warning/reminder about data stored in pictures taken by certain digital devices and how to choose which information you would like to share
• Some thoughts upon my first homeschooler’s graduation – thoughts and tips about diploma/transcript/scholarships/graduation

Linda @ Apron Strings & Other Things

• Preschool at Home – part 1 – It’s fun and easy to add some schooling into your preschooler’s day with these educational ideas.
• Preschool at Home – part 2 – More fun and easy ideas for you and your preschooler!
• Preschool at Home – part 3 – Even more fun and easy ideas for you and your preschooler!

Alicia @ Sweeping Up Joy

• Do you like school? – My ego takes a hit when one of my kids is asked if they like “school,” but thinking about how we do school ultimately brings me peace with my decision to homeschool.

Susan @ My Happy Homeschool

• Homeschooling Through an Academy – This is a personal story of homeschooling through an academy and now homeschooling on our own.

Lori  @ At Home: where life happens

• Lost Civilizations Unit Study – Interest in ancient civilizations such as the Mayan or the Cliff Dwellers in the American Southwest drove the creation of this self-directed unit study. Intended to teach both research skills and writing skills while studying interesting peoples from the past, this unit is appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students.
• Edward Hicks Inspired Art Work – After a study of artist Edward Hicks, we took on the challenge of creating a pieces based on similar characteristics.
• Clara Barton Museum – The Clara Barton Museum is a history trip worth taking. Located in Washington, D.C., the artifacts and information available in this historic location are interesting.
• Tricky Subjects and Starting the Decision Making Process – One of the benefits of home education is the ability to tailor subject choices and learning to each learner’s style. Here are some thoughts about what drives our decisions for personalized education.

Kellyann @ Walking Home

• Angel Mounds Impromptu Field Trip – Just some pics about our field trip we took Monday to explore our new city.

Crystal @ Our Little Bunch

• 2018-2019 Curriculum Choices (Grades 3 & 6) – Take a look at what curriculum we are using this year.
• FREE Reading Log Printable – Free printable reading log to encourage reading in children.
• Awesome List of Free Homeschool Planners! – A list a FREE homeschool planners.
• Letter Of The Week – All About “A” – Videos, free worksheets and craft/activity ideas for the letter A.

Angela @ Schooling With Grace

• The Best Way to Sabotage Your Homeschool Day – A somewhat sarcastic list of how we sabotage our homeschool days
• Researched based methods for teaching vocabulary – Ways to effectively teach Vocabulary
• Top Ten reasons not to join a homeschool co-op – A funny list of considerations for not joining a co-op
• How to homeschool and manage your household – How to homeschool and not have your house falling a part.

Dusty @ Beat Of Our Drum

• What Does My Husband Think About Homeschooling? – We often think about the mothers and children when we talk about homeschooling so I wanted to provide a real look into what my husband thinks about our homeschooling journey.
• Things I Have Learned Since Becoming A Homeschool Mom – Of course when you think about homeschool you think about what the children are learning but as a homeschooling mom I think I have learned just as much, if not more than my children!
• A Letter To Myself And Other Homeschool Mamas – A letter to all of the homeschool mamas out there that are doing there best but are still feeling a bit down on themselves. This is your reminder of why you are doing this and how far you have come!
• Get Your Child To Write Without Being A Drag – Writing curriculum can be dry and actually put kids off. We switched things up and made writing a regular part of our lives!

Michelle @ The Brave Homeschooling Mama

• 5 Things to beat your winter homeschooling blues – 5 ideas of things that you can do when the winter blues creep in.
• How we use Funschooling Journals in our Homeschool – In this video I share how I am using Thinking Tree Journals in our homeschool.

Abby @ Making Room 4 One More

• 6 Ways You’re Making Homeschooling Harder Than It Needs To Be – Here’s some tough love.  Some of you are doing all. the. things.  And you’re driving yourself crazy in the process.  Let’s get real.  Today let’s look at 6 ways you’re making homeschooling harder than it needs to be.
• Ultimate YouTube Playlist for World Geography – Teaching Geography in your homeschool and need a resource list of appropriate YouTube videos? Grab this Ultimate YouTube Playlist for middle & high schoolers.
• 30 Books Every Homeschool Mom Should Read – Grab a free printable list of 30 books every homeschool mom should read. Book recommendations from homeschool moms for homeschool moms.
• The Only 2 Things You Need to Start Homeschooling Tomorrow – Did you just pull your kids out of school and find yourself suddenly a homeschooling parent? What should you do first? Here are the only two things you need to start homeschooling tomorrow.

Tere @ Puddle Jumping

• Famous Failures – Are you afraid to fail?
• 34 Weeks of Organizing – Come along side you to help you organize and declutter.
• Free Linking Verb Download – Free download for learning about linking verbs.
• Was Adam Alive When Noah Was Born – A real-life math lesson to determine if Adam was alive when Noah was born.

Lisa @ Maggie’s Milk

• 5 Creative Ways to Use Coloring Books – Coloring books aren’t just for coloring, they’re an inexpensive way to practice important literacy skills. Here are five ways to use coloring books in your homeschool.
• Practicing Creative Storytelling with the Story Bowl – Here’s a fun game to play to practice creative story telling using a variety of objects around the house.

Wendy  @ Life on Chickadee Lane

• Dealing With Unsupportive Relatives Regarding Your Homeschooling? – Sharing encouragement in the face of un-supportive relatives about our home school journey, and research sources that may be able to dispute some of the un-supportive members’ opinions.
• How to Study the Bible (a devotional) – Encouragement and tips on how to study the Bible.

Karen  @ Tots and Me…Growing Up Together

• Arctic Animal Fun: Polar Bear Lesson – The first post in my Arctic Animal Fun unit. Each week there will be books I recommend to go with each topic, a craft or two, songs, motion rhymes/finger plays, and a fun game to play. This week we learned about polar bears and how they keep warm.
• Arctic Animal Fun: Arctic Fox Lesson – The second post in my Arctic Animal Fun unit. Each week there will be books I recommend to go with each topic, a craft or two, songs, motion rhymes/finger plays, and a fun game to play. This week we learned about arctic foxes and camouflage.
• Littles Learning Link Up: Arctic Fun Round Up – A Littles Learning Link Up Round Up post focused on Arctic animals. You will find over forty fun ideas for preschoolers and early elementary aged children. There are activities, crafts, and even snack ideas.
• Littles Learning Link Up: Penguins Penguins All Around Round Up – A Littles Learning Link Up Round Up post focused on penguins. You will find ninety fun ideas for preschoolers and early elementary aged children. There are crafts, math activities, sensory activities, printables, and snack ideas.

Pam @ Simply Passionate

• New Year New You – Starting the new year with a fresh focus
• Easy Eco-Kitchen Makeover – Green living your kitchen and reducing waste
• If A Dryer Ball Can Change The World, So Can You – Companies that change the world and ways we can support fair trade.
• 3-Ways To Tame The Smart Phone – How to limit the distraction of your smart phone and not letting it control your life.

Margaret @ Creative Madness Mama

• Memoria Scholé Academy: Jan. 23, 2019 –  An update on where we are in our curricula with real thoughts and opinions interspersed. What is working and what I still need to figure out.
• Homeschooling in the midst of allergies – Keeping up with chaos and little blessings.

—oOo–

Thank you to the members of the Homeschool Review Crew for sharing all their wonderful knowledge and encouragement with us today.  Homeschool Collection will feature here on the Crew blog on the last Friday of each month.