Homeschooling for Beginners- Everything You Need to Get Started! Homeschooling is the process of educating children at home rather than sending them to a public or private school. It is a growing trend in the United States and around the world, with more and more parents choosing to homeschool their children for a variety of reasons. If you are a beginner looking to start homeschooling your children, this guide will provide you with some helpful tips and advice to get started.…Read More »
How to Homeschool and Work Full Time Homeschooling while working full-time can be challenging, but with careful planning and organization, it is definitely possible. Here are some tips that might help you:…Read More »
5 Fun Earth Day Craft Ideas for Kids Kids shows often celebrate Earth Day to educate children about the importance of environmental protection and conservation. Earth Day is an annual event held on April 22nd to raise awareness and support for environmental protection around the world.Download your FREE Earth Day Planner!…Read More »
13 FUN Ways to Teach Multiplication and Division Multiplication and division are two fundamental mathematical concepts that are essential for everyday life. These operations are used in numerous aspects of life, from calculating the number of items needed for a recipe to determining the cost of items in a store. For this reason, it is critical that kids learn multiplication and division facts from an early age. …Read More »
100 Easy Earth Day Activities for Families just like Yours Inside: 100 Earth day activities for families Earth Day was established to help moms like me not implode when the clean laundry turns into a sand box.…Read More »
Pi Day Fun One of the perks of being both a homeschool mom AND a mom is going over board for things like Pi Day.March 14 is when all the crazy, fun and quirky math lovers around the planet have a blast celebrating this amazing number.Yes, there’s even a PiDay Organization to fill your imagination with amazing ideas!We are Teachers has 31 Amazing Fun Pi Activities for you!“Thank you, We Are TeachersWhat is Pi?Pi is the sixteen letter of the Greek alphabet, and it’s also a symbol used to describe the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, meaning that pi equals the circumference divided by the diameter (π = c/d). The interesting this about pi is that mathematicians who have been working on this number believe that it is infinite, meaning that it’s not the quotient of two integers. In other words, the number pi goes on and on and on, and we don’t know where it ends!So, the number “pi” begins with the numbers 3.14159265, and goes on and on infinitely (so we think). Computers have been cranking away at the number for a while now, trying to figure out just how big it is (and if it will ever stop), and according to Number World, the number has been computed up to 10 trillion digits. Wow! How do you get in the spirit of fun days like Pi Day?Get it? Chicken Pot Pie?!?!But pi’s ubiquity goes beyond math.
Pincer Grasp Activities for Fine Motor Development Your son is using all of his fingers to rake small items into his palm rather than pinching them together with his thumb and index finger.Your daughter is choking her crayons rather than carefully holding them between her fingers.Maybe your kids need some help strengthening their pincher graspThe development of this fined tuned grasp is influenced by a child’s growing interest in objects and desire to hold them. Kind of curiosity’s way of helping our kids.…Read More »
Life Changing Books Every Homeschool Parent MUST Read This is a collection of the best homeschool books for parents collected from hundreds of moms and dads online! These book recommendations are from Homeschoolers in the trenches. Is your favorite on the list?…Read More »
10 Ways to Homeschool with JUNK MAIL! Let’s cut the strings of traditional curriculum and lean into the love of leanring!When those magazines and catalogs come in the mail, turn them in to homeschooling GOLD.…Read More »
Creativity and Boredom Inside: Free boredom Buster Ideas {Printable} My dad always said creativity and imagination lived just on the other side of boredom. I used to think that was so stupid. Sorry, dad. Then I grew up. … Read More »
Advent Calendar Ornaments Keep Christ as the center of Christmas with these easy-to-create, simple paper Names of Christ Ornaments that will look beautiful displayed on your wall, strung across the mantle, or as unique tree ornaments.Included in this download are files for printing 4-inch Star Ornaments.Professional printing is recommended, but not necessary.Such a simple, fun, and engaging way to help your kids enjoy Christmas!Get your set here
Homeschool Math: Grab your Roadmap to Success BEFORE you spend a moment worrying about math curriculum, let me share a secret. I didn’t understand where I was supposed to go until I’d been on the road almost 20 years. It’s crazy that it’s taken me almost two decades to truly understand this thing we call MATH. … Read More »
Verb Craft and Activity Printables Verb Craft and Activity BUNDLEHands on Verb Craft and Activities for Kids.…Read More »
Easy Kitchen Chemistry Experiments Science in the kitchen is a sure fire combination to draw your kids right into the depths of science.It’s kind of like cheating!Fizzics Brings so many fun Chemistry Experiments right into your kitchenCreate a growing carbon sugar snake with simple ingredients. A science activity for the adults to try that demonstrates combustion & chemistry for kids.Create fireworks in a glass! This colorful science activity is highly popular with kids and can be used look at buoyancy, density and surface tension.A simple color change in the kitchen! Simply grab a lemon and a mug of tea to explore kitchen chemistry that you can drink afterwards 🙂The gummy bear osmosis experiment is perfect for variable testing! Learn how to design a simple kitchen chemistry activity that explores how water moves.The Chemistry of Pizza, by my sonThis was such a great project! Not only did he learn about all the chemical reactions taking place while making pizza, he taught me how to make my famous pizza dough even better! Get Creative in the Kitchen!Buy nowAmerica’s Test Kitchen Kids brings delicious science to your kitchen! Over 75 kid-tested, kid-approved recipes and experiments teach young chefs about the fun and fascinating science of food. This is the fourth book in the New York Times bestselling cookbook series for Young Chefs.So many amazing picks!!
150 Educational Gift Ideas Kids will Love Inside: Over 150 recommendations for educational gifts and a free printable gift list!!First words out of hubby’s mouth this morning. “If the kids don’t get on their Christmas lists, they’re gonna get cans of corn for Christmas.”Me: “And they’d be blessed!”Get yours freeChristmas is always a zoo at the Sayler home.A big happy zoo full of my own personal band of monkeys.The boys pull names out of a hat and then they are responsible for the three gifts that land under the tree for that person.This year?Back in the early days of homeschooling, I took FULL advantage of Christmas sales to stock up on goodies for school.Pencils, erasers, paper, books, great games, and even a good microscope were always on the list.But experiences always made the biggest splash.This year, I expect the holidays to be crazier than usual. So I am refining our Gift Ideas.Clutter-Free Gift Ideas!Get your copy hereOver 150 Education Gift Ideas Your Kids will LOVETop Game PickTicket to Ride Board Game!!Related: Yes, they may still play with the box, but they’ll love what’s inside as well!Your free Cardboard CONQUEST KitJust don’t tell them they’re educational toys! If you’re looking for recommendations for fine motor skills, gross motor development, STEM, games, outdoor activities, and of course, books, you’re in the right place!…Read More »
40 Creative Writing Projects for Kids who Hate Pencils Inside: Free printable with 42 fun writing prompts plus creative writing ideas! He sat slumped in a chair glaring at the blank page; his freedom held captive by the writing assignment taunting him. The instructions read, “write a paragraph describing the weather.” He snorts. “Who cares about the weather, I just want to see if I can get to the next level on my new video game. In the old days, we’d call this a polaroid- a simple snapshot of a moment in time. The image is so typical- child sits at table with a stomach ache, a headache, a bad attitude or their 14th broken pencil. All because a stupid writing prompt is giving them the evil eye. Subscribe to A Better way to Homeschool on YouTube We want to raise up writers, not kids who mangle the English language- but how? Right now two of our five sons are chopping wood with their dad. They were driven to a dark scary piece of land with a borrowed trailer attached to our SUV. Once far off the beaten path they were directed to the freshly cut giant. My husband enthusiastically wielded a chainsaw and cut the trunk into manageable 500 pound pieces. Maybe, they were lighter. I couldn’t tell you for sure. I was delegated to watch the boys “hump the logs” out of the wood. (That’s men talk) Those very heavy logs were carefully brought home. Enter my hero: My husband. He takes the boys to the hardware store and buys a couple of axes. While my husband looked the other way, each son looked at me with pleading eyes. “Save me mommy.” I said nothing. I trust that my husband- a manly man- is much more equipped to teach boys how to be men than I am. Plus, I had a cup of coffee to enjoy with my bon-bons. An hour later, the door bursts open and my wood-chopping sons walk in with a very distinct swagger. Lumberjacks in training. They were all wearing sawdust covered jeans, work boots and flannel shirts. You could taste the testosterone in the air. “Mom, that was AWESOME!” Funny how being taught to do something challenging and dangerous leaves a “lovely glow” on the face of a growing boy. Our young men need to swing axes. Even if it’s metaphorically speaking. I wish it were that same for basic writing skills. Writing is one of those skills that many of us have been forced into against our wills. But we need to STOP grouping writing into the same category as forcing our 11-year old sons to shower daily. (I swear my kid believes that water will melt his manliness.) After 25-years of teaching and homeschooling, I’ve found the secret sauce to teaching kids to write. The 3 Know Knows of Writing Believe in yourself. You can teach your kids to write. Believe in your kids. They have it in their hearts to become excellent writers. Believe in fairies. Because fairies make life magical. So what is the trick to teaching kids to write? Take their pencils away. Send them into the woods to chop wood with their dad. Read a book together and them buy a HUGE tub of popcorn and go see the movie version at the theater and watch them discover there is a BIG difference. Read funny product labels at the grocery store. Watch them do something they love and create questions to ask them later about the activity. Collect jokes, riddles, and hilarious and nonsensical songs to share at random and unexpected times in the day. Read aloud to them daily and leave them hanging in the story– begging for you to read “one more chapter”. Collect memories, experiences, and opportunities for excitement. Teach them to brainstorm. When my sons came back to the school table after chopping wood, we filled up our white board with all the words and phrases about chopping trees and wielding axes TOGETHER on our 4 x 6 whiteboard. I held the marker and drew an axe in the hand of a stick figure. The axe was 2x larger than the man, and then I wrote “The day I almost died” on the board. The boys laughed and then I asked them to describe their day in detail. “Slow down,” I can’t write that fast! The following day, we sat in front of the white board and I whipped out my 40 types of writing list and had the boys each choose how they would capture their day in the woods on paper. 40+ Types of Writing to Teach Your Kids Get your FREE Printable here Text messaging Facebook posts Twitter tweets Instagram Descriptions Linked in Profile emails Friendly letters Grocery lists Birthday cards Comics strips Write to a prompt Letters to their Future Self Recipes Directions to the zoo Instructions for making the perfect cup of coffee Review a play Word webs Speech Writing Book Report Alternatives Cornell notes Outlines Essays Research Papers Poetry Music lyrics Mentor Sentences Newsletter Books Short stories Journal entries Captions for pictures Resumes Job applications Cover letters Paraphrasing MLA citation Works Cited pages Blog Script writing Autobiography Comparison Chart Scattergories! Teach writing without pencils Experience first! Kids need to touch, taste, see, smell, fear, hear, and experience something first. Then, they need to practice brainstorming everything they can think of about that topic. What did it feel like? Smell like? Sound like? You hold the pencil. The most important part of writing is brainstorming wrapped in a real life experience. Now, Go give your kids an axe. These also make great additions to your emergency file. (Also known as “mom is sick and needs you to work independently today”) Download your 40+ Writing Ideas {Printable} Download your guide to teaching Kids to NOT be thieves (MLA Citation) Grab your “Friendly Letters to Me” Pack Thanksgiving Writing Prompts worthy of making their way to the “keep me” pile. A Writing Lesson without Pencils?Me: Everyday, we should choose a new creative word to describe the water.Without hesitation, my 18-year old said, “serene”.Driving to college, I repeated for the 113th time, “always comment, always notice, always see the little things; because life is made up of little things.And it’s those little things that matter.”We drive by this water’s edge every single day on our way to the college, and every single day the face of the water is different.And we comment.Gorgeous, calm, glassy, row-able, turbulent, choppy, moving, rushing, flowing, and today… SERENE.Because we want to raise our kids to cherish the little things. But I also cheat.Don’t miss what’s happening (and for the love of Pete, don’t tell my kids what I’m doing)Vocabulary building on the road!!!((Insert high 5 here))We want our kids to notice the water every single day.Because it’s gorgeous: True.If you don’t have a water view, exchange it for something you see everyday and now take for granted too: a mountain view, an endless sky, a majestic tree, open range, or whatever is in your backyard.Teach your kids to notice, by doing your noticing out loud. Daily.Stretch their vocabulary, tell related clean jokes, invent an imaginary creature who lives in the scene, challenge them to a new word a day contest.Because at the end of our homeschool journey, we want kids that says things like, “Lord, You’re just showing off today with those colors in the sky!” or”I love how serene the water looks when it’s slack tide.”Today, embrace the beauty and give it a label.Because it’s the little things that matter!!How to Build vocabulary from everyday sights1. Today: Brainstorm as many words as you can to describe water with your kids. Challenge them to come up with 50 before revealing the truth. (you hold the pencil and write word they call out to you)2. Tomorrow: Peek at the 1000 words to describe water: https://describingwords.io/for/water3. Then give them a prompt and challenge everyone to write the rest of the story.4. When you’re done, have a readers theater where everyone reads their ending!Prompt with the picture: The day started serene. The water playfully reflecting the homes along its shoreline.A cheerful seagull bobbed up and down on the gentle current enjoying the break of a new day.No one would have guessed what happened next…The GOAL of all writing is clear communication. Free Printable