Inspired by Ambleside Online

From the very beginning of our homeschool journey, I have loved Ambleside Online. It is a beautiful, rich curriculum. As our family grew over the years (we now have 10 children), it became more difficult to continue doing AO, but I did not want my kids to miss out on the abundance that AO provides. Because of this, we adapt Ambleside Online to meet the needs of our family. Our yearly choices are what I like to call the “ultra lite” version. We still enjoy the feast , but only as much as we can handle. We usually do only 1-2 poets, artists, or composers per year, for example, rather than three.

This notebook is one of the ways we make AO work for our large family. Having said that, I have purposely kept many selections blank for you to fill in. I did this intentionally to respect AO’s privacy policy. It is also for people who love the Charlotte Mason and Classical education models, but but use curricula other than AO.

Because I find it more motivating to write down the title of a song/print after we have studied it (and less pressure to try to do every suggestion), I have kept many lines blank for your child to fill in. Additionally, it helps make the study to become more personal to kids when they have to hand write the titles of songs or art pieces.

See the 2024-2025 Simple Morning Time Notebook

Daily Subjects

Bible Reading/ Christian Biography

We read from a storybook Bible every morning. One morning a week we substitute the Bible reading with a Christian Biography.

Scripture Memory

We memorize Scripture by simply reading the verse once or twice out loud together each day. You may find it helpful to do a current verse and a review verse.

Other Memory Work

This year we are learning the Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 1. This particular question and answer is especially applicable to me in these uncertain times and I wanted our kids to learn it this year. We are also learning the Bill of Rights. I focus less on memorizing and more on reading it once a day and letting the memorization happen naturally.

Hymn Study

Having a hymnal in hand is very useful for learning hymns. We do hymn study at night as part of our bedtime routine, but many people like doing it as part of Morning Time. For the months of November, December, and March, we use our hymnals to review Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter songs.

Current Events

Our family enjoys World Watch every morning together. This is a 10 minute news broadcast from a Christian perspective. I highly recommend a membership! Cancel Netflix and subscribe to World Watch. It is absolutely worth it!

Regular Subjects (Loop Schedule)

This section of the Simple Morning Time Notebook we implement on a loop schedule. I am not rigid on how I do this. After we finish our Daily Subjects, we usually pick one or two Regular Subjects.

Poetry

When I pick the poets we are doing for the year, I try to choose one that is suitableie for younger kids and one for older. This year I have chosen Robert Louis Stevenson and Alfred Lord Tennyson as the poets we will study. We study one poem at a time, reading it once a day until it becomes very familiar. Often, kids will memorize the poem from hearing it so often.

Picture Study

I have kept the artist choices and prints blank for your child to fill in . You can find Picture Study suggestions for the current year on Ambleside Online or pick your own. In the past, I have both had a picture in hand to study AND studied the picture from a computer. Both options work well. You can also purchase art prints from Simply Charlotte Mason. (simplycharlottemason.com)

Composer Study

Choose two composers you will study this year. I have found it very helpful to create a playlist from these on your phone. Have kids hand-write the songs in the blanks as you listen to them.

Folk Songs

Choose the folk songs you will learn each month and have your children write them in as you complete them. You may want to create a playlist for these as well.

Shakespeare

This year we are reading the Shakespeare plays As You Like It and Cymbeline. Because Shakespeare has such deep plots and several characters, I like to expose our kids to Shakespeare through a progression of readings. First I read it from “Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare“ by Edith Nesbit. Secondly, I read the same play from “Tales from Shakespeare” by Charles and Mary Lamb which fills in more of the details. For high school kids, listening to Arkangel audio versions of the plays is a wonderful extension.

I would love for you to join us in our Morning Time this year!

The post Simple Morning Time Notebook 2024-2025 appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

These simple math factoring activities for all ages are a fun way to practice math skills in your homeschool. You can play these with your children all together during Morning Time or you can work individually with kids to help them understand. 

Factoring Basics 

Before we begin factoring, let’s define what we mean by using this word. What is a factor?

A factor is a number that divides a number exactly with no remainder. 

Factoring is the opposite of multiplying to find a product. Instead, it is starting with a product and finding the numbers that can be multiplied to make that product. 

Why should students learn how to factor numbers? Factors are useful in reducing fractions. They are also an essential skill in solving quadratic trinomials which are usually introduced in high school Algebra classes.

Before students are ready to factor, they need to have plenty of mental math practice with multiplication facts. Whether you use flashcards, skip counting, or another math method, aim for your child to have the capability to answer multiplication problems automatically. 

Multiplication Chart

One fun way to find factors is to use a multiplication chart. They won’t be able to find all the factors of a number this way, but it will be a great introduction to factoring.

Start with an easy number like 24. Have them circle all the 24s on the multiplication table. Next, have them highlight the corresponding rows and columns to find the factors of 24. 

You can find a blank multiplication chart to print out and use here.

Finding Factors Through Arrays

One of the true methods that will help your child understand factors is to see them visually. For this number activity, you can use any simple math manipulative such as square tiles, cubes, playing cards, or even food like Cheerios. 

I like to use square tiles. Give your child a certain number of tiles. Twelve is a good starting number.  Tell your child to make rectangles with them. After they make a few different-sized rectangles, have them tell the dimensions by sides.

 1×12

 2×6

 3×4 

Tell your kids to write out the numbers of the sides like this. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12. Explain that these are factors. 

Ask these questions. 

Is 5 a factor of 12?

Is 7 a factor of 12?

After using the number 12, try giving them tiles with other numbers such as 20, 24, 32, 36, 40, 42, 48, 60, and 72. 

You can extend this fun activity by having them draw arrays. Coloring them on graph paper is also fun! 

Loop Around Factoring Method

My favorite factoring activity is what I call the Loop Around Method. This strategy will help a child find every factor of a product without any missing factors. 

Begin with a number that has several factors. I like to use the number 24. Start with number 1 and go up.

Can 2 be multiplied evenly into 24?

What about 4?

Does 5 go evenly?

When you get to 6 which is already on the other side (4×6), you have “looped around.” Now you have listed all the proper factors. The rest of the factors go up until you hit 24 at the top. 

Next, I list the factors below to help them visually see all the factors of 24.

When I teach this to my kids, I like to give them one or two types of problems as warm-ups and then have them do a some as independent work for extra practice. 

Play this fun game over and over again with numbers that have a handful of factors like 20, 30, 32, 36, 40, 42, 48, 60, 72.

Common Factors

Once kids can find and list all the factors of a number, it is easy to have them find common factors by grouping problems. Show the factors of two numbers side by side like this.

24- 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24

36- 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36

Tell them to circle the common factors. 

Greatest Common Factor

To further give your students understanding, ask them to show the greatest of the common factors. (In the numbers 24 and 36, the greatest common factor is 12.)

Finding the Greatest Common Factor, or GCF, will help in factoring quadratic trimomials in algebra.

Difference Between Factors and Multiples

I also like to teach my kids the difference between factors and multiples. Unlike factors, multiples begin with small numbers that multiply themselves. The easiest way to understand them is to see that they are skip counting. 

2-2,4,6,8,12…

3-3,6,9,12,15,18…

4-4,8,12,16,20,24…

Finding Prime Numbers with Factor Trees

Factor trees are an engaging way for kids to learn about prime and composite numbers. 

A prime number is divisible by only 1 and itself. (1,3,5,7,11,13) A composite number is divisible by more numbers than one and itself. (2,4,6,8,9,12,14,15)

To make factor trees, start with an easy number to factor. Draw two branches below the number and write two numbers that can be multiplied together to make the number above. Keep making branches below the composite numbers until the only remaining numbers are prime. 

*Important note! Not all factor trees look the same. There is more than one way to make a tree, depending on the factors you choose.

Factoring Quadratic Polynomials

For the most part, homeschool parents are ok with teaching subjects like social studies, general science, and physical education, but when it comes to all things algebra, this is a daunting task most prefer to avoid! Because they are not middle school or high school math teachers, parents become hesitant about anything involving a graphing calculator or words like “perfect square trinomials.”

Now I will be the first to admit that I think some higher-level math is not necessary for future life skills, but quadratic polynomial equations are kind of fun once you understand them.  I like to think of quadratic expressions as factor puzzles. Basic multiplication and factoring are the main skills needed to perform them. If you like fun math games like Sudoku, you might be surprised to learn that you like to factor polynomials!

Easy Trinomials

Let’s start with some easy trinomials like the one below. 

X²+10x + 24

Seeing the patterns in these expressions is a new way to help you solve them more quickly. They usually begin with three terms and end with two parentheses expressions like below.

X² +10x + 24= (x+4)(x+6)

What is important to know is that the second term represents the SUM of two factors of a number and the third term represents the PRODUCT of those same two factors.

If you are familiar with the factors of 24, you can easily break down this trinomial. 

Use the Loop Around Method above to write out the factors of 24. Ask these questions. 

1.What two numbers multiplied together make 24, but added together make 14? (2×12)

2.Which two numbers multiplied together make 24, but added together make 11? (3×8)

3. What two numbers multiplied together make 24, but added together make 10? (4×6)

Since 10 is the 2nd term, it is easy to see that the factors 4 and 6 will be used in solving this trinomial. 

Step-by-Step

1. Separate the first term by putting an x in the correct place (as the first term) in each parenthesis. 
2. Numbers 4 and 6 can be used as the second term in each parenthesis because added together they make 10 and multiplied together they make 24.

Use the FOIL Method to multiply it out and check.

Here is another product with some corresponding polynomials you can solve. 

32

1×32

2×16

4×8

Ask these questions. 

• Which two numbers multiplied together make 32, added together make 33? (1×32)
• What two numbers multiplied together mke 32, but added together make 18? (2×16)
• Find two numbers that multiplied together make 32, but added together make 12? (4×8)

X² + 18x + 32 Answer: (x+2)(x+16)

X² + 12x +32 Answer: (x+4)(x+8)

X² +33x +32 Answer (x+1)(x+32)

Now try these expressions. Start by looking at the third term and using the Loop Around Method to find all the factors first and then solve.

(Remember! 2nd Term= sum, 3rd Term = product)

X²+5x+6  Answer (x+2)(x+3)

X²+12x+27 Answer (x+9)(x+3)

X²+9x+20 Answer (x+5)(x+4)

X²+13x+40 Answer(x+8)(x+5)

X²+15x+56 Answer (x+7)(x+8)

Once you get the hang of it, you can try creating polynomials, grouping problems by the products and factors you find in the Loop Around Method. 

You may not know anything about Algebra or quadratic equations, but you can still prepare your older children for the kinds of problem-solving that they will have to do in Algebra I and II by trying this simple game. 

Your algebra students don’t need special classes to solve quadratic expressions. Although these types of problems do require a bit of good criminal investigation, with a lot of practice, your kids can solve them quickly! 

More Simple Factoring Activities

For more resource types like this, you can try these digital factoring options in which you compete with the computer playing digital factoring games.

You may also enjoy reading this similar post.

Five Minute Homeschool Math Games to Do With Everyone

Difference of Squares is an interesting puzzle to solve as well. You can find a good example in this video. 

If you want to learn about the box method of solving quadratic polynomials, I like how this video explains it. This step gets a little more challenging because it involves negative terms.

Happy factoring everyone!

The post Simple Math Factoring Activities for All Ages appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

Raise kids who love to learn with these 10 ideas! Remember, it’s not necessary that we teach our kids everything, but that we teach them to love learning. This concept is key. When kids love to learn, they can learn whatever needs to be learned in any given circumstance. When we help kids love to learn, we set them up for success. Here are ten ideas to help you foster this kind of lifestyle with your kids.

You may also enjoy reading What Happens When Kids Love to Learn?

Video: Raise Kids Who Love To Learn With These 10 Ideas

#1 Surround Yourself With Living Things

I think one of the best things about homeschooling is that kids spend so much time in the real world, surrounded by living things. Living things move; they change; they need to be cared for and fed. Kids can observe and interact with living things which is what makes them so interetsing! Here are some living things that you can bring into (or outside!) your home.

• Pets: a dog, cat, hamster, fish, reptile.
• Fermented foods: sourdough, kombucha or kefir.
• A vegetable garden: Kids love going outside to look for fruit and collect the harvest.
• Bacteria: science experiments are fun to observe!
• Backyard chickens.
• Miniature outdoor pond.
• A terrarium.
• Flower garden, learn to make arrangements.
• Watch caterpillars change into butterflies.

#2 Don’t Answer Every Problem

When your kids encounter problems, don’t rush in to show them how to fix it. Let them think; let them experiment. Have them look up answers themselves on Google, YouTube, or even in an old encyclopedia.

Give them problems to solve. How can you fix loose knobs on the kitchen drawers? What is the best way to organize a messy closet/drawer/room? How do you change the batteries when the smoke detector goes off? Let siblings solve their own quarrels when appropriate. As parents, we don’t need to solve all their problems. Let them come up with solutions. Their ideas may surprise you!

#3 Let Them Get Bored

When kids have time in their day to be bored, this is when some of the best learning happens. They build forts, they write and perform a play, they ask to bake something, they want to draw. Don’t fill up their schedule so much that they have no time to wonder at the world around them.

#4 Read To Them

If we want kids to be curious, we should introduce them to a feast of ideas. How do we do this? Read to them A LOT! Especially, read things that interest them. One of my favorite poems is by Emily Dickinson when she writes, “There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away.” When we read to our kids we can go anywhere together. It’s a shared experience that makes memories even if we never leave the house.

#5 Play Games Together

When kids play games, they learn so much without realizing it. It’s a fun way to learn that draws them in. Most importantly, kids like games, so they often want to play more rounds.

Board or card games challenge the mind in many ways. Kids can learn and sharpen computation skills by adding up and subtracting points. Being the banker in Monopoly helps with exchanging money amounts. Strategy games are especially good for helping kids to think.

Not all kids love table games. Let’s not forget the ways that playing sports stimulates the mind as well. Moving the body and hand-eye coordination sharpen brain function. Team sports also help kids learn how to work well with others.

#6 Learning By Doing

One of the best ways to learn is by doing. Many kids are wired to learn this way. Teach kids practical life skills: how to change a tire, crochet with yarn, make a cake, fix a bike chain, administer first aid. For more reading on this topic, you may enjoy 50 Life Skills That Should Be Taught At Home. The more skills they have, the more they will branch out and try new things.

Give them daily chores, especially ones that have purpose and contribute to the family. As soon as they are capable, allow them to cook meals for the family occasionally, do their own laundry, mow the lawn.

#7 Be a Learner Yourself

Perhaps the key ingredient to raising kids who love to learn is to be a learner yourself. Are you growing in your skills or knowledge as a person? Do you read, try new things, take risks? Let your kids see you tinkering with your favorite hobby. Even if it’s something that you fail at, your kids will see you trying, failing, and trying again.

#8 Work to Make Your Home Atmosphere Engaging

I love how the home provides the opposite of the sterile confines of a brick and mortar school. Home is a place where you can be the most creative. Look around and find raw materials you can have around your house for your child to use in creating, experimenting, and observing.

Here are some ways our kids have used raw materials in our home for creating.

• Fabric to make a dress for a doll, hair scrunchies, hot pads, and other trinkets.
• Wood for making a stool and a decorative shelf. Whittling branches to make designs.
• Scrapbooking materials to make cards to give to people.
• Metal pipe to hammer into a sword.
• Wooden blocks, play animals, and people to build pretend towns with roads and houses.
• K’nex to make robot and a rollercoaster.
• Legos…the possibilities are endless.
• Yarn and thread for embroidery or small knitting/crochet projects.
• Musical instruments, first for experimentation, later for serious mastery.

#9 Spend time together as a family

It is well known that children who have experienced trauma or who come from broken homes are more likely to have learning difficulties. When kids don’t feel safe at home, when they are afraid or under pressure, their worries keep them from being curious and growing well. The opposite is also true. The times we spend building solid family relationships, laughing, eating meals, exploring, even just sitting around the living room talking…these family-strengthening moments provide the safe environment that helps kids thrive.

#10 Encourage them to take the Initiative

Remind your kids that they alone are responsible for their education. They will reap the rewards in proportion to the effort they put forth. Contrary to popular opinion, learning isn’t something acquired only in a classroom, transferred from student to teacher via the whiteboard. The best learning happens when kids pursue their interests. Motivate your homeschooler to be an independent learner. Challenge them to write out personal goals. I often ask our kids in the morning, “What’s on your agenda today? What do you plan to accomplish?” Put the ball in their court. Have them decide what they want to pursue and accomplish.

Leave a Comment?

What are some of your ideas for raising kids who love to learn? Comment below to share the inspiration and start a conversation!

Pin it! Raise Kids Who Love To Learn With These 10 Ideas

The post Raise Kids Who Love To Learn With These 10 Ideas appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

Here on the blog, I love to share, not only our family’s life homeschooling, but “our life” collectively as homeschoolers. That is why I regularly post interviews with everyday homeschool moms just like you! I hope you will be encouraged by reading this interview with my friend Lisa as she shares about Keeping it Simple in Homeschooling.

To see more interviews from other homeschool moms, see the Our Life Homeschooling Gallery of Homeschool Mom Interviews.

Introduce Yourself

My name is Lisa Shirk and I’m married to Peter Shirk. We have 6 children (three girls and three boys – in
that order) ages 14, 12, 10, 7, 5, and 2. We spent the first 12.5 years of our marriage living in a small
house in the city. Then, two and a half years ago, we moved out to the country where we have 4 acres and an accumulation of animals (2 horses, 11 chickens, 5 bunnies, 2 cats, 9 fish, and a dog to be exact).
Ironically, while I have a large family, I’m not someone who deals well with chaos. In actuality, it’s quite
the opposite. Perhaps more than most, I need order, peace, and simplicity in our home and this is exactly
why I keep our homeschooling (and everything else in our lives) as simple as possible!

Video: Keeping it Simple Homeschooling: Interview With Lisa

What does simple homeschooling look like for us?

Just a quick note that simple homeschooling doesn’t mean my children are not challenged to do hard
things! I’m not talking about making school “easy,” just in case anyone was wondering!

#1 Consistency

We are consistent with the core subjects, especially English and math. We explore science and history
deeply but without all the extras. Practically, this means we don’t do many “projects” or formal “science
experiments.” Thankfully, my children attend a homeschool co-op which, at times, requires this of them.
At home, we follow a curriculum but leave out anything that requires me to “gather supplies” or creates
an enormous mess in the kitchen. Instead, we might watch a historical documentary, a creation science
video, or short video clips on historical figures/places to expand our knowledge.

#2 Oursource

I outsource where I can. Currently, most of my children use an online, self-paced, self-grading history
course by Veritas Press. So far, my children have found this program to be fun and engaging. My high
school student uses an online self-paced, self-grading math program. I am currently looking for an online
self-paced Christian science curriculum.

#3 Consolidate Extracurricular Acitivities

We encourage, but try to consolidate, extra curricular activities. I have found extracurricular activities
to be important for our children, especially as they get older. My husband and I encourage our children to
participate in activities that allow them to make friends, bring them joy, and build their self confidence.
However, we have a limit to how many weeknights we spend running children to activities (not more than
3 evenings per week) and so far we have been able to keep the weekends free. Activities that my children participate in include dance, gymnastics, piano lessons, youth group, horse back riding, dirt bike riding, art, and other music classes. While this sounds like a lot, some of these activities take place exclusively at home, exclusively at our homeschool co-op, or on the same night and at the same location
(dance/gymnastics, art/music, piano lessons).

#4 Delay Formal Schooling

I follow the “better late than early” philosophy of homeschooling. Raymond and Dorothy Moore wrote
a book called Better Late than Early. They give loads of research as to why it’s better to delay formal
schooling until at least 7 years of age and to start slow and at home. So, with my young children, the early years of school consist of no pressure alphabet and number recognition. We read Bible stories, books about nature and animals, we watch short videos about historical figures and landmarks, and they play OUTSIDE a LOT. My younger children also help with chores around the house and learn how to prepare simple foods. My 7 year old son can cook eggs, mow the lawn, and use the trimmer (with adult
supervision, of course)! He can build simple things with wood, nails, and screws and is teaching his 5
year old brother to do the same! These are all things he enjoys and which boost his self esteem. Needless to say, my older children are quite self sufficient at their ages of 10, 12, and 14.

#5 Keep a Simple Home

I keep a simple home. Practically, this means we don’t have excess “stuff.” We have toys, but not too
many toys. We have clothing, but not too much clothing. We have dishes and kitchen gadgets, but only
what fits into the dishwasher at the end of the day. I try to keep the rule that my children can have as
many toys as they can take care of on their own. At the end of the day, I am not just a teacher. We mama’s have so many roles and responsibilities and I find that I just cannot keep up with my responsibilities if it takes too long to pick up the house. While I love having my children home with me, this means that the house is literally always in use. Toys are always out. Meals are always being prepared. Dishes and laundry are always piling up. If I’m not diligent about limiting what comes into the house, our items can easily take over my life and I’d prefer to take care of the children rather than our stuff!

#6 Let Kids Be Bored

I let my kids be bored. Boredom births creativity and creativity is learning. At the end of the day and at
the graduation of all of my children someday, my hope is that they will keep learning for the sake of
enjoyment. If a child masters reading, writing, and arithmetic, then there isn’t anything holding them back
from learning for the rest of their lives. If the TV is off, then I usually assume my child is off learning
something somewhere! They might be learning to work out an argument with their sibling, making
themselves lunch, doing a chore, climbing a tree, reading, playing with a pet, practicing the piano, riding
their bike, painting, playing with toy trains, or searching for 4 leaf clovers (my daughter found 14 just last
week)! I think we adults forget that children learn from the time they open their eyes until the time they
go to sleep and sometimes the best way we can allow this to happen is to give them space, let them get
bored, and then allow them to go discover the world.

Leave a Comment!

Have Lisa’s tips for Keeping it Simple Homeschooling encouraged you? Leave a comment and let her know! Also, share with others, what do you do in your homeschool to keep it simple?

The post Keeping it Simple Homeschooling: Interview With Lisa appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

Key Focus: SIMPLE

The goal of our nature notebook comes down to one word: SIMPLE. In our large family of twelve with seven kids who are school age, nature notebooks have to be kept very basic or they won’t get done at all. As much as I love Nature Study, I am not able to spend as much time focusing on it as I would like at this current stage in our homeschool. I would rather the kids at least consistently keep a simple notebook rather than miss out on it altogether.

Tools

Having a few tools handy will help keep the inspiration strong. Well-sharpened pencils, fresh watercolors and brushes, thicker paper, and field guides will attract a child’s interest, especially younger children. Who wants to sketch with broken and worn down crayons? Investing in some quality mediums is a great way to incline them to be creative with their nature journal pages.

Sketch book

Colored pencils

Watercolor paints

Field guides, nature books, and science books. We like the National Audubon Society Field Guides and the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock.

Nature Notebooking In Our Home

It can be hard to fit nature studies in with all the other content that we have to cover in our homeschool from day to day. In our home, I assign nature study notebooks one day a week in. place of daily copywork. I put it on their homeschool checklists as a visual reminder to them. This relieves us from adding another subject by replacing it with a subject we are already doing. Additionally, kids look forward to the nature notebooking day when they can get a day off from copywork.

Some people have kids fill in the blank pages of nature notebooks when they are out on a nature walk. I think this takes away the simple pleasure of being out in God’s creation. I would rather they bring their nature finds home, add them to their collection, and save them for journal entries later.

I think it is a good idea to let high school students choose whether or not they want to keep a student notebook. The most important thing is for them to enjoy Nature Study and that happens best with older kids when it is their choice.

A Simple Format for a Nature Notebook

A few years ago, a friend introduced me to the book The Country Diary of and Edwardian Lady. This book inspired me from the start and we started formatting our nature notebooks after the style used in it. The illustrations and text in Ms. Holden’s book are lovely and the content is fodder for imagination. It has given us a simple structure to follow.

I want to show you the basic pattern that we have taken from this book because it has revolutionized our approach to nature notebooking! I want our kids to see their notebooks as a keepsake, a product consistently in the making, so it helps to have a model to follow. This book does just that.

Here are the step-by-step instructions for how we organize our notebooking journal.

1. Page 1 (left side)- First thing, in bold or block letters, write the month at the top of the page. Using inspiration from sights in the backyard or in the woods, draw the plants, animals, trees, scenes as they are in this month. I encourage the kids to do good quality work with colorful illustrations. They can color with pencils or watercolor painting.
2. Page 2 (right side and following pages, if needed) Write the short form of the date and a journal entry describing what is happening in the natural world around them at this time. The entry should be short, a few sentences, so as not to discourage the child. Since we do nature notebook once a week, they usually have 4 or 5 entries. This helps them to see the slow changes in the seasons.
3. *Optional* Pages 3 & 4- For kids who can’t fit it all in the first two pages, they can continue their journal entries on page 3 or draw more sketches on page 4. However, we do like to keep each month in the same open notebook pages so that you can see it all with the spiral open flat.

I let my kids use the book for inspiration and creative ideas. Also, they can write little mottos poems in the margins as Edith Holden does in the book if they like to do that.

Guidelines for Keeping It Simple

The grand goal is for them to love nature. Because of that, I think it is very important how we approach a nature notebook. Here are a few guidelines.

• Don’t set the bar so high. Encourage them to do their best, but let go of all the instagram-worthy ideas you find on pinterest. When a child is capturing nature from his or her perspective, he is learning. Do you want their student notebook to look a certain way or do you want them to learn and to love nature? Challenge them to do their best work, but don’t steal the joy by having your expectations too high.
• You don’t have to prioritize nature study year round. It’s ok to focus on it more for certain periods of time and then let it slip to the background for a bit.

Simple Nature Notebook Ideas

• In the back of the notebook, keeping bulleted lists of birds, trees, and flowers as they learn to identify them is a great idea as well.
• Kids can Modge Podge, tape, or press flowers and leaves into the notebooking pages.
• For young children, moms can write their observations in the notebook for them. (They can do their own illustrations.)

Do you have a nature journal idea to help kids consistently keep a simple nature notebook? Leave a comment below with your suggestions!

Pin it for Later! How to Keep a Simple Nature Notebook

The post How to Keep a Simple Homeschool Nature Study Notebook appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

Poetry in Morning Time

Morning Time has been a wonderful addition to our homeschool. Morning Time is the time that we all gather to cover the subjects that we highly value, but that often get lost in the shuffle of the more formal subjects. I have written several posts about how we do Morning Time in our homeschool.

HOW TO SIMPLIFY YOUR HOMESCHOOL WITH MORNING TIME

TEACHING BIBLE IN MORNING TIME

SIMPLE IDEAS FOR MEMORY WORK IN MORNING TIME

3 CHRISTIAN RESOURCES FOR CURRENT EVENTS IN MORNING TIME

SIMPLE MORNING TIME NOTEBOOK

7 TIPS TO A PEACEFUL HOMESCHOOL MORNING TIME

Poetry is a subject that everyone can enjoy together, no matter what their age, so it fits nicely into Morning Time. We don’t do poetry daily, instead we loop it into our schedule.

Reasons Why You Should Read Poetry With Your Kids

1. Poetry improves vocabulary. Almost every time we read a new poem, we learn a new word.
2. The descriptive, metaphoric language helps them grasp the concept of a difficult passage in ways that book reading cannot.
3. It inspires them to feel and act a certain way.
4. Poems introduce them to beauty in the written and spoken word.

“The more connections a person makes between seemingly unlike things the more the world opens up to them. Poetry is almost our only tool for teaching this kind of thinking. As your children hear and hear poetry, they will gradually begin to make connections and think in metaphors. Thus it is far more valuable to memorize poetry than to memorize lists of information. In fact, when in doubt, err on the side of poetry.”

-Cindy Rollins, A Handbook to Morning Time

Simple Ideas for Poetry

When you read a poem one time, you may just slightly understand the gist. Or you may catch snippets here and there, but have no idea what it is about at all! Poems are best understood after they are read over and over again. Often it is the 5th, 6th or more time that you have read a poem before you truly grasp the meaning or the author’s intent.

This is true for kids as well. I encourage my kids when we read a new poem that they should not get frustrated if they don’t understand it right away. I remind them that they will understand a little more each time we read it.

Memorize Poetry

One of the most obvious practices for poetry is to memorize it. Pull it out every morning for a few weeks and simply read it one time together. If the kids are up for it, you can choose a volunteer to read it a second time while the rest of the family listens. If there are unfamiliar words or phrases in the poem, you might stop to ask and try to understand them. This helps build their vocabulary and understanding of poetic form. Work on the same poem for a few weeks until one day you ask everyone to try reciting it without the passage in front of them.

We like to memorize poetry by poet. I love Christina Rosetti and Robert Louis Stevenson for young children because their poems are often titled with concrete topics that are familiar to children. Here is a list of some of the favorite poems we have memorized over the years.

Younger children

• “The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson
• “Daffadowndilly” by Christina Rosetti (This one great for spring when the daffodils come up!)
• “The Tyger” William Blake
• “Wynken Blynken and Nod” by Eugene Field
• “My Shadow” Robert Louis Stevenson
• “Months” by Christina Rosetti

Older kids

• “The Children’s Hour” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• “The Sluggard” by Isaac Watts
• “I Can” by Edgar A Guest

Girls

• “The Window” by Walter de la Mare
• “Crossing the Bar” by Alfred Lord Tennyson
• “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

Boys

• “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll
• “Opportunity” by Edward Rowland Sill
• “Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Read It

Another way to enjoy poetry is to read a few different poems a day. We have a few collections of poems that I have read through. You can start at the beginning and read 2-3 a day, making your way through. Or you can peruse through and read just the ones you like. This is usually what I do.

Here are some poetry collections we have enjoyed through the years.

Ambleside Online’s list of poetry

Oxford book of Children’s Verse

A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson

When We Were Very Young and Now We are Six by A.A. Milne

Read by Favorite Poet

We have a couple of favorite poets that we read over and over. Sometimes you get familiar with a person’s style and you want to hear more of their work because you understand it or relate to it in some way.

*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

Listen to Poetry

Sometimes the kids get tired of hearing my voice all the time. Additionally, they can become familiar with my personality and style and it no longer inspires them. Hearing someone else read a poem and talk about it can be just the ticket to seeing it in a new way. From time to time, our kids have enjoyed listening to the Daily Poem podcast. These are short podcasts, 5-10 minutes each. The host reads a poem at the beginning of the podcasts. Next, he gives a little history or background. He might mention a few notable parts or give further meaning to details. Finally, he finishes by reading the poem a second time.

I would say these are geared a little more for middle and high school, but even my elementary aged kids have enjoyed them.

Write Poetry

Often when we are memorizing a poem, we mix it up by writing a short section every day. Our kids like to use colored pencils or gel pens to do this. It usually takes us 5 or 6 mornings until we have written the whole poem, depending on how long it is. We only write a little bit every day. After they have finished writing the poem, I encourage them to draw illustrations in the margins and we put it into their portfolios.

Poetry for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

Don’t forget to include nursery rhymes in Morning Time for your youngest children. Nursery rhymes are poems for little children. They introduce them to new words, rhythms, rhyming sounds, and so much more. When you sing and repeat nursery rhymes to little ones, you will hear them repeating them throughout the day in their play.

Poetry as Art

Kids can really appreciate poems when they become a work of art. Let them write out their favorite poem. Then give them time to illustrate it. Mount the poem and place it in prominent places around your home as part of the decor. They will take pride in their work and truly “see” the beauty in poetic verse.

Short Lessons

Don’t forget the importance of short lessons. When it comes to poetic language, brevity is key! Give them just enough to whet their appetite so that they look forward to it the next time you do it. Anywhere from 5-15 minutes is plenty of time!

Pin it for Later! Simple Ideas for Poetry in Morning Time

Leave a Comment

If you are intimidated by studying poems with your kids, I hope that these simple ideas for poetry in Morning Time can give you enough of inspiration and boost to give it a try!

Have you found some unique ways to learn poetry with your kids? Please share with others! I love hearing from other homeschoolers!

The post Simple Ideas for Poetry in Morning Time appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

Modern education trends view memorizing as a thing of the past…old school! Why memorize anything when you can look it up? But as usual, the proof is in the pudding! Rote memorization may not be in vogue now, but I have seen enough positive results of memorizing with my own kids that I have continued to keep weekly memory work a daily part of our Morning Time. I hope these simple ideas for memory work in Morning Time will inspire you to add some new memory work to your repertoire.

Video: Simple Ideas for Memory Work in Morning Time

I recently wrote a detailed post about Morning Time that gives a basic understanding of how to SIMPLIFY YOUR HOMESCHOOL WITH MORNING TIME. In this post, I share how we use Morning Time to teach the subjects that are best taught as a group and also some of the things that we want to teach our kids, but often get put aside for the more important subjects.

I have found it helpful to break up the subjects you want to do with your kids into daily and regular lists. We do memory work as part of our daily subjects.

Why Memorize?

Andrew Pudewa from the Institute for Excellence in Writing talks about the value of memorizing in this excellent podcast by Your Morning Basket with Pam Barnhill. He tells the story of Frederick Douglas who was born in a supremely dismal literate environment, yet when he escaped slavery as a free man, he became one of the greatest orators our country has ever known.

The interesting thing is this. One of the first books he ever owned was a book of famous speeches.

He memorized them.

Memorizing enhanced his vocabulary and gave him an understanding of the basic form of good speech.

Science also backs the value of memorizing. In his book Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization, Pudewa explains that when children memorize, the network of connections among neurons becomes stronger.

And, as he suggests in the above interview, children are built to memorize…since they repeat everything anyway, let’s make it something of value!

For these reasons and others, we value memory work as part of our daily routine. We don’t overdo it by spending too much time on it. It is a small part of our day, maybe 10-15 minutes, but it packs a powerful punch.

Simple Ideas for Memory Work in Morning Time

Scripture

We like to memorize scripture passages in sections. We’ve always done it this way. We do Bible memory in two steps.

1. Read our current verse aloud together.
2. Review 2 or 3 old Bible passages.

Years ago, I made a little file box of our verses that helped us keep track of how often we were reviewing old Bible verses. Inside, I wrote our memory verses on index cards and organized them with tabs, putting a verse behind each tab. It was arranged like this.

1. Current verse.
2. A review verse for each day of the week.
3. Daily review verses by number of the day of the month.

This way we were daily reading a current Bible verse, reviewing an old verse weekly, and reviewing an old verse monthly.

This worked for quite a while until we accumulated too many to fit into this system. Now we use our Morning Time Notebooks. I have printed out all our verses and put them in a section of our binder.

Here are a few of our favorite Bible verses.

Deuteronomy 6: 4-0

Psalm 78: 1-8

Isaiah 53:1-6

John 3:16-18

Ephesians 6: 10-18

Colossians 3:12-17

Revelation 21: 1-7

Nursery Rhymes (Younger Kids)

Why do younger children love nursery rhymes and simple songs? Because when you can’t read something, your mind is looking for some form of stimulation. Repeating the same sounds, rhythms, and rhymes is entertaining!

When a child hears nursery rhymes every day, he will repeat them throughout the day. When you teach a child nursery rhymes, you will hear, “Again! Do another one!” Without realizing it, the children are building a repertoire.

Children love to hear the same phrases over and over so that they can remember them and do them on their own. Many nursery rhymes have been put to song. If you can sing some of them and add hand motions, your littles will relish this time with you. You will be folding laundry and hearing them in the next room saying, “this little piggy went wee wee wee aaaaaall the way home!” with delight.

Poetry

Memorizing poetry is beneficial for so many reasons. Poetry is a great way to expand a child’s vocabulary naturally because they can learn words in context. Each time they repeat a poem, they gain more understanding of the little parts of it.

We like to memorize poetry by poets. I love Christina Rosetti and Robert Louis Stevenson for young children because their poems are often titled with concrete topics that are familiar to children.

Here are some of our favorites:

Early Years

• “The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson
• “Daffadowndilly” by Christina Rosetti (This one great for spring when the daffodils come up!)
• “The Tyger” William Blake
• “Wynken Blynken and Nod” by Eugene Field
• “My Shadow” by Robert Louis Stevenson
• “Months” by Christina Rosetti

Older kids

• “The Children’s Hour” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• “The Sluggard” by Isaac Watts
• “I Can” by Edgar A Guest

Girls

• “The Window” by Walter de la Mare
• “Crossing the Bar” by Alfred Lord Tennyson
• “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

Boys

• “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll
• “Opportunity” by Edward Rowland Sill
• “Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

To read more, see SIMPLE IDEAS FOR POETRY IN MORNING TIME.

Catechisms and Creeds

Memorizing catechisms can help a child understand the basic doctrines of our faith. It can also help answer some of the questions children naturally ask!

Who made you? God.

What else did God make? God made all things.

Why did God make you and all things? For His own glory.

Memorizing Creeds like the Nicene Creed and the Apostle’s Creed, along with teaching doctrine, can give kids a link to important historical moments in church history.

Grammar

When children are old enough to begin studying English grammar, it gives them an advantage to know some basics. These are lists we have memorized. When they approach their grammar work for the day (we begin grammar lessons in 4th grade), they already have these in their bank.

• Subjective, Objective, and Possessive Pronouns
• Conjunctions
• Prepositions
• The “Be” and “Helping” verbs
• Questions to ask for Adjectives
• Questions to ask to find Adverbs

History Timeline Songs

We memorize the history songs from Veritas Press. Our kids do Veritas self-paced history program for their history lessons. Veritas Press has five years of history study, each with a timeline song of that section. Each song has 32 timeline cards to go along with it which describe the people or events of that period.

1. Old Testament and Ancient Egypt
2. New Testament Greece and Rome
3. Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation
4. Explorers to 1815
5. 1815 to Modern Times

When kids memorize (through song) events of history in order, it gives them a rudimentary framework to hang their hat on, so to speak. From this time forward, whenever they learn any new person or event from history, they can mentally browse through their memorized catalog and put that event in the right place.

*Veritas Press is currently running a free 2-week trial to any self-paced course!

Famous Speeches

Memorizing famous speeches is one subject area have not tried yet, but it is on my list! Memorizing speeches not only teaches excellent form and vocabulary, it also connects us to important historical moments. When repeating a line from a famous statesman or patriot, you are challenged to have the same kind of courage as the person you are studying.

Here are some speeches on my list of new memory work.

• The Gettysburg Address
• Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”
• Winston Churchill’s “We Shall Fight”

Math Facts

We weave math facts into our Morning Time in seasons, usually when I can see the kids need to sharpen up a bit. I did a post on FIVE MINUTE MATH GAMES TO DO WITH EVERYONE which goes into more detail about how I have used math in Morning Time. Here are some math memory ideas. (I adjust these according to the different levels of children present.)

• Skip counting by 2’s to 20 (and back), 3’s to 30, 4’s to 40… up to 10’s. This helps prepare them for multiplication tables.
• Counting by nickels and dimes to a dollar, by quarters to five dollars.
• Basic facts-addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
• Geometric shapes by sides, angles, etc.

Lists of Valuable Information

There are so many other fun ways to add important facts to your repertoire. You might like learning this random list of information with your kids.

• Presidents of the US
• Kings of the Bible (We love this song on YouTube!)
• Kings of England (Another favorite song)
• Continents
• Planets
• Periodic Table of Elements
• Books of the Bible
• States and Capitals

Pam Barnhill from Your Morning Basket also put together a wonderful list of things to memorize in Morning Time. See her post here for more: Pam Barnhill’s 100 Things to Memorize.

Pin it for Later! Simple Ideas for Memory Work in Morning Time

Comment With Your Memory Work Suggestions!

This is by no means exhaustive, but I hope it is enough to give you some ideas for your Morning Time. What new thing will you add to your memory work plans this school year?

What kinds of things are you learning for homeschool memory work? I’d love to hear about them! Leave a comment with your memory work suggestions below so others can see and get ideas!

Looking for more inspiration for Morning Time?

See HOW TO SIMPLIFY YOUR HOMESCHOOL WITH MORNING TIME.

Also TEACHING BIBLE IN MORNING TIME

And 3 Christian Resources for Current Events in Morning Time

7 Tips to a Peaceful Homeschool Morning Time

Simple Ideas for Poetry in Morning Time

Simple Morning Time Notebook

The post Simple Ideas for Memory Work in Morning Time appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

Do you wish you had more time for some of the interesting things you want to learn with your kids, but your day is filled up just getting the basic subjects done? There is an easier way to cover all the content that you want to do in your homeschool. Learn how to simplify your homeschool with Morning Time.

Video: How To Simplify Your Homeschool With Morning Time

What is Morning Time?

Morning Time is the part of our day where we gather to learn the subjects that can be studied for every age.

The very first time I remember hearing about Morning Time was through listening to Cindy Rollins share on a Pam Barnhill podcast how Morning Time developed in her home. Cindy talked about how she unwittingly fell into the practice of morning meeting when she began reviewing memory verses as part of her morning routine when her first child was four years old.

Over time, she added to their daily time by doing bible time, nursery rhymes, poetry, hymn study, and artist study, etc. This list expanded and became known today to many in the homeschooling community as the practice of morning time or morning basket time.

This is a time to observe truth, goodness, and beauty. It is our inspiration, a beautiful anchor of our day. Have you ever seen a beautiful painting or read a riveting poem and been moved by ideas? This is what morning time is for our homeschool day. Morning Time is as much for the children as it is for the homeschool moms.

We are continually growing as we relish the beautiful things in God’s created world. I don’t necessarily have a time frame of how much I plan to accomplish in individual subjects each day. We do a little here, a little there, letting it all soak in. Morning Time is our fuel for the rest of the day. It is our bedrock, our family culture, our common ground.

What is Studied for Morning Time?

Here are some topics we have enjoyed in our Morning Time over the years.

–Current Events

–Memory work

-Hymn Study

-Read-Aloud Time

–Poetry

–Bible Story

-Artist Study

-Nature Notebooking

-Composer Study

-Church History Biographies

-Foreign Language

-Shakespeare

What beautiful things would you like to study with your kids, but you never have time to get to them? Consider starting Morning Time as a way to fit them in.

Use a Loop Schedule for Morning Time Routine

Be careful NOT to try to do everything in Morning Time! The idea of Morning Time is to give just enough truth, goodness, and beauty to light the fire. Keep the lessons short. The idea is small bits here and there, not cramming it all in.

Of course, there are some subjects that we do every day. Others, however, we only want to do regularly. Make a list of the daily content you want to do and beside it put the list of the rest of the things you want to do regularly.

For the list of topics that you want to cover regularly, try looping them. Sarah Mackenzie explains the concept of a loop schedule well in her book Teaching from Rest: A Homeschoolers Guide to Unshakeable Peace.

How Long is Morning Time?

Morning Time can be anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour and a half. Don’t belabor it or spend too much time on one particular subject. When you sense the kids are starting to lose interest, then break for your regular school work. Remember, the purpose of Morning Time is to inspire your day with family time, not to bore you!

When should I do Morning Time?

Experiment with a time that works for YOU.

Doing Morning Time first thing works best for us. Everyone is already sitting around the dining room breakfast table so I don’t have to gather them. Plus, when they are eating, they are better listeners!

Currently, our morning looks like this.

-Breakfast and Morning Time

-Clean Up and Chores

-Start independent work

How often should I do Morning Time?

Morning time is best when it is part of your normal routine, however it should not feel like a burden! If doing it daily feels like too much, find some different ways that will work for you and your kids.

We aim to do Morning Time every day, but realistically it happens about 3-4 mornings per week.

How do I get started with Morning Time?

I would suggest you start Morning Time very similarly to how Cindy Rollins started it in the early years with her oldest child. Begin by memorizing bible verses with your older children and then add bible stories or nursery rhymes. Try teaching the days of the week or months of the year, similar to a calendar time.

Decide which things you would like to do daily and which subjects you want to do regularly and loop them.

Planning for Morning Time

Some moms are detailed in planning out Morning Time. You can even purchase some excellent Morning Time planners if that’s something that would help you.

I have never done this. (Although if that works well for you, then do it!) While I do like to generally plan what we will do in Morning Time, I hold my plans very loosely for these reasons.

Our mornings are unpredictable. Some days my kids get really into a topic and want to keep going. On other days, we all might be tired from a late night and want to cut things short. We might have an interrupting toddler or baby with a short attention span.

I hesitate to get too detailed with planning because it can so easily turn into a checklist to get done rather than a wonderful way to start our day. I don’t want that. So, I make general plans, but with a lot of flexibility thrown in!

Toddlers and Babies in Morning Time

If you have a TODDLER or BABY with you in Morning Time, it make things a little more difficult, but don’t let that hold you back! There will probably be distractions, but roll with the punches. You can do this! Morning Time is good for everyone, including YOU!

You can try wearing the baby or reading while your toddler is in a booster seat eating. Have your preschooler doodle at the table or play with a chunky puzzle while you work with your older kids.

In all the years that my kids and I have been doing Morning Time, we have had a toddler or baby with us. We’ve had plenty of mornings that were chaotic and messy, but I have not let it discourage me.

Many times I would pause to solve the disruptions, then push through and pick back up where we left off. Other times, the distractions were so much that I just called it quits for that day. BUT we always tried Morning Time again the next day and kept going.

The Long Haul

The final and most important point I want to make is to say that Morning Time is for the long haul. Don’t expect to see immediate results even in the first year.

Don’t be discouraged if your child thinks classical music is a waste of time or if he doesn’t see the point of reading beautiful verses of poetry. It takes time to appreciate beauty. This is a process.

Remember when you first fed your baby green beans? He spit it out and it ended up all over your shirt. It may take repeated exposure to certain content before they can appreciate this special time.

Resources

Here are my two favorite resources for Morning Time.

YOUR MORNING BASKET PODCAST with PAM BARNHILL. I love to listen to Pam talk about how she implements Morning Time in her home. Her interviews with other moms cover topics like “What if my kids fight in morning time?” and “Why a Morning Basket is perfect for preschool” and “What if you are stuck in a rut in Morning Time?” She is easy to listen to and so down to earth!

MORNING TIME: A LITURGY OF LOVE by Cindy Rollins. This book was originally titled A Handbook for Morning Time and sold as a partner to her book Mere Motherhood. A Handbook for Morning Time is the book I have used and loved, but it is no longer in print and has been updated as Morning Time: A Liturgy of Love. You can find Cindy at morningtimeformoms.com and listen to her on THE NEW MASON JAR PODCAST WITH CINDY ROLINS.

Pin it! How to Simplify Your Homeschool With Morning Time

Leave a Comment

What questions do you have about Morning Time? Have you tried this practice in your home? Tell me about it! I would love to hear from you!

More Resources

For more Morning Time Resources, see TEACHING BIBLE IN MORNING TIME

And SIMPLE IDEAS FOR MEMORY WORK IN MORNING TIME.

Also, 3 Christian Resources for Current Events in Morning Time

7 Tips to a Peaceful Homeschool Morning Time

Simple Ideas for Poetry in Morning Time

Simple Morning Time Notebook

Also find inspiration for your homeschool by checking out my gallery of MOM INTERVIEWS!

The post How to Simplify Your Homeschool with Morning Time appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

Beth and her husband live in New Jersey. They have four kids and have been homeschooling for seven years. Beth is in the thick of homeschooling. She has two elementary-aged children. She just added a Kindergartener this year. In addition, she has an active toddler to entertain! She gives honest, but encouraging advice to moms who are starting out homeschooling for the first time. If you have some littles in your homeschool, you will relate to this interview: Juggling Homeschooling and Preschoolers With Beth!

Video: Juggling Homeschooling and Preschoolers With Beth

Hi! My name is Beth Kline. I have 4 kids, two girls ages 10 & 8 and two boys ages 5 & 2. My husband is a sales manager for an energy software company.

We moved to New Jersey from Pennsylvania 9 years ago and absolutely love it! We are pretty close to the ocean and spend a lot of time at the beach.

We have been homeschooling since my oldest was 4 so this is our 7^th year.

I was introduced to Classical Conversations when I first started thinking about homeschooling and have been involved in our local C.C. community for the last 7 years. 

What attracted you to homeschooling?

Before I had kids, I never would have thought that homeschooling would be something I would be doing. When my daughter was 3 or so, my mom, who was a kindergarten teacher, really helped me realize I didn’t need to send her to preschool, that I could teach her everything she needed to be ready for kindergarten. This in itself felt like a huge step because everyone I knew who had younger kids was sending them to preschool.

At the same time, I met a family with 5 kids who homeschooled and they were a really great, well-adjusted family. Most of their kids had already graduated and were in successful jobs. I could see that homeschooling could be done well. 

Also, I should mention that my husband and his brothers were homeschooled. Although I don’t really think that effected my decision. He pretty much stayed out of the decision-making process because he knew that it would be my responsibility and he was willing to support me one way or another. He knew how hard it was and didn’t want to put that on me if it wasn’t something I wanted to take on.

Now that we are about 7 years into it, we are both so grateful that this is our reality. I feel unbelievably blessed to be able to stay home and be with my kids and learn with them. 

Can you give advice for new homeschool moms?

My advice for new homeschoolers is to keep it simple. Start with math and a language arts program and find great books to read together. As you get a rhythm and understand what your kids need, you can add new things. Simple is better. 

Getting outside every day is important for everyone’s sanity. Find a good book list and get to the library.

Connecting with a community of like-minded people is vital. It is really important to have people you can connect with and run ideas by and ask advice from who are going through similar things.

Be easy on yourself. Homeschooling can have some really rewarding days but there can be tough days too. Giving yourself grace and relying on the Lord for strength is so important. 

My favorite Resources:

I love listening to podcasts in the car or when I’m folding laundry. 

1. The Homeschool Sisters has been a favorite lately. 
2. At Home with Sally
3. Read-Aloud Revival
4. The Boy Mom podcast with Monica Swanson 
5. Your Morning Basket by Pam Barnhill
6. Wild & Free 

I also discovered Nicole the Math Lady around the start of the pandemic last year. Her website has been incredible for my 5^th grader to be able to understand math without my help. 

Abebooks.com is my absolute favorite place to buy used books. Anytime I see a book I want to purchase I check there first and they usually have it. I save so much money shopping on this site. 

Two books that I love and pick up often are Teaching from Rest by Sarah Mackenzie and Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay & Sally Clarkson. I so appreciate both of these. 

I really appreciate Beautiful Feet Books for history. We are using their early American history curriculum this year. I absolutely love reading real books for history and using stories to capture our imaginations as it relates to the past.

This year they updated their reading list to give more insight and different perspectives of historical characters. It has really led to some good discussions with the kids about empathy and compassion for people who traditionally have been left out of history books. 

What’s your biggest challenge?

Right now I have two challenges. The first is trying to school with our 2 year-old. No place is safe and he is so busy! We all breathe a little bit during his nap time and try to get as much done as possible but it’s tough and I don’t really have a great solution. My husband works from home and is on the phone a lot so we have to be extra quiet.

And my other challenge is giving a solid amount of time to each kid. The oldest, in 5^th grade is thankfully very independent. She works on most of her work by herself and I check it all when she is done. The younger 2 need a lot of help still so it has been challenging to bounce back and forth between them. 

My son just started kindergarten this year and man, boys are SO different than girls! I am learning that he really needs exercise and creative free time. My daughters (especially my oldest) would just sit for hours and we could read and do work without needing too much of a break. He is in constant motion.

So I am learning to let him have many breaks. If I think of it, I have him do some laps out in our cul-da-sac before he starts work. I also let him build with blocks or Legos while I am reading so he is still moving but he can hopefully focus a little better.

Another tip which I really think helps is I discovered an essential oil called that I diffuse while we are doing work that seems to make everyone a little calmer and more focused. 

What keeps you going?

Coffee! I always have a cup of coffee in my hand. But seriously, even when it’s really challenging, I’d rather have my kids with me than not. I want my husband and me to be the biggest influence in their lives. I want them to learn how to be independent, life-long learners. I love the freedom it allows our family to travel when we want to.  Remembering the overall purpose is really important. 

Some of the chapter books we have read together

Some picture books we read often:

Some books for our early American history curriculum this year include:

Have questions for Beth? You can contact her at bethakline@gmail.com. Remember, though, moms are busy! Response time may be delayed, but she will try to reply as soon as she can!

The post Juggling Homeschooling and Preschoolers With Beth appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

A homeschool portfolio can be put together at any time. You don’t have to start it at the beginning of the school year, but some years I have done that. You can wait until the very end and put it together in a day and it can be just as good. So, just know that a portfolio is something you can start at any time of the year and it doesn’t need to take a lot of time.

*This post contains affiliate links which means I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

I really think the first step for organizing a homeschool portfolio consistently from year to year is to keep it very basic. Homeschooling is tough. Some years, I don’t feel like doing ANYTHING extra. If putting together a portfolio is going to feel like a major project, I’m OUT!

If you like adding pictures and Cricut designs, by all means, indulge yourself! But be aware that you may come to a year where all that just feels like too much. Your child’s portfolio can be unadorned and still be special to them and you.

Our Homeschool Portfolios

Notebook Cover

I choose 1/2 inch binders with the slipcover in the front. I ask our kids to design their own covers. Some of them choose to draw their own and others have designed them on the computer. I encourage them to take their time, use color, and make it beautiful. Sometimes, especially for younger children, I will print in large letters the child’s name and grade level on a blank sheet and have them design around it.

Older kids may want to write their own name and grade level in large, colorful letters.

Cover Page

This is the first page you see when you open the notebook. It is a one-page, typed summary of their school work for the year. This is the only page of the book that actually requires work on my part.

I do my best to keep it only one page so it doesn’t seem like too demanding of a task from year to year. (The rest of the portfolio is as easy as punching papers with a three whole punch and putting them in the notebook.) Using slipcovers is a nice touch to help the final product look clean and durable.

Here are some examples of what I might put on the cover page.

-Begin with a short paragraph about your child summarizing their accomplishments and interests for the school year. I like to put specific things that they were interested in for that year. Maybe they learned to crochet or caught their first fish. What is their favorite book at this age? What do they want to be when they grow up?

-Briefly summarize what they learned in the main subjects.

-Field trips. Keep a list of all the places you have visited throughout the year- either with co-ops or on your own. I include state parks and educational places we have stopped at on family vacations.

-Any music lessons, art lessons, clubs, sports they were involved in.

Book List.

The second page of our portfolio notebook is their book list. I give a clipboard to each of our kids with an empty booklist template for them to complete throughout the year. It has a section for books they read and a section for books read aloud to them either by myself or audiobooks.

Often, when I look at the kids’ portfolios at the end of the year and pull out the booklist, I am pleasantly reminded of books we read at the beginning of the year that I had completely forgotten about.

Quality Samples of Work from Major Subject Areas

I usually pick samples of student work from the beginning and end (2 samples) of the school year. It’s a good idea to do this for major subjects like math, English (including samples of any writings), history, and science. Labeling them by tabs is a nice touch, but not necessary.

You can slowly collect things throughout the year and stick them in your notebook OR you can gather them in one day at the end of the year. I have done both.

For other subjects, I only include subjects in which that child has especially shown interest. This may be art projects, foreign language, pictures of projects or extracurricular activities, test scores, science experiments, etc. Make sure to include any test results your child might have according to your state’s requirements.

It’s also nice to include one or two special writing assignments like a research paper or book report or other writing assignments. The pockets of the 3-ring binder are a good place to keep these. I might stick bulletins from performances or orchestras they attended, certificates from camps or other events in which they participated.

Pin it! How to Make a Simple Homeschool Portfolio

Benefits of Making a Homeschool Portfolio

A portfolio is also a great way to show grandparents what the kids are learning while they are at home. Do you have family members who question whether or not your child is receiving a quality education? Share their end of the homeschool year portfolios!

The kids will proudly stand beside and tell about all the things in their book. It could help a family member see your homeschool effort in a completely different light.

If you have not before, I encourage you to try keeping a portfolio this year. It is a project your kids will take pride in!

And you might find that keeping a portfolio is a huge confidence booster for you as well! When you start doubting yourself and how much you are accomplishing this year, look through last year’s portfolio. When you see all you completed in one year, I think you will surprise yourself with how good it makes you feel.

If you have been keeping a homeschool portfolio, I’d love to see pictures and hear how you put yours together!

Looking for more?

Find inspiration for your homeschool by checking out my gallery of MOM INTERVIEWS!

Simple Morning Time Notebook

Our Large Family Homeschool Curriculum

50 Life Skills That Should Be Taught At Home

Ambleside Online Homeschool Curriculum For a Large Family

The post How to Make a Simple Homeschool Portfolio appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.