Here at Homeschool-ology we share all things secular homeschool, a little about motherhood, having a larger family, traveling with a larger family, and more. We focus on secular curriculum picks and everything from schooling with toddlers to homeschooling the upper grades and everything in between. We also love to travel and share our adventures and tips and tricks for you to make the best of your own.
My name is Niki and I am a homeschooling mom of 4 in our 6th official year of homeschooling. I currently a 7th and 3rd grader as well as two preschoolers. I am a former highschool chemistry and biology public school teacher turned WAHM (Work at Home Mom). Between raising four kiddos, educating them, and running a few business life can get a little bananas. So buckle up and join us on this crazy ride we call life!
Hello! I’m watching the Collab playlist and love watching all the different channels. We started our new school year a couple weeks ago. I did a first day of school video and of course things went not according to plan. But that’s life with kids lol
We add these onto what we are already doing in science!!! I feel the activities are awesome for high schoolers as well!!! My teenagers do their own notebooks!!! We do use some lapbook pieces tho!!! We use videos as well and discuss it as well as classical homeschooling involves debate so if we find a debate topic we do!!! One of my teenage athletes loves the labs and the books but writes a paper!!! He was the most excited about the labs tho!!! For the chemistry Chucks we watched element videos!!! We did the lesson and the labs afterwards as I hadn’t got stuff before the lesson!!! This chunks I’d have to add in Aussie terms!!!
I’m literally in the exact same boat. Starting the new school year, with a 2nd grader. My daughter hates AAR (except the readers). The flash cards bring her to tears. I trusted AAR’s claim that kids don’t need writing tied to reading instruction. I truly regret believing that. I’m hoping Pinwheels is a better fit for us.
I'm sorry to hear you guys are having such a hard time with AAR. It is very true that curriculums do not fit all children. I hope you guys have much better luck with Pinwheels!
My kids are all elementary level, but we are LOVING Layers of Learning! We've bought a ton of curricula over the years that didn't work out for us, so I spent the past year and a half unschooling. With 3 kids with different needs and interests, I was feeling seriously overwhelmed. I was reluctant to try another curriculum, but I bought the first unit of Year 1 LoL and fell in love and bought all of Year 1, Writer's Workshop, and Word Work. Since there are far more activities than could possibly be completed at once, there's no pressure to do all of the things. I can pick and choose the activities that I think will be interesting and beneficial for my kids, and they'll sometimes even help while we plan out our week, which takes minutes instead of the hours I was spending planning while unschooling. (Contrary to popular belief, unschooling is far from neglectful homeschooling.) All 3 kids are happy, so I'm happy! It's interesting to see how you're using Homeschool Planet and Google Classroom to coordinate and communicate the assignments to your oldest. I've been trying to figure out a way to do this for my oldest, and I think I'm going to implement a few of your strategies. I hope you have an enjoyable and successful homeschool year!
We love having different schedules within the year!!! We count attendance but idk what is required as they keep it vague!!! We love the freedom of learning but even with requirements for subjects we still get freedom!!! I don’t feel like my kids miss out!!! My husband has a different view of sheltering but he wants this information to come from us and not public school or peers!!! My older daughter is doing a anime class!!! We call water sports PE sp we dive for PE and extra science!!! I made a shark safely class for my surfing kids so they understand how to keep themselves safe and why they need to be safe!!! I agree with encouraging reading and good learning!!! I don’t think public schools want these 2 things!!! My older kids cook themselves and I make them read the food labels and tell me if the food is healthy and why!!!
Do you have a video about portfolio for 8 th gr?? My son is doing FLvS flex but since everything is online he doesn’t do much writing. I haven’t printed much of his work and I may need to work getting this portfolio and catch up with what I can. He finished algebra and history and almost done with the other 2 classes. Do I still need to do field trips for this grade? Is it required? His classes are Algebra, L. A, history and science. Do I need to do more stuff on the side as a learning subject like art, music etc?
If you did FLVS classes, all you need is a list of courses and the grade he got ;) No samples required (unless your reviewer asks for them, in which case pulling them up on the computer should be fine). Field Trips are never a requirement. They are just really excellent learning opportunities. I would say don't go out of your way to create them, but if you can make them happen, or they happen organically, keep a record. There are no requirements in terms of what subject need to be covered. In the state of Florida, it is a public-school requirement that 8th graders take a civics course. So my review likes us to do that. I have a video on iCivics which we used for our 8th grader. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0C4ZOMesBaI.html Once you get to high school, if your student thinks they might want to go to college, it is a good idea to look at graduation requirements for your county. It is not required of us as homeschoolers, but there are requirements that colleges have. I also have a video on planning out a high school schedule for my daughter. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Y30HhKXgtdo.html I will be putting together my portfolios for last year soon, and that will contain my 8th grade one. So make sure you turn on the notifications so you can see when that one comes out in the next few weeks. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask away!
@@Homeschoolology oh wow that’s great! So literally just the unofficial transcripts ? What about field trips? Do I document that? Or not necessary Thank you very much!!
@mafeview Yup! FLVS teachers are certified ;) Yes. Document your field trips. That can be as simple as taking a few pictures and having your kiddos write down something the learned. Or even just putting it on your log.
We have never done anything fun for the 1st day of school!!! We homeschool later in the day!!! I love natural learning opportunities!!! I take advantage of them!!! I like to use a family curriculum for social studies and supplement for my high schoolers!!! My twin daughter is a jr freshman this year and we have 2 teenage athletes alongside my jr in High school!!! Nothing wrong with a longer day!!! We’ve been loving shaved ice since we got to Hawaii!!! We aren’t sure if we want a spelling curriculum or find another way of improving spelling!!!
I don't have it in me to do more than a special treat on the 1st day. LOL Natural Learning opportunities are the best! Shaved ice is yummy! We are all about the cold treats here in Florida too! LOL Thanks for sharing!
I forgot there is an online version now! I'm adding it to my research list. I can already tell that trying to fit it in this year is not really going to work for us.
Is there a certain amount you would recommend be complete each day if using this as a homeschool curriculum? We do a lot of reading in other subjects but would use this for LA. 4th grade.
We are in Florida and started homeschool when we moved here in January. I'm trying to get the first part of our year (we do a year round starting in January every year) together. I have a question. Can the log of activites be his weekly log and some samples from each week? Can we do the portfolio as an online blog or can we show pictures from trips online and combine with the hard copy binder?
Yes and yes! Keep his log (checklist, planner, or just simply a list of activities). You only need a few samples from the beginning, middle, and end of each year. Maybe just his best 1 or two items from each would be sufficient. I LOVE the idea of keeping a blog as a portfolio! It can absolutely be online, just make sure you have a computer to pull it up for your reviewer. They actually like creativity 😉 Welcome to the homeschool world! You guys are going to do great!
So wild I was just looking at that brand of shoes on Amazon to try for our upcoming family vacation to go to the badlands and I was just told I need a wide shoe box by my chiropractor!
Crazy town! They are perfect for wide shoe. My toes never felt squished. LOL. And for the price point, they are totally worth it! Hope you like them if you try them out! Can't wait to hear about your trip to the Badlands!
Thank you so much for this! This is exactly the same situation I’m in. My son is starting 9th grade as well. I had everything planned out too and then I started debating on the curriculum. We were going to do biology as well. I decided to ask my son if he’d actually like that. He usually just says “I don’t care” or “whatever works”. He has no interest in doing biology. He mentioned possibly doing chemistry. So now I’m starting from scratch and have no idea what to do. Most chemistry curriculums want them to complete algebra 1 first. 😅
Chemistry is quite a bit of math at the high school level. I agree with the recommendation of completing Algebra 1 first. But you could totally do something like kitchen chemistry to get ready for the concepts! Good for you for listening to your gut and making some changes! I know I'm glad I did.
Hopped on the homeschool planet wagon. I will say there was a slight learning curve and I'm still trying to work out all the kinks. But I love seeing what needs to happen for the week and checking all the boxes off.
I agree. You do need to take a minute and experiment with all the features. But once you find what works for you... game changer! Thanks for sharing your experience!
We love Costco especially as some things we bought in Australia we can get in Hawaii and buying in bulk is cheaper!!! Ours is in the main city and we are on the other end of the island and we love the city especially as we are on the other end of the island!!! My teenagers love going to Costco!!! I’m Obsessed with sneakers and i prefer a little roomy!!! I’m going to look into those shoes!!! We can’t live without Nutella, my kids are obsessed!!! We love seafood pasta salad!!!
I love it when planing is easy!!! My older kids love to homeschool when they want and now we are in Hawaii I have one that does her independent work with a friend and they use different curriculums!!! We don’t have a order as well!!! My older kids have to write in their planners so I know what they are doing!!! I call play school for my younger kids if I see them play in a way they explore things!!! I pre plan but weekly for our gentle and classical curriculums but they use a feast system for their curriculum so I just decide what we are doing in the menu!!! I use checklists till we log what we have done!!!
I have one coming out today! And I also have another one coming out early September that is a more overall look. I also have a day-in-the-life style first day of school video coming up soon as well where I explain more.
I love grouping my kids and the 2 teen athletes join my older kids!!! My 3rd grader is learning independent skills and we are working on it with my 2nd grader this year!!! Outsourcing has helped us!!! My boys have struggled to want to learn!!! The 2 teen athletes are boys but they don’t mind homeschooling!!! Art is independent in our homeschool and our kids do it together!!!
I feel like you read my mind! Just today I was trying to shift the schedule to see how I can do what we need to do more effectively. Thanks for the tips!
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing!🩷 co-op this semester, I’m teaching board games, but I’m looking for ideas for next semester so I’m mentally prepared. I especially loved the geography and food idea.
So many of the same reasons I love homeschooling. Flexibility and yes, unfortunately, deaths in the family. We started school much later last fall after my mom passed away. I can't imagine my kids having to go straight to school after such a significant loss in their lives. We needed time to grieve. There are happier reasons too, but the sad reasons matter just as much.
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's passing. I'm so glad you guys had the time to grieve together. I agree that they are many happy reasons, but the sad reason make it worth it as well! Thanks for sharing your experience. Sending big hugs to your family.
The LitHouse activities remind me of some Killgallon activities, especially with the modeling, combining, and fragmentation. I love Killgallon’s approach for struggling writers and kids who “don’t know” what to put on paper - just model established sentences!
I admit that I need to do more research in this area! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I defiantly plan to look more into the method in the future.
I love my de tangle brush!!! It’s been hot 90% of our year!!! I got Moans in Tokyo as it was cold!!! I told my older kids it was like wen we lived in the U.K. we moved to Hawaii in July after the final comp of our work year and now we are in Tahiti for the last comp of the year!!! We started our agricultural science we are doing this year for health!!! We shelved botany!!! We found botany good but boring but I like what we choose!!! I feel like my kids are learning more now than wen my older kids where in public school!!! My 6 and 7 year old are learning more than my older kids did at that age as they have more natural learning thru homeschooling!!!
I finally found a wet brush version that works so well for us!! It's just we have hair that is prone to tangles. LOL. The downside to thick curly hair. Yeah I find people either really get into botany or they think it's just okay. LOL. Plants are fascinating, but they also don't do much usually. LOL Thanks for sharing!
True!! I don't mind at all. Except all the "I'm bored"s. LOL. My friend told me she gives her kids a chore every time they tell her they are bored. It's working like a charm for us. LOL
Could you do more in-depth tutorials of you setting homeschool planet up with lesson plans, particularly how you're using it with Google Classroom, if you have time? I'm super curious about integrating the two. Also, how easy is it to edit purchased plans? Thank you in advance!
You got it! As for using Google Classroom with Homeschool Planet, I am really just using the link feature in Homeschool Planet to link to items in Google Classroom/Google Drive. I will make a video showing what I mean. Editing Plans are super easy! I will say there is a bit of a learning curve, but once you figure it out its crazy how much the software can do. I will make a video for you.
