Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

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Archives for 2015

Ultimate Homeschool Planner – It’s HERE! Glam It Up Package

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Glam It Up Homeschool Planner. Beautiful color pages, awesome detailed and timeless! Scoot by to grab it @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Planner

I can’t believe my newest baby is finally here. For months and months I have been working on the ultimate homeschool planner.

I know it’s a shameless plug calling it the ultimate homeschool planner, but I am absolutely in love with my newest planning pages.

ULTIMATE HOMESCHOOL PLANNER – SHAMELESS!

Creating it took me longer than I wanted to, but that is all my own fault.

First, I have never been good with accepting *just okay* and I know I do it to myself when I want it perfect working perfectly.

Mostly, though my heart has to be in my planners. This year my heart has seen some major changes like the move of Mr. Senior 2013 to New York and Mr. Awesome 2015 graduating.

I am not so tough to tell you that I have had many tears, though they have been happy ones, it is still quite an adjustment for me this year.

It took me a while to feel sorry for myself adjust to my new year.

Putting my heart back into my planners, I got excited about the new year by creating this brand spanking new and beautiful homeschool planner. I can’t wait to use it this year.

First, this is something different than what I have now. It is a package.

No, not complete package like most people might think because I don’t believe in boring planners with tons of matchy matchy pages and given to you in one huge download.

My purpose in making this Glam It Up package is to give you just a few pages that are matching and that will jump start you to create the perfect planner.

It is not my intention to make every page you may want because then the power to create what you need each year leaves you.

The strongest feature of the 7 Step Homeschool Planner is to empower you to choose exactly what you need and to avoid one download of only match-y match-y pages that are both boring and possibly useless.

Like me, you want your planner to stay unique and to build it with the needs of your children in mind each year.

With a basic framework, like the Glam It Up package, you can still add both free pages and forms you purchase at each step to create an awesome planner.  Be sure to grab one of the 2 page per month awesome calendars.

Ultimate Homeschool Planner is a 190 page download and includes:

  • 1 Unique Cover
  • 1 Inside Title Page
  • 4 Tab Top Dividers
  • 2 Attendance Forms (one with semesters and one without semesters labeled)
  • and 180 Lesson Planning Pages with the subjects filled in & 8 Photo Pages

All pages are in full color and undated.

Guess what? You can get it today for just $4.99.

Look at my Main Shop Page for pictures of each form too and a more detailed description if you need it. (I know you want to see lots of pictures of it.)

Important: READ THIS FIRST.
Before you email me asking where your download link is or tell me that it is not working, read this to ensure that you get your pretties timely and that you don’t pay for something and not get it.
• All my products are digital. You will not receive a physical product for anything in my store. A digital physical year calendar does not mean a physical product or calendar.
• Downloads are INSTANT. When you pay, you will receive an email with a download link INSTANTLY. Depending on your internet connection, the email could be just 30 seconds or so, or a bit longer. The point is it will be soon, not a week later,etc.
• The email with the download link will go to the email you used for paypal. If you used your husband’s paypal, your downloads will go to that email. Please check that email and your spam before emailing me telling me you can’t find it.
• Please put my email tina @ tinasdynamichomeschoolplus dot com in your address/contact list so that your product does not go to spam.
MY GUARANTEE: To treat you like I want to be treated which means I know at times technical problems may cause glitches, so I will do everything possible to make your experience here pleasant. I value your business and value you as a follower. I stand behind my products because they are actual products I use and benefit from too. Though I cannot refund purchases after you have been given access to them, I will do what I can to be sure you are a pleased customer.

7 Step Homeschool PlannerGlam It Up Homeschool Lesson Planning Pages @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

My lesson planning pages are my signature style and I wanted to share these things that changed on it.

  • It will all now be in color. Oh yes, yippee.
  • I have spaced the writing lines more evenly.
  • Too, I have added columns to the content area in case you want to break down and jot your notes for each subject in a more organized way.
  • I left a space at the bottom for notes in case you wanted to expand on one subject or if you just wanted to jot down some comments.
  • At the top right, I added 4 boxes that can be used for a quick list or for a to-do column. In addition, if you live in a place that requires more stringent record keeping, the columns allow for you to track by weeks.
  • At the far right at the top, I kept the lesson number but made them bigger.
    Also, every 5 lesson plans, I changed the color of the Lesson Plan Numbers so that you could easily see when you covered a typical school week of 5 days.
  • Under Lesson Plan, I put a space for the date if you want to pen it in.

A few things I did not change because they have worked timelessly over the years are:

  • It is still ONE lesson per PAGE planner. I do not care for weekly planners that take up one or two pages when I need more room to write. Weekly planners have their place, but in homeschooling, I find we need more room.
  • It is still undated. This means it will be a ONE time purchase.
  • Too, you are never behind on an undated planner because you school the days that fit your family. Just fill in the dates as you go.
  • It still has a space to use with 3 kids. Again, not because I only like three kids, but that seems to fit the space best. Remember, if you have younger children, you can easily divide off the sections to include them. The workload will vary with the ages of your children, so two children could easily share one space.
  • The basic subjects that are the same year after year are filled in too.

What do you think? Have you made your homeschool planner yet?

Hugs and love ya and hope you love this planner as much as I already do.

After you grab the glam it up package, grab other forms you need this year:

7 Easy Steps – “Tons of Options & Pretty Color” AND FREE

Step 1. Choose a Pretty Front/Back Cover

Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers

Step 3. Choose Goals/Objectives

Step 4. Choose Lesson Planning Pages Right For You!

Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You! Not a kazillion other people

Step 5b. Choose MORE Unique Forms JUST for You!

Step 5c. Choose MORE MORE Unique Forms Just for You!

Step 6. Personalize It

Step 7. Bind it! Love it!

 

Dear New Homeschooler – Are You Making this BIG Mistake? (I Was)

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When I first started homeschooling, it took me a long time to learn a tiny two letter word – NO.

To this day, I still ask myself if I know how to say No.

Do You Struggle to Find Time to Homeschool?

Dear New Homeschooler - Are You Making this BIG Mistake @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

What do I try to say no to each year?

  • No to over extending myself in activities outside the home.
  • No to unrealistic expectations of myself, my husband and my children as I start off the new year.
  • No to leading more co-ops, groups or field trips than I can do.
  • No to being “the mom” that always needs to be included in hosting every baby shower and wedding shower. (This is a hard one for me because I love to plan.)
  • No to filling our schedule up with so many extracurricular activities.

Homeschooling moms by nature tend to be overachievers. What is our strength can be a potential negative if we don’t keep it in check.

Trying to right all the wrongs of public school, I did plan every minute of our day when I started homeschool.

I didn’t know how to say no to friends popping in at my house unplanned or who interrupted my homeschooling day. Quality time with my kids suffered and I had learned a valuable lesson quickly.

Finding balance was not easy because then I went to extreme lengths by isolating myself from my non-homeschooling friends.

It took another year or so before I learned to graciously just say the tiny two letter  NO and find my center.

The ability to not limit what you physically, emotionally and mentally can do in the homeschooling lifestyle could be a potential pitfall in your journey.

As new homeschoolers, who want to prove how successful they are, we aim too high or over reach by setting unrealistic expectations of what can be done in any given year.

The time will come when you will have smooth sailing and can give back to others. However, that time is not when you are new or struggling.

If we want to avoid pitfalls or traps of homeschooling busyness, we need to remember something very basic – say No.

What have you said no to this year?

Be sure to read my FREE 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers

Grab some more courage to say NO!

Instant Credit, Instant Baby Food – Why Not Instant Homeschool?

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

We have instant mash potatoes, microwaved food and yes even instant baby food, then why shouldn’t we have an instant education?

Today, reality is that our lives are very different than our parents and grandparents.

Life is more hectic, faster and along with that folks have become more impatient, even about their education. How about you? Are you impatient with the progress you are making?

A lot of us try to move quickly in our first, second, third and even into our fourth year.

We believe we can instantly give our children a good education.

To try to right all the wrongs of public school, but yet follow the same methods used by the public school is a contradiction.

Instant Credit, Instant Baby Food - Why NOT Instant Homeschool @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

In public school there is no room for individualism. If a child veers off the curricula, he is behind. If he wants to supplement, it has to be approved.

We try to look for shortcuts like online schooling, boxed curriculum and co-ops that function more like private day school than families who actually meet together to benefit from the strengths of others.

Before I go any further, I want to let you know I don’t have anything against the things I just mentioned as I sometimes encourage ones to use them off/on during their journey. We need short cuts and helps.

The Art of Slowing Down

The truth of it is, that homeschooling is nothing more than plain old work and determination. There are no shortcuts to success.

It takes time for children to grasp concepts like math and reading comprehension.

It takes time to teach penmanship. We can have both beautiful penmanship and computer typing skills.

It takes time to build science projects together or reenact history. It takes time to build the character of the child through every day involvement with the family, Bible study and by serving others.

How about us as teachers? Are we taking time to learn how to teach?

We need to focus on ourselves too. It takes time for us as teachers to get off that public school treadmill.

It is easier sometimes to abdicate a majority of the teaching to somebody else, but is that what brought us to homeschooling in the first place? Will we have the same results as somebody that has spent years and years personally and tenderly cultivating the hearts of their children?

Does your child want to learn from you? Are you prepared when you sit down to teach him or does your lack of organization frustrate your child? Are you the kind of person that exudes warmth and tenderness when conveying knowledge to your child?

The interaction you have with your child on a day to day basis draws your child closer to you. Problems can be revealed gradually and solved slowly.

This takes time. Folks today just don’t have time. Although we want to utilize every convenience made available to us through the internet, interactive classes and skills of other parents like at a co-op, we want to never forget that our children need us.

Just like we would be careful about the type of instant and convenient food that we serve our family, education is similar. Quick fixes may serve in a pinch or for a change, but for long term success, we don’t want instant anything to be the norm.

Our children’s education is no different. There is no substitute for the time we as parents can give our children. Our time and hearts with our children is one of the most valuable things we can give our children. Don’t cheat them.

Keep on keeping on!

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

Check out these other helps:
Why the Hectic Pace in Homeschool?
Controlling the Time Spent on Homeschool Subjects or Running a Homeschool Boot Camp
Biggest Challenges to Homeschooling

Linking up @ these awesome places:

Sharing Time|Tell It to Me Tuesdays|Good Tips Tuesday|

Homeschool Planning Form – Free 2015 to 2016 Year Around School Planning Form

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

2015 to 2016 Year Around School Planning Breeze @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

The glam package is almost ready and I wanted to create a new choice for the year around school planning form to kind of match my new planner.

Today, I have the new form and I am calling it breezes.

Curriculum Pages for Planner

I have the other two color choices for the year round school planning, which can be found on Step 5a of the 7 Step Homeschool Planner.

One reason that I don’t use plain calendars for planning my school is because I prefer to use the 2 Page Appointment Keeper.

The 2 Page Appointment Keeper is a 2 page spread and has bigger boxes for noting dates and appointments.

The form I have today is for you to track and plan your homeschooling weeks and days.

Though you don’t have to use it this way, I made it year round because a lot of us do homeschool year round.

At the end of the form, it has a comprehensive key so that you can calculate your actual days and weeks of homeschooling.

I love doing this each year because it helps me to see how much more I am doing than I actually think I am doing.

I hope you enjoy the newest color choice. You can download it below.

Download breezes here.

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

If you have used my 7 Step Homeschool Planner before, then for your quick reference I have listed each page or step below!

7 Easy Steps – “Tons of Options & Pretty Color”

Step 1. Choose a Pretty Front/Back Cover

Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers

Step 3. Choose Goals/Objectives

Step 4. Choose Lesson Planning Pages Right For You!

Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You!

Step 5b. Choose MORE Unique Forms JUST for You!

Step 5c. Choose MORE MORE Unique Forms Just for You!

Step 6. Personalize It

Step 7. Bind it! Love it!

Linking up @ these awesome places:

Thoughtful Spot|Motivation Monday|The Art of Home Making Mondays|Making Your Home Sing Monday|Good Morning Mondays|Inspiration Monday|Mommy Monday|Mom’s Library|Laugh & Learn|Good Tips Tuesday|Tuesday Talk|Thoughtful Thursday|A Little Bird Told Me|Pintastic Pinteresting|Think Tank Thursday|Making a Home – Homemaking Linky|Hearts for Home|Family Fun Friday|Hip Homeschool Hop|Home Matters|Favorite Things Friday|Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday|Frugal Friday|Sharing Time|Titus 2 Tuesdays|So Much At Home|Think Tank Thursday|TGIF|From House to Home|

It’s a New Homeschool Year and My Child Wants to Go Back to Public School

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Have you heard from some homeschoolers say it’s a new homeschool year and my child wants to go back to public school? Also, you’ll love more tips on my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter.

If there is a subject that sparks much controversy among homeschoolers, it has to be the struggle of whether or not you should send your homeschooled child to public school.

I hear from new homeschoolers and struggling homeschoolers who tell me that their child misses his friends.

They have no friends now that they are homeschooling or their child just wants to “check out” public school.

It's a New Homeschool Year and My Child Wants to Go Back to Public School @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

You are not alone.

Even seasoned homeschoolers wrestle with the same decision some years.

What You’ve Got to Know About Homeschool Struggles

One school of thought touts I am the parent, you’re the child, so you are not given the choice to make that kind of decision.

It is our given right and responsibility as the parents and we will decide.

The second school of thought touts talking to the child to get his opinion, not making the decision a matter of a power struggle and letting a child test out public school.

From my experience in helping homeschoolers, it seems the answer is always a balance of those two schools of thought.

However, I do not agree with the fact that one has to experience something to appreciate the negative or positive affects.

We don’t have to experience pain to know it hurts.

It is true that any child regardless of what age does not have the experience to make such an important decision about their education.

Check out Some of My Favorite Reads Below When Homeschooling Gets Tough

5 BEST How to Homeschool Books

I've rounded up some of the best books to help you get started homeschooling.

The responsibility for raising our children with not only academic standards, but Godly values falls squarely on the parent’s shoulders.

The child or teen is not the third partner to the parenting and I have never seen anything positive come from elevating a child to that status unknowingly.

More New Homeschool Year And My Child Wants to Go Back to Public School Posts

On the flip side, children deserve dignity and respect for the things that concern them. They need to be validated.

This means they need to be heard. If we don’t listen to them, yes anything, could become a power struggle.

Children need to know that we will listen to them even when we hit homeschooling struggles.

7 Questions Worth Asking When It’s A New Homeschool Year And My Child Wants to Go Back to Public School

What can parents and a child do to make their homeschooling situation improve?

Here are a few tips and questions to ponder.

1. What brought you to homeschooling in the first place?

The reasons probably still exist. Will they go away if you send them back to public school?

2. Did you explain your decision to homeschool your child in the beginning?

It doesn’t mean you are including your child in on the decision that is yours alone to make, but it shows them that you care about their feelings and future when you do explain your decision.

Children can understand our reasons even though they may not agree with the decision at the time.

What they will agree on later, if they don’t now, is the love you showed in pouring out your feelings to them. There is nothing wrong with showing our children that we are vulnerable.

3. As parents, can we trust in our ability to teach our children knowing that nobody loves them more than we do?

We are perfectly equipped to homeschool for a lifetime.

Too, there is no stronger force than love. I say this now having graduated two of my sons.

Love moves a parent to make ANYTHING happen that needs to so that your child gets what they need. You don’t have to know everything, you just have to be willing to try anything.

4. Are the teachers and peers at school the kind that we want to influence our children?

5. Are families ties strengthened at public school or is there a deterioration of parental respect and authority?

6. Have I discussed with my child what public school is really like?

Some children have misconceptions thinking perhaps their days will be spent in bliss.

7. If what you are using now is not working regarding curricula and your child told you so, will you S-T- R-E-T-C- H yourself beyond your comfort zone?

Each person has to carefully weigh their circumstances.

Any advice has to be sifted through as we possible can’t know the personal circumstances of others.

Examine your circumstances, reconfirm your love for homeschooling and for all the reasons that brought you to homeschooling.

Remember homeschooling is so much more than curricula, academic endeavor and grades.

Those are important, but the heart of your child is of far more worth.
Use your life’s experiences and remember like any journey, we can all lose our way.
Stop, reevaluate, reconfirm, and reboot.

I enjoyed this quote by Henry Ford that puts things in perspective for me each year.

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.