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Free 2017 Year Round Homeschool Planning Form

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2017 Year Around Planning Schedule Waves @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Homeschool Planning Forms that Rock and are Beautiful

I never want you to get confused with the different types of forms that I offer each year.

First, remember to visit my Curriculum Planner Category here on my blog to see all the latest printables. Sometimes I don’t always have them up on each  STEP (or page) they normally go on because it takes me some time to get them up.

Also, remember that I offer this homeschool planning form 2 ways. One way is following the academic year from July to June and the other way is the physical year from January to December.

The reason I offer it both ways is that not only do we start our homeschool year at different times, but I have followers in other countries which follow a physical year.

In addition, for many years I followed the physical year to begin and end our homeschool year because it felt more natural.

Curriculum Planner Pages

This is the first option color choice, which I named Waves (I have to name my forms) for the 2017 physical year.

Too, remember it is NOT a calendar for glancing or writing down your appointments. You can grab those here on Step 2. Choose Calendar/Appointment Keepers.

This form is prepared each year for you to highlight which days and weeks you will homeschool and which ones you will not.

In addition, you track the days and weeks and use the key at the bottom to see if you met your goals.

It is a one page glance to help you stay on track when it comes to scheduling. Don’t try to write down appointments here, I give you plenty of room to do on the Appointment Keeper.

Download here 2017 Year Around Planning Schedule Waves by Tina Robertson

Also look at these beautiful forms that you can use to mix and match.

2017 Year Around School Dreaming 600x @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Doodle Curriculum Planner Cover Store 1 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus 600x
Doodle Curriculum Planner Cover Store 1 @ Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus 600x

Important: READ THIS FIRST if you purchase an item.

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.
  • Hotmail and AOL can sometimes flag my email as SPAM no matter what you do. Though your order will be complete, your email provider can block my email from my store. You can create an account on my blog and download your order that way too.
  • Links are TIME SENSITIVE, meaning you need to download right then AND save to your computer. Please do not email me a week, two weeks or a month later telling me the “link is not working” because it has expired or because you did not save it to your device. I will not respond to those emails.
  • If a link is not “clickable” when you get your product download email, then copy/paste the link in your browser and your digital product will open.
  • 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.

Begin Building Your Unique Planner!

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! 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!

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

Linking up @ these places:

5 Homeschool Things to Toss By the End of Summer

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

5 Homeschool Things to Toss By the End of Summer @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

If I lived in the perfect world of just organization, I would ideally label one box give away, another box labeled to keep and another one to throw away or recycle. But I don’t live in that world because I need to homeschool too.

Homeschool organization is quite different than having all day long to organize, which of course I would love but it won’t happen as long as I homeschool.

Why Homeschooling Simply is of Lasting Value?

Because my time is limited, tossing has always been my go to option. Unless something will bless a homeschool family right away and in a large way, clutter multiplies if you don’t get rid of it soon.

Too, because we are sharing living and learning spaces, a lot of the things I do at the end of summer spills over into my home organizing.

I find that back to school or the beginning of a school year, after I have chosen my curriculum is a great time to take a peek at my home to see what I need to toss.

Look at 5 homeschool things to toss by the end of summer…

ONE. Toss old food, containers and items from your pantry. Mark containers clearly.

Toss old spices and food items @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

toss old containers

When I need to make room for food that my family will eat because their likes and dislikes have changed, I find that cleaning out my pantry for the new homeschool year gets me ready.

It’s hard to cook well when there is a mess to begin with. Take time to toss what you won’t eat this next year or take it to the food pantry for others to be blessed by.

Then, get rid of containers that make it hard to see what you have on hand when ready to cook. I love see through containers and I mark them clearly (no corny pun intended) so I know what I’m grabbing when time is rushed.

TWO. Toss recipes that you do not use.

You know I have mentioned before that though many apps exists for recipes, I like to put my recipes in a 5 inch binder.

Homeschool-Organization-Are-you-Collecting-Cookbooks-or-Recipes_thumb.png

I don’t like my hands touching my devices while I’m cooking. And with page protectors I can turn the pages easily in my binders and wipe them off to sanitize them.

It’s the way I roll and so I always try to go back through my 365 recipes for the year and toss ones that just don’t make top marks with my family.

THREE. Art projects. Do you have some of these lying around the house?

Perish the thought that I don’t keep every crafty piece of art that my sons have done, but I don’t. I would be living under a suffocating pile of heap-o-junk.

A long while back I had to have a reckoning with Tina Day. I was in homeschooling for the long run, which meant I had to make some hard and fast decisions about art projects to keep and which ones to not keep.

toss old art projects by the end of summer @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I do cherish each one and take several pictures of each project.

How to be Happily Homeschool With What You Have and not With What You Don’t Have

And though I do love free cloud storage, I prefer to use a huge external hard drive because I don’t want to rely on free cloud storage that may come or go.

I use the Toshiba 1TB portable external hard drive because it has tons of storage (1TB) is slim and I can travel with it. I take lots of pictures of our projects through the years and store them on the hard drive.

FOUR. Sorry, but I don’t pass on nasty broken crayons or map colors to the younger siblings.

Unless I have a preschooler in the house, which chunky crayons are for, each kid gets brand new crayons or map colored pencils.

Even younger kids are smart enough to know that they are getting second hand crayons and they don’t want those old nasty things.

I guess you could have a party with the crayons and melt them all to make an art piece but then you’re back to needing to store that project.

FIVE. Toss or tear down old science projects. Recycle if you can.

I say toss loosely here because sometimes we can use the same parts over when we have built something previously.

Toss or recycle old science projects @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

We have loved every contraption and gadget we have made through the year but the end of the summer is a great time to part with them and make room for new creations.

We break them down and keep only the parts that look like we may be able to use again.

Those are just a few of the things that I am happily sorting through.

What about you? What do you toss or recycle by the end of summer?

Also, look at my article, How Can I Achieve Simple Homeschooling and Get Organized – Rev Up for the New Homeschool Year.

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

 

Top 10 Tips for Maximizing Space in (Really) Tiny Homeschool Spaces

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

I have 10 awesome tips for maximizing space in really tiny homeschool spaces. Also, you’ll love How to Turn a House Into a Homeschool Space Part 1.

Improvising and finding inspiration when setting up a learning area in cramped quarters doesn’t mean you have to give up style too.

I have not always had such large homeschool spaces to have my boys learn in, but I’m always up for new and creative ideas to expand on what I have already used.

Does that resonate with you too?

Top 10 Tips for Maximizing Space in (Really) Tiny Homeschool Spaces @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Look at these top 10 tips for maximizing space in really tiny homeschool spaces.

Maximizing Storage

First, I love any idea which maximizes spaces and there are some creative ones here.

10 Tips for Maximizing Space in Tiny Homeschool Spaces

Creating more storage from smaller spaces is not easy to do. But I have gathered some great ideas for your homeschool area.

Photo Credit: www.hgtv.com

Short on Space? Turn a Closet Into a Homeschool Station

I love this area and whether you need a place to store your curriculum, or your teen needs a quiet place away from siblings, this is a great idea when limited on space.

Photo Credit: www.twotwentyone.net

2. Use for Laundry Bag

Store puzzle pieces, school supplies and even books in them.

Use a S hook and hang the bags on the wall. Looking at a row of clear mesh bags, it’s easy for you to take down what you need.

Your children can bring one or two bags down and put them away when not in use.

3. Height Adjustable Dining Table

Have you seen dining room tables, which lowers and raises?

When it’s lowered, it can be used for younger children or do double duty as a coffee table.

4. Crystal Clear Over The Door Hanging Shoe Organizer, Turquoise

An over-the-door organizer is one of the most versatile and inexpensive ways to add instant storage.

Sure, it can be a shoe organizer, but an over the door organizer can come with different size pockets.

Just be sure to label each pocket so that your children know what belongs in each one.

Photo Credit: www.lushome.com

5. Keep your books underfoot.

Books are always challenging to store in small spaces. Don’t forget floor spaces under furniture.

If you have the room to create a drawer, that is best.

Photo Credit: hiphomeschoolmoms.com

6. Homeschool Bookshelves on Small Wall Space

The small wall area between the bottom of a widow and the floor may seem like wasted space.

Create DIY shelves to fit the exact niche by using inexpensive repurposed wood or sturdier industrial looking pipes.

Photo Credit: lalymom.com

7. Use a baby gate as an alphabet wall or sight word wall.

Many years, I used several baby gates in my home. That too is valuable ‘wall space’ that is just waiting to be used.

I love this idea from Lalymom. Create an activity center for your preschooler by creating the wall with soft fabric.

Adding pockets for a preschooler to sort letters or numbers in makes this a great learning area.

Not only does it make for a pretty cover for your gate, it doubles as an activity center. When the baby is up, put away the small pieces, like letters or numbers that fit in the pockets.

Photo Credit: www.alwaysneverdone.com

8. Sofa Table Tutorial

Then I just couldn’t pass up sharing this next genius spacing saving hack.

Can you say, oh let me add some more books there? And the best part is that not only can you do this skinny minny table yourself, but it’s inexpensive.

I would, however, measure my books and use the one that has the largest depth to use as the width of the table.

Look at the tutorial over at Always Never Done.

9. Free up precious wall space. Use the middle of the floor.

When the boys were preteens, I bought a large oversized craft table and put it in the middle of the floor to free up valuable wall space.

Our wall space was also limited because one wall had all windows.

The added bookshelves under the table was a welcomed storage space.

Photo Credit: www.pinterest.com

10. Curtain rods are not just for curtains but for hanging storage.

Use magnetic curtain rods. And though you can put them on your walls, hang them on your refrigerator for extra storage.

In addition, you can add two or three stylish curtain rods at eye level on a wall. Add and use drapery clips to hold clear storage bags.

The storage uses for a humble curtain rod are endless. It can corral paper clutter, school supplies and even a book. The best thing is that when you hang clear bags, you can see what is inside.

Pin by Lanell Proffitt on Back to school | Teaching organization, Classroom fun, Teaching classroom

paintaninteriordoorwithchalkboardpaintforhomeofficehomeschoolroombathroomkidsroombedroom

toy-storage

(Credit: Two Twenty One)

For younger kids, use storage folding lap desks, which can be folded and tucked away behind a sofa or in the closet.

homeschooling in tiny homeschool areas


When my boys were younger and we were limited on homeschool space, they sat on the floor and set up lap desks on the floor for our science activities.

Homeschool Learning Spaces Without Limits

under bed storage

(Credit: Lushome)

bookshelve to fix an exact niche
homeschoolbookshelves-copy

(Credit: Hip Homeschool Moms)

curtain rod

Homeschool Hacks

DIY-Baby-Gate-Cover-Alphabet-Chart-from-Lalymom

(Credit: Lalymom)

sofa-table-Always-Never-Done-23-400x600

(Credit: Always Never Done)

More Tiny Homeschool Spaces Ideas

Taking a homeschool space from drab to fab is worth it especially when you’re homeschooling because of how much time we spend in an area.

What tiny space hacks are you going to try or have used?

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

31 Days of Dinner Ideas for August With Linked Recipes. Rock Your Cooking and Homeschooling

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

August 31 days of dinner ideas

Menu planning and homeschool organizing go hand in hand, which is why I have been  doing this 31 days of dinner ideas with you this year.

The area that I struggle with the most is dinner because my days are long this year. The Mr. has switched careers and with this new industry we get up at 4:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. for six days of the week.

Even when my schedule wasn’t as demanding, I learned early that by menu planning for longer period of times relieved the dinner time crunch.

Why 31 Day Menu Planning Rocks When You Homeschool

So my menus each month reflects my style, which is easy but they also reflect my family’s likes and dislikes.

Though  I tried menu planning for 7 days, it was just was never enough. The next week was upon me before I had a chance to menu plan.

By planning for longer periods of times, I have more time during the month to plan and I really like cooking a lot more when I have a plan.

August 31 Days of Dinner Ideas with Linked Recipes @ Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Back when I started this series in January, I explained how stress reduces your energy to homeschool. Meal planning is important because it’s part of the solution to minimize the stress in your day.

Grab this month’s menu above and if you need some more ideas, grab some of the other 31 days of dinner ideas.

January dinner ideas along with an editable menu planner
February dinner ideas
March dinner ideas
April dinner ideas
May dinner ideas
June dinner ideas
July dinner ideas

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

Medieval History for Homeschool Middle School

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

When I got our box of the Medieval History Pack history curriculum from Beautiful Feet Books, I almost passed out from excitement.  Also, look at my page homeschool middle school for more fun tips.

Medieval History for Homeschool Middle School using Beautiful Feet Books or history living books @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I was given free curriculum from Beautiful Feet Books and I was paid for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off. All opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. When I do accept a review, it’s because I’m giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here.

For just a moment as I opened up the box from Beautiful Feet Books, I had a flashback to my public school high school years when I learned about the Middle Ages from a history teacher who wasn’t a rule-follower.

My teacher planned a huge high school medieval feast to kick off our study and because I answered the most questions correctly about medieval history, I was crowned medieval queen. Complete with costumes and activities, I won’t ever forget the fun of learning about history in the older grades.

Memory making moments from my high school years stuck with me and hands-on history and living books became part of my must-haves for my homeschool.

Beautiful Feet Books has been part of my homeschooling journey for many years because it fits my criteria of how history should be covered in the middle and high school years.

When my first son, Mr. Senior 2013 was in Kindergarten, I used Early American History with him. Next as I folded into my day Mr. Awesome 2016 and Tiny, we used the Early American and World History and the Medieval History Sr. High levels.

You can read my article, When We Used Beautiful Feet Books as our History Spine to grab more tips about how I use Beautiful Feet Books.

Beautiful Feet Books Living Literature for Middle School Homeschool @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

However, because Tiny was young when I studied medieval history with my older two sons, I felt that Medieval History Pack was a better fit for us right now.

Living Literature Bringing Medieval History Alive

Look at some of the reasons why we love using the Medieval History Pack.

  • Living books should be a staple of any great course about history and we just can’t get our fill of them. Tiny started off reading The European World, Beowulf and then on to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. We always have trouble following the teacher’s guide because once you get hooked on a living book, you can’t put it down. It’s important to mention here that though I have used a lot of living history books in our study, I value the fact that Beautiful Feet Books spends time culling over the very best ones so that I don’t have to. Again, with this level, we were not disappointed.
  • If you have kids that are middle or high school level, I know you can relate to the struggle in keeping history entertaining and educational because so many programs want to move away from interactive activities to exclusive book learning. Making us choose to either prepare a child for rigorous history in the upper grades or making it entertaining seems to be two choices homeschool curriculum providers throw at us. I reject that mentality which is why many times I come back to Beautiful Feet Books. They show us we can and should have both when we homeschool our older kids.
Beautiful Feet Teacher's Guide @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
  • Also, the teacher’s guide gives me the freedom to incorporate living literature as a unit study because it is filled with teaching ideas, but it is not overly complicated. In other words, I don’t want to have to follow a schedule exactly, but just want a framework to work within.
  • However, if you run short on time the teacher’s guide has just enough guidance if you want it. For example, it has vocabulary words for the reading, ideas for hands-on activities, and of course geography and history helps.

How to Make Learning About Medieval Geography Stick

Medieval map work using living literature @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Another reason that we wanted to use Beautiful Feet Books was to incorporate geography in a hands-on way that sticks.

Don’t get me wrong. Computer programs and pre-labeled maps are super resources, but learning the nitty-gritty of geography happens when you can dive into it.

Middle Ages Map using Beautiful Feet Books @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Making a map of the medieval world as suggested in the teacher’s guide is what piqued our interest. Creating a hand-drawn map and taking time to label regions and cities helps Tiny to remember what Europe looked like back then.

We are off to a great start using his map and we can’t wait to add more to it as we will continue on with our study this year.

Does Teaching History Develop Essential Thinking Skills?

Beautiful Feet Books has never been about having to move fast with quick bites of history. I don’t want my sons rushed when it comes to understanding the ideals of the past because it affects the way people think today.

Too, let’s just face it. When it comes to medieval history, we not only want to dig deeper, but we want our kids to savor learning about knights, castles and jousting.

That takes time.

You’ll love these ideas for literature and hands-on ideas from Beautiful Feet Books.

Look at these other things I want you to know about.

  1. It is a 35 week program, which means it is a year long program. You just can’t rush the richness of the points learned in the literature.
  2. If you are looking for a day by day guide, this is not your program. If you want wiggle room to add your own spin to it but to have some ideas for each week, you’ll love the flexibility of the teacher’s guide. I added in our own science. Look at Medieval Chemistry and Homeschool History.
  3. With the book choices, it easily adaptable for high school. Look here at the suggested credits for high school.
  4. The teacher’s guide has answers and the definition of the vocabulary words in the back of the book. Did I mention it is in beautiful color?
  5. I did notice a few links that were not up to date, but I found them easily on the home page of the suggested link. Again, having the other links for extra reading is a huge benefit to helping Tiny understand this time period and I appreciate him being able to use his iPad along with reading the books.

I won’t hide my obvious bias and love toward Beautiful Feet Books because it has been around for a long time and there is a reason why. Simply, it works.

Learning about history should be action-packed and motivating. With a framework to work with for studying medieval history, you’ll love this curriculum.

You’ll want to see how I used one of the living books, The World of Columbus making 5 days of Free Printables for a unit study. Also, look at 8 Ways to Teach Homeschool History Other Than Chronologically and Should Homeschool History Be Covered in Chronological Order?

What do you think, will this curriculum work for you?

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

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