Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Activity, Change, Progress

Tina Robertson

22 Awesome Homeschool History Field Trips

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

It’s one thing to read about the Holocaust in a book and quite another to bring history to life by visiting a museum and learning about the lives affected by this tragedy.

22 Awesome Homeschool History Field Trips. Bring history alive through interactive learning @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

History field trips have a way of not only making history fun, but places have a way of helping a child remember important dates, important people and events.

Moving from the book to visiting historical places makes learning history memorable and engaging.

Creative Ways to Give Life to Homeschool History

Look at this list of places to visit for history and oh yes, be sure to print off some copies of my forms below.

Historical Reenactments.

Civil War Battle Fields.

Old Plantations.

Renaissance Festival.

Historical Hotel.

Paddlewheel Boat Replica. (Enjoy a meal like they dined back in times past.)

Pioneer Village. (Learn about candle making, shoe cobbling and how to make soap to name a few activities. Call ahead and get a guided tour.)

Cemeteries. (Read about the people who lived in the past and read what the quotes say about older graves.)

State Capitol. (Our state capitol has homeschool days. Check with your state capitol.)

History Museum.

One Room School houses. (Super fun field trip if you have one in your area.)

Old Car Museum. (Learn about how people got around in times past.)

Old Stagecoach House. (We use to live near an old stage coach house. It was a place the stage coach stopped to change horses and for travelers to grab a meal.)

Old churches turned museum. (Many old churches have been turned into museums.)

More Homeschool Field Trips Resources

Old forts. (We visited the Alamo and tried to vision what life would have been like then.)

Visit war ships.

Historical part of a town. (Look for the historical markers and find old buildings. Also, look at the old advertising on the side of the buildings.)

Lighthouses. (This is next on our list to visit.)

Federal Reserve Bank. (We learned about the history of how money is made)

Library. (Read old newspapers and magazines.)

Courthouse. (If you call ahead, you can coordinate a viewing of old Wills and Deeds. So much fun reading what was willed to family members. You get an idea of every day items used back in the day that were important to a livelihood.)

Old people. (A truly valuable resource especially if you have an older aunt, uncle or grandparent that can tell your children about the past.)

Anything else to add to this list?

How many of these things have you done to make homeschool history come alive?

3 Ways You’re Making Homeschool Harder Than It Has to Be

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

3 Ways You're Making Homeschool Harder Than It Has to Be @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

3 Ways You’re Making Homeschool Harder Than It Has to Be

If only magic fairy dust could be sprinkled in my fairy tale land that I like to escape to when the hard times of homeschooling hit. And then all my homeschool woes could go away. I’m still waiting for it to happen.

In the meantime, sharing 3 ways you’re making homeschool harder than it has to be, I hope these tried and true tips will help you make some changes and sprinkle a little magic fairy dust for you.

1. STICKING POWER OF A SCHEDULE.

Wait, don’t run. This is not another tip about a schedule that holds a stranglehold on you, however, a workable schedule has sticking power and it relieves stress.

The magic fairy dust is that a schedule can be as detailed or not as you need it to be.

If you don’t have a schedule, you really aim for nothing in the day.

It can be as simple as scheduling zones in your day like a homeschool zone, a cleaning zone and a resting zone.

Divide your day into zones that work for your family and you’re done.

Simple, but effective schedules gives you a flow to your day.

I go into more detail in my article, How to Create a Homeschool Schedule that You Can Stick To. And if you are doing unit studies like I do, look at the flow to my homeschool day with this schedule.

2. ARE YOU STILL TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN AT SEPARATE GRADE LEVELS?

Believe me, transforming over to teaching multiple ages of children together only sounds like it’s for tough homeschoolers.

You know the ones you think that have it all together. They may or may not have it all together, but they have successfully tapped into a teaching tip from the past that has worked for homeschoolers for many years.

Staying Ahead of the Pack

The one room schoolroom is a thing of the past, but not for most homeschoolers.

The big scare factor when you have not taught multiple ages is thinking that you need to teach them all together at the same time.

Tap into the tips I share in 5 Days of the Benefits & Challenges of Teaching Mixed Ages Together series.

3. NOT TAKING TIME FOR YOU.

When I started homeschooling, I only read encouragement about eating right, taking vitamins and exercising to take time for you.

Though I love all those things and have done them throughout the years, I really crave time to read more, organize my house, write lesson plans, search for hands on activity.

Every mom is different, including me and sometimes my mom time includes meal planning or kitchen organizing.

It also includes using YouTube for workouts and lesson planning.

The longer I homeschool, the harder it is to separate teacher and mommy things I enjoy and I don’t need to because I am both of those things.

Homeschooling becomes a way of life and so in my mommy time, it’s about what makes me rock or relax for the day.

Things like organizing, meal planning, exercising with YouTube and doing nothing at times all fall under mommy time for me.

Create a simple, but effective schedule, learn from the past about how to teach children together and spend free moments in the day the way that relaxes and refreshes you.

You’ll also love these tips when you start back at the basics of homeschooling.

Day 1: Learn the Lingo – Then Go

Day 2: Homeschool Roots Matter

Day 3: What is NOT Homeschooling

Day 4: ” Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace” – Confronting Relatives & Naysayers

Day 5: Wheels on the Bus Go ‘Round & ‘Round – So Get Off

Day 6: Homeschool Hangouts & Socialization Situations

Day 7: Tied Up With Testing?

Hugs and love ya,

Be sure you are following BOTH of my Pinterest Accounts for more tips on not just surviving homeschooling, but thriving, growing and flourishing.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

Go Ahead and Make a Mistake: Homeschool Without Fear

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

Go ahead and make a mistake. Homeschool without fear @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Go Ahead and Make a Mistake: Homeschool Without Fear

Perfectionism somehow has been linked to excellence altthough they are completely different concepts.

Unintentionally, some homeschoolers feel that homeschooling is about making all the right decisions.

Messing our kids up for life can be a paralyzing and harder to shake for some homeschoolers than others.

Well, guess what? It’s okay. Go ahead and make a mistake. It’s the expectation of perfectionism that is the burden, not making a mistake.

The first of my many big homeschool mistakes was choosing the wrong reading program for Mr. Senior 2013.

Tears and the ugly cry followed. You know the kind of cry that is uncontrollable where you don’t want anybody to know that you can still cry like a baby.

However, after the ugly cry stopped, I could face constructive self-criticism that I wasn’t the excellent teacher I thought I was. It was a huge eye opener.

As I sat down wondering if I had messed my first homeschooled kid up for life, I realized then that my first mistake was like a huge exhale and really a relief. Wait, this wasn’t about me, my ego or my intelligence. It is about finding what is the best for my children.

The buildup to my homeschool mistake was far worse than actually the great big blunder.

How To Go from Stuck to Unstoppable

Instead of making me want to quit though, what I learned was that I knew deep down that mistakes were going to happen.

Who was I kidding? I am not into homeschooling by perfect parents. I am far from that.

To take that mindset one step further, as I examined my homeschool fears, I knew that to survive homeschooling I had to let go of my perfectionist tendencies.

Facing the fact that perfectionism is an ugly tendency is a giant first step in letting go of homeschool fear.

Perfectionist homeschoolers can be so busy or so they tell themselves that when in fact it’s procrastination because they want to find the perfect (?????) insert here: math, reading, history or whatever curriculum.

It didn’t mean that I had to let go of my standard of excellence in teaching reading, but I had to learn something from it.

Releasing the fear and facing a mistake dead on didn’t make my knees crumble, but it did make me stronger.

Mistakes are stepping stones to progress.

Must read book for new homeschoolers. 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers!

Not wanting to homeschool with constant stress because a perfectionist attitude makes me constantly wanting something better and bigger, I know accepting best, even mistakes meant that I was on the road to homeschool progress.

Learning from the mistake and now knowing what to choose or not choose whether it was a reading program or activity outside the house enriched my homeschool journey.

My mistakes moved me from novice to empowered educator. Look at my tips in my article, From Struggling Homeschooler to Empowered Educator.

Too, I have never wanted to be the kind of person who is wounded by criticism, let alone be that type of homeschool teacher.

Constructive criticism is part of making a mistake and being a novice. It is part of growing as a seasoned homeschooler.

When Teaching is Infectious and Contagious

Not only does making a homeschool mistake make you stronger, but it gives you empathy for other homeschoolers who are struggling.

It’s true that I can’t even start to be an awesome teacher unless I learn first from my mistakes and then help others.

Homeschooling is not for cowards or the faint-hearted because it takes courage to learn from the mistake and not make the same mistake again.

Removing the fear of a mistake or perfectionism allows room for excellence to grow in our homeschool journey.

Don’t let fear breed, cripple, poison, and paralyze your homeschool day.

Make a mistake and feel the freedom of guilt and fear unburdened. Progress is just a few tiny steps away.

What homeschool mistakes have you made that set you on the road to an empowered educator?

Hugs and love ya,

P.S. My homeschooled child, Mr. Senior 2013 that I knew I was going to ruin for life not only reads well as a young adult, but has a passion for reading. It is a toss up between how many books he and I hoard collect.

Update: Did I mention he has graduated homeschool (along with 2 more kids) and has moved on into successfully being an adult? Did I also mention HOW GRATEFUL he is to us as his parents that we did not give up homeschooling. No better gift ever have I had.

Also, look at:

Follow Both of My Pinterest Accounts too for more homeschool fortitude.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.
Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

DIY Family Calendar (Fabulous & Frugal) + Free Calendar Cover

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

DIY Family Calendar. Not only beautiful but frugal @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

DIY Family Calendar (Fabulous & Frugal)

Because I am not sure where we will be living permanently and because life doesn’t wait, I put together a diy family calendar, which is both frugal and fabulous.

In an earlier post, I shared about how I created some beautiful diy brads for this calendar to keep it frugal.

Today, I created a quick and beautiful calendar for the new year and used those diy brads to bind the pages.

Look at how quickly I put it together with my pages that I have here.

First, I grabbed my .99 cent 2 page spread Appointment Keeper in the Dreaming color option. You can grab it below.

2016 2 page per month physical year - Dreaming @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Then because I want this calendar cover to match my Home Management Binder cover, which I will be updating too now that we moved back to the states, I created this new cover to match.

Too, I don’t really have a place for a command center in this tiny apartment so a diy calendar is the best option for us this year.

Actually, I created TWO front covers. I created one for 2016 and one that does not have the year on it.

You can grab them both below.

2016 DIY Calendar Page @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Grab the calendar cover with 2016 on it here.

DIY Calendar Page

Grab the calendar cover that is not dated here.

Also, look what else I have here that is free to put in your diy family calendar.

After the cover, I added my free 2016 peek at the year calendar and put the free 2017 calendar in the back of my planner.2016 Free Printable Calendar Page

I also added my free goal sheet and free important dates for the year at the beginning of the planner.

2 page spread DIY Family Calendar

I’m all ready for the new year and have a place that I can track our family appointments and frugal too.

Inside DIY calendar

Why buy an expensive store bought calendar when you can create exactly what you want?

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

If you love planners like I do, be sure you look at my Free 7 Step Homeschool Planner, my free Home Management Binder and my Free Student Planners.

Follow BOTH of my Pinterest Accounts for SUPER DUPER DIY Pins too.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.
Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Linking up @ these awesome places:
Sunday Blog Hop|Motivation Monday|Thoughtful Spot|The Homeschool Nook|Mommy Monday|Modest Monday|Faith Filled Parenting|Hip Homeschool Hop|Tuesday Talk|Laugh and Learn|Turn It Up Tuesday|Little Bird Told Me|Mom’s Library|Resources & Solutions for Mom|Wonderful Wednesday|Little R & R|This Is How We Roll|The Homeschool Link Up|Teaching Together|Hearts for Home|

How a 31 Day Menu Plan Makes You a Healthier, Better & Smarter Homeschool Mom + Free Editable Planner

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

Free 31 Editable Menu Planner. Because menu planning for a longer period of time makes you a smarter, healthier and better homeschool mom. @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Losing weight has always been hard in my family. Besides that though, I have tried to focus on the inside person by focusing on my health. Not that I don’t try to lose weight, but a 31 day menu planner makes you a healthier, better and smarter homeschool mom for several reasons.

Take Back Your Family

Look at this list of why a 31 day menu plan is vital for busy homeschool moms.

Coping like career moms.

Whether you are new to homeschooling or not, it doesn’t take long to figure out that you have a career.

It’s true. We are working moms because a career is something that is our first importance and progress is our focus.  And we have made our decision. Our family, our home and Educating the WholeHearted Child becomes our career.

It almost seems like a contradiction to think we would glance at tips for career moms since we are stay at home moms, but we do need to steal a few tips from working moms.

Working moms have to plan if they don’t want to compromise the health of their families and we need to also.

Planning meals becomes essential to success as homeschooling moms.

Eases stress.

Stress is one of the biggest reasons homeschoolers quit.

Don’t underestimate the weight of stress and not to mention guilt as moms when we just wing a dinner that is not particular tasty, let alone healthy.

Knowing just one trick like taking about 30 minutes to plan for the whole month not only lightens your load considerably, but it eases day to day stress.

For me 31 day menu planning eases evening stress.

For example, I had to take a honest examination to see where my struggle was on meal planning and find a solution to fix it.

Breakfast is easy for us. We love smoothies, oatmeal, cereal and waffles. It is not a stressful time in my household.

Lunch is the same way. My children love leftovers, sandwiches, soups and other options.

Dinner or supper, however, is quite another story.

I am tired by the end of the day. On top of that, there is not a worse feeling than to start a meal and to be shy one key ingredient on hand to finish it and get my meal on the table. Tell me that I am not the only one that has done that?

The point here is to use 31 day menu planning as a stress reliever not stress inducer. If you think you struggle with all the meals, then start there by planning all of your meals.

I know there are homeschoolers who plan every meal, but for us it just makes no sense because we basically like the same things for breakfast and lunch.

The bottom line is that 31 day menu planning should be about what your family needs. Find your weak point and fix it.

It means flexibility, saving money and being healthier. That equals smarter.

I am all about following budgets, being healthier and working smarter.

A 31 day menu plan has saved me thousands, yes thousands of dollars through the many years of homeschooling because I don’t overbuy and have things in my pantry for years that are not used.

It saves me money because I don’t throw away food in my refrigerator that does not get used up.

And meals are healthier because I have a plan before I go into the grocery and choose healthier ingredients.

Being tied to a menu planner is not my style either. But with a 31 menu planner, it’s easier to switch around my meals as life happens instead of trying to wing dinner. Give me flexibility anytime with my 31 day menu planner.

I don’t think it’s wrong to want to have it all when it comes to the health and education of our family.

Though it’s hard to lose weight in my family, I never want to use that as an excuse to stop trying. On top of that, I want to model for my sons the example of making healthy food choices.

I don’t like complicating healthy choices or taking an all or nothing approach to food.

We love ice cream in our family and swing by and grab ice cream sometimes in our family outings.

Knowing that our evening meals are stress free, relaxing and that I have healthy options with organic ingredients has only added to the fulfilling career I have chosen as a homeschool mom.

For You – Free 31 Day Menu Planner & Editable  – To Ease Your Stress!

Grab my free 31 day menu planner.

I have made it editable for you. I used it when I started homeschooling. I made it editable too since you’re planning several meals.

31 Day Menu Planner for planning ALL meals and it's editable too. @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

DOWNLOAD HERE FREE 31 DAY MENU PLANNER . To plan 3 meals a day and it is editable!

Now, I have created a second one, which is for dinners only because that is the area I want help with the most.

Free 31 Day Menu Planner for Dinners @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Download here Free 31 Day Menu Planner for Dinners Only.

Plan just what you need and don’t organize something you don’t struggle with. Save time and plan the meals you need help with the most. If it’s breakfast, plan only for breakfast.

If you struggle with all meals, then be determined to make your homeschool journey less stressful by planning all the meals. I promise planning doesn’t take as long as you may think.

Let me help you. Grab my 31 day dinner only plan for January.

31 day dinner plans for January @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Grab my 31 days of dinners for this month.

My 31 day dinner plan reflects my family’s like and dislikes.

Where possible, I linked to recipes for you that can be found on the internet and the other recipes are ones I have cooked for years.

I included this picture below so that you can see how I organized the planner. Use it over and over each month.

Fill in the month, add the week day and the grocery list right sidebar coordinates to that week’s list of items needed for those 7 days.

Look how I color coded the menu planner for you to use @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I will continue to struggle with the rotundness that runs in my family, but I am celebrating the fact that for many years I have been limiting as many unhealthy ingredients as possible.

What do you struggle with most when it comes to menu planning? And what are you celebrating?

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

Guess what? I don’t have enough to do, so I have a SECOND Pinterest Account. It too is full of organizational Pins. Follow Me!

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


For more tips that work, look at Homeschool Organization: Are you Collecting Recipes or Cook Books?