Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Activity, Change, Progress

Tina Robertson

From Homeschooling One to Multiple Ages and Back to One

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

Our lives have change when we started homeschooling but changes seem to come faster than I have time to wrap my emotions around them.

From Homeschooling One

Did I ever tell you about the time I called Kelley in tears when beginning to homeschool my first child, Mr. Senior 2013?

It was one of those awful, can’t hardly talk cries where I was almost embarrassed I called.

Feeling overwhelmed and afraid of messing him up for life even though it was Kindergarten, I had moments of feeling paralyzed.

After a rocky start, I gained confidence as Mr. Senior 2013 thrived with one-to-one tutoring.From Homeschooling One to Multiple Ages and Back to One @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
I have another vulnerable confession to make.

When it was time to fold Mr. Awesome into my homeschool routine, I called Kelley again in tears.

I promise I am not a cry baby but I felt that way when I went from homeschooling one child to multiple ages.

to Homeschooling Multiple Ages

Homeschooling multiple ages for many years feels more comfortable, relaxed and way easier than I ever imagined it to be.

Learning to embrace the different ages, I learned to allow it to be a strength in my teaching instead of a shortcoming.

I figured out along the way the oldest child could work independently while I helped one or two of the younger boys on school.

I figured out that I could homeschool happily with one child on my hip, one at my foot playing and teaching the other one how to read.

I figured out that my oldest son could take time to entertain the baby and care for him while I schooled the middle son. He wasn’t doing my babysitting for me, but he was forming a sibling bond that lasts to this day now that the baby is almost ready for high school.

I figured out that while it may seem ideal to have down time when I had one child and he took a nap that I didn’t need that time when homeschooling multiple children.

I was much stronger than I realized. I could take advantage of nap time to keep schooling my older boys and working hard.

I figured out that I could be that homeschool mom who could have it all together. It was okay to actually thrive with teaching multiple ages and not always struggle because having multiple children is a natural part of parenting and homeschooling.

I figured out that I didn’t have to stick to things comfortable for me as a teacher when homeschooling multiple children like using the same curriculum for all of my children or keeping them all on the same schedule.

and Back to Homeschooling One Again

What I have not figured out is how I will feel now that Mr. Awesome will be graduating this year and my days will go back to homeschooling just one.

Will homeschooling an only be different now that I have homeschooled for many years?

What advantages or disadvantages will I be facing this next year?

Will it be more taxing on my time because I will be the one interacting with him more now than his siblings?

Does this mean that I will get done more in the day?

I will no longer have tears for the fear of homeschooling when I start next year, but I will have happy tears for the memorable and precious moments and downright privilege of homeschooling multiple children.

If you have an only child or have gone from teaching one to multiple children and are now teaching the last child, what words of wisdom can you give me?

Hugs and love ya,
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7 Advantages to Starting Your Homeschool Year in the Summer

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

When I started my summer homeschool year, we still enjoyed summer fun like outdoor barbecues with traditional tasty Texas beef brisket, swimming parties and some putt-putt golf. Besides knowing how to homeschool means you learn flexibility quickly.

Did you know that it was not until my sons started high school that I started my homeschool year in the more traditional month of August?

7 Advantages to Starting Your Homeschool Year in the Summer

There are 7 advantages of starting your home school year in the summer for both seasoned and new homeschoolers.

Seven Advantages to Starting Your Year In the Summer

When the first day of school is in August, it feels like a race from the beginning.

1. Euphoric Feeling of Being Ahead.

Being able to dawdle at the beginning of the summer school year feels like a luxury and it sets a relaxed pace.

2. Curriculum Not a Good Fit?

One of the most important reasons I liked starting in summer was that it allowed me time to use a new curriculum for a few months to see if it was a fit for me and my kids.

This is a priceless perk because if it’s not working, nothing is really lost.

There is still time to switch curriculum and keep on schedule.

3. Complete Shipments.

We use many physical books and I get my shipment complete and in record time because companies are not really busy yet.

Too, I am able to telephone and chat if I need to with a curriculum vendor about his or her product because the early part of summer is not as busy.

4.Slower Start Equals Greater Momentum Later.

Another insider tip is that there is no need to start all of your new homeschool curriculum on the first day.  Why do we think that we have to do that?

The more children you have the more stressful this can be.

Start with one new curriculum and then gradually fold the others in. Until I started doing that, I was not really reading the instructions on the best way how to use my new gems.

Each week, I folded in another new resource savoring the tips shared, making adjustments to our schedule until we found a schedule that would work for the new year.

5. Meaningful Break from Co-ops and Classes.

A lot of co-ops and classes follow a traditional public school schedule.

This can be a peaceful break from the stress of having to be on the road each week.

With no piano classes to take the kids to or co-ops to attend, those few months of meaningful school without having to break up the day have been some of our best teaching moments.

6. History and Science Immersion.

What do kids clamor for more of and we struggle the most with?

Getting to the best part of homeschooling, which is hands-on activities for science and history.

Taking a few days here and there, without covering any other subject, we immersed ourselves the whole day into history or science projects.

Being able to sprawl out our crafts, books, maps or play-doh for the day and make one activity after the other was a welcomed changed to the fast pace of a traditional school year.

7. School Supplies Binges.

Okay, shopping early before school supplies are all picked over may not be an advantage for those that don’t gush over new office supplies, organizational thinga-ma-jigs, pens, binders and folders.

You know I have a sickness passion for cool supplies, new notebooks and notebook binders.

Don’t give up the fun and long lazy days of summer.

Use them to kick start your homeschool year in a relaxed way.

What do you like best about starting your homeschool year in the summer?

Look at these other tips:

7 Advantages to Starting Your Homeschool Year in the Summer

7 Advantages to Starting Your Homeschool Year in the Summer 2 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Free Carnivorous Plants Notebooking Pages & Easy Hands-on Science Activity

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

Today, I have some free carnivorous plants notebooking pages. Also, look at my Carnivorous Plants unit stuy and grab the free lapbook.

Even though we school year round, as the formal school year ends, we tend to be more relaxed and skip about covering different topics.

Tiny was so young the first time I covered my Carnivorous Plants unit study.

Can you believe it was 2009 when I first did this lapbook with the older boys? Yikes.

Too, I chuckle at myself when I see some of my earlier printables in that unit study. That baby needed a facelift.

So today, I am sharing some free carnivorous plants notebooking pages so that Tiny can do these on his own while reading at the helpful websites I have listed below.

Carnivorous Plants Notebooking Pages @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Too, I found an easy hands-on activity on one of the websites listed below that helps Tiny to understand the slow digestive process by bacteria and digestive enzymes.

It required two easy ingredients we always have on hand:

  • a boiled egg
  • vinegar

It said to place a boiled egg in vinegar overnight to show how a pitcher plant digests its prey.

We took a picture after four hours and then we took a picture of the “digested” egg the next morning.

How Do Carnivorous Plants Digest their Prey @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Pretty easy, fun and gross way to see what happens to the prey of carnivorous plants.

Do this easy activity and grab my notebooking pages for a fun day of science.

Books about Carnivorous Plants

11 Carnivorous Plants Resources

Add some of these books and resources for a carnivorous plants unit study for multiple ages.


More Carnivorous Plants Activities

Look at this website that will help your little researcher fill out the notebooking pages:

How to Get the Free Notebooking Pages

This freebie is a subscriber only freebie!

1) Sign up on my email list.
2) Grab the freebie now.
3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

30+ Summer Activities for Middle School Kids

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

Summertime is not just for young children. These 30 summer activities for middle school kids will not only keep them engaged, but it allows them to burn some of the energy they have in reserve during the long year of schooling. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school for more fun tips.

I have gathered up 30 ideas and I’m hoping one of them will inspire you and your kids to savor the moments of homeschooling middle school. They go by fast.

30 Summer Activities for Middle School Kids
  • Play games. My bunch still loves games like Checkers and Life and any type of card game.
  • Try a new sport. Though my boys love traditional sports, they have been trying ping pong lately.
  • Take a craft class together. My friend Cynthia and her son did a pottery class together.

Summer Activities for Middle School

  • Take up singing. Don’t worry if you can’t carry a note. I bought a karaoke machine before we left the states and we loved practicing our singing at the house.
  • Check out some summer classes at the museum or zoo.
  • Create a summer reading list together. Give your children more latitude in deciding what they want to read. Everyone needs to read books that are just for sheer joy.
  • Volunteer at a pet shelter. If you have an animal lover and they are a bit mature, pet shelters are always looking for responsible volunteers.
  • Take up baking. Most kids this age either love to cook or bake.  Chocolate chip cookies are a great motivator with my boys in learning how to bake.

Homeschooling Middle School Kids

  • Ice skating. My boys love to iceskate in the summer when the days are hot. It also burns off excess energy. I love the quiet and calm at home when we come back because they are too tired to start any sibling rivalry.
  • Take them to a homeschool convention.  You know they don’t just sell curriculum there. My boys picked out hands-on science projects and crafts they liked to do. It can also be an opportunity for them to look at curriculum they will be using in the upper grades.
Middle School Kids can create a terrarium @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
  • Swimming. No need to say more.
  • Take up dance classes. Normally in summer the classes are smaller and I find that students get more attention. If you live in place where it’s so hot that you can’t get outdoors for part of the day, an inside activity is a cool relief. We loved the classes offered by Arthur Murray studios.

Summer Learning Ideas for Teens

  • Learn programming. Tiny actually has an interest in this and we might give this a try this summer.
  • Mentoring. Is your child a care giver? Then he or she might enjoy looking at summer programs where they can mentor.
  • Gardening or even container gardening. How long has it been since you made a terrarium?
The Basement Workshop Store

Don’t forget summer is a great time to do a living book and hands-on science exploring about plants, fruits and nuts!

Our Journey Westward

I love these series of books because you can use them for grades K – 8.

“The NaturExplorers series was written with 1st-8th graders in mind.

 All of the activities in the studies are very adaptable for all ages, though, and specific ideas are included for incorporating your older and younger students.”

Our Journey Westward
  • Learn to make jewelry. I did this when I was in middle school. Nowadays, any Hobby Lobby or craft store carries beginner supplies.
  • Learn to work with leather. Leather can be expensive, so start with those cheaper chamois wash cloths they sell at Walmart to dry your car with and make a pouch, shirt or choker from it. These fun leather crafts are a fun way to begin learning about working with leather.
  • Go to free concerts. We use to live close to a major college and they had free concerts outside with a variety of musicals from classical to modern that my boys enjoyed going to.

  • Try a new water sports like whitewater rafting. Certainly not for the faint of heart, but if you have a water lover he or she may enjoy taking lessons.
  • Check out you library summer reading program.

Summer Fun for Teens

  • Take up a summer job. Some jobs like a babysitter, dog walker and pet setting services just require a mature young person.
  • Make a lava lamp. Beckons me to my childhood.
  • Learn to sew. I sewed my first pillow in middle school. It’s a shame that skill didn’t stick with me until today.
  • Learn to Cook.
  • Take an online class. You’ll love this fun Poetry and a Movie. Click here for Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved).
  • Interview a grandparent. This year we have had both sets of grandparents real ill. We are making a chart of questions that Tiny has been wondering about their life and when we return to the states, he will be interviewing them.
Middle School Kids Can Learn Photography @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
  • Take an elective class for high school now. There is no need to wait until high school to take an elective they might be interested in. Too, by taking a class during the summer, they can take their time and it still goes on their high school transcript when they enter the high school years. Look at A to Z List: Middle and High School Homeschool Electives.
  • Learn photography. My niece took up some basic photography during her summer years. Most classes for beginners don’t require any fancy equipment in the beginning. It is a great way to see if a passion turns into a profession as they grow older.

Fun Learning Ideas for Summer

  • Art lessons for the art lover. Sometimes we just don’t have time to get it all in during the school year and taking up art during the summer keeps it fun instead of “school”.
  • Take up reenacting. My sister and her daughters would do history like this during the summer. Living history, hands down beats a dry textbook.
  • Head to the beach. I remember my summer times at the beach roasting corn and marshmallows. Nothing means summer more than spending a day and evening at the beach.

More Summer Homeschool Ideas

    Those ideas are just some of the things we have done and pop into my head.

    30 Summer Activities for Middle School Kids

    What about you? What are your favorite activities to do during summer time for middle school kids?

    You’ll love these other ideas:

    30 Summer Activities for Middle School Kids @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    Ancient Egypt Homeschool Unit Study – Hands-on and FUN!

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

    Studying Ancient Egypt history has been anything but boring for us because I have been determined to keep it hands-on. Also, look at my page Best Homeschool Unit Studies for more unit studies.

    I have to admit though it is not always easy.

    When I find homeschool history programs like Project Passport: Ancient Egypt from Home School in the Woods that fits what I think history should look like, I am always delighted to share about it.

    Your kids will love this Hands-on Ancient Egypt Unit Study at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    I was given a free copy of Project Passport: Ancient Egypt and I was paid for my time. Compensated 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. Your experience may vary. When I do accept a review it’s because I am excited to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here.

    Hands-on Homeschool Ancient Egypt History

    Though we are history lovers in our home, I know that teaching Ancient Egypt history can be quite boring if you don’t find the right resource.

    Passport Project Ancient Egypt Interactive and Hands-on Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    Using Project Passport: Ancient Egypt from Home School in the Woods over the past few weeks has been by far the best curriculum we have used for studying about Ancient Egypt.

    Look at some of these things that makes us swoon over this curriculum.

    • Hands-on activities like mapping Upper and Lower Egypt, creating post cards and preparing a newspaper and recipes.
    • It means a lot to me to have high quality clip art and not babyish looking quality printables for middle school kids.  The printables are high quality and are all labeled so that you can match them to the correct projects.
    • There are a variety of activities to choose from to suit any learning style.  Tiny is my strongest auditory learner of all of my boys and he really was engaged by the beautiful sounding Mp3s like Touring Down the Nile, Interview with an Embalmer and Building a Pyramid.  I haven’t really used the curriculum the way they suggested by picking and choosing.  We tried to cram it all in because each project sounded as fun as the next one. We just had to taste a bit of everything. Along with creating minibooks, we created a passport, created a luggage folder (so cute), a travel itinerary, prepared the scrapbook of sights and snapshots of moments in history (timeline).
    • It’s all laid out Stop by Stop. Even the text you need to read for each lesson is included. This makes it easy to pick up and go when you are short on time.
    • The teacher’s keys are very helpful and Tiny was able to check his work on his own. I love that part.
    • I REALLY appreciate a scope and sequence being provided so that I can plan or see what will be covered. I have to create objectives and lesson plan and the teacher in me finds this part extremely helpful.
    Passport Project Ancient Egypt Interactive and Hands-on Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    Look at some of these things that you will want to know before you use Project Passport: Ancient Egypt.

    Ancient Egypt Homeschool Unit Study - Hands-on and FUN!

    • Details are important to history when you want to analyze them.  Topics are covered with an eye for details and not broad strokes.  If you want details, then it’s a great fit.
    • It requires a good amount of time for start up because you will want to take time reading through all the directions for both laying out the projects and how to print them.  The payoff is rewarding but don’t look at speeding through the set up process.  This is a savor the time curriculum.
    • Like high quality printables should be, you will want to use high quality materials like cardstock and color printables.  You can print gray scale too and have the option to color. I think it’s always an advantage to have both options of coloring or gray scale printing though.  Because this curriculum is sold by CD or downloads, your printer will be busy.
    • Though I thrive in organization, having four sub-folders to navigate between might seem overwhelming.  It took me a few minutes to figure out that the Itineraries folder in the PDFs sub-folder was the place that I needed to visit at each Stop.  It has the instructions for the activities for each stop.  There are a total 25 Stops.
    • It is important to remember that the printables cannot be shrunk, which a lot of printers do. If you do this, like the instructions specifically mentions, it throws off all the printables. An important detail that is easy to forget when you start printing at each Stop. Avoid precious ink and high quality paper by minding the details on each page.

    Like a comprehensive unit study should be, you will want to let go of whatever else you are studying about so that your children can enjoy the creative writing, arts and geography weaved throughout each Stop.

    Passport Project Ancient Egypt Interactive and Hands-on Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    Tiny is just about out of the dress up stage but he fondly remembers our hands-on activities with Ancient Egypt  (fun with cartouche and Lego pyramid) as we have used Home School in the Woods products through the years.

    With this unit study, my focus was on reading the content and listening to the MP3s to prepare him for high school.

    Of course, doing as many of the other hands-on activities that we could cram in is also my objective.

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study 8 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    Because I couldn’t wait to share with you about how this unit study sparks a love for learning about Ancient Egypt and because of my love for pictures too, look at my first post Ancient Egypt and look at my second one Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2.

    I have used many laid out unit studies. 

    Too, you know I have created my own lapbook printables because it has been hard to find history curriculum that has all the things I demand, which are detailed content, pristine clip art, high quality printables, an overflowing amount of hands-on activities and that can be used with multiple ages.

    Project Passport: Ancient Egypt receives my highest praise and I can’t wait to grab the other projects in this series.

    Thank You Home School in the Woods for the obvious time, care and detail that went into this curriculum. I am proud to be a reviewer of such an amazing product.

     Ancient History Series

    Company Name: Home School in the Woods Publishing
    Website: Home School in the Woods
    Product Name: Project Passport: Ancient Egypt
    Grades: 3rd to 8th, but I found that it could be tweaked up or down because of the numerous activities. Check out their scope and sequence to see the events
    Type of Format: Download
    Religious perspective but can be tweaked for a more secular version if you choose.

    Passport Project Ancient Egypt Interactive and Hands-on Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    You’ll love these other hands-on history for studying about Ancient Egypt:

    Hugs and love ya,