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Day 1 Learn The Lingo and New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp (& free glossary)

July 18, 2022 | 13 Comments
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Today is day 1: Learn the Lingo of the homeschool world in the free 31 Day Free Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers.

Congratulations on your new beginnings as a new homeschooler. It’s an exciting journey for sure. I wrote this series well over 9 years ago.

Not only am I updating this free first time homeschoolers series, but I’m sharing some of the best ever homeschool resources.

For day one, I’ll be sharing why it’s important to start with how to find the information you need.

Day 1 Learn The Lingo and New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp (& free glossary)

Many new homeschoolers begin their journey thinking the public school world and our homeschool world are similar.

They are not. You’ll need to know how to navigate the homeschool world.

And that begins with knowing new terms to you but that we speak everyday in the homeschooling world.

First, I want to share a story with you which will help you to appreciate that you have to have some skin in the game.

New to Homeschool

Have you ever heard the butterfly story? The short version is that a little boy runs to tenderly cut open a cocoon to help the struggling butterfly emerge.

Even though he had good intentions to assist the butterfly, the butterfly’s fragile wings never expanded.

The butterfly just walked around with a swollen body, shriveled wings and never did learn to fly.

Struggling was part of the empowerment and essential to the development of the butterfly.

As a seasoned veteran, I want to make your beginning less difficult with this 31 day free new homeschooler boot camp.

However, just like the beautiful butterfly which emerges from a struggle, your struggling with various homeschool issues will empower you.

Most people don’t want to hear that, but if you think about your parenting journey it’s similar to that. We do as much as we can to prepare for our first child.

However, nothing compares to the personal experience of raising a family.

As you emerge and face each issue, I want the topics in this series to be a soft place for you to land when you become overwhelmed.

The best way for me to do that is start from the beginning on what I feel you need to know.

Based on my many years of personally helping new homeschoolers and conducting workshops through my new bee program.

Who is Tina Robertson

But before you can appreciate how I can help you here are are a few things about me. Sure, this free new homeschooler boot camp is all about you.

However, you need to know that I’m not new to the homeschool world.

Too, I have 3 homeschooled grads. So I’m well past having my oldest kid being 10 years old.

But the best part is that what I have for you works.

Also, look at a few other things about me.

I am the author of the book Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers: When You Don’t Know Where to Begin

And I have a detailed self-paced online homeschool Kickstarter course. It is a detailed comprehensive course for first time homeschoolers.

That is enough about me.

This new homeschoolers free boot camp is about you. I’ve not only been helping new homeschoolers in person, but here at my site for years.

Let’s dive in because I know that your questions in the beginning focus mainly on one topic and that is choosing curriculum.

Having curriculum is viewed as the hallmark of homeschooling.

And I have much to tell you on how to select it.

However, I would be doing you a great disservice if I jumped right to that topic without building in you an appreciation of the homeschooling world.

You can’t come to appreciate all the facets of the homeschooling world if you cannot communicate with us and talk the talk.

Key to extracting answers to your questions during your journey is to use and know homeschool lingo.

So, I have a gift for you. It is a printable glossary of homeschool terms.

This will get you well on your way to minimizing the struggle and maximizing your time.

Be sure to grab the download of homeschool terms you will be hearing now and from on. They will help you get on the road to homeschooling and stay on it.

CLICK HERE TO GRAB THE FREE PRINTABLE OF HOMESCHOOL TERMS BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BE WAY AHEAD AND NOT STRUGGLE

Day 1: Learn the Lingo – Then Go! {31 Day Blog Boot Camp For New Homeschoolers}

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How to Make a Fun Paper Mache American Robin Bird Craft

July 17, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I’m sharing how to make a fun paper mache American Robin bird craft. Whether you’re doing a summer or spring unit study, you’ll love this craft to go with my North American Robin Unit Study.

And because you can study about birds anytime of the years, this paper mache bird craft can be done anytime. Too, hand crafts stimulate the creativity and imagination of your children.

For younger children, having something to hold like this fun American Robin craft helps them to focus on what you’re teaching

Besides, this is a fun art project that your children will love and want to keep.

Further, once you learn this technique you can do this for any spring or summer birds you find in your yard.

Also, this fun bird craft would make a great gift idea.

So if you’re like us, one of our favorite spring and summer pastimes is sitting in the backyard watching the birds stop by our feeder.

Too, we are always sure to keep it stocked with seed and keep the bird bath clean and full to encourage their visits.

In addition, we have such a variety of beautiful birds that come to eat.

For example, we see cardinals, black capped chickadees, blue jays, Mockingbirds, Mourning Doves, American Robin’s, and many more.

Moreover, American Robins can be seen throughout the US year round and in a wide range of habitats besides your backyard.

Facts About the American Robin

They are spotted in city parks, forests, mountains, tundra, and fields.

How to Make a Fun Paper Mache American Robin Bird Craft

If you look close you will notice that the males coloring is more intense while the females are a bit duller.

Robins like to build their nests among the dense leaves of trees but might also build their nest in a basket or light fixture on your front porch as well.

They love a wide variety of fruit as well as worms, insects, and sometimes even small snakes.

Next, these are two of my favorite nature reference books.

,And they have great bite sized tidbits of information, beautiful illustrations.

Too, while the Big Book of Birds especially is geared toward younger children middle schoolers really enjoy using it too!

The second one is Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World.

North American Robin Unit Study

Next, you’ll love these other tips and resources for a spring or summer unit study.

Use the links for this unit study or any bird unit study.

Finally, look at this list of easy supplies.

Robin Crafts

Cardboard
Straight edge knife
newspaper
scissors
Glue
water
Sturdy craft wire
Masking tape
Craft paint- rust orange, gray, brown, black,and white
Paintbrushes

Directions:

Use a pencil to draw a general bird shape onto a piece of scrap cardboard. You want to use a thick corrugated box rather than something like a cereal box for strength.

Make it as big or as little as you like.

This first step helps form the base shape and support the paper mache. Cut it out using scissors or a straight edge.

Move on next to bend craft wire to form the legs and feet.

Fold the wire over several times on each section to be sure it’s sturdy enough.

Too, I tried taping these to the form but they did not stay on well. But I found that hot glueing them was quicker and sturdier.

Combine 2 parts glue to one part water and mix well.

We used watered down glue which works as well as old fashioned paper mache but dries a bit faster and is less likely to mold like the wet flour might.

Tear newspaper into 1” or less strips, and make them just a little longer than the widest part of your bird form.

Ball up smaller pieces of newspaper and attach it to the sides of your form with masking tape to create a little more body and define the basic shape.

Dip your paper strips into the glue mixture, dragging it across the edge of your bowl to remove some of the excess.

Begin covering your structure with strips, alternating directions, and thickness to complete the shape of your bird.

Be sure to smooth each layer to avoid getting too much bumpy texture on your finished product.

Allow to dry completely. This will likely take a couple days to be sure it is dry through all the layers.

Once dry, you are ready to begin painting and adding personality to your little bird.

Mix a bit of gray and black paint to get the color of the back. You may find the perfect chest color in your paints already, but we mixed a bit of terra cotta and brick red to get ours.

We found the easiest order to paint our American Robin in was by first painting the gray brown back of the bird, then the black capped head and finally the rust brown underbelly and beak,. letting each section dry about 15 minutes between each.

When the paint is completely dry add some details with white like the eyes and some feather details.

You can use this tutorial to make any type of bird you like!

Just change up the shape slightly and choose whatever paint colors you need to customize your creation.

Spend some time before or after this craft looking up pictures of American Robin babies in the nest, listening to their calls, sketching the pictures in your notepad, and reading through some fun books to turn this craft into a mini unit study!

18 Colorful and Free Lapbooks for History Unit Studies

July 15, 2022 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I’ve rounded up 18 colorful and free lapbooks for your history unit studies. On my homeschool lapbooks page you can find them in chronological order if you plan that way.

If you’re wanting to cover history through a hands-on approach, then you’ll love lapbooks.

Besides, lapbooking can be used by a student on any level. And it can be crafty or not.

Lapbooks can be as much as the product of the student as he wants it to be, or he can use part put together.

18 Colorful and Free Lapbooks for History Unit Studies

Note: Some of the lapbooks were free for a limited time.

Too, it’s a great hands-on tool for reviewing history.

In addition, there are many other reasons to use lapbooks while doing your history unit study.

If you’re focusing on reading a living book about history, then create separate mini books for the 5ws and 1H of writing — who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Some history unit studies will be more reading literature focused while others may be more event focused.

And with free lapbooks you can mix and match mini books depending on the history topic you’re focusing on.

8 Easy Mini Books to Make for a History Lapbook

For example, look at these other mini books that your children could create based on any history topic.

1. Make an easy foldable timeline.

Timelines can be as easy or as complicated and extensive as your student wants. I love this one by Home School in the Woods.

2. Write a mini biography about a history maker.

In addition, a mini biography can be written in a quick glance fashion.

3. Sketch a geographical area referenced in your history topic.

Also, storing a hand drawn sketch in a pocket is a great reference tool for you student.

4. Draw mini maps.

Even a pretend map or mythical map brings a history to life.

5. Use strips to write vocabulary words.

Too, when your student uses sentence strips for vocabulary words, writing is not as overwhelming.

6. Compare natural resources of an area if your history topic is slanted toward natural resources.

Then how the natural resources of an area affects the people of the local area is another fun topic to write about.

7. Use a trifold mini book to compare 3 events or 3 people.

Moreover, if you’re wanting to compare and contrast, a trifold books can compare three people, three events, or even three dates.

8. A layered book could help your students visual the main religions or cultural difference.

As you can see this is a very short list of the mini books that you can include in your lapbook or that you can find in free lapbooks.

The advantage of course to any lapbook or history study is that you can follow your child’s interest.

And another advantage to the free lapbooks I create is that they are all colorful. Visual appeal matters.

For instance, when I graded lapbooks created by my children visual appeal counted. Because we live in a digital age, visual appeal matters more than ever.

Adding clip art to illustrate a history topic properly is equally important.

History Lapbook Materials

Additionally, the beauty of your history lapbook is that very little materials are needed. Sure, you can make it fancy like we have done at times.

For example, we used strips of leather and a beautiful colorful shell with a feather as a clasp to close our Plains Indians lapbook.

Too, look at these beautiful Suede Leather Cords and gorgeous Ocean Tone Colored File Folders Letter Size.

Also, I love colorful file folders instead of the drab plain ones.

Too, one more technique we like is to use the bright color for the inside of the file folder.

If your file folder is bright colored on both sides, then it doesn’t matter.

It’s just more visually appealing and it stays pretty through the years.

More Lapbook Ideas

If you’ve never used a lapbook with history, this is a great time to start.

Once your children do one or two they can get hooked on lapbooks and history.

Besides, look at this video, How to Homeschool EZ by Tina Robertson I have for you.

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Colorful and Free Lapbooks for History Unit Studies

You'll love this roundup of free lapbooks to bring your history topics to life.

The Trail of Tears 1820 - 1845 Unit Study & Lapbook

This unit study will focus of course on the culture and life of a few different Native American people, I wanted to expose the injustices and ugly side of American history. Those are teachable moments too of examples that we do not want to be like. The ugly side of history is something we do not shy away from, but I do think it should be approached in age appropriate ways.

American Revolution Unit Study and Lapbook 1775 - 1783

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America.

American Civil War – The War Between the ‘Tates 1861 – 1865 Unit Study and Lapbook

I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free…It will become all one thing, or all the other. “A House Divided” speech, June 16, 1858 Abraham Lincoln

Free Ancient Greece Lapbook

I finally have the rest of the minibooks for the free Ancient Greece lapboook that seems like it took us half a year to cover.

Free American History Lapbook - The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp

I have the newest lapbook, which is the American history lapbook, learning about The Old West through the life of Wyatt Earp finished.

Free Marco Polo Unit Study, Lapbook, and Hands-on Ideas

Marco Polo 1254 to 1324 – A unit study and lapbook about the life of Marco Polo and Genghis Khan, as well as how the Silk Road came under the control of the Mongol rule.

French and Indian War 1754 -1763

The French and British discovered prior to the French and Indian war that they were claiming lands that were not empty. The Iroquois had been in the New York State for several hundred years before Europeans arrived. The British and French tried to get different Indian tribes on their side, including the Iroquois.

Iroquois Lapbook

In 1754 the British and the Iroquois Confederacy met and made an alliance. Britain provided the Iroquois with weapons and supplies, and the Native Americans helped the British fight against the French for control of the colonies.

Prior to 1775, the Indians had been dragged into many wars and the period prior to the American Revolution was no different. The Europeans had brought over superior weapons of destruction like guns, steel tomahawks, cannon and their diseases.

Ancient Civilizations II

Ancient Civilization Lapbook covering Sumer, Mesopotamia, The Babylonian & Hammurabi, Minoan and Mycenaean , Ancient Egypt, Greece, Phoenician, Ancient Greece & Rome Pockets, and Celts.

Plains Indians. Unit Study & Lapbook

I was born upon the prairie where the wind blew free, and there was nothing to break the light of the sun.

I was born where there were no enclosures, and where everything drew free breath.

I want to die there, and not within walls.”

~Ten Bears, Comanche Chief~

The FBI Unit Study and Lapbook

J. Edgar Hoover was named Assistant Director on August 22, 1921. We focused on the time period around his start with the FBI.

Ancient Civilizations Multiple Free Lapbooks

Ancient Rome
Ancient Babylon
Ancient Phoenicia

Famous Pharaohs and Queens of Egypt.
Ancient Assyria
Ancient China

Medieval Japan Unit Study and Lapbook 1185 – 1600 A.D.

This Medieval Japan Unit Study and Lapbook covers from 1185 – 1600 A.D.{1185 – 1600 A.D.} From the end of the Heian Period to the Beginning of Tokugawa {Edo} Period.

Vikings Lapbook Unit Study and Hands-on Activities

Your kids will love this Vikings lapbook and Vikings Unit Study. Barbarians as we use the term today had a very different meaning to the Ancient Greeks. The term Barbarian was coined by the Ancient Greeks and then used by the Romans.

BEST Westward Ho Unit Study and Lapbook!

The Oregon Trail was given National Historic Trail designation in 1978, honoring this great migration that helped assure that one day the Oregon country would one day be part of the United States.

Lewis and Clark Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook

Studying about Lewis and Clark has been one of the best ways to study American History. Begin with this mission statement by Thomas Jefferson below.

The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river & such principal stream of it, as, by it’s course and communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean…may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent for the purpose of commerce.

Words by President Thomas Jefferson, June, 1803.

RMS Titanic Unit Study and Free Lapbook

RMS Titanic – {April 14/15, 1912}

Daniel Boone - North American Explorer

Before Washington began to fight the battles of the Revolution in the east, Daniel Boone and other famous hunters were fighting bears and Indians in what was then called the west. By that war in the woods, these brave and hardy men helped us to get possession of that part of the country.

BEST Free Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum With A Gentle Approach (List)

July 14, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have rounded up the best free kindergarten homeschool curriculum with a gentle approach for kindergarten homeschool curriculum.

Too, kindergarten curriculum is not a must have at this age. I know that is not the answer some parents want to hear. It wasn’t for me either when I started.

However, after having three homeschooled grads and mentoring Mr. MunchKing right now, I know a gentle start is best.

BEST Free Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum With A Gentle Approach (List)

Whenever did we adopt the thinking in education that a separation from life skills at this age or any age takes second position to formal curriculum?

It should not.

Up until this time, you’ve taught your child a language, potty-trained him, and are now teaching him about the world around him in a natural way.

Continue to be the best first and only teacher of what is important all the way to adulthood.

Besides, free homeschool curriculum or purchased curriculum should always take a backseat to life skills and the maturity of your child.

In addition, you may not need to spend a lot of money in kindergarten.

There are many reasons for choosing free kindergarten homeschool curriculum.

How to Use the Free Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum List

For example, because Kindergarten should be play-based spend more of your budget on games, science kits, and craft supplies.

This is not just idle play, but learning through pretend play and hands-on discovery is how children learn best.

Playing fosters creativity which lasts a child’s whole learning journey.

Don’t stifle it by using too much formal curriculum.

In addition, I have a few links for crafts of things you have around the house.

Also I have a Homeschool Kickstarter online self-paced course for first-time homeschoolers.

If you have several children after your kindergarten aged child, then it’s worth the time to both create and maybe buy manipulatives to use.

Again, save some of the budget to use for books, learning toys, items to strengthen fine motor and science kits.

Look at my post 18 Amazing Kids Subscription Boxes to Try Right Now.

Next, there are a few more ways you can utilize free homeschool curriculum.

How to Expand on the Kindergarten Curriculum List

For instance, not all kindergarten aged children are on the same level, but they all learn the same way.

Think about that for a minute.

In kindergarten it’s all within the range of normal for children to still be learning letter sounds to reading beginner chapter books. And some are even reading higher level books.

However, what makes it hard at this age is presenting skills in a fun way or play-based.

As I mentioned, during the preschool to kindergarten years all children learn the same way — play, discovery, movement, music, art, hand-crafts, and interaction with a loving caring adult.

So, when you use free curriculum, you can gauge the follow skill levels:

Since children have better fine motor coordination closer to first grade, you want to continue to see improvement through crafts NOT writing.
Using the free phonics and reading literature, gauge your child’s reading level.
And use the math and phonics to evaluate your child’s familiarity with numbers and sounds.

All the years I’ve used free curriculum, it helped me to prep each of my sons for a more formal first grade or even the next year.

Whether you use free curriculum for review or to lay a strong foundation, you will need to plan.

Read here about how I created A Unique Flexible and Beautiful Preschool Homeschool Planner.

Beautiful and Flexible Early Learner Homeschool Planner
$7.25 Add to cart

You’ll love my Early Learner Homeschool Planner.

Early Learner Homeschool Resources

Look at these other tips for teaching early learners.

As Einstein said, Imagination is more important than knowledge.

And the best part of teaching the kindergarten years doesn’t happen with curriculum.

Reading to your child, playing with him, taking nature walks, making crafts, growing a bean from seed, coloring, dancing, and listening to music are ways you help your child observe the world around him.

How to Get the Free Printable

Now, how to grab the free printable. It’s a subscriber freebies.

When you sign up to follow me, you get access to this freebie.

1) Sign up on my email list.
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25 Great Homeschool High School Science Curriculum

July 12, 2022 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Several years before I chose a homeschool high school science curriculum, I was feeling anything but calm. Fast forward 20 years and I’ve learned there are many options to teaching high school science right. Check out my how to homeschool high school page for awesome tips.

And it’s hard to go too wrong when narrowing down the options for homeschool high school science.

However, before you can choose the right homeschool science curriculum for your teen you need to determine the answers to these 7 questions.

25 Great Homeschool High School Science Curriculum

Will your high school teen pursue a science career and want to dive deep or are you wanting to give him a broad overview?
What is your teen’s current attitude toward science? More on that in a minute.
How will your goals or expectations affect your teen? For example, will hands-on activities be priority over completing the science text or will a completed text be the only way to count a grade?

Science Curriculum for Teens

And here are the next four questions.

Determining the lab component is important. So, will you devote time to understanding how to count labs. By the way, I have you covered. Grab some tips here at my post How to Easily Meet the Lab Component of Homeschool High School Science.
Also, because homeschool high school science curriculum has exploded, do you want a Christian-based, secular or even faith-neutral science curriculum?
In addition, while not being totally fixated on grades, determine how you will grade? Will you grade only daily work and tests or will participation in discussions with you and hands-on activities be a big part of the grade? And finally,
what goals does your teen have? Ask him or her what they want to learn or get from the course.

It won’t take long to think about those seven questions and don’t forget some of this will change depending on the age of your teen.

If your teen is just entering high school, he may change his goals from ninth grade to twelfth grade.

Stay flexible and don’t forget to have fun. The high school years were some of the best years of my journey.

What are the Branches of Science

First begin with understanding course descriptions.

For those of us who are not science majors sorting out the branches of science can be confusing.

All I knew was that in high school, I chose topics I loved for all four years.

Even if the topics are considered subtopics of the main branches of science, it’s still considered a study of science for high school.

I love these simple definitions from Study.Com where it says, “Physical science is the study of non-living things and the laws that describe them. The life sciences, which can also be called biology, have many subsets. The most common ones include botany, zoology, genetics, human biology, nutrition, and medicine. Earth sciences include geology, paleontology, meteorology, oceanography, and ecology.”

Homeschool High School Science Curriculum Sequence

Next, what is important to consider is the sequence.

As I mentioned before whether your teen is pursuing a college track or career track is a deciding factor for the sequence of courses.

For instance, if your teen is pursuing a college track, it’s important that you check first with the college to determine the science sequence and credits needed.

A good rule of thumb is to have your teen do all fours years and a lab. This way the science doors stay open. A teen may decide to pursue a science career five years after completing high school. A solid science background would be important then.

If your child is not pursuing a science career, then probably two or three years of science with a lab is enough. Look below at a couple of sequences for high school science courses.

High School Science Curriculum Sequence

3 years and 1 lab
physical science
biology and
chemistry

4 years and 1 lab
biology
chemistry
earth science
physics or an elective

And when I started homeschooling 20+ years ago, below were some of the sequences.

I think they’re still wonderful for our current day.

This one comes from Home Learning Year by Year by Rebecca Rupp. It still stands solid.

And this sequence comes from College-Prep Homeschooling by David and Chandra Bryers.

Grade 9 Earth/Space Science
Grade 10 Biology
Grade 11 Chemistry
Grade 12 Physics

Grade 9 Physical Science
Grade 10 Biology Lab 1/2 credit
Grade 11 Chemistry Lab 1/2 credit
Grade 12 Physics

Next, something else to not forget is to think about your child’s mathematical abilities.

When you choose courses like biology or earth science first your teen has time to strengthen his math foundation.

My opinion is the sequence depends on your child’s math abilities.

I don’t think there is a right or wrong. If your child needs more time to strengthen his algebra skills, do earth science or biology first.

However, if your teen’s algebra skills are solid by 9th grade, then jump into physics right away.

As you can see there are many paths to cover the 3 main branches of science physical sciences, life sciences, and earth sciences.

Furthermore, look through these high school science curriculum to see the wonderful choices.

And a few pointers will help you in choosing a high school curriculum which meets your needs.

More Homeschool High School Teen Elective Resources

Whether you’re looking for a faith-based resource like Apologia or you are looking for a resource like Abeka’s physical creation, you’ll find a resource here.

In addition, if you prefer more of a secular or faith-neutral approach, look at R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey.

High School Homeschool Curriculum

Further, some curriculum are worktexts for students who may not want labs. PAC Works or Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum below are straight worktexts.

Furthermore, rabbit trails or subtopics under the main branches of science can be so fascinating.

Whether your teen wants to study marine biology or take a year studying the night sky it’s still science.

For example, anatomy, zoology, botany, and geology are more fascinating subtopics.

As I mentioned at the outset, you can see why your teen’s interest matter.

More important to me is the experience and hands-on activity. And nurturing my teen’s love for any branch of science.

Sure, we must record keep and maintain credits, but don’t choose completing a textbook over the experience.

Novare Physical Science
Introductory Physics
Exploring Creation with Physical Science

I still don’t view myself as a science mom, but I am a science lover and all three homeschooled grads still love science.

What do you think, can you find an option for your teen here?

In conclusion, you’ll love my other high school tips: