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(Texas & Florida Homeschoolers Relief Effort) Free Digital Curriculum & Resources

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

Note: Please share this post with other homeschoolers who’ve been affected by the hurricane.

I would ask too that if you were not affected by the hurricane to not download the curriculum. This curriculum was provided to homeschoolers at a financial cost to the companies below. Please respect the way the curriculum is to be used, i.e. for families affected by the hurricane.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, my heart goes out to all those affected by Hurricane Harvey. I know what it’s like to leave your home, homeschool in a hotel, on the road and not know if you have a home to come back to.

To help ease your stress, I have contacted homeschool companies and requested free digital curriculum for those affected by the hurricane.

In addition, to help connect homeschoolers, I have listed resources at the bottom of this post for those that want to contribute to Texas homeschoolers and for Texas homeschoolers that need help.

If you’re a homeschool company, please email me at **curr.donations At yahoo dot com** so I can add your resource to this list which I will update regularly. If you’re a Texas homeschool group that needs help or wants to help, let me know too.

**Updated** I am still getting requests from vendors to be added and will add them as they email me.

Also, as we have just endured one of the worst hurricanes in Texas history, Florida got pounded with Irma. Texas hearts and hugs goes out to Florida homeschoolers.

Please spread the word and share these resources with Florida homeschoolers too.

Too, I want to say THANK YOU to all the homeschool companies below that so quickly and graciously pitched in to make this available to you.

Important, please read: Although the Bible may be used for some of the work, I have ask for the curriculum to be doctrinal free and to be secular friendly. You can use your own discretion for what fits your family.

Too, the curriculum below is cost free to you for a short time, approximately for 45 days. They are not every day freebies. However, they are free to you right now because each of these companies have graciously and generously donated them to help you recover and get back on your homeschooling feet.

It is completely appropriate to let the companies know how much you appreciate their donations.

Also, I want to give special recognition to the Build Your Bundle team and sponsors for helping me to get the word out and sharing their Texas Relief Bundle.

Free Digital Curriculum

(list is updated as donations come in)

Elementary

 Fall Fraction Practice.
Growth Mindset Journal.
What Can We Talk About. Social skills.
US Geography.
Grammar Galaxy.
Joyful Heart Spelling Skills and Teaching Guide.		 Sublime Dream – Jill Camacho.
Sublime Dream – Jill Camacho.
Sublime Dream – Jill Camacho
Little Learning Lovies.
Grammar Galaxy.
Joyful Heart Learning.

Middle/High School

 

The Lab Bench. Hands-on science book.
Figurative Language. A language arts program.
America’s Math Teacher – A free 1-year annual family package. The access is HoustonAMT2017. This access code is now live.  Families can sign-up now.		 Learning Hypothesis.
Brookdale House.
Math Essentials and Americas Math Teacher.

Multilevel

HIS Story of the 20th Century.
Readers Theatre Poetry.
Texas Relief Bundle from the Build Your Bundle team and publishers.
Easy Grammar. Fill out the contact form and they will send the exact grades you need.

 

  Powerline Productions.
Warm Hearts Publishing.
Easy Grammar.

Support THE statewide group with both curriculum and monetary donations.

Statewide Service Group ►Texas Home Educators and phone number 817.400.2692

Also, Texas Home Educators (THE), has set up their rainy day fund. THE is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.

From this we will be distributing donations to the homeschoolers in the affected areas.

Because we are a statewide homeschool service organization, we will be verifying the folks who are being assisted by our donations. We have school supplies coming at the end of the September, and will be distributed from Port Arthur to Rockport.

We have made arrangements with many curriculum providers to provide for the affected homeschoolers.

Be sure to join the (THE)  Homeschoolers Helping Homeschoolers Facebook Group if you need help or want to give help.

From the site: We know that where the government will be helping the public schools get back to a regular routine, there is no one to help the homeschool mom resupply her school room except other homeschoolers from all across the country. We are putting people together so that individual homeschoolers from across the nation can connect with the affected families and help directly. This is done with the Facebook group THE Homeschoolers Helping Homeschoolers.

►If you are making a monetary donation, let THE know and you will receive the proper paperwork for a tax deduction.

Facebook Groups for Texas Homeschoolers to Join and be sure you are part of Texas Homeschool Educators.

THE Homeschoolers Helping Homeschoolers. Helping homeschoolers with curriculum.
Hurricane Harvey Homeschoolers Support Group.

If you are a Texas homeschooler affected by Hurricane Harvey, then grab the free digital curriculum at this roundup. Please help me to spread the word to those that need it. #houstonstrong

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Art of Slowing Down

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep on keeping on!

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

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

Linking up @ these awesome places:

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

History Pop Up Printables, Ideas and Resources Roundup

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

I have collected some history pop up books, printables, ideas and resources roundup.

You know our love for paper folding in our lapbooks and who can resist the hands-on of a pop-up book? Tiny and I have had a hankering to do some in our upcoming unit studies.  To get us inspired, I have collected some history pop up printables, ideas and resources roundup.

Pop-ups are for any age and some of the pop-ups show that you learn other subjects beyond designing your pop-ups.

History Pop Up Printables, Ideas and Resources Roundup | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

This first picture I really love because the eyes are cut out and the creator placed a different paper behind it to make moving eyes.  Wouldn’t this make a nifty idea for a history portrait of a famous person?

History Pop up Themes

Then the pop-up book about Ancient Egypt made over at Guesthollow just looks too fun not to make and easy enough to add to a page.

napoleon moveable book

(Picture Attribution: CornerstoneLAE)    

egyptian pop up

(Picture Attribution: Guesthollow)

Grab this free printable from Teacher Vision for a pop-up book that reviews the origins of the Declaration of Independence.Add it to any American history unit study.

pop up history

(Picture Attribution: Teacher Vision)   

The next picture, which is pop up figures of the founding fathers looks like another easy project to make learning about history fun.  The founding fathers are simply glued on a page.  Wouldn’t this make a nice trade off to a boring report on any person in history?

Pop Up founding father

          (Picture Attribution: Students History)

Though this next pop up, which is a medieval castle by Pukaca and is sold on Etsy, it may be worth the bucks.  If nothing else, I am inspired by the paper engineering of it.

paper castle

History Pop up DIY

This next minibook of Leonardo Da Vinci’s invention is just way too cool.  It was created by Sara Alvarez at Chapurreao Blogspot.  The pop-up contains four inventions and a work architecture of Leonardo da Vinci, a flying machine, a boat hydraulics, a war machine and a mechanical man.

It measures 2.1 cm wide x 2.4 cm high. Many parts of the machinery of each drop are printed on both sides.

Leonardo 1
Leonardo 2
Leonardo 3

(Picture Attribution: Sara Alvarez)

At least we can draw inspiration from it even if to just drool at the pages.

This next pop up includes a free ship download (update no longer free) and it is from my very favorite pop up artist Robert Sabuda.  You know I have mentioned his books before because we collect them.  But this would make a great addition to an explorer’s unit or even to our World of Columbus and Sons unit study. There are step by step instructions on his page.

The second picture is a pop up of a castle and he has a template too, along with step by step instructions on the page.

pop up ship

This next pop up is about the the 7 wonders of the Ancient World by Arteascuola.  She uses felt tip pens, scissors, colored cardboard strips and a ruler to create this interactive way to remember history.

Then the next pop is a fun one to do for a bit of art history and it’s about Van Gogh and his chair.  Check out the instructions on the page Art with Mrs. Smith.

7 wonders of the world pop upart history_
(Picture Attribution: Arteascuola)    (Picture Attribution: Art with Mrs. Smith)

History Pop up Printables

And then I found one more castle that gave step by step instructions on Dick Blick. Too, like the website says this is not just for elementary aged children but also for junior because it promotes awareness of not just history, but geometry.

The next pop is a free printable too at Ellen McHenry’s Basement Workshop and it is a Pop-Up Bunraku Theater Scene to enhance your study of Japan.

castles_pop up
popupbunraku

The next popup is an easy one for the littles. It is a Paper Powhatan Pop-Up Village by Flamingo Fabulous.  Depending on the age of your child, you could even have them draw, write or label the geography parts of it and/or locate geographical features.  It can’t get any easier than this.

Then, I couldn’t resist sharing the pop-up matchbook sarcophagus by Small World Land where they share step by step how they made the pop ups. 

native american village
Pop-up Matchbook Sarcophagus

(Picture Attribution: Flamingo Fabulous)                         (Picture Attribution: Small World Land)

Remember, pop-ups are not just for young children. I am amazed at the feat of paper engineering if only we give it a try.  We will be trying one or two!  How about you?

Check out some of my other hands-on ideas.

13 Free Printable History Board Games

Lapbooking Resources

Bring History To Life With Historical Costumes: Fun, Fashion and Unforgettable

Easy Hands on Homeschooling Ideas When You’re Not the Bomb Mom

When does homeschooling become "normal"?

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

As moms when we lack sleep because of endless hours nursing the baby, shuffle a family schedule to line up with dad’s chaotic work schedule, or have our own health issues gnawing at us, a ‘normal'” school schedule can seem a challenge to say the least. It seems to be some elusive lifestyle that alludes us.

When does Homeschooling become normal

Tied in with that feeling of wanting to be normal is the negative thought that only through normalcy will we accomplish anything or succeed at homeschooling.

Focusing on things that we have no control over, but realizing that we are just like everybody else will help curb negative thoughts. We all struggle from time to time, you are not alone. If you are new, you might get more woes in your first couple of years of homeschooling. Seasoned veterans might experience challenges several years down the road after they have enjoyed many blissful years.

The point in dealing with these struggles is to realize that when our time, energy, minds and hearts are focused on ONE thing, like succeeding in homeschooling, we don’t have time to focus on what we cannot do. There is no room in our minds for negative thoughts to drain us of priceless energy.

Habits are formed by a lot of hard work and determination. This is the same for our habit of thinking. By allowing negative thoughts to creep back into our minds, and they will from time to time because we are just human, it will take our FOCUS off of succeeding.

True, we may wish our present stressing circumstance to go away. However, it is more realistic to realize that it is our minds we have control over and nothing else. Work hard at forming the habit to be more positive in our thinking.

Avoid extremes when you are going through hard times and want your homeschooling life style to return to normal.   Remember that circumstances are TEMPORARY at most.

Accepting your present limitations, keeping your mind singularly focused on what you CAN do will energize you.

Support groups, family members, a fellow homeschooler and being around other people who have a desire to succeed in homeschooling will keep your fire raging when you feel you’re smoldering.

Homeschooling never becomes normal, we MAKE it happen each day, one day at a time.

Be sure to go through my Free 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers.

Hugs and you can do it,

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