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freeprintables

31 Popular and Free Homeschool Planner Printables

June 20, 2022 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

If you’re looking for free homeschool planner printables or a complete homeschool planner, you’re sure to find one here.

A DIY planner consists of many sections like a front cover, back cover, lesson planning pages, attendance forms, evaluation forms, grading forms, calendars, and schedules.

However, what makes your planner unique are the various printables you use.

31 Popular and Free Homeschool Planner Printables

Forms which are not only beautiful but easy to use helps to keep your day organized.

So, look at the sections below for a hardworking planner.

  • front and back covers
  • inside pages
  • numerous lesson planning pages
  • attendances pages
  • evaluation pages
  • grading scales
  • high school forms
  • teacher and student schedules
  • field trip forms and

MANY more forms to make it perfect.

Why Coil Bind Makes the BEST Binder

Also, because I believe your planner is best when homemade, you need to know why coil bind works best.

One of the best reasons to use coil is that your planner lays flat.

When writing you want the planner to be as flat as possible.

I see some pictures with notebooks and while I love notebooks, they don’t even make it in my top choices.

Why? There are three huge reasons I don’t like or use notebooks.

  1. First, the O rings get in the way of writing.
  2. Second, the planner cannot bend back. That is important if you print only a semester planner and want to use part of the paper for a pad to write on.
  3. Third is that a notebook binder encourages you to keep organizing.

Organizing is about accepting a system and making it work. It’s not about constant change through the year and never using your planner. Adding or deleting pages adds to the stress. Using what you’ve created and making it work albeit not perfect is how organized people roll.

In addition, coil uses very little space on the margin for the coil to go through.

Did I mention how many different colors coils come in?

Some colors are beautiful, but most office supplies business will have basic white or transparent which are always my top choices.

31 Popular and Free Homeschool Planner Printables

Whether you buy a coil binding machine or take your planner to an office supply place, you won’t ever regret using coil.

Curriculum Pages for Your Planner

Add these Printables to Your DIY Homeschool Planner ♥♥

You'll love these popular forms to make your planner uniquely yours.

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

Not all assignments need grades, but in middle and high school you may need to track grades. Grab this Middle School Descriptive Writing Grade Record.

More Front Colorful Covers

You'll love these beautiful covers. Just print .

4 PRE-Homeschool Year Planning Pages (and tips to use them)

Planning doesn’t begin when your school year begins. It begins 8 to 6 weeks BEFORE your school year. Grab this pre-planning page, scheduling your year plan, holiday list and school year goals.

Week At a Glance Form

Gorgeous Week at a Glance for an overview of your week because sometimes you don't need to plan day by day.

Homeschool Memorization & Tracking Form

Memorization Tracking & Planning page for passages or poetry.

Goals Form

I have 2 color choices for you today - orange or blue for goals for your school year.

Community Service Planning Record

Homeschool community service record for your teen. Tracking your teen's time to add to the high school transcript is easier with this beautiful and useful form.

Homeschool High School How To Prepare THE Transcript

Editable High School Transcript. Once you know the basics, it's easy. Be sure to grab my other tips for high school.

Photo Credit: hessunacademy.com

Weekly Time Blocking Schedule for Kids and Adults

Use this weekly time blocking schedule to keep track of your week down to the hour!

Photo Credit: www.hopeinthechaos.com

Student Planning Pages

Student planning pages to help kids learn how to plan their homeschool days, weeks, and months.

7 Step Planner Inside Page - Color Choice Miss Ya

This color choice is named Missed Ya because it has been a while since I shared some of my favorite color combinations which are orange and pink. You'll love this BEAUTIFUL inside page.

Photo Credit: rockyourhomeschool.net

Get Organized with These Portfolio Checklists

Need to put together a homeschool portfolio? Use these checklists to help you make sure you have everything you need (and skip the rest!) 

Useful Editable Movie Report For Homeschool

EDITABLE movie report in two color choices.

Homeschool Curriculum Cover - Purple Haze Color

Beautiful purple color cover.

Homeschooled Teen Job Performance Evaluation Form

Give your teen a job performance evaluation to compliment his high school transcript.

Back Cover Pages

Grab these 4 beautiful back cover pages with quotes.

Year At a Glance Form For Moms Buried in the Organizing Details

I have a gorgeous year at a glance form for you.

Summer Loving Curriculum Planner Cover

You'll love the color scheme in this cover named Summer Loving.

Free Library Resources List

Use this library list to keep your library finds in one place in your planner.

Back Cover Curriculum Planner

One Mother Teaches More than a Hundred Teachers back cover page.

Bright Green Cover

You'll love this bright green cheery homeschool planner cover.

Beyond Museums and Zoos Homeschool Field Trip Form

You'll love this field trip reference page to keep when planning field trips.

Another Navy Blue Cover

Grab this GORGEOUS navy blue front cover for you planner.

Updated Homeschool Attendance Forms

Gorgeous and beautiful attendance forms.

School Year Goals Form

More of This and Less of that simple goal page.

Free Student Planners _ Covers now EDITABLE

Choose from many Student Planner Covers to create a Free Student Planner.

Homeschool Co-op Tracking Form

Track the progress of your homeschool co-op with this tracking form.

Inside Title Page

Another inside title page with a pretty color scheme.

Photo Credit: rockyourhomeschool.net

How to Cultivate & Enjoy a Relaxed Homeschool Routine

Easily put together a relaxed homeschool routine with this free printable planning page. Includes 1 page to write on and 1 page that you can directly edit!

Photo Credit: www.intentionalinlife.com

IIL VIP Freebie Hub

Looking for creative ideas and tips to cultivate the love of learning in your home? This 12 page planning pack is filled with ideas, tips and planning pages that will help you incorporate more hands-on learning experiences in your home.

Photo Credit: homeschooling4him.com

Free Printable Homeschool Attendance Sheet

With this attendance sheet, you can keep track of the whole homeschool year on one page. Use it for record keeping and reporting, or for your own piece of mind.

Look at these other posts you’ll love:

  • Colorful Reading Journal to Motivate Kids
  • Field Trip Journal Pages
  • Also check out my Planner page on my Amazon Shop for gorgeous accessory options.
 31 Popular and Free Homeschool Planner Printables

2 CommentsFiled Under: Curriculum Planner, Homeschool Planner Tagged With: curriculum planner, curriculum planner. homeschool., freeprintables, homeschool, homeschool curriculum planner, homeschool planner, homeschool planner front cover, homeschool planning, homeschoolplanner, homeschoolplanning, lesson planner, lessonplanning, planner, student planner

Ancient Civilizations Unit – Printable Minibook on Sumer

May 31, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

One of the main reasons I wanted to cover an ancient civilizations unit is because sometimes a history study can get draggy. More important, I wanted to include other ancient civilizations to add to our Ancient Civilizations II unit study.

Focusing on the details of history, can get a bit sluggish because you lose the momentum of the overview.

There are lot of kids and teachers alike that are I-have-to-see-the-big-picture-before-I-get it people.

Me? I love history, but I can get buried in all the details.

I appreciate the big picture too.

It is important to pull up and away and look at the big picture so you understand the major players of ancient history.

Ancient Civilizations Unit

For us, I think after we examine the big picture and come up for air, it gives us another bunny trail to go down. You know what I mean? Often times, I end up with more units or topics than school months to learn about them.

Ancient Civilizations

Too, if you start homeschooling with older children sometimes they just get a glimpse of them in public school.

So, if you’re wanting to cover ancient civilizations, then a unit focusing on great empires or ancient civilizations is key to understanding them.

It is key to keeping history fun and relevant. Although Mesopotamia is an early civilization, it can be confusing to understand about Sumer.

So I made it a separate minibook.

Understanding that Sumer developed in Mesopotamia is the first place to start.

From there it is easier to associate the Sumerian ruler, Sargon, with the time period.

This time I made a minibook focusing more on the Sumerians invented which was a system of writing and irrigation.

Because they were farmers, irrigation was an important livelihood. 

Understanding how irrigation helped them to live farther away from the rivers is an important concept in explaining how they thrived as a civilization.

Sure, it probably is not as glamorous to study about farming and irrigation as maybe studying about mummies, but it is solid; farming and irrigation is at the roots of ancient civilizations.

Ancient Civilization Unit

As usual, I try to give some accompanying facts and as always you don’t have to use them.

Ancient Sumer Printable Minibook

I provide information as I can because we do lapbooks as enrichment and my time is limited.

Also, these minibooks can be glued on pages for notebooking. You decide.

Sometimes we do a lapbook, sometimes the older boys glue the minibook on pages for a notebook.

One curriculum that we are using right now too because I am interested in getting a bird’s eye view on history is Western Civilization Study by Brimwood Press.

The reason I am excited about this one is because in a few short lessons you span several thousands of years of history. I

n fourteen lessons you span 5,000 years. A great teaching tool for getting a sweeping overview of history. We are already loving it. You have to check it out below.

I can’t wait to tell you more as we are so engaged going through it. I hope you enjoy the Sumer book. It makes it easy when you can cover civilizations, hitting the highlights and move on.

Ancient Civilizations Unit

Download the next minibook on Sumer below

Sumer-Ancient-Civilizations-Unit-by-Tina-Robertson.pdf (2757 downloads )

Do you find it hard to teach the highlights of history?

Ancient Civilization Unit

Hugs and love ya,

Leave a CommentFiled Under: 1. My FREE Learning Printables {Any Topic}, History Based, My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas} Tagged With: ancient, ancient civilizations, Ancient Sumer, freeprintables, history, history resources, historyspine, homeschoolhistory, lapbook, lapbooks

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

April 9, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Along with The Tale of Peter Rabbit printables, I’m also sharing fun hands-on activities during my spring unit study with Mr. MunchKing. Also look at my page Best Homeschool Unit Studies.

He is such a sweet kid to mentor, and he had so much with this spring unit study. It is one of his favorites already.

Before I started blogging or had a website, I used parts of Five in a Row unit study curriculum with my three homeschooled grads. FIAR uses The Tale of Peter Rabbit as one of their literature studies.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

Doing the same unit study years later allowed me to dig deeper, to make it fit another generation, and to use my own unique ideas.

I planned this unit study with my ideas and ideas from other educators. Why invent the wheel when so many good unit study printables and subtopics abound on the internet? A pinch of my own way of teaching and add in other wonderful ideas and it’s a fantastic fun study.

Tale of Peter Rabbit Unit Study

One more thing about Five in a Row is that many unit study providers have come along since I started 25 years ago, but Five in a Row remains one of my very favorite for elementary and middle school.

The way they use hands-on for all subjects is head and shoulders above many other so called unit study providers.

Keep in mind that this delightful book can be used all the way up to high school as well. Topics can be slanted to teach children like figurative language, drawing inferences, and an introduction to analysis.

Don’t think it’s just a young child’s tale; a picture book is one of the best tools for teaching beginning analysis in the middle grades.

Now, let’s dive into this fun spring unit study about The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

First, look below at my unit study planning page from my Ultimate DIY Unit Study Planner of how I adapted the tale to fit what I want Mr. MunchKing to learn at the PreK/K level.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

My unit study planning page is just a guide, but is not everything you cover. Again, as a guide it gives you a framework of important points while following your child’s lead.

Unit Study Concept/Ideas for Peter Rabbit Tale

In addition, I start with unit study idea concepts which are usually like one or two words for me to glance at to use as a springboard for another teaching idea.

Look at some of the unit study idea concepts or word glances for The Tale of Peter Rabbit which fits the age of Mr. MunchKing.

  • England, country garden, farm animals
  • rabbits, berries, sparrows
  • types of robins, fir tree, obedience, and
  • various cultures.

Next, look at various activities and ideas for each homeschool subjects. Beginning with language arts, the best part is reading the book over and over again.

Watch and listen to this beautiful read aloud of Peter Rabbit on YouTube using an English accent.

I have included a few more videos to help the book come alive:

  • The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny film 1/2
  • The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny film 2/2
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

Peter Rabbit Unit Study Language Arts

Learning how to tell back a story builds fluency in reading and comprehension. It begins with excellent literature.

Further, I created this fun printable story telling cube which can be used in different ways. Reading should be hands-on to allow your child to listen while using his other senses.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

This storytelling cube is a subscriber freebie.

I used this printable in several different ways:

  • ask questions about events in the story and have your learner find it on the cube
  • read a part in the book, ask who was talking in the story and have your child find it on the cube
  • tell your child to choose a character or event on the cube and retell what is the picture illustrating
  • have your child “roll” it and play guess what the picture is illustrating
  • let your child listen and follow along showing the correct illustration
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

Free The Tale of Peter Rabbit Book

And you’ll love having access to The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter for free here at Gutenberg.

More Tale of Peter Rabbit Resources

  • 8 Peter Rabbit Garden Ideas | How To Make A Preschool Garden Box
  • Fun Mr Mcgregor’s Vegetable Garden Simple Frugal Math Activity

Free Literary Terms Notebooking Pages

Because I know how hard it is to find things for older learners, I’ve created 3 free literary terms notebooking pages based on the book.

Please hear my heart when I say that I don’t encourage any literary evaluation until a child is in middle school. Young child will struggle with understanding literary terms. Wait until they are older.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

The first notebooking page is Fiction versus Nonfiction. Have your child write under the correct column which key words match the correct column.

For the second notebooking page, Elements of Fiction, have your child research the definition of each of the elements of fiction.

Literary terms is the third page. I have included a brief definition of a few terms on that page.

Help your older leaner to understand the definitions and then find examples of each one in the story. For example, to explain foreshadowing point out this part below to your child.

NOW, my dears,” said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, “you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don’t go into Mr. McGregor’s garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.”

On the last part of the third notebooking page there is a part to add specific genres like mysteries, science fiction, historical fiction, realistic fiction and epic poems to name a few. I hope these brief explanations about each page will help you guide your child.

These notebooking pages are subscriber freebies.

HOW TO GET THE FREE STORYTELLING CUBE AND 3 PETER RABBIT NOTEBOOKING PAGES

Now, how to grab the free notebooking pages and the storytelling cube. They are subscriber freebies.

11) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE.
2) Grab the freebie now.
3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

To further enhance language arts skills for Mr. MunchKing, we added dot printables and other fine motor skills craft fun.

Fine Motor Activities for The Tale of Peter Rabbit

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

The list below of fun printables is from Making Learning Fun which we loved to enhance language arts:

  • 3 sisters Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail printable
  • Peter Rabbit emergent reader
  • ABC Dot to Dot
  • Emergent Reader
  • Pre Writing Tracer Cards
  • Baggie Rabbit Rhyme and Craft
  • Count by 2’s Dot to Dot
  • Feed the Rabbit Game
  • Rabbit Hopping Measurement Cards
  • Coat Button Activity
  • Measurement Worksheet
  • Peter’s Coat Pattern

Also, look at some of these fine motor skill activities we added.

How to Sew a Felt Carrot

First, Mr. MunchKing sewed an adorable little felt carrot. You don’t need much to do this and your little learner can make many of the vegetables in Mr. McGregor’s garden.

Begin by gathering felt, a plastic sewing needle, yarn, scissors, and some stuffing.

You can use cotton or whatever you have on hand for the stuffing. As some of our school supplies, we add to our craft supply and added a pack of felt. You’ll need two colors, orange and green.

There are a few easy steps:

  • First, our square had to be cut into a wide triangle.
  • Fold over the triangle to form the shape of a carrot.
  • Thread the needle with a long piece of orange yarn and have your child sew on the long side.
  • Don’t cut off your yarn yet. Leave enough room to stuff.
  • Next stuff the carrot and use a pencil to push it down to the bottom of the point.
  • Then, lay the carrot aside without sewing across the top yet either.
  • Take the green felt and stuff it inside the carrot with the stuffing.
  • Sew the sides and tie. Thread the needle again and sew across the top of the carrot
  • Lastly cut the green felt to make leaves.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

How to Use The Vegetables in Mr. McGregor’s Garden for Playing to Learn

Too, we cut free hand from the rest of the felt the other vegetables in Mr. McGregor’s garden.

After cutting out the vegetables, Mr. MunchKing glued the small vegetables together.

Next glue them on popsicle sticks and now your can use the vegetable sticks in many ways.

  • your little learner picks up the correct vegetable when he hears that part in the story
  • try to count how many vegetables are in the garden
  • name the vegetables after they’re mentioned in the story
  • poke holes on a shoebox lid and put the sticks through and color the lid like dirt to make a pretend garden

Geography for The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Of course, some of the best subjects to include in this unit study are science, nature study, art and even geography.

Because the author Beatrix Potter was born and raised in England, many of the illustrations in her books are of the English countryside. If you want to know more about Beatrix Potter, the Victoria and Albert Museum has a huge collection of her drawings, letters, and work.

Comparing the English countryside to where your child lives gives your child a foundation of beginning geography. For beginning geography, some of the fun hands-on activities we included was making an edible peanut butter dough map of England and focusing on mapping Mr. McGregor’s garden.

How to make Make an Edible Peanut Butter Dough England Map

Start by making an edible map with peanut butter dough and form the country of England. You could also use cookie dough from the store, bake it and then add icing.

I’ve waffled between these two recipes during the years doing variations of each. So, mix and match until you have the taste your child loves.

  • 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 cup of dried instant milk
  • 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup of honey

 Mix until you have a smooth consistency. We have peanut butter lovers here, so a little bit of licking and a little bit of learning is the way to learn about maps at this age.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
Step 1. Grab your ingredients.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
STEP 2. Start mixing.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
STEP 3. Of course, mixing is the best part.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
STEP 4. Make an outline of England.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
STEP 5. OF course Lick and Learn along the way.

Next, grab a printed outline of the country of England after you locate it on a globe or map and talk about the pictures in the book.

Tape a clear piece of parchment paper on top of the printable map, so your little learner can follow the lines with his fingers. As your child grows, he can pencil in the border of the countries and landmarks.

Locate the cottage garden in the book, explain about the English countryside and explain what is a country setting versus a city setting. Then let your little learner form the map with the peanut butter dough.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

In addition, another easy hands-on geography idea is to map Mr. McGregor’s garden. I loved this idea over at Children’s Book and Reading.

Mapping Mr. McGregor’s Garden for Fun Geography

Drawing pictures of what your child is learning cements the story line and you know that your child is understanding. It has been my experience that many older readers who struggle with reading didn’t have enough time to visualize parts of the story.

When a young learner can draw, he visualizes key details. In addition, maps are great visual aids.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

Having your child map his backyard is another fun way to begin mapping. Geography comes alive because your child is connecting the story to his life and surroundings. It’s fun to see what your child focuses on too.

Then we downloaded the sweet printable over at Children’s Book and Reading which contains empty vegetable patches. As you begin to read the story, have your child follow along on his map.

You can do geography of the garden other ways too. Using a white board, have your child use his fingerprints and thumbprints to draw pictures of where the vegetables are as he hears the story. We grabbed the washable paint colors orange, red, green, and brown.

This activity was a two-pher as I call it. Teach your child about geography while painting and using his fine motor skills. What fun we had.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

On the printable, your child can map the vegetables, draw pictures of animals where they belong.

And use the printable to explain Peter Rabbit’s route.

Finally, there are many nature and science activities to plan from book.

Nature and Science from The Tale of Peter Rabbit

We had a hard time narrowing down what nature and science activities we wanted to do. The first science activity which was to compare soils best for growing plants came from Inspiration Laboratories.

Compare Types of Soil To Grow Plants In

Comparing the types of soil needed for plants to grow in is a fun segue to learn about gardening.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

It’s also an easy activity because you need just a few materials most of which you have on hand at home.

Too, your child can begin with this hands-on science and observe the growing process each day to record in a journal if they are writers. If they are budding writers, a picture of the day-to-day growth works too. It encourages pre-writing skills.

Grow Seedlings Like Mr. McGregor’s Vegetables

Another fun idea for a spring garden is to grow seedlings. With a young learner, you don’t need to plant a whole garden unless you want to. Mr. MunchKing really loved this activity as he watched his babies grow each day.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

If you do this with a young learner, try to get seeds which sprout fast, so you child has fun instantly. I don’t have a green thumb by any stretch, but I’ve always managed to introduce gardening to each child.

And in my experience fast growing seeds work best. We just used what we had on hand which was an empty egg carton, seed packets, and potting soil. Seeds like beans, radishes and peas can grow quickly.

This was a huge unit study for us; we did it for several weeks, stepped back, and then came back to it.

If you’re planning this unit study, do the garden projects first so children can observe while you do the language arts portion and other fun ideas.

Add these fun videos about vegetables to your day.

  • Vegetable Song For Kids
  • Vegetables We Love You | Vegetable Song

Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables

While we were working day to day on the fun activities, we found this beautiful lapbook at Homeschool Share.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

The beauty of lapbooks is that your child can create them anyway they like to. We used some of the free printables from Homeschool Share and added Mr. MunchKing’s work he loved about Mr. McGregor’s garden.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

Although lapbooks can take more planning and be more work, in the many my kids have created, they are also memory keepers.

Besides memory keepers, lapbooks are hands-on tools which aids recall.

While true that I don’t hail to be a crafty mom, I do know the value of mess and play learning.

Lapbooks fit into this category for me. Have you ever seen a child filled with excitement as he explains a worksheet? But turn that worksheet into a mini fun book folded into a creative way, and now you have an engaged learner.

Look at my video How to Lapbook EZ on my YouTube Channel.

So The Tale of Peter Rabbit lapbook is a fun way for a child to remember the information in a fun and natural way.

Peter Rabbit End of Unit Tea Celebration

Finally, always try to end your unit study with a memorable activity. I found this adorable tea set which has is a 15-Piece Woodland-Themed Tin Tea Set, Includes Teapot, 4 Plates, 4 Cups, 4 Saucers, Serving Tray and Carrying Case for our spring tea. And what better way to remember this unit study than to have a tea party. Plus we can use it for many more themed parties!

We served raspberry muffins and rabbit shaped cookies. Also, you could serve scones, but the muffins and cookies were great hits.

Mr. MunchKing dressed up in his Sunday finest and we pretended Peter Rabbit invited us over for tea. What a fun time he had!

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study

Finally, here are a few more fun things I found to help make your The Tale of Peter Rabbit Unit Study memorable.

More The Tale of Peter Rabbit Free Printables and Activities

  • Download these precious and free I Spy printables to use while your child watches the movie and listens to you as you read aloud.
  • Fun pop up garden paper plater craft.
  • Lettuce wraps for kids.
  • Grab these printable ABC carrot patch.
  • And there are even more ideas here at The World of Peter Rabbit site. You won’t be short for ideas.

Free Literature Printables for The Tale of Peter Rabbit for Older Learners

As you can see we had an awesome time with this fun unit study using beautiful literature. Do you think you’ll try it?

You’ll also love these other hands-on posts about gardening, spring, and beautiful literature.

  • Kinder Gardening to Celebrate Nature and Science
  • Easy Seed and Gardening Unit Study for Kids (Middle – Upper Elementary)
  • 26 Free Nature Unit Studies for Multiple Ages
  • How to Make an Easy Nature Paint Brush With Kids
  • 20 Nature-Inspired Kids’ Novels to Nurture Interest In the Outdoors
  • How to Easily Make a Simple and Fun Kids DIY Flower Press
  • How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids
  • Fun Kids Activity How to Make Wildflower Seed Bombs
  • How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer
  • Hands-On Mixed Media Flower Art Fun Nature Study

Leave a CommentFiled Under: 1. My FREE Learning Printables {Any Topic}, Free Homeschool Resources, Hands-On Activities, My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas}, Nature Based Activities, Science Based Tagged With: biology, freeprintables, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, homeschoolanguagearts, homeschoolscience, kindergarten, language arts, languagearts, literature, nature, nature study, plants, science, spring

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

March 28, 2022 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

In this homeschool beginner’s guide to figuring grades, I’m sharing tips I didn’t know when I began. Also, look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter.

Although I live in Texas where grade keeping is not required by state law, I started keeping grades before high school for two reasons.

One reason is that my teen wanted feedback.

The second reason is that I wanted to know how to figure grades sooner instead of tackling it on top of learning how to homeschool high school.

Having homeschooled twenty-five years now, I see how figuring grades has changed in the public-school world.

It’s not that we want to keep up with public-school changes, but eventually our kids may be graded by those same standards. It’s important to be somewhat familiar with how to figure grades.

Figuring Grades

In addition, understanding how the public-school world decides grading gives us reason to not follow them because we don’t have a classroom of 30 kids.

It’s a conundrum to somewhat follow a similar pattern of grading with widely acceptable ways of determining grades while meeting our unique circumstances at home.

Look at these tried-and-true tips and pointers.

  1. First, I didn’t realize that public school teachers aren’t really taught how to grade. Sure, there are some exceptions to this. But several public-school teachers turned homeschool mom who took my workshops revealed that they didn’t really learn how to grade. It’s a skill they’re supposed to pick up while in training. You can do the same while homeschooling.
  2. Second, grading needs to be purposeful. It’s one thing for me to show you various grading scales, but another for you to wield the tool of grading effectively.

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

Reasons to Grade

So, beyond your state requiring it, grades should give valuable feedback to your children.

Grades serve other reasons:

  • they communicate what your children have learned,
  • they give valuable feedback where your children are along the learning continuum, identify skills mastered and identify skills which need practice, 
  • and motivates students to grow and advance in proficiency.

Besides, if the grading tool is not created and wielded correctly, it can also have the reverse effect.

Homeschool Grades for Elementary Children

Once I realized balance was needed, I moved forward with these distinctions.

  • In the elementary grades, a check system like satisfactory or unsatisfactory is perfectly acceptable.
  • Trying to not follow public school standards in the early grades is important. Kids at that age are building their foundation of knowledge. To constantly test, quiz, and drill can be harmful to their confidence.

However, you may need a guide at this age.

Below I will give you various grading scales to use for both elementary and middle and high school students.

Be sure you’re following me on my YouTube channel How to Homeschool EZ for awesome tips.

Look at my video How to Gauge Your Homeschooled Child’s Progress.

In addition, high school is the time when grades become important.

A lot of states have relaxed laws which means you create your own high school transcript and grading system.

It’s important to become familiar now with easy ways to grade. I have a free editable transcript and helps for high school too at the bottom of this post.

Homeschool Grades for Middle and High School Teens

Next look at these two different, but easy ways to figure grades.

ONE.

Whatever subject your child is covering, convert all grades and numbers to 100. That system is understood by us because a lot of us were graded on this system.

It’s also an easy way to quickly create grading standards. Letter grades are converted to numerical value or percentages.

This system is based on the thought that 100% means all answers are correct.

Afterwards, decide how to grade assignments based on a 100 percent.

Two Easy Ways to Figure Grades For Different Subjects

Look at these various examples of how categories of assignments are divided to see what I’m talking about:

  • daily work 50%, quizzes 20%, projects 10%, and final test 10% = 100
  • assessments 75%, practice 20%, and extra practice 5% = 100
  • project 25%, quizzes 25%, test 50% = 100

From this you can tell grading is very subjective.

You can apply equal percentages to types of assignments or different percentages like above.

Too, if you want a guide of what to teach your kid when, you’ll love my online self-paced course Teaching the Stages of Homeschool. From PreK to High School, Learn at a Bird’s-Eye View of What Subjects to Teach & When to Teach Them.

I am your coach as I take you though the ages and stages of homeschooling.

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

Furthermore, your grading form can list under each category the objectives or assignments.

Look at this sample below where I used Assessments, Practice, and Extra Practice breakdown from above.

Assessments – 75%Practice – 20%Extra Practice – 5%
daily assignmentsdaily handwritingtyping
essayscreate a lapbookspelling game
book reportsscience experimentwatching videos

This is how I kept things easy. I decided what I wanted to grade (not grading everything) and which type of assignments or activities were more important to the subject we’re studying at the time.

It can feel a bit complicated in the beginning.

While some subjects are easier to grade than others, once you have the hang of it, just repeat the same percentages.

6 Easy Steps to Calculate Grades on Numbered Assignments

Also, look at my video How to Successfully Begin Homeschooling Middle & High School.

Additionally, some assignments are more straightforward to grade. Math is one type of subject which is easier to grade.

TWO.

Look below at these 6 easy steps to determine grades on numbered assignments like math. One of the best tips is to have a calculator handy or your phone calculator.

Here is how to easily grade an assignment like math which normally has a set number of problems like 20 or 30 problems.

  1. Correct any wrong answers on your child’s assignment.
  2. Look at the total number of problems on the assignment.
  3. Calculate the total number of problems correct.
  4. Divide the total number of correct answers by the total number of problems in the assignment.
  5. When you get that answer, multiply it by 100.
  6. Consult your grading scale to determine a letter grade if you want one. (I’ve shared grading scales below.)

Look at this real-life example from our math. The math assignment had 30 problems. My son missed 5 of the problems; he got 25 correct.

I divided 25 correct answers by 30 total number of problems which equals .83.

Next, multiply .83 x 100 or 83%. Finally, look for the percentage grading scale and find the corresponding letter grade if you’re keeping letter grades. Too, you’ll love this free EZ grader tool online tool.

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

As I mentioned, grading scales are subjective, but these are the two most common I’ve used in my homeschool. These grading scales can easily work for any grade level.

Easy Grading Scales For Homeschool

90–100% = A93–100% = A
80–89% = B86–92% = B
70–79% = C78–85% = C
60–69% = D70–77% = D
below 59% = Fbelow 69% = F

Noting the easy 6 steps above and based on my example about math, you can see that my student can make two different letter grades, namely a B or a C, depending on which grading scale I choose.

Now, let’s switch back to understanding the basics of percentages or the first method I mentioned.

In addition, look at my video How to Choose the BEST Middle School Literature for Your Homeschooled Child.

It’s important to understand how to categorize assignments using the 100 based system because some subjects or assignments especially like writing have very different objectives.

Grading essays is an art and is subjective.

In addition to the different genres of writing, there are many skills to learn as your student demonstrates writing.

Art is another subject that can be tough to grade.

Those types of assignments do not have a set number of problems.

Because you have specific goals for your children to meet, the best method to grade those types of subjects are percentage based.

Tina’s Time -Tested EASY Grade Figuring Tips

You can literally get overwhelmed with all this information and I’m going to keep it easy for you.

I have used these three easy grading tips and recommend them to you.

  1. choose one grading scale and stick to it
  2. use third percentages (more on this in a minute) on writing and other subjects which are hard to grade like art, writing, hands-on projects, and life skills.
  3. use both grading systems to keep grading uncomplicated.

My own opinion is that the grading scale of 90 to 100%= A is more reflective of a wider range of skills and it’s the one I’ve used more often.

Also, when grading essays, writing, or any other type of subjective assignment I keep my percentages divided by thirds only.

Having only 3 broad categories with assigned percentages kept grading easier for me.

Under each of those broad categories I created objectives.

Of course, you can use any combination of 100 to create your unique goals based on the needs of your children.

Back to mentioning thirds.

I understand that 100 can be divided different ways and it has great flexibility. Again, I prefer easy segmenting and having objectives within those sections.

For example, with the free form below for descriptive writing, I have 3 segments. One section is Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics 30%, Content and Style 35%, and Organization 35%.

However, you will notice I have objectives within each of those 3 categories.

Look below at my sample of the free form Middle School Descriptive Writing Grade Record which I created for you.

The grading record is for middle school, and it is to be used for a descriptive essay. Thank you to Kimberley, my follower, for allowing me to create it for her and for you.

Free Middle School Descriptive Writing Grade Record

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

The Middle School Descriptive Writing Grade Record is a subscriber only freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get access to my Exclusive Subscriber’s Only Library which has this form in the library.

This is how you get access to this form quickly.
 1) Sign up on my list.
 2) Download the freebie.
3) Happy to have you following me by email. Look for my future emails in your inbox.

Exploring Space and Astronomy Free Unit Study for Multiple Ages

Rubric Versus Grading Scales

Another term which can make grading hard is understanding what is a rubric. A grading scale is a way to convert checkmarks to letter grades or to a number grade.

Although in the educational world now that has somewhat changed to a 1-to-4 point system. However, that still would have to convert to a letter grade for purposes of a report card. Don’t let me lose you.

A rubric is a term used more in the educational world and not as much in the homeschool world. A simpler term to understand is checklist.

Some homeschool evaluators with a teacher background prefer the term rubric. Whatever term you use checklist or rubric, it can be used different ways.

A rubric is a tool used by a student as a guide to view assignment expectations and objectives set by the teacher. It is a way to encourage students to self-check and can be used as a grading tool. Many rubrics exist on the internet and a lot of them are based on a 1-to-4 point system. Rubrics can be complex or simple.

Four is the highest and can mean achieve, accomplished, or even mastery. Three can be interpreted to mean proficient or practiced. Two can mean developing and one can signify incomplete.

Right away you see that a rubric or self-checking list may be more beneficial to a student of any age. We homeschool for mastery, not just a letter grade.

In addition, a checklist or rubric can encourage children to be challenged and show what they know instead of always measuring what they don’t know.

I think it’s important that if you use a rubric with young kids to assign positive terms to each number one through 4.

You’re encouraging growth at every age, but it’s especially important in the early grades that your children value practice and progress.

More Homeschool High School Teen Elective Resources

  • 14 Fun and (maybe Frugal) Homeschool High School Electives
  • A to Z List: Middle and High School Homeschool Electives
  • Best High School Homeschool Curriculum Packages (Accredited and Not Accredited)
  • A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time
  • 25 Great Homeschool High School Science Curriculum

How to Calculate Homeschool Grades Using Rubrics

Here are a few more terms to describe each 1-to-4 point level; they can be mixed and matched based on the ages of your learners, subject type or project.

  • Needs Improvement, Satisfactory, Good and Well Done
  • Just Beginning, Getting There, Right On and Wow
  • Poor Effort, OK, Great, and Exceptional
  • Novice, Intermediate, Proficient and Distinguished
  • Beginning, Developing, Experienced and Exceptional
  • Beginning, Developing, Accomplished and Exemplary
  • Novice, Approaching, Proficient and Advanced Understanding
  • Not So Much, I Tried a Bit, I Did a Good Job and I Did My Best Ever is a cute one for art by Art Projects for Kids.

One thing I did when my children were teens was to show them my grading record, objectives, and goals. Can you see from that morphs a checklist or rubric?

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

Whether you use a checklist or orally convey your expectations to your children, I hope this information about figuring grades helps to simplify the process for you.

Look at these other helps.

  • Free Homeschool Community Service Planning Record
  • Helpful Read Aloud Tracking Time Homeschool Form
  • How to Grade a Homeschool Unit Study for an Older Child (& high school assessment)
  • Homeschool High School How To Prepare THE Transcript + Free Editable Transcript
  • Homeschool High School–How to Log Hours for High School?

2 CommentsFiled Under: 2. My FREE Organizing Printables {Any topic}, Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Begin Homeschooling, Curriculum Planner, Free Homeschool Resources, Gauge Homeschool Progress, Graduate a Homeschooler, Homeschool Planner, Homeschool Simply, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation, Homeschooling Tagged With: curriculum planner, freeprintables, grading, homeschool curriculum planner, homeschool grades, homeschoolgrades, homeschoolplanner, middle school, planner

Free 2021-2022 Academic Calendars – Homeschool Planner

April 18, 2020 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When I get homeschool planner forms ready early, I get giddy. Today, I’m rolling out the two color choices for the 2021-2022 academic year calendars that go in your 7 Step Homeschool Planner.

Don’t forget when putting together your homeschool planner that I have calendar pages like the ones today which are to be used for reference purposes.

2021 to 2022 Free Academic Calendars for Your 7 Step Homeschool Planner. Begin building your planner today at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus. You'll love these free academic homeschool year calendars. CLICK here to grab them! #homeschoolplanner #7stepdiyhomeschoolplanner #homeschool

Also, I have completely different forms for homeschool planning calendars which are to be used for tracking school week and 2 page per month appointment keepers for tracking appointments.

As mentioned, I do three DIFFERENT calendar type of pages each year.

The ones today are used as a reference page for checking dates. You’ll want to print one or more of them for your planner.

I print one or more in the front of my homeschool planner and I print another one or two toward the back.

Also, the calendar pages can also be used for a front cover although I have created AWESOME Front Covers on STEP 1. You decide what works best for your planner.

UNIQUE HOMESCHOOL PLANNER

If you’re wanting to grab an appointment keeper which is a two page per month beautiful calendar for the current school year you can grab them below or visit STEP 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers.

Look at these other fun planner pages.

  • Glam It Up Package

    Glam It Up Package

    $4.99
    Add to cart
  • 2. Ultimate DIY Homeschool Unit Study Planner

    2. Ultimate DIY Homeschool Unit Study Planner

    $5.99
    Add to cart
  • Editable Homeschool Lesson Planning Pages - Mink Over You

    Editable Homeschool Lesson Planning Pages – Mink Over You

    $2.50
    Add to cart
  • Editable Weekly General Planning Page

    Editable Weekly General Planning Page

    $1.99
    Add to cart
  • Dynamic and Fun Human Body Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    Dynamic and Fun Human Body Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    $5.00
    Add to cart
  • Doodle Curriculum Planner Cover Store 1 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus 600x

    Doodle Coloring Curriculum Planner Cover

    $1.75
    Add to cart
  • Sunkissed Curriculum Planner Cover

    Sunkissed Curriculum Planner Cover

    $1.75
    Add to cart
  • 0. Westward Expansion History Fun 10 Coloring Pages

    0. Westward Expansion History Fun 10 Coloring Pages

    $1.75
    Add to cart
  • 00. Ancient Civilization History 20 Coloring Pages

    00. Ancient Civilization History 20 Coloring Pages

    $3.50
    Add to cart
  • 1. The Best Undated Dynamic Daily Homeschool Planner

    1. The Best Undated Dynamic Daily Homeschool Planner

    $8.25
    Add to cart
  • Awesome Reading Aloud Tracking Time Homeschool Form

    Awesome Reading Aloud Tracking Time Homeschool Form

    $2.75
    Add to cart
  • Editable Front Cover - Coral Inklings

    Editable Front Cover – Coral Inklings

    $1.75
    Add to cart
Download here
Download here

7 Easy Steps to Start Building YOUR One of a Kind – Tons of Options & Pretty Color. Start Today!

Step 1. Choose a Pretty Front/Back Cover

Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers

Step 3. Choose Goals/Objectives

Step 4. Choose Lesson Planning Pages Right For You!

Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You! Not a kazillion other people

Step 5b. Choose MORE Unique Forms JUST for You!

Step 5c. Choose MORE MORE Unique Forms Just for You!

Step 6. Personalize It

Step 7. Bind it! Love it!

Hugs and love ya,

Leave a CommentFiled Under: 2. My FREE Organizing Printables {Any topic}, Curriculum Planner, Homeschool Planner, Tina's 7 Step DIY Customized Curriculum Planner Tagged With: academiccalendars, calendar, curriculum pages, curriculum planner, freecalendars, freeprintables, homeschool curriculum planner, homeschoolplanner, homeschoolplanning, lesson planner, lessonplanning, planner, planning

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