Homeschooling for the Non-Homeschooler

If you have found yourself in the position of homeschooling your kids recently (and you are overwhelmed) you are not alone! I have compiled some resources that homeschooling friends have recommended to help us navigate our learn from home situation.

Last week we got the word that our schools would be shut down to help stop the spread of COVID-19. My anxiety has been kicking up with every article, news conference and social media post. So I did what I always do when my anxiety starts to climb; try to control what I can control. I am putting that anxious energy towards getting some control over our curriculum and it has been helping me.

By the way, if you are choosing to not to get into homeschooling…that is alright too! No judgement; only love and support here! You all know that about me by now.

If you are starting to look for more resources, we are in this together. Below is what our schedule looks like (based off the Khan Academy and what a local homeschooling mama sent me). We aren’t necessarily bound to this schedule but since I am new to this, I need an outline (maybe I should refer to it as a lifeline?).

Links to all resources listed are below.

8:30-9am	Get dressed/Breakfast
9-9:30	Math (Khan Academy/Dreambox/worksheet)
9:30-10am	GoNoodle or Cosmic Kids Yoga Videos
10am-10:30	Language Arts (Scholastic or ReadWorks and Workbooks)
10:30-11am	Snack and Play- get outside in the backyard if you can
11am-11:30	Free reading and then journal
11:30-12pm	Science/Social Studies (Mystery Doug/Tour a museum/podcast/etc)
12pm-12:45	Lunch and play
12:45-1:15pm	Child chooses (craft/board game/puzzle) – I try to sit down and play with them during this

Online Learning Resources for Homeschooling

Math

• Khan Academy
  • I love this site. It covers grades PreK-12 and has a variety of subjects. Because of the age of my kids, I have only had experience with math for Kindergarten and 2nd grade.
  • It is free and has great video lessons, practice tests and skill tests.
• dreambox
  • This is a math program for K-8. It is adaptive which means the “games” (questions) get harder or easier based on how your student is doing. Our elementary school gives the students access, if yours does not you can receive a free 90 day trial.
• Math Learning Center
  • This site is a great resource to connect you to other math apps for grades K-5. The apps are all free.
• McGraw- Hill
  • This site is offering remote learning support including the following subjects: math, language arts, science, health and social studies.

Reading

• Scholastic Learn at Home
  • My friend who is a third grade teacher introduced this to me. This site has day-by-day projects that involve reading, writing and activities that are broken down by grades. Scholastic Learn at Home is free for use.
• Raz-Kids
  • This is another program that we use at our school. It has hundreds of interactive leveled e-books. They are currently offering a free trial.
• Read Works
  • This is a nonprofit program aimed at increasing reading comprehension in grades K-12.
• Imagination Soup
  • This site has an extensive book list broken down by grades.

Science

I have wanted to do more hands on science experiments, but I am barely hanging on at this point. Please do share yours! Here are some science videos and podcasts we have been playing. It helps give me about 20 minutes to wash dishes to respond to my work emails.

• Mystery Science
  • They usually charge a membership (their free memberships give you access to a limited number of lessons). However, with school closures they have created a list of free lessons broken down by grades! No login/account required.
  • You can also watch Mystery Doug segments on YouTube.
• Brains On Podcast
  • We listened to this podcast during lunch. There are a lot of topics, especially some silly/gross ones kids will like (like farts).

• National Geographic Kids
  • Videos, games and puzzles mostly about animals but the kids love it.

Fun

• Cosmic Kids Yoga
  • We have been big fans of Cosmic Kids for a long time. We started watching these videos before school last year. We now do these videos to wind down after lunch or throughout the day.
• GoNoodle
  • This is such a good way to shake and dance your sillies out! Upbeat music and dance moves are a great way to break up the learning activities.
• Lunchtime Doodles with Mo Willems
  • Mo Willems the author of the “Pigeon” and “Gerald and Piggy” series started a doodling session on YouTube. We did this today and the kids LOVED it! They drew Pigeon and were thrilled to see how they turned out. Love this addition to the homeschooling resources.

Websites with Printable Worksheets

• All Kids Network
  • There are so many fun and educational downloads on this site! They break the worksheets down by grade which makes it easier to navigate.
• 123 Homeschool 4 Me
  • This site is devoted to homeschooling and has thousands of free printable worksheets available for download. It has hands-on learning activities too!
• Education
  • The Education site covers all subjects, includes lesson plans and worksheets. It is currently half odd subscriptions ($8/month and you can cancel when you would like).
• Teachers Pay Teachers
  • My friend Sally from Lovestalgia recommended these workbooks from the Moffatt Girls. These downloads are not free, but you are supporting teachers, so it’s a win! If you are looking for grades beyond 2nd search TPT and you will find other resources. Sally, a homeschooling teacher, has a lot of great resources on her too!

Amazon Finds

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• World Map Puzzle
  • This puzzle was more challenging for my littles so I sat down and did it with them (which was a fun break for me too).
• USA Map Puzzle
  • The kids were able to do this on their own and learned so much about geography!
• Workbooks
  • There are so many options out there for workbooks. I have some favorites that we always turn to.
    • Highlights – a good mix of learning and puzzles/hidden objects keeps learning fresh. I have them for grades K & 2.
    • School Zone – I love their reading comprehension and time/money/fraction workbooks
• Word Search
  • For K-1
  • 1-3
• Bob Books and Versa Tiles
  • This is a fantastic learning system for PreK/K to learn phonics and reading skills.

Lastly (but probably one of my top faves), the FaceBook group Amazing Educational Resources is a wealth of information and has updated information being added by public and homeschooling educators often.

Tell me what has been working for you? We can totally do this homeschooling thing together!

With love,

Shahla