Our Homeschool Room for High School -

Today, I am sharing how we fixed up our homeschool space for my high schooler.  It was really just a place to study in her bedroom, as we have a small home, without a dedicated homeschool space.

We had a lot of fun doing this together.  I wanted her to have a cozy place to study, and she was looking forward to having it in her own room.  We didn't have a desk in the house, so we set about making one.

This entire space was homemade, including the desk.....

Making a Desk

 Here it is, below..

We combined a small chest of drawers with a wooden table, that we already had.  Then we went to Goodwill, together, and looked around for a desk shelf.  

Can you see the fish rug on the floor above?  It was made from a puzzle, that my teen put together, then just added a layer of clear packing tape.  By the way, our kitten ran in while I was taking this picture, so he was a surprise addition to it...!

We then, found a desk chair at a garage sale. After that, my daughter went about decorating it with her favorite things. She put in her touches, to make it her own.  I loved how she kept one of her stuffed penguins, and found a place for it, in her high school desk area.

Can you see the penguin here?  She also stores our printer on her desk, one that we found used from a computer shop.  

Next, my teen did some simple redecorating, along the walls of her room.  She took down her old things, and updated them with her new finds, including this one....

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The Reading Nook

Well, we decided that we also needed to redo the reading nook. This was a little reading area, was and here's how we used it, when she was young. 

 It used to have a large stuffed whale pillow on it!  Of course, that went by the way......My daughter decided to use the same bookshelves, and remake it into a teen reading space....

Next, we went shopping for school supplies, getting what was needed for certain subjects, like a protractor for math, along with lots of spiral notebooks.  We bought three for each subject.  We gathered together all the supplies and books needed for each subject, and just put them into a box.

Our Workboxing Method

We used the spiral notebooks for her written work, such as essay drafts, math problems, taking notes on a history text, etc.  That way, we didn't have the problem of losing and having to find this paper and that.

It was our version of the workboxing method...I know it is not truly workboxing, but it was our way of doing it!  And. later, when my daughter started college, she took the concept of workboxing, with her to college, and it helped her alot!  

That's how we set up things for high school.

Of course, the desk was not the only place where she would study....But it was a favorite place to study, next to going to the coffee shop!  And then there's all the fun, high school activities that our kids can do, too!

And, our nature studies, of course, always took us outside, to  explore the pacific northwest through mini-road trips. Sometimes my teen "took me", as she was practicing her driving skills....

And now, my previously very neat and tidy one, will finally let herself get muddy....yes!

Thanks for stopping by, to see where our homeschooling high school happened...and, as you know,

At a video-making contest

Homeschooling happens everywhere!

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This post is a part of the 9th Annual Back to Homeschool Blog Hop-SchoolRoomWeek.  Check out all the other great posts from other homeschoolers.

 Also on the blog:

Thanks for stopping by!  

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college senior, whom she homeschooled from day one.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote the book - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.  She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

Want to stay in touch?

 Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook 

Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool 2017 
All Rights Reserved

Also on the blog:

Our Choices for Homeschool Math 

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is a veteran homeschooler who blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school and college too.  She offers homeschool help and free messages at BJ's Consulting.  Her e-book, "Homeschooling High School with College in Mind" is available on Amazon.

Want to stay in touch? 

 Subscribe Pinterest | G+ | Twitter | Facebook. 

This post was shared on my favorite linkups here.
Copyright @BJ's Homeschool 2016

All Rights Reserved

No Room for a School Room - Where Our Homeschooling Happens

We have a very small home, with just two bedrooms, so we had to be creative about our homeschool organization.  Our homeschool space, through the years, has been ever-changing and evolving...

And we used a variety of techniques.....One year, it was a little preschool desk in our living room.  Then the next year, we used our dining room table.

I borrowed our dining room hutch and filled it with our homeschool books and supplies.  The dishes were placed in our kitchen shelves! The books took up all of our hutch, but that was ok.

I remember starting out with my 4 year old, when we just used a wooden table that we set it by the window, for my daughter to practice her letters and such....

..She could watch for birds at the same time....

Science happened wherever we were, as long as we had a pail for collecting her important specimens.....

Then, in the kitchen, we encouraged our young artist with pudding fingerpainting, drawing, gluing, cutting, and even painting with apples.  I just had to remember to cover the table with a plastic tablecloth, first, lol!

One year, we wanted to have a special space for reading.  So we just made a little reading space in my daughter's bedroom.

For a reading nook, I used a bookcase from the thrift store, and filled it with books, changing them out as she developed her reading skills.  Most of the books were either presents from family or found at one of our local children's consignment stores.

Here is how our Book Nook looked, in the early years...

We found the whale at a local garage sale.  It was great for my little one, to snuggle up with, and even read to!

My daughter continued to fill this bookcase with her favorites, through the years, including books that she saved from her Oak Meadow literature courses and other books special to her. 

Here's how our updated book nook looks today...

These days, my teen prefers to study here.....

....in her own room, with the desk that she set up herself, decorated with her favorite things.  She used the same wooden table you saw from her earlier years, and just added the top piece from a desk set that she found at Goodwill.

The fish rug in the picture, above, was made from a puzzle years ago, that she put together with a layer of plastic.  And she added a penguin stuffed animal, as well, one of her cherished things.  By the way, our kitten ran in while I was taking this picture, so he was a surprise addition to it...

That's all about our homeschooling space, at home.  But lots of our homeschooling took place outside of it...

...starting with preschool ballet, music class, etc, and ending with Youth and Government activities.  Here's a picture from that teen activity....

And, our nature studies, of course, always took us outside.  First, to explore our backyard, then later to explore the pacific northwest through road trips. Sometimes my teen "took me", as she was practicing her driving skills....

And now, my previously very neat and tidy little one, will finally let herself get muddy....yes!

Thanks for stopping by, to see where our homeschooling happened...and,  you know,

Homeschooling happens everywhere!

Are you looking for a few more resources for your elementary or preschool kids?  Here's a bunch of our favorites, tried and true!


and preschool too - Click here.

This post is linked to the Not Back to School Blog Hop - School Room Week.



Hope that your first weeks back are super!!

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college senior, whom she homeschooled from day one.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote the book - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.  She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

Want to stay in touch?

 Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook 

Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool 2017 
All Rights Reserved

BJ's Day in the Life for Elementary - How Our Days Really Roll

Take a look into our homeschooling days during elementary times, how they went, and how they didn't, one day at a time in our house. #adayinthelife #homeschooling 

Today, I am sharing how our days usually went for the elementary years, the time in my daughter's life that gave her the basics and, most importantly-- a love of learning. 

My 2e daughter had some attentional issues similar to ADHD, was an intense child, (OE) when she was young and had some sensory issues as well. Homeschooling met her needs so much better than public school.  

Having a structure to her day was so important as she also had some anxiety, and structure helped her to relax and anticipate what would happen next.

 At first we used a simple written schedule, that was posted in our living room, our main learning area.  

Changes in our schedule would cause anxiety.  Having a written schedule that my kiddo could see and refer to, was a great help.

Our "Usual" Early Elementary 
Day

  

- Morning Start - Breakfast together, getting dressed and  singing songs from the Wee Sing books.  I dearly treasured these early mornings.  It got us off to a positive start.

Then, in a few years, we added a bible study. We began be lighting a candle, then turned to the bible verse for the day, and read the story that went along with it.  This led to many great early morning talks.

That was the plan - Often the candle did not get found or lit.  

Then it was time for play, a video, or an audio book from the library, while I got ready for the day.  

- Morning Studies - We always started with a favorite, which was Explode the Code (ETC), for many years. Then we worked in math, spelling, reading, and writing.  

There were LOTS of breaks needed.

We focused on just the 3 R's - reading, writing, and math all the way through 3rd grade.  We needed that much time to cover the basics, as we also needed to take a lot of breaks, to "run" off my daughter's energy!  

So we did not do science or social studies until 4th grade, also another great help.

- Break Time - Sometimes we used an exercise ball, and my kid would bounce across the living room.  Other times she needed to just jump off the couch, roll around the carpet, do cartwheels across the room.  Or run around the back yard.  

We took these active breaks a lot.  

Or when I need one!   Early on, my daughter was full of questions almost all the time, so sometimes I really needed a break too.  

When I needed a mama break, we used what we called "room play time".  I put my feet up and relaxed, and she listened to a cd, read to herself or played in her room.  These breaks were so important to me and for managing my own stress level.


Every Thursday morning we did some handwork, like hand sewing, very easy knitting or something similar together.  It was a nice tradition, something that we looked forward to each week.

- Clean up/ Lunch -  We started in preschool, with this little cleanup song...and added in chores as she grew.

"Clean up, clean up,
Everybody clean up,
Put the toys in the box,
Everybody clean up."

My chores like laundry and light cleaning were done before or after lunch usually.  My kiddo liked helping.


- Afternoon Activities - During these earlier years, the afternoons were all about free play, simple art projects, errands, running to the park, that kind of thing.

My daughter's favorite thing to do was going to the park to explore the streams, look for birds, etc.
  

- Before Dinner - This was often time for a video while I prepared dinner.  

-  Dinner -  Flexible depending on hubby's schedule.

- Bedtime Routine -  Bath, story, more stories, bed.

By the time bath time rolled around, my hubby often was able to take on that, and my daughter loved to read aloud to him. .

Bedtime was set up for 8pm, but my hubby often wanted her to stay up, so it was flexible.  

At the same time, we tried to stick with the bedtime, as we parents needed parent time to recharge.

Things changed in 4th grade...

Our Homeschool Schedule

4th - 6th Grade

In 4th we added in science and social studies.  

We used Oak Meadow curriculum for our history and English for many years, and liked how it included literature, related to the history topics, and tons of hands on projects.  Hands-on was very popular at our house!  My daughter's learning style was visual and kinesthetic.

At this time, our schedule became more specific.  

It looked something like this:

- 9 am - Math
- 10 am - Explode the Code advanced, Spelling
- 11 am - History and English combined, often Oak Meadow, hands-on projects, lit related to the history lesson.  Or interest led.

Lunch

- 1 pm - Watch educational videos together, finish chores
-  2pm - Science, Writing, or Art
-  3pm - Take a walk, go to the park, do PE inside with a tape

We spent a lot of time on organizational skills at this age, helping my daughter find a good system for keeping herself organized. 

This was an issue for many years.

We used spiral notebooks, one for each subject, and all of the written work was put into them.  That eliminated the need to find that specific sheet of paper, that sort of thing.

Afternoons were for free time, reading, videos, games. Or heading out to a friend's house, taking a walk, reading, etc.

Evenings there was sometimes a class like gymnastics, which was great outlets for my daughter's intense energy.  

And she turned her high activity level into a strength!

When I felt tired or my daughter needed a break, we quit our studies and went to the park or for a short drive.  Getting out in nature was a great stress relief for both of us!

Mom Self Care - I also built in time for a bath for mom (when my hubby could help out), or quiet reading time for me, and a weekly date with my hubby, when we had a babysitter.  

Never feel badly about taking time for yourself.  We can only give to others when we have a full cup ourselves.  I remember how hard it was to do that, especially early on.  

This is how our elementary days tended to go, with lots of variations on the theme, as life happened, eg, sinus infections, the flu, or just needing a break, etc.  We schooled from September through early June, then took off for the summer.  

This is how she grew......

Are you curious how our days looked during the high school years? Here's "A Week in My Teen's High School Life", all about how we did high school at home.....

This post is a part of the 9th Annual Back to Homeschool Blog Hop.  Check out all the other great posts from iHN homeschoolers and more.

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now rising college senior, whom she homeschooled from preK through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

Want to stay in touch?

Subscribe, Pinterest, Facebook 

Copyright, 2017, All Rights Reserved

A Week in my Homeschool High School Life -

Do you want to get a peek into what our high school at home looks like?

I sure did when I first got started.  Here is a sample of a day and a week in my teen's high school life.

This post has moved.  The new link is below:

A Day (And a Week) in My Teen's High School Life

  

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled from preK through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

Want to stay in touch?

Subscribe, Pinterest, G+, Facebook 
(We do no email marketing)

This post was shared on my favorite linkups here.


Copyright 2019
All Rights Reserved

Frugal Homeschool Curriculum for Preschool and Kindergarten

My favorite #FRUGAL resources for homeschooling preschool and homeschooling kindergarten.  Hands-on!  #preschoolresources #kindergarten Note - This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our own homeschool.  Please see my disclosure policy.

Here are my favorite homeschool resources for the preschool and the kindergarten years, which are easy to use and are frugal.  

While we introduced learning activities in preschool, we took a playful approach. 

We picked and choose from these ideas and activities each day, as our preschooler had a very short attention span as most preschoolers do.  

And kindergarteners have just a bit more.  Our focused learning time in kindergarten was about 1/2 hour to an hour at most. 

Let's start with 

• math play
• A,B,C's
• phonics
• fine motor 
• handwriting
• arts and crafts  
• science/nature study
•  and the fun of a field trip or two??

   

1.  EARLY HOMESCHOOL MATH 

When you are four, or five, everything is math!  

Toys can be counted, towels sorted and put into sets.  Cookie making became a lesson in adding and subtracting, and beads got sorted into patterns as well, as making necklaces.  

Also, buttons, shells, rocks, sorted by shape, color, size, what have you.  Even laundry could be sorted into sets, or small, medium and large, such as with towels. 

Making a Math Manipulatives Kit

We didn't use a complete math program, but preferred doing our early math, with our own hands-on activities, card games were great, too.  

Nothing has to be bought for math play with manipulatives, as small toys, buttons, shells, or whatever you have will work out just fine!  Anything that your kids can count, sort, and put into groups, or sets will be wonders for their learning!

My post called Early Math FUN shares how we went about making our kit and learning early math concepts with our manipulatives.  

Here are two early math workbooks that we also enjoyed, and my daughter worked out the problems using her manipulatives:

Shapes and Beginning Fractions

Numbers and Patterns  

If you want a more structured approach to homeschooling kindergarten math, here's a review of Saxon Math for K.  

It involves a lot of great hands-on learning, too. 

2.  EARLY LANGUAGE ARTS

Learning A,B,C's

We introduced the letters of the alphabet with simple ABC crafts projects and a little book called  the Big Book of Alpha Tales.   

This book has a humorous story for each letter of the alphabet.  There are ABC mini-book to make as well, which was a favorite activity in our house.

3.  EARLY PHONICS 

Preschool Phonics

Not every homeschool family does phonics, but we found that it was key to the development of reading skills for our daughter.  

For early Phonics, we used the Explode the Code Primers (ETC).  

This is a very well researched program, which has been proven to improve reading levels.  It is kid friendly as well.  

ETC primers covers all the basic phonics.  It also includes writing the abc's, more early reading skills, and word families. 

Kindergarten Phonics

For those who are ready to move on, here is info on the next books in the series by Explode the Code.  

We let our daughter take reading at her own pace, and followed her lead. 

Learn to Read with Explode the Code

When my little one was ready, we decided to use the Bob Books series as our first readers, which introduced one vowel at a time. We also liked the series at I Can Read .  

Next, let's talk about resources for fine motor activities for pre-handwriting....

4.  FINE MOTOR FUN

To develop hand coordination and wrist strength for handwriting, we did LOTS of crafts, enjoying sidewalk chalk art, etc.  

For non-crafty kids, lego building and the like will work just as well.

We played with playdough, did drawings, cut with sissors, fingerpainted, and often did gluing projects. 

Sometimes we tore paper into small pieces to make a design with glue, which helped to strengthen the finger muscles.   

Here's more ideas for small muscle games.  

Do what your child enjoys...if they don't like crafts, there's always playing with legos, small blocks, small cars, etc. 

This post below, has more ways to help your child with fine motor skills and grasp. 9 Ways to a Mature Grasp - Games and Fun! 

My friend, Penny has Free Fall Cutting Practice activities that you might like, too.

5.  EARLY HANDWRITING

photo credit Oak Meadow

Playing with writing!  We wrote letters: 

• in pudding
• in the air
• on the sidewalk
• in the sand
• and on large newsprint paper....the bigger the better.  

This gave my daughter the feel each letter.  If your child is not ready to start writing letters, give it time.

And it also gave her practice in crossing the midline, when we made large letters in the air.

Teach Your Kids to Write  has lots of FRUGAL or FREE ideas for beginning handwriting, if your little ones are ready for that.  

It doesn't matter when your kids learn to write, they will get it, when it is the right time for them. 

6.  ARTS AND CRAFTS 

Does your child like arts and crafts?

Coloring, painting, playing with clay were popular at our house.  

A favorite was painting with pudding, when I had the time to get it out.

My daughter enjoyed drawing, then sometimes she would dictate a few words about her picture, which I would write down for her to copy.  

When she chose the words herself, her copywork was very meaningful to her. 

We also had fun making simple books sometimes.....

The Art of Simple Book Making 

Here's some things that we did for early science activities, when it fit into our day...

7.  EARLY SCIENCE and NATURE STUDY 

Early Science - Hands-On!

8.  FUN FIELD TRIPS

If you want to do field trips, your little one could join in family ones.

Some of our best memories were made when we did simple field trip, like

•  going on a train ride with friends
•  fishing at a kiddo's fishing hole, or 
• joining other homeschoolers for a park day.

Or heading exploring in our backyard, for insects, worms, even slugs....

And of course birds -  Birds and Birdwatching.

One year, my daughter asked to do a ballet class, like she had read about in one of her books.  

So we found a pre-ballet class, and she loved it. 

What would you add to this list?

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool, 

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled from day one.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote the book - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

Want to stay in touch?  

,Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook 

Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool

Revised 2021

All Rights Reserved