Little House Learning Co. — Scheduling

Here's something you should know about me--I love planning! I also consider homeschooling to be my job of sorts, so I spend a lot of time thinking about, prepping for and planning our homeschool, especially in the summer months when we're off.  Whether you're planning your first year, are already a planner like me or just you wish that you were, here is a step-by-step look at how I plan our homeschool year. Homeschool Planning 1. Decide on a Curriculum: First I assess what grades I'll be teaching and decide on what curriculum we will be using for the year. I call...

But before we dive headfirst into our summer plans of camping and traveling, I take time to reflect on all this year has been. I know from years past that if I don't pause for a moment and reflect, I will forget the insights I have gained. It's also easy to breeze into another year without celebrating the "wins" we've had in this one! 

So here are a few questions for reflection and evaluation that I'm walking through this spring as we wrap up our year.

The other day I shared on Instagram how much we budget for our children each year for homeschooling, which is about $350 per child (or less). I couldn't believe how many were shocked by this number! I think there is an assumption out there that homeschooling is expensive. But in my experience, homeschooling is only as expensive as you make it.  Obviously, there are some costs, but if you're intentional it doesn't have to be more than you can afford. It can be way less than what you would be spending at your local public school too.  The best ways to...

We are in full swing with our First Grade year! I get asked often about what we’re using for different subjects, so I figured I would list it out here!  The spine of our curriculum is Ambleside Online Year 1. This curriculum covers many of our subjects, but some of them I substituted for alternatives.  Our 1st Grade Curriculum Bible: AO has Bible readings listed out, but I substituted our own alternative of The Child’s Story Bible by Vos because we were in the middle of it last year and enjoyed it so much we decided to finish it! We are also making our...

When I first started homeschooling, or even considering homeschooling, the most helpful blogs posts were those that laid out the homeschooling day, step by step. I felt like I could finally grasp how this homeschooling life could actually work! Managing three kids, schooling, housework, side jobs and everything else can be a lot some days, but a daily rhythm keeps my sanity. What is homeschooling like? Each day is different, so that’s why we call it a rhythm, rather than a schedule. Attitudes, visitors, and a plethora of interruptions can change our plans at a minutes notice, so flexibility is...