Summer Homeschool Projects to Get Your Kids Outdoors

Outside Projects for Homeschoolers

When the days are warmer and longer, the beautiful sunny weather makes homeschool lessons more and more difficult to do indoors. Why sit inside and stare at textbooks when you can teach your kids some lessons in the great outdoors? We've got summer homeschool projects to get your kids outdoors and enjoying the fresh air. Read on for homeschool activities you can do outside with the kids!

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Whether you’re teaching homeschool science, math, or life skills, we’ve compiled a list of some homeschool projects to get your kids outside and learning at the same time!

Grow a Kid-Friendly Garden

Gardening with kids is educational and a good mental and physical workout. Not to mention, digging around in the dirt and planting some flowers with your kids is just good old fashion fun! The internet is full of all sorts of different gardening lesson plans, and you can make this homeschool project as simple or complex as you want.

Photo by Nikoline Arns on Unsplash

However, sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to get your kids engaged in a project. Start by building a raised garden bed that is all theirs. If they’re old enough, have them help you put the bed together. This gives them the opportunity to explore their carpentry skills! Next, plant some easy-to-grow vegetable seeds or starts such as beets, potatoes, tomatoes, green onions, beans, and kale.

When the time comes to harvest your plants, you’ll be able to teach your kids a bit about the food industry, and they’ll make the connection that all the vegetables and fruits they eat have to be grown from seed before they make it to their plate!

Education-Based Nature Hike

Hikes are one of the best parts of summer. They get your heart pumping, work up a good sweat and the view at the top of the mountain is always breathtaking. While hiking will definitely fulfill your kids’ PE requirement, it’s also a great time to explore your area’s local climate! Depending on where you live and where you choose to hike, there will be a few different homeschool lessons you can teach. Check out this list of ideas to get started!

Do a Beach Treasure Hunt

As a kid, you probably remember going on a field trip or two to the beach to look for seashells and hermit crabs. The beautiful weather is a great excuse to go do a little hands-on marine biology lesson!

Photo by Manki Kim on Unsplash

Create your own treasure hunt and have your kids explore the area to find everything on the list. Not only will they learn more about your local environment, but they’ll burn off all that energy by running around trying to collect all their items!

Outdoor Art Projects

Your kids love art projects. They’ll love them, even more, when they get to do them outside! There are a variety of different art projects that utilize plant material to create something beautiful. Some tried and true classics include painting rocks, sun prints, and nature sculptures.

Visit Some Local Historical Landmarks

Who says history lessons have to be taught out of a textbook? Take your kids on a trip to some local landmarks to teach them a little bit about your town’s unique history.

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash

Get in touch with your local museum to see what programs they have going on for kids during the summer. Or, take a day trip to your state’s capital or nearby national or state parks.

Tried and True Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

Sometimes the classics are hard to beat. Kids love watching stuff explode, but having to clean up the ensuing mess may be a turn-off. Take the mess outside and teach them a little bit about chemical reactions with a baking soda and vinegar volcano. There are hundreds of tutorials on the internet, and this project can be as simple as using a 2L bottle or as complex and crafting a paper mache volcano to go along with the experiment!

Build a Compost Bin

I didn’t realize it at the time, but when we built a compost bin in my 7th-grade science class, I learned so much about building healthy soil and the benefits of compost! Not only will building a compost bin give your kids some experience with woodworking, but they’ll have the first-hand experience of watching kitchen and yard waste turn into a valuable soil additive.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Finish off the lesson by having your kids add your homegrown compost to the garden and observe how the plants respond. Have them predict ahead of time what they think will happen and then help them keep a log of the plant growth and changes.

Bird Watching and Identification

During lunch, take the opportunity to sit outside and do a bit of bird watching! Install a few bird feeders around your yard and you’ll be surprised to see how many of them flock to the seeds. If you can get close enough, you can even make a project out of identifying them. Find a local bird guidebook and have them check off all the different species they find. Or, get out of the house and visit a bird sanctuary.

Take Your Regular Lessons Outdoors

Sometimes getting out and enjoying the outdoors is as easy as taking your regularly scheduled lesson plan outdoors! Establish an outdoor area that your kids can study at without baking in the sun. Consider installing a hardtop gazebo and building a high-quality outdoor table that your kids can comfortably study at.

And when the school day is over, that same gazebo and table can offer your guests a place to hang out on those long summer nights. In the rainy season, you can still use that outdoor space to complete messy projects that you don’t want to do indoors.

What projects are you planning for your kids this upcoming summer? Let us know in the comments below!

Bio: Leigha Staffenhagen is the managing editor of Insteading.com, a homesteading and sustainability site focusing on everything from gardening and raising chickens to tiny homes and off-grid living.

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Active Learning in Early Childhood Education

What is Active Learning?

If you're an early childhood education director, teacher, or a homeschooler of a preschooler, you will benefit ChildCare Education Institute's CCEI122: Active Learning in Early Childhood course. This course is a great way to get continuing ed course credit for any ECE program, but it is also a wonderful tool for parents of toddlers and preschoolers to educate themselves for homeschool learning. So, what is the definition of active learning in early childhood education?

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Wikipedia describes active learning as:

Active learning is a form of learning in which teaching strives to involve students in the learning process more directly than in other methods. Bonwell states that in active learning, "students participate in the process and students participate when they are doing something besides passively listening."

Sensory Play = Active Learning

As a childcare professional, I am well versed in sensory play and its connection to cognitive learning. Here on the blog, you'll find many sensory play activities and other movement games for early childhood educators. However, I wasn't aware of much of the proven science behind these preschool activities until I took CCEI's online professional development course CCEI122: Active Learning in Early Childhood.

This course presents practical methods for integrating movement and active involvement across all curriculum areas, including art, language arts, mathematics, music, science, and social studies.

The course only takes about an hour of your time. Be sure to print out the handouts or save them as pdfs so that you'll have access to note taking and a record of some of the valuable ideas and knowledge base taught in the class. At course completion, you’re issued a certificate showing that you've successfully completed the 1 hr. course. Here's mine:

Through the years, I've taken many continuing education courses. The courses offered by ChildCare Education Institute are by far the most convenient. The courses are also very informative. They not only include valuable information and recent studies in the childcare industry, but they also include sample activities that you can try with your own students.

ChildCare Education Institute® provides high-quality, online training courses and programs, applicable to those who work in an array of child care settings, including center-based care, Head Start, family child care, prekindergarten classrooms, after school environments and more. Over 150 English and Spanish training courses are available to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start Requirements. CCEI also has online certification programs that provide the coursework requirement for national credentials including the CDA, Director and Early Childhood Credentials. CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standard℠ Comprehensive training provider, is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) and is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).

● 99 percent of students say they would recommend CCEI to others

● Over 4.4 million online course hours completed  

● Graduated over 12,000 early childhood professionals from CDA and other certificate programs

● Web-based coursework, available 24/7/365

● 30 hours of new content added each year

● IACET CEUs awarded for completed coursework at no additional cost

During the CCEI122: Active Learning in Early Childhood course, I had many aha moments. There were so many things that I've done in my early childhood programs where I missed valuable opportunities to incorporate movement and music in daily lesson plans for language arts, science, social studies, math, and art. The course lists out many different ideas and further explains how these activities aid in cognitive development and increase brain synapses.

After taking the course, you’ll want to add more movement activities to your daily active learning activities. Here's a list of our most popular posts on early childhood games and sensory play ideas for preschoolers.

● Circle Time Games for Active Learning in Early Childhood

● Physical Activity Movement Games for Early Childhood

● Marshmallow Movement Game

● Sensory Tactile Alphabet Activity

● Group Cooperation Games for Preschool and Early Childhood

If you're in need of continuing education for your career in early childhood, start here with our review of ChildCare Education Institute. CCEI offers many amazing continuing education courses for professional development in early childhood education. The extensive course list is sure to please even the most hard to please daycare providers and program directors. I encourage everyone involved with childcare and early childhood education to sign up for a course or two. It’s such a convenient way to expand your knowledge in early childhood education. Be sure to check it out!

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5 Suреr Quаlitiеѕ Mаth Tеасhеrѕ Shоuld Have

Considering Becoming a Math Teacher?

Hey homeschoolers, what will you become? Deciding you want to teach is an easy decision, but what should you teach? What are your best qualities? What is your favorite subject? If you're considering become a math teacher, consider these qualities that every math teacher should have.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Studеntѕ аrе ѕеriоuѕlу influenced bу thе ԛuаlitу оf thеir tеасhеrѕ. Nоt оnlу dо thеу intеrасt with tеасhеrѕ еvеrу dау in thе сlаѕѕrооm, but thе ԛuаlitу оf thаt intеrасtiоn mаttеrѕ fоr ѕtudеntѕ’ futures. It hаѕ bееn оbѕеrvеd thаt thе diffеrеnсе bеtwееn a gооd аnd a bаd tеасhеr саn bе a full lеvеl оf ѕtudеnt асhiеvеmеnt in a ѕinglе ѕсhооl уеаr.

Hоwеvеr, оnе thing thаt rеmаinѕ unchanged iѕ thаt all gооd math tеасhеrѕ hаvе сеrtаin ѕuреr ԛuаlitiеѕ thаt diѕtinguiѕh thеm frоm оthеr teachers. Thеѕе ѕuреr ԛuаlitiеѕ mаkе thеse teachers рrоduсе еxсеllеnt rеѕultѕ nоt only fоr thеir ѕtudеntѕ but аlѕо fоr thеmѕеlvеѕ. Thе fоllоwing are thе fivе ѕuреr ԛuаlitiеѕ a gооd math tеасhеr ѕhоuld hаvе.

5 Super Qualities of a Good Math Teacher

• Exсеllеnt Knоwlеdgе Of Mаthеmаtiсѕ 

A gооd math tеасhеr is оnе with аn еxtеnѕivе undеrѕtаnding of mathematics. Hаving undеrgоnе a thоrоugh trаining рrосеѕѕ in a rесоgnizеd inѕtitutiоn of higher learning whеrе thеу асԛuirе thе knоwlеdgе аnd ѕkillѕ rеԛuirеd tо tеасh ѕtudеntѕ еffесtivеlу, which inсludеѕ knоwlеdgе оf аrithmеtiс, gеоmеtrу, аlgеbrа, ѕtаtiѕtiсѕ аnd саlсuluѕ. Thе еxсеllеnt knоwlеdgе they get from thеѕе inѕtitutiоnѕ givеѕ thеm thе соnfidеnсе tо еxрlаin сlеаrlу аll thе mаthеmаtiсаl соnсерtѕ tо their ѕtudеntѕ аnd ѕоlvе еԛuаtiоnѕ еаѕilу. Gооd math tеасhеrѕ dо nоt соnѕult аnѕwеrѕ аt thе bасk оf thе tеасhеr’ѕ guidе bооklеt. Thеу hаvе аll thе solutions аt their fingеrtiрѕ аnd саn hеlр ѕtudеntѕ ѕоlvе рrоblеmѕ immеdiаtеlу.

Bоth рrоgrеѕѕivе аnd соnѕеrvаtivе еduсаtоrѕ ѕреаk about thе imроrtаnсе оf undеrѕtаnding thе соntеnt. Thеу emphasize the imроrtаnсе оf knоwing the ѕubjесt уоu teach. Evеrуоnе аgrееѕ that gооd teachers роѕѕеѕѕ a ѕоlid соmmаnd of соntеnt, whеthеr thеir еxреrtiѕе liеѕ in thе knowledge оf rеаding in thе еаrlу еlеmеntаrу grаdеѕ оr a ѕеriоuѕ соmmаnd оf mathematics аt thе high ѕсhооl lеvеl.

• Diffеrеnt Teaching Strаtеgiеѕ 

Studеntѕ lеаrn in divеrѕе mаnnеrѕ, аnd a gооd mаth tеасhеr knоwѕ thаt. A gооd math tеасhеr kеерѕ uр with the bеѕt рrасtiсеѕ in mаth еduсаtiоn and rеgulаrlу inсоrроrаtеѕ thеm intо his inѕtruсtiоn tо hеlр аll оf his ѕtudеntѕ learn. Hе аlѕо undеrѕtаndѕ thеrе mау bе multiрlе wауѕ tо ѕоlvе рrоblеmѕ аnd uses thоѕе аltеrnаtе ѕtrаtеgiеѕ tо hеlр struggling ѕtudеntѕ grаѕр difficult соnсерtѕ. Hiѕ lеѕѕоn рlаnѕ еngаgе ѕtudеntѕ аnd hеlр thеm fееl соnfidеnt in thеir mathematical аbilitiеѕ.

A gооd math tеасhеr uѕеѕ a vаriеtу оf tеасhing strategies that they fееl comfortable with; within thе ѕаmе ѕсhооl, уоu'll find diffеrеnt tеасhеrѕ gеtting еxсеllеnt rеѕultѕ uѕing ѕuсh ѕtrаtеgiеѕ such аѕ mini-lectures, аnd intеrасtivе lесturеѕ, соореrаtivе grоuрѕ, рrоblеm-bаѕеd learning, аnd multiрlе intеlligеnсеѕ аррrоасh. Nо ѕinglе tеасhing ѕtrаtеgу оr method wоrkѕ bеѕt fоr еvеrу tеасhеr with every ѕtudеnt.

We knоw, hоwеvеr, thаt rеѕеаrсh аnd еxреriеnсе ѕtrоnglу ѕuрроrt ѕоmе tеасhing ѕtrаtеgiеѕ оvеr others. Gооd math tеасhеrѕ ѕеlесt frоm thе ѕtrаtеgiеѕ thаt аrе wеll rеѕеаrсhеd аnd widely рrасticеd аt thеir grаdе lеvеl оr within thеir ѕubjесt аrеа аnd bесоmе аn еxреrt in thоѕе thаt fit thеir style аnd thе requirements оf thеir ѕtudеntѕ аt thаt time.

• Cоnѕtаntlу Learning Nеw Tесhniԛuеѕ 

Gооd math tеасhеrs knоw thаt thеу аrе nоt реrfесt. Thаt iѕ why thеу rеgulаrlу rеаd nеw mаtеriаlѕ, аttеnd wоrkѕhорѕ tо uрdаtе thеir knоwlеdgе bаѕе. Thеу аlѕо еnrоll fоr аdditiоnаl соurѕеѕ in thеir areas оf ѕресiаlitу tо bеttеr thеmѕеlvеѕ аnd gаin mоrе confidence in thе сlаѕѕrооm. Onсе a gооd tеасhеr lеаrnѕ аbоut a nеw mаthеmаtiсаl соnсерt, hе lеtѕ all thе ѕtudеntѕ knоw аbоut it, lеаding tо еffесtivе lеаrning аnd bеttеr grades.

• Gооd Mоtivаtоr 

Gооd math tеасhеrs knоw thаt students hаvе diffеrеnt intеrеѕtѕ. Thеrеfоrе, thеу соmе uр with рrоgrаmѕ thаt idеntifу with thе ѕtudеntѕ’ ѕоurсе оf mоtivаtiоn. Fоr еxаmрlе, thеу mау mоtivаtе ѕtudеntѕ whо want tо bесоmе ассоuntаntѕ bу giving thеm mаthеmаtiсаl рrоblеmѕ rеlаtеd tо thеir аmbitiоnѕ. Thе ѕаmе аррliеѕ tо thоѕе whо wаnt tо bесоmе ѕсiеntiѕtѕ, еnginееrѕ, dосtоrѕ, еtс. Thеу also рrеvеnt thе ѕtudеntѕ frоm lоѕing intеrеѕt bу tаlking tо thеm оn a rеgulаr bаѕiѕ to hеlр thеm асԛuirе thе ѕkillѕ аррliсаblе in thе рrоfеѕѕiоn for which they аrе аѕрiring.

• Gооd Undеrѕtаnding Nаturе 

Pеrѕоnаlitу characteristics rеlаtеd tо bеing a соmраѕѕiоnаtе person аnd hаving a ѕеnѕitivitу tо ѕtudеnt diffеrеnсеѕ, раrtiсulаrlу with lеаrnеrѕ, iѕ аnоthеr rероrtеd ѕuреr ԛuаlitу оf smiletutor.sg mаthѕ tеасhеrs.

Undеrѕtаnding thе nаturе оf ѕtudеnt iѕ a broad саtеgоrу thаt inсоrроrаtеѕ knоwlеdgе оf thе соgnitivе, ѕосiаl аnd еmоtiоnаl dеvеlорmеnt оf ѕtudеntѕ. It inсludеѕ аn understanding оf hоw ѕtudеntѕ lеаrn аt a givеn dеvеlорmеntаl lеvеl, hоw lеаrning in a ѕресifiс ѕubjесt аrеа tурiсаllу рrоgrеѕѕеѕ like lеаrning рrоgrеѕѕiоnѕ оr trаjесtоriеѕ, аwаrеnеѕѕ thаt ѕtudеntѕ hаvе individuаl аbilitiеѕ аnd nееdѕ, аnd аn undеrѕtаnding thаt tеасhing ѕhоuld bе done tо mееt еасh ѕtudеnt’ѕ needs.

So, what do you think, homeschoolers? Are you ready to pursue a career as a math teacher?

Recommended Reading:

Online Homeschool Math Lessons from Kids Creative Chaos

Our favorite Math Curriculum: Life of Fred Math Books on Amazon

Educational Scholarships for Homeschoolers

College Scholarships for Homeschool

How do homeschoolers get a proper undergraduate education? Wondering how to pay for college? As long as the parent/learningcoach/teacher/caregiver/ keeps track of their student's classes and attendance with a transcript, college applications are no different for a homeschooler than for a public school student. In fact, the word on the street is that many universities seek out homeschooled students because of their enrichment activities, volunteerism, and community service. But, how do homeschoolers pay for college? Of course, a job is a great way to start, but students can supplement their college tuition with an educational scholarship. Are there specific educational scholarships for homeschoolers? Sure, homeschoolers can apply for most college scholarships.

Educational Scholarships for Homeschoolers.

Be sure to check the entrance requirements to see if the school requires SAT or ACT scores. Many students score better on the ACT. Perhaps, this is because the ACT allows the use of a calculator for all math questions. The higher the score, the more likely you will win a scholarship. Here's an article that does a great job of explaining the differences between the ACT and the SAT and why one might be better for your homeschooler than the other. The SAT gives diagrams with math formulas, whereas, the ACT expects these formulas to be set to memory. However, this gift of formulas doesn't mean the overall score will be higher on the SAT. Do your research. Despite the cost, it is often a good idea to take the test more than once to improve the score. Sure, it's a hassle, but the second time around, the student knows what to expect, has less nerves, and will likely improve their score. Even a few points can improve chances for an educational scholarship for your homeschooler.

So, the schooling is done. The tests are taken. How do homeschoolers apply for scholarships for their education? Are homeschoolers eligible for scholarships? Of course, when reviewing college scholarship opportunities be aware of the applicant requirements. Also, think about your homeschooler's background, even consider their quirks and hobbies. While most educational scholarships are athletic, academic, or need based. there are many scholarships with completely random requirements. Write an essay about motivation to keep goals for the Dr. Summit Shah scholarship. Skilled in duck calling? Have a strange name? Yes, there's a scholarship for that. Check out these unusual scholarships for college.

Scholarships for College

Federal Financial Aid is available for those in need. Always, fill out your FAFSA first. Federal aid is available for colleges and technical career schools. After that's done, it's time to think outside the box. Start searching for the perfect scholarships for your child's personality.

Many homeschoolers love to teach themselves music. Got a ukulele player? Yep, there's a scholarship for ukulele.

Want to run a grocery store? Then, you'll want to apply for an Asparagus Scholarship for Grocer Students.

Like to sculpt? Apply for an Ice Sculpting Scholarship.

Chicken keeper? Poultry Scholarship.

On a bowling team? Bowling Scholarship.


You get the idea. The educational scholarship options for homeschoolers and public school students are endless. Do the research early and score as many scholarship opportunities as possible for you secondary education goals. If you're lucky, you'll get more than one scholarship, so apply for as many as possible.

Concerned you aren't preparing your child with the proper homeschool high school education? There are many online homeschool high school options to help you keep track of attendance, transcripts, and the courses necessary for college. Here's a list of our favorites: Time4Learning High School, Acellus, (they also have a less expensive app option for high school) and Connections Academy (free online public school.)

Free Online Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations

Curriculum Recommendations for Online Homeschooling

Whether you're new to homeschooling or you've been doing it for years, you're probably on the hunt for new, exciting, and engaging curriculum ideas. We get bored with the daily grind and change it up from year to year or even season to season. Here's a list of mostly free online homeschool curriculum recommendations that we've used and enjoyed. We've tried MANY other options, but these are our favorites.

This post contains affiliate links.

Free Online Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations.

Brainpop Jr. is my favorite program for younger elementary and preschool. The videos are fun to watch, and the kids always looked forward to using Brainpop Jr. for Homeschooling. 

Brainpop has a an online homeschool for middle school and high school, but we often found topics we wanted only on Brainpop Jr. The upper grade version is nice for supplementing classroom curriculum. If you use the paid version, you have access to more functions and all lessons.

MobyMax is a great online homeschool app to find out where your kids are in their homeschool learning experience. They can take placement tests in all subjects and then the program finds learning gaps and helps kids focus and build on the areas where they may be struggling. The content isn't as fun and engaging as Brainpop. It is a more definitive tool for classroom use, helping teachers to keep all students on track. MobyMax can be used as a supplement or as full homeschool curriculum up to eighth grade.

Khan Academy is (or should be) a household name for homeschoolers. In the beginning, Khan Academy targeted older students and even offered SAT prep. Now, they also offer more curriculum for elementary school. It keeps track of their lessons and lets you know when students are struggling or when they are ready to move to the next level.

The kids prefer Khan Academy math to any other online homeschool math program, but homeschool mom always liked to supplement with free Brainpop math videos to make sure the kids understood the talking points. Khan Academy can get monotonous for day to day homeschooling. Sal does a great job, but it can get a little boring after awhile. We also supplement our Khan Academy math with Life of Fred textbooks. These books are easy to read and tell a fun story while sneaking in practical math lessons.

Now, there are new instructors and new curriculum on KA. My daughter enjoys studying high school and college level psychology and art history through Khan Academy.

My son does well with virtual homeschool. So, for online high school homeschooling, we are sticking with Connections Academy. In Indiana, it is a free online public school. Connections Academy offers group gatherings and field trips. He gets through the assignments quickly (though, I'm told many homeschoolers struggle to get their lessons done on time) so we supplement with weekly enrichment including museum homeschool programs and educational YouTube videos like John and Hank Green's Crash Course in American History.

Sometimes, when he's struggling on a particular topic, (for high school all text books are online) we find a compatible Life of Fred homeschooling book to fll in any gaps. It's nice to have a good, old book that you can hold in your hand and flip through the pages. He enjoys reading them outside while enjoying his hammock.

Sure, Connections Academy has teachers and attendance to keep, but when it's all done, he'll have official transcripts for college. 

I prefer Connections High School to their Elementary program. The elementary program seemed a little too intense. Especially, when you want the freedom of homeschooling. They're still working out the bugs and it gets better every year, in the past, we had to have weekly check ups with the elementary teachers. For high school, signing in and doing your work suffices. As it should...

In 2017, this homeschool mom broke her leg. That made planning homeschool curriculum and doing enrichment activities difficult. So, my daughter was pretty much on her own. She did great with MobyMax (so I could keep up with her learning) and supplementing with YouTube videos of her choosing. But, homeschool mom felt like maybe she was failing her daughter by not being as involved. So, this fall, we are trying something new! Acellus. I stumbled upon Acellus last year when I was laid up in bed. Many other homeschoolers told me it was expensive, but I was sure I found a free or nearly free version. 

But whenever, I looked it up, I found the paid online homeschool version, which seems to be set up like Connections academy, but with a private school fee. That's not for us! I gave up for a while, and recently tried again. It seems they also have a homeschool app which is found on a separate website, PowerHomeschool. The homeschool app differs from the online homeschool version, because the videos are canned - meaning they are pre-recorded 

That's just what we wanted! We like working at our own pace. These videos are similar to videos my daughter finds on YouTube, but these organized by grade level. We'll choose math, science, language arts, foreign language, and music this year. At the time of this posting, the app is $9.99 per month, basically the same as the paid homeschool version of Brainpop. We're looking forward to starting her in the homeschool middle school program this fall. 

The PowerHomemschool website describe the homeschool curriculum like this: "Students proceed through the course in a step-by-step fashion watching a video lesson and then completing assessment problems. Students receive reviews and unit, mid-term, and final exams as they proceed through the course. Learning gaps are assessed and filled as students move through the course concept by concept."

Seems like a fair option to give it a test drive before you jump into their online school curriculum. 

We'll also supplement with Life of Fred fractions and beginning algebra. One thing I've missed the last few years, is doing hands-on science experiments. After previewing the Acellus app's science curriculum, I was excited to try it. With a Google search for online homeschool curriculum, the app is hard to find. They have moved it to a new website with a different name. Find it here: PowerHomeschool

Bottom line, don't break the bank to homeschool. We have SO many books, every year, I'd go out and buy new books. We never got through most of them. Find a free online homeschool curriculum, that works for you and stick with it. Then, supplement with fun enrichment activities and family outings.

We also involve the kids in day to day household concerns. We talk about finances, debt, and even recently including them in every step of the home buying process. That included going to a lender, saving for a down payment, creative ways to find extra money like garage sales, selling off items no longer needed, the highs and lows of Craigslist and eBay, getting a water and septic test at the state level, watching our credit scores, budgeting for groceries, finding ways to cut costs to save for the new house, and even going to a county courthouse to pick up documents needed to close. So many lessons here. At the courthouse, we all had to go through the security, empty our pockets, etc. The next steps, include renovating the new house. 

Family struggles and life lessons are often kept from kids. In my opinion, this tends to give the kids an unrealistic view of what it is like to be a grown up. They can't wait to get out of the house and start their own life, but reality gets in the way of their happiness. Keeping kids life lessons and keeping them in the know, helps them better prepare for the future. Isn't that what homeschooling is all about?

So, what do you think of this list of free online homeschool curriculum recommendations? Do you have something you really love? Tell us about it in the comments or find Kids Creative Chaos on Instagram and chat with us there!

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Need to Get Out of Debt? Make it a Math Lesson!

Homeschool Math: Steps to Get out of Debt 

If you're a busy family trying to make ends meet, you've probably struggled with debt at one time or another. A plan to get out of debt makes a excellent homeschool math lesson for your kids. Don't hide the struggle from them, but don't frighten them with all of the gory details either. If you need to get out of debt, you need a plan. The steps to get out of debt look different for everyone. Everyone has different debt, different income, and a different set of life issues. Talk about a family budget with your kids and then follow the steps below to get out of debt. Everyone working together toward the same goal is the first step on your debt free journey.

Debt to Income Ratio Calculator

You may want to take the steps to get out of debt if you are in the market for a new home. In this case, you'll want to start with a debt to income ratio calculator. Seeing it all laid out before you eyes puts it all in perspective. Where can you save, how can you improve your credit score, and how much money you will need to save. These questions can be overwhelming because the often contradict each other. To buy a new house, you'll want to pay down your debt, but you'll also want to save for a down payment for your home. Which should you do first? How long will it all take? This makes for a relevant and useful homeschool MATH LESSON. Wells Fargo offers instructions on how to figure your debt to income ratio and a free debt to income ratio calculator to check your work. Here's another debt free calculator from CNN.

Credit Score

Start with a credit app like Credit Karma. These aren't completely accurate, but they give you good idea of where you stand in the world of credit scores. You'll also see any negative marks against you. The big credit reporting agencies, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, allow you to check your scores and dispute anything that you find in error. Sometimes, you might find duplicates or items assigned to you that really belong to someone else. In this case, you'll want to speak to a legal firm that can quickly help you sort it all out. You can do it yourself, but it's much easier to pay for a service to do it for you. Lexington Law is inexpensive and gets the job done quickly and efficiently. You'll want to give yourself at least 3 months of the service (depending on how much work needs done.) They tend to work on one credit reporting agency at a time. It's fun and rewarding to watch your credit score improve. You'll also see weekly dips that will let you know where you need to cut back or do better.

Debt Consolidation

Another option is debt consolidation. This is a great option for people who are overwhelmed by debt collectors calling, sending letters, and generally harassing you for payments. This can make anyone crazy. If you use a service to consolidate your debt, they'll set up a monthly payment and take care of notifying debtors and paying your debts each month. Many people feel overwhelmed at the amount of bills they have to pay and can't keep on top of it all without getting late fees. Rather than paying the debt collectors, some people put their head in the sand and do nothing. This, of course, ruins your credit and your chance for a car or a home in you future. So, if you have difficulty keeping organized letting the professionals deal with your debtors may be the best option for you. You also might want to check into these debt relief services.

Budget

It's better to come up with a long term plan that you can manage than to declare bankruptcy or ignore your obligations. A budget is a great way to stay on top of things. Teaching your kids how you budget the bills is a fun way to teach them about finances. Young adults are often surprised at the cost of utilities and groceries and don't plan for these things when they go to rent or buy a new home. Keep a worksheet of your weekly and monthly expenses on the fridge and let your kids see how that new video games fits into the bigger picture. Get a free printable household budget worksheet pdf.

You can open a child's bank account and connect it to your own. Our bank, sent the kids their own ATM cards for their accounts. I can easily move money from my account to theirs or vice versa if they've earned enough to buy the latest video game. If you aren't comfortable with that, there's nothing like a good old fashioned piggy bank or giant glass bottle to see your pennies adding up while saving for that big item.

So, make it a family affair. There's no better homeschool math lesson than the life lessons based on real life events. The more kids know about the real world, the better they will be able to navigate it as young adults.

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