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Homeschool Lesson Plans and Planners

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Find the Best Homeschool Lesson Planners and Get Your Homeschool Organized Once and For All

Whether you're a newcomer or a veteran homeschooler, planning and organizing your homeschool curriculum and program for the year can certainly be a challenge. We're here to help!

One of our favorite ways to organize lesson plans is with The Full-Year Notebook System, a resource designed by experienced homeschool mom, Julie Anderson.

Read on. You'll learn more about Julie, how she came up with her practical solution to organizing her own children's curriculum, why The Full-Year Notebook System works, and how it can work for you.

Another great choice that we love? The 2011-12 Schoolhouse Planner. Just click for details.

And there's more! Keep reading for more terrific resources to help make your homeschooling experience a great one, even a fun one for both you, the parent-teacher, and your students, your own special children. It's never too late to organize your homeschool lesson plans and these planners and resources will be worth their weight in gold when you get your homeschool organized once and for all!

The Full-Year Notebook System Homeschool Planner

by Julie Anderson

Are you spending way too much time on lesson plans? Are you only one step ahead of your children's schoolwork? Do you ever feel like you are teetering on the edge of a home school disaster? I felt like I was constantly behind and was never going to catch up.

I had unexpectedly became a single mom and the sole provider for my family. I knew that one of my highest priorities was to continue homeschooling but I was not sure this would be possible while working a full-time job. I was determined to try to find a solution. And I did.

I created notebooks for my children which contained all of their schoolwork for the entire year. I had a reference page which held the important weekly information so we could each quickly see what work was to be completed that week. Everything was self-contained. It even included library and living books that had no curriculum or instructions with it. I had figured out a way to include any resources of any type and a way to work with any home school model such as classical education, unit studies, unschooling, etc. Best of all, my children could get started with their schoolwork without needing me to tell them what to do!

Friends of mine asked me to create a class which would teach them how to make notebooks for their children. In putting together that class, I was able to produce a set of materials which anyone could use to create notebooks for their own children. This is a simple program which includes step-by-step instructions and worksheets for both analyzing your time and resources as well as worksheets to include in your children's notebooks for subjects that don't fit well into "regular" school such as field trips, music lessons, service opportunities and more.

One of its best features is that it doesn't take a semester to learn; in fact, you could download it today and be implementing it tonight. If last semester didn't go as well as you would have liked, then get started right away with The Full-Year Notebook System.

For a more detailed look at The Full-Year Notebook System, click here.

P.S. Julie is having a sale! Get 25% off the regular price of The Full-Year Notebook System when you visit today!

RECOMMENDED: The 2011-2012 Schoolhouse Planner

Perfect for your homeschool plans!

Click to see all the details of The 2011-12 Schoolhouse Planners

Shop and Compare - More Homeschool Lesson Planners

Find a planner, organizer, or calendar that fits your style.

Even if The Full-Year Notebook System isn't your cup of tea, you still need a good way to plan. Here are some other suggestions, a couple designed especially for homeschoolers, a couple with traditional teachers in mind.
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Keeping Your Family Organized

The Best 2012 Calendars for Moms and Families

Get a head start on the new year. Many of these calendars start in August 2011.
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Best Calendars for Busy Moms

Check out this selection of great calendars and organizers, especially for moms with busy families.

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Homeschooling Through High School?

What about records? Transcripts?

My online friend Lee Binz is THE source to turn to for answers to your questions about record-keeping for homeschool high school. Her amazing sons are proof that Lee knows what she's talking about. Since the boys have graduated, Lee has honed her skills and produced multiple resources for homeschooling families who need help with their homeschool high schoolers. This is just one of those resources.

While you may have lesson plans down pat (thanks to the help of some other other resources on this page), just how does one transform those records into a format that college admissions offices will approve of and appreciate? Lee Binz knows and presents the answers in this priceless resource.
Setting the Records Straight: How to Craft Homeschool Transcripts and Course Descriptions for College Admission and Scholarships

Setting the Records Straight: How to Craft Homeschool Transcripts and Course Descriptions for College Admission and Scholarships

by: Lee Binz

Amazon Price: $20.46 (as of 02/15/2012)Buy Now

We suggest you read the reviews for this book, all written by homeschooling parents who have used this book to learn how to write course descriptions and how to make transcripts. Be prepared for a whole lot of positive information and agreement that this is a 5-star resource.

The How, What, and Why of Homeschooling

Homeschooling resources and advice for homeschoolers, new and seasoned.

You know you want to teach your kids at home, but what should your focus be and what curriculum should you use? While it's a bit beyond the scope of this page to discuss how to choose a homeschool curriculum, or even why to homeschool, there are a number of very excellent resources that address those topics and do it much better than I could do it here.

I've chosen a few classic homeschool information books to highlight here, but there are new books on the market now that I haven't read since our youngest graduated over six years ago. One of the best ways to choose a book is to read the customer reviews. Click here to find the current bestselling homeschooling how-to and advice books. Use your instincts and the customer views to choose the best book for you.

Already have a favorite homeschooling resources book? Feel free to share it in a comment in our guestbook near the bottom of the page.

Books from a Favorite Homeschool Author

When I was actively homeschooling, Ruth Beechick was my all-time favorite homeschool author.

I consider Ruth Beechick's advice priceless as well as timeless. These books are highly recommended resources for new and even experienced homeschool parents. Read them before you finalize your plan.
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Do You Teach Imagination?

Kids come pre-packaged with imaginations intact. Help them use it so they don't lose it!

Help build character in your children by encouraging imaginary play. This lens will give you some great ideas about how to do that.
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The Teacher's Calendar

Now available for the 2011-2012 school year!

Now, this is my kind of book! I'm a unit studies lover from 'way back and can turn any event into a mini-study. If you're like me and love to take advantage of teachable moments - even if you have to create your own teachable moment - you'll love this!

Here are some events that were included in previous editions:
September 15, Independence Day for five Central American countries--Create their flags and talk about their distinctive cultures.

January 24, 100th anniversary of the first Boy Scout troop--Explain how the ideals behind the Scout's Pledge can be used in everyday life.

February 16, 40th anniversary of the first 911 call--Make "Call 911" magnets to place by the phone.

April 30, Día de los niños, de los libros (Children's Day, Book Day)--Share a folk tale in both English and another language.

June 25, Eric Carle's birthday--Visit eric-carle.com to learn the creative processes of the master children's books illustrator.

These are just a few of the days that will inspire endless ideas for your K-8 classroom. Inside you will find hundreds of new entries, as well as 5,000 holidays and events, astronomical data, 50 Curriculum Connections and more.
The Teachers Calendar 2011-2012 (Teacher's Calendar: The Day-By-Day Directory to Holidays, Historic Events, Birthdays & Special Days)

The Teachers Calendar 2011-2012 (Teacher's Calendar: The Day-By-Day Directory to Holidays, Historic Events, Birthdays & Special Days)

by: Editors of Chase's Calendar of Events

Amazon Price: $13.71 (as of 02/15/2012)Buy Now

For nine years, K-8 teachers, librarians, and other educators have turned to The Teacher's Calendar to capture the attention of their students. The Teacher's Calendar offers innovative classroom ideas for every day of the year, from August 1 to July 31. Each page is packed with suggestions for class activities, bulletin boards, and school calendars. Fifty sidebars highlight specific dates and provide curriculum ideas, lists of appropriate books, and related websites.

Written by the in-house staff of Chase's Calendar of Events as well as with the contributions of writers specializing in child education.

Planning for Facts, Dates, Names, Places and More

Need information fast? Check out this great resource.

Did you ever need a quick list of names or dates and wish you had that information available quickly, in one place, easy to grab, right at your fingertips? You're not the only one, and one homeschool mom has put it all together to benefit us all.

The Homeschooler's Book of Lists by Sonya Haskins is an indispensible reference tool that every homeschool mom, teacher, or parent needs. Topics include history and government, math, religion, science, geography, great people, quotations and speeches, the arts and much more. The book contains over 250 lists including important dates in history, famous scientists, major inventions, mathematical formulas, word origins, linguistic terms, biblical timeline, and many more.

Two chapters are specifically devoted to help you as a home educator better plan and organize your thinking, schoolwork, and resources. For this, there are lists on homeschool methods, reading lists for various age groups, and checklists you can use to keep track of books you have to make it easier when you go to used curriculum sales.

Using the CD that's included, you can copy lists for your own home use, family use, or even for classes you might teach in a co-op setting. It doesn't get any easier than this!

Read more about The Homeschooler's Book of Lists and see for youself how this terrific reference book can benefit you and your children or students. (You don't have to be a homeschooler to use it!)

Planning for Homeschool Home Economics

Living On a Dime

These days, everyone needs to learn about frugal living. From eating better and spending less, to grocery shopping on a budget, to getting and staying out of debt, these are skills that everyone should use and that your future homemakers should be taught.

The "Living On a Dime" series of e-books covers these topics and more, including how to keep a home clean and organized, saving with kids, and even how to stay well. Each series of books is reasonably priced and would be a great addition to a home economics curriculum for your older children.

About the authors: Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper are a mother daughter team who learned to live in difficult financial circumstances at a time in life when money was always in short supply. Living in a situation where they had to choose between one necessity and another really helped them gain a new perspective about the value of things. It also helped them make distinctions between needs and desires.

Their goal is to educate people about better ways to handle money in the hope that the people they touch can live more fulfilled and less stressful lives. Their story is not just for people who live on very small incomes. Instead, they hope that sharing their story of money scarcity and how they dealt with it will help people more wisely manage their resources and become financially strong.

Click here to learn more about Living on a Dime.

Planning For Homeschool P.E.?

Have you resolved to get fit? To keep your kids fit?

I adore the "Chicken Fat" song and workout and recommend this as part of anyone's home or homeschool routine. Listen to the original recording of Chicken Fat (with some great, nostalgic school photos), watch a large school group work out to Chicken Fat, and see how even older folks can use the workout. No excuses!
"Go, you chicken fat, go!"
by longingforthepast | video info

186 ratings | 154,738 views
curated content from YouTube

Go, You Chicken Fat! Go Away!

Get Fit and Have Fun with Homeschool Physical Education - the Chicken Fat Way!

What workout is quick and fun for the whole family, requires no equipment (though if you don't have carpet you might want an exercise mat), is a great pick-me-up for those down times of the day, and even helps you get and stay fit? It's the "Chicken Fat" workout, of course!

You'll find a selection of "Go You Chicken Fat, Go!" recordings below (they come with instructions), plus a selection of exercise mats if you need one.

We love this workout at our house and I'm guessing your kids will enjoy it, too!.

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Chicken Fat - Audio CD

Chicken Fat - Audio CD

These familiar words set the stage for great music more...0 points

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Chicken Fat-Youth Fitness Video - VHS

Chicken Fat-Youth Fitness Video - VHS

Exciting, 25-minute exercise-fun video geared to c more...0 points

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Chicken Fat: The Youth Fitness - DVD

Chicken Fat: The Youth Fitness - DVD

Exciting exercise-fun video geared to children 3 t more...0 points

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Kids Mats - 24

Kids Mats - 24" x 60"

These mats are a 6 mm thick that gives ample paddi more...0 points

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Drishti Extra Thick Yoga Mat

Drishti Extra Thick Yoga Mat

Same high quality as the Drishti Standard Mat, but more...0 points

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Weider Exercise Mat

Weider Exercise Mat

Weider has been a trusted name in strength trainin more...0 points

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Valeo Foam Exercise Mat

Valeo Foam Exercise Mat

Foam Exercise Mat by Valeo. 2'Width x 6'Length. Tw more...0 points

Planning for Math?

When you're making your math lesson plans, include this great resource.

Got math? Then you need math worksheets. Where to get them? Why, from The Math Worksheet Site, of course!

The Math Worksheet Site is not a collection of worksheets. It is a web site that creates the worksheets you want when you want them according to the criteria you specify. This way you can add the practice that your student needs to a curriculum you already like, or you can be freed from the constraints of a workbook or textbook that gives either too much or too little practice if you'd rather direct the studies yourself.

The worksheets are generated on-the-fly on the server. Each worksheet that is created will have a new arrangement of problems, or new problems altogether, depending on the type of worksheet. This ensures that students learn the concept, not simply memorize the order of the answers on the page.

From counting to quadratic equations, The Math Worksheet Site has the worksheets you need, so why not take a look?

Magazines for Homeschooling Families

When we were homeschooling I always looked forward to receiving the latest edition of my favorite homeschooling magazine. I always found something to motivate and inspire me, usually just when I needed it the most.

More Homeschool Lesson Plan Sites

Need fresh ideas? Here are some resources for you to check out.

Fun Lesson Plans dot com
Preschool lesson plans with preschool themes for daycare, kindergarten, homeschool, or home activities.
School Express
Free e-newsletter with one downloadable unit study each month, worksheets, activities, and lots more.
Lesson Planners from Donna Young
A selection of homeschool lesson planning printables in PDF format plus lots more printables and resources from Donna Young.org.
EdHelper.com
Lots of activities and themes for just about any subject and every grade.
Free Lesson Plans for Teachers
An online directory of lesson plans for K-12 teachers.
Amanda Bennett Unit Studies
Amanda Bennett has been creating unit studies for years. You can find all of them here.

How to Create a Homeschool Transcript

The last, and most important, step in recordkeeping.

The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts
Fearing the high school transcript stage? I did, too. We got ours done, but I wish I had had access back then to the ebook my friend, Lee Binz, has recently published.

Lee is a homeschool consultant, owner of The HomeScholar and mom of two homeschooled sons. She learned how to convert four years of independent homeschooling into transcripts that earned both of her sons full-tuition scholarships at their first choice university! After many, many "How did you make such a great transcript?" questions, Lee has put this valuable information into a very reasonably priced ebook, available now.

I know Lee and can promise that she does top-notch, high-quality work. If you need to make a high school transcript for your homeschooled children, and you will, I would urge you to check out her book. Don't put it off; time flies so fast when you're homeschooling and you'll need this information before you know it.

Check out The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts today!

Homeschoolers are Blogging about Their Lesson Plans

It's always good to be able to learn from others. Here are up-to-the-minute blog posts from others who are writing about their homeschool lesson plans.
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Play to Learn - Help Keep Homeschooling Fun!

Shhh! Don't tell them they're learning!

Traditional textbooks and workbooks are an important part of your child's education, but play time is important, too. Just don't tell the kids they're learning while they're enjoying these educational magazines, puzzles, and toys!

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Zoobooks - The #1 Kids Magazine about Animals!

Kids love animals, and they love Zoobooks magazine more...1 point

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Stuff Kids Like

Melissa and Doug, Educational Insights, Kettler ca more...1 point

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Digital Weather Station

Record and predict weather patterns with this digital more...1 point

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http://www.china-family-adventure.com

China Travel is not just about temples and pagodas more...1 point

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Highlights for Children Magazine - Save $20 off the single-issue price!

They don't call it Fun With a Purpose for nothing! more...0 points

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Get a free Moonjar (R) Savings Kit with a High Five Magazine Subscription at Highlights.com!

Now there's a Highlights magazine for preschoolers more...0 points

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PuzzlesUSA.com

Jigsaw puzzles for all ages! From 12 to 24,000 pie more...0 points

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Board Games USA

Find your favorite classic board games as well as more...0 points

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Which Way USA Club

Discover America the fun way with coast-to-coast p more...0 points

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Dominion Intrigue

Dominion Intrigue is a great and wonderful card ga more...0 points

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Fun Discovery for Kids

Hi, I've created this lens to show you some of the more...0 points


FREE Elephants Zoobook! FREE Tiger Poster!

The Question All Homeschoolers Know and Love

(You fill in the blank.) "But what about _________?"

Homeschool Alumni Socialization Blues
by hsafilms | video info

53 ratings | 12,062 views
curated content from YouTube

Homeschool T-Shirts for Everyone in The Family

All of these t-shirt designs are the creation of a very creative homeschooling family.

Outfit your whole family or your whole homeschool group! Each design is available in multiple styles, colors, and sizes. Click to see the options with a bigger picture and complete ordering information.
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Reader Feedback

Homeschooler or not, we'd love to read your comments.

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  • Reply
    LornsA178 Jan 12, 2012 @ 1:21 pm | delete
    Great resource. Thanks for sharing.
  • Reply
    TerryOlsen Dec 3, 2011 @ 6:59 pm | delete
    I went out to read some of the articles on your blog and the one I was most interested in was about charter schools and homeschooling. Homeschooling is a daunting task if you don't have prior experience. Nowhat I am comfortable teaching my child, I am ready to try it on my own. Thanks for all this information.
  • Reply
    MoiraLewis Dec 3, 2011 @ 6:34 pm | delete
    I went out to read some of the articles on your blog and the one I was most interested in was about charter schools and homeschooling. ?>Homeschooling is a daunting task if you don't have prior
    experience. Nowhat I am comfortable teaching my child, I am ready to try it on my own. Thanks for all this information.
  • Reply
    RobinDM Nov 24, 2011 @ 4:31 pm | delete
    Great lens! Thanks for the information. Really helpful.
  • Reply
    MoonMaa Nov 12, 2011 @ 8:44 pm | delete
    This lens is excellent for people who don't know about homeschooling or who would like to homeschool or who is homeschooling and need help with it. This lens is very informative. I was homeschooled as a child. I liked the freedom of being able to learn at your own pace.
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Meet the Author

Susan52, Retired Homeschool Mom

We homeschooled our two sons all the way through high school. They're both grown now and very highly respected by their coworkers and peers. Homeschooling certainly worked out well for us. I wish the same for you and your family!
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Susan52

Susan52 misses making homeschool lesson plans. She homeschooled her now-grown sons all the way through high school and still loves to keep in touch with... more »

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