BJU Press Blog

homeschool

Resources for Homeschool Projects

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resources for homeschool projects
Projects, activities, and labs all play an important role in homeschooling. Sometimes we use them to help us assess whether or not our child truly understands a concept. And sometimes we use them to build a deeper understanding about a concept. But homeschool projects can be challenging, because, in order to do them, we have to have the right materials. That means that we have to plan ahead to make sure that I have everything we need. And sometimes getting those materials can be difficult and expensive. If you are like me and have multiple school-aged children, you may be tempted to skip those projects all together.

Resources for Homeschool Projects

Thankfully, there are resources available to help us manage both the inconvenience and the expense of those projects. Here are a few that I have found especially helpful.

Logos Science Kits

Logos Science kits contain everything—everything—that you will need for BJU Press science projects in grades 7-12. Additionally, they are more cost effective than if you bought all the materials separately. It’s also a great investment if you have a younger child who is going to take the course in the future because you can purchase refill kits that contain only the materials that will be consumed after a single use.

Miller Pad & Paper

This is my go-to company for art supplies, handwriting paper, and blank books (great for writing projects!). I usually stock up at their booth during homeschool conventions, but they ship many of their products too.

Local Educational Supply Stores

Your local teacher or educational supply store is also a great resource for project materials. I have found that mine often has basic science lab equipment (like magnifying glasses, thermometers, and eye droppers) for a good price.

Pinterest

Sometimes it is impossible to go to the store to purchase needed items for a project, so you might have to improvise. This was the case for us early on during the COVID-19 pandemic. My third grader was scheduled to complete the edible cell activity in Science 3 (an activity that she was really looking forward to), but we lacked the Fruit-Roll-Ups® necessary for representing the cell walls. I really didn’t want to take my grocery-cart-licking-toddler to the store, so I went on Pinterest and found a recipe for homemade fruit leather. It worked!

I hope these resources will be helpful to you as you plan your homeschool projects for this coming school year. Happy homeschooling!

Preparing Your Heart for the New School Year

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preparing your heart for a new school year
It’s that time of year again—time to prepare for the new school year! Your next few weeks will be full of ordering textbooks, tests, worksheets. Shopping for the necessary school supplies. Mapping out the year’s schedule and determining start and end dates. Perhaps you’ve been talking to your children about the upcoming school year to mentally prepare them. Maybe they’ve started arranging their desks or other school spaces. As we make all these preparations, let’s take some time to focus on the most important way we can prepare—spiritually.

Beginning a new academic year is both exciting and challenging, and we need God’s help! So before we become engrossed in all the organizational details, let’s set aside time with our family to prepare our hearts as well as our minds. If our main goal in homeschooling is to glorify God, there’s no better way to prepare than by committing our school year to Him.

Setting Goals for a New School Year

First, take the opportunity to think through some spiritual goals for the new school year. What are some steps of growth you want to take as a family? Perhaps it’s in your prayer life, your gospel witness, or your interaction with each other. Write down your goals and keep them in a visible place. Spend time in prayer, asking the Lord to help you achieve your spiritual goals. Choose at least one verse you can claim, either on your own or with your spouse, for the coming school year. Here are just a few suggestions: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” (Col. 3:23); “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31); “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.” (Prov. 16:3); and “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might…” (Eccl. 9:10).

Sharing Goals

Second, take the opportunity to share your goals and Bible verses with your children. Encourage them to write down one or two ways they want to grow in their walk with the Lord that can help them be a better student. For example, “I want God to help me have a better attitude toward English and not complain.” Or, “I want to do my school work wholeheartedly for the Lord, not just to get good grades.” Help them choose a verse they can write along with their goals. Then pray together as a family; this will help solidify your commitment to the Lord.

Taking time to prepare your heart will make a tremendous difference as you begin the new homeschool year. When we align our will with God’s, He is able to do “exceeding abundantly all that we ask or think,” (Eph. 3:20) not only in our homeschooling but also in our spiritual growth.

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Jennifer is a pastor’s wife and mom of two young girls and loves homeschooling them. During her own twelve years of being homeschooled, Jennifer developed a passion for reading and writing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and relishes writing during her free time.

Non-College Options for Homeschoolers

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non-college options for homeschoolers
As your children approach graduation, are they planning for college in the fall? Or are they wondering whether a four-year college is really the best option for them? Depending on finances, career interests, or other factors, your children may want to pursue a career path that doesn’t require a college degree. Fortunately, there are plenty of non-college options available to them!

Trade School

Trade schools, also known as technical schools or vocational schools, offer one- or two-year programs. When children finish the program, they earn certification in a specific field. These schools teach technical job skills for occupations that are often in high demand. If your children want to be electricians, web developers, cosmetologists, or dental hygienists, trade school may be the best fit.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are similar to trade schools because they provide hands-on training for a specific job. However, one advantage of apprenticeships is that they non-college options that include paid work. Another advantage of apprenticeships is that they provide an opportunity to work closely with professional mentors. Through apprenticeships, your children can receive on-the-job training and experience in fields such as plumbing, welding, or masonry. This experience increases their chances of finding long-term employment.

Entry Level Jobs

Entry-level jobs often do not require a four-year college degree. Your children should consider their skills, values, personality traits, and life goals. This process can help your children identify the best entry-level jobs that match their interests. Work with your children to customize their resumes for the jobs they apply for. Resumes should highlight any qualifications, experiences, or skills that are relevant for the position they are applying for. Encourage your children to make connections by reaching out and talking to people. Through those connections, you may learn that a family friend or someone in your church or co-op knows of an open position that would be a great fit.

Entrepreneurship

Many famous companies—such as Wendy’s, Dell, Whole Foods, and Facebook—have been founded by or have CEOs who do not have college degrees. If you are homeschool mompreneur yourself, you’re likely well aware of effort needed to be successful. The keys to being successful as an entrepreneur are hard work, strategic vision, a desire to learn, and a willingness to take on increased responsibility. If your children have an entrepreneurial spirit, encourage them to gain experience before starting a business by finding a job in the field that interests them. Encourage them to learn from their supervisors, spend time wisely, and develop diligence.

The important thing to remind your children during this stage of life is to not worry! Failure or disappointment is a great learning experience. They don’t have to have their lives planned out perfectly. They still have lots of time to figure things out! As long as your children seek the Lord first and try their best, they will find joy in whatever they do.

Making the Most of Breaks

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We all need breaks—spaces of time where we step out of the regular routine and move into a different schedule, or perhaps no schedule at all. For a goal-minded homeschool parent, taking a break can lead to more stress than usual as kids have fewer tasks to occupy them. Let’s talk about a few different kinds of breaks, and discuss some tips for making the most of them.

The Adventure Break

This is the adventure you go on when you’re sick of all your usual haunts and familiar places. It’s a summer where you stuff backpacks with snacks and drinks and find all the trails you’ve never been on. Or you go to a different playground every day.

Your explorations might include visiting a nearby lake or waterfall, going horseback riding, taking a camping trip, or touring a historical site. A cave, a tunnel, a covered bridge, a rock formation, a nature preserve, a children’s museum, an arboretum—any point of interest within a day’s drive is fair game.

The best part? An adventure break often turns into an educational experience without much effort from you!

The “Anything Goes” Break

Sometimes, we all need a day or two where we do absolutely nothing useful. It’s the kind of break where kids get to do whatever they want all day long, with minimal rules. Maybe that’s extra TV or electronics while mom kicks her feet up and reads books. Maybe it’s take-out for every meal to minimize cleanup, and maybe you skip the household chores for a day or two.

The only trouble with this carefree break is that you eventually have to go back to normal, so be ready for that! Even so, this indulgent respite can be deeply refreshing and can help you appreciate your more structured way of life.

Peaceful, Purposeful Breaks

Perhaps the best summer break is a blend of adventure, activities, and rest. You can have days where you venture into the unknown, ready for anything, as well as days of quiet relaxation at home. Have some review papers and library books on hand for those hot summer afternoons. That way, your kids can keep their knowledge fresh. Puzzles, board games, Legos, water play, and art projects can keep kids busy for hours, even if you’re not feeling adventurous.

You could make a schedule for summer break. For example, some families prefer adventure in the morning and rest in the afternoon, while others prefer a day of adventure followed by a day of rest. Summer schedules differ for every family, especially if you have toddlers or babies in the mix. But the best experiences usually happen when you’re willing to bend the schedule, or toss it out altogether, and dive into a new experience with your children!

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Rebecca is a work-at-home freelance writer, novelist, wife, and the mom of two bright-eyed little ones. She credits her success in writing and her love of books to her own mom, who homeschooled three kids from pre-K through high school.

3 Tips for Transitioning to Year-Round Homeschooling

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switching to year-round homeschooling
A couple of years ago, my husband and I decided to dramatically change our homeschooling routine. We moved from homeschooling using a traditional school year calendar to homeschooling year-round. I wrote about the reasons we chose to move to a year-round schedule in the post “3 Reasons to Homeschool Year Round.”

We have not regretted our choice to homeschool year-round, but the transition was a bit challenging. If you’re considering switching to year-round homeschooling, here are some tips to help you on your way.

Plan Your Calendar

Set Up a Routine

Homeschooling year-round will give you a lot of flexibility with your schedule, but you still need a plan. You still must meet your your required number of days or hours. I do recommend setting up a routine—it will help your child immensely to know what you expect on any given day. Some families choose to homeschool five days a week for a set number of weeks and then take a week or two off. My family has adopted a four-day-a-week schedule, and we try to take the same day off every week.

Plan Time Between School Years

It will also help your family if you plan a multi-week break between school years. I have found that I need time to mentally wrap up our school year, pack away any curriculum I hope to reuse in the future, and give myself a “breather” before starting all over again. I usually plan on a four to five week break between school years. Having that longer break also gives a “freshness” to the new school year that allows me to make changes to old routines more easily.

Communicate Your Homeschool Plan

If you are planning to homeschool year-round, you will want to communicate your plans to any homeschool umbrella organizations that you may be a part of. My family is a part of the Academy of Home Education (AHE), and every year we email AHE a copy of our planned yearly homeschool calendar which we usually create in Excel. Based on our calendar, AHE adjusts our reporting deadlines so that we don’t incur late fees.

Anticipate the Need for Adjustments

Adjust Your Curriculum

You will have to make some adjustments along the way. For example, the BJU Press spelling curriculum is set up for a five-day school week, which did not fit well with our four-day week. In order to avoid the possibility of having to take a spelling test after a three-day break from school, we decided that we needed to do spelling five days a week, even on our “day off.” It was an easy adjustment.

Adjust Your Grade Reporting

We also had to make some adjustments to our grading and reporting. Our quarters are usually 11 to 12 calendar weeks long, which at first glance, doesn’t fit very well with the nine-week grade reporting forms required by our homeschool organization. But this was an easy fix as well—we just ignored the calendar’s weekly divisions and counted every five days as a “week.”

Our family has really been blessed by year-round homeschooling, and I’m sure yours will be as well. I hope that some of these tips will make your transition easier. If you still need help, reach out to one of your local HomeWorks consultants—they are there for you!