We are just about done with our 6-week homeschool session and will take a short break to relax, regroup and gather resources for our next 6 weeks of learning. I have a general idea of what I want the kids to learn, but I allow them to give input as well. I feel that it’s important for my kids to have buy-in with their own education. Do you and your kids come up with a learning plan together?
Weekly Homeschool Resources
For kids:
- Have you read Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth? I just finished it and am applying some of the ideas I’ve learned with my children. If you don’t feel like reading a book, her nonprofit Character LAB is a great online resource with playbooks to help you build character in kids.
- Do you have a 4th grader? If so, don’t forget to sign your child up for a free National Park Pass. It’s valid until August 31, 2121.
- NASA and Space X have another launch scheduled for early Halloween morning EST. For us West Coasters we can catch the proposed launch at 11:40pm on October 30th.
- Oh, and I just learned that Xbox is also releasing a new console called Xbox Series X, but I’m not too excited about that one since I feel like it’s been longer since Sony released a new console.
- We just requested Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark from our library. I can’t wait to read these horror books I grew up with to my kids! I hope they are as excited as I am.
- Speaking of books, the hot topic right now in the social media homeschooling community is the censorship of books. I know a lot of the more conservative homeschoolers out there censor what kind of books their kids read and I’m totally cool with that and completely understand where they are coming from. However, my husband and I have decided to let our kids have free range with books and we are making a point to discuss the different themes and characters in the novels that they read. So far we’ve had MANY discussions on how Greg from Diary of a Wimpy Kid could have been a better brother and friend. What are your thoughts on censoring books?
- Amazon Prime Day is coming up on October 13 & 14th. The plan was to write a few articles featuring favorite puzzles, games, and books we love to use in our homeschool, but to be honest I probably won’t have time to get it done before the big event. Instead, they’ll most likely be posted on the blog by sometime in November. This is a one person show and I’m not quite at the point where I can hire writers. I mean, last month I made 53 cents. Woohoo!
- Don’t forget to grab a subscription to Letters From Afar for your family or friends. It’s truly one of my favorite gifts to send and my hope is that it will instill wanderlust in kids. My children have already been coming up with their travel bucket lists. So far the U.K., Japan, Vietnam, and New Zealand are at the top of their lists. Now that has me thinking, do you know of a similar letter subscription that writes about voyages around the U.S.A.? I’d be super stoked if there was one.
- Need some science tools but don’t need a class set? If you’re like me you’ll be happy to discover Homeschool Science Tools. So far we’ve ordered a rock kit, weather kit, acid rain kit, and soil testing kit for our Earth Science unit.
For adults:
- Podcasts I’ve been listening to this week: The Happiness Lab hosted by Dr. Laurie Santos (you can also take her Yale class on Coursera), Hidden Djinn, and Noble Blood.
- Shows and movies I’ve been watching (we’re visiting my parents and I have more free time than usual): Evil, Locke & Key, Cursed, and Passengers. What have you been watching? I like mystery, sci fi, and horror.
- And finally, from my dad – Friend Requests about personal finance.
Xuan Klevecka is a Southern California-based homeschool mom, wife, and sometimes purveyor of vintage goods. She’s an Enneagram 5w4, a lover of good food, and a former middle school history teacher. You’ll either find her looking at road maps and daydreaming about her family’s next epic adventure or perusing recipes and cooking up a feast for the brood.
