Category: Special Needs

Kirby’s Kids Grade by Grade Homeschool Reading List

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog30 Comments

**This post may contain affiliate links to some of the products and resources that we have used. These are provided at no extra charge to you and help to support our blog and family if a purchase is made through these links. -Thank you!

Here is a list of books that we will be reading with our homeschool. I will update the list as we go through this journey. Many of these books can be found at your local library for FREE but I have provided Amazon links where you can find most of them ‘used’ for cheap. We also keep an Amazon list of books that we would like to purchase and sometimes they are gifted to us for Christmas and/or birthdays.

You should keep a record of the books read. You can do this in a notebook or using this printable HERE. (My kids like the plain ones so they can doodle around the margins but I may try to come up with a ‘prettier’ one later.)

I have also been using a lot of these books with some of the Novel-Ties Study Guides and other unit study guides that I have found online. I try to find as many FREE guides as I can but that isn’t always possible.

Remember that even though I have included Amazon links to these titles you may be able to purchase them used or at a different site for a better price. You may also have access to these books on your Kindle or other reading devices. Be sure to check back in as we will update this as we add more books to our own favorites here!

You may also like to check out these links for book reports:

Pre-K/Kindergarten

These will need to be read-alouds

First Grade:

Some of these may need to be read-alouds

Second Grade:

Third Grade:

Fourth Grade:

Fifth Grade:

Sixth Grade:

Seventh Grade:

Eighth Grade:

Ninth Grade:

Tenth Grade:

Eleventh Grade:

Twelfth Grade:

Updated May 31, 2022

printable-reading-listDownload

Loop Scheduling Made Simple With An Easy DIY Post It Note Loop Schedule

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog10 Comments

**Although I try to provide as many FREE resources as possible this post may contain affiliate links alt no extra cost to you. We may earn a small commission, if a purchase is made through these links, which helps to support our blog and our family. Thank you!

Instructions for the Easy DIY Post It Note Loop Schedule at the end of the post.

Many of us have started back to school and some of us started and then quit…errr… well, maybe I’m the only one that did that but I am happy to say that we are well on our way to getting back on track. The big project I have been working on is finished (YAYYYYY!!!!) and I am hoping it will be ready to post this weekend so keep an eye out for it.

In preparation of our new school year I pulled out our old Loop Schedule so I could change it out for this year. What a better time to show you how I do it?

Click HERE to see our most recent LOOP SCHEDULE CHANGES.

Last year one of the sanity savers I used was this Loop Schedule. You may have heard of Loop Scheduling and I thought it was something new but actually it was something I had already been doing and you probably have too!

I always start the year out with all kinds of fun activities, games, and ideas for us to work on. Before our Loop Schedule I was always trying to make sure we got the ‘meaty’ subjects like Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science finished before we moved on to anything else. If we didn’t get those areas completed we would just not do the other areas.

(These links will update soon and take you to our first Kirby’s Kids Academic Adventure!)

I always felt like we weren’t getting everything done that I wanted to get done. Our days got so BORING! We would be doing the same things over and over and never had time for the fun activities that I had planned for us to do. There’s only so much time in the day so what is an overwhelmed Momma to do? Continue reading “Loop Scheduling Made Simple With An Easy DIY Post It Note Loop Schedule” →

September Holidays

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

I will try to update this list with some fun activities as well. Feel free to click the links to find out more about the origins and meanings behind these special days. I plan to incorporate a few of these into our normal homeschool routine to add a little fun and excitement to our days. We’ll update this page with ideas as we go along. Have fun and maybe make up your own personal family holiday or tradition for the month!

This month is also known as:

  • Baby Safety Month
  • Chicken Month
  • Better Breakfast Month
  • Classical Music Month
  • Fall Hat Month
  • Hispanic Heritage Month
  • Honey Month
  • International Square Dancing Month
  • Little League Month
  • National Blueberry Popsicle Month
  • National Courtesy Month
  • National Piano Month
  • Self Improvement Month

And the weekly events are:

(These links will be updated as we get closer to the actual holidays.) Continue reading “September Holidays” →

Grade By Grade Learning Objective Links

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog4 Comments

Worried about not teaching the right things? Check out these links for various references about what to teach and when. (Most links are Pre-K through 5th Grade)

You can use these to incorporate lesson ideas for your child(ren) to individualize each child’s learning experience.

Grade by Grade Learning Objectives

HSDLA What Should I Be Teaching?

HSDLA Homeschool Laws In Your State

Grade by Grade Learning Guide via Planet12Sun.com

PBS Kids Grade by Grade Learning Guide

I use these as a guide so I can be sure not to miss anything important while teaching my kiddos.

Happy Homeschooling

 

 

DIY Giant Tic-Tac-Toe Game

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog2 Comments

**This post may contain affiliate links to some of the products and resources that we have used. These are provided at no extra charge to you and help to support our blog and family if a purchase is made through these links. -Thank you!

My kids love to play Tic-Tac-Toe and they love to be outside so this combines both of their loves into one great game.  It’s really simple to make also. I really like the fact that most of the items can be found at the dollar store too!

DIY Giant Tic-Tac-Toe Game

Materials Needed:

  • Shower curtain or liner
  • Permanent marker
  • duct tape, you will need three different colors
  • a few old cereal boxes
  • dried beans
  • ruler or measuring tape

**Note: You can omit the boxes, beans, and two colors of duct tape if you happen to have 2 sets of bean bags (four of each color)

Directions:

  1. Cut a 5 ft x 5 ft or 4 ft x 4 ft square out of the shower curtain liner. Lay it flat and draw lines to divide it into 9 equal sections with the marker. Use one color of duct to cover the lines.
  2. If you don’t have bean bags you will need to make some really simple ones. Cut the cardboard into twenty 7 inch x 7 inch squares.
  3. Place two pieces of cardboard together and use one color of duct tape (different from the liner grid) to seal three sides. Fill the ‘bag’ with beans and seal the remaining edge. Cover any visible cardboard with duct tape. Repeat to make a total of 5 bean bags for this color. (You can mark these with x’s, if you want.)
  4. Repeat Step 3 with the remaining squares, beans, and colored tape. (Mark with o’s, if desired.)
  5. Grab a friend and start playing by standing a bit away from the ‘board’. Take turns tossing the bags and try to make a row of the same color/symbol. The row can go across, up or down, and/or diagonal.
  6. Have fun!

 

If you have a sidewalk or concrete you could also draw the board with chalk and use chalk/bean bags to play.

Not a DIYer? No fear you can buy something similar from Amazon:

 

Toysmith Giant Tic-Tac-Toe Game                                 Cardinal Toss Across Game