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Our 2026-2027 Homeschool Curriculum, Schedule Plans, Resource Links, and Daily Routine – Tons of FREE resources! UPDATED

Published on May 19, 2026May 21, 2026 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

It’s that time of year again for us… time to get the next school year planned out. We technically finished up our 2025-2026 school year before Easter but I’ve been busy with the garden and such so I am just now getting around to making our new schedule.

It is always SO TEMPTING to take a few months off to just focus on this house but I know from past experience that this doesn’t go well and that it takes FOREVER to get a couple of the kids back into the school routine. You can read more about last year’s curriculum and routines HERE.

Having a little extra wiggle room in our schedule means that we can take off more time around the holidays and I can take a week off for new grandbabies too! We also love taking the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to just reflect on the reason for the season and it gives us time to do fun things with the family too.

A couple of years ago we switched to more of a Charlotte Mason-style approach and it was GREAT for the most part. We still have a couple of kids who just hate anything to do with math so that’s been a little challenging but we’re making progress. We’ve also really enjoyed using some of the FREE courses with Under the Home Homeschool, even though some of the YouTube links no longer work. They have a lot of great lessons though!

I will also be pulling some lessons from the Old Fashioned Education site. They have a TON of great resources and FREE printable lesson plans for every grade! You can also check out the Plain and Not So Plain Website for FREE resources and complete lesson plans!

I had a rainy day to gather my thoughts for the new year and I put that to good use. Last year, I also purchased a Montessori Curriculum for Shyanne so we will continue to use that with her, while including her in some of our other lessons too. Shyanne has LOVES being a part of our school routine and she has already completed the Easy Peasy All-in-One Preschool program. She’s also been loving the printable packets from Living With Eve.

Shyanne’s journey has been miraculous and to see her doing so many things that we were told she’d never do has been such a blessing in so many ways!

FREE Homeschool Planning Scratchpad

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How We Homeschool: 4-Day Sample Schedule

Published on May 13, 2025March 4, 2026 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog3 Comments

I thought it might be helpful to show how we go through our lessons for a week here so that you could give it a test run to see what might work for your home and schedule. Some things we do every day while others might have a specific day of the week or they may be done on even/odd days to work with our schedules.

We also try to have a four-day week with one day off for ‘Life Skills’ as there are lots of doctor appointments, errands to run, and sick days around here plus the gardens and animals keep us a little busy at times. I’ve tried to provide as many links as I can for demonstration purposes if you want to give this a test run but for more detailed information you can check out this post:

Our 2025-2026 Homeschool Curriculum, Schedule Plans, Resource Links, and Daily Routine – Tons of FREE resources!

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Our 2025-2026 Homeschool Curriculum, Schedule Plans, Resource Links, and Daily Routine – Tons of FREE resources!

Published on April 26, 2025March 4, 2026 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog6 Comments

It’s that time of year again for us… time to get the next school year planned out. We technically finished up our 2024-2025 school year before Easter but I’ve been busy with the garden and such so I am just now getting around to making our new schedule.

Last year we switched to more of a Charlotte Mason-style approach and it was GREAT for the most part. We still have a couple of kids who just hate anything to do with math so that’s been a little challenging but we’re making progress. We’ve also really enjoyed using some of the FREE courses with Under the Home Homeschool.

A couple of the kiddos went with one of their big sisters and husband for the weekend so the house was surprisingly quiet… I used the time to sit down and get our new year planned out and organized. We will have an ‘official’ kindergartner this year too… sobbing quietly to myself… that means a little extra planning to include her but she already sits with us during school so it shouldn’t be too much of a transition.

Shyanne’s journey has been miraculous and to see her doing so many things that we were told she’d never do has been such a blessing in so many ways!

FREE Homeschool Planning Scratchpad

Continue reading →

By the Shores of Silver Lake: PE, Health, and Safety Lessons

Published on October 30, 2019November 5, 2019 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog9 Comments

Here are our Lesson Plans For PE, Health & Safety

These lessons were made to go along with ‘By the Shores of Silver Lake‘ written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We are planning to go through the whole series and I am keeping track of the different topics we are learning about here on my blog. We hope you enjoy these as much as we have! Continue reading “By the Shores of Silver Lake: PE, Health, and Safety Lessons” →

On the Banks of Plum Creek: Week by Week PE, Health, and Safety Lessons

Published on May 3, 2019May 6, 2019 by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog10 Comments

Here are our Lesson Plans For PE, Health & Safety

These lessons were made to go along with ‘On The Banks Of Plum Creek‘ written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We are planning to go through the whole series and I am keeping track of the different topics we are learning about here on my blog. We hope you enjoy these as much as we have!

On weeks where there are several activities listed just choose a couple that interest you the most to work on.

Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or subject simply push the ‘ctrl’ and the ‘F’ button down together and a small bar will pop up. Type in the week number or chapter number you want and it will take you to it.

Week 1: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

1. Water Purification Safety

Drinking unpurified water can sometimes make you very sick.

Read The Magic School Bus At The Waterworks

Discuss what you have learned.
Research some diseases and illnesses that you could get from unpurified water.
Play a Magic School Bus Game

2. Games/Outdoor Play

Play Trees p. 146 of The Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book by Guy Bailey
Check out these sites for some fun Pioneer games:
- PIONEER CHILDREN – toys and games
- Bobcat Ridge 4th Grade Pioneer Program Games and Recreation Station

Week 2: Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12

1. Food Safety

Discuss what you have learned.
The family gathered and stored the plums for later use. What would happen if they didn’t store them properly?
Printable Nutrition Crossword Puzzle – Food Safety
Food Safety Matching Pictures Activity For Younger Children
Do an activity from the Health & Safety Theme Box

2. Games/Outdoor Play

Play Bull in the Ring p. 26 of The Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book by Guy Bailey
Check out these sites for some fun Pioneer games:
- PIONEER CHILDREN – toys and games
- Bobcat Ridge 4th Grade Pioneer Program Games and Recreation Station

Week 3: Chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 & 18

1. Nutrition

Discuss what you have learned.
The Ingalls’ family ate a lot of fish during this book as it was an easy source of food. What nutritional value do fish have?
List 5 ways eating fish can benefit you.
Teaching kids about healthy food – a better “food pyramid”
Cooking as a Kid Improves Nutrition
Printable – Match the Meat & Beans Names and Color the Meat & Beans Foods
Printable – 13 Word Search Puzzle – Protein Group
Do an activity from the Nutrition Instant Learning Center

2. Games/Outdoor Play

Play Crab Soccer Tag p. 67 of The Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book by Guy Bailey
Check out these sites for some fun Pioneer games:
- PIONEER CHILDREN – toys and games
- Bobcat Ridge 4th Grade Pioneer Program Games and Recreation Station

Week 4: Chapters 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23

1. Medicinal Uses of Leeches

Discuss what you have learned.

2. Leech Removal

Discuss what you have learned.
How does this compare with how Laura removed them?
Do an activity from the Health & Safety Theme Box

3. Games/Outdoor Play

Play Uncle John (p. 159)
Play Stuck in the Mud p. 157 of The Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book by Guy Bailey

Week 5: Chapters 24, 25, 26, 27 & 28

1. Nutrition

Discuss what you have learned.
What was missing from the meal on page 210? Why?
What are some problems that could happen from this?
5 Habits for Lifelong Healthy Eating
Printable – Word Search Puzzle – Food Groups
Do an activity from Nutrition Worksheets: Food Groups & Healthy Choices
Do an activity from the Nutrition Instant Learning Center

2. Games/Outdoor Play

Play Sunday p. 145 of The Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book by Guy Bailey
Check out these sites for some fun Pioneer games:
- PIONEER CHILDREN – toys and games
- Bobcat Ridge 4th Grade Pioneer Program Games and Recreation Station

Week 6: Chapters 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 & 34

1. Nutrition

Discuss what you learned.
The Ingalls family had an abundant harvest of turnips. What food group would these fall in?
Name 5 other foods that fall into the same food group.
healthy produce guide
Printable – Harvest Vegetables Coloring Sheet
Printable Nutrition Crossword Puzzle – Fruits and Veggies
Do an activity from the Nutrition Instant Learning Center

2. Games/Outdoor Play

Go outside and play 30 minutes and try out some bone-strengthening activities.
Check out these sites for some fun Pioneer games:
- PIONEER CHILDREN – toys and games
- Bobcat Ridge 4th Grade Pioneer Program Games and Recreation Station

Bonus:

Did you know that Square Dancing is a good exercise for helping you to have strong bones?

If you haven’t already signed up for classes have your parents check for a local club near you.

Week 7: Chapters 35, 36, 37 & 38

1. Tobacco Safety

Discuss what you have learned.
It is mentioned that Pa smoked a pipe. Do you think this was a health risk?
How will you keep yourself safe?
Do an activity from the Health & Safety Theme Box

2. Games/Outdoor Play

Play Bean Porridge Hot (p.309)
Play some of these games which the family may have played on their game day.
- Five Pioneer Games to Entertain Today’s Children
Check out these sites for some fun Pioneer games:
- PIONEER CHILDREN – toys and games
- Bobcat Ridge 4th Grade Pioneer Program Games and Recreation Station

Week 8: Chapters 39, 40 & 41

1. Frostbite Safety

Discuss what you have learned.
What could have happened to Pa when he was stuck in the blizzard?
How can you prevent this from happening?
Do an activity from the Health & Safety Theme Box

2. Games/Outdoor Play

Play Freeze Tag p. 155 of The Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book by Guy Bailey
Check out these sites for some fun Pioneer games:
- PIONEER CHILDREN – toys and games
- Bobcat Ridge 4th Grade Pioneer Program Games and Recreation Station

Week 9: Finishing Up

1. Nutrition

Discuss what you learned.
The Ingalls family had a different diet than we did. Do you think they ate a healthy diet?
Name at least one food from their diet for each food group.
The List: What to Eat, Avoid & Compromise
Healthy Foods Coloring Page For Young Children
Rainbow Foods – Find The Healthy White Foods Word Search Puzzles
Do an activity from the Nutrition Instant Learning Center

2. Games/Outdoor Play

Play your favorite game for at least 30 minutes.

Check out these sites for some fun Pioneer games:
- PIONEER CHILDREN – toys and games
- Bobcat Ridge 4th Grade Pioneer Program Games and Recreation Station

**BE SURE TO SAVE A FEW SAMPLES OF YOUR WORK FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO! TAKE PICTURES OF BIG PROJECTS!

**This post does contain affiliate links to products and/or services that we use. We may earn a teensy weensy small commission (at NO EXTRA cost to you) if a purchase is made through these links. These links help to support our family, our blog, and our homeschooling mission.

–Thank you!