Lesson Plans

As I homeschool, I find the need to create my own things. I like to share those. This is where I do that. I’m will be adding more and more to this page and so you will need to check back every now and then to see what is new.  The Book of Virtues Lesson Plan is under it's own heading for the simple fact that it's easier to find!! After almost 15000 downloads I think it deserves it's own section!!

American History  This lesson plan is still under construction. there are two books (well one book and one series) that I am working on. PLEASE be patient. I really would love to have this one already completed, but life has just thrown me for a loop! I have not had the time to sit down and really work with it. I do plan on finishing this. The first book that I began with is Howard Zinn's book "A Young People's History of the United States".  This book is actually much deeper than I intended to go with my younger kids. MUCH DEEPER. And though it is TRUE information, I think sometimes the truth is a bit harsh for the younger ones. So, I will be adapting it for a High School level, but it won't happen right away.   The second set is "The History of US". I am very excited about this, but I still have to find time to do it . . . .

The Idaho History Co-op plan was created for my co-op for the ages of 8 to 10.  I had 13 students.  For the most part it was a HUGE success. I had parents tell me that their kids really understood the information and could share it with them not only the day they learned it, but later down the road as well. We did have some time considerations that made this co-op difficult. I had 8 weeks and only 1 hour per week. So it was really tight. The plan does also have a 10 week schedule that I would recommend following if you have the choice. OR even stretching it more if you have the opportunity. There was SOOO much that I really had to skim over. This is not really friendly to other state studies, but certain aspects (Such as the Lewis and Clark week or the Oregon Trail week) might be more flexible. Uses the Project folder (see below), brads, page protectors, card stock, etc.

The K-Art plan was also for Co-op. It was for young kids aged 4-6. It was planned for this age, but it could easily be adjusted to any elementary aged group.  I highly suggest aht if you are doing this for a Co-op that you make sure you have a helper!

The Vocabulary Plan is under construction at this time. Will be working on it one letter at a time. It is a 5000 word project. Please bear with me and be patient as I create this plan. I am looking forward to this as I have really been wanting to create something new ever since I finished the Book of Virtues Project.  This will now be stepping into higher gear as My oldest is just 3 years away from college!! YIKES!

Mythology Around the World Co-op lesson plan is an 8 week course that focuses on 8 different regions and mythologies. Norse, Irish/Celt, Chinese, Greek/Roman, Egyptian, African, North American and MesoAmerican. This includes lapbooking, hands on projects, "Expeditions" and more. Originally created for ages 6-8 it is easily adapted to older students. And can be an starting point for a full mythology course! Uses the Project folder (see below), brads, page protectors, card stock, etc.

Geography Pit Stop  This is a quick stop around the world to do research on various Countries. It includes a checklist of items that need to be done, Country Survey sheets, Country report, Custom projects and more. Grades 5-8 +.

Writer's Workshop at Home was created when I became frustrated that nothing I found was cut and dried in their explations. I needed something and needed a place to start. This is what resulted! Necessity isn't the mother of invention--FRUSTRATION IS!! :) For this you will need 2 composition notebooks.

Note Taking: This is a great idea for keeping notes for intense classes. Such as science where you must remember vocabulary, graphs, people, and dates. This tells you what to write down, where to write it, and how to keep it all straight! For this you will need a spiral notebook.

Project Folder: This is really more directions than a lesson plan. I use this instead of a typical Lapbook. it still contains 2+ File Folders, but it is combined differently to give you a "BOOK" instead of a flip through folder that is hard to store and keep closed. To me this is so much easier and less likely to get ruined and fall apart!

Classical Music: This is also under construction. My father-in-law created some power point presentations on the history of music==all the way back to Gregorian Chants and before. it's very educational and has music included! I am "beefing" them up and will be re-using them for my kids. (We did them about 4 years ago and it's time to revisit!) As I get them updated (new pictures and such) I will post them on YouTube and then post them here!! I will also add in some vocabulary sheets, Notebooking sheets, and the such. So stay tuned, hopefully they won't take forever to get them put together! LOL, I need them after "Spring Break"!!

Real Life Finances: This is another Lesson Plan that I want to create. My oldest will soon be ready to start her own job and she needs to learn some real life budgeting. Such as how to deal with rent, utilities, debt, a checking account etc. I want to teach her this prior to her actually having an income besides the occasional babysitting money. So my plan is to set up a weekly lesson plan that will simulate each "MONTH." Each month they will have an income, bills, etc. They will also have some weeks with financial emergencies, big purchases and bonus income (to represent taxes, work bonus etc.). I think this would be a really fun subject. They will have to make real life choices and sometimes say no to their wants in order to make the budget.

Around the World in 80 Days: This is my next Co-op lesson plan. It will be based on the book:  Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. This is a GEOGRAPHY and CULTURAL class. NOT A READING Class. Though the kids will be challenged to read the book along with the lessons. There is a jr. edition of the book as well as the "full" edition. There are free ones available via Amazon for the Kindle. I'm sure there are other options out there. I know PDF versions are available. I'll have links to this as well. Also, just FYI, there are audio recordings free as well! This is still under construction!