The Joy of Teaching

Students who struggle with writing have probably been deterred further by the transition to distanced or at-home learning. Though they may feel more discouraged or unmotivated at home, there are plenty of ways you can still promote creative writing skills, whether you’re the student’s teacher or parent! Here are some tips and strategies you can use to encourage reluctant writers!

5 Tips for At-Home Writing

1. Use Open-Ended Prompts
   Students who struggle with writing often don’t know what to write about, or have difficulty writing about things they aren’t interested in. Use prompts that allow students to write about what they are interested in so that they start to enjoy creative writing. Here are some examples:
   • Describe your ideal day off from school
   • I am proudest of…
   • If you had $20 to buy anything you want, what would you buy and why?
   • What I’m looking forward to most is…
   • If I could go back in time to one moment, I would go…
   • My favorite candy is ______ because ______…

2. 

   Voice Typing in Google Docs
   Google Docs has a feature called voice typing, or voice dictation, so that students who struggle with the writing process can more easily tell their story. This tool will help students with the narrative part of their writing and get them started in the process of creative writing.
    
3. Provide Templates for Students to Follow
   Some students struggle with the form or outline of their writing. While creative writing can take many shapes, each assignment students complete at home should be accompanied with a general template or outline for when students get stuck. This can be the different parts of a story, a shape guide for a poem, or just a guide for how to write.
   
   If you’re looking for writing templates, check out Paragraph Writing (grades 2–4). This workbook from Evan-Moor provides students with practice for all kinds of writing, including narrative, descriptive, compare and contrast, and more! The book uses writing templates of different forms, like outlines, information webs, and more!
4. Hold One-on-One Conferences or Shared Google Docs
   If students need some more one-on-one encouragement, set up separate Zoom meetings to go over the students’ work with them. If they work better individually, you can share a Google Doc with their work on it and make comments, suggestions, and notes.
   
5. Encourage Shorter Works of Writing
   Length can be especially daunting for struggling students. One option is to encourage them to write shorter assignments. Assign several short pieces of writing, such as stories, poems, one-page short responses, etc., and turn them into a portfolio at the end of the year! They can even write one long story, but a few pages or a chapter at a time.
    

5 Tips for Distance Learning Writing

1. 

   Group or Partner Writing
   Create a fun breakout room activity for distanced learning by assigning students to write with a partner. Students can collaborate on ideas and switch off writing sentences. This can make the writing process fun and may encourage shy students to enjoy writing when they have a partner to share their ideas with.
    
2. Play Mad Libs
   If you’ve ever played mad libs, you know it can really fun to pick random words and see how the story turns out! Do this in distance learning, either as a class or individually. You can also pick 5–10 words that students must use in their writing and see what kind of stories they create on their own!
   
   
3. Rewrite Popular Stories
   To give students somewhere to start, assign each of them a popular story, such as a nursery rhyme, real-life event, etc. and have them rewrite it in their own way. For example, have them rewrite “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” with the roles reversed, or if Goldilocks decided she didn’t want any porridge. Students will have a strong foundation for their writing if they have somewhere to start and can focus on the creativity part rather than the writing. Some other fun stories to rewrite are:
   • The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
      
     
     
   • Click Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
      
4. Teach All Parts of the Writing Process
   Rather than focusing on the grammatical, editing, or writing aspects of creative writing, guide students through the entire process. Introduce one new skill a day so students have the opportunity to tackle each small component of the writing process without feeling overwhelmed. Begin with:
   • Brainstorm in partners or as a group to help children foster ideas
   • Introduce the concept of a “hook,” or thesis statement (depending on the writing assignment)
   • Drafting: give plenty of time for students to write their body
   • Write a strong conclusion
   • Revise and edit: have students re-read and edit their writing in partners
5. Picture Writing Prompts
   Use a picture or multiple pictures as story starters, which is especially helpful for students who are visual learners. You can also have students write a story and then illustrate it themselves after they’re done.

Check out Picture Writing Prompts for Sequencing for Grades 2–4 for free picture prompts and tips.

Other Tips:

1. Assign a weekly diary that is graded on completion rather than substance, so that students get into the habit of writing. They can write about anything they want, as long as they’re writing! Have them decorate their diary or notebook.
2. Provide seasonal writing prompts to keep creative writing fun and festive!
   
   • Winter writing prompts
      
   • Spring writing prompts
      
   • Fall writing prompts
      
3. Include cross-curricular writing opportunities so students who excel in science, math, and art learn how writing can apply to their strengths and interests.

All of these tips will help students become stronger writers and hopefully enjoy the writing process more. The most important thing is that students write about what interests them and what they know, so foster these values to encourage young writers!

For more writing tips, check out: Writing Fabulous Sentences and Paragraphs: How to Teach Beginning Writing.

Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.

Prepositions, despite seeming confusing and complex to students, are actually some of the most commonly used words in the English language and are an important steppingstone in developing students’ descriptive writing!

Prepositions have a lot of different functions, such as describing movement, time, place, manner, means, or possession. Prepositional phrases expand the job of prepositions into modifying verbs, nouns, or adjectives in greater detail. Once students understand the function and importance of prepositions and prepositional phrases, their writing fluency will increase, and they’ll be able to write more descriptively and in more detail.

Examples of Prepositions
The basic prepositions that we use most often are:

• to
• of
• in
• for
• on
• with
• at
• by
• from
• above

The main function of these prepositions is to show the relationship between two words in a sentence. For example:

• The table by the window. By, in this sentence, describes the table in relation to the window. It connects the window and the table and adds direction and detail to the sentence.

The words listed above are used in many of our sentences without us realizing it. Notice how many prepositions are used in the previous sentence! They’re everywhere in our language, but how do we teach that to students? Check out some of the activities below.

Beginning Prepositional Phrases

A prepositional phrase is a preposition followed by a noun, pronoun, or noun group. Some examples of this are:

• I went to the store. “To” is the preposition, and “to the store” is the prepositional phrase.

In addition to the prepositions listed above, some other beginning prepositions are:

• across
• behind
• below
• beneath
• near

These prepositions describe position and movement, which is an easy way for students to remember them.

• The plane is below the clouds.
• The river is beneath the bridge.

Evan-Moor’s Language Fundamentals (grades 1–6) is a resource that focuses on teaching the basics of the English language, such as nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and prepositions! Using practice pages, students will learn about each concept and then put it to practice.

Here are some examples of the beginning preposition workbook pages:

Download this free introduction to prepositions worksheet from Language Fundamentals.

Advanced Prepositional Phrases

There are other prepositions that can sometimes be more difficult for students to remember. Though they are more advanced, they still function the same as beginning prepositions and serve similar purposes like movement, means, or manner. Here are some examples:

• against
• according
• between
• during
• except
• past
• since
• through
• toward

More advanced prepositions also sometimes use multiple prepositions in one phrase. This is called a complex prepositional phrase. For example:

• The store is across from the gas station.
• According to the news, it will snow today.

There are also adjectival and adverbial prepositional phrases, which use nouns, prepositions, objects, and adjectives to add more detail and description to a sentence. Here is an example:

• The car across the street is purple.

The car is the noun, across the street is the prepositional phrase, and purple is the adjective. Prepositions are often used in a sentence like this to help modify nouns.

Language Fundamentals also covers more advanced prepositions, as well as adjectival and adverbial prepositional phrases. Here are some examples of the lessons students use to practice advanced prepositions:

5 Hands-on Preposition Activities

In addition to worksheets and practice sentences, there are many hands-on activities to help students understand prepositions! These can be done in the classroom, at home, or during online learning!

Simon Says Prepositions Game

• Each student needs a cup (plastic or one from home) and a small toy, like a car or plastic bear.
• Using directional prepositional phrases (below, next to, under, on top of, etc.) call out commands Simon Says style.
• For example: “Simon Says the toy is behind the cup.” Students must follow suit until you have a winner!
• You can also practice writing sentences by having students place the toy and then write a sentence describing its position.

Preposition Scavenger Hunt

• Hide an object in the classroom or at home, then give clues (or have your students give you clues), but they can only use prepositions.
• For example: The object is under the desk. The desk is next to the window.
• Challenge your students to give descriptive clues or make it a rule that the searchers can’t move unless they get a clue. This activity is fun for students and practices prepositional phrases.

Preposition Pictionary

• All you need for this simple and fun activity is drawing paper and pens or a whiteboard and markers.
• Read a prepositional phrase, like “The dog is next to the cat.”
• Have students draw the picture to match the sentence.
• Now reverse it! Draw a picture for the class, like a car on top of a bridge.
• Students must write a sentence describing the picture!

Preposition Board Games

• Adapt one of your favorite board games to use prepositions for movement! This can be done with a variety of board games, but the easiest may be Candy Land.
• Instead of pulling color block cards for movement, write a series of cards that have directional prepositions on them (before, after, between, in front of, behind, across, below, above).
• Students will pull a preposition card, for example, behind, and then a color card! If they pull behind and purple, they move to whatever color is behind the nearest purple. If they pull a between card, they pull two color cards and move to a space between those two cards.

Square Movement Game

• Using an outdoor space (this is a great activity for in-person, distanced learning) mark out squares using tape or chalk. Model it after a chess or checkerboard.
• Have students each pick a square.
• Call out prepositional commands, for example: Move to the square in front of you! Skip to the square across from you.
• To make this more fun and active, label each square with an exercise, like jumping jacks, star jumps, or toe touches.

Using the activities, workbooks, and resources provided, prepositions can be easy and fun for students. Mastering prepositions is the next step in improving writing fluency and allows students to be more descriptive in their writing for all subjects!

For more grammar and punctuation tips check out: How to Teach Grammar and Punctuation: Commas.

Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.

When you have made the decision to homeschool your child(ren), it certainly comes with many emotions, including feeling excited, nervous, happy, and possibly, overwhelmed. You get to be an integral part of your children’s learning, and most importantly, decide what lessons are taught and what materials will be used. But, if you’re thinking about homeschooling or new to homeschooling, you may need some tips on how to get started in the homeschool process.

Begin with my How to Homeschool: 5 STEPS to Get Started Homeschooling series that will help you determine the fundamental steps: what to teach, how to choose a homeschool curriculum, how to plan your schedule at home, and how to organize your homeschool space.

How to Homeschool: 5 Steps to Get Started Homeschooling – Step 1: What do I Teach My Child?

Your homeschooling journey likely begins with one question: What do I teach my child? This blog will answer that question and continue to guide you through your journey to becoming a homeschooler! We will address state laws, educational philosophies and recognizing your child’s strengths and weaknesses.

How to Homeschool: 5 Steps to Get Started Homeschooling – Step 2: Choosing a Homeschool curriculum

How to choose a homeschool curriculum that meets your family’s needs and provides a strong educational foundation is a common question from beginning homeschoolers. This article will walk you through how to build a homeschool curriculum, discover your child’s learning style, and manage your time.

How to Homeschool: 5 Steps to Get Started Homeschooling – Step 3: Creating a Homeschool Schedule

Creating a homeschool schedule that works for your family is one of the most important aspects of a successful homeschool year. The easiest way to start crafting your homeschool schedule is to outline your current daily schedule and create a homeschool curriculum that fits into it.

How to Homeschool: 5 Steps to Get Started Homeschooling – Step 4: Homeschool Organization

This is one of the most exciting topics in this homeschool series: creating and organizing your homeschool space! Here are a few tips on how to efficiently organize your space that are all about location, location, location!

How to Homeschool: 5 Steps to Get Started Homeschooling – Step 5: How to Plan Your Year

To wrap up our beginning homeschooling journey, let’s talk about planning your year! Here are a few tips on how to efficiently plan your homeschool year that include curriculum planning, homeschool communities and year around homeschool options.

Learn about all five steps to get started homeschooling in the How to Homeschool video series. I wish you all the best in your homeschool journey! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.

Amy Michaels is a former teacher turned homeschooler. She creates fun learning activities based on popular children’s books. Connect with her at BookBrilliantKids.com.

Welcome to the last blog in this 5-step series! To wrap up our beginning homeschooling journey, let’s talk about planning your year!

Now, I’m the first one to confess that it feels really nice to use that shiny new homeschool planner and plan out the whole year in one sitting, but most of the time we don’t follow that plan to the T. Then if you stray from that “master plan,” it’s easy to get stressed about falling behind. Here are a few tips on how to efficiently plan your homeschool year:

Plan 1–3 months at a time

Veteran homeschoolers will tell you to plan for one to three months at a time. I know that goes against our initial instinct to have everything planned out…but life happens, and sometimes kids work faster than expected, sometimes they need more time, or maybe something unavoidable comes up and you have to move some things around.

When we plan 1–3 months at a time, it gives us an opportunity to reevaluate and make sure the pacing is realistic for our children for each subject (this is something that may change year to year or even month to month). Reevaluating consistently is the advantage of having a flexible schedule!

How many subjects can you fit in a week?

I briefly mentioned in Step 3 about how to alternate subjects within homeschool schedules to avoid cramming every subject in every week. For example, you can do a month of science, then a month of social studies, and so on to create a rotating schedule.

There are so many subject areas we can cover in homeschooling, but honestly there just aren’t enough hours in the day to teach our kids everything we want them to learn.

What we recommend is called a loop or rotation schedule. This is where you have a list of subjects or extracurricular activities and you rotate through the list by having a specific time slot in your schedule for that rotating subject. For example, you could do a week of music appreciation, then art appreciation, then physical education, and then critical/creative thinking or problem solving.

When you’ve completed your list, you go back to the top and work through the list again using different activities from your curriculum resources. This type of schedule keeps things fresh and fun and also allows you to cover a lot of material throughout the year.

Join homeschool classes and communities

Another great way to plan ahead for your homeschool year is by joining homeschool groups! Whether they’re local or online, they’re great for inspiring ideas or providing tips for other homeschoolers.

Homeschool groups are typically run by volunteer homeschoolers just like you! They often have fun events or lessons to incorporate into unit studies or around seasonal events for homeschoolers.

You can also look into doing homeschool co-ops! Sometimes, co-ops teach certain subjects that you don’t want to teach your child or your child may be really interested in and are beyond your curriculum.

Lastly, consider homeschool classes! These are usually offered either locally or online and can teach or enrich certain subjects. It’s a great option for teaching subjects you aren’t comfortable with or excited to teach yourself.

Homeschooling year round

One last suggestion for planning your year is schooling year round. We’ve experimented with it in the past, and my kids actually prefer it! They like having shorter school days, but it also keeps us in that rhythm and provides structure to our weeks all year long. My kids want to keep learning about the things they enjoy studying, and it allows them to keep pursuing projects that they’re interested in learning about.

Year-round homeschool doesn’t work for everyone, but it is an option worth considering. Just remember to plan for some breaks!

In these 5 steps to getting started homeschooling, we’ve discussed how to:

• Know what to teach your kids,
• Choose a homeschool curriculum,
• Create your homeschool schedule,
• Organize your homeschool space, and
• Plan ahead for your homeschool year.

I hope you found these blogs and videos helpful! If you have any other questions about homeschooling, please leave them in the comments below; we would really love to hear from you! Though our beginning homeschool guide has ended, your journey has just begun! Good luck and thanks for reading!

Learn about all five steps to getting started homeschooling in the How to Homeschool video series.

Amy Michaels is a former teacher turned homeschooler. She creates fun learning activities based on popular children’s books. Connect with her at BookBrilliantKids.com.

Welcome to Step 4 in our 5-part blog and video series on How to Homeschool! In this blog we will be talking about one of the most fun topics in the series: creating and organizing your homeschool space! This one is especially fun to research on Pinterest to find all the creative ways homeschoolers are making homeschool organization affordable and easy by using what they have, but here are a few tips on how to efficiently organize your space that are all about location, location, location!

Whether your homeschool space is a room, shelf, cabinet, or a collection of boxes, it’s helpful to keep all of your materials in one area, or in the place they’ll be used during homeschool.

Tip #1: Keep materials in one place

Wherever you keep your homeschool materials, whether it’s in your homeschool space or somewhere else in your house, it should be a location convenient for both you and your kids. If the kids can get their materials on their own, it will save time and encourage independence.

Tip #2: Decide where to homeschool

Also consider where each of your children work best when organizing your homeschool space. Your children may prefer sitting at a table, standing at a countertop, or lying on the floor with their materials. Some kids prefer a quiet space, while others like having background noise or music.

Think about what will work best for your children when you’re setting up that space, whether it’s at your kitchen table or in an extra room. If you read Step 3: Creating a Homeschool Schedule, you know that sometimes it’s productive to alternate between group work, teaching time, and independent practice.

This can be tied into your homeschool space, as well; for example, starting as a group at the table and then letting the children go to their separate work spaces for independent work time, especially if they require a different learning environment.

One of my daughters needs a very quiet space when she does math, so we do our group lesson together, and then she goes and does her math in another room.

Tip #3: Bookmarking location in curriculum

This last tip is how to save time (and I’m sure we all like those, right?).

As kids are working through a few curriculum resources at a time, it’s super helpful to use a checklist of the assignments or lessons as a bookmark! Just fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise and write down a list of each chapter, lesson, or assignment in that book. The kids will learn to track their own progress, saving time and encouraging independent work.

Another homeschool secret? That checklist helps the kids feel a sense of success and accomplishment as they check off each completed lesson, motivating them to keep going as they visually see their progress.

If you have any homeschool organization tips, feel free to share them in the comments! We’d love to see your best tips and tricks.

Learn how to choose a homeschool curriculum in Step 5: How to Homeschool: How to Plan Your Year 

Learn about all five steps to get started homeschooling in the How to Homeschool video series.

Amy Michaels is a former teacher turned homeschooler. She creates fun learning activities based on popular children’s books. Connect with her at BookBrilliantKids.com.

What is your family’s typical daily schedule?

The easiest way to start crafting your homeschool schedule is to outline your current family schedule. You know your family’s schedule better than anyone, so ask yourself these simple questions:

• What is a realistic time to start your homeschool lessons without having to rush or make anyone anxious?
• When do you and the kids usually get hungry for a snack or lunch? This is the ideal time to take a quick break.
• What the time of the day do you and the kids need to be finished? When everyone gets a little burnt out, the kids need time to run around outside, and learning time is done…

Your homeschool schedule is going to vary from other families’ schedules, as each one is dependent on their life situation, how many children they’re homeschooling, and what age their children are! Starting with an outline of your family situation will help you create a natural flow for your homeschooling schedule.

Answering these questions will also help provide a framework for how many subjects and lessons you can fit into the day. The next step is planning for breaks that are necessary for every homeschool parent and child.

Optimizing teaching time

Another common question is how to optimize teaching time when homeschooling multiple kids. If you are homeschooling multiple kids, try alternating independent work with teaching time! Integrating this into your schedule can help optimize teaching time and balance multiple kids who may be in different grade levels.

For example, have your older child work independently while you teach a lesson to your younger child. Then, while your younger child does work or practices independently, you can teach a lesson to your older child.

You can also use group lessons as a way to teach multiple children at a time, by adjusting the grade level and practice for each child.

How many hours do you homeschool a day?

This is another big question when you’re creating your homeschool schedule, and depends on a couple of factors:

1. The laws in your area, which we discussed in Step 1. There may be state or local laws that determine how many hours you must homeschool a day, so make sure you check those first!
2. Your kids’ attention span! Pay attention to this so you can balance academics with other activities.

Sometimes kids love homeschool learning, and would rather spend more time doing lessons and academic activity. For other kids, their homeschool day is something they like to speed through so they can work on other projects. These independent activities should be encouraged – they usually involve learning skills like creating or building things, solving problems, or using strategies to play games.

A learning balance is important so kids feel successful rather than overwhelmed by their academics.

How many subjects do I teach?

Another common question most homeschoolers have is how many subjects to teach at a time. It’s important to consider both:

1. State or local laws (may require a certain amount of subjects taught, or which specific subjects you include).
2. You and your family’s daily schedule, which will determine how much time you homeschool a day, and therefore how many subjects you can realistically include.

How many subjects you include per school year or even per day will vary from family to family. It’s very common to start with reading, writing, and math, and then rotate through other subjects. Since there’s not enough time to do all subjects every week, you can do a month of science, then a month of social studies, or maybe a music unit followed by an art unit.

Rotating through different areas that are important to you and your child’s education helps bring balance into your homeschooling schedule.

Veteran tip: Adjust your schedule!

Whatever schedule you create for your homeschooled kids, try it out for a week or so and see if it works. Keep track of what works and what doesn’t and make adjustments at the end of the week.

Oftentimes, it takes close to a month of making small changes and adjustments to find the schedule that works for you! Give yourself some flexibility as you make changes, and remember that as life changes, homeschool schedules will, too!

Learn how to choose a homeschool curriculum in step 4: How to Homeschool: Homeschool Organization

Learn about all five steps to get started homeschooling in the How to Homeschool video series.

Amy Michaels is a former teacher turned homeschooler. She creates fun learning activities based on popular children’s books. Connect with her at BookBrilliantKids.com.

Welcome to the next step in how to start homeschooling!

In our last blog we covered Step 1, which answered the question: what to teach your children? Now, we are going to discuss how to choose a homeschool curriculum that meets your family’s needs and provides a strong educational foundation!

This is a really common question from beginning homeschoolers, especially concerning specific curriculum for each subject area per grade level. There are a lot of great options out there that offer specific curriculum, but I’m going to walk you through how to choose your curriculum so it best fits your homeschooling.

Build a foundation: Reading, writing, and math

When choosing what to include in your curriculum, I highly recommend you start with reading, writing, and math. These three basic subjects create a strong foundation for your at-home curriculum, and can help you kickstart your curriculum building process.

After you have these three subjects, you can pick and choose other areas depending on you and your child’s needs. Once you have your foundation, it’s also easier to select subjects areas that will build from your basic curriculum, tying it all together! You can add as many as your family schedule allows; how to schedule and organize your homeschool will be discussed in Step 3!

What is your child’s learning style?

Now that you have some subject areas in mind, it’s important to consider how your child learns best when choosing a curriculum. Every child learns differently, and probably has a way that they prefer to learn material. Determining how they learn best will help you choose a curriculum that fits best for your child and their unique learning style.

A few different ways your child may like to learn are:

• Workbook pages
• Hands-on activities
• Online learning

Your child may learn best using one of these or a combination! Try to find a curriculum that matches this learning style, but remember that it doesn’t have to be a perfect match. For example, your chosen curriculum might use workbook pages, so include hands-on activities to supplement your child’s learning.

Time management

A third consideration is how much time you and your child need to prepare, teach, and complete homeschool assignments. Depending on what your circumstances are, you may want a curriculum resource that offers no-prep activities, which require no preparations for each lesson or activity.

Knowing your family’s needs will be extremely helpful in choosing a resource that is optimal for your homeschool experience and curriculum.

Veteran Tip: Involve your child in choosing your curriculum

Here’s another tip from a veteran homeschooler: find a curriculum that is exciting for both you and your child! If both of you are excited and interested in the curriculum style and content, the learning process will be that much more enjoyable!

Get your kids involved by asking their opinion on the layout of workbook pages, learning activities, and types of assignment in the curriculum. It will get them invested in their own education and will help with the build-your-own-curriculum process.

Learn how to choose a homeschool curriculum in step 3: How to Homeschool: Homeschool Schedules 

Learn about all five steps to get started homeschooling in the How to Homeschool video series.

Amy Michaels is a former teacher turned homeschooler. She creates fun learning activities based on popular children’s books. Connect with her at BookBrilliantKids.com.

Are you new to homeschooling, or are you thinking about homeschooling?

Maybe you have questions about homeschool curriculum homeschool schedules, or homeschool organization. If so, we will walk you through the first 5 major steps to becoming a homeschooler.

Your homeschooling journey likely begins with one question: What do I teach my child? This blog will answer that question and continue to guide you through your journey to becoming a homeschooler!

Find out your local and state laws

Depending on where you live, there may be certain guidelines or regulations that determine what you teach your child. This could include requirements for what subjects you teach, how you document grades, or other guidelines. Some areas have little to no requirements at all!

Make sure you research your area’s homeschooling requirements to help you build a foundation for your at-home curriculum.

What is your educational philosophy?

The next part of figuring out what to teach involves your own personal educational philosophy! The reason you’re deciding to homeschool is an important part in building your curriculum. This could be:

• Religious reasons
• To provide a specific learning environment for your child
• To create a specific learning experience

Whether there’s a specific reason for deciding to homeschool, or you just want to watch your child learn and grow, your motivation can help determine what you want to teach your child.

What are your child’s strengths and weaknesses?

Now that you’ve researched regional requirements and figured out what you want to teach, it’s important to consider your child’s strengths and weaknesses. Maybe they excel in science but struggle with writing. Maybe they have a hard time with math but love art!

Consider these strengths and weaknesses when choosing what to teach; you can choose how in depth you go in each subject depending on what your child needs help with.

Remember that you don’t have to teach everything at one time! There’s time to spread out subject areas so that you can really cater your curriculum to you and your child’s needs. Later in this series, we will cover homeschool schedules and organization, so stay tuned for more tips and how-to’s!

Education is a journey that is going to last your child’s whole life! Enjoy the process as you begin your homeschool journey with your child!

Learn how to choose a homeschool curriculum in step 2: How to Homeschool: Choosing a Curriculum 

Learn about all five steps to get started homeschooling in the How to Homeschool video series.

Amy Michaels is a former teacher turned homeschooler. She creates fun learning activities based on popular children’s books. Connect with her at BookBrilliantKids.com.

African American History Month, also known as Black History Month, is observed in February and celebrates of achievements of African Americans. This important designation was created to bring to light and honor to the accomplishments of Black Americans in United States history who have not received adequate acknowledgement.

Included below are activities and books that highlight important successes of Black Americans in science, government, the arts, and sports who have been historically overlooked. In studying the lives of these talented individuals, students may develop an awareness of qualities of character common to those who have made a difference in the world.

Free Printable Activities

Holiday Art Projects: Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Paper Chain
Grades 1–5

This art activity provides a brief history and paper chain project to celebrate the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Read and Understand Celebrating Diversity: Only One: A Story of Ruby Bridges
Grades 1–2

This reading unit presents a two-page story about six-year-old Ruby Bridges and her role in desegregating schools in 1960. It includes reading comprehension and vocabulary practice activities.

Read and Understand Celebrating Diversity: Jackie Robinson
Grades 3–4

This activity provides students with a biographical sketch of Jackie Robinson’s life as the first African American Major League Baseball player. This reading unit includes reading comprehension and language activities.

Read and Understand Celebrating Diversity: Thurgood Marshall
Grades 3–4

This activity provides a biographical sketch of the first Black Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall. It includes reading comprehension questions, vocabulary, and writing activities.

Read and Understand Stories and Activities: Marian Anderson
Grades 4–6
This reading unit describes the experiences of the first African American opera singer to sing at the Metropolitan Opera House. This reading unit includes a story and vocabulary and comprehension activities.

Easy File Folder Reports: Black Americans
Grades 3–6

This social studies report provides ideas, directions, and patterns for creating a report on a Black American. It includes making a mini book, pipe cleaner person, and timeline.

Additional Activities on TeachersPayTeachers

Reader’s Theater: George Washington Carver
Grades 1–2

This reading unit teaches children about the notable African American botanist whose life began in slavery. It includes a reader’s theater script, background information, and extension activities.

Reading Paired Text: People Can Change the World
Grade 2

This social studies and reading unit helps children answer the big question, “Do I have the power to change the world?” Included in this reading unit are two lessons with reading articles on Cesar Chavez and the Grape Boycott and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Bus Boycott, with corresponding reading comprehension and vocabulary practice pages.

Reader’s Theater: Sojourner Truth: A Life Devoted to Justice
Grade 4

This play includes a reader’s theater script about a formerly enslaved woman who became a powerful speaker for abolition and women’s rights. This activity includes two extension activities.

Reading Information Text: Benjamin Banneker
Grade 5

This reading unit presents an informational article that includes how Benjamin Banneker’s scientific accomplishments in the 1700s helped change attitudes about African Americans. The unit contains a reading selection with supporting activities to guide students in close reading of the text.

Spanish-English Read and Understand Nonfiction: Jesse Owens
Grades 4–6

This reading unit presents a biographical article about track and field runner Jesse Owens. He won gold medals and broke track records at the 1936 Olympic Games. Written in both English and Spanish, this unit includes three follow-up activities with reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Top Kids’ Books to Read for Black History Month

Celebrate African American history with these stories of African Americans overcoming adversity.

Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine tells the true story of Henry, an enslaved boy, who mails himself to freedom.

This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt is perfect for young children and gives tribute to jazz history. Children will learn to count and move to the music with the fun jazz songs.

Whoever You Are by Mem Fox explores different lives around the world and helps young children understand that despite our differences, we are all still the same.

Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter gives children a glimpse into the Underground Railroad with the story of a sailor who teaches escaping enslaved people a song about the drinking gourd in the sky (the Big Dipper) and how to follow it north to freedom.

The Other Side by Jaqueline Woodson shares a sweet story about two girls who develop a friendship by playing on a fence that separates the African American side of town from the white side of town.

Let Them Play by Margot Theis Raven tells the true story of a group of young African American baseball players who join a little league in South Carolina only to find that all the white teams refuse to play with them.

Teammates by Peter Golenbock shares the story of Jackie Robinson, who became the first African American player in Major League Baseball.

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by Selina Alko shares the true story of the Loving vs. Virginia Supreme Court case that made interracial marriage legal.

Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and The Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly tells the inspiring true story of four African American women who overcame gender and racial bias to help NASA put the first men in space.

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson provides a comprehensive children’s history of African American history in the United States. From early slavery through the Civil Rights Movement, the story recounts America’s journey to justice and liberty for all.

The individuals highlighted in this article are only a few of the many talented African Americans who have contributed to United States history. These lessons and activities are designed to not only inform children on important historical achievements, but to inspire them to advocate for equity, civic participation, and equitable access for every person.

In highlighting the importance of culturally responsive social studies teaching, W.E.B. Du Bois said it best in his Propaganda of History from Black Reconstruction in America 1860–1880, “Nations reel and stagger on their way; they make hideous mistakes; they commit frightful wrongs; they do great and beautiful things. And shall we not best guide humanity by telling the truth about all of this, so far as the truth is ascertainable?”

For more lesson ideas that celebrate African American achievements, check out these articles and free activities:

Black History Month Free Reading Printables 

Celebrating African American Artists and Writers for Juneteenth

He Changed America by Talking: Classroom Activities to Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.

Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative forstudents. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.