"The Exodus and Wanderings" Workbook Answer Key

This workbook and its answer key are now available here: https://studenthandouts.com/world-history/ancient-israel/miscellaneous/exodus-and-wanderings-hebrew-history-workbook.html.

Creation and the Patriarchal Period - Answer Key

This workbook and its answer key can now be found here: https://studenthandouts.com/world-history/ancient-israel/miscellaneous/creation-and-patriarchal-period-workbook.html.

Organized Homeschooling for a Parent with Three Kids

Are you juggling homeschooling with three kids at home? Here's a handy form for  quickly organizing your day.

The daily schedule for three homeschool kids planner includes (gasp!) a column for the parent to jot down what he/she will be doing at any particular time. Isn't this much more realistic? Times are given in half-hour intervals.

Obviously, this chart does not give enough room to write down detailed lesson plans. But it will really help to plot out the activities and learning experiences for each day.

Start by printing out a sheet for each day of the week (Monday, Tuesday, etc.) and write the day of the week at the top of the sheet.  Then put children's names next to a number (Child 1: Sally, Child 2: Jimmy, etc.). 

Let's assume that Child 1 has piano lessons at 4:00 P.M. on Tuesdays. Write this in Child 1's column. Does mom or dad have to drive Child 1 to these lessons? Then mark "piano lessons" in the parent's column (probably 3:30, 4:00, and 4:30, because you need to include time for the commute to and from the lessons). What have you achieved? You've made it clear--on paper, in black and white--that Child 2 and Child 3 need something to do during this 1 1/2 hours. It may seem overly simple, but it can be a lot of help in terms of daily planning. For example, if one of these other children is mature enough, you could schedule for him/her to start getting dinner ready while you're at the piano lesson (simple tasks such as "peel and cut six potatoes").

The idea is that, at a glance, you can see what everyone (including yourself) is supposed to be doing at any given moment. You can schedule breaks at appropriate times. When you know that you'll need to work closely with one child from, say, 11:00 A.M.-11:30 A.M. unraveling the mystery of fractions, you can schedule your other children to work on tasks that don't require close supervision (such as an ongoing reading assignment, or an "independent study" half hour where the child is free to read, write, or draw what he/she chooses). Why? The last thing you want is to have Child 2 ask for detailed instructions on something while you're trying to explain fractions to Child 1.

Perhaps most importantly, your use of a schedule will teach your children the valuable skills of time management and independent learning. Your kids will also learn to respect your time. After all, without mom/dad on the schedule, kids often fall into the habit of assuming that mom/dad will always be available to answer questions. With mom/dad on the schedule, Child 3 can see that mom/dad is working with Child 2 from 12:30-1:00 P.M., for example, and so Child 3 must either solve the problem him-/herself, or work on something else until mom/dad is free.

Handwriting Practice Worksheets in Print Manuscript and Cursive Script

We have created hundreds of new printable handwriting worksheets for this school year. They come in both print manuscript and cursive script writing fonts.

We've got months of the year, days of the week, presidents of the United States, motivational sayings, famous quotes, individual children's first names, and much more.

Let's face it--most kids need a lot of handwriting practice. And once you're through with the ABCs and simple words like "apple," there isn't much out there in the marketplace for primary school teachers. Our free handwriting worksheets fill the gap.

Tip: If you have trouble fitting extended writing practice into your daily schedule, try using our worksheets as morning or after-lunch starters. As the kids enter the classroom and put away their things, they each pick up a handwriting worksheet to start working on. This helps to get the kids quiet and focused right away.

You can begin browsing and printing/downloading our free printable handwriting worksheets for kids here. Don't forget to look around at all of the other great printables we have been working on for you!

Irish Proclamation of Independence (1916) in Authentic Irish Accent

Here is a fun twist to teaching about the independence movement in Ireland. We have a free video you can play for students that features a young Irishman reading aloud the 1916 Irish Proclamation of Independence. His authentic Irish accent is certain to be a treat for teenagers who may have never heard a real Irish accent before.

 

 

You can also view the video here, where we also have the complete text.  There is likewise a free printable DBQ (document-based questions) worksheet that contains the complete text of this important historical document.

Family Tree Chart for Connecting Relationships between Cousins

Every now and again, we like to come up with something that isn't necessarily related to K-12 education. Several of us are interested in genealogy (family ancestry, or the  family tree).

If you are actively trying to trace your family tree, or have ever tried, chances are that somewhere along the line you met (online or in person) a "cousin" who was/is doing the same thing. You know that you are related, and vaguely refer to yourselves as "cousins," but might not be precisely certain just how the two of you are related. We created a "cousins" family tree chart template that you can print or download for free here.

This chart works for two people with the same grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, great-great-great-grandparents, or great-great-great-great-grandparents. It comes with complete instructions for those of you who aren't the best at filling out charts like this.

The "cousins" (up to fifth-cousins, technically) chart is a real lifesaver when it comes to explaining how you are related to someone. Try printing up a dozen or so copies for your next family reunion. It might be fun to create one for (or let kids create one themselves) younger children to help them to understand family relationships. (It's educational, too, since all state and national academic tests require students to be able to create and read complicated charts.)

History of Hawaii - Printable Outline

How much do you know about the history of Hawaii? What can you say about Queen Liliuokalani? If you're studying the history of U.S. expansion at the turn of the last century, you need to know and understand how and why the United States came to annex the Hawaiian Islands, and the chain of events that led to Hawaii becoming the 50th (and so far, last) state. We have a free timeline/outline of these events that you can read, print, or download (PDF) here: Hawaiian History Outline.