How-To – DIY Homeschooler

Activity: Steps for Developing Storytelling Skills

8 Feb 20238 Feb 2023

We have been practicing the art of storytelling. For beginning writers, retelling the best stories is the first step in developing writing skills. Even when it comes to writing nonfiction…

How-To

Over 200 Free Units! {And Ways to Use Them}

7 Nov 20222 Nov 2022

DIY Homeschooler has now been around for over 20 years. Over those years we have posted over 200 free units covering everything from earthworms, arches, inventors, and DNA to composers,…

Activities

Activity: Filling Out A Form

19 Oct 202219 Oct 2022

It is one of those life skills we homeschool moms don't want to forget. Before they leave home, our children will need to know how to correctly fill out forms!…

How-To

5 Tips for Teaching Writing

12 Oct 20226 Feb 2023

You have your children writing something every day. Great! Now let's refine the process. Here our five tips for teaching writing. First, we really don't "teach" writing. This is one…

How-To

7 Easy Summer Learning Strategies

13 Jun 20225 Jul 2022

We know all too well what can happen during the three months off during the summer — brain drain! Here are 7 summer learning strategies to help you combat learning…

Activities

Activity: Words That Describe

26 Apr 20226 Feb 2023

One of the best ways to become a good writer is by making it a practice to read good writing. If you want to take this to the next level,…

How-To

4 Ways to Incorporate Poetry ~ Resources

21 Apr 202221 Mar 2023

Poetry? Depending on the age of the student, the word might draw a blank look, an unhappy expression, or a dark scowl! If we do this right, from the beginning,…

Activities

Activity: Describe ~ Free Form

23 Mar 20226 Feb 2023

One of the marks of a good writer is the ability to paint a picture in the reader's mind of what is happening. Instead of simply telling what happened, by…

Activities

Activity: Storytelling Prompts

9 Mar 20226 Feb 2023

Storytelling is a great way to dip a toe into creative writing. It borrows from narrating, and redirects the process from retelling the story of someone else to telling your…

Activities

Activity: Rhyming Couplets

16 Sep 202111 Nov 2022

Over time we will be adding activities that focus on helping your child/student write something every day. Let's start off with something really simple: rhyming couplets. Rhyming couplets are two…

Activities

Activity: Storytelling

26 Aug 20212 Feb 2023

There are many benefits to learning the art of storytelling. And storytelling is one of those "soft skills" our children will want to take with them into life. Here are…

How-To

7 Scopes & Sequences and Tips for Using Them

3 May 202114 Jul 2022

We can’t get where we’re going if we don’t know where that is. When we pull together our own studies and/or are studying subjects in an atypical order it is…

How-To

Interacting With Literature: Idioms

19 Apr 202114 Jul 2022

Idioms are figures of speech that we hear or use every day that are not meant to be taken literally. They make it easy to say something in a meaningful…

How-To

10 Educational Benefits of Board Games ~ Plus Recommendations

20 Jan 202117 Jan 2023

When it is cold outside, it is fun to snuggle up inside with something warm and and enjoy engaging board games! But lest you think this activity is all fun,…

Activities

20 Fun Holiday Activities

10 Dec 20209 Nov 2022

It's that time of year! Christmas joy and celebrations. Here are 20 fun holiday activities to enjoy with your family: Make a tree-shaped photo collage by including family members that…

How-To

5 Tips for Creating a Reading List

23 Sep 202027 Aug 2022

Reading is the backbone of learning. When educating at home or tutoring, good literature can be the backbone of your curriculum (or course of study). The task becomes creating a…

How-To

What Type of Learner Do You Have

16 Sep 202030 Aug 2022

People learn things in different ways. Some learn by watching demonstrations. Some learn better with diagrams and charts. Still others learn best by getting in there and doing something. By…

How-To

The Benefits of Home Education (and what to do next)

5 Aug 20206 Aug 2022

Home education or homeschooling has been in the news quite a bit lately. There is an obvious difference between a parent who is suddenly forced to assume responsibility for his…

How-To

10 Favorite How-Tos {2019–2020}

20 Jul 202030 Jun 2022

Ten favorite How-Tos from the archives: 1. Skill Subjects vs. Content Subjects {The Key to Simplifying} 2. Teach a Child to Read: The Natural Way 3. Language…

How-To

10 Things to Put in Your Nature Journal

13 May 202021 Jul 2022

Spring is a great time to get outside and observe. If you are ready to take it to the next level — keep a nature journal! We have provided suggestions…

How-To

7 Steps to Scientific Research

4 Mar 202025 Mar 2023

Scientists learn how things work by forming a guess and then testing their assumptions by experimenting. The process usually starts with an observation that leads to a question. Here are…

How-To

7 Lessons for Teaching Writing

5 Feb 202010 Feb 2023

As Ruth Beechick says, we learn to speak by listening and speaking. So the analogy is: we learn to write by reading and writing. This natural method of learning to…

How-To

7 Reasons to Read Aloud to Your Children

29 Jan 202021 Jan 2023

Most parents understand the importance of reading aloud to their children. For home educators, shared read-aloud experiences become a large part of our children's education. Recent research indicates there is…

How-To

5 Steps to Developing a Lifelong Learner

22 Jan 202021 Jan 2023

Hey, that's the point, right? We all want to be able to learn anything for ourselves. And we want to keep learning our entire lives. So, as educators, how do…

How-To

5 Goals for Fitness

8 Jan 20209 Nov 2022

Here are 5 simple fitness goals you can pursue individually, as a family, or as a focus for your children and/or students: 1. Move. It is amazing how much we…

How-To

5 Natural Ways to Improve Listening Skills

23 Oct 201911 Oct 2022

No question, listening is a skill that comes more easily to some of us than it does to others. Nevertheless, listening is a skill that is increasingly more highly valued…

The Latest

100 Best Books for Children ~ Lamb

Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare is number 66 on The Hundred Best Books for Children list found in The Book-lover.

23 Mar 202323 Mar 2023

Free Civics Studies ~ Updated

Updated free civics studies ~16 free lessons: An introduction to the government of the United States for all ages told in story form.

21 Mar 202314 Mar 2023

100 Best Books for Children ~ Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses, number 65 on The Hundred Best Books for Children list found in The Book-lover.

16 Mar 202316 Mar 2023