Perhaps you've clicked this link and have been following along with me for a while. And you're thinking, wait, Melanie doesn't homeschool. SHE DOES NOW :)

Well, in all actuality my second oldest has been homeschooled for the last 3 years. Although it's really been self-schooled, as she has taken on the learning. I just have managed her schedule and have been blessed to be apart of a wonderful homeschool community with other moms that have taken her in to help teach her different subjects.

But come August, I will be taking my 12 years of classroom experience and staying home to homeschool 3 of my children that are still in the home. And I am so very excited! So here are a list of 10 things that have been essential in our planning, and in my daughter's success in her homeschool journey the past few years. This post contains affiliate links that I earn a small commission off when you click the links from my website.

The first item on my must-have school supply list is a planner! This allows every homeschooling mom the ability to track her children's progress within their lessons for future evaluations that are often a must-do in homeschooling. What I like best about this planner is that it can be used for multiple children! 

Another item (or multiple) that I would recommend is books to help YOU as the homeschool parent. How are you going to homeschool? Are you going to look into an online learning community? Research co-op's in your area? Look to join a classical conversations group? Take more of a Charlotte Mason approach? Unschooling? There are so many options. After I taught for 8 years in the public school systems, in both MD and FL, I transitioned to teaching at a classical christian school. I absolutely agree with and love Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education. So you will need some good resource books. These are so great books if you are interest in Classical Christian Education. The Case for Classical Christian Education by Doug Wilson is a great starting place. Classical Me Classical Thee by Rebekah Merkle is a great book to read for teenagers that explains the purpose of classical education to homeschooled students.  I love Charlotte Mason's writings and agree with her philosophy of education, so I thought it imperative to include it in my book list here. A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason, Mason argues that education should be as enriching as a well-balanced meal, providing intellectual and moral nourishment to all. Home Education by Charlotte Mason is filled with wisdom and grace from Charlotte Mason's teachings.

Yoto is the audio player that grows with your child, from toddler tunes to tween audiobooks. My daughter has had a Yoto for two years and has enjoyed many classics like C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. There is a wide range of cards to choose from, as well as blank ones that you can make your own audio books! 

My children love Thames and Kosmos STEM items! This microscope is a great tool to add to your science kits! Thames and Kosmos is known for creating games and toys that are engaging and educational. My kids spent hours the other day putting together a Mega Cyborg Hand, and they learned so much! Thames & Kosmos has many toys for children of all ages.

As far as curriculum goes, depending on your students' age and academic level, I have a few favorites. Ambleside online has a phenomenal website chock full of resources, booklists, schedules for those that adore Charlotte Mason's principles as such as I do. Here are few of the things we are going to try this year:

This year for my 6th grader, we will be trying Life of Fred Pre-Algebra 0, as it came as a recommendation from the math teacher at the classical christian school my daughter attended, and I worked at last year. So from what I've read, I am excited to try this curriculum. 

This is Volume 4 of Story of the World. My sixth grader in her history class the past 3 years has read the first 3 volumes, so I thought we could read this as one of our history books this year. 

Last year, my sixth grade started with IEW, and I also started with it as a teacher (teaching 4th grade). It is a heavy writing curriculum with a big learning curve (for both teacher and student), but now that I've taught it and my child has gone through a year with it, I think it will be good to continue with this year. Their writing curriculum is history or bible based, so you can choose different time periods over the course of their middle school years. 

For Literature, we plan on reading some classics throughout the year. Some of the books on our list are The Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch, Animal Farm by George Orwell, and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. These are books that she will read, or listen to, and then narrate. She has been completing written narrations for the past few years, so this will not be a new practice to her. A narration can be orally or in writing, or it can be a picture drawing for younger learners. The purpose of narrating is for the child to attend to the text and then communicate back all that they remember, including as many details as they can.

Students need spaces to work. For my sixth grader, notebooks will be essential. I also find letting them choose their own notebook engages them to want to work in it. Notebooks will be used for math problem solving, as well as writing, and narration! 

I absolutely love gardening, watching things grow! My children also love growing things from seeds! Having a little greenhouse, like the one posted, is great for your children to watch plants sprout and grow!

Amazon Kindle Kids is a device my daughter uses to read her beloved books! Amazon Kids+ is a subscription designed for kids aged 3-12, providing unlimited access to thousands of age-appropriate books, including classic chapter books and graphic novel favorites. Included content is curated by age range, so it safely evolves with a child's interests and maturity. After 6 months, your subscription will automatically renew every month starting at just $5.99/month plus applicable tax. You may cancel at any time by visiting the Amazon Parent Dashboard or contacting Customer Service. Another benefit to this device is that it includes a 2 year warranty and if it breaks you can return it and they're replace it for free!

Well that's a wrap! Please follow along for this fun journey of homeschooling for my family and I!

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Momma with a Teaching Mission

 There aren't many words to describe the year that was 2020. As educators, we learned and grew so much! If you didn't know about Google Classroom, Nearpod, Bitmojis, Screencastomatic or Zoom (just to name a few) before March of 2020, you definitely climbed that learning curve! I have been so proud of my fellow teachers in all that they have learned, never skipping a beat. When the rest of the world was shut down, here we were learning how to teach and do what was best in our circumstances for our students. Wow.

So where do we go from there? Many schools are returning back in person, I have been back in person since October 2020, with all my students being in person. I know many teachers who are continuing to expand their bag of tricks with teaching both in person students, as well as online learners (at the same time). Some fellow educators are teaching a hybrid A-B schedule, and some of my friends are also still teaching from home with their students being all online. 

So now that I am back in person, have I mentally blocked everything I experienced and learned in the past year? Well some things LOL, but definitely not those great teaching practices that have helped me to enhance engagement and my teaching within the classroom. Here are some things I found really have been lifesavers while returning back to in person learning after COVID.

First and foremost, Google Classroom. Posting assignments within Google classroom has been a sanity saver, especially for students who are absent or missing work. I also love being able to post links to websites or articles that students can access without having to print everything. I have my Google Classroom set up by days of the week, then after the week is over I will create a new topic (that week's date, for example 'Week of March 1st') and then I will move assignments from the M, Tu, W, Th, Fr topics down to that 'Week of' topic. Google Classroom is super user friendly, and absolutely my top pick for what I've continued to use within my classroom, even with all my students face to face. 

My Bitmoji classrooms are another favorite, and not just a favorite of mine, but also my students. I love how you can use the Bitmoji classrooms for a variety of uses. What we used to do around the room SCOOT, with task cards posted, and a recording sheet, students can now do a SCOOT within the Bitmoji classroom. I also have independent reading and reflecting centers, for students to listen to a book being read, and then respond to it--- this is a crowd favorite among my students. I've created new Bitmoji classrooms each month, and they enjoy listening to the books and different themes featured each month. Another use for the Bitmoji classrooms is if you have a class website within Google Sites. Kids enjoy and take pride in their class website.

I have to say I was not on the Nearpod bandwagon when I first learned about it a few years ago. Probably because I thought I didn't have the time to learn this new stuff!! I learned about Nearpod the beginning of last school year, before COVID hit and I'm so glad I did. Not only does Nearpod have a library of already created lessons, but you are also able to create lessons within Nearpod, this is so cool!! My kids love to compete, so they love the time to climb lessons, and beg me to make more every time we play!

What have you found that are your favorite tools that you are using, or plan to use when you return back to in person teaching?! I'd love to hear about it!

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Momma with a Teaching Mission

Hey Hey Hey y'all! This is going to be so much fun :)

It is Finally here!

Today I am linking with Laura from Where the Magic Happens, Krista from Teaching Momster, and Lisa from PAWsitively Teaching! I have joined forces once again with my bloggy friends to bring you the best, most amazing giveaway on this Labor Day weekend!
All of us have been thinking about  good ways in which to treat our readers and followers.   We thought hard, and I mean it! Really, really hard… and decided that  we can treat you to our best ideas to work smarter rather than harder… at school and home!
I know what it takes to be a great teacher, the stress, the time, the energy… I could go on and on! I also know that we crave time to ourselves and our families.

Ok, so although I think classroom jobs are awesome, and they can make a super cute display. I just don't have time for them!! I mean seriously, my walls are already filled with student work, CAFE and Daily 5 strategies, our classroom rules, our phonics posters, and our classes' birthdays. So this is what I do for classroom jobs.

I have a 'helping hand'. All my students names are on paint swatches from Lowe's and they are on a ring. Every day I just go to the next person. The helping hand helps with all daily duties: our line leader, taking attendance to the office, passing out papers, leading us in our phonics drills, helping take lunch count. 


So I am one busy momma :) My fellow working moms, I'm sure can relate!! I like to un-wind playing with my babies, Karter (10), Katie (7), Christopher (5), and Alexa (1).

I also try to treat myself to coffee---since I'm a coffee freak, especially after a long and/or tiring week of work!! I love Starbucks, however, I rarely splurge and go there, unless it's been a super stressful week :) 


One product that has made my life easier is my Common Core No Prep 1st grade Bundle. The 1.NBT No Prep Bundle includes printables for quick check assessments, games, or homework and it made my life so much easier! I also have a 1.OA No Prep Printables Bundle for all the 1.OA standards. I loved teaching math last year and I took so much pride in creating products for my kiddos and then turned into my 'baby' on TpT :)

Top all these great tips and ideas  with these top-notch prizes!

A $100 gift card to Amazon

A $50 gift card to TpT

2 $25 gift cards to TpT

1 $10 gift card to TpT

Thank you for reading! And now don't be silly and get your hands all over this awesome giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

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Momma with a Teaching Mission

HELLO!! I am linking up with Angie from Lucky Little Learners and Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd for their monthly #2getherwearebetter linky party! And this month is all about the FABULOUS classroom reveal! And I promise, this month I am ready!!

Ok, so are you ready!?!? First of all, a little about me, so my room makes sense to you!

Welcome! My name is Melanie :) I am a first grade Literacy Teacher in Maryland. I have just started my 3rd year teaching. I am a mother of 4 and I was a career changer, after going back to school at age 27 to fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher. I love COFFEE and CHOCOLATE!

So first, let's look at the hallway. Our school was build in 2008, the KG classrooms have cubbies, but everywhere else in the building is lockers. I have labeled my lockers with super cute pencil labels from Educlips. I printed out the pencils, laminated them, then wrote their names in dry erase marker. We have many students who leave and join us throughout the year, so it makes changing names easy!

We have no space outside our room to hang student work, except above the lockers. The students drew self portraits on paper plates and wrote a sentence how they were feeling on the first day of school.

This is the doorway to my classroom. As you can see, we keep rubberbands on our doors to keep them unlocked--this way if we have to go into a lock-down situation we just open the door slide the rubber band down below the lock, and our door is automatically locked--no trying to find our keys and fool with it that way. My classroom also had to be labeled above the door with my name and the subject I am teaching (since we are all departmentalized--either teaching literacy or stem).

When students arrive in the morning, as soon as they enter my classroom, they make a lunch choice. I have their names written on cut-up pieces of paint swatches from Lowe's. I have my pocket chart labeled Lunch A, Lunch B, Lunch C, or Packers. When the student arrives, they take their name from the bottom and places it with whatever lunch they are getting. This way when I take attendance and lunch counts, I can see from one place who is present and what they've chosen.

So I have a large whiteboard in the front of the room. I used decorative tape to section it off and label what encore we are having today, tomorrow, what homework we have, as well as the date, and the helping hand. I think classroom jobs can be very useful. However, I just don't have the space or time to think about and changing 17 classroom jobs everyday. So I have every students' name on a paint swatch and every day the helping hand changes. This way the helping hand is in charge for that day with all classroom jobs--from taking the attendance to the office, putting the breakfast trash in the hallway, being line leader, passing out papers, and being the hall monitor.

The opposite site of my large whiteboard in the front of the room is also sectioned off with our "I can" statements. I can statements is kid-friendly objectives. Since I am teaching just literacy, we usually have 3-4 I can statements a day (for writing, language, phonics, and literature or informational).

To the left and right of my white board, I have 2 square bulletin boards. One of my bulletin boards is currently housing our classroom rules, but once they are routine, this board will change to hold our phonics posters. The other bulletin board is where our Writing Goals will be posted.

This small bookshelf houses all of the books that I've read aloud to the class. Once I have read it aloud, they have the opportunity to read it during read to self or read with a buddy time.

To the right of my bulletin board, I had a blank wall space. I decided to take some black butcher paper and create a make-shift bulletin board. This is where we will have our amazing words that we notice in our texts or writing. I have not introduced this yet to my kids (that's why there is no words on it :) ).

This is a mess right now! HOWEVER, this is the writing station. I was on a laminating roll before school started, and hadn't put away my lamination or laminator. This is has different kinds of paper and writing tools my little authors are able to use during our writers workshop time.

This is a far corner snapshot of my room. I am on the first floor, so I have an exit door. This is also my guided reading table, and I have all my teaching supplies and mentor texts behind my table.

This bulletin board is just our class names. Below it is part of our classroom library. I decided to make 2 separate libraries for more room. It seems that 1st graders like to spread out when reading, so I thought having 2 separate carpets would help :)

This is the dotted carpet. Students sit here during whole group lessons, as well as they can sit on this carpet during read to self or read with a buddy time. This back bulletin board will have the CAFE strategies on it.

This is my easel at the front of the carpet. I have a rocking chair to the left of it where I sit to do my whole group mini-lessons.

This is my word wall. I used the decorative tape to section it off with magnetic letters. The words are also on magnets and able to come off the wall if a student needs it. We follow Wilsons' Fundations for our phonics program, so we learn 'trick words'--which is another way to say word wall words.

This is the other bulletin board in my room that will be displaying student work. Above it, it says "our best work". I haven't had the time to put anything up here yet with the first few days of procedures and testing, but hopefully will have something up by the end of the week.

This is my listening center. Last year, each classroom had about 3 computers. This year, we got a whole LOTTA MAC books, however, we are supposed to use them for whole group lessons not as 'stations'. So unfortunately, my kiddos won't have computers as a rotation this year, so I just plugged this listening center in its' place.

Ok, so let's be real. This is my teacher desk. It's a mess, however, this is how it looks most of the time! I have buckets for pens, pencils, sharpies, and highlighters behind my laptop.

On my bathroom door I have a little Happy Birthday chart. I made little cupcakes for each month, and then cut those Lowe's pain swatches to make candles with their name, and the date at the top like the flame of the candle. (Can you tell I like those paint swatches LOL)

We have community supplies. Meaning that when students bring their supplies in, it goes into a pile. Each table has a caddy. In it, it has 5-6 glue sticks, scissors, a cup of pencils and dry erase markers, erasers, and 3 boxes of crayons.

This is a look from the back of the room towards the door.

This is the counter and cabinet space to the right of the room as you enter the door. I also have a sink and water fountain against this wall.

So this sums it up. After 9 days of teaching, I am tired!! Anyway, thanks for checking out my space! Make sure to check out all the other awesome bloggers' classrooms! Best of luck this year my friends!

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Momma with a Teaching Mission