Antoinette LaGrossa

Veteran homeschool mom of five children (now ages 11 to adult), Antoinette LaGrossa has been homeschooling since 2001. Having experienced her family’s frustration with multiple math programs, Antoinette understands the struggle that can come with teaching math. Everything changed in 2004 when she tried ShillerMath. She quickly joined the ShillerLearning team and has been supporting home educators for almost two decades - sharing hands-on learning tips, encouragement, and practical experience from homeschooling five very different children (no cookie-cutter molds here). Antoinette speaks at conventions across the country and is host of ShillerLearning’s Tuesdays@2.

Have Your Best Homeschool Year Yet With These Great Planning Tips

What is it that happens between the fresh excitement of homeschool planning and the spring slump? Why do we go from being motivated, organized, and passionate to burned out? The back-to-school season is a season of excitement. Even those who homeschool year-round feel it. The season comes with a crisp touch in the air and a renewed motivation in our hearts. Only to find a few months later we’re exhausted, disorganized, and in a slump.

Burnout at Home and in the Classroom

I came to homeschooling after years of working in schools. First, I worked in a traditional Montessori preschool for almost a decade. It was actually my first ever “real” job. I stayed in that job throughout college. My head-of-school gave me a chance to work in every single classroom. I also worked in the before & after school program. I even helped in administration and office duties. Throughout college and my first few years after graduation, I continued to work in education in one capacity or another.

After a few years, I landed at an incredible school for special needs kids.   I worked in a K-2 class and sometimes substituted with older kids. I was given the chance to see many different teaching styles and approaches. I stayed there for several years until my son was born. Now I continue my work in education as an at-home-educator with Montessori homeschooling.

Why do I tell you this? Because teachers burn out too! In fact, I observed that many teachers burn out faster than moms at home. What I have observed through all my years in education is something that seems to separate those who burn out from those who don’t.

Systems and Organization

Those who came into a school year with an organizational system seemed to stay motivated. I also noticed they were much less likely to get in over their heads. Yes, the systems adapted as the year progressed. And, yes, sometimes things didn’t work.   Now I have worked my way from class educator to home educator. I find so much value in having good systems in place to bring ease to our days.

Today I hope to offer a few homeschool time management tips. It is my hope these tips will be something you can incorporate to avoid slump and overwhelm later

Back-to-School Time Management Tips

Pick a method and stick with it- Don’t “throw the baby out with the bathwater” too fast. It takes at least 40 days to adjust to a new routine. Just because a routine or planning method doesn’t work at first, doesn’t mean it will never work. You may need more time to iron out the wrinkles.

Expect the unexpected- We lay out our bright, shiny new schedule at the beginning of the year. Then life happens. Someone gets sick. There’s a job transfer. You face a death in the family. Your schedule gets out of whack and you get frustrated. Leave in flex time! Add in a few “buffer” days- sort of like how public schools add in extra days for snow days.

Buffer your day- Often we forget to add in transitional time to our daily routine. It can take children a while to transition from activity to activity. This is not because they are stubborn or not listening. It’s because their brains take longer to transition and transition is sometimes hard. Give yourself a 5-10 minute buffer between each activity. You may even need to make that longer if you have young children, a baby at home, or a child with special needs. This can make a dramatic change in your homeschool routine.

Plan like a funnel- Start out with a broad overview of where you hope to be by the end of the year. Then schedule out each element. It can be helpful to have goals for each month set at the beginning of the school year. Then, perhaps, only do a detailed schedule for every six-eight weeks. Keeping the idea of a funnel in mind is helpful. Broad for what’s to come, narrow for what’s happening now.

Schedule in time for YOU- Give yourself at least an hour a week of YOU time. No kids, no responsibility. Make it two if you can. An hour to relax and unwind alone does remarkable things. If you can add in another hour to take time to learn and nurture your interests, even better.

Track your time- Use a time tracker app, a Bullet Journal spread, or a piece of paper. Write out everything you spend your time on in a week. Then evaluate it and see what you can drop, outsource, or needs better balance. Use this to help inform your decisions about scheduling.
 

Put it down in paper and pen (or pencil)- The neurological process is different when we plan with paper vs digital. Using real paper and writing out goals, schedules, and plans can be revolutionary in and of itself. We even made it easy for you with a beautiful FREE printable planner. Homeschool planning takes on a new life on paper!

Give loop scheduling a try- Instead of scheduling specific subjects on certain days, try looping. This way if you have something come up on, say your “History Tuesday” you won’t miss it. To loop, write down the subjects you want to cover daily and the subjects you want to cover weekly. Start at the top of your weekly list and cover at least one of those subjects a day. The next day, move to the next subject(s) on the list. Then if you miss a day of school, you won’t miss a topic- you move to what’s next on the loop.

Follow the lead of the child- This is a core component of a Montessori education. If your child needs to spend an entire quarter covering the same 4 sections in Math Book 1, that ’s ok. Adjust your plans to follow their lead. This also applies you find your child dawdles, struggles with focus, or seems to zone out. We’ll talk more about this in an upcoming blog. Montessori homeschooling is the perfect environment to follow your child’s lead.

Get a little help from ShillerLearning- We have made planning easy for both parents and students. Check out our FREE printable planners- there’s a set for homeschool parents that we brought you last month. This month, we’re happy to bring you a Student Planner Pack. In it you’ll find back-to-school activities your kids will love. We have activities like timer races, schedule card creation, cutting strips, clockworks, and more! Plus it has a FREE Student printable planner to help your child get organized along with you!

Focus on your next best thing- A time will come in planning, or in your year when you’ll get overwhelmed. Or an unexpected situation will arise, a new baby will come, etc. and your schedule will get backed up. In those moments of overwhelm, ask yourself “What is my best next thing?” Maybe that’s working on Math, or maybe it’s going out back to lay in the grass and watch the clouds. In moments of overwhelming- all you need to focus on is one thing at a time. No matter what it is, go from one best thing to the next and before you know it- you’ll be feeling calmer.

I hope some of these tips and tricks are helpful. I would love to hear about some of the things you do to help schedule and plan too. Plus, make sure to check out these other blogs and resources:

Montessori Homeschool Parent Planner Pack

How The Montessori Three-Period Lesson Changed My Homeschool

TED Talks For Homeschool Reading Inspiration

We hope this pack will encourage you to enjoy and learn more about Homeschooling. Plus this month’s pack is just as free as fresh air and sunshine! So download it now and start reading with your child!

FREE Montessori-Based Summer Activity Pack for Homeschoolers

Summertime is often when many of us take a break from homeschooling. Even if we school year-round, we usually go a bit lighter in the summer to enjoy those nice warm days while we’re able. With stay-at-home orders still in effect in many places, it’s the perfect time to work on nailing down skills our students have previously struggled with and explore a new subject of interest. We are thrilled to bring you this free summer activity pack. It’s perfect for homeschoolers, or families looking for engaging activities for kids who are out of school.

Summer Activities for Kids

In this over 30-page activity pack, you’ll find gobs of easy to put together activities and the free printables you’ve come to know and love from ShillerLearning. In addition to the activities in this pack, here are more ideas to curb hearing “Mom, I’m bored!” this summer.

• Create Your Own Lesson- Kids sometimes say, “If I was in charge, I would...” Give them the chance to do it their way! Set them loose with materials and let them design their own dream homeschool or summer lesson plan. Guide they in researching something they are interested in, encourage them to create their own learning, and see what they come up with! You might be pleasantly surprised as they come up with something to implement in your homeschool, create an awesome game, or (shhhh, don’t tell them) learn a new skill.

• You-Pick Farms- This is always fun way to create family memories. If open in your area, find a local you-pick farm and head out to pick your own food. Oftentimes these farms are growing berries and sometimes what you eat as you pick is free. Then bring them home and enjoy baking, canning, or freezing of your bounty. Check out fallingfruit.org to see free local you-pick options too!

• Amazing Race- Let the kids come up with their own version of the Amazing Race. Have them create activities and pit stops to do around your house, the block, or your town. Then let them get together with friends and play out their show. Older kids might even enjoy filming and making their own episode.

• Progressive Game Night (or afternoon)- Keep this on your list of things to do when when your stay-at-home order has been lifted. Depending on conditions in your area, a selection of outdoor yard games may be most appropriate. Some participation and help coordinating might be needed on the part of parents for this one, but it is so fun! (Plus, of course, parental supervision.) Get together with neighbors and nearby friends. Have each family pick a lawn game, board game or outdoor activity (like sidewalk chalk or sprinklers). The kids can work together to decide who will do which activity, make a master map ahead of time and set the schedule. Each home can host something different for a fun afternoon, or evening, of time together and exercise as you bike, or walk, between houses. Make sure to invite lots of friends, have plenty of healthy snacks & water, and have a blast!  

How to Use This Free Activity Pack

There’s no right or wrong way to implement this pack. We’ve provided you with a book list covering all reading abilities. The rest of the pack is pretty open-ended. You can work through it in order, pick and choose the activities you’d like to do, let the kids pick, do one a day or do them all in a week. It’s really up to you! Most require little to no prep-work and only a few need materials. It’s good to peek ahead and see what you might need to pre-purchase or borrow from a friend.

What’s Inside?

You'll find over a dozen activities. We have Montessori-inspired works like nomenclature cards, map work, and even a matching game. We’ve also included a couple easy summer crafts followed by nature activities. Many of these nature activities would be awesome to do on a camping trip but can easily be done in your own yard or at a local park. Lastly, we end the pack with a couple delicious recipes of some ice-cold treats to enjoy on these hot summer days!

We hope you’ll enjoy this pack and have a great summer, no matter how far you are able to venture from home.

Fun Winter-Themed Activities to Engage Your Children with Math and Language Arts

If you haven’t seen our free winter printables pack yet you are in for a treat. This pack is a perfect addition to your homeschool, no matter what type of homeschooler you are: Montessori, Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unschooling, Unit Study, or Eclectic. I don’t want to spoil the surprise or bore you to tears by describing every detail of all 32 activities, so I wrote a little poem to read. Or you can just watch Jonathan recite it in the video below...

12+ FREE Montessori Activities for

Harvest and Thanksgiving

Autumn is upon us. The crisp cool air lingers throughout the day. Beautiful fall leaves line our streets. In our homeschool we have found the steady flow of our school year. We embrace relaxed mornings in our jammies and afternoon ShillerMath by the fire. Our printers whir out warm harvest and Thanksgiving printables that we work on over a slice of hot apple pie.  What’s not to love about this time of year?

Showing Gratitude in Our Homeschool

A spirit of thankfulness and gratitude is always a good spirit to have. It’s especially prevalent this time of year. As we approach Thanksgiving, here are some ideas to incorporate a spirit of gratitude and thankfulness into the rhythm of your schooling.  

• Stick a poster board or large piece of butcher paper on your wall. Encourage your children to record moments of gratitude throughout the day. For example, your youngest might write about how they were thankful their older sibling helped them with math.

• Research your family history. Find out where your ancestors immigrated from. Learn more about their journey to get here, what early life was like, and the lineage of people who brought you to this moment in history. Learning about our past can be a great way to bring gratitude for where we’re at today.

• Tell your family members thank you more often. So often we ignore the simple act of thanking one another for their kindness.

• Make “caught in the act” cards. Write the word “caught in the act of ___________” on a small paper, or make business card size cards. Everyone in the family gets a stack. Family members hand them out to one another to show appreciation for one another. Examples of times you may wish to use them, when you see someone else doing a kind deed, going above and beyond, or working hard at something they struggle with. Fill in the blank for the recipient.

• Write “Thank You” notes as part of your daily language arts or writing time.

• Visit your local library and do something nice for the librarians. As homeschoolers, librarians are some of our best helpers! Bring them a nice card, ask if there’s a way you can help, or tidy up the toys.

• Cook a meal for a local military or public service member’s family.

• Start a “Thankfulness Jar.” You’ll find all the information on starting this in the FREE Activity Pack download below.

FREE Montessori Activities and Thanksgiving Printables

In the spirit of gratitude and harvest season, we have put together this Homeschooling Harvest Pack. You’ll find activities for preschoolers through teens, including works for mixed ages. This FREE pack of Montessori activities is one you will want to include in your shelf works. It would also be fun to have these Thanksgiving printables available while you’re in Thanksgiving-prep-mode. A handful of the activities may be done any time of year - cultivating gratitude is never out of season.

You’ll find a couple projects designed to enhance your Thanksgiving meal. We included a fun and easy craft for your student to make place cards to put around the table. They’ll also learn how to roll napkins. It’s amazing what pride and joy our children find when they get to contribute something beautiful to the family table. We also have included a couple Thanksgiving research activities. Your children might enjoy sharing what they have learned over the Thanksgiving table.

Your students may also enjoy completing these activities on Thanksgiving Day if they start to get a little restless. The Apple Taste Test Comparison would be a fun activity for the whole family over Thanksgiving weekend.

We hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and are able to find a new season of joy and gratitude in your homeschool this year. Make sure to fill out the form below for your download of our Harvest Activity Pack.