Despite our family going through some major shifts, I still read as regularly as possible. In fact, reading helps me self-regulate! (You too?)

First, I’m sharing some books I’ve read (or am reading) this fall below, and I started a couple new book journals I’m excited to share more about in a later update.

Secondly, our Winter LIVE Classes are now enrolling. They’re about 1/3 full so while there’s still room if you’ve been on the fence, I wouldn’t wait too long!

Thirdly, I just completed another NEW, FANTASTIC Simple Studies Character Guide (woo hoo!) It releases November 12 - so be sure to check your email that day!

Love books? Me too! So glad you’re here!

Skill-Based Learning:

If you’re feeling tired and unmotivated – just know you’re not alone.

We ALL hit these slumps!

Sometimes lessons aren’t as fun as we think it’s going to be. I think that’s the case for so many of us who maybe enjoy our read alouds and then get everything in order, sit down and open up our daily lessons with our kids.

Just this week, our daughter was in tears (again) over math. I’m not doing anything crazy – in fact, we go slowly through each lesson and I’m privy to her individual needs – however, math just ain’t her thing (nor is it mine, no matter how “Charlotte Mason-ish” or “Montessori-ish” or hands-on I try to be).

I’m not ashamed to share this because I KNOW I’m not alone.

So instead of trying to crush math lessons every day, we take it a little bit at a time and instead, allow her to spend more time focusing on what she loves.

We don’t skip math but I can at least give her plenty of free time to explore the topics and activities she does enjoy to help set her up in life to use skills she’s naturally gifted with.

Encourage your kids to spend 80% of their time nurturing their natural strengths and passions. Dedicate the remaining 20% to building foundational skills in essential subjects—those areas that may not come as naturally but are valuable for life.

And when in doubt – read aloud! (Check out our favorite read aloud guides from past autumn months):

Let’s dive into the books!

Here’s a list of all the books I’ve been reading lately (they are not all clean - so please advise –it wouldn’t be fall without a bit of spooky mysteries and vampires!)

The Art of Living: The Classical Mannual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness (I’m taking diligent notes as I slowly chew on this book)

Odd and the Frost Giants (audiobook with the kids by one of my all-time favorite authors)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Read aloud with my teen)

River Sing Me Home

The Serpent and the Wings of the Night (Duology, caution advised)

Meditations

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Audiobook with the kids – we have like 15 hours remaining and waiting for a roadtrip to knock it out!)

Our Narrow Hiding Places: A Novel (Audiobook)

The Secret History (Just starting this one - it begs to be read during the autumn season and comes highly recommended)

Just finished:

Woman in the Polar Night (One of my favorite books of the year. Talk about resilience! Last year I read Letters of a Woman Homesteader – I just love this non-fiction genre)

Weyward (They had me at the cover)

Blackbeard Audiobook (Short story based on a true story from 1920s - production was wonderful!)

Gray After Dark (based on a true story here in Idaho)

Into the Drowning Deep (Loved the creepy, marine biology/scientific approach to mermaid murder mysteries! Major caution advised with this one and I skip the parts that).

Annihilation: A Novel (My husband reminded me I’ve apparently seen this movie before but I can’t for the life of me remember how it was - he tells me it wasn’t that great).

Madwoman (a BOTM Club pick: Motherhood-focused mystery/fiction/thriller - kind of dark at times)

God of the Woods (Not bad! Not the best 500pg book out there but I love me some wilderness mysteries!)

Heartless Hunter (First in the Crimson Moth series - Better than I thought it would be but contains witchy stuff if you’re not comfortable with this)

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (2nd book in the series)

Burn (I love Peter Heller books since they’re super outdoorsy (too much unnecessary cursing IMO) but this one was a disappointment IMO)

On my TBR before Fall ends
(I can’t honestly recommend any of these yet so please advise!):

Why Literature Still Matters by Jason Baxter (available Dec. 1)
The Will of The Many (Over 4.5 stars on Goodreads I simply need to stop procrastinating and dive in! I see this being recommended everywhere!)
The Wild Huntress (a BOTM Club pick)
Here One Moment (a BOTM Club pick)
HEIR (Spontaneous impulse purchase)
A House with Good Bones (I’ve enjoyed T. Kingfisher short novels when it’s dark outside)
What you are Looking for is in the Library (Because I love books about books and libraries)
The Story Collector, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Man’s Search for Meaning, Red Rising (All have been sitting on my shelf while I continue to collect and read other books).

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I hope you enjoyed this week’s update! I’m not super consistent when things are busy for us but I’m so glad you’re here 🥰

As homeschool parents, we wear SO many hats—teacher, planner, chauffeur, chef and more. And if you also run a small business or are a creator/entrepreneur (like yours truly 🙋🏼‍♀️), it’s A LOT to manage, especially when each child is at a different stage in their learning journey.

So I’ve put together a few tools and tips below👇🏻 to help you simplify your homeschool planning and stay organized throughout the year based on how my homeschool planning and record-keeping has evolved over the past 10 years.

Before we dive in, I want to share a little disclaimer:

I love spontaneity!

When things get too rigid or over-planned, I can start feeling boxed in and tempted to scrap everything. So, while I’m sharing our plans, remember that planning is personal!

Please don’t feel like you need to replicate what you see here—these are tailored to our family's unique rhythm, and no two days ever look exactly the same!

1) Plan at the End of Each Week
(Instead of the night before):

Each Friday after lessons, I take 10-20 minutes to plan and prep for the upcoming week. This simple habit allows me to head into the weekend with confidence, knowing things are set for Monday—especially with weekends full of activities and sports (just like yours, I’m sure)!

This year, I’ve been using this teacher planner because of all the blank spaces and logbook all in one (In past years, I used this Moleskin and draw out each week myself).

2) Post-Plan, a Birds-Eye View Logbook

My Logbook is my birds-eye view of how we’re doing each term. I break it down into 6 week chunks (12 weeks = 1 term).

It takes me 2 minutes to fill this portion out for the day while my kids are immersed in their independent lessons, filling in last-minute things we might have covered (but didn’t plan to) the day before.

As you can see, we do try to cover multiple subjects and topics each day and term. But we don’t try to cover them ALL.

Instead, we generally heavily focus on something specific such as specific science or history lessons or curriculum and then switch to something like a new foreign language or music the second term.

No way we could fit everything in each week!

*Bonus Tip: Even if you didn’t cover a specific topic in your lessons but maybe your kids watched a video, listened to an audiobook in the car or did something creative like writing or painting in their free time, these are are equally important and valuable - so yes, mark it down!

3) Hourly Goals: At-a-Glance Notebook

I’m not super consistent with this yet, but I do find writing down hourly rhythms the night before allows me to wake up, stay focused and be more efficient with my time.

Since I own a small curriculum business, I have to allot time to work on it or things don’t progress.

But at the end of the day, time with God, our family and my children’s education are my main priority and all else gets shoved aside.

I use this Moleskin Daily/Hourly Breakdown Notebook.

Bonus Tip #1- Just because you have an hourly breakdown in front of you doesn’t mean you should fill in each hour! Stay spontaneous!

Bonus Tip #2: These are “general” hourly breakdown allotments, oftentimes our oldest will have a class or homework during the time I have my “work” scheduled - so again - they’re guides, not absolutes!

4) Let your kids plan WITH you!

Why should mom be doing all the planning? Get your kids involved! Let them sit next to you as you discuss what your (and their) goals are and upcoming activities and weekly plans.

As they get into their middle and high school years, if you’re comfortable with this, let them decide how to spend their time and when/how they complete their lessons.

This helps kids learn time management skills and how to plan their own lives (because they won’t be under our roof forever).

Our oldest uses this Student Planner to keep track of his daily lessons, homework and activities.

Whether you're a meticulous planner or prefer a more flexible approach, our Simple Studies Curriculum Guides are designed to adapt to your teaching style, are super flexible (simply open and do the next lesson) and give you confidence in your homeschool structure.

I’m here to help you enjoy this homeschool season while making it as smooth and stress-free as possible. Let me know if you have any questions or need some encouragement!