I have been an Usborne Books & More Consultant for over a year now. I was researching the idea of Homeschooling my kids when I was introduced to this company. It was like a light bulb...YES I can do this! I can sell these books, use my commission and discounts to purchase these great books and use them to teach my kids. I signed up and a few months later I pulled my kids out of Public School and started Home Schooling. I use Usborne Books on a daily basis. Are Usborne Books the only books I use? Absolutely not. BUT they are GREAT books and you CAN create a full curriculum using them if you wanted. Several books are Internet Linked and Internet Referenced. That means inside these books there are links and scan codes for you to use with your tablet or computer to expand the information that is within the books. Very awesome.

So I wanted to Explain a little more HOW these books can be used. Here is a list of Curricula that have Usborne Books built in. If you are using one of these than the books are already built in and you can purchase the books directly from me to go along with your already created curricula.

If you intend to create your own curriculum and want to use Usborne Books & More to do that I have created lists to help you. You can also browse other books for all age levels by searching with the options on the left side of  My Website. There are over 2,000 titles to choose from so the possibilities are endless!

 PRE-K – Kindergarten Age Range

Here are some suggestions for the Pre-K to Kindergarten level. Please note this is only A FEW suggestions there are still so many more options to choose from, this is to just give you an idea of the possibilities.

Reading/Phonics: My First Reading Library, Wipe Clean Books (Letters Focused ones), Learning Pallette K Reading, First Hundred Words, Lift-the-Flap Word Book, Lift-the-Flap Opposites, Finger Match: Reading Readiness and Pre-K Readiness, Farmyard Tales.

Comprehension: Any story book you can read and ask questions for retention some great ones- A Tale of Two Beasts, Going to School, I’m a Dirty Dinosaur, The What if Monster, Who’s Next, Nibbles,  Dan the Taxi Man, Cow Takes a Bow and Other Tales Farmyard Tales, Classic Stories for Little Children (or any illustrated book)

Writing: any Wipe Clean Books help with pen control, letter tracing, and word writing are available as they grow

Math:  First Dot-to-Dot, Wipe Clean book of numbers and first math, Learning Pallette K Math

Science:  themed Flap Books such as Space, What Makes it Rain, How Deep is the Sea, Body Book, Weather Picture Book Pack

Geography:  Children’s Picture Atlas

Art: I can Draw, My First Color Book, Big Drawing, Coloring Books, Fingerprint Activities

Critical Thinking and Fine Motor Skills: Finger Match Sets, Stickers Books, Fingerprint Activities, Maze Book, All Better all Wipe Clean books help with Fine Motor Skills.

This is a list of all the books mentioned above: Pre-K and Kindergarten List

Browse what would interest your little learner and start there, building upon their skill sets and abilities as they grow.

1ST – 3RD Grade Age Range

Reading and Writing: Phonics Readers (Box set available), Phonics workbooks, Series Fiction- Hey Jack and Billie B, My First Story Writing Book, Illustrated Dictionary, Illustrated Grammar and Punctuation, Palette Sets

Reading Comprehension: Illustrated Books such as Aesop, Amelia Who Could fly, Any Series books, Beginner Books

Math:  Learning Palette sets, Wrap-ups, Mastery Sets,  Illustrated Math Dictionaries; Lift the Flap Times Tables

Science: Beginner Books, Weather and Climate, Planet Earth, See Inside How things Work, 50 Science Things to Make and Do

History and Geography: Who Were the First North Americans, Atlas Book and Sticker book available, Timelines of World History, Exploration and Discovery

Art and Fine Motor Skills: What Shall I Draw, Step-by-Step drawing, Paper Airplanes, Sticker Books

This is a list of all the books mentioned above: 1st-3rd Grade List

Browse what would interest your little learner and start there, building upon their skill sets and abilities as they grow.

4TH – 6TH Grade Age Range

Reading and Writing:  Any Series Fiction; Write Your Own Story or Write Your own Adventure Story; Illustrated Thesaurus, A Year In My Life, Illustrated Dictionary

Literature- Illustrated Myths, Adventure Stories, Illustrated Stories

Math: Wrap-Ups, Illustrated Math Dictionaries, This is Not a Math Book

Science:  Discovery Books (Astronomy, Sharks, Snakes), Encyclopedias, Science Dictionary, Pocket Books, Start to Cook, Survival Skills

History and Geography:  Atlas Books, Ancient World, Second World War, Survival Skills, Wrap-Up States and Capitals

Art and Fine Motor Skills: Classical Music, Famous Paintings Children’s Book of Art, Drawing Books, Activity and Sticker Books

This is a list of all the books mentioned above: 4th-6th Grade List

Browse what would interest your little learner and start there, building upon their skill sets and abilities as they grow.

7TH GRADE+ Age Range

Reading and Writing: Write Your Own Story; Write Your own Adventure Story; Write and Draw Your Own Comics; Illustrated Thesaurus, Series Books, True Stories

Literature: Illustrated Originals; Any Series Fiction; World of Shakespeare; True Stories; Dickens, Shakespeare,

Math: This is Not a Math Book, 99 Math Puzzles, Illustrated Math Dictionary

Science:  Illustrated Science Dictionaries- Biology, Chemistry, Physics

History and Geography: World History, World War books, Medieval World, Romans, Greeks, World Religion,

Art: Famous Paintings, Coloring Books, Language Books (French/Spanish)

This is a list of all the books mentioned above: 7+ Grade List

Browse what would interest your little learner and start there, building upon their skill sets and abilities as they grow.

If you would like more information on these books, Homeschooling with them, or joining my team so you can get these books at discounted prices while making some money to pay for extra things then feel free to contact me and visit my website at:

www.k4213.myubam.com

Schooling As We Grow with Awesome books to help us on our Journey! 

Before making the decision to homeschool I researched for about a year. I looked into private schools, but they were too expensive for us. I made pro and con lists of staying in public school versus schooling at home. Although the pros of home schooling far outweighed the cons for us there are still a couple of things that I don't want my kids to miss out on. Seeing their friends regularly, camaraderie with peers their age, participating in Christmas programs, learning and participating in different physical activities in P.E are just a few things on the cons list. So what if we had the opportunity to home school with all the amazing pros, but we were still able to take advantage of some of the pros of public school as well. Would you take advantage if you had the opportunity? Well we decided to take the jump and try it out!

Our state (Illinois) is a very relaxed state to home school in. Thankfully there are not many rules and regulations in regards to home schooling and school districts are able to decide for themselves if they are willing to work with home school families. Luckily for us our district is willing to work with us. Today I enrolled my two homeschoolers part-time for Music and P.E classes only in our local public school. They will both attend together for 45 minutes a day 4 days a week (one class a day alternating days).

The Best of Both Worlds!

This is not an option for everyone. There are also several opportunities for homeschoolers to come together to create their own events and opportunities such as co-ops, YMCA and other similar facilities as well as church groups and activities. We happen to be in a small community with a practically non existent home school community. The closest co-op is 40-60 minutes away and it just wasn't a practical option for us.

My kids are excited to see their friends regularly. They love music and are eager to learn and explore opportunities in that class. I am also glad they will be able to be active regularly through the Winter months with P.E twice a week.

This will be an interesting situation for our family, but we are all eager to try it and hope it works well.

Schooling as We Grow and loving every minute!

WE ARE BACK...but not quite in full swing! 

After 3 full weeks of complete chaos (a.k.a Summer Break) we are slowly getting back into the swing of things. By slowly I mean we are starting off our first 6 weeks with 3 days of schooling a week. Tuesday through Thursday is our buckle down time. Getting back into the swing of things. Back into a routine. Back into a schedule-- I function much better with a schedule and so does everyone else! If we know what to expect from our day/week there are less melt downs, less fighting, less tantrums, and more fun. Don't get me wrong we do some spontaneous fun too, but the overall structure of our day/week is scheduled and that is what works best for us. 

So for our first day we had some fun and did some traditional fun things that I know will be nice to look back on when they are older.

 After pictures. They sat down and filled in some "About Me" type worksheets. Handwriting practice and a base to compare their progress to at the end of the year. We talked about what they would like to learn and explore so I will be looking into trying lapbooks this year. It's time to research and explore now!

I am currently working on our calendar and schedule. I will update those parts of my blog when I have them done! I had 3 weeks off too ya'll so I will be getting back into the swing of things and nailing down some plans as well.

We are Schooling as We Grow....thank you for joining us/keeping up with us on this journey!!