If you are a homeschooling mom you are probably like me, where you might skip over a few things over the years and then by the time your child enters middle school you wonder if you taught them everything they are supposed to know.

For myself, we teach at different levels for each child.  What one grasps easily another may struggle.  We glide over things that are difficult and fly through the easier things.  I have found most math textbooks are way too repetitive and pointless.  I know, but that is just me.  After teaching my older ones, I realize what really needs to stick and what you just “need to know.”  That is why I revamp and write my own.

This elementary Math curriculum covers everything required from 1st grade up to 5th grade.  It is repetitive in  the “important” things and teaches the “less important” things.

I will be having my 5th grader do this as well as my 2nd and 3rd grader.  The 2nd and 3rd grader will work at a slower pace but my 5th grader will work at a faster level.

Use it for the 5th grader who needs a good review or use it as a challenge for our younger grades.  Use it for a couple of years, since it covers up through 5th grade.

If you need a rough estimate of where each grade level begins and ends—as you know you review every grade level as you get older, but here is the breakdown:

1st grade goes up through page 30;  2nd grade ends on page 80;  3rd ends on 120;  4th ends around 140;  and the rest is 5th and lots of review.

Again this is a FREE printable PDF file.  Print it off and give your child 1-2 pages each day of school.  They will learn much and it won’t cost you more than paper and ink.

Enjoy and be blessed.

click here for the download.

Having a large family has made me encounter things that probably don’t bother most people, but become bothersome when serving food for large amounts of people.

One big issue, was drinks.  Getting drinks for 6 little ones takes up extra time.  We solved that by getting every child and adult their own water bottle.  Each child get’s their own before meals and that solves that issue.

Another thing that slows down my time, is getting out silverware from the drawer for every meal.  Now that may not seem like a big deal for most, but when you are scooping out plates and getting out silverware for at least 6-8 children three times every day, it can become more work.

I used to have a nice heavy crock container that fit all of my spoons and forks into it and that set out on my server window in our old home.  It was a great fix for getting out extra silverware but unfortunately it did not make the move in one piece.  Since we moved here, I just put the spoons and forks into the drawers like most people do.  But I have noticed that it has become an issue again, so I decided to do something about it.

I took some cans and pounded down the inside where the metal sticks up from tearing open the can.  I then covered the inner ring with some electrical tape to make sure no one would cut their fingers.  I spray painted them different colors and then hot glued them together.  Don’t be frugal with the glue, coat it nice and thick to hold it tight.  There you go a DIY silverware holder.  Simple and easy.  When meal time rolls around, this sits next to my scooping out area and I just grab what is needed for meals.  Easy—simplified.