Forgetful Momma

Secular Homeschooling in Canada

digital learning

Introducing Google Slides in Your Homeschool

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I am attempting to move some more of our homeschool lessons online in addition to math. The homeschool minimalist lifestyle is calling me. Or maybe it’s the lack of storage for all our things that is getting to me. Using Google Slides seems like the perfect tool for doing this, and it’s free.

Introducing Google Slides in Your Homeschool

Introducing Google Slides in Your Homeschool

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

Homeschooling can take up a lot of storage space. The workbooks, the books, the papers, the everything builds up, it all takes space in your home/homeschool.

But we’re also moving into a very digital life, and I want my kids there too. Homeschooling and not using the technology we have would be a disservice to my kids, and that is the opposite of what we plan to do for them. We have limited screen time – TV and video games, as well as tablets outside of school. Limited screen time shouldn’t mean they aren’t learning to use all the tools available to us.

Google Slides for Homeschool Lessons & Projects

Introducing how to use Google Slides

Instead of “throwing them to the wolves” in terms of teaching your children to use technology and Google Slides, why not teach them how to use it. Teaching them to use Google Slides can open up all the learning tool doors that are out there for them and you to use for free.

We are going to be doing our spelling work on Google Slides, and I’ll be adding more as the year goes on, like digital interactive notebooks, and getting them to create slide shows to show what they have been learning/studying.

Teach them how to:
-add text
-add images
-add tables
-add comments
-and more!

You can teach your preschool, or your kindergartner to use Slides. They don’t have to be that young though to cover, or to re-cover these instructions. There are adults, who haven’t used Google Slides, or Documents because it didn’t exist for (us) them when we were in school, and this is a great way to teach them or a refresher for them as well.

How are you using Google in your homeschool?

Digital Interactive Notebooks for Homeschooling

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I’m new to interactive notebooks, we just started using one this spring with my youngest and he loves it. It’s been a fun hands on way for him to practice his letters and small words. But you know that interactive notebooks are? They are a lot work for mom. But there is a great alternative to the tradition method, digital interactive notebooks.

Digital Interactive Notebooks for Homeschoolers

Digital Interactive Notebooks

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Interactive notebooks can be a lot of work for parents, there is the photocopying, cutting, and some gluing. They are not only time intensive but also not great for zero waste, or even for minimalist living. There is a lot of paper involved.

For kindergarten, I really liked using interactive notebooks. Gauge loves cutting and gluing, and this was a great creative outlet for him, and give him a reason to cut, instead of just cutting a piece of paper into a million tiny pieces on my floor…

But what if you want to reduce paper waste and time spent prepping lessons? That’s where digital interactive notebooks comes in.

What is a Digital Interactive Notebook?

It is a interactive notebook, on your computer or device. No cutting or gluing involved, no mess, nor all the time spent photocopying and cutting.

A digital version is a background with movable pieces. I have shared an image of my freebie below to give you a better idea. Each letter block is movable, but the rest is one piece.

digital interactive notebook example

You can use them on either PowerPoint, or Google Slides. Using Google Slides gives you a lot more flexibility in where you are learning and your device options.

Where to Find Digital Interactive Notebooks?

Teachers Pay Teachers is a great place to find them. I am working on some myself for my little guy, but they are no where ready for him, or anyone else for that matter.

I think they are a great resource for digital learning and wanted to share them with you.

My FREE Resource Library now has Interactive Notebook Freebies for you! Sign up to get access to these and other freebies in our growing resource library.

Resources for digital notebooks:

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Google Slides for Homeschool Lessons & Projects

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Family Link for Your Kids Devices

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For Christmas we bought our kids tablets, one for each of them. We knew they would have internet access because there are apps and sites that they would need access to for school work, like Teaching Textbooks. With internet access on I wanted to make sure I would know what apps they might be installing, and how much time was spent online. Which is when we started to use Family Link.

Family Link for Your Kids Devices

Family Link for Your Kids Devices

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

My first piece of advice here would be to install any and all apps that you are going to be installing first, before you install Family Link. Each time you add an app the device is going to ask for permission and you will be required to enter your password each time,

What is Family Link?

Whether your children are younger or in their teens, the Family Link app lets you set digital ground rules to help guide them as they learn, play, and explore online.

Before they can download a new app, they have to ask for permission. You’ll receive a notification on your device (you also must have it on your device), or you can enter your password right away on their device.

What else can it do?

You can set screen time limits. You can actually set these to be different for each day, when they can start using it and when it is bedtime for your device, and how many hours they can use it per day.

It can be hard to figure out what apps are right for your child, Family Link shows you teacher-recommended apps that you can add directly to their device. BUT this is only available in the US.

Whether it’s time to go play outside, have dinner, or that pesky school time, you can remotely lock a device whenever it’s time to take a break. This can be handy when your child “didn’t hear you” when you have told them time is up.

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Google Classroom in Your Homeschool

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Google Classroom. Have you heard of it and thought it was only for public school? I did, but then again, when I first heard of it, it was only for “teachers”, but they have since opened it up and homeschoolers are able to use it easily now as well. It is making lesson planning easier, and keeping track of everything a breeze. Read on to learn more about it.

Google Classroom in Your Homeschool

Google Classroom in Your Homeschool

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Why Use Google Classroom?

As a free online learning platform, Google Classroom offers several benefits for homeschoolers:

Accessibility

No more the dog ate my homework or I couldn’t find it. Your child can access their work from any device. Even when you need to be somewhere else, it can go with you. Especially when you choose to make it able to be accessed offline.

Paperless

Less waste, less money spent. Perfect for budget friendly homeschooling, and those looking to reduce their waste. You don’t have to print off all those PDFs, just add them in where needed. (Read on for more info on that.)

Time Saver

Upload the work once, and you’ll have it there for your other children when they are ready to use it. You can reuse assignments later on, you may have to change it a little, due dates and assigned dates for example but the base of it will be there.

All you need to do is archive it and pull it out later on when you need it.

In calendar view, you can see what you want to get done each day at a quick glance.

Use it to Add More to Your Curriculum

Use Google Classroom in your homeschool lessons to add more to it. Consider using Google Classroom in your homeschool to add additional online elements to your child’s homeschool day and your print curriculum.

Sign up to join my Resource Library mailing list and you’ll be among the first to know about new items in the FREE resource library, new posts, and more!

Adding Resources for your Google Classroom

With everything that has happen in 2020 so far, it is becoming easier and easier for you to find digital resource that you can use in Google Classroom. This means you can find a lot of digital resources to add to you curriculum for the year, and can add to your Google Classroom.

Google Classroom in Your Homeschool

Setting Up A Classroom

Setting up is super simple. Go to Google, click the nine little dots in the top right corner, now you may need to scroll down and click MORE to find Classroom but it will be there. Now you can start creating your classroom.

You can attach file files to your class including: Google Docs, Word Docs, and PDF (which is awesome for all those resources I have on my laptop for my kids!) directly from your laptop or desktop. You can also use Google Drive, YouTube and you can add links to other websites.

You can assign the assignment to be available right away or schedule it for another day or time of the day. You also have the option of giving it a due date. Personally, I like both the scheduling and due date feature. Sometimes my kids just want to get it all done, and, for my oldest, she needs to see the date it needs to be done by or she’ll procrastinate a little, not always, but sometimes.

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Our 7 Favorite Younger Kids YouTube Channels

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My kids, all three, got tablet/laptops for Christmas so they now have access to YouTube. Normally we use it together but not anymore. So while the older girls are working on school, the older you are, the more school work you get here, so he often gets to have a little extra tablet time. And therefore, some kids YouTube channels.

Our 7 Favorite Younger Kids YouTube Channels

Our 7 Favorite Younger Kids YouTube Channels

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Like I mentioned the kids each got tablet/laptops, actually called 2 in 1s. We bought cheap ones. My kids are rough on things like their Momma. I wanted a tablet for traveling, but the keyboard for doing schoolwork, and learning to type and such.


Have Fun Teaching – Free educational songs and videos that are great for kids and homeschoolers. Check out the Have Fun Teaching website for more free stuff for teachers!

PBS Kids – amazing family-friendly videos including original series and perfect playlists for kids. From cooking to crafting to learning and laughter, these shows are designed with your family in mind.

Full Time Kid – sharing fun educational tricks, cute crafts, songs and surprises that kids and parents will enjoy.

Kids TV 123 – This channel has some great songs for kids to learn phonics, days of the week, months of the year, etc.

Brainzy Games by Education – Brainzy helps kids 3-7 years old practice the math and reading skills teachers say are most important.

TinkerLabs – Find science experiments, engineering projects, crafts, and art projects for kids and little inventors, from TinkerLab. You will find reviews, tutorials, Q+A, and much more.

The Artful Parent – Easy and fun kid-friendly arts and crafts. With unique ideas as well as tried-and-true favorites. This is a useful resource with art activities to keep your family happily creating and learning day after day.

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