Look At Our Kids' 2025-2026 Homeschool Checklists

I'm going to be showing you our kids homeschool checklist for the 2025 2026 homeschool year. If you're a mom who is homeschooling, there's tons of information out there in the homeschooling niche. I highly challenge you to look at moms who have been homeschooling for a while. When I think back to how many mistakes I made in the early years of homeschooling, things I focused on that were just not really all that important, things I stressed out about. um not focusing on things that were really important. It's so helpful to look to moms who have been doing it for a while. The best decisions I made were ones that I heard and learned by talking to other moms who had been doing it for a long time. Hi, if you're new here, my name is Sher. I am first of all a Christian. Knowing Jesus Christ has been the greatest honor and the highest pursuit of my life. Sharing our faith with our kids is a high priority for my husband and me. I'm married to my high school sweetheart, Nelson. We've been married for 25 years. Together, we have 10 children, ages 20 down to two, and we are on our 16th year of homeschooling. I love encouraging other moms here on this channel and over on the blog arlifehomeschooling.com. I want to take you step by step through our kids checklist. So, the first half of this video is going to be me just talking through some of the things we're doing this year. And the second half of this video is going to be a screenshot of me showing you everything that's on each of our kids checklists. This year we have a senior, an 11th grader, 9th grader, 7th grader, fifth grader, 3rd, and 2nd. And then we have two preschoolers. We also have a graduate if I forgot to mention that. Every year looks different for us, but the longer we homeschool, there are a lot of things that are similar, and we've fallen into a routine of how this just looks for our family. The part that I'm going to be sharing with you, the checklist that our kids complete every day is their independent work. This is not all of their homeschooling. That's not all of their day. This is just a part of our day. If you watch my videos, our day has four parts. The first is morning time. In morning time, we cover current events. We cover Bible reading, um, Christian heroes, memory work, uh, scripture memory. We do composer study, artist study. We do a review of grammar where we'll get out, um, a sentence from one of the books we're reading and we'll diagram it. I read Shakespeare stories. It's very much a Charlotte Mason style of learning for us in our morning time. We're covering all the riches that are the things that inspire us, truth, goodness, and beauty that helps get our day started off on the right foot. So, that's the beginning of our homeschool. And if you want to see more of that, um I have a morning time notebook that is on the blog rlifehomeschooling.com that you can use in your own family. It's $9. You can print off as many copies as you want for the people in your household and you can see exactly what we're doing this year. I do a new one every year. The second part of our day is uh cleanup and chores. And this is a system that we've also just perfected over time. We've gotten better at it. There was a time when we really slogged through it. It was a challenge just learning how to do it well and we're always perfecting it. So, that's the second part. The third part is our independent work where the kids break up and everybody works on their checklist. And that's the part that I'm going to be showing you today. We take a break for lunch and going outside. And then after lunch when our little ones are napping, we read aloud. In this time, I read aloud. Usually a chapter book for the older kids. Um sometimes one for the younger kids, and then I'll occasionally slip in some history readings in there. So that's the four parts to our homeschool day. We're also involved in some co-ops, and I want to share a little bit of that with you. I talked some about it, I think, in the last video I did just sharing some of the classes that all of our kids are taking. Um, and you'll see a little more of that in this video as I go through their checklist. We are part of two co-ops. The first is our family co-op. It meets every other week for the elementary kids and then every week for the middle and high school kids. And this is more of a relational co-op. This is where our closest friends are. And um a lot of the classes that we take are elective style classes. The second co-op that our kids are in is a drop off co-op for our high school kids. So our elementary kids are going to co-op once every other week. Um sometimes we have plans on the off weeks for them. Um but once every other week and then our high schoolers are going every week for our family co-op and then also every week for their dropoff co-op. And this drop off co-op is where we get a lot of their classes that they're taking for credit, especially some of the classes that are harder for me to teach. I like to have them take things like upper level math, um, a writing class, just because I think it's really nice in high school to get some more feedback about their writing other than just hearing from me. But that is basically what it looks like for our high schoolers in homeschooling. So for them, they are going to co-op two days a week and then at least two of our high schoolers are also working. So um our son is working one day a week and our daughter usually works one morning a week and then one or two weekend um or evenings. For us, I have found that this is just a great balance for high school. I love that our kids can be out, be involved in a group like their homeschool co-op, but also not be so committed that they're gone for 20, 30 hours a week at school doing school projects and um all that goes with that. So, I I think they have a lot of opportunities, but it's just a great balance. So, between work, co-ops, church, sports, our older high schoolers are on a volleyball team that they love. It practices one night a week and then they have two tournaments per semester. And this is something they love doing. But again, it's such a great balance of them being busy enough, but us still being able to have a family life. And that's why I love it so much. So, I'm going to start with our oldest son. And I'm going to just show you this paper. This is kind of where I started or I just kind of u made a little grid and wrote what each of my middle and high school students were doing. I could have done this for the elementary, too. I wrote a grid showing their names, their grades, and then just a map of the classes I knew they were taking at co-ops, and then where I needed to fill everything in. So, this list is kind of where I started before I made their checklist. And on this, I put what they were taking in co-op and then what I needed to fill in for my high schoolers at home to make sure they were getting the credits on the transcript that they need. So, like I was saying, in the elementary years, we focus on relationships and making progress. And in the older years, I really like them to pursue their interests, but of course, some things are required by law for them to get credits. In Pennsylvania, um there's a couple different requirements, but the biggest one is completing twothirds of a textbook. So, while they need to make sure they're making those requirements to get those credits for the transcript, they're really not it's not a lot compared to the work that they've been doing in elementary school. It's not a lot for them to meet those requirements. And our kids have still had a lot of time left over in their day to pursue their interests. our sec, he's our second son, but the one that's graduating this year, he and his brother have started a car detailing business. Our second daughter is really interested, wants to start her own bakery, and so she has started a micro bakery where she puts um her baked goods every Saturday at the top of our driveway, just puts a stand out there, and she's been doing really well. I love for them to have time like this in their day to do these things. And so when I started their checklist, I am making sure first of all for our high schoolers that they're working towards what they need for their transcript, but it still for us has left plenty of time for them to pursue their interests. And I started on this paper just laying out the basics and then from there went on to make their checklist. And I'm going to start with our oldest son, Luke. He is taking four classes this year. And I'm not going to show you his checklist because he's graduating and uh he doesn't want a checklist this year. I'm totally fine with that. He is mature enough to be able to make sure that he's getting all the work done and to write it out for himself and make his own plans. But he's taking Spanish. This is his second Spanish at co-op. He's also taking a sports history class, which he's really excited about. And then at home, he's doing a half of a history credit that he is working on to on finishing up. So that's another thing that's really important. I learned this from homeschool moms who were ahead of me that you can have some credits that you're working on over several years. Um and so that's one that he's been working on for a couple years and he's going to be finishing up. He started this history credit. He's reading through um Story of the World, a couple of their books, and he's going to be finishing that up this year. So, when you look at your high school child's the scope of their four years of high school, it's okay to look at the credits they need in a 4-year span. You start thinking differently instead of year by year. You look at what they need to graduate. and some credits you do spend more than one year working on depending on what other things you have going on that year. Another class he's taking is a Shakespeare class at co-op and then I'm just going to add in a couple readings at home and a language book to make this a full English credit for him. And the rest of our kids have checklists which I'm going to show you next except for our youngest son who is in second grade. I don't have a checklist made up for him because he still needs a lot of guidance from me. But I can tell you exactly what he's doing every day. And he may get to the point in the middle of the year where I do make a checklist for him that he's ready for that. But he is pretty much doing his reading every day. We do Bible reading. I do this um because I want it to be a habit that my kids learn to develop. Some people could look at this as being legalistic. I look at it as trying to form a habit just like brushing your teeth. I want my kids brushing their teeth every day. And so this is just a part of what we do. First is Bible reading, copy work, and then their math. So he's doing those three things. And then in the afternoon, I will give him a book for quiet reading. This is usually an Ambleside online book that I'll assign him. 20 minutes is about his limit. will set a timer and usually in 20 minutes he reads through a chapter and that's what he is working on in his independent work this year. Now, if you've watched some of my videos, especially my day in the life ones, our focus is very much on progress. We don't necessarily try to complete all of a certain curriculum in the whole year. We are trying to make progress every day. And for some of my kids, they actually do more than one book a year. Other kids, they don't make it all the way through third grade math or whatever it is because I'm more interested in them understanding the concept than I am just getting, you know, things crossed off the list. So, let's go ahead and jump into the kids checklist. This is a lovely little box that my husband made that houses our kids checklist. So, this is just a nice place for them to keep everything to keep their checklists all in one spot. This is our daughter Juliana. And as you can see on these checklists, the top half is what they're doing every day. And in the bottom half, I have some of the co-op classes they're taking, the Ambleside online, reading the books that they're working on, reading through themselves. Sometimes I'll have a note about what science I am doing with them. Some of them I do science with them and then the older kids do science on their own. Um and then what they're doing for history and then if we have space we'll just write some of the things that they like to do in their free time. So for Julia you can see she is um has Bible reading first math and copy work. Those are basically the same for all three days. That's what she starts with. And then the next thing is her nature journal, which she only does twice a week. And then the other two days she does Satara, which is our geography program. It's an online program. I have the kids set a timer for 10 minutes. And um it's just an excellent program. It's free, so you can look that up at satara.com. The next thing is her ambleside reading, the book she's working on, her history. Um, she is doing Veraritoss self-paced history lessons while our older daughter is doing them and she's watching. So, that's something they do together. And then she is learning to write in cursive. She does that Monday and Tuesday. And then typing is on Wednesday. Oh, three days of cursive. Typing is one day a week. I'm sorry. Typing is two days a week. Cursive is three days a week. This is the child's history of the world. It's a book by Virgil Hillier. This is an Amblesside online book that I want all of our kids to have read. In co-op, she is taking a science labs class and then a textile design class where they're doing all different kinds of little sewing projects, knitting. They're learning to cross stitch this year. She really likes that class. And then she's doing a PA history class. These are the books that she wants to work towards reading. These are Amblesside online books that she's interested in working towards. I am doing the Burgess bird book and in the second half of the year I will be doing it with her and with William who is our second grader who's the one I told you I don't have a checklist for because he still needs a lot of help. James is our fifth grader. He is one that is just a high achiever. always setting goals for himself and usually like five steps ahead of me, which can be intimidating as a homeschool mom. And that's not how it is with all of our kids, but he is definitely one that just always wants to challenge himself, which is really exciting. So, he is doing Bible reading, math, and copy work. That's pretty much across the board for all of our kids. And then starting in fourth grade, I have them start learning language. And here he has it two days a week. And this is through a Becca curriculum. So he's going to be doing his language book. And I think I have them doing about two pages a day. And then he does Dolingo, which is a language learning um program on the computer two days a week and typing one day a week. He practices piano every day. He has his Ambleside online reading. He's working on a book every day that he's reading for himself. his Veraritoss Press self-paced history lesson that he's also watching. And then um he wanted to do science on his own. He's doing Apology Zoologology um the creatures of the sixth day which are land mammals. He was really excited. He did this last year too. He asked if he could do science on his own. And if you know him, he's just a child that is just so eager to learn about everything. And so I said yes. and he finished the textbook I think in like February and just loved it. So he asked to do it again and if you have a child like this when they really want to do something if you give them freedom um I think it just is a really good thing for them. So at co-op he is doing medieval history a literature class and PE. These are his Ambleside online books he's working towards and then this is the science and history that I just noted at the bottom. Afton is our seventh grader. So, she again has Bible reading, math, and copy work first. And then she has her language that she's working on two days a week. And then she has narration on Wednesday and Friday and nature journal on Thursday. So, these I've just kind of broken up her writing assignments in different ways throughout the week. She's also practicing piano and her AO reading book is next. I have those listed below. And then she is working on a book that she wants to type in. She does that one day a week. Satara 2 days a week. And then these days are her science lessons. She also asked if she could do botney through Apology of Science on her own. She's working through the nature notebook that goes with it and she's just really loving it. So, that's been a great fit for her as well. At co-op, she is taking a podcasting class, a Shakespeare class, and how to write a book. I think I forgot to mention that when I mentioned um what our oldest son is doing, he is also taking a podcasting class at our co-op. These are the books that Afton's working on. And this is what she likes to do in her free time. And one thing I haven't mentioned in this video, on the back of each of our kids checklists, I have this blank book list where they are supposed to write down every book they read throughout the year and the books that I read aloud to them in the bottom right corner. So, I have them keep track of this. It's a great way to delegate some responsibility to the kids, something they can easily do. This is our daughter Brinley. She's in ninth grade and she goes to our family co-op as well as a drop off co-op. She is working on she starts with Bible reading. Her first class she works on is algebra 1 and then she's taking a history class from her co-op. She has a physical science class that she works on next. And then this is language. She's working through a Becca language book. She's also um writing a book. So she's typing in that. That's what she works on those days. And these language um workbook pages are part of her English credit. This is her AO reading. And below are the books that she's working on for her Ambleside reading list. And then she also is playing the piano. She takes a 3D sculpting design class at co-op which she really loves. And then she is studying Russian on her own. I am really looking for a good program to give her more something that I can have her take for credit that is affordable. I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for yet, but I'm hoping to find something like that for her. She's also taking podcasting at our co-op Shakespeare. This is part of her English credit and how to write a book. The history credit that she is taking, she's taking at home and for it she's doing story of the world books one and two. History Lives is basically a church history book that's written in story format and our kids all really like it. All right, the last one is our daughter Jenna who is in 11th grade and she is at co-op two days a week and then usually one morning she is working not always but um that gives her two or three days at home to work on her schoolwork and of course she always has the evenings as well and she starts with Bible reading. Her first class for credit is consumer math and then she asked to do human nutrition through Apology this year and she is loving it. Um she chose this instead of chemistry and I am very happy about that decision for her because she was just dreading chemistry and she's absolutely loving human nutrition. So, I just I'm so excited to see her taking something that she's excited about and she's actually learning. This is French, too. This is actually her fourth year of French. I think this is a class she just loves learning French, loves the teacher. Um, so she takes that at co-op. And then her English credit is comprised of a couple things. um some of the books that I've assigned her, her Shakespeare class, and then she's also working through um an Abeca language book. She is taking a US history class at co-op as well. And then um at our family co-op, she's taking podcasting, Shakespeare, which is part of her English credit, and how to write a book. These are the books that she picked for the Ambleside reading that she wants to do. Usually I give, especially our older kids, I'll give them I'll show them a lot of the books in the Ambleside list that are the free reading, the ones that are suggested, and I'll let them pick which ones they want to do. Okay. Well, I hope that that has given you some ideas just peeking into what our school day looks like at different grades and ages. I also wanted to tell you that the grades themselves really mean very little to me. Um, they're more just for me to be able to know when they're going to graduate because we really focus on them learning by interest and also just progressing at their own pace. Maybe also it's given you some ideas of some fun classes to have at co-op. Our kids have taken some of the most interesting classes at co-op. And the cool thing about a co-op is you have such a wide variety of people with different backgrounds and experiences. And when you bring all that together, there are some moms and dads that can just offer some really interesting trades and classes and expertise. And we've certainly experienced that at our co-op. So, I hope this encouraged you. I'd love to hear from you. If you have some interesting classes that your kids are taking, comment down below. or if you just want to share what your kids individual checklists look like, maybe something that I left out. I love hearing from other homeschool moms. Thanks for listening. I do one video a week on homeschooling encouragement for everyday moms. I'll see you next week.