Holidays bring excitement, even if the holiday is not one that warrants a day off from school. Luckily, Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday this year, but even so, I predict that Friday the 13th will be a hot mess of student distraction. Also, it will be Friday the 13th. To help use some of… Continue reading Biology activities for Valentine’s Day
Author: North Star Homeschool Resources
Welcome friends! I started my teaching experience as a certified science teacher in Texas in 2003 and spent seven years teaching science in public school, grades 8-12. In 2014, I began the homeschool journey with my own three children and taught elementary, middle, and high school science in homeschool co-ops along the way. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Master's degree in Education. I'm happy to help with your homeschool journey!
Tuesday Teaching Tip #16: Knowing when to pivot
Homeschooling is not all sunshine and rainbows. Do not get me wrong, I love the educational opportunity and lifestyle that homeschool has given us. In fact, I am planning a future on post on reasons to love homeschooling. But sometimes, things are just not working and a change is required. Not because of a rough… Continue reading Tuesday Teaching Tip #16: Knowing when to pivot
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Five ways for your students to fall in love with Biology
Use videos to help explain complex topics, like Amoeba Sisters and Crash Course Biology. Teach concepts with fun, hands-on experiences. Labs can be engaging and fun without specialized equipment or complicated prep. Use models! Engage students by building models of biological systems. Explaining the process and drawing parallels between models and real-world phenomena utilizes critical… Continue reading Five ways for your students to fall in love with Biology
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Tuesday Teaching Tip #15- Use candy to build models
Kids love candy. I learned early in my teaching career that if candy was involved, there was engagement. Even if the candy was not consumed, it was familiar and fun. Using candy to build models in science automatically engages student interest, but it also engages higher order thinking skills. When using models, students have to… Continue reading Tuesday Teaching Tip #15- Use candy to build models
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Status update on making complete biology units for homeschoolers
Anyone who follows my store on TeachersPayTeachers.com has probably noticed that new biology products have been appearing rather consistently. Since deciding to create a biology curriculum last spring to use with my own homeschool ninth grader, the ideas have been flowing! Biology is best taught and learned with hands-on labs, games, and models. These units… Continue reading Status update on making complete biology units for homeschoolers
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Teaching Tip Tuesday #14: Print on colored cardstock
Printable games, flashcards, and hands-on manipulatives are awesome and low-prep ways to teach students, whether in homeschool or a large classroom. Printing on cardstock is a usually a necessity for these types of resources. Printing on colored cardstock is almost always my preference. Whether it is flashcards or trivia cards for a board game, I… Continue reading Teaching Tip Tuesday #14: Print on colored cardstock
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Teaching Tip Tuesday #13: Using Google Classroom in homeschool
One of the changes that I made to our homeschool this year was moving from a traditional paper planner to a digital planner for daily lesson planning. I still have a planner binder that I use to store documents for school, clubs, events, etc., but the day to day lessons are organized on Google Classroom.… Continue reading Teaching Tip Tuesday #13: Using Google Classroom in homeschool
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Changes to PE this spring
PE is one of those classes we have struggled with. None of my kids are athletic or enjoy team sports, but we need a half credit of PE for this year. Bowling every Tuesday has been a staple along with walking several times a week and occasional yoga. I wanted a more structured schedule for… Continue reading Changes to PE this spring
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Tuesday Teaching Tip #12: Getting back into a homeschool routine after the holiday break
We took three weeks off for Christmas break again this year. I originally planned for two, but the kids and I agreed that we needed that third week. Christmas is so hectic with their groups' parties, performances, traditional outings, and family events. We all needed a week to recoup. That, and my freshman wanted one… Continue reading Tuesday Teaching Tip #12: Getting back into a homeschool routine after the holiday break
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Tuesday Teaching Tip #11: Use a Planner
(This post contains links to products on Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I receive compensation for purchases made through these links. Thank you for supporting this blog!) Can you believe it is almost 2026? The holiday break is flying by too quickly! Our first day of the spring semester will be here soon, so my… Continue reading Tuesday Teaching Tip #11: Use a Planner
North Star Homeschool Resources 