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🎒The Free Resources That Save My Homeschool Days

Updated: 4 days ago


When I first stepped into homeschooling, I wasn’t scared of teaching. I was scared of everything around it. The unknown. The paperwork. The routines. The “what if I mess this up and have to send my kid back to school wearing the academic equivalent of a cone of shame.” All of it.


As a former teacher, I knew how to run a classroom. I knew how to differentiate, scaffold, assess, and redirect a kid who suddenly forgot how chairs work. But homeschooling felt like a whole different planet. No pacing guides. No PD days. No PLC meetings. No team to laugh‑cry with during lunch. Just me, my kids, and a kitchen table that somehow collects 47 pencils and zero erasers.


And here’s the part nobody warned me about, when you first step into homeschooling there's no one there to guide you or steer you in the right direction. As a teacher, I was given the curriculum to teach and was forced to attend so many professional developments, that arguably did not develop me, but still they gave me some direction! When I’m knee deep in homeschool chaos or staring down one of those surprise learning gaps that pop up like mystery stains on a toddler’s shirt, I need resources that actually work. I need tools that don’t panic when I’m teaching phonics with one hand and redirecting a whole toddler side quest with the other.


So I pulled together a list of my go to sites. The ones that make planning feel less like a soul sucking spreadsheet and more like a choose your own adventure story where everyone magically finds a pencil on the first try. These were my ride or dies back in my classroom days for stations, early finishers, and those moments when I whispered Lord please let this keep them busy for ten minutes. They followed me straight into homeschool life because they still deliver.


Why I Still Use Teacher Accounts


And let me be honest. Some of these websites work best when you create a teacher account for your homeschool. I know it sounds extra. But when I realized I could make my life easier by setting up Google Classroom for my thirteen year old, I didn’t hesitate. I created a class, made her Gmail account, kept the password, and suddenly I could assign work, track progress, and see what she actually did versus what she claimed she did. It was giving organized homeschool mom without me having to actually be one.

Teacher accounts unlock the good stuff. Progress tracking. Assigning activities. Saving favorites. Customizing levels so nobody is stuck in I already know this purgatory. And the sweet clarity of knowing who actually completed what. No district login. No badge. No mysterious locked doors. Just tools that work.


If you’re craving structure with wiggle room, creativity with purpose, and student centered tools that don’t require a PhD in Pinterest navigation, you’re in the right place. This is my personal stash of planning gold, creative and flexible and built for real life learners and the grown ups who love them. I’m constantly updating it, so feel free to bookmark it.


I wish my state were like Louisiana where you can dilly dally and do whatever you please. But honestly, my teaching background already puts me ahead. I know how to plan. I know how to scaffold. I know how to read a kid. I’m not starting from zero. I’m just starting something new.


So take a breath if you're new to this!

I want to remind you that you're not doing it wrong.

You're just doing it for the first time.

And first times feel wobbly for everyone.


Deschooling My Teacher Brain


Transitioning from public school teaching into homeschooling was a shock to my entire system. I had to deschool my brain. Not unschool, but deschool. I had to unlearn the pressure, the pacing guides, the constant assessments, the “go go go” mindset, and the belief that learning only counts if it looks like a classroom. That shift was harder than I expected.


The transition was so intense that I ended up pouring every “I wish I had known this sooner” moment into a The Anti-Perfect Homeschool book and journal to help other parents ease into homeschooling without the trial by fire I went through. The information online is so vague when it comes to homeschooling and vague is my kryptonite. I needed clarity, structure, and real explanations, not fluffy Pinterest quotes and ten‑step routines that fall apart the second a toddler wakes up early.


So I wrote the guide I desperately needed. Something grounded. Something practical. Something that actually explains the why behind the what.


Because no parent should have to white‑knuckle their way through the transition the way I did. I also created a Jumpstarting Homeschool freebie checklist because the transition from teacher to homeschooler is a shock. You can use it or lose it. In the classroom, everything was handed to me. At home, I feel like I'm building the plane while flying it with a toddler hanging off my leg asking for a snack.


Why I Created Orbit Learning Academy


So I created something to anchor us. I named our homeschool Orbit Learning Academy. Not because I needed a cute name, but because my kids needed a mindset shift. Orbit became our “school time” identity. It helped them understand when we were learning and when we were just living. It also became the framework I use to manage teaching multiple age groups at the same time. Orbit is how I keep the chaos from swallowing me whole.



Orbit Learning Academy also gave me a place to use the standards checklist I created after doing a ridiculous amount of research. I went on one of my ADHD binges to deeply research learning standards and cross referenced those learning standards from the top performing states and blended them with everything I know and learned as an early childhood teacher, public school teacher, interventionist, and specialist who has written curriculum, unpacked curriculum, and learned more programs than any human should ever have to.



Learning Constellations Preview
Learning Constellations Preview

I wanted something clear, simple, and actually usable for real kids in real homes that didn't contain a lot of education jargon. This gave birth to my Learning Constellations! My Learning Constellations checklist is the backbone of how I plan, because I need a map of WHAT MY KIDS NEEDED TO KNOW! I use it to see what each child is ready for, what they’ve mastered, and what needs more time. And because I use teacher accounts for my kids, I assign skills directly from that checklist into the platforms they’re working on.


Every assignment connects back to a real skill, not busywork. Oh, and the checklist is free as well, I believe that sharing is caring and I geniunely LOVE creating and writing curriculum.


Homeschooling With a Full House


And since I originally wrote this blog post, life got even louder. I had identical twin boys at the end of October 2025. So now I’m homeschooling a thirteen (Kay), seven (Koko), and three year old (Kenz) daughters with two infants (Kenni and Kei) added to the mix. That's literally three early chilhood kids, a school aged elementary kid, and a middle schooler all under one roof my friend. Orbit rotations became even more important because it gave us structure when everything else felt like a circus with no ringmaster. It's also brain-based and student led! I don't have eight arms. You can read more about it here!


How I Keep Track of Everything Without Losing My Mind


I homeschool in North Dakota now, and even though it’s a regulated state, it’s still manageable once I understood and developed my own flow.


The state requires me to:

  • track learning.

  • track attendance

  • show progress, and keep a steady pace.


That’s it.


When I realized I needed a system that didn’t make me want to run away and join a quiet monastery, I built a digital gradebook that auto calculates attendance and keeps everything in one place. Quite frankly, my teenager want's to go to highschool in the 9th grade and I KNOW having this documentation will help tremendously with enrollment. You can find spreadsheet on my TPT store as well. One day I'll get around to opening an Etsy shop.



Final Thoughts

Some days I’m teaching phonics with one hand and redirecting a toddler with the other, so when I say these resources save my homeschool days, I mean it. This is the stash I reach for when the lesson plan falls apart, the kids are wiggly, or I need something engaging right now that doesn’t require a 47‑step setup. Teaching is tough—but planning doesn’t have to be. This list is designed to do the legwork for me, helping transform my lessons into moments of connection, creativity, and confidence. Bookmark, share, explore—and enjoy the process.

My One‑Stop Resource Hub


🔬 Math & Science That Spark Curiosity

Explore platforms where numbers come alive and science feels like a wonder-filled quest:


📚 Reading + Social Studies That Go Beyond the Page

These resources build critical thinking and historical awareness with interactive flair:



🔄 Cross-Curricular Powerhouses

When a little bit of everything is exactly what you need:


💻 Digital Citizenship & Computer Science

Raise a generation of responsible tech users and budding coders:

🧸 Play-Based Learning That Works

Because learning should be fun:


📝 Free Curriculum

I like to cherry pick from each of these when I need a resource to that dives deeper into a learning constellation star on the checklist. Especially days where I had too much on my plate and couldn't build a learning experience from scratch.

Get started, organized, and ahead without spending a dime:


Stay Connected With Me

Follow On Social Media!
Follow On Social Media!

If you’re reading this and thinking wow, I wish someone would just break this stuff down without the fluff, that’s exactly what I do over on my socials.


 I share the real side of homeschooling, the Orbit Learning Academy mindset, the wins, the chaos, the toddler plot twists, and the tools that actually make life easier. If you want ongoing support, ideas, and a community that doesn’t judge your laundry pile, come hang out with me in the TMXO Collective. https://www.shuttleupandteach.com/tmxocollective


I’m always posting tips, resources, behind‑the‑scenes of how I teach multiple ages, and the things I wish someone had told me sooner. If you’re looking for a place to feel seen, supported, and not alone in this wild homeschool journey, that’s where you’ll find me


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A quick PSA before anyone gets bold:

The ORBIT Learning Framework — including its structure, station names (Observe, Research, Build, Interact, Test), instructional design, curriculum materials, templates, graphics, and all related content — is protected under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976.

No part of ORBIT, TeacherMamaXo, and ShuttleUpandTeach may be copied, reproduced, adapted, distributed, repackaged, “borrowed for inspiration,” or used to create derivative curriculum without express written consent from ShuttleUpandTeach LLC.

In normal‑people terms:

Don’t copy it. Don’t tweak it. Don’t rename it. Don’t pretend you invented it.

If you want to use it, license it, or collaborate — just ask. I high‑five people, but I also protect my work.

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