Homeschooling Archives - Schoolio™️

Help Your Child Cope With News About Gun Violence

In 2022 there have been 198 mass shootings in the United States, and it’s only May. Hearing of these tragedies has become so common that many people have become nearly numb to the news. We don’t understand why someone would choose to hurt other people in the name of hate, but our children are the ones who often have the big questions, not understanding why these awful events take place. You might be wondering how to help your child cope with news about gun violence?

They shouldn’t have to understand.

It hurts to see our kids trying to understand hate, violence, and crimes like these. Going grocery shopping at a local store shouldn’t be where a violent event occurs. Going to school to get an education shouldn’t be where your child doesn’t feel safe. Yet, active shooter drills are a part of their education for many children.

As much as we would like to shelter our children from the world’s dangers and these traumatic news reports, unfortunately, you can’t in most cases. So, how do you help your child cope with news about gun violence? How do you inform them to keep them safe but not remove their innocence and zest for the world?

It seems like nowhere is safe.

Dangerous, deadly and devastating mass shootings continue to be the central theme of news reports, senseless killings in the name of hate. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to matter where you are or what you’re doing, nowhere seems safe. Schools, concerts, bars, malls, movie theatres, churches, and grocery stores are just some of the locations where these deadly acts take place, which can cause a lot of anxiety for children and adults alike. Is it safe to go to the grocery store to get groceries? Many people on Saturday, May 14, 2022, thought so. They never would’ve guessed that a grocery store would be a place where a hate crime would occur or that going grocery shopping would be how their lives would end so abruptly, harshly, cruelly, and filled with hateful motives.

Mass shootings seem to be happening more and more with each year that goes by; finding the words to explain again and again why it happened and continues to happen can be a challenge.

What are the right words to explain traumatic gun violence incidents and help your child cope with news about gun violence?

Assure their safety.

Always assure your child that they are safe and that you are always looking out for their safety. A clinical psychologist at Doctor’s on Demand, John Mayer, Ph.D., told parents.com in an interview explaining gun violence to children that assuring your child during these scary times is extremely important. “Reassuring our children in these turbulent and violent times is an important question for parenting. Say to your children: ‘We will never take you anywhere or put you in any place where there is danger. That is our primary job as parents to protect you. We will always keep you safe.’ That fundamental message of safety is critical to make sure your children hear.” says John Mayer, Ph.D.

We all know that the truth is we can’t always guarantee our children’s safety, but our children need to be assured nonetheless. They need to know that they are safe at school with their teachers, at the grocery store with you, or at the movies with their grandparents. Living in constant fear of what could happen is not suitable for children.

Teach them about the importance of gun safety.

According to EveryTown.org, firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States alone. Every year 18,000 children and teens are shot, killed or wounded because guns are not handled safely. Additionally, around 3 million other children are exposed to gun violence directly.

Talking to your children about gun safety:

Teach them never to touch a gun unless carefully supervised by an adult.
Let them know that only adults trained to do so, like police, should handle guns.
Explain the consequences of real guns vs. toy guns. They aren’t a toy.

Don’t let your child hear it all from social media, T.V. or friends in school.

These horrific events are gruesome, and reports are filled with details that your child shouldn’t absorb, especially if they’re young. Aim to have a gentle conversation with your child about the tragic event. Try to avoid finding out through another source that will likely provide too much detail for their young minds. For example: Having the news report on the T.V. when your child comes home from school can cause them to dwell on the events and instill fears and worries that they don’t need happening in their growing minds.

Give your child an open space to share their thoughts and worries.

Some children hardly notice or care about what is happening worldwide, but others may face anxiety about horrific events connected to gun violence. Always assure your child that they can bring these worries and concerns up to you. Keep conversations open and take the time and consideration to listen to what they are saying to you. Everyone benefits from talking to someone when they’re facing anxiety about something. When your child can share their concerns and worries in a safe environment, they will feel more confident, secure and better able to process and understand what they are feeling and thinking.

Always be sure to keep things age-appropriate when figuring out how to help your child cope with news about gun violence.

Your young children won’t need a massive explanation for why something horrific like a mass shooting occurred; assuring your child’s safety to them is extremely important in their younger years. Children ages 12 and up are often more able to be introduced to in-depth conversations like how these senseless actions are immoral and unacceptable.

Give them space and freedom to acknowledge.

Many times, we as adults are dismissive of the daily tragic events. We have become desensitized and almost numb to horrific events, like mass shootings, reported on the news. Remember, your child is sensitive, and these events are upsetting. Don’t brush off their feelings and questions because that is what we are used to doing. Please give them the space and freedom to sit with their emotions and think through them. Be there for them, guiding them through these thoughts and feelings positively.

A helpful resource for helping your child manage their thoughts and feelings.

Using the Thoughts and Feelings: Learning to Manage How I think and Feel, Special Interest Unit, you can help your child learn positive lessons on managing those big emotions.

Learn more about Thoughts and Feelings: Learning to Manage How I Think and Feel.

The Role of Play and Rewards in Education

Should homeschooling be fun? And what is the role of play and rewards in education? In Episode 7 of The Schoolio Live Q & A, Sathish Bala, CEO of Schoolio, shares that he has talked to many homeschooling parents who felt that it wasn’t normal to incorporate play into their homeschooling routine.

What is the role of play and rewards in education?

“Play is the first form of learning that any kid does, right? Any toddler playing with blocks is learning about the world around them. As they get older their interests will change, but we can adapt that to still be educational.” Shares Lindsey Casselman, Co-Founder and Lead Curriculum Developer at Schoolio Learning. It’s important to have a balance, even if a subject isn’t necessarily fun, it can still be rewarding.

Can rewards be beneficial for those challenging subjects?

If your child isn’t enjoying math, and it’s tricky to make it fun for them. Try to make it rewarding for your child. Maybe a nice walk when the algebra lesson is complete, or a hot chocolate when they complete their writing for the day. The rewards don’t have to be extravagant. Actually, the simpler the better. Let’s just take a look at adult life, you work, and you might not enjoy it, but the reward is that you will get paid. Why not offer little rewards for those subjects that your child is struggling with?

Find out what motivates your child.

Does your child enjoy working towards a reward? What about incorporating play into their learning routine? Spend some time learning what motivates your child and then aim to incorporate that into their learning plan.

Listen in to this intriguing conversation with Sathish Bala and Lindsey Casselman on the Schoolio Live Q & A.

Click Here to Watch Now!

General Homeschool Questions Answered

Is an accredited homeschooling curriculum important? What’s the best way to homeschool? Is Schoolio an MLM? These questions, plus other general homeschool questions answered on episode six of Schoolio Live Q & A.

How important is the ability to choose your learning materials?

Being able to choose a curriculum for your child’s learning experience is vital to help them thrive on their homeschooling journey. That’s why we aim to structure our curriculum so that you, as the homeschooling parent, have the choice to follow government expectations for their grade level, or if you’d like to select your units, you are more than welcome to do that. The key is that meeting your child where they are at with their educational needs is essential. This is why it can be crucial to select a curriculum based on what they need to learn to catch up and thrive rather than following education expectations for their age.

When a homeschooling parent and child choose to mix and match the curriculum, it can benefit your child and your homeschool in general.

Is there such thing as a curriculum specific to a particular country? Like a Canadian curriculum?

A curriculum is a program of study, so any company or government can make a curriculum. It is Canadian or nation-specific when created with that country’s content in mind. In Canada, for example, the government doesn’t make the curriculum; they only make the expectations for children by age and grade. In school, there isn’t a pre-fabricated curriculum. Alternatively, teachers often write their lesson plans. There is no such thing as a government body that will certify a homeschooling curriculum for you.

Is an accredited curriculum important when it comes to homeschooling?

Many parents need their general homeschool questions answered, and this one is no different. Accreditation is only for schools, not for products. Essentially, when the government accredits a school, it must offer certain subjects and content; they must demonstrate that they are assessing.

In summary, every government concept could be covered in our curriculum, but it can’t be accredited as the government can’t control what of it you teach your child.

Is Schoolio Learning an MLM?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of rumours circulating throughout homeschool Facebook groups that Schoolio Learning is an MLM. The answer is, no, we are not a multi-level marketing company. And when you purchase a curriculum from us, you are not required to sell our curriculum.

Episode 6 of The Schoolio Live Q & A answers these questions and more with Lindsey Casselman and Sathish Bala.

CLICK HERE to Watch Episode 6!

Check out this epic read about debunking homeschool myths!

Find only the best homeschooling curriculum here.

Lack of Support for Educators

There is a continued lack of support for educators, causing many educators to leave the profession altogether. Many educators report feeling exhausted and burnt out especially following two years of confusion related to online and pandemic learning. Sathish Bala, CEO and Co-Founder of Schoolio Learning, and Lindsey Casselman, co-founder and lead content writer, share their thoughts on this education crisis.

The lack of support for educators is causing an educational crisis.

“What do you think is happening? Is it all Covid related? Or was that the final push over the edge?” Asks Sathish during episode 5 of The Schoolio Live Q & A. “I think that teachers were already struggling and overworked, and Covid was the straw that broke the camels back in a lot of areas.” Shares Lindsey. The reality is, the more teachers that leave, the more pressure and stress is placed on the teachers that remain.

What can educators do to lessen that stress that is constantly being placed on them?

Lindsey shared in episode 5, that teachers don’t just teach during the day, and that’s it. They are working around the clock preparing materials for learning, lesson plans, and more. Everyone seems to be under the impression that teachers don’t have it so bad because they get to sign out at 4pm, have weekends off, and summers too. But the reality is that teachers are always working to ensure that their students are getting the most of their education. Then when they head to the classroom, they must find a way to teach 20+ children effectively. Most parents would agree from their time at home with virtual learning, that even just teaching one or two children can be challenging, now imagine teaching 20+ daily.

Tips for finding balance as an educator.

The lack of support for educators is truly causing a trickling-down effect that is now causing many students to slip through the cracks in the education system. If we help the teacher, we can help the students. So how can teachers find the balance and help that they need as educators?

1. Outsource your planning.

Many people don’t realize that teachers actually write and prepare most of their classroom content. Not only is that time-consuming, but it’s also draining. So why not utilize a curriculum that you can use again and again to help your students excel? Something like the Schoolio curriculum is perfect for teachers preparing lessons.

2. Assign simple tasks to your students.

When you have a large class size, it can become very overwhelming, pretty quick. So set up simple tasks for your students in the classroom, that way you aren’t doing it all.

3. Find some good mentors to help guide you.

Getting someone else’s opinion is important, especially when you have such an important job like teaching. Finding good mentors is very important to help guide you through the tough days and challenges that you will inevitably face.

Find out more on Episode 5 of The Schoolio Live Q & A with Sathish and Lindsey.

Click Here to Watch Episode 5!

Are you looking for a curriculum to help your students excel? Then look no further than Schoolio Learning!

We have a one-of-a-kind homeschooling curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 8.

Learn more about our curriculum and find out for yourself why it’s the best solution for all your learning needs.

Click here to view our curriculum.

The Burnout Remedy For Parents

Burnout isn’t exclusive to office workers. It’s widespread among parents too. While not as talked about, parents are struggling now more than ever before, which is something that we need to talk about. Unfortunately, many parents (with dads being at the top of that list) don’t seek the help they need when they’re feeling burnt out. Instead, they dismiss their feelings and continue trying to get through it independently. Which has us wondering, what is the burnout remedy for parents?

The burnout remedy for parents that we all need.

Dr. Ben and Dr. Ashley from The Burnout Blueprint have 14 years of combined experience helping parents with burnout. Their vast focus is on quality of life; how do you feel? How are you sleeping? They always found that burnout was gradual; it didn’t happen quickly. However, they have seen burnout in parents become much more prevalent over the past five years and now much worse since the pandemic.

Homeschooling parents are lacking that community which might be aiding in that burnout.

Lindsey Casselman, a co-founder of Schoolio, shares that since the beginning of the pandemic, she has seen a rise in homeschooling parents feeling immensely stressed. She believes that it is due to the lack of community that homeschooling parents are dealing with now. Before the pandemic, parents had access to homeschooling communities and a way to get a break. Now they are essentially cut off while trying to manage their mental health.

Zoey, CEO of Daddy’s Digest, shared that she once was a teacher and yet found it very difficult to try to homeschool her child during the pandemic and believes that parents are feeling very guilty for what their children are facing right now.

Immediately overnight our homes became our workplace.

Dr. Ben shared that immediately overnight, your home became your workplace. We often focus on burnout in the workplace, but we don’t usually look at the home environment, the working from home, and the homeschooling environment. To get well again, we must identify where on the burnout spectrum you are. Are you just starting to feel burnt out? Or are you deep in it? Recognizing this is the first step in the burnout blueprint to get the burnout remedy in full motion.

Pillars of good health are hugely important.

Good food, good sleep, exercise, and surprisingly doing less. These are all very important for parents to emphasize. Are you finding that you are working more and more hours but getting less and less done? Then it’s time to understand that your might be dealing with burnout, and it’s time to get help!

Learn more about The Burnout Blueprint by Daddy’s Digest on the Schoolio Live Q & A, Episode 4.

Click here to watch Episode 4!

Looking for more helpful homeschooling and parental resources? We’ve got you covered! Be sure to subscribe to our blog so you never miss a helpful blog!

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A Digital Learning Platform that will change the world.

We all want to give our children the best opportunities to excel in life. And a good education seems like one of the most significant ways to ensure they get those opportunities. Some parents choose traditional education, some opt for private learning methods, while others prefer to homeschool. Those who choose the latter can sometimes find themselves exhausted from trying to provide the ultimate learning experience for their children. That’s where a digital learning platform might be the game-changer they’ve been longing for.

A Digital Learning Platform, unique innovation by Schoolio.

If you’ve never heard of Schoolio, we are a curriculum company based in Canada. But that’s not all; we are working on some fantastic educational innovations to support parents, teachers and most importantly, students. Our team has been working around the clock on a digital learning platform that will change the world of education as we know it.

We do so by converting all digital pdf lessons into audio and visual lessons for students. There are around 4,000 pieces of content from Kindergarten to Grade 8 across all core subjects, Math, Science, Language Arts and Social Studies. The videos are created for children to have fun while also absorbing the essential learning materials.

Creating a Unique Learning Experience For Each Child.

How are we doing that? By creating content geared toward your child’s age group to avoid learning fatigue. Our mission is always to help children everywhere have access to the education they deserve. We are proud to offer this learning option to everyone soon!

Watch this video from the Schoolio Live Q & A, Episode 3 with Nirmala and Sathish to see a preview of this fantastic new program!

Click here to watch Episode 3!

Learn even more about our Digital platform by visiting our website!

Check it out!

Guiding Your Own Growth

Guiding Your Own Growth – Guest Blog By Kaila Gilley.

You against the world. On the one hand, this sentiment frees. You choose an untraditional education route for your child, at least in part, because of its liberty—your kids, your family unit, your choice: your opportunity. On the other hand, however, it is a heavy opportunity. Guiding your own growth can sometimes be heavy.

It’s pressure like a drip, drip, drip, that’ll never stop,” sings Jessica Darrow in Disney’s Encanto. “Pressure that’ll tip, tip, ’til you just go pop.” It’s all on you. These tiny humans you birthed, and then you poured into each your every morsel of energy, love, patience, and humanity. Your heart is outside of your body.

Them, then you.

You (and your partner) shoulder responsibility for their academic education, emotional well-being, physical capacity, intellectual stimulation, character development, social health, etc. You wear all of the hats and play all of the roles.

“Who am I if I can’t carry it all?”

Our phenomenal project-based learning (PBL) charter school had a massive crush on professional development when I was in the classroom. In the morning, he brought her protein shakes, which they used to toast to life-long learning; they stayed up late discussing how best to keep teachers’ passions aflame.

We had professional development (PD) most mornings for an hour before school, meeting within teaching teams (the combination of Math, Science, English and Social Studies teachers), within departments (English Teachers), within grade levels (9th-grade teachers), with our mentos, with our leadership, with support for students with special needs, within groups we opted into, within whole school-wide discussions, with parents and community members.

We worked with layers of people to best understand and teach to the layers of our students.

Then, I moved.

My partner and I had babies and decided to educate our kids at home. With a very demanding career dragging away his focus, I hold most of the responsibility for our three precious children, our most important people, and I lack a previously layered professional support system.

I teach my children without mentors, without department heads, without leadership, without teams—just me—tip, tip, tipping.

So, I decided to reenter the space for professional educators, guiding my growth. And I told my friend about it. “A side hustle?” she responded. I cringed at her tone. Not exactly the slap on the back, good-job-kid, I was hoping for. It was not the interest that peaked, a tell-me-more curiosity that I craved. Nor was it plain, blunt indifference.

Her inflection verbalized, “Boo.” Voice equivalent of a thumbs down. I watched one of my Mom Star Rating flickers and then died. A transparent thought bubble floated over her head as if on a screen. A picture of my children projected within it like an old sepia film. Their big sad, reflecting eyes staring up with want, empty arms outstretched, and souls drained by sudden attention withdrawal as if the side hustle had morphed into a Harry Potter dementor and deflated the innocence from their lives one by one.

In a world with subjective interpretations of “good parenting,” her scene played out with a definitive F for failure on my motherhood report card.

Contrary to her projection, here is my actual, new reality in short conversation blurbs:

“Hi, Susie’s Mom! Do you remember our conversation the other day? The one where you said you were overwhelmed by choosing a curriculum? Turns out you’re not alone. Lemme share this great article I found about what some others moms did to make the decision more manageable.”

“Hey Junior, did you know Schoolio has a unit about Winter Holidays from Around the World? I thought you’d like those. Yes, we can get that for you. It’s only $10!”

“Coop Comrades, I just heard about some online tutoring available for families embracing untraditional education methods for their children. I just thought I’d share!”

“Hey sweetie, can I work next to your while you do your thing?”

Considering her interpretation in contrast to my present state, I stared at her thought bubble and gently popped it. I was not my reality; it was her fears: part-time side hustle, full-time betterment. I have reclaimed my personal and professional growth, full empowerment.

Now it isn’t all roses and fairytales when guiding your own growth.

It doesn’t evaporate dirty dishes or alleviate large families of the stomach flu. The transition bumps violently along some days and glides gracefully on others. But, at a minimum, this week, I comforted Susie’s mom, tossed Junior an idea, supported my coop comrades, and worked separately with my little girl. All thanks to my re-entry.

More exposure, more ideas, more connections, more sparks, more intrigue, more inspiration.

“One quality of leaders and high achievers in every area seems to be a commitment to ongoing personal and professional development,” says Brain Tracy, Canadian motivational speaker and self-development author.

As a group of people striving to nurture and guide the growth of our children, we too must embrace the G-word.

Growth maintains our current roles as leaders and high achievers and offers a path toward self-selected improvement. We get to grow professionally in our personal lives. Growth gives us a way towards better.

“Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives,” says Robert John Meehan, author and advocate for American teachers and learners.

If we come together through part-time hustles, we halt our single-perspective limitations and empower our community, families, and ourselves. We join in, learn and improve.

“I want to be in the arena. I want to be brave with my life. And when we choose to dare greatly, we sign up to get our asses kicked. We can choose courage, or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time,” says Brene Brown, an emotion researcher and motivational speaker.

We join the arena; then we dare greatly; we guide our greatness. Who and how will you empower today?

Guiding Your Own Growth was written by: Kaila Gilley

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Kids Are Struggling With School Now More Than Ever Before.

Kids are struggling with school now more than ever before. Where is the problem? Is it the education system? Could it be the teachers? Or is it the parents? It’s hard to pinpoint the exact problem, but it is clear that children need consistency, especially regarding their education. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, children’s education has been anything but consistent. Between school closures, lockdowns, online, and in-person, children have had a massive lack of consistency, ultimately leading to them falling drastically behind in their learning.

Kids are struggling with school now more than ever before.

But did this issue start before the pandemic? Was the pandemic the catalyst that shone an ever-needed light on the fact that children have been slipping through the cracks of the education system on substantial levels since long before the pandemic began? The truth is that giant class sizes and budget cuts are a recipe for children’s education to be neglected. While it’s true that some children thrive in these situations, many others do not.

Sathish shares that his daughter struggled to understand certain concepts; she wanted to learn more about specific subjects. But there just wasn’t enough time in school for her to explore her education the way she wanted. Flexibility in education is another essential factor constantly neglected in the traditional schooling model. This is why many parents are turning to homeschooling.

Parents are concerned for their children; they don’t know where or how to start when it comes to homeschooling.

Firstly, if you aim to start homeschooling, you need to get into successful habits for your own family. The first and most important habit that successful homeschoolers get into is flexibility. Not to be confused with inconsistency. Your children can learn quickly when you’re flexible as a homeschool family. To dive into what interests them and to realize that learning is all around us. Embracing that learning happens all the time, that knowledge is and should be a lifestyle, not just something that happens from 9 am – 3 pm daily.

Let go of this fear that you are ruining your child’s education by homeschooling.

It can be a scary thought to take your children out of school and try to teach them to help them catch up when you feel unprepared. It would be best to stop telling yourself that you aren’t good enough to teach. And it would be best if you never aimed to fill your child’s day with bookwork. Take it one day at a time, make it simple, and be patient with yourself and your child.

Check out Episode 2 of Schoolio Q & A for more information on this topic.

Also, check out this blog about children slipping through the cracks of the education system.
Kids Are Slipping Through The Cracks Of A Broken Education System.

Book a Concierge Call.

If you aren’t sure how to get started or what programs would best suit your child’s learning needs, then you can chat with one of our experts on a one-on-one Concierge Call, completely free!
Click here to book a Concierge Call.

Does Your Child Struggle to Learn From You?

Does your child struggle to learn from you? They appear to have no issue learning from anyone else, but they shut off the second you pick up a book and try to teach them. Why is that? In Episode One of The Schoolio Live Q & A, Sathish Bala, CEO of Schoolio Learning, shares that his daughter said, “I can’t learn from you.” When he attempted to teach her during the beginning of the pandemic.

He was being fired from teaching his child.

Sathish shared that he felt he was being fired from teaching his child. He then realized that so much of what he was trying to teach his daughter wasn’t his; it was his dad’s blueprint. Sathish wasn’t alone in feeling this way, as many parents felt the same way during the height of the pandemic. As a parent-teacher, you are faced with the unbearable weight of trying to ensure your child is learning what they are supposed to understand when they’re supposed to be learning it.

This can cause parents to feel terrible stress, making them short-tempered, frustrated and irritated. Unfortunately, this stress can also bring out the worst in them, as Sathish noted during the episode.

How a unit system can help.

Lindsey shares the importance of an excellent curriculum to balance parents’ worries about meeting all the requirements. A simplified, easy-to-teach curriculum is the best alternative for veteran and new homeschoolers. Aside from a simplified and easy-to-teach curriculum, Lindsey pointed out the importance of a unit learning system. Sharing that when you have access to a unit style of education, you can pick and choose what your child needs to be learning and when.

Suppose you notice your child falling behind in one area of math but not another; you can select the unit your child needs to work on. Rather than choosing a grade lower for their math, you can select the unit they need.

Leaving a community.

Lindsey also shared how the first few days, weeks and even months of homeschooling can be challenging, especially if you have removed your child from the public school system. She shared how it felt like she was leaving a community when she decided to homeschool her two children. This is why she urges the importance of finding a good homeschooling community.

Another way to add fun to your homeschool and help ease the tension and stress is to include Special Interest Units like those available on the Schoolio Shop. Adding a fun unit on Trees and Forests or Pirates could be what your homeschool needs. Does your child struggle to learn from you? Don’t worry; there are things you can do to help.

Need Help Getting Started? Book a Concierge Call.

Watch the full episode to learn more.

10 Science YouTube Channels for Kids

TL;DR – Quick Answer:
Turn screen time from mindless consumption into active learning. While most online programs use videos as a passive babysitter, over 10,000 Schoolio families use interactive media like Mark Rober and SciShow Kids as strategic learning tools. Schoolio weaves these high-quality resources directly into our micro-burst lessons to keep ADHD and neurodivergent learners engaged through multisensory input.

Are you looking for productive ways to entertain and occupy your children? YouTube can be a fantastic tool to fix those issues. There are so many YouTube Channels to check out; some content can wow you, while other channels may leave you questioning what it is you just allowed your child to watch. To simplify, we’ve compiled a list of 10 Science YouTube Channels for Kids that you should check out! If your child loves science and enjoys watching other children do experiments, this might excite them!

10 Science YouTube Channels for Kids

SciShow Kids

SciShow Kids – Can You Guess the Weather?

Scishow Kids is a fun science channel that uses unique animated videos to foster a love for science. Your child can join Jessi, Mister Brown, Squeaks the Robot Lab Rat, and their fun friends at their fort, where they will learn, research, answer questions, and conduct cool experiments. SciShow Kids was created in July 2014 with 793K subscribers, with 213,165,824 views! No wonder we had to add this to the list of 10 Science YouTube Channels for Kids!

Watch more SciShow Kids

Ryan’s World

Ryan’s World – What happens when you swallow gum?

The Ryan’s World YouTube channel was created in March 2015 as a toy review hub. However, the channel has evolved over the past seven years to include individual lessons, educational videos, and experiments. Although Ryan is the star of the show, adults are the ones who perform the experiments. Ryan’s World is trendy, with 50,996,862,935 views and 32.1million subscribers.

Watch more of Ryan’s World

Mystery Doug

Mystery Doug – How do Scientists Learn About Wild Animals?

Homeschoolers all around the world love Mystery Doug! And why? Because of the great content, he releases for the world for free! This YouTube Channel had to be included in the list of 10 science YouTube Channels for kids because of its great content! Each video provides an excellent Science lesson that your child will enjoy. The Mystery Doug YouTube channel was created in April 2017 and had 514,000 subscribers and 133,947,850 views! Curious why that is. Check it out for yourself!

Watch Mystery Doug

Lab 360

Lab 360 – The Saturn Rings are DISAPPEARING!

Are you looking for videos about outer space? How about experiments your kids can try? Then you should check out Lab360! Created in 2013, Lab360 has 491,000 subscribers and 104,970,063 views, with authentic science demonstrations that your kids will love. This channel is a gem with science experiments and learning for people of all ages.

Watch Lab360

MinuteEarth

MinuteEarth – Why Water Dissolves (almost) Everything

We love MinuteEarth because it provides unique Science lessons and fun stories about our incredible planet. The MinuteEarth YouTube Channel was created in October 2011 and had 2.68 million subscribers. With neat videos like ‘An Egg is Just One Cell,’ ‘Why Do Humans Vomit So Much?’ and ‘Why The Ocean Needs Salt,’ it’s easy to see why this is a favourite for learning.

Find a MinuteEarth video

Operation Ouch

Operation Ouch – Tricks to Play on Your Friends #April Fools Special

These unique creators have various episodes packed with incredible facts about the human body. Hosted by identical twins Dr. Chris and Dr. Xand VanTulleken, it’s a must-see as they experiment and explore their way through the fascinating world of medicine and biology. Their goal is to de-mystify hospitals for children while teaching them important lessons. Operation Ouch was created in November 2016 and had 299,000 subscribers and many amazing videos to choose from.

Watch Operation Ouch

NASA Video

NASA Video – NASA for Kids: Intro to Engineering

NASA has a mission to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research, and they share it on their YouTube Channel. Look at the diverse work that NASA does, like proving flight technologies, creating capabilities for sustainable human and robotic exploration, earth, the solar system and more.

Watch NASA Video

Mark Rober

Mark Rober – World’s Tallest Elephant Toothpaste Volcano

Mark Rober isn’t just an extraordinary YouTube Artist; he’s also a former NASA and Apple Engineer and friend of science. He has highly crazy science experiments that kids love to watch. Additionally, this channel takes complex ideas and breaks them down into crazy hands-on lessons that your child will remember. The Mark Rober YouTube Channel was created in October 2011 and had 21.4 million subscribers.

Watch The Mark Rober Channel

The Backyard Scientist

The Backyard Scientist – 200 Watt Car Mounted Laser

This channel is loaded with tons of fun science videos for kids. You’ll find crazy videos that teach various science topics ‘Can a Motor run on beans?’ ‘Can Spiderman Climb the Sticky Wall?’ and more. Created in 2013, The Backyard Scientist now has 5.25 million subscribers and hundreds of fun videos.

Watch The Backyard Scientist

Minute Physics

Minute Physics – Is Anything on the Internet Real?

Like its sister channel, Minute Earth, Minute Physics has much to offer. The Minute Physics channel focuses on Space and Gravity with many unique videos and 5.44 million subscribers. You’ll quickly learn to love this channel with all its great content like ‘The Rocket & String Paradox,’ ‘Windmills Are NOT Like Dams,’ and ‘Why LESS Sensitive Tests Might Be Better.

Watch Minute Physics

Which of the 10 Science Youtube Channels for Kids was your favourite? Let us know in the comments!

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Take The Stress Out Of Your Homeschool

Parental stress can damage your well-being and your child’s development. And as a homeschooling parent, you might feel overwhelmed and stressed when you think about everything you need to accomplish in a day. So, what are some ways to cope with and overcome the stress you may feel? How can you take the stress out of your homeschool?

The negative impact stress has on your child.

Your child feeds off of how you’re feeling. When you’re feeling stress, nine times out of ten, they will also feel some stress. Homeschooling has provided many children with the break they desperately need from a stressful school environment. However, when we place more emphasis on them at home, we reverse the positive impacts homeschooling can have on your child.

Unhealthy and ongoing stress can weaken the architecture of your child’s developing brain, leading to lifelong problems in learning. Homeschooling is a huge commitment, and it can be stressful, but unfortunately, too many homeschooling parents make it even more stressful than it should be. When we are always bringing the stress to the homeschool, our children will begin to associate this negativity and stress with learning and, in extreme cases you.

Three ways you might be bringing unintentional stress to your homeschool.

Expecting perfection. When expecting perfection from your child or yourself, you place unnecessary and unhealthy stress on your child and yourself. If you’re transitioning your child from public school to homeschooling or just starting Kindergarten with your child, remember that this transition takes time for you and your child.
Comparing yourself to others or comparing your children to other children. Comparing your homeschool to another parent’s homeschool can be extremely easy. Or worse, comparing your child to another child. But the issue with comparison is that we will always compare our very worst to someone’s very best.
Trying to finish every book. Do you become obsessed with finishing different subject books before the end of the year? Are you constantly attempting to have your child complete every assignment daily without any room for breaks? It’s okay if you don’t finish the entire book, primarily if the subject reflects previously-learned concepts like math. There’s a huge chance that when your child begins the next level, the beginning lessons will review what they should’ve learned in the previous level.

Please don’t feel guilty; we all seem to bring unintentional stress to our homeschool from time to time.

Nora has three children and decided to start homeschooling the two older ones during the beginning of the pandemic, but she quickly found that stress was taking over. “I wanted to keep my grade one and Kindergartener safe at home; I thought it would be a piece of cake. But I started struggling right from the get-go. I wanted to be this amazing homeschooling teacher and balance it all. But I found I was short with my kids when they weren’t doing their homework. Then the baby would start fussing. And the situation turned bad quickly.”

What did Nora do to ease the stress in her homeschool?

“I decided to take it day by day. I stopped trying to get it all done, so when my son, who was in grade one, started to lose focus, we would stop for the day or move to an activity to shift his focus onto something else. I initially put a lot of pressure on myself because I didn’t want to mess up my kid’s education. But I found that I was quickly pulling us all down in my efforts to make our homeschool-like school.”

What can you do to take the stress out of your homeschool?

Find great resources.

There are so many options available to homeschooling families now, so it’s up to you to find the best resources for your family. Most, if not all, homeschooling curriculum providers have free samples available either on their website or upon request. This means you don’t need to purchase a curriculum and hope for the best blindly. Instead, you can use these samples to see which works best with your family’s homeschool vibe.

Don’t be afraid to switch resources when something isn’t working anymore.

Additionally, don’t forget that switching your learning materials up is ok. You don’t have to commit to one homeschool curriculum from grades 1 to 8. One curriculum that might have been an excellent match for your family one year might not be the best option for your family the next. Using other resources is okay; you don’t have to stick to the same one forever.

Allow your homeschool to evolve.

Just like you might find that your family grows out of a specific curriculum, your family may also evolve through different homeschooling styles. And that’s ok! If you started homeschooling with the school-at-home style but have found that unschooling is more your vibe. It’s ok to evolve, again and again, to meet your family’s learning needs. As our children grow, they’re constantly changing. Finding the best way of learning for them throughout these changes is essential.

Figure out your family’s learning routine.

You don’t have to stick to a specific routine like a traditional school. Your children and family are unique; why should your homeschooling routine not be? A good way will help keep your homeschool less stressful.

Remember that homeschooling doesn’t take as long as a traditional school.

This is important to remember when taking the stress out of your homeschool. Children in traditional schools spend around six hours each day in school. That doesn’t mean you have to mirror that time commitment because homeschooling is entirely different from conventional school and doesn’t take as long. Children in traditional schools have assemblies, circle time, recess, lunch, and breaks and must wait while the teacher attempts to teach a class of 20+ children. Homeschooling is one-on-one, which takes away a considerable chunk of time.

Teach critical social-emotional skills with your core subjects.

Emotional skills are often left out of education; how can a holistic education be without these skills being taught? Our children experience big feelings, and they might not be able to communicate them very well, so it comes out as bad behaviour. If your child is melting down over things that seem small to you, they might be flooded with emotions. First, respond with empathy towards your child, and help them get to a calm place. Then be sure to make learning social-emotional skills a priority.

Check out Social Emotional Learning by Schoolio for excellent lessons on learning to manage how we think and feel.

Avoid pressuring your child.

We all know that homeschooling isn’t always sunshine and roses, some days, your child might feel stressed from a particular concept they are learning if you sense that your child feels that stress, don’t pressure them to complete it. Take a break and revisit it another day. While being sure to implement fun activities and give them breaks to process.

Start with what they’re interested in.

Do you usually start your homeschool day with the least favourite subject in an attempt to get it out of the way? Don’t do that! Begin the homeschool day with what your child is highly interested in. This will help take the stress out of your homeschool by setting up a healthy love for learning.

Outsource when needed.

If you’re struggling to teach a particular subject to your child, consider outsourcing the teaching of this subject through an online class or tutoring platform like Schoolio After-School.

Take care of yourself.

You are doing all the things. Homeschooling, cleaning, cooking and probably working a job also. Doing all these things can place you at a higher risk of burnout, so prioritize self-care. Schedule it, take time just for yourself, and do something you love. And be patient with yourself because just like your child is learning – so are you.

Additional resources for parental stress: Click here.

Not sure how to get started with your homeschool? Or need some help organizing it?

Book a Concierge Call.

Explain the War in Ukraine to Your Child.

Over the past two years, children have struggled to understand the COVID-19 virus, shutdowns, school closures, and why they couldn’t see friends and families or do sports and everyday activities they love. Many parents became exhausted by trying to help their children feel normal while explaining the pandemic to their children. Now that the pandemic has begun to slow down, we are met with another crisis—the war in Ukraine. For many of us, this humanitarian crisis is in another continent. However, social media, the news, and the internet can make it feel very close to home. Which has likely caused you to question how to explain the war in Ukraine to your child?

What’s the best way to explain the war in Ukraine to your child?

Even though we’d all like to assume our kids are oblivious to what is happening, they aren’t. Many children are well aware of the Ukraine conflict, which is causing a significant amount of anxiety for many children. Many children have big feelings and questions about what is happening. So, how can you explain the war in Ukraine to your child without causing more anxiety or dismissing it like it’s nothing?

Don’t dismiss their feelings.

Many parents today watched the events of September 11 on the T.V. Trauma has stuck with us. To avoid the anxiety that comes with it, we often dismiss our feelings about such things and tell ourselves, “this isn’t happening here, so it’s fine.” While we may be quick to ignore our emotions, we must be careful not to do the same to our children. You should give your child the time and space to express their feelings. You must acknowledge their feelings and let them know that it’s ok to feel that way.

It’s normal to feel angry, worried, sad, and frustrated. Allowing your child the time and space to explain their feelings is beneficial. And also, your child needs to know that you have feelings about what is happening too. Please know that feeling sad, frustrated and mad about the events is healthy. When you acknowledge your feelings, your child will easily accept theirs. Suggest writing or creating art if your child struggles to explain their feelings.

Let them ask tough questions.

Your child has big feelings, thoughts and questions. They are individuals growing up in a challenging time. Your child needs to know that their concerns, ideas and questions are taken seriously. When your child brings a problem or question to you, it’s important to approach their questions sensitively and honestly. We all assume we must sugarcoat everything for our kids, avoiding topics and discussions about such events.

Many parents don’t realize that allowing their children to ask questions, have these sensitive conversations, and answer their questions honestly and to the best of their knowledge is essential. If you’re struggling to understand something or do not have the answers, you should explain to your child that this is a highly complex situation that not everyone understands. But many are working tirelessly to find solutions and end this war.

Utilize a map or globe when you explain the war in Ukraine to your child.

When explaining the war in Ukraine, take time to help your child understand the geography of the situation. Show your child where you are on the map, then Ukraine and Russia. Take the time to explain and emphasize the countries worldwide that are helping. While also showing them the countries that are not supporting Russia and are actively working to help end this crisis.

Help your child fact-check media.

This is especially important for older children who may have access to social media. It can be tough to figure out what is real and not regarding social media. Anyone could post something, and others can accept it as fact. Remind your child to check sources, and rely on safe domains and trusted people on social media.

Here’s a helpful resource to help your child fact-check.

Common Sense Education – Help Your Students Fact-Check the Web Like Professionals

Teach your children to look for helpers.

In the famous words of Mr. Rogers, “When I was a boy, and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” While the war in Ukraine is filled with terrible things, we can help our children focus on helpers. Like those at the borders of Ukraine assisting refugees by providing them with food, shelter and clothes. There are always people willing to help.

For older children, help them learn the facts.

Some very reliable resources are available to help our older learners understand what is happening in the world right now. You can help your children learn about what is happening and why, along with reliable, updated information on the current situation.

Check out CBC Kids News for more information.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

If your child is struggling to understand, don’t be afraid to ask for help from professionals trained to listen, understand and help your child process their thoughts and feelings better. Additionally, you can utilize the Thoughts and Feelings: Learning how to Manage How I Think and Feel Special Interest Unit to help your child navigate the big feelings they are feeling. Remember that we are all navigating this crisis together; it’s difficult to explain something that we may not fully understand, so remember to be patient with yourself.

Together we can help children in Ukraine.

Explain the war in Ukraine to your child

For March, we donate a portion of all sales to the Save the Children Ukraine Crisis Fund.