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Homeschool workbooks are a great solution for kids who just hate worksheets. Let me show you how to build your own interactive and FUN homeschool workbook that is perfectly customized to your child’s interests and skill level.
Plus get started with a free printable worksheet at the end of this post!
I have two kinds of kids in my house – one who loves workbooks and one who hates them. The former will sit down and scribble, color, write, and draw all day. The latter… well, it’s been a struggle to get him to complete even one worksheet in the past.
The solution: Custom Homeschool Workbooks that suit their exact skill level and cover topics that truly interest them.
Both of my kids will get on board with a custom homeschool workbook. Creating one is not as time consuming or difficult as you might imagine. And the payoff – that both of my kids will willingly sit down and complete independent work and put pencil to paper without a struggle makes the few minutes of prep completely worth it.
In this post you will find:
- Benefits of creating a customized homeschool workbook
- How to create a homeschool workbook (3 steps)
- Activities for your homeschool workbook
- Favorite sites for printables
- PLUS a freebie subtraction worksheet from Education.com!
First, take a look at the custom workbook I put together for my son. He told me that all he wanted to do was learn about Legos, so I created a homeschool workbook that was all about LEGO!
This homeschool workbook featured the following sections:
- All about me
- Activites
- Fractions and Multiplication
- Lego Art
- Build your own patterns
- Notebooking pages
I found all of the printables FREE on Pinterest. My LEGO Board
Benefits of Creating a Customized Homeschool Workbook
Workbooks are not just busy work. There’s a purpose behind children completing worksheets and other tasks on their own. A few benefits:
Handwriting
If your little ones are like mine, handwriting practice is akin to torture. We do everything we can to make handwriting fun, but at some point we have to practice with pencil to paper. Choosing printable activities and worksheets that fit my children’s interests make practicing writing so much more enjoyable!
Skill Practice
Unlike workbooks available in print, you can customize your homeschool workbook to fit your child’s range of levels and interests. I can create a workbook around a unit or single topic that addresses the range of levels my kids are on with the skills they need to practice.
Independent Practice
It’s so important to encourage independent practice at a young age. Independent work builds confidence. When you customize a homeschool workbook, you can choose activities that will gently challenge your kiddos, build confidence, and show them that yes they can do it on their own!
Assessment
One question I hear often: Do you give tests in your homeschool?
The answer: Usually I don’t. I don’t need to give tests because I can orally assess if my kids are mastering the concepts. However, there is a difference between mastering a concept and being able to prove that you’ve mastered it. For this I use a variety of interactive worksheets and activities. If my child can complete the work independently, that’s an A from me.
How to Create a Homeschool Workbook
⇒ Choose a Topic
We love unit studies around here! My kids love digging into a topic and will stick with it for a long time. A homeschool workbook is the perfect tool to organize printables, worksheets, activities, and resources I pull together for our unit studies.
When I create a homeschool workbook, I take their interests into consideration first. I’ve created all types of workbooks: Lego activities, gardening workbooks, dinosaur themes. You can find printables for any topic or subject that your kids love.
And if your kids love it, they will do it. That’s the key.
⇒ Source printable worksheets
You can find worksheets and printables for any topic on any level. You can even find many for free online. Finding and printing materials will take you just a few minutes after you find your favorite go-to resources.
I’ve gathered a few favorite links to get you started below.
⇒ Print and punch to create a custom binder
Once I find a few printables I like, I print them all out and punch them. I love to use a heavy duty three hole punch. This paper punch takes 45 pieces of paper, and never gets clogged.
Sort your printables into tabbed sections to make your homeschool workbook organized and easy to use for your child. You can add a table of contents in the front or a custom cover page to make it fun!
Types of Activities for your Homeschool Workbook
Your homeschool workbook doesn’t have to be the same old activities you find in every workbook. A few ideas:
- Step-by-step directions to assemble something
- Directions for a hands-on project or experiement
- Blank pages to draw along with a YouTube Playlist
- Scavenger hunt
- List of websites to investigate
- Answer section so they can check their own work
- Puzzles, mazes, dot-to-dot
- Coloring pages
- Cut and paste
Where to Find Printables for your Homeschool Workbook
Be sure to bookmark these pages and follow your favorites!
Education.com has a slew of fantastic resources that are easily searchable by grade and subject. And, hey, if all this DIY legwork gets to be too much, they also offer full printable workbooks for just about every subject and grade level!
Royal Baloo is a great resource for all sorts of interactive printables. This site goes beyond your standard cut-and-paste!
Check out the Notebooking Fairy site for a slew of free printable notebooking pages. Search by subject to find themed lined pages and graphic organizers that are perfect for homeschool workbook activities.
Want to know more about notebooking? Check out a full review of the Notebooking Fairy’s guide here: How To Get Started with Notebooking in Your Homeschool
I love using TPT for printables. You will find a variety of styles, grade levels, and every subject you need. I also love that I can follow my favorite stores that I return to again and again.
Pinterest is great for doing a visual search for printables. I have an entire free printables board so I can keep my ideas organized!
Free printables are a great way to save money! Check out 5 more ways to SAVE on school supplies!
Get Started with a Homeschool Workbook Today!
Give your child’s math skills a workout with this two-digit subtraction worksheet. Then run over to Education.com for more exercises and resources to strengthen your child’s subtraction game!
View / Print the Subtraction Worksheets
More printables for your Homeschool Workbook from the Resource Room:
Find a full list of all our printables and freebies here.
Ashley helps parents who want to homeschool find the resources they need to successfully teach their children. Ashley is a former teacher, current homeschooler, published author, and designer behind Circle Time with Miss Fox printables as well as the creator of this website, The Homeschool Resource Room.
Hi! I’m so glad to see your kids are using and loving my LEGO printables. I’d love for you to link to my blog in your resources so readers know where they came from. Thanks!
Sure, which ones are yours? Sorry, I wrote this in June of 2018 so I’m not sure which are which or what your website is. You can email me the links you’d like at ashley@somerandomlady.com.