Homeschooling mothers are some of the busiest people I know, especially those who multitask by blogging or running a business from home. I do not like to compare schedules or talk about how busy I am with others, but I often get asked about the resources that help me get more done in less time.
Most recently, I have worked to utilize my iPad Mini and the apps available. Here are a few of my favorites:
My Fitness Pal
This year, I plan to spend more time focusing on my… ahem… weight. I might be battling Hashimoto’s Disease but I knowing that someone with an autoimmune disorder can gain 10% or more of their body weight each year, I have to pay more attention to what I eat.
With My Fitness Pal, I can track what I eat along with how much exercise I am getting. The calories are tracked when I enter a new food (I use Calorie King for iOS to help find the caloric intake) and select them for a meal. I can even track my nutrition if I want to put in that additional information.
My Fitness Pal is available for iOS (Apple devices) or Android for FREE.
Ziplist
Since most foodie blogs – like mine at Frugal Family Favorites – use Ziplist to display their recipes, you can use the Ziplist app to save recipes to a free account. I personally use Ziplist to keep track of the recipes I find that I want to remember when I am in the kitchen later. For me, it is easier to find a recipe with the Ziplist app instead of having to comb through my Pinterest boards.
Ziplist is available for iOS and Android devices for FREE.
Emeals
If you are looking for an affordable meal planning service, check into using eMeals.com. You can choose from over 50 plans, including menus for families with dietary issues like gluten intolerance or those wanting a low-carb diet, have the menus emailed to you with a shopping list or access your account through the free eMeals app.
Emeals is a FREE app for iOS devices but a paid subscription is needed to use the service.
Cozi Family Organizer
Cozi Family Organizer is an amazing app for keeping the family calendar and shopping list synced together. Each family member can access the app and add to the calendar and lists. You can even set reminders for garbage day, birthdays, and more.
Cozi Family Organizer is available for iOS devices and Android operating systems for FREE.
But, my absolute favorite app for homeschooling moms…
Homeschool Helper!
Homeschool Helper is an amazing application that allows you to batch plan lessons, track attendance and grades, plan your activity calendar and more.
>> Generating lesson plans using the “batch” function is super simple:
- Choose your starting day and how many lessons are in the curriculum.
- Select which days of the week you want to have lessons and choose whether or not to exclude holidays.
- Adjust any lesson settings or use a set number of pages for each lesson.
- Make any notes (like which workbook you are using) and set the average duration for the lessons.
- Click to generate.
If something happens and you need to push your lessons back a few days, you can use the “bump” function and adjust the rest of the lessons.
>> Tracking a reading list for each child takes two clicks:
- Enter the title of the book and the date to start reading.
- Click to save.
When they have finished the book, you can edit the book to show it as read.
>> Making reports for lesson plans, attendance, report cards, reading lists… everything you might need to track records for yourself or state… is readily available inside the app and can be emailed to your computer for easy printing.
The Homeschool Helper app is not free but is worth the small $4.99. Available at iTunes for iOS (iPad and iPhone) and Amazon for Android devices (Kindle Fire).
I use ziplist. I have been reading about the homeschool helper. I am getting back to homeschooling this year with three of my children. The app looks interesting, for sure.
And for favorite app. That depends on the theme. But one app I do use a lot is iAllowance for our chore system. I don’t due money as an allowance and this allows me to use whatever I want as rewards–currently, they earn “screen time” but could use it to earn other rewards. It’s flexible. I use it for multiple children. It has been a motivator for my kids to stay on track.
I need to take a look at that one. I love that the kids can earn screen time. That would definitely work for us!
I love the Cozi app for its calendar and shopping list capabilities!
Honestly, one of my favorite Apps to have is my Kindle App. I like being able to have it both on my iPad and iPhone so where ever I am and have a moment I can pick up my book where I left off and continue to read! I would never have any time at all for personal reading otherwise!
One of the apps I use sometimes for picture editing is Photogene…great for quick picture edits before ordering prints!
My favorite app is the You Version bible app. It allows me to keep up with daily bible reading and I love the extra reading plans that help you keep up with the extra reading and also allow you to “catch up” if you get behind. Would love to win a copy of the Homeschool Helper. Definitely something we need right now. Thanks for the opportunity!
I have a few favorite apps. I use the Olive Tree Bible App and HomeRoutines most frequently.
I think my favorite app right now is grocery pal! I love being able to put my grocery list in and then calculate how much I’m spending. It really helps me stay on budget.
I like this app for Classical Conversations called “Writing Tools”. I’m teaching the Essentials class this year and it will help me soo much! 🙂
I love the gmail app much better than the native iOS email app!
My favorite app is the netflix app and the EZ PDF Reader on my Nook.
Yes! I love all my apps! I keep a simple photo blog, lastly for all the out of town family, and the WordPress app is great for the quick updates from the day!
I just found you … what a great blessing your blog is!! (and what a great amount of time I’m spending here, getting so many fantastic ideas … if only now I will implement them all! ha!)
Favorite phone app ~ hmm … ugh, I’m dull. Probably Pinterest … but usually only because I have many of my favorite recipes there in one place. I know, I need to branch out more. 🙂
My favorite app is Words with Friends, but that doesn’t do a thing for time management. I am excited to try some of these.
My favorite app is My Period Tracker. 🙂
My favorite app would be my Bible app. It is so convenient to have full access to my Bible in my small Kindle.
I have several Math apps that have games/flash cards that the kids like to use to practice their math. They would much rather use a tablet than actual flashcards! We also like Factbook for geography/world studies; it has lots of good info about every country in the world! My kids enjoy comparing the populations and land area of different countries. It really puts things into perspective!
I love the InsaniApp. It helps track my 60-day Insanity workout, but also tracks other workouts of Shaun T’s. It’s been great to just log in and check off the workout, add in my fitness test results, and track my progress. It’s a great encouragement!
I was so glad you mentioned Cozi! It was a pain in the butt for my family to log appointments, my college classes, homeschool due dates, etc…My husband would write on one calendar, me on two others. When I found this, it was a lifesaver! Now I don’t have to carry the small calendar with me at all times as everything is on this. Their website is even my Homepage on the school computer. Great minds think alike!
I do like the cozi app as I can color code my kids and know who exactly needs to be doing what.
I love my weather app because it brings out my inner geek. 😉
Thanks Penny for this post!
I have been using News-O-Matic with my kids for a few weeks now and they really love it. It’s pretty much a daily newspaper for 3rd and 4th graders, with articles on world news and also science, sports etc. I use the app to get them to read a little everyday and it works! It’s good for Moms who have reluctant readers at home 🙂
Any winners chosen?? 😀
The winner was chosen and notified. 😉
I use all those apps except the Cozi family organizer and I agree. I love the Homeschool Helper app.
Thanks- these are great apps! I like cozi and will click out the emeals.
Great resource. Will definitely try this apps.
Do you have a question about how to homeschool or about which homeschool curriculum is best for you? They might help – http://HomeschoolingOption.com/
Anne