10 Interesting Things You Can Learn on YouTube

Stuck indoors? You can turn around your frustration and pick up skills to learn and master. YouTube is just a click away and more than a billion videos on every topic imaginable are there for you to learn from.

Maybe, you aren’t sure about a new thing you would like to learn. Take on a 30-Day learning challenge and see where it takes you. If it’s somewhere fun, then you can experiment with other interesting topics.

To help you out, here are some cool things you can learn on YouTube. But first, here’s a tip…

Make Learning a Habit

Watch the Khan Academy video above for a dash of motivation in one minute flat.

YouTube is a fish-market on a Sunday morning. But in those 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, there are many gems you can hook that few other sites can rival. You can learn on the go and you can learn in 61+ languages. You can learn virtually anything. I selected the ten videos below keeping three things in mind:

• These skills can be learned and practiced in under a day.
• The skills can be applied anywhere with everyday equipment.
• All these ten skills can make you seem smarter than your friends.

So, let’s put the three rules to the test with these ten interesting things you can learn to do on YouTube.

1. Improve Critical Thinking With the Socratic Method

Why is it important? A skill that can help us make better decisions and not jump to conclusions.

Critical thinkers will be in greater demand as AI takes over the mundane chores. It starts by observing important details, questioning assumptions, investigating data sources, removing biases, and the most difficult—outside the box thinking.

One of the techniques involved in critical thinking is the Socratic Method. YouTube has quite a few videos on this, but the one above is a quick introduction.

Critical thinking is also a big part of Common Core standards in schools. The Common Core focuses on developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills students will need to be successful from here on.

2. Save Time with Mental Math Skills

Why is it important? A life skill you can use in a corporate boardroom or when helping your 10-year old with their homework.

For most of us, math and fun don’t belong in the same sentence. Calculator apps do their bit to solve our math fears. Even then, mental math skills are the best weightlifting exercise for the brain. Mental math is not too difficult to learn and you can impress anyone within a few seconds.

Arthur T. Benjamin devotes an entire playlist to it and shows how it can be simple and fun. This human calculator might just inspire you to take a second look at what you were taught.

3. Pay Attention to Your Writing with Proofreading

Why is it important? Because one tiny mistake can spoil anything from a memo to a term paper.

One of the golden rules of life is to always check your writing before you turn it in. We ignore proofreading because we become lazy and trust our hands and eyes too much. Some self-editing tips can help all of us become better writers.

4. Create Beautiful Calligraphy Envelopes

Why is it important? Snail mail isn’t extinct and first impressions count.

You have some special invites to send. Printing envelopes is the easy way out and can be easily done on any printer. Calligraphy is a cool skill you can learn to add that extra bit of flourish.

All it takes is a few differently sized envelopes to practice on and the video tutorial above. It may not come off perfectly the first time, but the results will eventually show up.

When there are too many mails to send out, then calligraphy might not cut it. Learning how to mail merge in Word or Excel can help rescue you from the anxiety of mass mailing.

5. Understanding Color Theory

Why is it important? Matching colors helps you do everyday stuff like using makeup or painting your house in the right colors.

You can understand color theory in less than an hour and there are apps to help you with color choices too. But do learn color theory because it will help develop your eye for the right combinations. It also gets easier on YouTube because of the visual nature of videos and the umpteen applications you can find with the tutorials.

Want a deeper understanding of basic concepts like hue and saturation, and how it affects color balance? Watch this entire playlist on Color Theory.

6. Learn to Read Nutritional Info on Food Labels

Why is it important? You can make better decisions about the food you consume.

Some tiny bits of knowledge can have a lifetime’s worth of impact. Reading the nutrition facts on food labels on the back of containers is one of them.

Serving sizes and nutrient information is just like knowing the amount and type of fuel you need for your car. Maybe, more so because your health needs more work than a car.

The FDA has a thorough explanation of the food label on its site and this Q&A YouTube video helps with a better understanding of your diet.

7. How to Cook Perfect Eggs

Why is it important? For starting your day quickly with an easy egg breakfast.

Eggs can get you through any emergency in life. And cooking the perfect egg is one of the easiest skills even beginner cooks can master. It may not look like a big deal, but cook one sunny side up and it can be the start of a perfect day.

Eggs are comfort food and once you learn the timing that goes into cooking them, search for a video that teaches you how to flip them in the pan.

8. Start Your Day by Making Your Bed to Perfection

Why is it important? It’s an example of how little things matter.

Admiral William H. McRaven once gave a popular commencement address on how making your bed first thing in the morning can be life changing. Look it up on YouTube.

Also, take at the video above and many more that teach you this less regarded but an important life skill.

9. Cut and Trim Your Own Hair

Why is it important? Stay well-groomed when you cannot go to a hairdresser.

You can be one snip away from a hair mishap but cutting your own hair is still a nice DIY skill to learn. YouTube has lots of advice and the video above is the most popular one yet with a million plus views.

It helps to have a head-to-toe body groom shaver, but there are other videos too that show you easy self-haircuts with a scissor and comb.

10. Learn Things in Plain English

Why is it important? Because learning interesting things need not be complex.

Confounded by Daylight Savings Time or what the heck is an Electoral College? YouTube channels like CGP Grey, Crash Course, and In a Nutshell (Kurzgesagt) come to the rescue with simplified explanations of the most complex topics.

Just to illustrate the value, watch the video above that explains the Coronavirus.

Once you get hooked, YouTube has a lineup of fascinating channels to educate your mind.

Learn a New Skill in Your Free Time

When you have a few minutes to spare, you can work your way through these videos and decide the skills you want to work on. After all, true learning is only useful when you transfer it to your own life rather than just use these YouTube videos for entertainment.

YouTube is an educational hub in itself. So, if you are serious about diving deeper into DIY skills then take a look at these Chrome extensions that can help you learn better on YouTube.

Image Credit: Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock, leromin/Shutterstock

Read the full article: 10 Interesting Things You Can Learn on YouTube

The Best Free Homeschool Printables and Templates for Parents

Whether you’re homeschooling your children temporarily or planning to make it permanent, you could probably use a little help. This is where templates and printables come in.

A template or printable can help you jumpstart a document rather than build it from scratch. Most times we think of using these for business. But these homeschool templates and printables are just what parents need to make teaching at home easier.

Homeschool Schedule Templates

One of the most important documents you can compose for homeschooling is a schedule. This lets you plan each day’s lessons and activities along with breaks.

If you use Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, the following two class schedule templates from Vertex42 are terrific. Both templates are available in Excel and Google Sheets.

Each template gives you seven days per week along with two tabs for how you want to break down your days. So if you want to schedule lessons in 15-minute increments or prefer 30-minutes, you have both options.

What’s nice about these editable templates is that you can type in all the lessons and activities each week and then save, share, or print them.

New Class Schedule Template

Class Schedule Template

Printable Homeschool Schedules

If you prefer to use a blank printable homeschool schedule and add lessons and activities by hand, Vertex42 offers similar templates as PDFs or for Microsoft Word.

You can find these on the same webpage as the other templates under Printable Weekly Class Schedules.

Homeschool Homework Planner Templates

To help your elementary or high school students, consider giving them a weekly homework planner template. Also from Vertex42, you can choose the style that’s best for your child. Each includes a checklist for homework and a schedule.

If you think they’d take advantage of typing in their homework plans in Excel, Google Sheets, or Word, you can download this first template. It includes two tabs in the spreadsheet versions for in-school and homeschool students. The difference between the two are the start and end times for the days.

Printable Homework Planners

Alternatively, there are two printable PDFs available; one for high school students and the other specifically for homeschool students. Like the template above, the difference is in the times for each day.

If your child prefers to go digital, take a look at this list of study planner apps for mobile devices.

Lesson Plan Templates

For your own planning as a parent who is now a teacher, consider using a lesson plan template. With this option for Microsoft Word from Class-Templates, you can plan out your lesson objectives, a summary of tasks or actions, materials you need, references, and take-home tasks.

Printable Lesson Plans

If you’d rather print a few lesson plan sheets and jot down the items instead, you can grab the PDF version of this lesson plan from the same website.

Alternatively, head to TemplateLab and check out their big collection of PDF lesson plans ready for printing.

Homeschool Printable Worksheets

If you’re looking for free homeschool printable worksheets, you’re in luck because there is a wonderful source.

Printable Worksheets is a site that offers free printables by subject, grade, and type.

For math, science, social studies, literature, and more, you can print crossword worksheets. You can download and view the crosswords and answers keys. Some subjects like math and science are broken down by grade level.

For children in kindergarten all the way through 12^th grade, you can grab crossword worksheets for each and every subject.

And if you prefer to browse by worksheet type, the site offers unscrambles, paragraph and sentence writing, and flashcards in addition to its popular crosswords worksheet.

Homeschool Report Card Templates

Another template you’ll need for homeschooling your child is a report card template. A2ZHomeschooling offers a couple of templates that differ per the application you’ll use.

For Microsoft Excel, check out this report card template. It comes complete with subjects ranging from math and science to health and handwriting. You’ll also see explanations of grades and symbols, and areas for attendance and work habits and character.

For Google Docs (or as a download for Microsoft Word from Google Docs), you can use this next homeschool report card template. Similar to the above template, this one has standard courses, electives, and an attendance record. You can easily add the final grade per term.

Also, the template gives you a course resources and activity log sections.

Printable Progress Report Form

Maybe what you really need is a printable progress report form that you can complete by hand. This option can be downloaded as a PDF. It gives you spots for recording progress by subject with dates and marks.

Homeschool Transcript Template

If your child is in high school, then this homeschool transcript template might be just what you need.

You can complete the Student Academic Record section with the school year, grade level, course names and descriptions, credits, grades, and GPA.

The template also gives you areas for tracking dual enrollment and honors classes, testing information, activities and achievements, and attendance.

You’ll also find helpful information for calculating GPA for standard and honors courses along with the yearly and cumulative GPA.­­

Homeschool Diploma Template Printables

To certify that your child successfully completed their high school education, you may need a homeschool diploma template.

The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling website offer two diplomas to pick from; one is 6 by 8 inches and the other is 8.5 by 11. Just complete the diploma with your child’s name the date, and your signature.

GPA Calculator

This next handy sheet is for calculating GPA. So while it’s technically not a template, it’s certainly essential for correctly calculating your child’s GPA, working scenarios to see how it affects their GPA, and keeping a record of grades and cumulative GPA.

It’s Never Too Late to Use a Template

Your homeschooling job may already be underway, but it’s never too late to start using a template. You might be using blank paper or notes for some of these types of documents or haven’t even considered using some of them at all.

Either way, you can prepare for next week’s lessons better using these homeschool templates and printables.

For an additional organization tool and notebook rolled into one for homeschooling, check out the advantages of using OneNote for school.

Read the full article: The Best Free Homeschool Printables and Templates for Parents

An NLU-Powered Tool to Explore COVID-19 Scientific Literature

Posted by Keith Hall, Research Scientist, Natural Language Understanding, Google Research

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists and researchers around the world are publishing an immense amount of new research in order to understand and combat the disease. While the volume of research is very encouraging, it can be difficult for scientists and researchers to keep up with the rapid pace of new publications. Traditional search engines can be excellent resources for finding real-time information on general COVID-19 questions like "How many COVID-19 cases are there in the United States?", but can struggle with understanding the meaning behind research-driven queries. Furthermore, searching through the existing corpus of COVID-19 scientific literature with traditional keyword-based approaches can make it difficult to pinpoint relevant evidence for complex queries.

To help address this problem, we are launching the COVID-19 Research Explorer, a semantic search interface on top of the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19), which includes more than 50,000 journal articles and preprints. We have designed the tool with the goal of helping scientists and researchers efficiently pore through articles for answers or evidence to COVID-19-related questions.

When the user asks an initial question, the tool not only returns a set of papers (like in a traditional search) but also highlights snippets from the paper that are possible answers to the question. The user can review the snippets and quickly make a decision on whether or not that paper is worth further reading. If the user is satisfied with the initial set of papers and snippets, we have added functionality to pose follow-up questions, which act as new queries for the original set of retrieved articles. Take a look at the animation below to see an example of a query and a corresponding follow-up question. We hope these features will foster knowledge exploration and efficient gathering of evidence for scientific hypotheses.

Semantic Search
A key technology powering the tool is semantic search. Semantic search aims to not just capture term overlap between a query and a document, but to really understand whether the meaning of a phrase is relevant to the user’s true intent behind their query.

Consider the query, “What regulates ACE2 expression?” Even though this seems like a simple question, certain phrases can still confuse a search engine that relies solely on text matching. For example, “regulates” can refer to a number of biological processes. While traditional information retrieval (IR) systems use techniques like query expansion to mitigate this confusion, semantic search models aim to learn these relationships implicitly.

Word order also matters. ACE2 (angiotensin converting enzyme-2) itself regulates certain biological processes, but the question is actually asking what regulates ACE2. Matching on terms alone will not distinguish between “what regulates ACE2 ” and “what ACE2 regulates.” Traditional IR systems use tricks like n-gram term matching, but semantic search methods strive to model word order and semantics at their core.

The semantic search technology we use is powered by BERT, which has recently been deployed to improve retrieval quality of Google Search. For the COVID-19 Research Explorer we faced the challenge that biomedical literature uses a language that is very different from the kinds of queries submitted to Google.com. In order to train BERT models, we required supervision — examples of queries and their relevant documents and snippets. While we relied on excellent resources produced by BioASQ for fine-tuning, such human-curated datasets tend to be small. Neural semantic search models require large amounts of training data. To augment small human-constructed datasets, we used advances in query generation to build a large synthetic corpus of questions and relevant documents in the biomedical domain.

Specifically, we used large amounts of general domain question-answer pairs to train an encoder-decoder model (part a in the figure below). This kind of neural architecture is used in tasks like machine translation that encodes one piece of text (e.g., an English sentence) and produces another piece of text (e.g., a French sentence). Here we trained the model to translate from answer passages to questions (or queries) about that passage. Next we took passages from every document in the collection, in this case CORD-19, and generated corresponding queries (part b). We then used these synthetic query-passage pairs as supervision to train our neural retrieval model (part c).

Synthetic query construction.

However, we found that there were examples where the neural model performed worse than a keyword-based model. This is because of the memorization-generalization continuum, which is well known in most fields of artificial intelligence and psycholinguistics. Keyword-based models, like tf-idf, are essentially memorizers. They memorize terms from the query and look for documents that have them. Neural retrieval models, on the other hand, learn generalizations about concepts and meaning and try to match based on those. Sometimes they can over-generalize when precision is important. For example, if I query, “What regulates ACE2 expression?”, one may want the model to generalize the concept of “regulation,” but not ACE2 beyond acronym expansion.

Hybrid Term-Neural Retrieval Model
To improve our system we built a hybrid term-neural retrieval model. A crucial observation is that both term-based and neural models can be cast as a vector space model. In other words, we can encode both the query and documents and then treat retrieval as looking for the document vectors that are most similar to the query vector, also known as k-nearest neighbor retrieval. There is a lot of research and engineering that is needed to make this work at scale, but it allows us a simple mechanism to combine methods. The simplest approach is to combine the vectors with a trade-off parameter.

Hybrid Term and Neural Retrieval.

In the figure above, the blue boxes are the term-based vectors, and the red, the neural vectors. We represent documents by concatenating these vectors. We concatenate the two vectors for queries as well, but we control the relative importance of exact term matches versus neural semantic matching. This is done via a weight parameter k. While more complex hybrid schemes are possible, we found that this simple hybrid model significantly increased quality on our biomedical literature retrieval benchmarks.

Availability and Community Feedback
The COVID-19 Research Explorer is freely available to the research community as an open alpha. Over the coming months we will be making a number of usability enhancements, so please check back often. Try out the COVID-19 Research Explorer, and please share any comments you have with us via the feedback channels on the site.

Acknowledgements
This effort has been successful thanks to the hard work of many people, including, but not limited to the following (in alphabetical order of last name): John Alex, Waleed Ammar, Greg Billock, Yale Cong, Ali Elkahky, Daniel Francisco, Stephen Greco, Stefan Hosein, Johanna Katz, Gyorgy Kiss, Margarita Kopniczky, Ivan Korotkov, Dominic Leung, Daphne Luong, Ji Ma, Ryan Mcdonald, Matt Pearson-Beck, Biao She, Jonathan Sheffi, Kester Tong, Ben Wedin

How to Connect Mobile Internet to Your PC via Tethering

Need an internet connection for your PC or laptop, but don’t have access to public Wi-Fi? The solution is simple: connect your smartphone’s mobile internet connection to your PC. This process is known as tethering.

While tethering with your laptop or tablet may be faster than the public network in your favorite cafe, it can have its own problems. Here’s what you need to know about tethering with Android and how to connect your mobile internet to your PC.

What Is Tethering?

Tethering is the term for connecting your mobile device to your computer so your PC can get online via your phone’s mobile data connection. It works via USB, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi.

In the pre-iPhone days, this meant using an old-style feature phone to call a number that gave internet access anywhere. Some cell phones could share their internet connection, enabling you to get online via the device network’s APN.

Following the release of the iPhone in 2007, many cell phone networks began charging extra for tethering plans. Fortunately, this money-grabbing practice has since been phased out almost completely—these days, tethering is usually free aside from using your data allowance.

Android Mobile Tethering Options Explained

Android owners have three tethering options to share a mobile internet connection with their laptop, tablet, or even desktop PC:

1. Connect via Bluetooth
2. Use your phone as a wireless hotspot
3. Connect your phone to your computer via USB

Below we’ll look at each of these to discover which method will drain your battery quickest, and which transfers data fastest.

Before proceeding, make sure you have enabled mobile internet on your phone. It’s important to note that mobile signal strength will impact your connection speed. Using tethering can also result in your phone’s battery level decreasing quickly; wireless tethering is particularly power-intensive.

We provide speed results from speedtest.net for comparison.

1. How to Connect Mobile Internet to a PC With USB Tethering

Mobile phones have long had a modem feature, allowing you to hook up the device to your computer via USB. This lets you share the mobile internet connection over a wired connection with your laptop or other devices.

It’s easy to do. Connect the USB cable that shipped with your phone to your computer, then plug it into the phone’s USB port. Next, to configure your Android device for sharing mobile internet:

1. Open Settings > Network & internet > Hotspot & tethering.
2. Tap the USB tethering slider to enable it. If this appears grayed out, make sure the USB cable is properly connected on both ends.
3. The Hotspot & tethering warning will appear, informing you that continuing will interrupt any existing data transfers between your phone and PC.
4. Tap OK to proceed.

A notification icon should appear to confirm that tethering is active. In testing, we found the following results:

• Speed: 97Mbps download, 2.02Mbps upload, with an average ping of 66ms.
• Battery Impact: The effect on your phone’s battery depends on whether your laptop is plugged in or not. If it is, battery decrease should be slow to non-existent, as the phone will slowly charge through the USB connection.

Note: If your computer is running on its battery, your phone will potentially drain the computer’s battery, rather than its own.

2. Use Bluetooth Tethering With Mobile internet

Another way to share your mobile internet connection to a PC or tablet is to use Bluetooth. The short-range wireless technology has enough bandwidth to route data to and from your phone and a paired device.

Start by pairing your phone with your computer:

1. Open your Android phone’s Bluetooth settings. You can do this by long-pressing the Bluetooth icon in Quick Settings, or browse to Settings > Connected devices.
2. Select Pair new device, which will make your device discoverable.
3. Now, on your Windows 10 system, press Win + I to open the Settings app.
4. Here, select Devices > Bluetooth & other devices.
5. Switch Bluetooth to On if it’s not already. Click Add Bluetooth or other device followed by Bluetooth.
6. Select your phone when it appears and walk through the pairing steps. If you run into problems, see our guide to setting up Bluetooth in Windows 10.
7. Once paired, on your phone, open Settings > Network & internet > Hotspot & tethering and turn on Bluetooth tethering.

Once the phone is paired with your computer, you can share the mobile internet connection:

1. Expand the Windows System Tray to find the Bluetooth icon, right-click this, and select Join a Personal Area Network.
2. In the resulting menu, find your phone’s icon and right-click it.
3. Choose Connect using > Access point.

Your phone should then display a notification that Bluetooth tethering is active. Our testing found:

• Speed: 35Mbps download, 0.78Mbps upload, with an average ping of 289ms.
• Battery Impact: Heavy Bluetooth use really puts pressure on your battery. Ten minutes of usage ate up five percent of the charge on my phone.

3. How to Connect a Wi-Fi Hotspot to Your PC

Combining the wireless benefits of Bluetooth with the speed of USB, using your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot is perhaps the most popular tethering option.

Using your mobile internet and Wi-Fi connection, your phone creates a private network to connect your devices with a secure password. It’s definitely the most convenient choice. To set up Wi-Fi tethering:

1. Open Settings > Network & internet > Hotspot & tethering.
2. Tap Portable hotspot (called Wi-Fi hotspot on some phones).
3. At the next screen, switch the slider On.
4. You can then adjust options for the network on this page. For example, change the Hotspot name, Security type, or open the Advanced options to turn off the hotspot automatically when no devices are using it.
   1. On some devices, you’ll need to open the Configure hotspot menu to change these options.
5. Tap the Hotspot password (sometimes called Show password) box to view the password, if needed.

Then, on your Windows PC:

1. Press Win + I to open Settings.
2. Go to Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
3. Click Show available networks and browse to find the network your phone created. (You can also do this by clicking the wireless internet icon in the System Tray).
4. Select the network and click Connect.
5. Input the password as displayed on your phone (making any other changes as required) to establish the connection.

Here are the results we found from this option:

• Speed: 10Mbps download, 4.45Mbps upload, with an average ping of 55ms.
• Battery Impact: As with Bluetooth tethering, heavy use reduced battery by around five percent in 10 minutes. Standard usage seems better with Wi-Fi tethering, however, and could potentially last around 5-6 hours.

Once you’ve set up wireless tethering for the first time, it’s easy to activate again. Open the Quick Settings panel on your phone by swiping down from the top twice. Tap the Hotspot button, then wait for your computer to connect. As long as you don’t change the network name or password, it should reconnect automatically.

Connect an iPhone to Your PC Using Mobile Hotspot

Not using Android? Need to borrow a phone to connect your PC to the internet and only have an iPhone available?

iPhones have a hotspot mode that you can enable at Settings > Personal Hotspot. This is a Wi-Fi hotspot that any wireless-enabled device can connect to.

For further compatibility, iOS also supports Bluetooth and USB tethering, just like Android. For full details on how to connect the mobile internet from an iPhone to your computer, check out how to use the hotspot feature on your iPhone.

Mobile Tethering? Use USB for Best Battery Life

Wireless, Bluetooth, and USB tethering are all options for getting your laptop or tablet online. But which is best?

Our tests show that USB tethering is the option that drains your phone’s battery the slowest. Meanwhile, Bluetooth offers the worst speeds. Thanks to improvements in Bluetooth technology, though, its impact on battery is acceptable.

It’s Easy to Link Your Mobile Internet Connection to a Computer

Stuck choosing between a Wi-Fi hotspot and USB tethering? Well, USB isn’t the fastest at everything, making Wi-Fi the best all-around option. But if Wi-Fi isn’t available, relying on USB tethering is your best alternative.

Concerned about the cost of tethering? Check these ways to reduce data usage when using mobile internet.

Read the full article: How to Connect Mobile Internet to Your PC via Tethering

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10 Netflix Movies to Watch With Mom on Mother’s Day

Most moms love to spend time with their families, and this is especially true on Mother’s Day. So, whether you go out for a big meal with the little ones or just enjoy a glass of wine with the grown-up kids, why not gather around the TV and relax with a movie afterwards. If you can.

Netflix boasts some great movies to watch with mom on Mother’s Day and beyond. The streaming service has movies to make you chuckle, shed a tear, and enjoy the holiday with those you love. And in this article, we list the best Netflix movies to watch with mom on Mother’s Day.

Note: Can’t see your mom in person? Use these ways to watch Netflix remotely.

Netflix Movies to Watch With Mom

You may have a grown child who is starting their own life or a baby who is just beginning theirs. Either way, these films will have you and your mom smiling and laughing together this Mother’s Day.

1. A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)

Genre: Comedy | Rating: R

It might be Mother’s Day, but A Bad Moms Christmas is hilarious for any holiday. Join Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn as they do their best to destress for Christmas when their moms show up. This sequel to the 2016 hit Bad Moms is just as enjoyable as the first film.

2. As Good As It Gets (1997)

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance | Rating: PG-13

What single mom could pass up time with Jack Nicholson? As Good As It Gets lets you watch a quirky author with obsessive-compulsive disorder become smitten with a single mom played by Helen Hunt. For a cute, romantic comedy, you and mom with both laugh at this one.

3. Wild Oats (2016)

Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy | Rating: PG-13

It may not be Thelma and Louise, but Wild Oats will let you and mom watch a retired teacher with too much money head to the Canary Islands with a pal for an adventure of their own. That insurance payout of 50,000 accidentally turns into 5 million and the duo does their best to enjoy it.

The movie stars Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Lange, and Demi Moore.

4. Julie and Julia (2009)

Genres: Biography, Drama, Romance | Rating: PG-13

If your mom loves to cook, then she might also enjoy Julie and Julia. Starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, a blogger becomes a little bored with her life and decides to embark on a cooking challenge. And cook she does… all of the recipes in Julia Child’s classic cookbook. If you want to watch a simple feel-good movie on mom’s day, check this one out.

5. Fun Mom Dinner (2017)

Genre: Comedy | Rating: R

For something a little less polished, but funny nonetheless, pop on Fun Mom Dinner. Follow four preschool moms for a night on the town. Things may start out innocent enough, but when these mothers get together for a break from the kids, things get a little wild for them and a lot entertaining for you.

6. Otherhood (2019)

Genre: Comedy | Rating: R

If you like watching stressed out moms hang out together for fun adventures, then the Netflix original movie Otherhood is for you. Starring Patricia Arquette, Angela Bassett, and Felicity Huffman, Otherhood shows what happens when these moms decide to venture to New York City to surprise their sons after feeling neglected on Mother’s Day. And what an experience it becomes!

For more Netflix originals worth watching, check out our list of the best ones.

Netflix Movies to Watch With the Family

Sometimes a funny film that the entire family can enjoy is the perfect way to spend time together. From new beginnings to old classics, these family-friendly Netflix movies will definitely put grins on everyone’s faces.

7. Yours, Mine and Ours (2005)

Genres: Comedy, Family, Fantasy | Rating: PG

This remake of the 1968 comedy of the same name stars Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo in a Brady Bunch-style flick. As the two single parents prepare to become a married couple, their gaggles of children try to stop the nuptials. The whole family should enjoy watching this humorous film on Mother’s Day.

8. Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Genres: Comedy, Family, Fantasy | Rating: PG

Another great Netflix choice for families this Mother’s Day is Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns. You know the story; a magical nanny arrives just in time to help a father of three through a hard time. With laughter and fun for all, this return of Mary Poppins is a great family film.

9. Scales: Mermaids Are Real (2017)

Genres: Adventure, Family, Fantasy | Rating: PG

Another feel-good family film to watch is Scales: Mermaids Are Real. In this sci-fi fantasy starring Emmy Perry, Morgan Fairchild, and Elisabeth Rohm, a young girl discovers that she will become a mermaid on her 12th birthday. Unfortunately, this also means that she must leave her family and life as an ordinary girl behind her.

10. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Genres: Adventure, Family, Fantasy | Rating: G

It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t include at least one classic movie for mom or grandma to enjoy. And Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is certainly a timeless musical comedy. Watch a quirky inventor and his family travel to a kingdom absent of children in their flying car.

From 1968 and starring Dick Van Dyke, this favorite from the old days is sure to be one the matriarchal head of the family will remember fondly.

Pick a Movie and Prepare for Mother’s Day

Hopefully, one or more of these Netflix movies will make its way into your plans for Mother’s Day. Or, if you find a more appropriate film to watch, be sure to let us know in the comments below.

And, as you’re on a mission to make mom feel special on her big day, how about adding a gift? These apps and sites for Mother’s Day gifts combined with this list of gift ideas for geeky moms should provide all of the inspiration you need.

Image Credit: AndreyPopov/Depositphotos

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What Does a Dehumidifier Do? The Benefits and Why You Need One

Humidity can do more harm than you might imagine. This is especially true in naturally humid climates, and during the summer months. If you don’t have a dehumidifier, you could be subjecting yourself to a lot of unnecessary discomfort and health risks.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the main benefits of dehumidification, what to look for in a dehumidifier, and our top recommendations for any budget.

How a Dehumidifier Can Benefit You

In simplest terms, a dehumidifier pulls in the surrounding air, strips moisture from it, then circulates it back into the room. The moisture collects in a basin that you dump out every so often. Though, in more advanced models, the moisture can be pumped out through a drainage tube.

Of the many reasons to monitor indoor humidity at home, here are the most important:

• Humidity makes you feel hotter. According to the Heat Index Chart published by the NOAA, humidity during warm and hot weather can make you feel between three degrees and 18 degrees hotter (when comparing 50 to 80 percent humidity).
• Humidity encourages bacteria and mold growth. Bacteria thrive at 50 percent humidity and higher, while mold thrives at 70 percent humidity and higher. Both can harm your health and should be minimized.
• Humidity can damage home property. Excess moisture can warp wood, peel paint, fade photographs, and corrode metal. For this reason, even if you don’t get a dehumidifier, consider getting a few moisture sensors for your home.

Do You Need a Dehumidifier?

The only way to know for sure is to grab an analog or digital hygrometer (a thermometer-like tool that measures humidity) and check the humidity level of your home. We recommend the ThermoPro TP50 or the AcuRite 00613.

On average, across a year, the ideal indoor humidity level is between 45 and 55 percent. However, fluctuations are normal with the comings and goings of weather, so a humidity level between 30 and 60 percent is often comfortable enough for most people.

Note that excess humidity is more easily felt in the summer, and anything over 50 percent may contribute to feelings of stickiness, mugginess, and general discomfort. Therefore, if you regularly have indoor humidity levels above 50 percent, we recommend buying a dehumidifier.

Do You Need a Dehumidifier If You Have AC?

Air conditioners do strip some moisture from the air when running. However, the primary difference is that AC units are optimized for cooling and circulating air. Dehumidifiers don’t cool the air and are instead optimized for removing as much moisture as possible.

That said, running an AC unit and dehumidifier together may cool your home faster and use less energy. This is because dry air makes it easier for moisture to evaporate, and evaporation has a cooling effect on the skin.

It’s worth noting that dehumidifiers do give off heat as well. However, the unit may only raise the temperature one or two degrees, which is negligible in larger rooms.

What to Look for in a Dehumidifier

You may feel overwhelmed the first time you shop for a dehumidifier. There are a lot of technical terms and numbers thrown around. In essence, there’s a lot of marketing speak to advertize certain products to you. However, there are only three things you need to know about to make a purchase you won’t regret.

Dehumidifier Type

There are three types of dehumidifiers: compressor, desiccant, and thermo-electric. While desiccant and thermo-electric types have their uses, they are often very slow and unfit for most homes. You’ll be happiest with a compressor type. Fortunately, this is the most common type sold.

Dehumidifier Size

Commercial dehumidifiers come in three main sizes: 30-pint, 50-pint, and 70-pint. The size describes how much moisture it’s designed to pull from the air per day—it has no relation to physical dimensions or reservoir capacity.

Some guides will tell you that a 30-pint dehumidifier is suitable for smaller rooms, a 50-pint dehumidifier for bigger rooms, and a 70-pint dehumidifier for the largest of rooms. While this isn’t bad advice per se, we disagree with it.

Regardless of the square footage of your home, you should always buy the largest-sized dehumidifier that you can afford. The reasoning behind this is simple:

• Larger dehumidifiers pull moisture faster than smaller dehumidifiers.
• Because larger dehumidifiers are faster, you’ll experience relief within hours rather than days. This enhances comfort.
• As larger dehumidifiers are faster, they don’t need to run as long or often as smaller dehumidifiers do. This saves energy.
• Larger units have a longer lifespan. As they run less often, they are subject to less wear-and-tear over time.
• Because larger dehumidifiers run less often, they contribute less heat to the environment. This keeps you cooler.

All told, the upfront cost of a 70-pint dehumidifier is minimal compared to the savings in long-term cost and the increased level of comfort. But if your budget is tight and can’t afford a 70-pint, a 50-pint or 30-pint is still better than nothing at all.

Energy Efficiency

For peace of mind, always get one that’s at least Energy Star rated. Here are a few energy usage baselines:

• 70-pint dehumidifier draws 700 to 750 watts.
• 50-pint dehumidifier draws 500 to 550 watts.
• 30-pint dehumidifier draws 400 to 450 watts.

Note that dehumidifiers draw varying amounts of energy depending on how much moisture is in the air. Lots of moisture? That means less energy used. Not much moisture? It’ll have to work hard to wring out what’s in the air; thus, more energy used.

Other Features to Consider

These days, a dehumidifier without a built-in hygrometer simply isn’t worth buying. Not only is a hygrometer useful for monitoring the humidity of your home, but most models with a hygrometer also come with an auto-shutoff feature upon reaching a specific humidity level. This can further boost energy efficiency.

The reservoir capacity will determine how often you need to empty the unit. Meanwhile, a drainage adapter lets the water run out on its own, so you don’t have to keep emptying it by hand. In the case of drainage, the water can be pulled out by gravity or pushed out by a pump. Not all models have these kinds of drainage.

And don’t forget about the exhaust direction. A top exhaust lets you place the unit right up against a wall or in a corner, while a rear exhaust lets you aim the heated exhaust air away in a specific direction. Neither is better. It only depends on which you prefer.

Lastly, if you’re going to move the unit often, make sure it has wheels.

Recommended Dehumidifiers

As we’ve discussed, the right dehumidifier for you will depend on your home and local climate. However, there are some models we do recommend. These units are suitable for most budgets and situations.

1. Vremi Dehumidifier

Vremi Dehumidifier Vremi Dehumidifier Buy Now On Amazon $189.99

The Vremi Dehumidifier, also known as the Moisture Maniac, comes with some of the most crucial safety features. An auto-shutoff mechanism prevents flooding, while auto-defrost stops the coils from freezing. Importantly, there is also a memory feature that allows the machine to pick up where it left off in the event of a power cut.

The unit is available in three sizes; 22-pint, 35-pint, and 50-pint. Although that doesn’t quite fit the standard configurations we listed above, there’s a reason for that; size. This Vremi model is compact but is still able to achieve a good level of performance. It neatly balances size with features, and the only compromise is the amount of moisture removed per day.

2. Frigidaire FAD504DWD Dehumidifier

Frigidaire FAD504DWD Dehumidifier Frigidaire FAD504DWD Dehumidifier Buy Now On Amazon $219.00

Frigidaire is one of the most notable brands in this space. So, it’s no surprise that the Frigidaire FAD504DWD Dehumidifier is one of the most popular models available today. This 50-pint machine is capable of continuous operation, so long as it is attached to a suitable drain. The FAD504DWD is Energy Star-rated for energy efficiency, too.

The company’s SpaceWise design is found here, providing handles to help you transport the machine. Importantly, the unit is also on wheels for easy movement. There are built-in electronic controls to simplify setup and a six-foot power cord. There’s even an antibacterial filter to remove pollutants from the air as well.

3. hOmeLabs Dehumidifier

hOmeLabs Dehumidifier hOmeLabs Dehumidifier Buy Now On Amazon $229.99

Like the Vremi model found above, the hOmeLabs Dehumidifier is available in 22-pint, 35-pint, and 50-pint editions. The 50-pint unit comes with a 1.8-gallon water tank, making it an excellent choice for particularly warm or humid rooms. Unlike other home electronics of this nature, the hOmeLabs Dehumidifier is designed to look good in your home.

It doesn’t forgo useful features like handles and wheels to achieve this, though. Additionally, the fan is designed to be quiet, so it won’t disturb you while it’s on either. The electronic controls allow you to set the unit to run continuously until the tank is full, at which point it’ll automatically shut off. You can even attach it to a drain for all-day use.

The Best Dehumidifiers for Your Home

Although prices for household dehumidifiers have decreased over the years, some of these units may seem more expensive than you’d have thought. But if you live in a humid climate, have a basement, or have poor ventilation, then this is a home device that’s absolutely worth the cost.

However, even with a dehumidifier, you may find your home getting uncomfortably warm, especially during the summer months. If that’s the case, consider these ways to beat the summer heat without AC.

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10 Interesting Things You Can Learn on YouTube

Stuck indoors? You can turn around your frustration and pick up skills to learn and master. YouTube is just a click away and more than a billion videos on every topic imaginable are there for you to learn from.

Maybe, you aren’t sure about a new thing you would like to learn. Take on a 30-Day learning challenge and see where it takes you. If it’s somewhere fun, then you can experiment with other interesting topics.

To help you out, here are some cool things you can learn on YouTube. But first, here’s a tip…

Make Learning a Habit

Watch the Khan Academy video above for a dash of motivation in one minute flat.

YouTube is a fish-market on a Sunday morning. But in those 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, there are many gems you can hook that few other sites can rival. You can learn on the go and you can learn in 61+ languages. You can learn virtually anything. I selected the ten videos below keeping three things in mind:

• These skills can be learned and practiced in under a day.
• The skills can be applied anywhere with everyday equipment.
• All these ten skills can make you seem smarter than your friends.

So, let’s put the three rules to the test with these ten interesting things you can learn to do on YouTube.

1. Improve Critical Thinking With the Socratic Method

Why is it important? A skill that can help us make better decisions and not jump to conclusions.

Critical thinkers will be in greater demand as AI takes over the mundane chores. It starts by observing important details, questioning assumptions, investigating data sources, removing biases, and the most difficult—outside the box thinking.

One of the techniques involved in critical thinking is the Socratic Method. YouTube has quite a few videos on this, but the one above is a quick introduction.

Critical thinking is also a big part of Common Core standards in schools. The Common Core focuses on developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills students will need to be successful from here on.

2. Save Time with Mental Math Skills

Why is it important? A life skill you can use in a corporate boardroom or when helping your 10-year old with their homework.

For most of us, math and fun don’t belong in the same sentence. Calculator apps do their bit to solve our math fears. Even then, mental math skills are the best weightlifting exercise for the brain. Mental math is not too difficult to learn and you can impress anyone within a few seconds.

Arthur T. Benjamin devotes an entire playlist to it and shows how it can be simple and fun. This human calculator might just inspire you to take a second look at what you were taught.

3. Pay Attention to Your Writing with Proofreading

Why is it important? Because one tiny mistake can spoil anything from a memo to a term paper.

One of the golden rules of life is to always check your writing before you turn it in. We ignore proofreading because we become lazy and trust our hands and eyes too much. Some self-editing tips can help all of us become better writers.

4. Create Beautiful Calligraphy Envelopes

Why is it important? Snail mail isn’t extinct and first impressions count.

You have some special invites to send. Printing envelopes is the easy way out and can be easily done on any printer. Calligraphy is a cool skill you can learn to add that extra bit of flourish.

All it takes is a few differently sized envelopes to practice on and the video tutorial above. It may not come off perfectly the first time, but the results will eventually show up.

When there are too many mails to send out, then calligraphy might not cut it. Learning how to mail merge in Word or Excel can help rescue you from the anxiety of mass mailing.

5. Understanding Color Theory

Why is it important? Matching colors helps you do everyday stuff like using makeup or painting your house in the right colors.

You can understand color theory in less than an hour and there are apps to help you with color choices too. But do learn color theory because it will help develop your eye for the right combinations. It also gets easier on YouTube because of the visual nature of videos and the umpteen applications you can find with the tutorials.

Want a deeper understanding of basic concepts like hue and saturation, and how it affects color balance? Watch this entire playlist on Color Theory.

6. Learn to Read Nutritional Info on Food Labels

Why is it important? You can make better decisions about the food you consume.

Some tiny bits of knowledge can have a lifetime’s worth of impact. Reading the nutrition facts on food labels on the back of containers is one of them.

Serving sizes and nutrient information is just like knowing the amount and type of fuel you need for your car. Maybe, more so because your health needs more work than a car.

The FDA has a thorough explanation of the food label on its site and this Q&A YouTube video helps with a better understanding of your diet.

7. How to Cook Perfect Eggs

Why is it important? For starting your day quickly with an easy egg breakfast.

Eggs can get you through any emergency in life. And cooking the perfect egg is one of the easiest skills even beginner cooks can master. It may not look like a big deal, but cook one sunny side up and it can be the start of a perfect day.

Eggs are comfort food and once you learn the timing that goes into cooking them, search for a video that teaches you how to flip them in the pan.

8. Start Your Day by Making Your Bed to Perfection

Why is it important? It’s an example of how little things matter.

Admiral William H. McRaven once gave a popular commencement address on how making your bed first thing in the morning can be life changing. Look it up on YouTube.

Also, take at the video above and many more that teach you this less regarded but an important life skill.

9. Cut and Trim Your Own Hair

Why is it important? Stay well-groomed when you cannot go to a hairdresser.

You can be one snip away from a hair mishap but cutting your own hair is still a nice DIY skill to learn. YouTube has lots of advice and the video above is the most popular one yet with a million plus views.

It helps to have a head-to-toe body groom shaver, but there are other videos too that show you easy self-haircuts with a scissor and comb.

10. Learn Things in Plain English

Why is it important? Because learning interesting things need not be complex.

Confounded by Daylight Savings Time or what the heck is an Electoral College? YouTube channels like CGP Grey, Crash Course, and In a Nutshell (Kurzgesagt) come to the rescue with simplified explanations of the most complex topics.

Just to illustrate the value, watch the video above that explains the Coronavirus.

Once you get hooked, YouTube has a lineup of fascinating channels to educate your mind.

Learn a New Skill in Your Free Time

When you have a few minutes to spare, you can work your way through these videos and decide the skills you want to work on. After all, true learning is only useful when you transfer it to your own life rather than just use these YouTube videos for entertainment.

YouTube is an educational hub in itself. So, if you are serious about diving deeper into DIY skills then take a look at these Chrome extensions that can help you learn better on YouTube.

Image Credit: Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock, leromin/Shutterstock

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3 Ways to Restart or Force Shut Down Any Frozen Mac

Despite the fact that Apple builds some of the most reliable computers around, you might still suffer from a frozen Mac at times. When this happens, apps become unresponsive, the cursor turns into a spinning beach ball, and your computer fans whir at a high speed.

We’ll show you how to fix your frozen Mac with a force shutdown. Unlike a standard shutdown or restart, a force shutdown powers off your Mac without letting it save files or close down apps first. You also might hear this referred to as a hard reset, a force restart, or a force reboot.

Before You Force Shut Down Your Mac

You should only use a force shutdown on your Mac as an absolute last resort. It can cause you to lose unsaved progress in open documents and might even result in corrupted files in your operating system.

It’s a particularly bad idea to force shut down your Mac during a software update, which might leave your Mac with only half an operating system installed.

If possible, try to shut down your Mac normally by going to Apple menu > Shut Down from the menu bar instead. This is much safer, but you might find your Mac takes a long time to shut down if it needs to finish updates or close down apps first.

If your Mac won’t shut down normally, use the following steps to reduce the risk of data loss before forcing your Mac to shut down.

Save Open Files

Your Mac is most likely to freeze when you’re working on a big important project. If this is the case, you don’t want to lose any unsaved progress by forcing your Mac to shut down too soon.

Try to save each of your open files by pressing Cmd + S or selecting File > Save from the menu bar.

If your Mac is frozen and you can’t save anything, take a photo of your work-in-progress on your phone so you can recreate it later. Obviously, this isn’t ideal, but it’s better than losing your work forever.

Eject External Storage

Forcing your Mac to shut down doesn’t give it a chance to safely eject external drives. Whether you use these drives for Time Machine backups or external storage, ejecting them unsafely might cause irreparable damage to their contents.

To eject your external storage safely, go to your Desktop and drag the external drive to the Trash icon in the Dock. Alternatively, open Finder and click the Eject button next to your drive in the sidebar.

Quit Every App

If your Mac won’t shut down normally, it’s probably because one of your apps has frozen and refuses to quit. You can help matters by manually closing each app yourself. There’s a chance that doing this will unfreeze your Mac so you don’t need to force it to shut down or restart after all.

Press Cmd + Q to quit your current app or click the app name in the menu bar and select Quit [App]. Cycle between your open apps using Cmd + Tab to find out which other apps are still running.

If any apps refuse to quit, press Option + Cmd + Escape to open the Force Quit window. Select the unresponsive app in this window, then click Force Quit to close it down.

After closing every app, try to shut down your Mac normally using the Apple menu. If you still can’t do that—or if you can’t close every app—then find out how to force shut down or restart your Mac below.

How to Force Shut Down or Restart Your Mac

If your Mac is frozen and completely unresponsive, the only way to fix it is using a force shutdown or force restart. The methods for how to force shut down or restart your Mac are exactly the same for a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, or any other kind of Mac.

Here are the three different ways to do it.

1. Hold the Power Button

Every Mac has a power button. On a laptop—like a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air—you usually find it at the top-right of your keyboard or Touch Bar. It may have a power symbol or an eject symbol on it, or it may be a blank Touch ID sensor.

On an iMac, you’ll find the power button behind the bottom-left corner of the screen. If you’re looking at the back of your iMac, it’s on the bottom-right.

To force shut down your Mac, press and hold the power button until the screen goes black. This might take 10 seconds or more; just keep holding the button. After your Mac shuts down, wait a few moments to let it cool off, then briefly press the power button again to restart it.

2. Use a Keyboard Shortcut

There are two keyboard shortcuts you can use to shut down your Mac: the first shortcut attempts to safely close apps first, while the second forces your Mac to shut down without closing anything. Because of this, it’s best to try the first shortcut first.

To safely shut down your Mac, press Control + Option + Cmd + Power. Don’t hold down the power button or you’ll force shut down your Mac; give it a brief press with the other buttons instead.

That shortcut might not work if your Mac can’t safely close every app, in which case you need to force your Mac to shut down instead. Press Control + Cmd + Power to do so. This time you need to hold the keys for a few seconds before your Mac shuts down.

3. Drain the Battery

Even when your Mac is frozen, you can usually force it to shut down using one of the two methods above. Still, there are some rare situations when they don’t work either.

If that’s the case, the next best method is to remove the power supply or drain the battery. Again, it’s important to know that powering off your Mac this way is potentially damaging. You might lose unsaved data—or worse, you might create corrupt files on your hard drive.

You should only remove the power supply from your Mac as a last resort.

If you have a MacBook, a MacBook Air, or a MacBook Pro, unplug the power cable and wait for the battery to die. You might need to wait overnight for this to happen, depending on the health of your battery. But eventually your Mac will power off. When it does, charge it back up and turn it on.

With older MacBooks, you can remove the battery from the bottom of the computer instead. This is a quicker way to force your MacBook to shut down.

If you have an iMac, a Mac Mini, or a Mac Pro, simply unplug the power cable from the back of the computer. Wait a few moments to let your Mac cool down, then reconnect the power cable and power it back on.

Find Out What to Do if Your Mac Won’t Turn On Again

Most of the time, your frozen Mac should boot up again normally after forcing it to shut down or restart. Any apps that weren’t working should run smoothly and you can carry on with whatever important projects you were working on.

That said, your Mac might refuse to restart if an underlying problem caused it to freeze in the first place. Potential problems range from outdated software to faulty hard drives.

Use our step-by-step guide to find out what to do if your Mac won’t boot up; you can fix most problems yourself at home. But if not, you may need to book a physical repair with an Apple store.

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The Best Free Homeschool Printables and Templates for Parents

Whether you’re homeschooling your children temporarily or planning to make it permanent, you could probably use a little help. This is where templates and printables come in.

A template or printable can help you jumpstart a document rather than build it from scratch. Most times we think of using these for business. But these homeschool templates and printables are just what parents need to make teaching at home easier.

Homeschool Schedule Templates

One of the most important documents you can compose for homeschooling is a schedule. This lets you plan each day’s lessons and activities along with breaks.

If you use Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, the following two class schedule templates from Vertex42 are terrific. Both templates are available in Excel and Google Sheets.

Each template gives you seven days per week along with two tabs for how you want to break down your days. So if you want to schedule lessons in 15-minute increments or prefer 30-minutes, you have both options.

What’s nice about these editable templates is that you can type in all the lessons and activities each week and then save, share, or print them.

New Class Schedule Template

Class Schedule Template

Printable Homeschool Schedules

If you prefer to use a blank printable homeschool schedule and add lessons and activities by hand, Vertex42 offers similar templates as PDFs or for Microsoft Word.

You can find these on the same webpage as the other templates under Printable Weekly Class Schedules.

Homeschool Homework Planner Templates

To help your elementary or high school students, consider giving them a weekly homework planner template. Also from Vertex42, you can choose the style that’s best for your child. Each includes a checklist for homework and a schedule.

If you think they’d take advantage of typing in their homework plans in Excel, Google Sheets, or Word, you can download this first template. It includes two tabs in the spreadsheet versions for in-school and homeschool students. The difference between the two are the start and end times for the days.

Printable Homework Planners

Alternatively, there are two printable PDFs available; one for high school students and the other specifically for homeschool students. Like the template above, the difference is in the times for each day.

If your child prefers to go digital, take a look at this list of study planner apps for mobile devices.

Lesson Plan Templates

For your own planning as a parent who is now a teacher, consider using a lesson plan template. With this option for Microsoft Word from Class-Templates, you can plan out your lesson objectives, a summary of tasks or actions, materials you need, references, and take-home tasks.

Printable Lesson Plans

If you’d rather print a few lesson plan sheets and jot down the items instead, you can grab the PDF version of this lesson plan from the same website.

Alternatively, head to TemplateLab and check out their big collection of PDF lesson plans ready for printing.

Homeschool Printable Worksheets

If you’re looking for free homeschool printable worksheets, you’re in luck because there is a wonderful source.

Printable Worksheets is a site that offers free printables by subject, grade, and type.

For math, science, social studies, literature, and more, you can print crossword worksheets. You can download and view the crosswords and answers keys. Some subjects like math and science are broken down by grade level.

For children in kindergarten all the way through 12^th grade, you can grab crossword worksheets for each and every subject.

And if you prefer to browse by worksheet type, the site offers unscrambles, paragraph and sentence writing, and flashcards in addition to its popular crosswords worksheet.

Homeschool Report Card Templates

Another template you’ll need for homeschooling your child is a report card template. A2ZHomeschooling offers a couple of templates that differ per the application you’ll use.

For Microsoft Excel, check out this report card template. It comes complete with subjects ranging from math and science to health and handwriting. You’ll also see explanations of grades and symbols, and areas for attendance and work habits and character.

For Google Docs (or as a download for Microsoft Word from Google Docs), you can use this next homeschool report card template. Similar to the above template, this one has standard courses, electives, and an attendance record. You can easily add the final grade per term.

Also, the template gives you a course resources and activity log sections.

Printable Progress Report Form

Maybe what you really need is a printable progress report form that you can complete by hand. This option can be downloaded as a PDF. It gives you spots for recording progress by subject with dates and marks.

Homeschool Transcript Template

If your child is in high school, then this homeschool transcript template might be just what you need.

You can complete the Student Academic Record section with the school year, grade level, course names and descriptions, credits, grades, and GPA.

The template also gives you areas for tracking dual enrollment and honors classes, testing information, activities and achievements, and attendance.

You’ll also find helpful information for calculating GPA for standard and honors courses along with the yearly and cumulative GPA.­­

Homeschool Diploma Template Printables

To certify that your child successfully completed their high school education, you may need a homeschool diploma template.

The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling website offer two diplomas to pick from; one is 6 by 8 inches and the other is 8.5 by 11. Just complete the diploma with your child’s name the date, and your signature.

GPA Calculator

This next handy sheet is for calculating GPA. So while it’s technically not a template, it’s certainly essential for correctly calculating your child’s GPA, working scenarios to see how it affects their GPA, and keeping a record of grades and cumulative GPA.

It’s Never Too Late to Use a Template

Your homeschooling job may already be underway, but it’s never too late to start using a template. You might be using blank paper or notes for some of these types of documents or haven’t even considered using some of them at all.

Either way, you can prepare for next week’s lessons better using these homeschool templates and printables.

For an additional organization tool and notebook rolled into one for homeschooling, check out the advantages of using OneNote for school.

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