How To Use and Print Guest Hollow Materials

Welcome to Guest Hollow’s “How to Use and Print Guest Hollow Materials” help page. Click a section in the table of contents to navigate to the help you need. Click the green button to visit our main help page:

How to Use and Print Guest Hollow LLC’s Materials

These instructions apply to a variety of our materials from schedules to workbooks and other printables. The examples may be taken from a curriculum that is different from the one you purchased, but the principles explained below still apply.

The schedules are a buffet

Think of the activities (and even the reading assignments) as a BUFFET of things to choose from. You can do them all, or you can pick-and-choose as your schedule, interests, and time allow. Don’t let the schedule rule you! YOU are in charge.

If you feel overwhelmed by all the choices at first (especially after using curricula that is more “strict” in how you use it), our customers report that it doesn’t take long to “find your groove.” Join our Facebook groups to read about other’s experiences and how they adapted the schedules for their unique circumstances and needs.

Some tips on picking-and-choosing assignments

  1. Each schedule comes with a book list, and some of these lists rank books in order of importance to the program. Refer to the booklist’s ranking system (if your book list has one). You can cull books based on the time you have available for this program, interest level, availability, etc. You may wish to cut out some of the literature selections, especially if you aren’t assigning reading credits for those books. If you are using a science program, you may want to cut out some of the books that are marked as “history” in relation to the science being studied.
  2. Determine your student’s learning style and preferences. If a student doesn’t like hands-on activities, you may want to cut some of those out. If you have a reluctant reader, you may want to focus more on the videos and projects.
  3. For the curriculums that have them, you don’t have to do all the art projects or cook all the recipes. Motivated students may wish to set aside time on a Friday evening or the weekend to get to some of these projects. They don’t necessarily have to be done during “school” time. Students who dislike art projects shouldn’t have to do most of the art projects, but you may want to pick at least a couple for the creative exposure.
  4. You can easily extend most of our programs into two years or into the summer for those of you who school year-round. Just take two weeks to do each scheduled week.

Make the program work for you! Don’t feel like you are a slave to the schedule. It’s there to guide you and help give you lots of options and flexibility.

The info at the beginning of each schedule

At the beginning of most schedules, you will find information on how to access the online version of the schedule, tips for using the curriculum, a printable book and resource list, and a *supplies list. The weekly schedule follows the supply list. The end of the schedule has a survey you can email to us to help us improve the curriculum.

*Not all schedules feature a supply list. Check the curriculum you are interested in or have purchased to see if it does.

A visual guide on how to use Guest Hollow curriculum schedules

Click on the plus icons to get a quick overview of the schedule areas. Scroll down to read more about each numbered item in the graphic below in more detail.

Guest Hollow's homeschool curriculum schedule sample
Each week is broken up into days.
Daily assignment columns
Book titles and notes
Links are underlined
Scroll down for more info

How to read the columns in the schedule

Item 1: Our curriculum schedules are divided into 5 days per week that are featured in columns. Follow each each column down for the day’s work. The scheduled days are listed as Day 1 through Day 5.

Many families will have Day 1 correspond with Monday, Day 2 with Tuesday, and so on. However, the schedule is designed to be flexible. Due to other scheduled activities, illness, or holidays, you may end up using the schedule on a more open-ended basis where you do Day 1, take off a couple of days, and then come back to the schedule and do Day 2, etc.

You can do each day as scheduled, or you can mix-and-match. Some students follow each daily column as scheduled. Others decide to do all the reading one day, all the videos on another, etc. Many families using the Guest Hollow Chemistry in the Kitchen curriculum choose to do recipes on the weekend as a treat!

How to read the rows in the schedule

Item 2: The schedule is broken into sections that are listed in gray horizontal rows. Some sections may feature a book and its related activities. If that’s the case the book’s title will be in the gray horizontal row.

Everything underneath that row heading applies to that particular book. So in this example, you will be reading chapter 1 in Exploring the World of Physics. You will also be doing the activity on page 7 of that book (on day 2) and will be answering some questions from that book on page 13 (on day 5).

Other sections may feature specific assignments like videos, printables, online articles and activities, etc. These sections help organize different types of assignments.

Colored rows in the Guest Hollow schedule feature specific types of assignments.

Books and resources are listed in the far left column

Item 3: Books and specific resources are listed in the far left column of the schedule. If you see a book title in this row, then you know that all the assignments listed to the right of it in the same row apply to that specific book.

Sometimes there is a note that applies to the row. For example: If a note says “Choose one or more recipes,” then the note applies to all the listed recipes in that same horizontal row over the course of the week.

The circled note in red applies to all the recipes in this row.

Item 4: There are lots of internet links in our schedules! Links are underlined. You can click directly on the links when viewing them via your computer or device using a PDF reader app, the Microsoft Word version of the schedule, or via the online version of the schedule that is accessed by a browser like Chrome, Safari, or Firefox.

We recommend the following FREE PDF readers:

If you are using a tablet, visit your app store for either of these apps (Adobe or Foxit) or another PDF reader of your choice. We’ve tested our schedules on an iPad using both the Adobe and Foxit readers (and were able to click on links using both of these apps). We cannot provide tech support if your schedule doesn’t work on your device.

Need help accessing the different versions of the schedules? Visit your account to access your downloadable files. Visit your memberships to access the online version of your schedule. Contact us if you still need assistance.

You can report links by sending us an email via the form below, or by leaving a comment in the online version of the schedule. You can also report dead links in our Facebook groups. Please let us know which schedule you are using, which week the link is featured in, and which category (videos, etc.) as well as the link name. We’ll do our best to find a replacement link and upload the change. Reporting links will helps us keep the schedules as up-to-date-as possible.

Report a dead link:

While you are waiting to hear back from us, you can enter the link URL into the Waybackmachine to see if you can access an archived version of the broken link.

The differences between the Microsoft Word, PDF, and online versions of the schedule (and how to access them)

You can use the printable version (either the Microsoft Word or PDF version) of the schedule for recordkeeping. Just get a highlighter and mark the items your student finished. Another option is to cross out the things you’ve done or put a check next to the items that are completed. Students can use a printable copy to keep track of their work.

The Microsoft Word version of the schedule

We’ve provided a Microsoft Word version of each schedule. This version of the schedule allows you to make edits and customize the assignments to reflect your specific needs by editing the tables and rows of the schedule. You can edit out and add in books, remove video links, remove projects or add some in.

Having an editable schedule also allows you to remove items that you feel are inappropriate. We suggest you screen and preview every resource called for in any / all of our curriculums that you are using.

You will need some familiarity with a word processing program and can use whatever program is compatible with the .docx format (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Pages, etc.). We cannot help you edit the schedule.

Please note that any derivative schedule you create is NOT allowed to be shared with anyone other than your immediate family. You may not alter our schedules and resell them or give them away in any format to anyone outside your immediate family.

You can click on the links in the Microsoft Word version of the schedule by holding down the control key on your keyboard and then clicking the link you’d like to open in a browser. This process may be different if you are viewing the schedule in a different program like Google Docs or if you are not using a Windows based computer or device.

The PDF version of the schedule

We’ve provided a PDF version of each schedule. This version of the schedule is for printing and is also designed to be viewed on a computer or device. We recommend the following FREE PDF readers:

Once you’ve downloaded the PDF schedule to your computer or device, you are licensed to use the downloaded copy forever. Make sure you download, save, and back up your items immediately after your purchase!

You can click directly on the links in the PDF schedule from a computer or other device and can use your materials with younger students years later.

The online version of the schedule

Most of our schedules have an *online version. You can access the online version of the schedule by going to “My Account” and logging in with your store username (or the email address you used to make your purchase) and password. Once you’ve logged in, you can access your online schedule membership from the “My Account” page by clicking “My Membership.” Choose the appropriate curriculum membership and click on its title. You will go to the online version of that curriculum’s schedule.

If you need help signing into your account or you lost your password, visit the help page.

*Access to the online version of the curriculum schedules and additional downloads is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed due to potential various circumstances on our end and yours including and not limited to various computer, device, and internet configurations.

Tips for printing Guest Hollow printables

Many of our customers print their materials on a home printer, while others take theirs to printing services like The Homeschool Printing Company, or Family Nest Printing. Subscribing to the HP Instant Ink Program may be a way to save money on home printing costs. Another option is Barnes and Noble Book Printing Servies (if you’d like your printout to be like a bound workbook).

One of our customers used Barnes and Noble to print Beowulf’s Grammar as a workbook (as seen here). Picture shared with permission.

Schedules can be printed in black-and-white. We recommend that workbooks and Beowulf’s Grammar are printed in color, if possible.

Schedules and materials can also be viewed on a computer or device instead of printed.

Some helpful tips on how to save money purchasing books and assigning grades

I’ve read through this page and still need help!

If you have any other questions after reading this help page, you can send us an email by visiting our contact page, or by filling in the form below.

We hope you have a wonderful year homeschooling with Guest Hollow, LLC materials. Thanks for joining our family and helping support our small, home business! We are very grateful for all of our customers!

Happy homeschooling!
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