Free homeschool resources - surefire research and public domain image websites

 It's super hard to find free websites these days.

We are compiling a list of resources and have created a playlist here: 

HOMESCHOOL RESOURCE PLAYLIST

Check it out

maps, Art, history, images, and more. 

Shakespeare Though

I've become obsessed with Shakespeare. 

Perhaps it is because I am currently repurposing costumes we used in The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged and using them for a kids show, Rumplestiltskin, so I am literally, conjuring up memories as I handle the costumes. 

Perhaps it is because we, the community theatre board just approved next year's season, and so I had time to think about what I love and what I wanted to see. 

Maybe it's because I experienced "1599" at the Irondale Center in Brooklyn some months ago and haven't been able to get it out of my psyche.  If hubby's job was still in NY, I would to see it again! (I wasn't asked to promote this). 

I wrote on my Facebook page today "Theatre without the Shakespeare is like reading without the alphabet". To me, it is the foundation of acting and an actor who chooses to skip it chooses to not

Notes for today: blogging to learn & then some

I mentored a homeschooled boy a couple of years ago who had a lot of work to do in the language arts area.  In a very short time, we (his mother and I) managed to turn him into a very good writer.  He was soooo good in fact that his college essays were primarily the factor that got him into college.  How did we do it?  We encouraged blogging.  So when I came across this site today, I had to recommend it to you.  

Stop homeschooling preschoolers!  Let them play and they will learn.    At most, get them some games that are educational in nature. 

The first step to winning a debate is to always respect your opponent.  I don't think we can call what was on TV last night a debate.  ...And then there's rule #4.  Don't confuse passion with hatred.  I think maybe we should bring debating back into childhood education. 

Another case of schools over-reacting: "A few weeks into the school year at Jordan Middle School, school officials took note of Colman's medical history, information that eventually was shared with another Jordan parent whose two children have classic cystic fibrosis and are predisposed to chronic lung infections. "The school district freaked out," Colman's mother said."  And asked him to transfer to another school.  The family is homeschooling until the issue get's straightened out.  Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Boy-in-school-flap-over-cystic-fibrosis-3944802.php#ixzz29ZRI0xY2  Once again, people have to realize that schools are not interested in what is best for the individual student.  Sometimes what is best for the school, school districts, etc, can be very detrimental to the child.  This is why the option to homeschool is so important. 

FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE
ahermitt.com

Fat Cat Phonics (Educational Product Review)

I was recently sent a link to a site called Fat Cat Phonics.   This educational tool/ learning toy started out as a craft project between mother (Jennifer Powell) and daughter who wanted to give out refrigerator magnet gifts.  With the help  of her educational consultant friend, it quickly morphed into a valuable learning tool that teaches and reinforces fundamental reading & math skills using a highly engaging hands-on format.to teach phonics and math.

The best part of this program is that the child will be learning through play.  That puts this item on my list of possible Christmas presents, not for my high school kids, but for preschoolers through third graders.  Check it out, it looks like a great investment and excellent use of the Christmas budget.

Don't just take my word for it.  Check out the website which includes a web portal with membership.

Homeschool Resource Review: Knowledge Adventure

I have always said that the best way to teach children is to not even let them know they are learning. Of course this is easier to do with elementary aged kids than middle and high school kids are there is not as much educational software available for older kids as there is for younger kids.

When we first started homeschooling, we took full advantage of software such as Math Blaster, Reading Blaster, and similar titles. These games are as much fun as they are educational, and it sure made me happy when my kids came to me asking if they could "play" their educational games.

These games I mentioned and more are available through a company called Knowledge Adventure who creates many award winning multimedia educational software that is used in both homes and schools.

I haven't used their product much in the last few years since my kids are getting older, but Say it in Spanish looks good for my Christmas list. I wonder if they plan do make one for Mandarin Chinese... my daughter would love it.


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100 hours to literacy?

Here is a story about a new method of homeschooling called Thomas Jefferson method that pupports a child with zero literacy can reach high school level in 100 hours. see video here While it sounds a bit iffy to me, it it is moderately affective, I would use it for a summer school program with kids who need improvement.

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Looking for a Preschool Curriculum

I see many email groups and blog questions asking for advice on preschool curriculum. I ran across the same question on this rather cool blog today.

Personally I feel using the words "Curriculum" and 'preschool" together is an oxymoron. It's pre-school... curriculum's is school-school. When you are homeschooling, the first thing I believe you should teach a child is to love education. To get a child to love education, it's a great idea to not let them know they are actually learning anything.... (unless the concept has already been driven home by older siblings and relatives).

Learning for preschool age children should be as natural as breathing, playing, and picking their noses.

If I'd had the courage and opportunity to homeschool my kids beginning from preschool, we would have played games, stacked alphabet block, counted from charts on the wall, and played fun video games like Reader Rabbit, and read them lots of books.... WAIT. We did do all of that and more at home... and then I sent them to preschool anyway... sigh.

I hope you all get my point... for preschool, curriculum is not really necessary. It is just an extension of growing and being a kid. If public preschool is good for anything it is teaching kids to sit still and listen to prepare them to learn in the coming years.

So I've had my say.

If you still feel that curriculum for your preschoolers is absolutely necessary, consider some of these books:



I also like time4learning.com!




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Educational Website Review: K-12 Free Homeschool

I saw the words K-12 Free Homeschool and got nervous. I am going to have to give a bad review, I thought. One public school at home program is no different from the rest, not to mention the fact that veteran homeschoolers everywhere are waving their arms and yelling NOOOO about free k-12 homeschool programs. But this one is different.

First of all, it is not a public school program. K-12 Free Academy is an online "cutting edge solution for home school families who wish to provide their children with a quality CHRISTIAN education at home." Yes, I sad Christian and Free in the same sentence.
Here's how it can be tuition-free.

But what about the courses? K-12 Free provides 6 courses per year for elementary students, Middle school students can choose electives and alternate learning paths in addition to core courses. High schoolers can choose from free core courses and elective courses. The large variety of courses includes Crime Scene Investigation and piano lessons. The programs are based on CD-roms, audio, videos, workbooks, textbooks, and off line activities. They also provide record keeping software and access to teacher assistance, portfolio creation and more. Check out the K-12FreeHomeschool.org Course Catalog for more information.

So what do I think about K-12 Free Home School? I am certainly intrigued by the program. I looked at the sample lessons and found the fraction lesson to be intensive, complete, and concise. I love the way the lesson was followed up by links to more information and Internet activities. I am sure a child would learn well using lessons like these.

So if you are willing to put in a little work (reviewing products and completing surveys), you can take advantage of this new homeschool program.

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This Old School House Magazine wants you

to fill out their homeschool survey... Its about 120 questions, and I finished it in 5 minutes.
Greetings!

It's almost time for us to close our 2007 Homeschool Survey!

But You Can Still Participate! Over 3000 homeschoolers have already shared their opinions with us, but we say "the more the merrier". We even have two free ebooks to share with anyone who completes the survey. One is our newest ebook, Homeschool Dialogues, which features some of the most popular interviews from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine over the years. The other is 20 Homemade Learning Games from our friends at Trigger Memory System! We definitely think you'll enjoy reading both of these books. Be watching; once you complete the survey, you'll be directed to a page where you can immediately download both ebooks.

We truly appreciate all of you taking the time to participate in our survey and look forward to reading all of the results. It truly helps us to be the best magazine that we can be! And won't you please share the link to the homeschool survey with your homeschool groups or friends so they can participate and get the free ebooks before Friday? We'd love to hear from them too! Sincerely,

Your Friends at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

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Learn the elements

Here is a funny youtuve video (with a link to the original website) that will help you learn the elements. Enjoy.






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Free Home Schooling Websites

One of the more recent and more popular arguments against homeschooling is that it is cost prohibitive. This not true. As I stated in a recent article, you do not need to have a lot of money for home schooling. I will go as far as to say, if you have internet connection, and access to pencil and paper, you will have everything you need. Here are some websites that will allow you to homeschool free: READ MORE>>



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How Do You Feel About Tutoring

As homeschoolers, we often feel that hiring a tutor means we are not capable of educating a child ourselves. We would rather stay up all night before a new lesson is to be introduced learning the lesson ourselves. As for myself, I decided some years ago, that I would rather pay for a tutor than the throw myself into a subject I was not passionate about. I would rather hire someone who has the passion that a subject needs to pass on that excitement to my kids.

Securing proper Tutoring for a homeschoolers is not the easiest job. It takes time and connections to find someone whose personality meshes well with that of your child’s. Even when a good tutor is found, you never know when the life of that tutor will change, and therefore that tutor is gone.

Despite the struggles in getting a tutor, I have to say that the person I hired to teach my children Math did an excellent job helping my children to excel where I was just helping them to keep up. The degree of guidance and Math Tutoring she supplied was far more priceless than the fee I paid her each week.

One thing we must remeber as homeschoolers is that a tutor does not have to take our place as your child’s math teacher, instead they can supply homework help in whatever subject we feel our children need it.

I recently found out about a website called tutorvista.com. They supply online tutoring in Algebra, english , Geometry, Calculus , Statistics, Science, Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Grammar . Tutor Vista also helps students prepare for standardized tests and exams. I was most impressed by the fact that they offer unlimited subject tutoring, with membership.

Interesting video on math in schools

I found this video online that gives some interesting insight in the way math is taught in schools. It also gives a plug for singapore math.

view it here:

At risk materials used in public school may help your homeschooler

If you began homeschooling because your child was considered 'at risk' and was becoming more and more 'at risk' every day, here is a tool that you might find helpful. I can come across a program designed for use in school districts where there are a large number of at risk students. There is no reason however, that homeschoolers cannot use it too. (Of course, you may want to check the content for worldview vs. Christian view. The materials are available in multi packs and single servings too!

"The ELA ASP (Academic Support Program) is a complete modular package for improving academic performance when students are at risk. By integrating instructional strategies with test practice, it is a powerful solution for the great majority of striving students who aren't served by test practice alone, while being flexible enough to "back up" as different kids need it, and has been designed around the IRA/NCTE standards."

The English and Language Arts program costs $295.00 for grades 9-12 and from what I can tell, by looking at the preview downloads, it is a good guide for what your 9th -12th grade student needs to know. For children who just need to round out their highschool homeschool experience, you may want to try out 300 Lessons In Art for 7-12 graders, or Activities in Musical Composition for middle and high school students. The prices for these enrichment programs are very reasonable.