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FREE Homeschool Full Curriculums

Jan4

imagesBeing good stewards of our money is important, especially when many homeschool families are living on single incomes. One way you can do this is by using free online curriculum; here are some to check out:

Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool this Christian curriculum website is for all grades from preschool through high school. The subjects that are studied include English, math, computer and logic and includes lesson plans as well.

Lesson Pathways is a free online curriculum site that offers weekly lessons for students Pre K- 5th grade.  Areas of study are: Language Arts, Phonics, Science, Math, and Life Skills.

Ambleside Online created for families who are interested in the Charlotte Mason approach of education. Here is a description of what they have to offer taken from their website,”is a free homeschool curriculum that uses Charlotte Mason’s classically-based principles to prepare children for a life of rich relationships with everything around them: God, humanity, and the natural world. AO’s detailed schedules, time-tested methods, and extensive teacher resources allow parents to focus effectively on the unique needs of each child.” Grades K-12 are available on the website.

Project Gutenberg has free textbooks that are public domain. While it is not a stand-alone curriculum site, you can use many of the books to create your own curriculum.

Hippo Campus offers teachers and students from middle school through college thousands of educational videos, as well as lesson plans, and blogs with ideas for using these videos in your studies. Areas of study include: Mathematics, Natural Science, Social Science, and Humanities.

 

Andi Unstoppable

Dec21

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If your child is interested in mysteries, then I have a book by Amanda Flower that will be perfect. A camping trip to look for a rare bird, rumors of a mother-in-mourning ghost,  and holes that are appearing all over a Civil War cemetery combine to make a great adventure for Andi Boggs and her two classmates, Colin Carter and Ava Gomez. Do any of these events have anything in common?

Andi and Ava have not been on friendly terms before, so why are they voluntarily going on a camping trip together? Hopefully, the girls be able to work out their differences to be the first from their science class to spot the elusive bird. They, along with Colin, might even be able to solve the mystery that they have come upon. Andi Unstoppable is a great read for your 8-10 year old reader that I would recommend.If you are  interested in previewing this book, CLICK HERE

There are also two more books in the Andi Boggs series for your young readers, which I find is a terrific benefit for children who will enjoy this book and want to read more. Book one is called Andi Unexpected and book 2 is Andi Under Pressure. I received this copy of Andi Unstoppable from the book look bloggers program for my honest review.

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Your Body Battles Series

Dec14

Maybe it’s because I have been battling a cold, or maybe it’s because I teach classes of students who are coming to school sick that I found this series of books by Vicki Cobb called Your Body Battles. Ms. Cobb is one of my favorite children’s science authors because she writes clearly and finds an interesting way of doing so that engages her readers. This series has cartoon characters as well as pictures of germs at a microscopic level. If you are looking for trade books that will help you teach health, safety,  and hygiene, look for these titles.

Your Body Battles a Cold

Your Body Battles a Cavity

Your Body Battles a Broken Bone

Your Body Battles a Stomach Ache

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For an extension of activities to do with these books you could:

See how well you hands are washed or how clean surfaces of door handles and counters really are at your house. Grow some bacteria in a culture. To purchase a kit CLICK HERE. I bet that after your child(ren) has done this you won’t have to say, “Wash your hands” very often!

How about x-ray art? You can teach science AND look at the art of x-rays by a gentleman named Nick Veasey. There are x-rays of  a traveler, a granny with her pull-along cart, and a guy with a mohawk to name a few. However, one picture is objectionable, so please preview before showing your child.  CLICK HERE

No child should go through their life without experiencing the red plaque disclosing tablets! If you have never experienced this yourself, you have to try it! To purchase the tablets CLICK HERE You really see where the  plaque builds up along your teeth and gums. A word of caution: do not do this activity just before family pictures are going to be taken. 🙂

 

 

Online Read Aloud Books

Nov30

imagesDo you have a student that is an auditory learner? What about a child who wants you to read to them more than you have time in your schedule? Can’t get to the library or just want an audio book?  There is a free public domain auditory library whose mission is “to make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet. ”

LibriVox audiobooks are free for anyone to listen to, on their computers, iPods or other mobile device, or to burn onto a CD. Note, you should go to the site yourself if you want to see what content there is available. Everyone has different parameters for your family and some material is not suitable for young readers. I did listen to the beginning of a George McDonald book and I enjoyed the female reader’s voice. I also listened to a story about an East Indian tale about a turtle that couldn’t stop talking and found it to be entertaining.

So, how can you use this great resource for your school?

  • While your student is listening they could draw a picture of what is being read.
  • Write any unfamiliar words down and use them as vocabulary for your language arts program.
  • Audio books can help a child who needs more practice with listening skills.
  • Have your pupil summarize the story that they just heard, whether that be orally or written.
  • Discuss the story and have your scholar make connections, whether to another story you have read, or an experience that they have had previously.

Using Board Games for Math Skills

Nov23

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Math can become tedious at times with memorizing facts and completing rows of computation. How about getting out some board games to reinforce concepts?

Farkle is a game similar to Yahtzee where you roll dice and need certain dice combinations in order to win the game. For instance, you need  a combination of dice to get three of a kind or a small straight  (1, 2, 3, 4). But, unlike Yahtzee, you have to be careful or you will Farkle! This fun game teaches addition, subtraction, and critical thinking. Here is a  Free Resource from Teachers Pay Teachers that is a worksheet to keep track of your score. Do you have extra dice from other games? You can make this game yourself by using or purchasing 6 dice instead of acquiring the commercial version. Here are two more FREE worksheets to use that teach regrouping. CLICK HERE

Monopoly or Monoply Jr.  is a multi-grade level game with teaching children to count money, add, subtract, strategize, learn about monopolies, and economics as well as decision making. Teachers Pay Teachers has a list of free and inexpensive worksheets  to purchase if you are interested. CLICK HERE

Go Ape is similar to Go Fish, but instead of “asking”, you must pantomime what is on the card. This game is great for those that can’t sit still and for those who have  language deficits, not to mention how fun it is! Skills that can be reinforced by playing this game are matching and decision making. Acting and movement are part of the game too!

Uno is a classic game where you must match colors and/or numbers. This is a multi-grade game where older children can play this game with younger children. You can purchase the classic game or you can buy various versions such as Uno Attack.