Free 700-page middle school chemistry course available online

Free 700-page middle school chemistry course available online

Looking for a comprehensive chemistry course for the middle school level? The American Chemical Society provides their entire 691-page curriculum for free as a PDF download or online resource. Middle School Chemistry: Big Ideas About the Very Small is designed to be an 8-10 week course, with each lesson requiring about 45 minutes to one […]

Free 9th Grade Animal Biology Curriculum Fat Dogs and Coughing Horses

Free 9th Grade Animal Biology Curriculum

Here’s a great freebie, courtesy of Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.  They offer their 9th grade curriculum, “Fat Dogs and Coughing Horses,” absolutely free online. They say: The 9th grade biology curriculum is already full and teachers often feel pressured by trying to cover everything during the course of the school year. With that […]

A Year of Forest School

Review: A Year of Forest School

Forest schools and other outdoor learning environments are becoming increasingly popular, not just in the United Kingdom but in the U.S. and around the world. A Year of Forest School: Outdoor Play and Skill-building Fun for Every Season, by Jane Worrell and Peter Houghton, gives parents and teachers ideas for nearly 40 seasonal activities suitable […]

Facts, activity pages and more to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.

Facts, activity pages and more to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, here’s an assortment of lesson plans, pages, songs, interesting info and more to use in your homeschool. abc Teach has a printable PDF bio with a multiple choice Q&A at the end. The Crafty Crow has MLK Day crafts and KidsSoup has some great crafts and activities. […]

Free physics comic books and coloring books

Looking for some great resources to help teach physics? The American Physics Society offers a wealth of great resources for kids of all ages — free. The APS’s PhysicsCentral provides physics-related comic books to read online, along with coloring books, activity guides, podcasts and vodcasts, physics games, book suggestions and more. The comic books, which […]

Don't toss those turkey bones! Easy Thanksgiving science

Don’t toss those turkey bones! Easy Thanksgiving science

  If you’re going to be having turkey this Thanksgiving, here’s a great way to make use of those bones afterwards. Make bendable bones! This simple science experiment teaches kids the importance of calcium — and is also just really cool. Here’s what you need: A jar large enough to hold a chicken or turkey […]

SDSU offers excellent free K-8 biology curriculum

SDSU offers excellent free K-8 biology curriculum

Here’s another great free science curriculum that homeschoolers can take advantage of. San Diego State University has developed a full curriculum of biology lessons for prospective or practicing teachers, complete with experiments, discussion questions, teacher guides, and more. Note as of 7-17-14: The links to this curriculum are currently not working at the SDSU site. […]

Free algebra games, lesson plans and curricula for all ages

Free algebra games, lesson plans and curricula for all ages

Looking for some resources to help teach algebra? There are some really phenomenal ones online, absolutely free. Here are some of the best. (Note that some sites offer multiple types of resources, but are listed in the section of their greatest strengths. For instance, CK-12 is listed under free textbooks but it also provides free […]

ACS offers free high school energy curriculum

ACS offers free high school energy curriculum

Here’s another helpful science resource that’s free online. The American Chemical Society offers a free high school level curriculum on energy that contains lesson plans, handouts, experiments, video links and more. The curriculum can be viewed online or downloaded as a 152 page PDF file. ACS says: Energy Foundations for High School Chemistry is a […]

How to accurately teach children about Thanksgiving

How to accurately teach children about Thanksgiving

  Teaching kids about Thanksgiving was easy in the old days. They were told sweet stories about pumpkin pie and friendship and gratitude. They did some pilgrim and Indian crafts and everybody (or almost everybody) felt happy. Things got more difficult once we started learning more about the real history of Thanksgiving. We found out […]

Thanksgiving Science! Ten ways to play with science this Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Science! Ten ways to play with science this Thanksgiving

Ever wonder what makes a turkey timer pop up? What’s the difference between a yam and a sweet potato? How can you make bones rubbery? I’ve rounded up ten fun ways to incorporate science in your turkey day. Learn with turkey timers! Here’s a simple explanation of the science behind turkey timers. (Extension: take apart […]

Harmony Art Mom offers excellent world geography curriculum (free!)

Looking for a good quality, open-ended world geography for your kids? Barbara McCoy of Harmony Art Mom offers a wonderful 36-week world geography curriculum online, absolutely free. Harmony Art Mom’s World Geography Plans (PDF) is a 48-page, in-depth weekly curriculum that aims to teach a broad overview of world geography, culture, world religions and current […]

Oodles of amazing educational uses for plastic eggs

Oodles of amazing educational uses for plastic eggs

After Easter, it’s the perfect time to pick up extra plastic eggs on clearance to use them for all sorts of homeschooling fun — and not just for the preschool set. Most of us have seen the Pinterest pins of Easter eggs being used to learn sight words or letters, but you can use them […]

Oodles of fun (free) ways to learn about atoms!

Oodles of fun (free) ways to learn about atoms!

Looking for some fun ways to bring your studies about atoms to life? Luckily, the internet is full of wonderful, hands-on ways for kids to learn about atoms. Here are all sorts of fantastic, hands-on ways to teach kids about atoms. ~ Sing “The Atoms Family” (Click here to see one family singing it together […]

EarthCache provides fantastic science adventures for nature sites all over

EarthCache provides fantastic science adventures for nature sites all over

Looking for a fun way to teach earth sciences, navigation, map skills and more? EarthCache combines all of these with field trips in your area (and around the world) to create educational adventures for the whole family. EarthCache was created by the Geological Society of America. They explain: How is an EarthCache different from a […]

PBS releases new free K-12 app for the iPad

PBS releases new free K-12 app for the iPad

PBS LearningMedia classrooms has announced a great new iPad app for K-12 students that is absolutely free. Designed specifically for students in grades K-12, the app provides access to thousands of resources covering all subject areas, from math and science to English and social studies. The PBS Student app allows kids to watch and learn […]

Little House homeschooling - Oodles of free lesson plans, printables & more

Little House homeschooling – Oodles of free lesson plans, printables & more

Are your kids Little House on the Prairie fans? There are all sorts of wonderful resources on the internet to help use the famous book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder in your homeschool. Here’s a round-up of some great sites. ~ Laura’s Prairie House has lots of hands-on activities, printables and recipes, plus much more. […]

Learn and craft about fireflies!

Learn and craft about fireflies!

Fireflies offer the perfect blend of science, nature, fun and magic. This is the perfect time of year to study them, too, and do some firefly crafts with the kids. Here are all sorts of ways to study these fascinating little insects and have some fun. Firefly.org is the perfect spot to start your firefly […]

LEGO homeschool! Oodles of lesson plans and more for every grade and subject

LEGO homeschool! Oodles of lesson plans and more for every grade and subject

Do you have a Lego lover in your house? Legos are great for learning when they’re used as building tools, but there are also all sorts of great lesson plans on the web to use them in even more educational ways. From chemistry models to creative writing prompts to symmetry challenges, there are fabulous lesson […]

Viking homeschool! Free printables, crafts, lesson plans and more

Viking homeschool! Free printables, crafts, lesson plans and more

Are you looking for fun resources to teach your kids about the Vikings? There are all sorts of wonderful crafts, printables, lesson plans and more — free for the taking! Crafts and costumes: Bug, Boo and Bean has instructions to make your own cardboard Viking helmets and swords and shields. Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational has […]

Free 34-week lesson plans for the entire Magic School Bus series!

Free 34-week lesson plans for the entire Magic School Bus series!

Do your kids love the Magic School Bus? Here’s a great way to use the series in your homeschool. The Homeschool Belle is offering Primary Science Lesson Plans for Magic School Bus DVD’s for free on Teachers Pay Teachers. UPDATE:  This resource is not currently on TPT because the author, The Homeschool Belle, is updating […]

Free curricula in every subject for your 3rd grader

NGA provides incredible free lending library of art education resources

The National Gallery of Art now provides a phenomenal lending library of art materials that any homeschooler can borrow through the mail for free, including teaching packets, DVDs, art reproductions and more. Individuals, educational institutions and other groups throughout the United States can borrow their teaching packets and DVDs for up to nine months at […]