Here’s a fun little math trick to show the kids. Polish hand magic is named after a hand trick that someone posted on the internet years ago that they had supposedly learned from a Polish friend. It is basically a way to multiply larger numbers using your fingers. You use your fist and fingers to […]
Category: Middle school
50+ Magical Ways to Learn Together This Week
50+ Ways to Learn and Play With Social Studies
Looking for some hands-on ways for kids to work on history, geography, government and more? There are so many great ways to work on these skills with kids besides boring lesson plans and textbooks. Here are 50+ great ways for kids to learn social studies from fun, games and real life: Volunteer at a historic […]
50+ Real Life Ways to Learn Math
Looking for some hands-on ways for kids to work on multiplication, fractions, ratios, algebra and more? There are so many great ways to work on these skills with kids besides worksheets and textbooks. Here are 50+ great ways for kids to learn math from games and real life: (Note: This was supposed to be 50, […]
10 Fun Free Ways to Play with Geography
Looking for some fun ways to sneak in some geography this week? Here are all kinds of ways to help kids (and you!) learn about countries, maps and regions. Note: Affiliate links to Amazon are provided when helpful. Purchases from our links earn us a small commission to help keep the lights on here. I […]
Review: Ecology for Kids
Looking for some fun and educational hands-on activities to teach ecology to your kids? Here’s a book that delivers it well. The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Ecology for Kids: Science Experiments and Activities Inspired by Awesome Ecologists, Past and Present is one of a series of great books by Liz Lee Heinecke, also known as the […]
Free Art Lessons for Kids: Week One Wayne Thiebaud
Welcome to week one of our 12-week free art lessons for kids course here at A Magical Homeschool! This week the kids will be learning about the art of Wayne Thiebaud (pronounced TEE-bo) and following along with five days of fun and easy art projects using a variety of media. Who was Wayne Thiebaud? Wikipedia […]
10 Sneaky Ways to Improve Your Child’s Math Skills
Math seems to trigger some ancient fight-or-flight mechanism in some otherwise brilliant children. This irrational fear of math can cause kids who don’t feel good at the subject to avoid doing it, leading to a snowball effect of more avoidance, falling farther behind and feeling more panic about not understanding it (and more avoidance). Luckily, […]
50 Fun Ways for Kids to Get Great at Spelling
All five of our homeschooled kids are now great spellers, but they weren’t always great. They learned in different ways that suited them, but in the end they all ended up becoming excellent spellers — without worksheets, drills or a curriculum. How? It was easier than I thought it would be, once they learned in […]
Learn French Free with The French Tutorial
Have you heard of The French Tutorial? It offers a full French course absolutely free online. The website, which has been around since 1999, says: The French Tutorial is a web-based step by step lesson covering basics, pronunciation, but also grammar, vocabulary and everyday French. It offers audio and video support for better oral comprehension, […]
Math Games Lab for Kids: a Great Book for Hands on Fun
Who needs to stick to a boring old math curriculum? There are some really great books for hands-on math fun. Math Games Lab for Kids: 24 Fun, Hands-On Activities for Learning with Shapes, Puzzles, and Games by Rebecca Rapoport is definitely a fun one to check out with your kiddos. I read an advanced reader […]
Fabulous Free American Sign Language Curriculum, Classes & More
Is your child interested in learning American Sign Language? There are some really wonderful free resources for kids of all ages to learn ASL. The American Sign Language University offers wonderful free online ASL classes. They provide four levels of classes for free, with each course building on the last and comprising of 15 in-depth […]
Kids Can Learn Native Languages FREE with 7000 Languages
Here’s a wonderful free resource for adults or kids to learn indigenous languages. 7000 Languages is a nonprofit website and app that teaches native languages such as Dakota, Cree, Balinese and Ojibwe, absolutely free. 7000 Languages explains: We create free online language-learning courses in partnership with Indigenous, minority, and refugee communities so they can keep […]
Artsology Uses Games to Teach Kids About Famous Art
Have your kids played on Artsology yet? This free site uses a wide range of games and activities to teach kids about famous art and music, from Georgia O’Keefe flower puzzles to Salvado Dali hangman to virtual graffiti tagging and jazz musician name scrambles. This is a site we visited with our older kids years […]
Kids Can Win Scholarships Through the Science without Borders Annual Art Contest
Here’s a way for kids to be creative, spread awareness to protect our oceans and coral reefs, and possibly earn scholarship money through their art right now. The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation’s Science without Borders® Challenge is an annual art contest open to kids 11-19 years old, with scholarships of up to $500 […]
A Favorite New Science and History Book
Our twelve year-old son, Alex, has been carrying around a huge science and history book for 3 days, devouring every page of it and talking to anybody who will listen about what he’s reading. The book is one that I reviewed recently for NetGalley, which I ordered after reading it because I thought it would […]
IHA Offers FREE U.S. History Textbook Online
Here’s a great resource for high school or advanced middle school level American history. USHistory.org offers its entire U.S. history textbook free online. The 60-unit textbook covers our nation’s history “From Pre-Columbian to the New Millennium,” with chapters beginning with Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization and ending with Toward a New […]
Free curricula in every subject for your 7th grader
Homeschooling in the middle school years doesn’t have to be expensive. There are many outstanding curricula for math, science, history, language arts and more that are absolutely free. Here are some of the best free resources for 7th graders in each subject. Note: This is a tiny fraction of what’s available online for free […]
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 […]
Shakespeare Fortune Teller! (and lots more Shakespeare fun)
Here’s a way to have a little fun with the kids and work in some Shakespeare. Shakespeare online has a Shakespeare Fortune Teller that lets you pick from 7 questions to see which Shakespeare quote will tell your fates. The questions are… Will I be prosperous? Will I get married? Will he change after marriage? […]
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 […]
Sensory Integration tricks to help kids focus — from pre-K through high school
It can be very hard for some children to sit still and pay attention, even into the teen years. While it’s a common misunderstanding that this is always a sign of an issue like ADHD or that the child is not trying hard enough, there are actually many reasons kids can have trouble concentrating. Among […]
Cold weather science: Make a cloud on the ground!
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 […]
Sing physics and chemistry carols with the kids! (Updated with more songs)
Dozens of free spelling games online!
Looking for some fun games to help your kids practice their spelling? There are lots of great websites online that let kids of all ages hone their spelling skills. Some let you incorporate your own lists, some offer extensive grade-level lists to choose from, and some just focus on fun. Here’s a round-up of some […]
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
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 […]
Lizard Point offers fabulous geography tools for teachers (FREE)
Here’s a wonderful site to help kids learn all kinds of world geography, absolutely free. Lizard Point Quizzes offers interactive geography games that teach everything from countries in Africa to Canadian provinces to geophysical regions of the United States. In addition, they also provide features like merit stamps and give teachers the ability to track […]
National Academies Press offers free evolution books online
Here’s a wonderful resource to help teach evolution. The National Academies Press offers all of its evolution-themed science publications free online. One of the most helpful books is the NAP’s 88-page Science, Evolution, and Creationism, which was written by a team of experts from the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences and Institute […]