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 […]
Want to work Thanksgiving into some of your homeschooling fun this week? Here are eight ways to incorporate grammar, creative writing and other language arts lessons into the holiday. Do a Thanksgiving mad lib. Here’s another. These are a great way to learn parts of speech! Challenge the kids to see how many words they […]
It’s a brand new month, and one that’s brimming with opportunities for science and nature activities. Here’s five fabulous ways to take advantage of the season this month. Take part in the Handbook of Nature Study’s Signs of Autumn Art/Nature Journal Study. Look for signs of autumn like dry grass or weeds, birds overhead or […]
It’s a brand new month, and there are lots of new opportunities for science and nature study with the kids. Here are five fun ways to incorporate these subjects in your homeschooling this month. Make seed pod and pine cone bird feeders. We’ve all seen the pine cone and peanut butter type of bird feeder […]
World renowned photographer Jim Brandenburg has created a video project that gives kids the opportunity to watch breathtaking one-minute glimpses of nature every day this year. The web-based documentary series, Nature 365, features a new, a one-minute clip of seasonal nature footage for every day of the year. The footage is compiled from videos that […]
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 […]
Here’s a wonderful free resource for anybody with college-bound kids. The 200+ page bestselling book, Filing the FAFSA, is offered for free at edvisors.com. Filing the FAFSA: The Edvisors Guide to Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is by Mark Kantrowitz and David Levy, two respected experts in the college scholarship field with […]
Is your child interested in learning Latin? There are many free resources online to help make it easier. From Latin for Mountain Men to printable games to college level courses, here’s a round-up of some of the best free Latin resources online. Linney’s Latin Class is a free audio class for homeschooled and self-taught students, […]
There is a lot of confusion in the homeschool community about diplomas. Many parents believe their children will have to apply for a GED or even transfer to high school at the end of their schooling in order to get a “real” high school diploma. However, this is happily not the case. Yes, your homeschooled […]
Looking for some fun ways to play with spelling, poetry and writing in your homeschool? Make some language arts manipulatives! You can find wonderful materials all around the house, absolutely free, and pick up others at dollar stores or thrift stores for next to nothing. Here are some of our favorites. (Instructions follow for those […]
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 […]
Homeschoolers in some states such as Minnesota are legally required to administer a standardized, norm-referenced achievement test every school year for their children of compulsory school age. Other homeschoolers choose to periodically administer standardized tests in order to gauge how their children are doing. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills is one option for standardized […]
The ants are out for the summer and making pests of themselves around some homes. Why not take advantage of their presence to do some fun educational projects outside? From ant mazes to taste tests (for the ants, not the kids!), there are all kinds of fun STEM projects you can design to use some […]
The most commonly used standardized test among homeschoolers is probably the California Achievement Test (CAT). The fifth edition, or CAT-5 is most commonly used. Other editions are not as long or as comprehensive. Why would homeschoolers use standardized tests? Homeschoolers in some states such as Minnesota are legally required to administer a standardized, norm-referenced achievement […]
Raising monarch butterflies from caterpillar eggs has been one of the most magical ways that we’ve done nature studies in our homeschool for many summers. Some families order butterfly kits through the mail, but we’ve filled our yard with lots of plants that butterflies need at various parts of their life cycles so that they’ll […]
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 […]
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 […]
Looking for some hands-on ways to bring your anatomy studies to life? The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Anthropology has some wonderful freebies to help. The fantastic printables include: A life-sized adult skeleton A life-sized child skeleton in B&W or color 9-piece scramble puzzles of Prosimian Skulls, Prosimian Skulls and Hominoidea Skulls Word […]
Here’s a wonderful free resource to help high school students (or advanced younger kids) practice their math skills. prACTice 4 success is a PDF workbook intended to offer high school students who have completed algebra and geometry practice on problems similar to those encountered on the math portion of the ACT. Authors Jeremy Aikin and […]
The socialization myth is one of the most persistent plagues on homeschooling families. The public seems to have an image of homeschooled children locked in their houses, lined up in school desks in the basement while Mom points to a blackboard. The reality is that most homeschool families spend as much time outside of the […]
A national, nonpartisan campaign launched this week to promote the First Amendment to young Americans. 1 for All provides lesson plans for elementary, middle and high school students, plus a contest, links, resources and more. The campaign was conceived after surveys by the First Amendment Center found that only 1 in 25 Americans can name […]
Here’s an fun and effective way to help kids learn history and get an idea for when things happened in relation to each other. Make a timeline game! Here’s all you do: First, find a timeline of history that includes events you want to teach about. This site has collections of timelines of people, places […]
There’s a big push in the United States to introduce formal academics earlier and earlier for young children, and that has been spilling into the homeschooling community. While many homeschoolers of the 90’s chose to homeschool because of issues like schools transitioning to full-day kindergarten and the “too much, too soon” academic pressures that were […]
Many homeschool families do something special to celebrate the first day of school. Not only does it get kids excited about the new year, but it balances out the back to school excitement about schools outside of the home and helps keep kids happy about homeschooling. There are all kinds of ways you can […]
Here’s a wonderful way to explore geography with elementary aged children and work in a bit of history, too. Charlotte Mason’s Elementary Geography and Long’s Home Geography for Primary Grades are both available for free through public domain. Not only that, but they’re available in a variety of formats, including online and as Kindle books. […]
Many Americans are intrigued by Finland’s high international math scores and want to replicate their success here, with more and more people asking how to institute Finland’s curriculum in their own schools and even in their homeschools. The surprising news is that Finland doesn’t teach math in a novel way or have a trick that […]