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 […]
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 […]
Here’s a great freebie for nature studies and botany lessons. Go Botany, a fantastic web site that has all kinds of plant identification tools, offers these printable cards. They say: Practice your identification skills with these handy plant quiz cards! Even when you cannot get outside or sample live plant specimens, you and your […]
We checked out a fabulous book from the library yesterday and it got our youngest daughter, Fiona, excited about finding and identifying feathers. Plume, written and illustrated by Isabelle Simler, was New York Times selection for Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2017 and you’ll be able to see why. I just find it enchanting and simple, […]
Looking for some fun ways to work nature studies into your homeschooling this month? Here are all kinds of wonderful ways to use nature to work science, math, writing, art and more into your learning. Whether you live out in the country or are stuck inside an apartment this month, there are still ideas to […]
Here’s a fantastic science freebie! The innate immune system is your first line of defense against many pathogens. BioLegend is offering their newest poster on Innate Immune Signaling, which covers TLR, NOD, Lectin signaling pathways, and more. You can learn more about innate signaling with their webpage and request this FREE poster and many others […]
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 […]
It may be snowy and cold, but there are still lots of opportunities for science and nature studies this month. Here are five great ways to do some science and nature studies with your kids in January. Start a weather tree. Kids can use weather trees to track the weather for the year, either simply […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
Summer is in full swing and it’s the perfect time to start up a little outdoor summer science. Don’t worry, this kind of science fun doesn’t require much on your part at all! Here’s all you need to get your kiddos experimenting, making concoctions and learning along the way. Test hypotheses. You hear all sorts […]
June is such a beautiful month that it’s nearly immoral to spend too much of it inside! Here are some fun ways to take the learning outside this month and have a great time doing it. Grow some gladiolas. Glads are wonderful flowers for children. They’re easy to grow, colorful, inexpensive, and don’t take much […]
Here are some great ways for the kids to play (and learn) in every subject from right at home today. These online games are all free and require no special downloads or installations other than basics like Java or Adobe Flash Player in some instances. Math: Zeus’ Petals teaches kids multiplication skills. The game says: […]
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 […]
When the peonies bloom in early summer, it’s a great opportunity to do some summer science with the kids. Here are some fantastic ways to do nature studies and learn all sorts of science concepts with these beautiful flowers. Keep them from blooming in the refrigerator for over a month! There are lots of sites […]
Researchers have designed a mobile app to help fossil hunters identify their finds, and it’s available for free on iTunes. The app was funded by the National Science Foundation and currently features digitized details on around 800 ancient species. Researchers say they will continue to add 15 to 20 new species to the database each […]
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 […]
If you haven’t been to the KIDS DISCOVER site for free educational materials, you’re missing out on some wonderful resources. The magazine publisher offers full-color downloads, posters, activity packs and printables on a variety of subjects, absolutely free. Some of the topics covered include: Metamorphosis Ancient Empires Rock Cycle Louisiana Purchase Simple Machines Bill of […]
Here’s a wonderful resource for your nature studies. Hobby Farms is offering free, colorful animal track ID cards that you can print out to use for all sorts of educational fun. The sixteen cards include: Deer Mountain Lion Wolf Wild Turkey Skunk Beaver Bobcat Squirrel Fox Opossum Mole Mouse Raccoon Rabbit Coyote Bear The cards […]
Here’s a fantastic resource for high school students who are interested in criminology and forensic sciences. Forensics Illustrated is an eleven-unit forensics course for high school students that is offered in its entirely online, free. The author explains: Forensics Illustrated is comprehensive collection of all the resources collected, manufactured, and utilized by Brennon Sapp during […]
The internet is filled with fabulous educational videos, but finding them can be tricky. Enter WatchKnowLearn, which gathers these videos from the internet and puts them in one organized, searchable place. The site currently offers about 50,000 videos on everything from osmosis to table manners to sign language to the philosophy of numbers. The website, […]
Nature study can be an invaluable part of a child’s homeschooling. Most parents know that kids enjoy nature study, but many don’t realize the many ways it’s vital for the best possible education. Here are ten reasons that nature study should be a major component of every homeschool. It’s an easy way to teach science. […]
Here’s another wonderful free resource for teaching biology. The Amoeba Sisters have dozens of videos explaining biology concepts such as enzymes, homeostasis, DNA, protein synthesis, bacteria, natural selection, food webs, biomes, body systems and much more. They even provide free handouts to accompany the videos and extend the lessons. The videos are hosted on the […]
Educational games for kids just got even more impressive. The Nobel Prize Foundation has created a variety of games to teach kids about subjects like blood typing, DNA, the immune system and more — and it’s all free. Nobelprize.org explains: Through the assistance of foundations, corporate sponsors and educational bodies, Nobel Media AB creates and […]
Here’s an incredible new educational resource for kids. Frontiers in Neuroscience for Young Minds is a new web-based science journal that involves kids in the editorial process. The site explains: Frontiers in Neuroscience for Young Minds is a scientific journal that includes young people (from 8 to 18) in the review of articles. This has […]
It goes without saying that many of our world’s most famous scientists and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) pioneers were home educated back when homeschooling was more common. These include great scientists such as Alexander Graham Bell, Ernst Mach, Pierre Curie, Mary Blackwell, Clara Barton, Joseph Priestley and Thomas Edison (who only lasted three […]
The National Institute of Health has some phenomenal science resources available to the public for free, through the mail or online. These include lessons on science and medical topics such as scientific inquiry, genetics, sleep disorders, chemicals, the brain, the mouth, evolution, cell biology and more. The NIH says: The NIH curriculum supplements are teacher’s […]
Here’s a great way to combine nature studies, science and math in a really fun way — use crickets to tell the temperature! My husband has been teaching our kids to tell the temperature by counting cricket chirps for years. It sounds like a bit of blarney, but it actually works and scientists have been […]