Here’s a fabulously fun way for kids to learn their American states and world geography. Statetris is a free online game that kids play just like Tetris. States appear and the player uses arrow keys to move them to the proper place on the map. There are three levels: easy, medium and hard: In the […]
Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational has created a wonderful free printable card game that helps kids learn all about the geography and history of the states. Battle of the States is played a little bit like “War” but by comparing numbers and dates related to the states such as population, number of counties, electoral votes […]
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. […]
Are your kids interested in learning to play chess? Wikijunior offers an 84-page printable chess book for free. It can be viewed online, read on devices as a PDF file, or printed. The book, Chess, contains full-color photos and illustrations, rules of play, information about how each piece can be moved, a sample chess game […]
Here’s a wonderful resource to help expand your history lessons. The Vintage Ad Browser offers over 100,000 historical ads, posters and newspaper clippings going back as far as the 1700’s. The site creator explains: Vintage Ad Browser was created in 2009/2010 and released in 2010, by Philipp Lenssen from Germany, currently living in China. This […]
The New York Public Library announced this month that out-of-copyright materials in NYPL Digital Collections are now available as high-resolution downloads, and its lab team has provided wonderful tools to help use these items — even creating a Minecraft world from an 1860 map of Manhattan! The collection includes historic photographs, works of art, original […]
Here’s a great freebie that kids can get through the mail to learn about scientists. The National Inquirer, a children’s publication through the USDA Forest Service, is offering “Bee a Scientist” coloring books for free. The coloring books can be printed as a PDF file or you can request one or more copies through the […]
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 […]
Here’s a fantastic world history resource for kids who like pop music and music videos. The Music for History Lovers channel on you-tube uses modern top 40 hit songs to teach about important people and periods in world history, from the French Revolution (set to a remix of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”) to The Crusades […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Hobby Farms Magazine offers wonderful wildflower ID cards that can be used in all sorts of ways for nature study fun in your homeschool. The full-color cards offer photos and descriptions of fourteen wildflowers that can be found throughout the United States. These can be used in a myriad of ways for games, nature studies […]
Here’s a wonderful high school level history resource for homeschoolers. Annenberg Learner offers PBS’s 52-week video course, The Western Tradition, online — absolutely free. The course starts with “the dawn of history” and ancient Egypt and extends into the technological revolution. Each episode is approximately a half hour and is presented by UCLA history professor […]
Recently, a fellow homeschooling mom asked for good resources to teach social studies. She particularly wanted fun, hands-on ideas. She wrote: We’re looking for something that will lighten things up. History is so full of wars, disease, power struggles and such that my kids are amazed that humans ever made it past the Renaissance. Here’s […]
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, […]
Have you been to A Book in Time? This wonderful free resource for homeschoolers helps history come alive through great book recommendations, games, crafts and more. The site’s founder, homeschooling mother Carol Henderson, says, “A Book In Time first began years ago when I wanted my students to read some good history books along with […]
Here’s a wonderful way to encourage kids to read and to really give them a challenge. Mensa for Kids has developed the Excellence in Reading Award that gives children and teens a certificate of achievement and t-shirt if they successfully read all of the books on their age-appropriate recommended book lists. Kids can even listen […]
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 […]
Here’s a great resource for elementary and middle school math. Math Live is a website developed by Learn Alberta to teach math in a fun way. The online Flash-based application mimics a television set, with math lessons presented as cartoon episodes. Each one is filled with short, interactive segments to really reinforce the topics. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Once homeschooled students approach high school age, many parents start to worry about how to compile transcripts. While there are services that offer you assistance in this for a fee, the good news is that the internet offers a wealth of help in the form of advice, example transcripts and free transcript forms. There are […]