Free curricula in every subject for your 3rd grader

Kids can take a quiz to find out which Founding Father they match

Here’s a fun way to help your kids learn more about the Constitution and our Founding Fathers. The National Constitution Center offers this fun quiz: Which Founder are You? The U.S. Constitution was written in 1787 by a group of 55 men with one purpose and many different personalities. Discover which Founding Father you’re most […]

Free Latin classes and resources for all ages

Free Latin classes and resources for all ages

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, […]

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 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 […]

Free printable life-sized child and adult skeletons, skull puzzles and more!

Free printable life-sized child and adult skeletons, skull puzzles and more!

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 […]

Free 89-page ACT math practice book offered online

Free 89-page ACT math practice book offered online

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 […]

Kids can learn history through DIY timeline game

Kids can learn history through DIY timeline game

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 […]

Free online learning games for every subject

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:  […]

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 […]

New York Public Library releases over 180,000 items online

New York Public Library releases over 180,000 items online

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 […]

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 […]

You-tube's Music for History Lovers channel uses modern music to teach history

You-tube’s Music for History Lovers channel uses modern music to teach history

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 […]

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 […]

50 Fabulous electives for homeschooled high schoolers

Is your homeschooled high schooler looking for great electives that count towards graduation, look good on a transcript and are also interesting? There are hundreds of great ones to choose from. Here are 50 great electives for homeschooled teens to consider. psychology photography PE art agriculture/botany astronomy creative writing sociology women’s studies art history music/band/orchestra […]

Complete high school forensics course offered free online

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 […]

Free 52-week Western history video course offered online

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 […]

Fabulous projects to get kids hooked on social studies

Fabulous projects to get kids hooked on social studies

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, which was launched by Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sangler, is designed to offer free access to thousands of education-related videos for students ages 3-18. Sanger describes it as "YouTube meets Wikipedia." What can you find on WatchKnowLearn? Nearly anything! For instance, some of the videos currently available include: A short video about Minnesota from the History Channel Singing the alphabet with Elmo and India Aria A short geography video how Pangea split and the plates moved to form the world we now know. An animation of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" A half hour video teaching about the history and culture of the religious Shaker movement. A vast assortment of math songs Schoolhouse Rock's "How a bill becomes a law" Doing a unit on clouds? A search produces hits in categories like meteorology, earth sciences and clouds, with options such as: Weather & Meteorology : How Do Clouds Form? Cool Clouds Mykie's Lesson Plan 3: Clouds Different Types of Clouds (Time-Lapsed Photography) Cloud Rap New Cloud Type Name Proposed-Asperatus How To Classify Clouds Wow! Amazing Images of Storm Clouds Lesson for Painting Clouds "Going Outside"- Learn Weather and Outside Sign Language Words These are just a few of the results just on page one of the results for clouds -- and there are 116 pages of results! Click here to visit the website and see all of the videos available. You can also set up your own classroom on the site to organize the videos you'd like to use in your homeschool. The search tool allows you to filter by age, and you can browse through subjects and many, many sub-categories to find great content. The site was launched in October of 2009. The contributions have come from National Geographic, NASA, you-tube, eHow, private users and Google Videos, among many other sources. This is a wonderful resource for putting together unit studies, accompanying curricula or just answering questions as they come up.

WatchKnowLearn offers thousands of free educational videos for kids

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, […]

Free curricula in every subject for your 3rd grader

Kids can earn free T-shirts and certificates from MENSA for Kids for reading

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 […]

18 Magazines that publish art and writing by kids and teens

18 Magazines that publish art and writing by kids and teens

There are more and more magazines that feature writing and art by kids and teens, both online and in print. This is a great way to encourage reluctant writers and to give enthusiastic writers and artists a place to spotlight their creativity. Here are 18 magazines that publish children’s writing and art: Creative Kids magazine […]

Amoeba Sisters teach biology through fun videos and free handouts

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 […]