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 […]
I wrote recently of the unique perspective Maria Montessori had about education during the middle school years. But what about the high school years? Here, Montessori believed in more serious academics, but with much real-world experience. Montessori expert Michael Olaf says of the years 15-18: “For age fifteen to eighteen, when the rapid growth of […]
Looking for a good Japanese course for your kids that won’t break the bank? Georgia Public Broadcasting has made their entire Japanese course, Irasshai, available online — absolutely free. The video series is designed to serve as the equivalent of a three year foreign language high school course, though it could easily be used for […]
Looking for free Spanish resources for your homeschool? Here’s a roundup of absolutely free lessons, videos, printouts, games, curricula and ideas to teach your child (or yourself) Spanish, from the preschool level to high school and beyond. Mi Vida Loca This online series from the BBC “takes you on an intrigue mystery adventure […]
School is starting up again soon, and some parents are starting up at home for the first time. It can be overwhelming trying to choose books, curricula and programs. Here’s what you need to buy to start out… Nothing. Yes, that’s right. Nothing. The single biggest mistake that new homeschoolers make is investing in too […]
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, […]
It’s summer time and the perfect season for camping. Why not add to the fun by doing a little chemistry with campfire coloring and experiments? We tried a little campfire chemistry while camping with homeschool friends a few years ago. It was such fun that afterwards we looked up other ingredients to add to really […]
Last week, my husband took our kids to a local lake to look for meteorites. Yes, meteorites! Okay, they were micrometeorites to be more specific, but nonetheless, the kids were able to find and hold something that came from millions of miles away in space. Can you think of a cooler way to spend a […]
So you have a microscope (or are giving one to the kids for Christmas) and you’re stuck on what to do next? Here are 50 easy-to-find things to view under a microscope. All of these can be viewed with a basic microscope without high powered lenses (or even a pocket scope), though they’ll often be […]