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 […]
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 […]
Recently, a homeschooling mother wrote that she was looking for ways to incorporate more math into her homeschool. Zany word problems are a fun way to do that. Whenever we give math problems to our kids, we tend to make them rather crazy or fun. Sometimes it’s “mad scientist” math questions, sometimes it’s shopping questions, […]
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. […]
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 […]
Recently, a reader asked me for information about using Montessori principles to homeschool her older children. She wanted to know if Montessori methods could still be used with teens and preteens. The question intrigued me, as I’ve mainly seen Montessori methods taught for children up to age 12. What I found is that yes, there […]
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 […]