HOME SCHOOLING

Important information about home schooling our children during a pandemic.

Resources.

Suggestions.

pencils, paper, writing tablets, crayons, grade-level workbooks, reading phonics books, age apropriate puzzles, flash cards, markers, craft supplies, scissors, glue, rulers, construction paper

Stores- Michaels(craft store), Walmart, Meijers, United Art and Education, Home schooling supplies websites, Teaching supplies websites

I homeschooled last year. Wish I could have this year and I will next year.

Great homeschooling site       http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/

There is so much info there! If any one has ? or needs help w/ homeschooling ideas etc. I'll be glad to help!

ok here are a few links -- mostly helpful for younger kids:

re book resource:

http://www.kudzubooks.com/

re animals:

http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/mon2.htm#sidebar1

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/PhotoGallery/

http://pbskids.org/backyardjungle/

http://www.kidsplanet.org/

(be forewarned about above link: it has animal sounds on it, so don't link to it if you are at work....)

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/kids/games/index.html

http://www.zoo.org/gallery/gallery.html

http://www.rainbird.com/rainforest/download.htm

http://netvet.wustl.edu/e-zoo.htm

http://biology.usgs.gov/features/kidscorner/kcquiz.html

http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/index.cfm (This has sounds on it too)

http://www.microsoft.com/games/zootycoon/zoo2/default.asp

http://www.aqua.org/

OK. My kidlet is waking up from his nap. Will try to continue with this later. The next category of links is Art. -- Libby

Here are some math sites:

http://www.picadome.fcps.net/lab/currl/math/patterns.htm#Sha pes

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/index.html

http://math.about.com/od/earlynumeracy/

http://www.mathplayground.com/

http://www.atozkidsstuff.com/math.html

http://www.preksmarties.com/math/index.htm

http://www.first-school.ws/theme/numbers.htm

http://www.kidsdomain.com/down/pc/mattiesprep2.html

http://www.mathgoodies.com/

http://www.preschooleducation.com/manimal.shtml

Keep in mind, these links are for younger kids....

Next category is music, which my 3 year old calls "mucus."

Here are music sites.

http://www.mysheetmusic.com/new/lessons/lessons.htm

http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/folk.html

http://www.pianonanny.com/ piano lessons

http://www.nyphilkids.org/main.phtml? (this plays music when you load it, so be careful if you're at work!)

http://www.mhschool.com/music/2005/student/index.html

http://www.kididdles.com/mouseum/index.html

http://drumsdatabase.com/ (everything to do with drums)

http://www.cyberfret.com/ (guitar lessons)

http://www.classicsforkids.com/index.asp (this one plays music when you load it...)

http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems.html

http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/staffpages/shirk/bus.ht ml

Next category I'll post will be reading....

Here are the reading sites. Note that these are for younger kids:

http://www.mrsalphabet.com/ (This one plays music when you load it)

http://www.abcteach.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/subjects/basic_skills.shtml

http://bogglesworld.com/cards.htm

http://ipl.si.umich.edu/div/kidspace/storyhour/goose/index.h tml

http://www.starfall.com/

http://www.abctooncenter.com/alphx2.htm

http://www.learningpage.com/

http://www.mhschool.com/languagearts/2001/student/index.html

http://www.mhschool.com/reading/reading/2003/student/index.h tml

Next category will be science....

Science links for young children:

http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/

http://www.exploratorium.edu/ls/pathfinders/preschool/home.h tml

http://www.first-school.ws/theme/science.htm

http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/science2.html

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/mammalws.html

http://www.preschooleducation.com/science.shtml

http://www.edhelper.com/Science.htm

motivational posters:

http://www.print-a-poster.com/

curriculum:

www.homeschoolingsupply.com

http://www.funlessonplans.com/aSea/seashore.htm

more links later

OK, here are some things you should do BF or no BF, so none of this would be a waste.

Every family should have some encyclopedias in print. If you cannot afford a newer complete set, buy multiple broken sets that overlap. Encyclopedias can completely cover science and social studies, and will be a welcome resource for all of the other subjects. Older broken sets are really good as you won't mind the children carrying them around outside and even losing a few volumes. You WANT the kiddoes to carry the "A" volume out to the anthole in the backyard!

Start a biography collection. Adult biographies are OK. The kids can just read the parts about the childhoods. You will be surprized how much science and history children will learn from biographies as well as character training. Children enjoy endlessly rearranging biographies on a bookshelf by author, character, time period, country etc. They really enjoy COLLECTING biographies.

Math is taught very poorly in 99.9% of our schools. Virtually EVERY child should be supplementing their school math at home. Buy some good math books with answer keys. Also pick books without keys at yard sales as resource books. Teach your children to READ math books and use the index and table of contents to look up concepts poorly explained in their school math books. Treat the math book collection like the encyclopedia collection. AGAIN, teach your children to READ math books!

If you are a member of a faith, make sure you have several copies of your holy book and resource and history books for it. Reading comprehension is best taught by analysing holy books! You can find ENDLESS books all talking about each verse :-) Often some of them are free :-0 Maps, coloring pages, crafts, etc. Just ENDLESS free or cheap resources that make the text come alive to your children and teach reading comprehension.

Basic decoding skills and reading speed are best taught by listening to audio tapes as a child reads along in a matching books. Most unabridged audio tapes and CDS will match any unabridged books. THe average child who is exposed to matching tapes and books will gain 5 years of reading skills in 6 months!!

If your child is already a good reader, look for dramatized tapes for OLDER and DIFFICULT books, so the child becomes familiar with the older 17th and 18th century dialects. If their decoding skills and speed are already good, don't worry about matching books. Just listening will give them an ear for older writing. I STRONGLY recommend "Pilgrim's Progress" in the dramatized version. The dramatized KJV Bible is EXCELLENT training for Shakespeare, Plutarch, and 17th century translations of the epics in verse.

Pick fiction with great care! Go for QUALITY not QUANTITY. Have the children read the stories several times, instead of investing in new books. With the aid of audio and rereading a book several times, children are able to read FAR above their age level. Read a page with them, discuss it and then send them back to read it again. My 16 year old son really only enjoyed Plato's Apology on the 3rd reading, after we had talked about it. He liked the 17th century translation in verse of the Aenid right off though, and was zipping right through that, thanks to all the ear training he recieved from listening to "Pilgrims Progress" at LEAST 20 times when he was 12 and listening to most of the KJV several times.

There are lists of books called "Great Books" lists. If possible stick to JUST these books, encyclopedias and biographies for "school" reading. I let my boys read pretty much what they wanted during free time...but "school" reading was pretty limited to choosing from a pretty short list.

Buy books on writing. School does a BAD job of teaching writing! You should be supplenting your child's writing education.

Foreign language is also poorly taught in school. If you are planning on having your child take a certain language, or they are taking a language, stock up on LOTS of resources for that language. We dabbled in MANY modern languages but mostly focused on Latin and Ancient Greek. If you teach an inflected language like Latin or Ancient Greek, you don't need to have a seperate English Grammar book. Most of it is included in their foreign language books. Yes you can teach Latin and Greek to little ones! My sister started her 4 year old on Latin and had never studied it herself. BF or no BF, homeschool or Public school, teaching yourself and your children foreign language is a GOOD thing!

You should have books that teach drawing. Never mind all the extra crafts and even painting. Get DRAWING books!

For Music, ALL children should have a musical instrument. The dollar store has plastic recorders!

just got some outdated national geographic's about 60 of them.  plan to use them as a teaching tool, they are so full of good info & great pic's.

Printable worksheets for Biblical studies - http://www3.calvarychapel.com/children/site/curriculum.htm

A public internet high school was formed by a school district in the State of Wisconsin  & (through open enrollment) is open to all resident high school students (& I assume others willing to pay for it).   Online lecture,  discussion, question & answer sessions (optional but desirable) are schuled by public high school teachers who assign grades.  A for-proffit national high school--Keystone--provides a lot of the curriculum.  If another source is determined better in a specific subect, it is used. 

Homeschooling by state...