Free or Frugal Friday Test Sites We Used This Year

We are pretty much done with our regular school year.  Caitlin is done, and she did real well.  She only got tested on Math, Writing and Spelling.

DJ on the other hand gets tested in all classes.  I gave him his final for Writing, yesterday.  I gave him the option to pick the topic, but he could not come up with one for sure.  He loves to make up funny parodies to songs, so his assignment is to write a parody about Biscuit, that is the dog, to the tune of, We Will Rock You.  He was quite excited, and already has part of it done.  It will be posted to his blog and then printed to add to his homeschool evaluation portfolio.  Of course he has to use proper Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation. 

He did Earth Science for Science class.  He did not complete all the lessons, we used CK12, but Science is not a priority.  We are working our way through the tests on this website, for the topics he did cover.  I just write down the grade and topic when he is done. 

For Math, again we used CK12, I am using Math-tests.com for testing.  He is testing on the Pre Algebra section not, 8th grade Math.  I can print the results as he finishes each section.   Not every section has a test yet.  He was graded on CK12 for all sections, so I will see if I can print them from his portfolio.  I am happy to see he has retained his Math very well. 

History, he did Middle Ages.  Can not find an online test, so he will probably just write up an essay about what he learned.

Language Arts and Reading:  DJ did 9th grade Language Arts through the open network of Utah learning website.  He has done a book report for each book he read.  I used Easy Test Maker to create a final exam on the things he covered in the lessons.  He will not take this until he has finished reading the last book, To Kill A Mockingbird.  In the meantime he has been working his way through the Grammar tests on Cengage.  Again I print the results as he takes them.  I am only picking one test from each section. 

All of the websites mentioned are free to use.  Please be supportive to them, so they can stay free for all users, not just homeschoolers. 

Now for Summer Vacation!  Don't worry I will continue to post over the Summer.  Summer is when I get to write posts on opinions, hot topics, and fun crafty things to do.  So, stick around.

2013/2014 Science Curriculum

By far our favorite subject is Science.  Between 4H, Earth Kids and all the other Science we do with school, we got tons of it.  So, I have saved the best for last.  DJ and our Earth Kids group will be doing Marine Biology, using a 4H project book.  If anyone is interested in it, it is in pdf form, and I can send it to you.  I think for 4H they will be studying water conservation, and we still work on Wetlands with Earth Kids.  Caitlin will be doing all that as well, plus her own Science unit studies, there are 20 total.  Below is the full curriculum for each, with the extra resources at the bottom.

8th Grade Science Curriculum:

Scientific method
Ecology and environment
Conservation
Composition of the earth
Ocean and atmosphere
Weather
Water and its uses
Weathering and erosion
Recycling of resources
Magnetism and electricity
Heat and light
Forces in liquids and gases
Wave, mechanical, electrical and nuclear energy
The earth's movement
Newtons laws of motion
Machines
The atom
Periodic table of elements
Compounds and mixtures
Chemical changes
Astronomy
They universe and milky way
Space and space travel

4th Grade Science Curriculum

Environment of the local region
The insect world
The reptilian world
Plants and animals of the past
Structure of plants
Seeds Ecosystems
Balance of nature
Weather's influences
Weather instruments
Climate
Cause of seasons
Oceans and the hydrosphere
Light and Color

Extra Resources for Science:

http://wwweequalsmcq.com
http://biokids.umich.edu
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
http://www.outdoorbiology.com
http://www.adventuresinmommydom.org
http://www.oceanfutures.org
http://www.nhptv.org
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com
http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov
http://www.seasky.org
http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org
http://www.naturediscoverycenter.org

2013/2014 History Curriculum

Continuing with my curriculum posts.  We are now up to History.  DJ will be doing American History through FLVS for 8th grade.  Caitlin will be doing several different unit studies, 19 so far, plus using the extra homeschool resources at the end of this post. 

8th Grade History Curriculum

Exploration and Discovery
US History
Meaning of Democracy
Our American culture
US political system
US economic system
US government
US geography
Advanced map and globe skills

4th Grade History Curriculum

Types of community life
History and development of Florida
World cultures
Reasons for our laws
Regions of the world
Earth's resources
Climatic regions of the world
Map skills
Using a globe
Knowing my place in the world


Extra Resources To Be Used With History Curriculum:

http://www.mission-us.org
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu
http://www.seterra.net
http://www.mrnussbaum.com
http://www.funbrain.com
http://www.icivics.org
http://www.youtube.com
http://www.50states.com
http://www.nationalgeographic.com
http://www.ushistory.org
http://www.egsc.usgs.gov

Brainpop free app for android tablets and phones.

The Boys In Pink, Undefeated, and Seasons

Wow how is that for a headliner. Yesterday the NFL, or National Football League, helped increase breast cancer awareness by wearing the color pink. Yes, big, burly football players in pink. Some wore pink cleats, pink caps, pink wristbands, pink logos on their jersey or helmet. As a woman I must personally thank the NFL, their players, and coaches for making breast cancer awareness, more aware. Speaking of football, I won yesterday, maintaining my undefeated status. It is so very exciting. Thanks to all of you who wished me luck, and to Peyton Manning, the best QB ever. Without him, and his average of 100 points per week, has made me unstoppable.

Tomorrow for Science we are going over the four seasons. DJ already did a post, on his take of the seasons, know he gets the lesson plan. Below are two cute videos, that help to explain the seasons, and the earth movements.

Shifting Focus

Well it is almost the end of third grade, already. Now my focus, and attention shifts to making my 4th grade curriculum, and kindergarten curriculum. Kindergarten is pretty easy, Caitlin will be mostly focusing on learning to read, following directions, and math. She has pretty much covered most of the other things in preschool. As for DJ 4th grade is a big step for him. It is a time to wrap up everything he has learned, and expand on them. He has improved so much in his writing, I am impressed. He asked me the other day, when he could start a blog of his own. At first I was like hmm I don't think for a while. Then it occurred to me that he could use a blog, as an everyday writing assignment. Because he will pick the topic, and will have to stay on the topic, using proper writing, and grammar rules, it will actually be a good assignment for him. So for 4th grade his year long writing assignment will be his own personal blog. Of course he will need assistance for searching out topics, ideas, pictures, and other information he will need. I think this will be an interesting assignment for him, and I will not have to scramble to come up with writing ideas. I spend a good part of the summer making lesson plans, and researching information. I have really enjoyed this school year, and look forward to the next. We have started our own playgroup for children who both homeschool, and do not. So far we have 4 moms, and 15 children. I did this because I am not patient at waiting for other groups to decide whether we can join or not, are not active enough, or live way too far away from us. So far it is going well, and we are planning a pool party at the end of May.

Lesson plans for 5/04/09:

Science: Planets
Math: Factor turn arounds, graphs, division
Writing: You found a magic lamp, what three wishes will you make
Language Arts: Irregular verbs, mystery map
Spelling: Lesson 30 write each spelling word two times each
Vocabulary: Look up the definition for each vocabulary word
PE: 30 minutes

Sylvan Workbooks And A Contest

I was recently asked to review the new line of Sylvan workbooks. This is a new line or workbooks, that you can purchase for at home education, or for extra work for public school children. Sylvan is well known for their tutoring, now you can get tutoring in a workbook.

I was supplied with 3 workbooks, all for the 4th Grade. These workbooks will be given as a contest prize, to start in teh middle of February. See the post at the top of this blog, for details.

The first book is Spelling Success. I really like this workbook, as it is complete with fun activities to help learn spelling. Each chapter has keywords, and then various activities to help learn those keywords. Each chapter focuses on a topic such as, prefixes, suffixes, root words, and homophones. There are also review chapters, for a total of 17 chapters, in the workbook.

The second book is Reading Comprehension. I love this book. Of the three books, this one is my favorite. It has all kinds of great ideas for learning, and evaluating your child's Reading Comprehension. The activities are thoughtful, and extensive. There are a total of 10 Chapters, with 4 to 5 activities per chapter.

The third book is Vocabulary. Like the spelling book it centers around keywords, with various activities to learn, and use the keywords. There are reviews, and 14 chapters. Each chapter has its own set of activities with topics like prefixes, suffixes, root words, and homophones. The only thing I did not care for with this book, were the chapters on foreign languages. There are two, and you have to find the meanings of the words, as I doubt most kids will know that many foreign language words. These two chapters, were the only two inconveniences I could find in any of the books. It is not like they are that big of a deal either. You could easily find them online, and incorporate them into the chapter.

While browsing at the Sylvan website I noticed that these great books start at 12.99, a great value, in my opinion. I also noticed that they have a 5th grade writing book, which I will definitely be in need of, in the very near future.

If you are starting to plan your curriculum for next school year, you might want to check out these great workbooks.

Some Free Writing Prompts For 2nd-4th Graders

Here are some writing ideas, for a 2nd-4th grader, depending on their abilities.

If you could be one age forever, what would it be, and why?
Aliens have landed on the Earth, draw a picture story.
You can only have one food, times one whole week, which would you pick, and why?
Imagine you are a dolphin, write about your day.
If you could zap yourself into a TV show, what would it be, and why?
You will be meeting Batman, make a list of questions to ask him.
Robin Hood wants you to join his team. What special talent would you bring to his team.
You won the lottery. Write what you will do now that you are rich.
You're are Pirate Camp. Write a letter home telling about your time.
If you could be invisible, where would you go, and what would you do?