Free or Frugal Homeschool Friday

Here we are at Friday, again.  I have some more free or frugal links to share.  Some of these we have used in our homeschooling, some are new and I have not yet tried them.  You look and decide if you would like to try them. 

This is a brand new Math video for multiplication.  My daughter has been trying to get a grasp on the concept of repeated addition, or multiplication.  I am hoping this Youtube video will explain it to her in a way she will understand better.  https://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=c1EJYhWos1o

Tenmarks offers a Summer Math program for free.  I considered doing this, but I already have our Math planned for the Summer, so I opted to not do the Tenmarks.  Check it out if you are interested https://www.tenmarks.com/consumer/signup

Do you and your kids like to bake?  Then check out the Holiday Baking for homeschooling at free Homeschool deals http://www.freehomeschooldeals.com/holiday-baking-as-homeschool-curriculum/

Want something fun to do over the Summer?  How about a fun camp from home, it is free and fun.  We did this last year, and it looks even more awesome this year.  Early registration for Camp Wonderopalis is open now http://wonderopolis.org/camp-early-registration/


I collect tons of cool, usually free, links and resources to my Pinterest account.  Then each Friday, I share some here on my blog.  Be sure to check back each Friday to see new ones.

Free or Frugal Friday Homeschool Lessons

This week I am sharing some Language Arts websites that are free, or frugal to use.  The first one, Coursera, is free, but not just Language Arts.  These are college level courses, that anyone can take.  My 8th grader just started his first week of lessons in the course Introduction to Forensics.  He loves it so far.  If it works out well, and is not too awful difficult he will do other courses.  You can get a certificate at completion, for a fee of 40 dollars. 

Help Teaching, offers both free and paid services, for all courses offered in a school.  So far, I have only used this website for Grammar and Language Arts.  It is a nice quality site.

Cengage offers free online grammar quizzes.  I have not actually used this site yet, but will be being used in the very near future. 

At one point, I had typed into my search browser, fun ways to learn Language Arts.  I mean lets face it, it is pretty boring, unless you love Grammar rules, bleh.  Well one of the websites that came up was, Many Things. org.  I have not tried this website yet, but my 4th grader will begin using it here at the end of the year to review. 

Free or Frugal Friday

First off let me just say something quick about Time 4 Learning.  For the month of April, your first month is only 10 dollars.  That is 50% off, and April is almost over, so you might just as well try it.  No, this is not my review, I am just aware of the offer and sharing it.

There are so many wonderful free, or almost free websites to use for homeschool, after school, or just to supplement your kids over Summer.  I won't share the ones I don't like, lol.  None of these I have affiliation with, except Currclick.

First one is Easy Peasy Homeschool. This woman has dedicated so much time to making a free curriculum for anyone to use.  It is amazing.  My kids didn't care for it a ton, but if you have no money, or money is really tight, it is awesome.  There is even high school now too. 

Second is, Currclick.  Currclick offers free and paid options for the items offered.  Most are made by homeschoolers.  They have live classes that are just amazing.  Check out Currclick for sure.

Last, but not least, for this week, is Forensics Illustrated.  This is a free, and complete Forensics class for High School.  I will definitely have my son take this one during his high school years.  Check it out!

Caitlin and Time 4 Learning

I was offered a 30 day free trial, to Time 4 Learning.  I always wondered about it, so I am more than happy to try it.  Since we have just about one month left to school, Caitlin will be using it.  I will supplement her with my other stuff, if it is not enough to complete her day.  If I like it, and she likes it more importantly, I will use it next year for 5th grade.  My only concern starting out, is whether or not it is a complete curriculum.  If I have to supplement, then I am not so sure I will use it.  Stay tuned, to see my review, after 30 days.  If you use Time 4 Learning, leave me a comment of how you like it, or don't like it. 

Homeschool Lessons and Games for Free or Low Cost

I have been a member on Pinterest for at least two years now, maybe three, and I have compiled quite a list of things on my Homeschool Board. Some of them I have used many times, others I have completely forgotten about. We are nearing the end of our third quarter in this school year. That means it is time for me to start planning for next year. Since typically I make my own curriculum, it takes me a long time. For DJ, who will be in High School next year, I have decided to buy some curriculums rather than trying to make my own credits for those subjects. I still have to decide for American History, Language Arts, and any elective he wishes to take. I really wanted to buy My Father's World, for Caitlin next year, but my oh my it is way too expensive. I have no idea if it is worth what they charge, but I am not in the position to pay that much money for fifth grade lessons. So, in the next weeks, and maybe months, I will be sharing websites from my Pinterest board, that actually work or are good for what they say they do. Caitlin loves the Evan Moor books, so I probably will buy the one shown below for her next year. The Astronomy web page is for us to try to follow along in the night sky with major events. My kids really enjoy this, and in April you should be able to see Jupiter. Hopefully by putting it here I will remember.

http://americanhistory.mrdonn.org/index.html

http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2014.html

http://www.gameclassroom.com/4th-grade

http://www.multiplication.com/games

http://www.teachercreated.com/free/interactive-whiteboard-activities/

http://www.thestorystarter.com/jr.htm

Migraine on Monday, and Celery Experiment

Our celery experiment is complete. As you can see from the images the leaves did in fact turn pink, not red though, but pink. The stalk however did not change color, as I was lead to believe they would. I think a darker color, like blue, would have stuck out more, the pink was very faint. But, the kids did get to learn through, a hands on lesson, how plants get nutrients from their roots to their leaves. The second part of the experiment, I won't know if it worked, until the other family lets me know how it went. I will report on that later.

Yesterday, I had a terrible migraine, so there was no school. Today, was a normal and full day of school. Tomorrow, if it doesn't rain, we will have Run Club and school, plus church later in the evening.

Starting next year, this blog will again take on a record keeping mood. My son will be in High School, and rather than losing papers, or discs, I can record everything I need right here, and it will never get lost. I will of course continue to blog about all our fun stuff, and my daughter will be in fifth grade, so there is lots to talk about there.

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.

Mud Puddle Art

Who knew a little mud puddle could be so beautiful? DJ is taking Creative Photography, through FLVS. Today, he had a lesson on frames in pictures. Of course this is not a frame, but Caitlin found the flower on our walk, and DJ added it to the mud puddle. I think it is very attractive. We continue with our Run/Walk Club twice a week, and we all sleep super well at the end of those days. It seems I have other run out of things to say, or am too tired to worry about blogging, lol. I promise I will try to squeeze in some more posts. We are very busy, so I should have plenty to talk about. DJ will finish up his Science for FLVS, this week, leaving him with Photography and Language Arts. Since I am a huge fan of doing Math all year, even over Summer Vacation, I have decided to sign him up for a half semester of Math on FLVS. It won't start until April, so he will be at the end of the other two classes. Virtual School seems to be working well for him, so I really want to continue with it, and it frees up my time to spend more time with Caitlin in areas she really needs to advance on. Plus, DJ can still be supplemented with stuff I choose for him. Academically he has had an awesome and constructive year. DJ and Craig have also started Archery lessons on Saturdays, which they love. Finally something sports oriented that they both can enjoy together. I am so happy.

Energy For Kids

My third grade books, that I purchased for my son, did not cover Gravity and Electricity. Gravity and Electricity, were a part of our curriculum, so I have been scouring the internet to find free programs on Gravity and Electricity. About.com had several, and then I also found this website, http://www.scribd.com/doc/1115/Energy-for-Kids/

It covers electricity, gravity, atoms, heat and sound. It is nothing fancy, easy to read and use, with questions for your child to answer. The answers are provided in the reading, and then you can make a post test after.

Tomorrow is test day, so there are no lesson plans to post.

Friday December 5th, is the first tree lighting ceremony here in Gilchrist County. They will be having cookies with santa, horse carriage rides, christmas caroling, and other great family activities. It goes from 6pm-8pm with downtown businesses staying open late. It is hopefully going to draw the community together, and promote the downtown businesses. If anyone from the Gilchrist County area, reads my blog, please be sure and try to attend.

Have a great Thursday, everyone.

Illinois Sheriff Puts A Hold On Evictions, New SIDS Prevention

A Cook County Sheriff, has ordered Deputies, to stop enforcing evictions of families who rent homes. Why would he do this do you ask? Families who are renting homes, from homeowners that have defaulted on their mortgages, are being evicted from their homes. Starting today, that will be put on hold. The Sheriff feels, these renters, are innocent victims, of the mortgage failures. So what do you think about this? Do you think it is fair for them to stay there, as long as they continue to pay their rent? Who does the rent go to, if the owner has defaulted on the loan? I would think the rent, would go to the bank than now owns the defaulted mortgage. I dont really understand why they would be evicted to begin with. If they are paying their rent on time, why would there be a need to be evicted, no matter who owns the home. You would think the bank, would welcome the extra income. Now if they were not paying the rent, or were in default on their rent, then I could see pursuing an eviction.

SIDS, was in the news again today. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, is something that parents, are always concerned with, especially with an infant child. Today it was reported, through a new study, that having a fan in the room reduced SIDS occurences, by up to 72%. That is a huge number, and seems like such a simple thing to do to help reduce the risk of SIDS. The theory is that the fan helps to circulate the air, and keep air from stagnating. Of course you do not want to blow the fan, directly on the infant, which could lead to the child getting too cold. My children, have always slept with a fan in their room, mostly to drown out noises, but if I had another I would make sure they had one too.

Lesson Plans for 10/9/08:

Reading: Read Chapter 2 of Mummies in the morning
Health: Toothpaste Ads
Math: Division, multiplication
Language Arts: Phonics Review, drawing conclusions
PE: 30 minutes
Writing: You are invited to a party, but they only eat Asparagus, think of two polite excuses not to attend
Spelling: Review lessons 1-5
Vocabulary: Review lessons 1-5
Word Search: Once upon a time