I have been collecting FREE resources for homeschooling, and education in general, like crazy lately! Here are some of my top picks:
Khan Academy - a huge list of topics and subtopics!
Multiplication.com - learn or practice multiplication facts by playing games (as a parent, however, I find the sound effects to be quite annoying!)
IXL - multiple grade levels, online math practice; nicely organized - note that there is a limit to free use daily. You can sign up for a paid membership though.
The Head of the Class - multiple subjects but organized by grade level; kindergarten to 5th grade now, but will expand to go through 8th grade. We found The Head of the Class to be below grade level. Your child may need to work a grade ahead.
Check back often as I will be adding more freebies and resources regularly!
Showing posts with label math. Show all posts
Showing posts with label math. Show all posts
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
More FREE Homeschool Resources!
Prek-3 Activity Books from St. Aiden's Homeschool - please note, this website is based in South Africa. So far the activity books that I've printed are more than 30 pages long.
Foreign language resources - we use the free downloadable version. However, you can also choose the deluxe version for access to more lists and resources. There are over 70 languages to choose from.
This is meant as an adult education resource, but I have found it to be useful with several of my middle school and high school students in need of reading comprehension assistance. I have only used the reading and vocabulary sections but would imagine the other parts are decent as well.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Free Homeschool Fun!
The boy and I are both sick. Not fun. But, we thought we would share some FREE and FUN ideas for homeschool lessons!
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From the website: "In this global game of hide-and-seek, students search to uncover the secret locations of ten "mystery" sites hiding around the Earth. To guide the investigation, they track changes in day length at the mystery sites and at their hometown, and use other "clues" along the way. As they take this inspiring journey, students unlock the essential questions behind the reasons for seasons and the dramatic changes in day length that result."
Be sure to check out the rest of the website and other projects throughout the year.
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This is a great way to introduce typing to younger kids. My son learned to type using this program and I am now using it with one of my tutoring students. The only drawback is that each level or stage really needs to be done multiple times before the typing skills become natural. Be sure to turn on the speakers for lots of fun sounds and some instructions.
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There are loads of educational games at this website! Some are academic, others are just plain fun!
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Have an art lover in your family? The Met's Explore and Learn section has many fun activities online! In addition to the online activities, there are several printable guides - some assume that you will visit the museum, others are stand alone.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Response to "The Loneliness of Genius"
Do you have a child that is considered "gifted" or that you suspect falls into that category? I do. My nearly 12 year old son, JP, falls into that category. Ever since he began to speak and develop his personal interests, others have noticed. At three and four years old, my adult friends were calling him "the little professor" because he was already obsessed with physics, numbers, and words in ways that other young children aren't. In 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades, he had horrible problems fitting in at school. On the playground, he was becoming the weird kid that the others avoid. When they wanted to play soccer or basketball, JP wanted to talk about astrophysics and alternate universe theories. He just didn't fit in and it was beginning to turn into a serious problem. So, I finally decided to start homeschooling him! I figured that by homeschooling, we could move at JP's pace (in most subjects he was far ahead and bored in school), and we could meet other quirky kids just like him. And, I was totally right! JP is infinitely happier, still thinking constantly about physics, numbers, and words, and he is just blossoming into a wonderful young man!
So, it was with great interest that I read an article called "The Loneliness of Genius" by Rod Dreher. I recall feeling just like the kids that Rod describes and I saw these same things in my son before we began to homeschool.
Here is my response to that article:
This sounds sooooo much like my son. My son was assessed as "gifted" in early elementary school and this article is such a perfect description of what my son and I deal with. He is just shy of 12 years old and struggles with basic math facts yet can figure out complex physics problems intuitively and correctly. He talks about all kinds of scientific "stuff" that I can barely comprehend and is basically teaching himself. He also intuitively composes beautiful poetry and hilarious short stories. He writes fantastic, complex music with his keyboard but has no formal training other than several lessons from his 18 year old cousin.
He has extremely few friends his own age but *many* friends who are either several years younger or adults. So many of the adults in his life have been fantastic at helping to guide my son. He gravitates towards adults while most kids his age shy away from them. He counts *my* friends as his own friends.
The best advice that I have for any other parent with a kid like this is to consider homeschooling. And, if for some reason you can't homeschool, consider an alternative school situation of some sort or have a trusted friend or family member help you manage homeschooling. If I can homeschool as a single, working mother, then you can find a way to homeschool or give your child an alternative education as well. Surround your child with positive adult role models that understand how special these kids are. Give them as much access to sound educational materials as possible but also give them opportunities to have fun within the parameters of their interests - golf and archery are both exciting and fun for my son but in large part because they involve physics and math. ALL of my son's "fun" and "recreational" interests involve science, language, or math in a very intense way. On the surface it may look like his just playing with Lego's but in his mind, I know he is seeing 3-D objects and problems and trying to work out solutions. But, to him this is FUN.
It is very easy to cause these kids to burn out or to become self-defeating perfectionists. Recognize that they have their own needs that are very different from what we are lead to believe children need and then go with it. As a parent, I had to figure out on my own that it is ok for my son to be "different." He doesn't need to adjust. He doesn't need to fit in. He doesn't need to "man up" as a former friend once told me. He needs to be emotionally and intellectually supported. As a kid, I was told more than once that I didn't "need to know" about this or that topic because it simply wasn't what the teacher wanted me to learn. I was always intellectually hungry but because of the way the traditional school system is set up, I only had time and energy to learn what the school system wanted to teach me. I took honors and college prep classes because it was the only way to feel challenged (and even then, not really...). But, by the time I graduated from high school, I was burnt out on studying. I hated school and was bored. I don't want that for my son. Instead of asking him to meet me where *I* am, I strive to meet him where *HE* is intellectually and emotionally. This has been the biggest key to our success as a homeschooling family with a gifted child. He still has to do his chores. He still has to follow my rules. He still has to do actual school work. But, beyond that, he is free to be himself and not what some institution or group of others thinks he should be.
When I first told my son's 4th grade teacher that we would be homeschooling after the winter break, the teacher was delighted. He thought it was just what JP needed emotionally and intellectually. He felt that to continue public school (or even private school) would just break JP down and that it would lead to disastrous consequences. JP's childhood may be moving along a path of carefree joy, but he is heading towards a fantastically wonderful adulthood! Getting there hasn't been without struggles, and I am sure there will be more ahead, but recognizing that the path won't be easy, and finding alternative solutions, like homeschooling, have helped tremendously along the way.
So, it was with great interest that I read an article called "The Loneliness of Genius" by Rod Dreher. I recall feeling just like the kids that Rod describes and I saw these same things in my son before we began to homeschool.
Here is my response to that article:
This sounds sooooo much like my son. My son was assessed as "gifted" in early elementary school and this article is such a perfect description of what my son and I deal with. He is just shy of 12 years old and struggles with basic math facts yet can figure out complex physics problems intuitively and correctly. He talks about all kinds of scientific "stuff" that I can barely comprehend and is basically teaching himself. He also intuitively composes beautiful poetry and hilarious short stories. He writes fantastic, complex music with his keyboard but has no formal training other than several lessons from his 18 year old cousin.
He has extremely few friends his own age but *many* friends who are either several years younger or adults. So many of the adults in his life have been fantastic at helping to guide my son. He gravitates towards adults while most kids his age shy away from them. He counts *my* friends as his own friends.
The best advice that I have for any other parent with a kid like this is to consider homeschooling. And, if for some reason you can't homeschool, consider an alternative school situation of some sort or have a trusted friend or family member help you manage homeschooling. If I can homeschool as a single, working mother, then you can find a way to homeschool or give your child an alternative education as well. Surround your child with positive adult role models that understand how special these kids are. Give them as much access to sound educational materials as possible but also give them opportunities to have fun within the parameters of their interests - golf and archery are both exciting and fun for my son but in large part because they involve physics and math. ALL of my son's "fun" and "recreational" interests involve science, language, or math in a very intense way. On the surface it may look like his just playing with Lego's but in his mind, I know he is seeing 3-D objects and problems and trying to work out solutions. But, to him this is FUN.
It is very easy to cause these kids to burn out or to become self-defeating perfectionists. Recognize that they have their own needs that are very different from what we are lead to believe children need and then go with it. As a parent, I had to figure out on my own that it is ok for my son to be "different." He doesn't need to adjust. He doesn't need to fit in. He doesn't need to "man up" as a former friend once told me. He needs to be emotionally and intellectually supported. As a kid, I was told more than once that I didn't "need to know" about this or that topic because it simply wasn't what the teacher wanted me to learn. I was always intellectually hungry but because of the way the traditional school system is set up, I only had time and energy to learn what the school system wanted to teach me. I took honors and college prep classes because it was the only way to feel challenged (and even then, not really...). But, by the time I graduated from high school, I was burnt out on studying. I hated school and was bored. I don't want that for my son. Instead of asking him to meet me where *I* am, I strive to meet him where *HE* is intellectually and emotionally. This has been the biggest key to our success as a homeschooling family with a gifted child. He still has to do his chores. He still has to follow my rules. He still has to do actual school work. But, beyond that, he is free to be himself and not what some institution or group of others thinks he should be.
When I first told my son's 4th grade teacher that we would be homeschooling after the winter break, the teacher was delighted. He thought it was just what JP needed emotionally and intellectually. He felt that to continue public school (or even private school) would just break JP down and that it would lead to disastrous consequences. JP's childhood may be moving along a path of carefree joy, but he is heading towards a fantastically wonderful adulthood! Getting there hasn't been without struggles, and I am sure there will be more ahead, but recognizing that the path won't be easy, and finding alternative solutions, like homeschooling, have helped tremendously along the way.
Monday, June 14, 2010
2009 - 2010 Year in Homeschooling Roundup
Well, the 2009-2010 school year is coming to an end for us. For those that don't know, we are a homeschooling family. By age JP is in the 6th grade but his work ranges from 6th up to 8th or 9th, depending on the subject. This was an interesting year for us as we decided to try a charter school program. Financially it was a great decision but in terms of some of the curriculum choices, it left a bit to be desired. But, I'm not going to blog about the charter. Instead, this is a curriculum roundup and I will be talking about what materials we used, what we liked, and what we didn't like so much.
Of course, we covered all of the basic subjects: Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Math. But, JP also was able to take some golf lessons and he got his first taste of archery. JP also got his first taste of German. We went on a few science adventures and field trips, and soaked up so much from just living and paying attention to the world around us!
What subject shall we tackle first? Language Arts? Well, alrighty then! Let's get started...
For Language Arts, we continued working on a writing program that involved both impromptu writing assignments (Mom: I think you should write a short story today. JP: Ok...) and formal assignments.
WRITING: We have been working out of a series of workbooks designed for 3rd graders, but we skipped several parts and I added information along the way to make the work more challenging and bring it up to a 6th grade level. The workbooks are called "Just Write" and are published by EPS (Educator Publishing Service). When JP left public school, writing was a HUGE problem. The program imposed by JP's former public school had made writing difficult by imposing rigid rules about how to write paragraphs. JP was afraid to write *more* because he thought he couldn't due to the rules. We had to break down all the silly rules that the school insisted on and start from scratch. That was two and a half years ago but we are still dealing with some of the aftermath. The Just Write books are relaxed and easy going. Again, these are meant for 3rd graders, but with some careful manipulation, probing questions and discussion, and analyzing the workbook lessons in comparison to our regular reading materials, these books were a perfect fit for JP's needs. We also did many of the workbook lessons orally and JP wrote the longer exercises on the computer word processor.
GRAMMAR - Honestly, Easy Grammar is about the driest curriculum I have ever seen. So, why use? Because it is effective! The workbook starts with prepositions and prepositional phrases and once those are mastered the rest becomes pretty easy. We did the bulk of the work orally and when JP had obviously mastered a segment, we skipped the rest of the lesson and moved on. Almost every lesson incorporates previous lessons as well so there is no real need for review. The program builds on itself from lesson to lesson. The series starts off with early elementary school and goes through 6th grade. The final book is, according to the local homeschooling store owner, a 7th/8th grade level.
SOCIAL STUDIES: For social studies, we take a very eclectic approach. We decided to start over with history and start from the earliest historical times and work our way forwards. For modern current events, we listened to lots of NPR, read the newspaper, and watched video of events such as President Obama's Message for America's Students. The spine for our history curriculum is an amazing book from National Geographic called The Visual History of the World. This book is HUGE and in full color. Every page has a timeline and many photos, charts, and graphs. It is densely packed with information. After every small segment, I looked for a video on one of the educational channels on television, or on Netflix, to reinforce the information we had just read. We both are enjoying this book and it is so thick that we will easily go another two years before finishing it!
SCIENCE: Science was a struggle this year. A major struggle. The charter program we used wouldn't allow us to have our preferred curriculum. We wanted to use Noeo Science but, while most of the materials are secular, a few minor pieces were too sectarian for public school funds to be used for their purchase. Even without those parts, however, we still couldn't get this curriculum. Next year, I plan to buy it with my own money. Not doing so this year was a big mistake. When we first began homeschooling, we used Noeo's Chemistry I curriculum and it was FANTASTIC! I highly recommend Noeo to both homeschoolers and to non-homeschoolers who want something extra or different. Next year we will try Physics II. Noeo kits are a complete curriculum with everything from the teacher's guide to texts to experiment materials. Most of the other materials you need for experiments, however, are things you will find around your home.
So, what did we do in place of Noeo? We played quite a bit of this game: The Way Things Work. It has three levels of play, with the first involving simply answering questions and the other two involve doing experiments. We also tried a variety of experiment booklets but found that most were lacking and only about half of the experiments worked. However, JP took golf lessons this spring, and guess what? There is a LOT of physics in golf! A LOT! So, we looked up physics and golf and read many articles on the topic. JP also watched several videos from many sources on all manner of scientific topics. His favorite? The tv show Mythbusters!
MATH: This year for math, we took a departure from traditional curriculums. Our approach to math this year involved two different curriculums that seem to compliment each other well. We used Life of Fred: Fractions and Key To workbooks. Why two curriculums? Well, Life of Fred didn't give JP enough practice problems and Key To was a bit boring on it's own. The two go together quite nicely.
Life of Fred is a fun series of books! They follow a specific sequence, beginning with fractions. In this series, you will meet Fred. Fred is a five year old professor of math at Kittens University. Silly, right? But that is the key! That is the hook that will get your kid into this math curriculum. The series follows Fred in a narrative fashion as he works his way through various problems in life - like how to buy a bike and how to divide ingredients among various pizzas. The books are like one huge word problem but they are *FUN* while being educational. JP and I both enjoyed Life of Fred: Fractions and in the fall will begin the Decimals text.
The Key To workbooks are quite different. They also start with fractions and then move to decimals. However, you could easily start with a different math concept, if you so choose. The workbooks are set up as a series of four booklets per most topics. JP just finished the fractions workbooks but had started on the decimals selection after he hit a point of fractions burnout. He ended up going back and forth between the two and then realized, on his own, that decimals and fractions are really representations of the same thing.
Next year, we will finish up Just Write-book 3. We will continue on with the next level of Easy Grammar, Life of Fred, and Key To. In addition, we will continue on with Visual History of the World. But, I am at a loss as to where to go next with writing. We have tried a variety of writing programs, including the widely acclaimed Writing Strands, but so far we haven't found anything else that works for us. Any thoughts? Beyond those things, we will continue to explore JP's personal interests - golf, archery, German, and drawing. Since we will be on the east coast, we also anticipate much learning about history and science by exploring the areas around us. You can't get much more up close and personal with history than visits to Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Salem, and so many more important locations in the history of the United States! And, all of the museums that will be at our fingertips?!?!?! I can't wait for the adventures to come!
Of course, we covered all of the basic subjects: Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Math. But, JP also was able to take some golf lessons and he got his first taste of archery. JP also got his first taste of German. We went on a few science adventures and field trips, and soaked up so much from just living and paying attention to the world around us!
For Language Arts, we continued working on a writing program that involved both impromptu writing assignments (Mom: I think you should write a short story today. JP: Ok...) and formal assignments.
WRITING: We have been working out of a series of workbooks designed for 3rd graders, but we skipped several parts and I added information along the way to make the work more challenging and bring it up to a 6th grade level. The workbooks are called "Just Write" and are published by EPS (Educator Publishing Service). When JP left public school, writing was a HUGE problem. The program imposed by JP's former public school had made writing difficult by imposing rigid rules about how to write paragraphs. JP was afraid to write *more* because he thought he couldn't due to the rules. We had to break down all the silly rules that the school insisted on and start from scratch. That was two and a half years ago but we are still dealing with some of the aftermath. The Just Write books are relaxed and easy going. Again, these are meant for 3rd graders, but with some careful manipulation, probing questions and discussion, and analyzing the workbook lessons in comparison to our regular reading materials, these books were a perfect fit for JP's needs. We also did many of the workbook lessons orally and JP wrote the longer exercises on the computer word processor.
GRAMMAR - Honestly, Easy Grammar is about the driest curriculum I have ever seen. So, why use? Because it is effective! The workbook starts with prepositions and prepositional phrases and once those are mastered the rest becomes pretty easy. We did the bulk of the work orally and when JP had obviously mastered a segment, we skipped the rest of the lesson and moved on. Almost every lesson incorporates previous lessons as well so there is no real need for review. The program builds on itself from lesson to lesson. The series starts off with early elementary school and goes through 6th grade. The final book is, according to the local homeschooling store owner, a 7th/8th grade level.
Life of Fred is a fun series of books! They follow a specific sequence, beginning with fractions. In this series, you will meet Fred. Fred is a five year old professor of math at Kittens University. Silly, right? But that is the key! That is the hook that will get your kid into this math curriculum. The series follows Fred in a narrative fashion as he works his way through various problems in life - like how to buy a bike and how to divide ingredients among various pizzas. The books are like one huge word problem but they are *FUN* while being educational. JP and I both enjoyed Life of Fred: Fractions and in the fall will begin the Decimals text.
The Key To workbooks are quite different. They also start with fractions and then move to decimals. However, you could easily start with a different math concept, if you so choose. The workbooks are set up as a series of four booklets per most topics. JP just finished the fractions workbooks but had started on the decimals selection after he hit a point of fractions burnout. He ended up going back and forth between the two and then realized, on his own, that decimals and fractions are really representations of the same thing.
Next year, we will finish up Just Write-book 3. We will continue on with the next level of Easy Grammar, Life of Fred, and Key To. In addition, we will continue on with Visual History of the World. But, I am at a loss as to where to go next with writing. We have tried a variety of writing programs, including the widely acclaimed Writing Strands, but so far we haven't found anything else that works for us. Any thoughts? Beyond those things, we will continue to explore JP's personal interests - golf, archery, German, and drawing. Since we will be on the east coast, we also anticipate much learning about history and science by exploring the areas around us. You can't get much more up close and personal with history than visits to Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Salem, and so many more important locations in the history of the United States! And, all of the museums that will be at our fingertips?!?!?! I can't wait for the adventures to come!
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