TheHomeSchoolMom's Free Homeschool Resources - September, 2004
September, 2004
6. 40-90% off Historical Fiction at BookCloseOuts (Our Sponsor)
8. Article - Kicking Off Your School Year by Lynn Hogan
Welcome to the September issue of TheHomeSchoolMom's Free Homeschool Resources. This month brings you an online course from Linda Dobson, free wordsearch software, a news site for kids, and more. Don't miss the great sale on children's historical fiction at BookCloseouts (40-90% off) and the resources from Sites for Teachers and Top Teacher Sites. Enjoy this month's resources.
Warm regards,
Mary Ann Kelley
Editor, TheHomeSchoolMom's Free Homeschool Resources
- Review - Mexico & Central America: A Fiesta of Cultures, Crafts, and Activities for Ages 8-12 by Mary C. Tuck
- 2004/2005 monthly calendar
- August Free Homeschool Resources Newsletter
3. Homeschooling Companion - The Renaissance, Ancient Rome & Medieval Times (Our Sponsor)
These are just a few of the topics Learning Through History magazine has covered in the past year. Each issue has 15+ original articles, several arts and crafts projects, other hands-on activities, two historical literature study guides per issue, discussion and essay questions, web links and even a preschool unit - all on one historical theme. A great resource for children aged 7-14 that can be used by the entire homeschooling family. Coming up this fall/winter are Ancient China and Imperial Russia, so don’t miss out – buy back issues and/or subscribe today!
Learn more about the magazine at:
http://www.homeschoolingcompanion.com
4.Educational Sites & Freebies
Homeschooling Your Children course by Linda Dobson
This free online course is brought to you by Barnes and Noble University. "Homeschooling Your Children reveals how homeschooling diverges from traditional schooling, its benefits, and its potential challenges, including legal, time, money, and social issues. You will gain inside knowledge on how home educators build a solid support system and adopt the 'learning lifestyle' you may have heard about. Whether or not you decide that homeschooling is right for your family, you'll discover what steps you can take to make your child's learning years as effective and enjoyable as possible."
http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/cgi-bin/lnkinlte/to.cgi?l=dobson
Wordsearch Factory Lite is a free download is from Schoolhouse Technologies. I have been using Wordsearch Factory Lite for years to create customized wordsearches, which are great for helping remember and spell vocabulary terms, preposition lists, etc. "Students love word searches. Now, with Word Search Factory, you can add a little word search fun and motivation to their regular lessons in any subject area. Word Search Factory is designed to help you quickly and easily create professional looking word search puzzles to provide your students with the extra vocabulary and spelling practice they need in a format that they find enjoyable. Select from a wide variety of configuration options for your word search puzzle that will make it suitable for students of any age. Then simply print as many copies of the puzzle as you require, along with the automatic answer key, and watch your students dig in!"
http://www.schoolhousetech.com/products/wordsearch/overview.htm
Does your child enjoy gardening? Braden Road Farm and Garden is sponsoring a contest for homeschool kids to see who grows the biggest zucchini, potato, red beet, watermelon, carrot, or pumpkin. The vegetable must be weighed on an accurate scale with an adult other than the parent signing off on the weight. Submit all contest requirements (see website for details) by Nov. 1, 2004.
http://www.bradenroad.com/
National Geographic News for Kids
Interested in news that is relevant to your kids? News channels and websites contain topics that are inappropriate for your kids. National Geographic News for Kids has relevant, interesting news clips that are appropriate for elementary age children. Each story contains links to related websites and other news stories and is just the right length to keep your students' interest.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
Kelly Frohnauer of Natural Family Home has put together this unit study using online resources and some well-known educational books. If you don't have the books suggested you can still follow Kelly's plan, improvising with what you have or what you can get at your local library. Topics included are bible, history, science, geography, math, language arts, art appreciation, and music appreciation.
http://www.naturalfamilyhome.com/egypt_intro.html
Sites For Teachers
Sites for Teachers is regularly featured in TheHomeSchoolMom Newsletter because it is one stop shopping for lesson plans, activity sheets, unit studies, and more. Over 500 of the best teacher sites!
Sites for Teachers is regularly featured in TheHomeSchoolMom Newsletter because it is one stop shopping for lesson plans, activity sheets, unit studies, and more. Over 500 of the best teacher sites!
Top Teacher Sites
Teach-nology.com has put together a list with the top 200 teacher sites that they have found on the web. Great resources! I love the fact that these resources always have new sites on them.
Save 40-90% on over 400 children's historical fiction books at BookCloseouts, including Dear America, My America, Royal Diaries, Little House, My Name is America, and more! Save even more with this coupon for $5 off any order over $35:
Coupon: tuchman
Password: bookcloseouts
Expires: December 1, 2004
7. Product Review - Mexico & Central America: A Fiesta of Cultures, Crafts, and Activities for Ages 8-12
Mexico & Central America: A Fiesta of Cultures, Crafts, and Activities for Ages 8-12 by Mary C. Tuck is a festive introduction to the history, geography, traditions and language behind these vibrant cultures which are a growing part of America's melting pot. Kids will learn about Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama through hands-on activities and experience a foreign way of life through interactive projects and plays.
"This multicultural activity book celebrates the myriad cultures of Mexico and Central America and their shared ancient Aztec and Mayan roots. For each country, a brief introduction is provided that includes illustrated maps and facts about population and geography. More than 40 projects and three dramatic play scripts explore the interconnectedness of these countries and help children experience aspects of daily life throughout the region including school, work, home, art and poetry, food and agriculture, and special holidays. Activities include embroidering Mayan designs, painting in the Salvadoran style, ... crafting political puppets, cooking chocobananas, and making piñatas. Engaging sidebars throughout the book provide children with an introduction to the Spanish language. Also included are tips for teachers who want to use the activities in the classroom, complete with more specific age ranges and suggested modifications."
Mexico & Central America is an excellent supplement to any Spanish language program, geography unit, or can simply be a great read on its own. The book will introduce students to the culture of the North American hispanic population in a fun and engaging way. I plan to use it to supplement La Clase Divertida (The Fun Class), the elementary curriculum my girls are using to learn Spanish. Mexico & Central America is another quality education resource from Chicago Review Press.
8. Article - Kicking Off Your School Year by Lynn Hogan
This is the week that many of us are cranking up our schools. I have had a number of calls from parents who are reaching the point where the honeymoon is already wearing off and the fear is kicking in. I KNOW there are a number of us that have homeschooled for a number of years and if you are one of those parents who are comfortable and have a word of advice for all those new homeschoolers that are concerned this year, PLEASE send along your advice (to Lynn@unitstudyhelps.com). I would like to add a page to the website about new homeschooler advice (even for different ages, not just elementary grades!) I KNOW it would be helpful.
Because of the number of phone calls I have had this week, I do want to offer my opinion about beginning this school year. The greatest challenge I see in most new homeschools (and we ALL are facing a new homeschool every year, you know that right?), is the challenge to keep from over scheduling. I have found that if I start trying to begin my school year TOO strong, by October I am burned out and so are my children. Please understand that I am not saying to not be committed to academic excellence, because that is NOT the case. I merely want to remind you that the time you spend with your family in teaching activities accomplishes more in a few hours than what the traditional school situations accomplish in those same given hours. You are utilizing a tutorial method more than a traditional classroom method, and a little goes a long way.
Each day should allow at least some time for you to do something non-homeschool related for YOU. This is a special time that your children should get the opportunity to see that other side of you that is so special. You may even have to look for it, yourself! Give your student(s) time each day to pursue a unique interest, even if it's not a traditional school subject. They will discover a special side of themselves as well this way!
Be realistic with your school time. If you get "behind", you have LOTS of time to "fill in the gaps". If you find yourself doing school (or your students doing academic activities) for over 5 hours a day, ask yourself if that much time is necessary. *Some days* it may be, but if it is an every day occurrence, you MAY be overdoing it. Less time more often will generate much greater return and help you and your student to avoid burnout! It's YOUR SCHOOL and you are allowed to make it suit YOUR FAMILY'S NEEDS!
This article was originally published in Homeschooler's Notebook, a free newsletter created by veteran homeschooler Lynn Hogan. Lynn also hosts Unit Study Helps, a website full of helpful resources and information including a message board, a free e-mail homeschooling newsletter, a frequently asked questions page and more. You can sign up for Lynn's newsletter directly by sending a blank e-mail to join-hs-notebook@hub.thedollarstretcher.com or by visiting Unit Study Helps.
Freebies and Bargains: http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/teacherslounge/freebies.php
TheHomeSchoolMom Cooking Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thehomeschoolmominthekitchen
Newsletter Archives: http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/newsletter/
Advertising Information: http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/advertise.php
Hope you found something useful for your homeschool in this issue of TheHomeSchoolMom newsletter! More great stuff next time...
Mary Ann Kelley
Editor, TheHomeSchoolMom Newsletter
Back to the Table of Contents
10. Subscription Information
If someone forwarded this issue of TheHomeSchoolMom Newsletter to you and you wish to subscribe, you can get your own subscription here:
Unsubscribe: TheHomeSchoolMom Newsletter is sent by request only. To unsubscribe, use the link at the very bottom of this email which will automatically unsubscribe you from the newsletter with the address that is in our database, or you may unsubscribe at our website, http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/newsletter/, using the form on the right side of the page. You must unsubscribe using the address from which you subscribed if you choose the website method; the link at the end of the newsletter will automatically unsubscribe the correct address.
Address Changes: Please subscribe your new address at www.TheHomeSchoolMom.com, then unsubscribe your old address using the same form.
Back to the Table of Contents
Copyright 2004 TheHomeSchoolMom.Com
Permission is granted to forward this newsletter in its entirety for non-commercial purposes. All other uses require permission from the Publisher.