Welcome to this week’s Homeschool Resources inside this new post I’ve included resources Homeschool Resources that can be used from Monday through Saturday. I would like to remind you a lot of these resources are free to use but others will cost to use them. I hope you take the time to check these Homeschool Resources out.
Monday-Math!!
Age Range: All (All grades; children with parental supervision)
This is a wonderful website which houses a most unusual math resource. There is a downloadable arithmetic book from 1878! Even if you have a fabulous math program already, it is fun to look at and see what kids learned from over 135 years ago.
When you get to the site, you will see a brief introduction explaining that the book, “First Lessons in Arithmetic,” was published in 1878 and handed down from one generation to the next by the Potter family.
Don Potter decided to put the antiquated volume on the net because, “This math book will provide homeschool parents… an incomparable tool from the past to help their students master the fundamentals of arithmetic.”
Chapters on the menu include:
- Counting & Addition
- Addition & Subtraction
- Multiplication
- Division
- Fractions
- Notation and Numeration
- Advanced Addition & Subtraction
- Long Multiplication
- Long Division
- Money, etc.
Click on any chapter, and a .pdf file opens with problems and instructions, accompanied by illustrations sure to create nostalgia for a bygone era. In addition to the free textbook, Mr. Potter offers a few other links to math resources on this site as well.
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Tuesday-Science
Age Range: All (All grades as long as children have parental supervision)
This straightforward website provides the biography of Johann Gregor Mendel, who, through experimentation with developing new color variations in flowers discovered hybridization.
When you get to the site, use the menu to read Mendel’s biography. Learn about his experiments that led to the birth of genetics.
Next, try the “Interactive Pea Experiment” and breed your own virtual hybrid pea plants!
A short and easy scientific exercise that provides an excellent springboard to further learning and exploration.
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Wednesday-Language Arts
Age Range: 5-17 (Grades K-12, with parental supervision)
The fantastic teacher and internet lesson provider Mr. Donn has collaborated with artist Phillip Martin to bring students, parents, and teachers this extensive archive of PowerPoint lessons and activities on every facet of Language Arts.
When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of free presentations in PowerPoint format and interactive online lessons and games that include:
- Reading – ABCs, phonics, Dolch Words, comprehension, story maps, spelling and more.
- Literature – Author studies, myths, fairy tales, Shakespeare, classics, etc.
- Poetry – Haiku, cinquain, and limericks.
- Theatre, Drama – Scene design, stagecraft, acting, free scripts, and plays, etc.
- Grammar – Parts of speech, verb tenses, sentence structure, subjects and predicates, and more.
- Punctuation – Capitalization, commas, colons and semicolons, apostrophes and more.
- Word Analysis – Root words, prefixes/suffixes, synonyms, analogies, similes, metaphors, more.
- Writing – Outlines, paragraphs, essays, story starters, reports, and all manner of writing including expository, persuasive, descriptive, narrative, technical, and creative. Learn about active and passive voice, writing letters and emails, note-taking, proofreading, citation and more.
Click on any one and a new page opens with a menu of PowerPoint, and Interactive Lessons on that topic for a variety of age/grade ranges along with tips for educators as well. Then, click on a topic of interest and a new page opens that launches the program.
But wait, there’s more! This website offers PowerPoint and Interactives for every subject. You heard us. Go to the home page and see for yourself.
One of the most comprehensive resources we’ve seen for free learning material.
Who says you can’t homeschool for free?
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Friday-Virtual Field Trip
The Union’s first Civil War ironclad, the USS Monitor lost in a gale storm on December 31, 1862. Through this interactive tour of images, explore the wreckage at this website from the monitor National Marine Sanctuary.
Use your mouse to hover over different sections of the ship to reveal images and text about the wreckage. But the tour doesn’t stop here. Click the “Back” link under the tour to reach the home page of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary website. Use the sidebar menu to dig deeper into the Monitor and other shipwrecks.
Select “Shipwrecks” to see and learn more about Graveyard of the Atlantic in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Presented with interesting statistics about the wreck along with fascinating history and images, learn about:
- German U-Boats
- Merchant Ships
- Allied Ships
Next, check out the “OBX Trail Videos” to discover more about the Outer Banks and the history of the different shipwrecks.
Select “Image Gallery” to see even more images of the Monitor through the online gallery and from the National Marine Sanctuary Online Encyclopedia as well as from the Naval History and Heritage Command website. Visitors can also explore the National Marine Sanctuaries Media Library to see video clips and images of America’s underwater treasures.
By selecting the “Education” link, visitors will find many resources to supplement their visit. Using the links to videos, activities, printables, and much rounder out your virtual tour.
There is a lot to see and do on this website so be sure to bookmark to come back to often.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
