This will likely be a new monthly feature here as I chronicle our homeschool adventures. I have found so many wonderful new resources or fallen in love once again with ones I used previously. Even if you don’t homeschool these could provide you with some great weekend activities too.
One thing I have noticed about the Oak Meadow curriculum I am using is that it, at this point anyway, is more like an outline rather than a full curriculum. Instead of giving you concrete lesson plans it gives you ideas or general instructions on what to do and what to teach. Thus I spend 30 minutes reading through the weekly lesson and then finding other resources to make it all happen. I am essentially using Oak Meadow as a guide while I create my own curriculum or utilize parts of other curricula. In this way it is very similar to K12 but K12 went a step beyond and gave you EVERYTHING you need, word for word, activity by activity. I would rather the loose structure of Oak Meadow but it also has me thinking I could just create my own piecemeal curriculum next year since I am kind of doing that anyway. We shall see. I do admit that I might be slightly lost since I started mid year and many of the current lessons are referring back to concepts and material we haven’t covered. Thus I skip those and do my own thing.
Anyway, here is my “cool resources” list for the month of November:
Pandia Press – LOVE, love love, their R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey curricula. They have 3 basics areas of study.. Earth and Space, Life, and Chemistry. We are working our way through the Earth & Space book right now and it has 12 unit studies and corresponding lab projects for each unit. Weather and Seasons for instance (Unit One) has six labs. It is VERY much a learn science by doing it method of study. PERFECT for my son.
I just ordered the History Odyssey (Ancients) as well so it looks as though we may be using Pandia for Science and History. The only issue I see with the History curricula is that it requires several other books, some of which are kind of pricey and not available at the library. I will have to use it for awhile and see if we can work around that. But again, since we are jumping into this mid year I think this will help with our history lessons.
BrainPop – Educational videos on tons of different topics. My son really enjoys them.
Handwriting Practice Worksheets – My son really likes to write and he enjoys copy work. I was psyched to find these handwriting booklets in various topics that interest him… ala Titanic. This is a GREAT resource. FREE too!
Netflix – Their streaming video service is wonderful for homeschoolers! There are an absolute ton of educational videos from documentaries about dinosaurs and WWII bombers to the Holocaust. Oh and plenty of documentaries and videos about the Ancients like Greece and Egypt.
Drawspace – Great tutorials and activities for art and drawing instruction.
Home Spelling Words – Lists of spelling words by grade and by week. This is very handy since Oak Meadow doesn’t provide spelling words for you.
Passport Template – I am going to teach social studies and geography by living it instead of by the book. We will taking an “imaginary” trip once or twice a month and I wanted a passport to stamp during our travels and found this one. During our travels we will be cooking food from that region of the world and observing their customs.
So what wonderful homeschool resources have you found lately? Please share!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that you are going to be sharing your homeschooling adventures here!
We also use R.E.A.L (Life this year) and like it quite a bit. I need a more structured curriculum and like how easy it is to teach their lessons. My boys (7 and 4) both enjoy the exercises and labs.
We really like History of the World for our history curriculum. We also have the companion workbook and it’s a great way to supplement and make the lesson applicable and fun. My kids love history and this book has helped make it their favorite subject.
I echo your thoughts about Netflix and their streaming vids. We happened upon a video of Alexander the Great right as we started our lesson on him. My boys love Greek and Roman history but weren’t too excited to learn more about him. After they watched the vid they were much more excited about it.
We also use Rosetta Stone’s Latin curriculum and like it. It is pricey but they have a payment plan option for homeschoolers to help manage the cost. My kids like it because it’s very interactive.
Thanks for posting the handwriting sheets, the BrainPop and passport. A small group of local homeschoolers were hoping to do a co-op on different countries and the passports would add another fun element to it. :)
I love that you’re sharing this with us! This is another fantastic list that I bookmarked! Thank you so much!
I am looking forward to reading about your homeschooling experience. My daughter is still a toddler but I am already thinking about her school years… Thanks for sharing these links!