We're in full "back-to-school" mode here, which of course means trying to figure out why the printer isn't working and wondering where on earth that teacher's manual has gotten to. Here are a few of the links that we're utilizing in our home this week.
E-Books
I'm not usually a big fan of ebooks. I like to have something printed in my hand. But here are a few neat site for those of you without library access. (Or in need of something to help you sleep!)
Planet eBook- Free downloads of classic literature. Extremely readable print.
Read Print- Online classic literature and author biographies.
Full Books- Lots of harder-to-find online books.
Bibliomania- Online classic texts, study guides, interviews, poetry, short stories...
Diploma Guide's Archives- List of sites for free, unabridged online books. Links at the bottom for audio books!
And if you're having trouble deciding what to read:
100 Best Novels- Two Lists from The Modern Library, one from their board and one by readers.
Some more word fun:
Dr. Grammar's Frequently Asked Questions- Quick answers to those grammar questions that you usually don't think to ask, but your kids always will.
Etymologic- Touted as "the toughest etymology game on the Web." For word-geeks like me, pure bliss.
Chores & Housekeeping
Chore "Time Cards"- This download from Happy to be at Home is different than anything I've seen when it comes to chores.
Cooking & Recipes
World Hearth Recipe Collection- Recipes organized by country. This would be great for unit studies!
Chocolate Cake in 5 minutes in your microwave- I haven't tried this yet, but I'm just one "He's looking at me" fight away.
History & Geography
Outline Maps of Ancient Greece and Egypt- free downloadable pdf
Just Maps- Maps from anywhere in the world. Flags by country.
Art & Music
Musicovery- I can't even begin to describe how neat this site is. Basically, you pick your mood, what genres you'd like to listen to, which decades of music, and how far outside your circle of favorites you'd like to go. What you end up with is kind of a road map of music. Depending on which song you listen to, it will lead to other choices you might like. Unlike other online radio programs, it shows several choices at a time so you end up seeing music you wouldn't have thought to add in. Like Dr. John's Iko Iko. (What on earth is this song about, anyway???)
Sand Dancer- This guy's art is amazing! Think...crop circles in the sand.
This one doesn't have a title, but it's an amazing piece of art. See how many historical figures you can pick out. I was amazed at how many my kids knew! Click to zoom.
Their Circular Life- See and hear a full "day in the life" from a fixed point. Great to teach your kids observation. (Which means, great to sit your preschooler in front of while you're trying to cook and tell them "watch this and let mommy know if something moves.")
Art.com ArtPad- Make yourself a masterpiece. My kiddos love this one!
Amazing Stairs- Exactly what it sounds like. I especially like the bookshelf stairs.
Write Like an Egyptian- Your name in Hieroglyphs. Boy, I'm glad we don't do this today. I'm not much of an artist. People would have been mispronouncing my name all over the place.
Happy Surfing!
Showing posts with label Homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homeschooling. Show all posts
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
How you know the grammar lessons are stinking...er, sticking
Overheard at our house today:
"Hey, poop is a noun!"
(And of course, the only good "homeschool mom" answer:
Why, yes it is! And how do we turn it into a verb?)
"Hey, poop is a noun!"
(And of course, the only good "homeschool mom" answer:
Why, yes it is! And how do we turn it into a verb?)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Guess where I'm going...
I'm so excited!!! I won a free ticket to Heart of the Matter's Homeschool Virtual Conference, which starts this Thursday. Although this will be our 6th year homeschooling, I have never been to a conference, either in person or online. I'm looking forward to some fresh ideas!
I won't be posting this week as I'm getting some housework done, both literally and figuratively, but I'll be back after the conference with some ideas to share and maybe a surprise or two...
I won't be posting this week as I'm getting some housework done, both literally and figuratively, but I'll be back after the conference with some ideas to share and maybe a surprise or two...
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
School's out!
Have I mentioned how much I love being the principal?
Each year we continue formal studies in language arts and math over the summer break, as well as whatever informal studies we can dig up! (No pun intended...)
This year, though, I'm going to take a couple of weeks off and tackle our closets and basement! The weather is still cool enough outside so that the kiddos can get out there and play most of the day, and mommy can get busy decluttering and organizing.
We've taken more time off than usual this year, but as I've heard so often, that is the beauty of homeschooling. We'll have all the time in the world to catch up when the weather is too hot to get outside this summer! We're probably going to jump back into the middle of things around the beginning of July. If anyone knows of a great unit study for the 4th of July, I'd love your recommendations!
Until then their main subject will be:
From allposters.com
Each year we continue formal studies in language arts and math over the summer break, as well as whatever informal studies we can dig up! (No pun intended...)
This year, though, I'm going to take a couple of weeks off and tackle our closets and basement! The weather is still cool enough outside so that the kiddos can get out there and play most of the day, and mommy can get busy decluttering and organizing.
We've taken more time off than usual this year, but as I've heard so often, that is the beauty of homeschooling. We'll have all the time in the world to catch up when the weather is too hot to get outside this summer! We're probably going to jump back into the middle of things around the beginning of July. If anyone knows of a great unit study for the 4th of July, I'd love your recommendations!
Until then their main subject will be:
From allposters.comAlas the best-laid plans...
I had truly meant to show you pictures of my clean refrigerator and dining table, but I took the pics without my memory card in the camera and I haven't yet worked out all the kinks to get those to where I can post them.
Now that my fridge is clean (and empty!) I'm finally starting to meal plan. I looked at tons of sites last week on the best way to get started, and here are some of the helpful links I've found:
I've gotten a lot of menu planning ideas from Life as Mom recently. Here's a link to Meal Planning the 1950's Way . I think this is a fascinating idea and would save me loads of trouble...if we were eating more meat. As it is, we've cut way back on meat to save on cost and calories, and it just gets too depressing writing out "pasta" or "vegetables" for every night of the week. Maybe after I get a larger recipe bank built up I'll be able to categorize better and utilize this idea.
And here is a link to her last week's menu plan. (And a quick note...looks like she also posted on meal planning today, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet!) Instead of listing out the menus day-by-day, she lists the number of dishes she will have for each type of meal. I'm not sure how to explain it better than that...just go check it out! I think that this will work fabulously at our house, as we typically change our minds about what we'll be having for dinner, or inviting people over at the last minute. Truthfully, that's one of the reasons I've been procrastinating about meal planning. I guess this takes away my excuses, doesn't it?
I love the way that Michele lists her menus at Frugal Granola. Here is her most recent. She lists items to do along with her daily menu so that everything will be ready for the next day! I'm hoping to incorporate this somehow, I'll have to let you know what I figure out on this one.
And for those of you who like more specific meal planners, here's a link to some beautiful FREE meal planners from Heavenly Homemakers. She also has tons of meal planning and healthy eating ideas on her blog.
I'm actually excited about grocery shopping this week! I'm starting out with just three days' worth of meals until we find a greater variety of healthy meals that we love. Baby steps...
From allposters.com
Please continue to pray for Beth and Jimmy...
I had truly meant to show you pictures of my clean refrigerator and dining table, but I took the pics without my memory card in the camera and I haven't yet worked out all the kinks to get those to where I can post them.
Now that my fridge is clean (and empty!) I'm finally starting to meal plan. I looked at tons of sites last week on the best way to get started, and here are some of the helpful links I've found:
I've gotten a lot of menu planning ideas from Life as Mom recently. Here's a link to Meal Planning the 1950's Way . I think this is a fascinating idea and would save me loads of trouble...if we were eating more meat. As it is, we've cut way back on meat to save on cost and calories, and it just gets too depressing writing out "pasta" or "vegetables" for every night of the week. Maybe after I get a larger recipe bank built up I'll be able to categorize better and utilize this idea.
And here is a link to her last week's menu plan. (And a quick note...looks like she also posted on meal planning today, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet!) Instead of listing out the menus day-by-day, she lists the number of dishes she will have for each type of meal. I'm not sure how to explain it better than that...just go check it out! I think that this will work fabulously at our house, as we typically change our minds about what we'll be having for dinner, or inviting people over at the last minute. Truthfully, that's one of the reasons I've been procrastinating about meal planning. I guess this takes away my excuses, doesn't it?
I love the way that Michele lists her menus at Frugal Granola. Here is her most recent. She lists items to do along with her daily menu so that everything will be ready for the next day! I'm hoping to incorporate this somehow, I'll have to let you know what I figure out on this one.
And for those of you who like more specific meal planners, here's a link to some beautiful FREE meal planners from Heavenly Homemakers. She also has tons of meal planning and healthy eating ideas on her blog.
I'm actually excited about grocery shopping this week! I'm starting out with just three days' worth of meals until we find a greater variety of healthy meals that we love. Baby steps...
From allposters.comPlease continue to pray for Beth and Jimmy...
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