Resources for Teaching Kids

I have begun to explore the option of homeschooling my children and I am finding that there are some wonderful resources created for the homeschooling community that are terrific for encouraging children’s natural love of learning whether or not you plan to homeschool. Many of the web sites and books have great ideas for projects you can do at home, suggestions for excellent books on all kinds of subjects, and even reviews and recommendations for suppliers of educational toys and products for kids of all ages.

Here are a few I have found to be very helpful so far. All of the books , except the one of science experiments, have been readily available at my local library:

“The Homeschooling Book of Answers” by Linda Dobson – This book has a great appendix of resources in the back.

“The Complete Home Learning Sourcebook” by Rebecca Rupp – This book is a catalog (with helpful reviews) of educational products, books, toys and games for subjects ranging from Arithmetic to Zoology.

“Home Learning Year by Year” by Rebecca Rupp – Written to help homeschoolers design a curriculum, this book walks through each grade, from kindergarten through high school offering suggestions for subject matter, questions to investigate, resource material, and books to read.

“730 Easy Science Experiments with Everyday Materials” by E. Richard Churchill, Louis V. Loeschnig, and Muriel Mandell – I just purchase this book at BN.com for less that $10 hardback, but I saw it at Borders for $25 for a paperback, comb-binded version. Go figure. It pays to shop around. Anyway, this book is great for my 4-year old who is very interested in why things happen. The experiments are easy, short, and most aren’t too messy (a plus for me). I think this one will keep us busy for many years.

A friend also recently sent me links to these interesting sites:

http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/by-title.shtml

From the University of Missouri, collections of resource links for hundreds of different topics, ranging from Adinkra cloth to Yellowstone National park. Intended for educators but you can access and use the links for free.

http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/

Has study-based recommendations for teaching kids to read at all levels. Some interesting articles.

http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/

print out your own free handwriting worksheets

(This site is lots of fun as you can print out directions for your child’s name, or other phrases that would get your child’s attention.)

Enjoy and I will add other great resources as I find them. If anyone has some to add, or useful homeschooling advice for me, please let me know!