Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Homeschool Curriculum Resources

Saw the other thread and thought it might be helpful to some to compile a list of possible choices in one place. These are sites we've used or looked at, or I've read about here or elsewhere. There are 1,000's more. Add yours and maybe we'll have a good resource.

www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.com - join to get substantial savings on all sorts of stuff - and btw, they say they are getting cybered back.

www.k12.com

www.time4learning.com - fun curriculum which includes online game time (games are not educational - things like pac-man and asteroids)

http://cdis.missouri.edu - grades 3 on

http://www.ucopenaccess.org - high school AP courses

http://epgy.stanford.edu

http://www.cty.jhu.edu

http://www.prufrock.com

http://www.criticalthinking.com/index.jsp

http://www.rfwp.com - Michael Clay Thompson curriculum - note there is a yahoo group, too: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MCTLA/join

www.brainpop.com

http://www.singaporemath.com

http://heymath.com

http://www.artofproblemsolving.com

http://www.thinkwell.com

http://www.all-about-spelling.com

http://www.bravewriter.com

http://www.writeathome.com

http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/book/blight.asp

Well, I'm tired of copying, but that's a start.

I'm an afterschooler but liked this book and website. Thanks for the great list!

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/

Good idea, questions!

Here are some free ones:

http://www.schoolexpress.com/index.php

http://www.sciencewithme.com/

http://www.ourlosbanos.com/homeschool/science_human_body.html

http://www.eequalsmcq.com/Thank%20you%20for%20downloading%20Life%20Science.htm

http://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/Lapbooks_at_HSS.php

http://themathworksheetsite.com/

More freebies:

http://dln.nasa.gov/dln

http://edsitement.neh.gov

http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/classroom.asp

http://scratch.mit.edu

www.alice.org

http://www.artcyclopedia.com

http://www.edhelper.com/?gclid=CPvWsr_fvJMCFQuwGgodtib6CQ

http://www.apple.com/education/mobile-learning

http://oyc.yale.edu/astronomy/frontiers-and-controversies-in-astrophysics/content/downloads

http://www.khanacademy.org

http://www.usmint.gov/kids/cartoons

http://www.newyorkfed.org/publications/result.cfm?comics=1

http://www.learner.org/interactives

https://www.englishgrammar101.com/Login.aspx

http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go

http://www.zometool.com/Lesson_Plans

http://www.kokogiak.com/megapenny/1.asp - this one is short and fun

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/NAV/vlibrary.html

http://www.scienceu.com/geometry/fractals

http://www.measuringworth.com

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/hs/home/students/index.htm

http://www.imminst.org/forum/index.php?act=ST&f=13&s=&t=10291

http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=4&tabid=67&tabpageid=313

www.spellingcity.com

Yesterday while searching for something else I came across this old thread and thought JenSMP and others may find it useful.

Thank you, LMom! Very useful, although where do I begin?! LOL I think I'm leaning towards an eclectic collection of curriculums, and it's a bit overwhelming. This is very helpful and very appreciated!

We like eclectic at our house. It's nicely adaptable to your chid's specific needs.

The trick is to realize that you don't have to do everything all at once. Dabbling is good, especially at first. Get your feet wet before you dive in headfirst. Remember that if your child is ahead of the curriculum already, you don't have to worry so much about coverage. That won't be as hard as you think.

My goals the first year were just to be sure he learned something every day, he was challenged some every day--not necessarily challenged in every subject every day--and that learning was fun for him. (Not to say that it's a party all the time, but that it's pleasant. For a kid who is appropriately challenged, learning is generally fun in a fulfilling, pleasurable sense.)

If you manage to achieve those goals, you'll be fine. The first year is as much a learning experience for you as it is for your child, and that's perfectly normal.

Ask questions as you need to.

I agree. Try to fix/find one problem/curriculum at time and then move onto the next one. As long as he is learning something new and is happy most of the time, you are doing a great job.

Not everything will be perfect on the 1st attempt, or even the 2nd or 3rd. It took us about a month to figure out how to homeschool. We still tweak things here and there.

Good luck

I think "Tweaking" is a mandatory requirement for kids like ours. We are using any extremely ecclectic mix. Aleks for math, Anatomy Academy for science, my college textbook for US History, Bravewriter, etc. It's ugly but it works!!

I feel like I'm still figuring it out, and we're approaching our 2-year mark.

I think the guideline of expecting 6-months to a year of a school arrangement to work for an HG+ child holds true for homeschooling, too. We just generally have an easier time with adapting our arrangements.

I think we've hit an adaptation time at our house. I'm doing a bit of struggling as a result. What part of it is my problem and what's his? We'll see...

Kriston, I think you hit the nail on the head. Could someone please write a book on how to figure that one out. Where is the give and take line?????

I tend to persist with what I think is reasonable for a few weeks. If he's still not toeing the line at that point, I rethink. Maybe I'm expecting too much.

I did up the level and amount of work I expect this year. It is possible I went too far. But I'm not going to back down yet.

How much independent "homework" time would you give to an 8yo HG+ boy who has been homeschooling for about 2 years? I wonder if I'm asking too much.

Maybe you all can help me find that give and take line!

So would *benadryl+school+boy=extreme frustration in mom* be my problem or his? LOL What do you do when they are sick or just don't want to do school? It's not like you can just send them anyways.

I call a sick day if the child wouldn't be going if s/he were in public school.

Even if we're not sick, some days I just let us both play hooky if we need it. Frankly, I used to need a day off once in a while when I was a kid and in public school. Some days you just need a mental health day. As long as it only happens once in a while, I think it's okay.

I usually still try to do something educational on those days off--a field trip or a day of educational games or something. But shifting gears can be a good thing.

To answer your question, *benadryl+school+boy=extreme frustration in mom* is both of your problems, I suspect.

Let me know when you find it, maybe I can adapt it for my DD9! My DD just loves my interaction and I am trying to keep in mind that she is a very verbal kid and loves to hear it as much as read it.

If I am the one who needs the mental health day, the DVD player goes on and a somewhat educational movie (i.e. Getting Ahead Science Series, Magic School Bus, etc.) occupies DC until I can calm myself down. Sometimes, I just need 20 minutes and sometimes I need a whole day.

If DS is wiggly/ansy from the moment he wakes up, we postpone our lessons and head to the park or children's museum. Often after some of the excess energy is burned off, looking a leaves with a microscope or catogorizing the flora and fauna will naturally happen. I keep a "kit" ready for this type of exploring. (I have a few pre-printed activities, notebook, pencil, crayons, binoculars, pocket microscope, disposable camera, etc.) On these days, we "unschool" until his focus is back enough to accomplish anything without fighting -sometimes he needs 20 minutes and sometimes he needs a whole day.


Finally in situations like the benadryl one, DS gets LOTS of quiet time in his room with a few cool books and music that I have stashed for these "special occasions." He has quiet time and so does Mom.

Fortunately, these help keep me from drinking during the day! J/K!!!!

Although our general schedule is HS four days per week 'til about 2pm but I allow for flexibility to accomodate attitudes, life, etc. (Day 5 is usually spent on playdates, museums, parks, classes, etc.) Since we work (more-or-less) year-round, I don't stress days off. We generally accomplish far more in a day than a regular school would. Often, we end up working one or two weekend days per month because of scheduling, child-desire or to involve DH in some lessons.

So you do drink during the day?

Update: Apparently DS7 can fully function on benadryl. After I called it quits for the day and went off to find my quiet place, I found him quietly creating his own super hero card game. It was extremely detail-oriented with each card having 2 super hero powers. The object is each player turns over 2 cards and you battle each other's superhero powers (example one has fire one has H2O so the H2O hero wins) (think the classic game of war). So 3 hours later he is still working tediously on his project and I am really off to find my happy place now. Apparently I had the wrong school subject in mind.

And I am wondering about the drinking during the day thing????

Guess I phrased that wrong . . .

Thanks to not fighting with school, I do NOT need to drink . . . No kidding about it. LOL

I kind of liked it better that you were drinking during the day even though the school was treating your family well.

Party at sittin pretty's house!

Just think of the "homeschool trail" we could build with that one.

LOL!

I don't know if this book has been mentioned yet... I just bought the book: "Homeschool Your Child for Free" It has 1400 website urls listed with descriptions of what the website has. Organized by topic. They just updated it with a 2009 edition. If you are looking for great free resources, it looks like it will be a good reference.

Around here "Free" is always good!! Why is it that the powers that be think that having smart kids = having lots of money?

Ok, ok, I'm making a pitcher of margaritas, come on over . . .



Quite a few of our museums offer free (or super cheap) "homeschool kits" that you can check-out for a period of time. They typically include a specific curriculum, manipulatives or equipment necessary to conduct a project or experiment and supporting books/information. Some are better than others but for the price they are worth checking out. I do believe you have to be a museum member though so there is an underlying cost.