I will set up this post in a format of eight academic areas required by my state, with Bible added, as required by my homeschool umbrella. These represent a way to homeschool for free, but they are not meant to suggest that I am homeschooling this way. In another post I will outline how I am homeschooling.
BIBLE:
Bible Gateway or Audio Bible (KJV)
Bible reading Plans: Penny Gardner scripture highlights from Old or New Testament, or Bible Gateway
MATHEMATICS:
Curriculum Aid or Mathematics Enhancement Programme (MEP – UK)
SCIENCE:
Classic Science or Real Science for Kids
Vega Science
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Phonics: From Don Potter’s educational website: FREE DOWNLOAD: Word Mastery: A Course in Phonics for the First Three Grades by Florence Akin or Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for First Grade or How to Teach Phonics, or Through the Phonics Barrier: Student Manual or LEARN TO READ
Handwriting: This is a long section, so please bear with me. Where I live, the schools are no longer teaching cursive. Hunh? That makes no sense? The following is excerpted from Don Potter’s educational website:
"Peterson Handwriting: Good handwriting and good reading go together, both should be automated in order to free up the mind for good comprehension and creative composition. The Peterson Handwriting Company has done some highly sophisticated research into process of automated handwriting. Visit their web site at: Peterson Handwriting.
"They have published a REVIEW COPY of their entire program at: Handwriting – The Complete Program. This is a MUST read. Matthew McNatt has written that, “Just as well-taught writing can help students’ reading, poorly taught writing can hinder students’ reading.” Read his comments on the effectiveness of the Peterson Method at the McNatt Learning Center.
"Here is a link to the once famous Palmer Method (1915). I like this 1866 method by my namesake, S. A. Potter, Penmanship Explained. Sam Blumenfeld maintains that we should start children writing with Cursive First, just as everyone in America learned to write before 1923. I totally agree, especially since I was taught Cursive First when I began school in 1953. Here is a good link to some old handwriting methods: Nib.
"Here is the Zaner method of cursive handwriting and a lot of other school ideas from 1921: Zaner Penmanship. Public School Penmanship: A Handbook for Teachers. 1909. Manual of Free-hand Penmanship, 1877. How to Teach Writing, 1892. The Theory and Practice of Handwriting, 1897. This is a theoretical and practical book advocating vertical penmanship. Here is a very satisfactory handwriting method with complete details: Complete Manual of Commercial Penmanship, 1893. Teacher’s guide for the Palmer Method.
"Here is Dr. Robert Rose’s new book, Forget the Bell Curve. Mr. Rose maintains that early letter writing fluency is the key to early reading success.
"Still thinking of teaching printing? Okay, try A to Z’s Cool Homeschool Site or Head of the Class (create an account) or DonnaYoung.org"
Spelling: The Basic Cozy Spelling Course or Big IQ Kids or Spelling City or UK’s Phonic Spelling 1 (and a cool list of free downloads of tools and games) or Spell by Color
Grammar: Scott Foresman Writing and Grammar or The Big Book by English Banana -this page for a list of available pages or go here to download the full grammar book or English Grammar 101 or BBC UK or Grammar-Land by M. Nesbitt (soon) or Grammar-Land.com
Writing and composition: Five J’s .com or Scott Foresman Writing and Grammar or Old Fashioned Education or A to Z Home’s Cool
Literature: AmblesideOnline or Old Fashioned Education or Materamabilis – a Catholic Charlotte Mason Education
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Free one-year Curricula by Guest Hollow:
Ancient History
American History, Year 2
American Heritage free one-year American History
Mosaic Introduction to World History I: Myths, Maps & Marvels
K-12 World History for Us All
ART APPRECIATION: Ambleside Online – I am following the schedule (somewhat) posted on AmblesideOnline.org – for each 12-week term of the schoolyear we focus on artwork of one artist. Sometimes we read a biography of the artist spread out over the period.
Crafts for Kids
MUSIC APPRECIATION: Again, AmblesideOnline – they have a schedule for Composer study: Each term you listen to various works of the term’s assigned composer, and you can consider reading a biography of the composer spread out over the term.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION: A.C.E. Youth Fitness Program:
DOWNLOAD CURRICULUMHEALTH:
KidsHealth
Nutrition Detectives (Dr. Katz)
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Khan Academy - free homeschooling
resources.
Dori's Tumble Through the Internet
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Other Great Homeschooling Resources:
Marilyn Rocket
Donna Young
Homeschool Radio Shows
Homeschool Freebie of the Day
Click Schooling by Diane Flynn
ClickSchooling is an ezine that brings you one, F.R.E.E, web-based curriculum idea every day — Monday through Saturday!
You'll enjoy the daily recommendations (delivered directly to your email inbox) for educational and entertaining websites that help your kids learn.
Each day of the week is themed around a particular subject as follows:
•Monday is Math
•Tuesday is Science
•Wednesday is Language Arts
•Thursday is Social Sciences
•Friday is a Virtual Field Trip
•Saturday is for Music, Art, & Foreign Languages
We make every effort to recommend websites that have content that is appropriate for general audiences. However, all of ClickSchooling's recommendations assume that parents will preview the sites for suitable content, and then review the sites together with their children.
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So, I think that’s everything I will list today. These are ways to homeschool for free, not necessarily sites I have used or approved. My goal was to show that you can homeschool at very little cost (computer, wireless connection, paper to print out). Gotta go.
Flymomma
Thanks for this list.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to add Progressive Phonics (http://www.progressivephonics.com/). It's free with registration, but you will have to pay for the ink and paper.
Wow! Thanks. I hadn't heard of that one, or if I did I didn't note it because of being past phonics by then.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see any contact info in the blog, but would like to get the word out that my spelling program, Spell By Color (listed in the Spelling section on this blog), has a new home: www.jettedgames.com/spelling.htm
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Andrea