Five months into homeschooling and we definitely have our go-to's. Our go-to websites, supplies, learning toys, and even what we wear and/or use each day. These things all help make our days a little bit earier, bring us joy, and are overall things we like. I like to think by sharing some of our faves, other's may give them a try too and discover something that helps their days run smoothly too!
- Khan Academy - We use it mainly for math, but is an overall great (and free) resource
- Education.com - I pay for a premium subscription, so we have access to worksheets (that I also use for daycare preschoolers) and games. I enjoy the grammar worksheets and lessons for the younger two minis. The social studies worksheets for the third grader are informative, short, and much better put together than her textbook (that I've stopped using at this point).
- iCivics - This was recommended to us by our assistant homeschool teacher. It's geared toward middle schoolers, who are learning about government. The lesson plans are put together nicely, but the games are preferred and played often by my 7th and 5th grader.
- Prodigy - The kids love playing this math game. It's just for fun, but is so popular amongst the kids that last summer we had Prodigy Days, where each child could bring a device and play.
- Duolingo - The minis practice Spanish daily, but they've also done a few other languages on the site just for fun.
Museum tours and zoo cams: pick just about any zoo or Museum and you can likely find a virtual tour or animal cams. The minis fell in love with this last spring when we virtually toured National Parks and the National Zoo's panda cam.
For food:
- Damn Delicious - We've tried out a few of the recipes and they are spot on. We tend to eat more vegetarian and even substituting meat for more veggies works well in these recipes.
- Allrecipes African Recipes - the oldest is learning all about Africa this quarter and has taken to cooking African dishes once a week. It's been interesting for all of us!
Must Haves:
- Fuzzy socks - a must in the winter months!
- Expo markers and white boards
- Notebooks - we prefer the cheapo spiral notebooks that I bought for .50 a piece at the beginning of the school year.
- Colored pencils and oil pastels - These are used for art class more than any other medium.
- Math machines and flash cards - I LOVE the machines, but good ol' fashioned flash cards are handy too. I printed some from Education.com
Toys and Books:
Legos - any and all Legos. I particularly enjoy the Lego boxes and watch the kids get creative with building!
A Long Walk To Water - this has been our bedtime reading this week.
Everything You Need To Know books - great resources outside of the textbooks, that follows their curriculum.
Art kits (such as this) - the minis were lucky enough to receive several for Christmas. Not only do we use them for art class to do a variety of things, but they've been great for our winter weekends.
Gym mat - I broke it out this week since I knew we wouldn't be getting a lot of outside time. It has been a hit with all of the kids, who have been practicing hand stands, cartwheels, and flips.