Recently I was contacted by Education.com asking me if I would mind throwing out some of their worksheets on my blog. I had already knew about Education.com because I have actually used some of their resources in the past, especially when my kids were younger. Their website offers printable worksheets, online games, and lessons plans for grades preschool thru fifth grade. I believe they even have worksheet generators. Go here to see more activities.
Here are some of the worksheets they offer:
- Maze
- Word search
- Word search with images
- Crossword puzzle
- Word scramble
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Division
- Multiplication
- Spelling Test
- Matching words to images
- Word Tracer
Click here to download a free printable worksheet on figurative language. This figurative language word search is a great way to introduce or practice these concepts! Be sure to check out more activities at Education.com! (Answer page can be downloaded, too.)
_________________________________________________________Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool
My oldest daughter, who is in 5th grade, is getting to the point that she just wants to get her work completed and have the rest of the day to do what she wants to do. By that I mean - she wants to do it all independently. Really, she's always been independent. However, I have always had "structured school" time with her. When asking the girls a month ago, "What would be your perfect school day?" She admitted to me, about a month ago, that she didn't want to do crafts or games anymore; she wanted to do her work and be 'done'. Well, I thought about this for a while. I want her to be happy and enjoy school. She does learn differently from her sister. So it probably has appeared that a lot of things have been geared for her younger sister, since she is the older more independent learner. After much reflecting, I realized she is close to middle school and needs to be more independent and I would be here to answer any questions she had and still check her work. I haven't always liked the thought of being a "book work" family, but if this is what she wants and she's still learning and completing what she has to complete - why not? So after consulting my husband, we have ended "structured school" with her. I was scared at first. I thought, "Oh dear - she's going to wake up at noon and fiddle fart around and not get it completed until its time for her to go to swim at night." To my surprise - she proved me wrong. She's been waking up first thing, grabbing breakfast, and then retreating to her room to do her work. I have to say, I was quite impressed. When she's finished - she's ready to go outside and explore the world here lately. Sometimes if friends aren't busy, she's free, too. Its kind of a saddening feeling that she's growing up and after all my creative efforts in her schoolwork, she has had enough.
Because of this curve ball, I have came upon a gold mine! Well, really I was told about it from another friend. Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool has been one of the best things this family has stumbled upon. This woman has a totally free curriculum outlined day by day for 180 days each year and its all for FREE! Must I say it again...FREE! Any books, assignments, or anything are just a free click away. She literally has everything that the kids have to click on right in front of them. I've been pretty amazed. We aren't using the curriculum for everything...because we're pretty happy with our math book, history, and spelling. But I've dropped our normal grammar lessons - because she has all we need. I've dropped our science, because again, she has all we need. Most of the assignments are fun for the girls. Sometimes even related computer games or videos to go along with their lessons. The first few weeks, my girls were doing a lot of poetry. I was amazed at how my 3rd grader really got into poems and knew how to make sense of them. And before I knew my 5th grader was making poetry into songs. And the best part - it is really great for independent learners. My girls have a notebook with a chart that they check off everyday to keep up with their days. I make them write down all their answers for me to check. I can also go to the history of my internet to make sure my independent worker is clicking and going to where she needs to go (if I really worry she didn't do something correctly). My youngest isn't quite at the independent level yet, so we are still on the journey together - which I'll do as long as she will let me, but I know she'll eventually get to where her sister is one day, also. If anyone doesn't know how to start off homeschooling or is just in need of a supplement to work for your family - I highly recommend this site. Or if you don't think you have the finances to do so - this can work. This lady does take donations on her site, which I would highly recommend to do, because this curriculum is worth it to me - I have a few science books that I paid pretty pennies for and am not even using them. I would rather my dollars go to this woman who is taking her time to do it for ministry. I'm so thankful! It is very awesome! You can go to the site to see the style of how she writes her curriculum as well or just to see the great things there are and how easily simplistic it is. I've put the link below!
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As a member of Time4Learning, I have been given the opportunity to review their program and share my experiences. While I was compensated, this review was not written or edited by Time4Learning and my opinion is entirely my own. For more information, check out their standards-based curriculum or learn how to write your own curriculum review.
My kids and I actually enjoyed this program. First thing in the school morning, my youngest would hurry and race to the computer to get on the program before her sister.
In saying that, I used it as a supplement. I believe that is how it has to be used. We would do the lessons that went along with what we were learning about for that week. I don't think that we could use it by itself. I feel that I have to teach a little more in depth about the subject before they take the quizzes on the program. But that's why I school at home, so I can teach my child. So, I was okay with that. However, I am sure there are some families that may work for.
The only thing I was a little weary about was the science. I had read on the Time4Learning programs about their science not going with our Christian beliefs. So we tried to stay clear of the science lessons.
Other than that, the program's math and language art subjects I was really impressed with. It was great and the kids loved it and found it entertaining. It also stretched their vocabulary with words, as my oldest would ask me what a word meant, because it was unfamiliar to her.
I would definitely recommend this to any moms who wanted to use it as "summer review" or just to add in another supplement. We all loved the program in my house!
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Over the next 30 days, I will be reviewing Time4Learning's online education program. It can be used as a homeschool curriculum, an afterschool tutorial or for summer learning. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. You can write your own curriculum review, too!
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Reading Eggs- Learn to Read Online with Phonics in 5 Weeks from ages 3-13
I had the opportunity to sign up and use the online phonics program of "Reading Eggs." I have to be honest and to say right off that it wasn't for my kids. My youngest is 6. At the beginning, it gave her an assessment that was way to easy for her. She passed the assessment and then started the lessons, but the lessons were words she was already familiar with and it was again, too easy for her. She went through 72 lessons, but again, all of them just bored her. The only reason they bored her was because she was ahead of the levels.
All in all, the games and graphics are creative. To keep my child on track, I wish there would not have been a playroom for her to go in, because she wanted to do this more than the lessons.
We did not use this program very much because it was phonics and site words that she had already covered. This program may have worked if we would have started it from the beginning of her reading. But we did not.
I am participating in a sponsored campaign hosted by The Homeschool Lounge Review Team. I received a 5 week membership to Reading Eggs to facilitate this review. All opinions stated are my own.
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I've been given the opportunity to post a review of SpellingCity.com on my blog. This should be easy, because we use it constantly. I would say that SpellingCity.com definitely has helped us in our first year of homeschooling.
Just last week, my oldest daughter just won 1st place out of her grade (3rd grade) at a homeschooling spelling bee. It was easy for us to practice words because of SpellingCity.com. I love how I can input the words and she can play games or just test herself to practice. Literally, on the morning of the spelling bee, my husband and I were getting dressed and she was able to practice her spelling bee words on her own and I didn't have to be there going over them with her. Obviously for a spelling bee, she also had numerous words which she didn't know the meaning. SpellingCity.com helps with that tremendously. She can play a variety of games, for example like matching words in sentences, and from context clues she knows what the words mean.
I also love how when we are on the go and I can't take the computer with me, SpellingCity.com already has my word list and I can print a worksheet to go. She can work on her handwriting in the car while learning her spelling words. They have a variety of printable worksheets that are fun for the kids.
There are a lot of positive things about SpellingCity.com and I use it everyday. Its especially great for when you have multiple children. One child can be on SpellingCity.com, while you are working with another child on a different lesson. The best thing about SpellingCity.com is that its free! They also have a Premium membership option that has more options and learning activities.
I thought I had at least one negative feedback about the Word Search activities not being printable, but I was corrected. The Word Search activity is, actually, printable. To print, you must first open up the activity and choose the level of the word search. You will then have an opportunity to print the word search.
Many homeschool parents use SpellingCity.com. Its recommended on many forums, such as thehomeschoollounge.com. I can't wait to get started with their Premium membership. I bet my kids can't either!
Related posts: The Homeschool Spelling Bee
Disclosure:
I've been given a premium membership to VocabularySpellingCity.com for a candid, personal, online review.
VocabularySpellingCity.com helps students study word lists using 25 different learning activities such as MatchIt Sentences, HangMan, and Word-O-Rama. Parents can create their own spelling lists, find published lists already available on the site, or use any of dozens of free teaching resources on topics such as analogies and compound words. Be sure to come back in three weeks to read about my experience.
There might be more free memberships available for bloggers. If you're interested, find out how you can review VocabularySpellingCity.com.
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