Some Favorite Homeschool Resources

Because we are pretty relaxed with homeschooling, we basically don't stop and start on certain dates. So even though it's summer, we still have days when we do some planned learning activities. And I've got resources/curriculum on the brain as I think through what we'll need for the coming year. Here are some of our favorite learning resources from the past year. Not necessarily the all-time greatest and best, just what came to mind when I was thinking through what has been most enjoyed and especially helpful.

1) Wooden Pattern Blocks - So many uses for these blocks!
patterns:

sorting:

And we got a fun book that provides more ideas. Here Silas uses the blocks to fill in an animal:

2) Shakespeare Can Be Fun series - A great way to introduce Shakespeare to little ones. I can't beat the description over here at Pioneer Woman. Both Millie and Silas LOVED reading through Romeo and Juliet. I wouldn't have guessed it would appeal to a 4-year-old boy, but then I suppose I'd forgotten about all the sword fighting.

3) Donna Young - This site has a TON of great free printables. All sorts of stuff for getting organized, and resources for every school subject.

4) I Can Read It! books

We had a hard time finding easy readers that would keep Millie motivated. Too often the language felt unnatural or the stories just weren't interesting.  But the I Can Read It! books have stories with real story lines, which kept Millie going in order to find out "what happens next!"

5) First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind - This has been a nice, gentle way to introduce grammar. I love that it's essentially an "open and go" resource. The kids have especially enjoyed the poetry memorization.

6) BBC Dance Mat Typing - Free online typing practice. We just started this with Millie a while back, and she has not only had fun with it, but has actually learned proper typing technique in the process. I'm sure sometime soon we'll invest in a real typing program, but this has been a fun resource for now.

7) PBS Nature - In our area this series airs on Sunday nights on PBS. A captivating look at various aspects of nature. The kids have found it fascinating and look forward to watching it on Sundays. 

8) Usborne Time Traveler - This is such a neat book that covers 4 different historical periods: Medieval Times, the Viking Age, the Roman World, and Ancient Egypt. Millie has been especially interested in history lately, so we've been pulling this out a lot. It's also been a really nice complement to some of our read-alouds. We just finished reading The Door in the Wall, which we were able to understand much better thanks to having just learned about medieval times.

9) First Encyclopedia of the Human Body - Another Usborne book with great pictures, and an excellent, in-depth look at the parts of the human body. Every time we pull this book down, it captures the kids' attention for a considerable amount of time.

10) Magic Tree House audiobooks - We've checked these out from our library, and the kids love them. Lots of excitement and adventure in the stories, while the kids also get exposure and information about other places and cultures, and various historical events.

These are some of our favorites from the past year. If you have any learning resources that you and your children have especially enjoyed, I'd love to hear about them!

Disclosure: the above links to Amazon.com are affiliate links.

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Top Ten Tuesday