Showing posts with label homeschool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschool. Show all posts

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Educents: Top Picks of 2015 by Homeschoolers!

top picks homeschoolers 

No matter what may be on your lesson plan for 2016, consider the resources below. Members within the Educents community put a list together of their favorite homeschool resources. If you'd like to learn more about the resource, just click the link! If you want to get more involved in the Educents community to learn more about homeschooling and the curriculum offered on Educents, join the Educents Facebook group!

 

Emily of Smith Squad recommends the Life of Fred books.

“As a child, I always hated math, even though I was good at it because it was soon boring. When I heard about Fred, I knew he had to be a part of our homeschool. My kids absolutely LOVE when it’s math time, and they are learning a ton about how to apply math to every day practical situations.”

Life of Fred Buyer's Guide

 

Lisa Marie of The Canadian Homeschooler uses the Writecraft and Mathcraft Units.

"The writing portion of this resource was the first time EVER that my oldest son ever willing wrote anything! He was excited to write instead of hating it."

 

Allison of Just Add Coffee loves the Magic School Bus Science Experiments.

“I absolutely love Magic School bus and all it has to offer. Each month you get a different science kit to take a Magic School Bus adventure. If you search really hard, online you can even find curriculum to go with each science kit and the episode from the television series.”
  Magic School Bus on Educents

   
“My favorite resource at Educents at the moment is Life of Fred. There are so many to choose from I picked the Elementary Series. My kids love these books; we have them up to high school now. My most recent order was Life of Fred Chemistry. My kids will do these without arguing and love Fred and Kingie!”

 

Celena of The Traveling Sisterhood recommends the Times Tales Multiplication videos.

"I love Times Tales because it's made this year's math lessons so much easier! My kiddos quickly mastered their multiplication tables in one sitting with the movie. It's been such a blessing--instead of drills everyday, we can take more time to learn the actual concepts behind the facts!" Times Tales Review  

 

Kelly of Raising Samuels loves the Magic School Bus Science Club.

“The Magic School Bus Science Club is something your child gets in the mail each month, for a year! It includes numerous experiments per month, along with most of the materials required. (except household items such as scissors and tape). It is an incredible hands-on learning experience that helps children love science and have fun! My sons who are 4 and 6 absolutely love it!”

Amy of Busy Boys Brigade recommends the Life of Fred Beginning Readers.

“Life of Fred Early Readers series has been a game changer in our homeschool! Both my 6 & 4-year-old boys beg me to do their reading lessons now that we have added Life of Fred. I have noticed an increase in their fluency and comprehension.” Fred Readers tips

 

Jenn of Chaotic Bliss Homeschooling also loves Times Tales.

"All three of my girls, ages 8 down to 4 loved watching this DVD and learning the stories. In 1 hour, both of my older girls had memorized their upper times tables! And the real kicker is I was only trying to teach one!"

 

Amy of Teaching in Blue Jeans uses Learn to Mod Minecraft with her son.

"Learn to Mod Minecraft is an amazing program that teaches my son, a Minecraft lover, important computer programming skills through a game he loves to play. The lessons are easy to use, fun and engaging. I love that he is a learning a skill that I am not able to teach him."
Kids Learn to Code - Educents Graphic

 

Tabitha of Life Learning Homeschool uses the King Tut Mini Unit.

“My son loves history (he gets it from me), and I love to throw in “extras” to feed the need for more than what our curriculum calls for. Mini-units are great for that, and this was one of our favorites because we both love Ancient Egypt!”

 

Amy from Not Your Average Homeschool Mom loves Minecraft Mod Design.

“I love that you can be totally creative, and these are all hands-on. Helps to build critical thinking skills too.” YouthDigital Educents1

Kayla of The Arrowood Zoo loves using Magformers for lessons at home.

"I love that you can be totally creative and these are all hands-on. Helps to build critical thinking skills too." Magformers_fine-motor-practice-copy-copy

Shelly of Free Homeschooling 101 recommends the Violin Starter Set.

"The violin starter set includes everything a budding violinist needs to begin their studies. The instrument is well made and economical. The lessons that are included are a huge money saver!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miJXCpi20DU

Rebecca of Hip Homeschooling likes Magformers.

“We LOVE Magformers in our homeschool! They are a high-quality toy that provide hours of creative play. They are a great way to bring the fun back into your homeschool; your kids won’t even realize they are learning all about structures and geometric shapes and architecture (bonus!).”

Teri of Mommy Wife Life recommends the Spectacular Space Unit Study.

“A great resource for young astronomers is the Spectacular Space Unit Study. From writing, reading, math, and crafts, this complete unit, with its simple terms, will spark the interest of even your preschoolers!”
Screen Shot 2015-12-26 at 2.09.22 PM  

Jamie of Simple Homeschool loves Life of Fred too!

“I love the way the math is naturally integrated into Fred’s life, showing the importance of it in day-to-day life. The chapters are laugh-out-loud funny, and I often get asked to read “just one more.” I’ve never been a huge fan of math workbooks and worksheets, so the combination of math and story is a major win in my books!”

Gabriella, Homeschooling Consultant, recommends the Number Formation Poems.

“We have these cards laminated because we know they’ll be used for years to come. My son, who learns best through rhyme and tactile input, is learning to write digits using these easy-to-remember number formation poems! I have reduced the size of the cards, added a ring binder, and now have a portable number set. We also use the cards for matching games and learning about quantity. Such a great price for all of the value provided by this set.” Hands_on-learning-with-worksheets   
  What homeschool resource did you use this year that you would recommend? Leave your recommendation in the comments!!

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Ready-to-Go Geography Lessons from Educents!

Geography Lessons - Educents Blog
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking my link. 

Ready to Go Geography Lessons 

World Maps are so exciting to explore. The best way to engage a student learning about the world, is to ask them to label it. The Mini Peel & Play World Map Set on Educents provides students all the materials they need to explore and label a world map. Better yet, the map is small enough to stick onto the car window while you’re traveling. It’s also easy to move the map from room to room in your house – the map has a safe adhesive that allows students to stick the map to a surface over and over again.

The Map In Action

Check out the Mini Peel & Play World Map in action during this video.

Activity Ideas

Looking for ways to make the Mini Peel & Play World Map interactive? 

Use these activities:
Label the oceans – use the labels to point out oceans around the globe.
Ask your student to match the sticker with its continent. What does your student see in that continent? What is the climate there? Is that continent above or below the equator?

After your student has placed all the sticker labels on the globe, s/he can refer to the map while responding to these writing prompts:
  • Name all of the oceans in the world.
  • Locate your home on the map. If you wanted to visit Australia, which direction would you need to travel?
  • How would you travel to Europe – by foot, by boat, or by plane?
  • Which direction does a ship need to sail to travel from South America to Africa?

About the Sets

Mona MELisa Mini Peel & Play Sets go beyond the World Map. Learn about all the themes and ways to use the sets in your lessons.
Peel and Play Educents 


Theme options: Math, science, geography, spelling, counting
Great for: all ages, visual learners, kinesthetic learners (kids will love touching the pieces and moving them around from place to place), auditory learners (sets can be combined with verbal instruction)
Parents: Stick your sets to a car window, on any wall at home, or on your child’s bathroom mirror to practice counting while brushing teeth.
Teachers: This tool will save you hours preparing any of your lessons. The labels are made and ready to go!
Homeschoolers: Provide hands-on lessons for your students! Visual learners will love the colorful map, and kinesthetic learners will enjoy sticking and unsticking parts of the map.
 
What’s included?
The Mini Peel & Play sets are fabrics with a safe, adhesive backing. They sets measure 11 by 17 inches.
Bonus!! You can download ready-go-to lessons to accompany the Peel & Play sets. Check out the World Map Teaching Guide.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Educents Back to School Science Projects!

Check out these science experiments, science freebies, and science books that will make back-to-school fun for everyone. 
Science Projects - Educents Blog 
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking any of my links below.  

Magic School Bus Polymer Group Pack

Seat belts everyone! Get ready to grow amazing polymers! Young Scientists grow super balls, snow, rainbow beads, crystal gels, and polymer flowers while learning about the importance and science of super-absorbent polymers. This kit provides enough materials for 30 students and i s great for the classroom, after-school programs, science enrichment, boys and girls sco uts, camps, and a Magic School Bus birthday Party! 
 

FREE - Osmosis: The Colorful Celery Experiment

 Celery Experiment - Educents Blog

Are you teaching your students about osmosis? Perhaps it is a part of your science curriculum, or maybe you want to just do a little experimenting... The Colorful Celery Experiment is th e perfect introduction to Osmosis. Your students will learn how water moves with this fun experiment. 

 

Science Story eBooks - 50% OFF

BRIANIACS 

Follow Merrin and Pearl to combine science with adventure in Brainiacs. Also learn about the nervous, digestive, immune, skeletal and circulatory system with a five part series from Human Body Detectives eBooks. 

Magic School Bus Inspired Planet Study - 30% OFF

Plan games, worksheets, and coloring pages to expand your young astronomer's understanding of space!
    
Planets

  
More Science Resources

Looking for more inspiration for science experiments? Check out these resources:
  • The Young Scientists Club - Engage boys and girls around the world in an educational science ad venture that lasts a lifetime.
  • Science printables for older kids - Teach With Fergy offers printable task cards, complete science units, PowerPoint lessons, and more!
  • STEM Mystery Books - T each science and math with these books full of dozens of one-minute mysteries that kids love to solve!

How will you incorporate science into your lesson plan? What do you like the most about science?

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

FREE Lessons for Kids About Ancient Egypt!

 Free Lessons Egypt - Educents Blog
 Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking my link.

Students LOVE to learn about King Tut and Ancient Egypt! Download a FREE lesson for kids about Ancient Egypt and jump into King Tut's history! The freebie has several activities included in this pack, including reading comprehension, math review, map skills, and timeline practice , so there are a multiple ways to use them.

Hieroglyphics Math

 King Tut Mini Unit - Educents

Use these fun pages to practice place value and/or addition and subtraction skills! Page 12 of the King Tut Mini-Unit Freebie asks students use the symbols to determine the number. The following page goes a step further and asks students add or subtract numbers.

Fun facts about Ancient Egypt:

  • The Egyptian alphabet contained more than 700 hieroglyphs!
  • Egyptians believed cats were a sacred animal and having a pet cat would bring a household good luck.
  • Ancient Egyptians invented pens, toothpaste, and a game very similar to bowling.

More Ancient Egypt resources:

Mini Bio: King Tut - Here's a mini bi o about King Tut to go with your mini unit! 
 

Ancient Egypt Lapbook - Study interesting facts about the discovery of hieroglyphic writing, the Rosetta Stone, the great King Tutankhamun, the lovely Cleopatra and more.  
Recipes From Egypt - Delight your little cooks with two authentic and easy-to-make recipes from Egypt: Tameya (the original veggie burger), and Basboosa (Semolina cake with honey and lemon).  
My Book About Egypt - My Book About Egypt takes elementary students to the cities o f Cairo, Alexandria, Damietta, and Giza.

    King Tut Mini Unit - Educents

Want free lessons for kids about Ancient Egypt? Recommended for children 8-12 years old (3rd, 4th and 5th graders).

Monday, April 6, 2015

Introducing the Educents Marketplace!

Introducing the NEW Educents Marketplace I just received an email from the founders of Educents, Kate and Kaitlyn, with some really exciting news. Until today, Educents was a website for parents and educators to take advantage of daily deals. But those deals expired... And there were only 50 deals available at once... I wanted saving money to be even EASIER. Kate and Kaitlyn agreed. So they created the new Educents Marketplace. It’s even easier to discover affordable educational resources that make learning FUN! 

168b9eb3-ef68-4b42-80a4-f3aa5cf66646 

Thousands of new products - 
Educents Sellers can now offer ALL of their bestsellers on the new Educents Marketplace. There's a wide variety of worksheets, lesson plans, educational apps and toys. Shop The Young Scientists Club, Scholastic, Workman Publishing, Alpha Omega Publishing, Life of Fred books, hundreds of printable units created by educators, and more! 

Offers that NEVER expire - 
Sellers can offer our favorite educational products year-round. Once a deeply discounted Daily Deal expires, you can still find that product available on Educents at the lowest price. 

Discovery - 
It's easier to search on Educents. Search for your kiddos' interests like Minecraft or Frozen-inspired resources, and then sort by grade level, subject, brand, and more! Screen Shot 2015-04-01 at 9.36.15 AM 

Follow your favorite brands and Sellers - 
The “Follow Me” feature lets me add my favorite Sellers to a list. Click the heart on the Seller Storefront. You can also see which Sellers are the most popular with other shoppers! 

Screen Shot 2015-03-31 at 5.59.18 PM 

The Educents Marketplace is exactly what I want it to be -- the best place for parents and educators to find the resources I NEED at an affordable price. 

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Join Junior Explorers Subscription Boxes to Send Your Child on a Wild Adventure!

Send your child on wild adventures with Junior Explorers subscription boxes! Join Now!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking my link. 

Junior Explorers!

Junior Explorers is a fun and educational monthly subscription program for elementary aged kids, which teaches them all about wildlife and nature! 

As Junior Explorers, kids go on monthly interactive 'missions' to explore different ecosystems and the animals that live there. Each mission includes both tactile and digital components with kits delivered home plus a robust online experience. Kids also learn how to give back and support the habitats and species they explore every month through the Junior Explorers Mission Giveback program.

Fictional characters, Kia and Kyle are resident Junior Explorers who accompany children on every adventure. Together they will explore amazing places like the Arctic, Serengeti and the Amazon, having fun while learning about these regions and the animals that live there!

Junior Explorers is dedicated to educating and inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Educents Deals & FREEBIES!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking my link. 

Check out these Great Deals at Educents!

Violin Starter Set

This pack is perfect for beginners, it contains everything you need to play.
 
Who is it for? Ages 5+
Deal expires on 4/1

Horizons Penmanship
 
Your student is sure to love learning to write letters and simple phrases with fun-filled, colorful lessons.

Who is it for? Grades 1 - 5
Deal expires on 3/30

Weaving Loom

Teach kids this hands-on timeless craft.

Who is it for? Ages 6 - 15
Deal expires on 3/30

Wooden Blocks
Encourage hands-on play with these sturdy wooden blocks! Kids will love the real architectural shapes.

Who is it for? Ages 3+
Deal expires on 4/2
Wooden building blocks are wonderful for children of all ages, get your set now!

App for Writing Lessons!
Take the anxiety and difficulty out of writing with a 13-month membership to WriteWell’s online program.

Who is it for? Ages 6 to 18
Deal expires on 3/29

Social & Emotional Learning Guide
Grade specific social emotional learning content strategies for teachers, parents and the child.

Who is it for? Grades K-5
Deal expires on 4/3

Learn to Mod Minecraft®

Still available!
 
Students learn how to code by modding their own private Minecraft server that they can share with friends.

Who is it for? Ages 6+
Deal expires on 3/30

Minecraft Themed Chore Chart
Make Spring cleaning fun with THREE Minecraft themed chore charts!

Who is it for? The whole family!
Deal expires on 3/29

Friday, February 27, 2015

FREE Frozen Themed ABC & Math Worksheets! Exp. 3/5

Frozen-Themed ABC + MATH Download
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking my link. 

*FREE* Frozen Themed ABC & Math Worksheets!

There is something for everyone in this downloadable Frozen-themed ABC Fun Pack from Frugal Homeschool Family!
Expires 3/5.