A Great Way To Study World Geography

You can't turn on the news these days without hearing about Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan , but where exactly are they? If you are like most Americans, you really don't know.

RethinkingSchools.org offers a free, interactive web application that does amazing job of teaching the locations of countries in and around the Middle East. The site is interactive, allowing you to click on the name of a country and drag it to the location on the map.

Homeschool buy and sell website

If you are in need of some new textbooks, or need to sell a few, you might want to head over to the Storehouse Depot. The goal of the website is "to provide a safe place for homeschool families to easily buy and sell resources and materials directly to and from other homeschool families."

Math Learning Development Chart

Wondering where your child stands mathematically? What math skills should they have, and by what age? DreamBox Learning's math educators developed this chart to answer those very questions. In addition, the chart gives teaching tips, games and activities that will assist your child's math development.

Virtual Dissection

Looking for a way to teach your child anatomy without all the messiness of real dissection? Why not try virtual dissection? Similar to the old-fashioned way, your student will learn all about the parts, but there will be no mess to clean up.

Here is a link to a virtual eye dissection.

Alibris Coupon Codes

Looking for some more books for your summer reading list? Wanting to get a jumpstart on ordering textbooks for the fall?

Well head over to Alibris for one of the widest selections of books, movies, and music!

Use the coupon code below for even more savings!

Save $4 off $30 or more of books, music, & movies when you use coupon code JARMUSCH on checkout at www.alibris.com. This coupon expires June 30, 2009.

Teaching Left and Right

If your child is having a hard time telling the difference between left and right, have them make the shapes above with their hand. The one that looks like an L is supposed to look is their left hand, and the other is their right!

Dinosaur Multiplication

My boys have been begging me to teach them more about multiplication. Since we are reading a book about dinosaurs, I figured it might be fun to incorporate that into the lesson.

The supplies

I wrote a multiplication problem on the whiteboard. The first number was the number of "nests" and the second number was the number of "dinosaur eggs".

The boys placed the M&Ms onto the felt nests, and then wrote the problem in their notebooks.

Although Luke isn't old enough to multiply, he had fun counting the "dinosaur eggs".

Make a Printable Custom Emergent Reader For Your Child

Your child will love reading this story all about him or her! The site allows you to fill in your child's name, age and quite a few other things , then plugs what you put in right into the story.

Boy's Version

Girl's Version

Parent Child Journals

Looking for a pleasant and painless way to get in some extra reading and writing practice? Look no further than a notebook. Write any entry in the notebook such as a few sentences telling your child about your day, asking about theirs, or maybe even asking some profound question like, "What is your favorite color and why do you like it?"

Then have your child answer back, and leave questions for you. Learning and bonding all in one!

Handwriting Without Tears

I can not say enough about how wonderful the Handwriting Without Tears program is! We absolutely love it.

The boys are able to practice writing with the wet ,dry, try method on their chalkboards, and then reinforce what they have learned on their workbooks.

Love it!

Learn To Draw Portraits

Budding artists will love this video series that explains how to draw portraits. The 27 video series details:

*Value and Contrast

*Graphite and Eraser

*Sketching

*Value Shapes

*Measuring

Splatter Art

My kiddos love to paint, and while I love nurturing their artistic spirits, the idea of cleaning up all that paint? Uh... not so much. So, you can imagine my delight when I found this cool place for them to unleash their inner Jackson Pollock!

Try a little virtual paint splattering!

*Just move the mouse around the screen to splatter the paint. The slower you move the more paint gets applied. If you move quickly, you'll get a thin line of paint. Be aware, it's a continuous line of paint.

* To change colors, just left click with the mouse.

*To clear your creation, just hit the spacebar.

Above are just a couple of my creations. It's actually quite addicting!

One Minute Wonders

Did you know that the average human blinks 15 times per minute? Or that a Gecko can lick its eyeball? Well, you would know if you watched one of these videos produced by the BBC. They have put together a collection of videos depicting things that happen in nature in one minute. The videos are educational and fun with a Bill Nye the Science Guy feel to them. If your kids are into science and nature, they will love this fun educational resource.

Create Your Own Story

Kids love reading, and they will love reading even more if the book is about them! The makers of those yummy goldfish cookies has created a site where you can create your own on-line books. ( and posibly win $10,000!). I created this book for my youngest son, Luke. But... the possibilities are endless - you can use this site to make books to practice sight words, math facts, etc. Happy reading!

OBAMA: The Historic Journey Young Readers Edition

When Barack Obama became the 44th president, history was made, and I was so excited to find a book for my kiddos to learn all about it!

The story tell all about Barack Obama from childhood up through his inauguration. The photos are absolutely breathtaking. The book is written for ages 8-12, but my 7 year old was able to read it. My littlest one (age 3) also loved the pics! There are 200 full color photos, so there was a lot to look at!

My boys especially enjoyed reading about President Obama when he was a young boy. (They never believe that adults were ever kids!)

You can read more about the book here.

You can order your own copy here.

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout - Response to Fluttershy

One of my favorite poems! Try some word problems to go along with some of Shel Silverstein's poems here

Duck! Rabbit!

You have to check out this adorable video of the book Duck! Rabbit! Your kiddos will love it!