I always come to this blog with the intentions of being more regular about posting and writing. Time catches up with me and passes me by. That said, several things have changed in our curriculum over the past few years and the following are some great resources that have helped breathe new life into our daily practices! This first post will focus on things that have stimulated interest in reading and writing, and we will go from there:
1. Library Online
At the suggestion of another homeschool mom, I decided to add some library cards and begin a sort of library collection. Each library opens up a world to new free resources, and it's easy to get lost in all of the amazing ways to learn that are now either cheap or free! Many of the resources below were discovered when I went into our libraries' sites and online resources. I admit that I was wracking up some rather absurd fines, so while I do not frequent the physical library for anything other than their free classes or programs, I do take advantage of any and all online resources. One of our favorite library specific apps is Libby. This app truly has the most variety in books and audiobooks for an online library, and I use it for my own reading as well as for my daughter, school, and audio book. A great option offered with Libby is the ability to interface with the Kindle App, so I don't really get mixed up as to where my books are, and the books I read are logged as read in my GoodReads.
2. Newsela
This year I have been struggling to get my daughter to enjoy reading regularly, and even more to be creative about writing. I discovered the concept of "key word outlines," though I do not adhere to many rules (what's new). Newsela combined with the general key words concept and watching one of my favorite author's methods of writing, I have come to a rather genius (in my opinion) motivation on all accounts. I discovered Newsela through one of the library websites, and decided to let my daughter choose one very general topic. All year she will be writing facts on post-it notes from these articles (color coded with article reference info), and as we gather information, she will be formulating a sort of final project (this may take more than just this school year). She hopes to put together what she has learned to write and sell a book on amazon about outer space. As we sift through information and articles, I would imagine we will come to a more focused topic.
3. SMORE Magazine
is another resource we will be using for fresh and fun facts for the book. We have accrued quite the collection of science magazines and will put them to good use in our larger research project.
4. The Good & The Beautiful Language Arts Curriculum
As I may have mentioned here before, we have been attending a Classical Conversations Community. Last year, I realized that we needed something better for language arts-- something that would stimulate and build writing skills in my daughter's learning style. I wanted something that would transition well in the case we would decide to participate in the CC Essentials program, and found the Good and the Beautiful curriculum. I actually held off a year of Essentials because I could not afford it this year, but did not feel incredibly guilty because G&B has all I need... for FREE! That's right! The Good & Beautiful language arts elementary curriculum is very complete (including not just grammar, reading and writing, but also including creative expression, art and geography) and is free for elementary levels! The style and things taught are very similar to Classical Coversations, so the two tie together rather effectively, and should I be able to enter my daughter in Essentials next year, she would likely be close to her peers' levels.
5. Usborne Books
I no longer sell Usborne Books, but I continue to be an avid purchaser of their stuff. A friend of mine sells them, and I love being able to support her while feeding my book habit. While most of our books are free through the various apps, Usborne continues to be where I'm okay with spending a little more for physical books. Just this year I purchased a full collection of adapted Jane Austen books that my daughter thoroughly enjoyed (I thought she'd never share my interest in this genre, but she loved them!), Little Dorrit, a Night Sky Journal, and a beautifully illustrated version of Black Beauty. If you've read any of my past entries, you'll know my passion for good art, and Usborne feeds into that in addition to making great literature filled with interest and substance for my daughter.