elementary
Khan Academy- a goldmine of free math, science and economics videos
Khan academy is an amazing resource. It's a HUGE collection of videos, all featuring a smart man with a gift for clearly explaining the complex, carefully going through a wide range of topics, all clearly organized. There's everything from classic brain teasers, to arithmetic, to high school level math, including calculus and differential equations, to biology chemistry, physics, and economics. The graphics in the videos are fairly simple, and the tone is very friendly, conversational and often funny.
Mathematics Enhancement Programme- free curriculum for all ages
This is a complete mathematics curriculum available free online, including printable practice books, lesson plans, and copy masters. It was developed for the UK, and goes from "Reception", which seems to be analogous to kindergarten in the US, up through year 11 (similar to 11th grade). There are 2 versions of the 10-11th year curriculum, only one of which seems to be for college-bound students. The collegebound version includes guidance for customizing the curriculum for advanced students. The version of the 12th year intended for collegebound students is not
"Geography4kids.com" an introduction to physical geography
Physical Geography deals with Eartch Science and why the Earth is the way it is, it doesn't deal with political boundaries, or humanity much at all. Geography4kids is friendly, thorough website with lots of pictures that teaches about physical geography. Ideal for an enthusiastic upper elementary level student up through adults.
"Storytelling: Tales of Everyday Life" A writing lesson plan for grades 4-6
This creative lesson plan uses video of a Hawaii native's jounrey to Alaska in the 1850's to introduce the idea of journaling. This is one of a series of 4 related lesson plans. The others can be found:
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/echo07.lan.stories.lporaltrad/
The Home Physics blog
Written by a contributor to GeekDad, this blog has lots to offer the homeschooler looking to investigate physics at home. Posts recount the authors experiments with his own children, explaining what worked and what didn't. His experiments generally use equipment you're likely to have on hand at home, or can purchase for a reasonable cost, and are appropriate for a large age-range-- younger kids can benefit from being exposed to the concepts while older/more advanced kids can use the experiments to understand more comple
World Maths Day 2010
The annual free online math competition is back! World Maths Day is an international competition open to all children from age 5 to 18, and is a great way to get competition-oriented kids to work their math skills.
The official competition is during a 48 hour period that includes March 3 worldwide, but kids can play head-to-head with children from all over the world anytime.
A description of the contest from the official website:
Multiplication puzzle
A puzzle that helps kids work on their multiplication math facts, in a format similar to Sudoku. The puzzle can be customized to test the fact groups you choose, and can be large puzzles or smaller, ideal for kids who are inclined to feel overwhelmed. The graphics are simple and not flashy. Can be timed or not. A nice way to add some variety to your homeschooler's math lesson.
Timez Attack Online Multiplication facts game
Timez attack is a game that allows kids to drill their multiplication facts in a fun way that feels like the kind of games they may be playing just for fun. The game is available for download, it isn't played online, and there are both Mac and PC versions. The "base version" is free and "full version" is available for $39.99. Both versions teach times tables from 2-12. Kids tend to love this game or hate it-- the game makes kids feel like they need to answer quickly, which is great for a kid who needs motivation to really get his facts down, but kids that don't
The Periodic Table of Videos
A collection of funny, informative videos about each of the elements of the periodic table. Produced by the University of Nottingham. One of those wonderful sites that has a little something for everyone, from early elementary aged kids through adults. (To visit the site, click on the thumbnail above.)
Creativity Resources from the Denver Art Museum
Lesson plans for Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary levels. Each focuses on a particular piece of art, and includes a full page photo of the art piece in question, allowing you to do the lesson at home. There is also a database of the museum's art work, searchable by country/culture of origin, medium, period and continent of origin.
