Showing posts with label Free Homeschool Stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Free Homeschool Stuff. Show all posts

Thursday, January 05, 2017

Tuesday, November 01, 2016

Free Documentaries Online

I've been enjoying some of the free movies here.

I just watched two documentaries on North Korea and now one on President Nixon.


Friday, September 23, 2016

Free Chemistry Video and Text Course for High School and Up

Thirteen units with video and online text, and three labs. Provided by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. See here.

Free U.S. History Video Series for High School and Up

See here.

A video instructional series on American history for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 26 half-hour video programs, coordinated books, and Web site. 

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

CLEP Success and 90 Day College Plan

My son passed his Algebra CLEP today. He's gotten his feet wet and feels more confident now. We have a 90-day plan for college at home - study and test for the Introduction to Psychology and Pre-calculus CLEP tests. If this works out, he'll test for 2 CLEPs every 90 days and take a class at the community college every semester. It may take less than 90 days; this a journey of discovery.

Anyone thinking of taking a CLEP test this month can get $10 off registration bringing the cost down to $70.00. Use this code: CLEPSEPT at check-out.

Primary resources we will use:

Saylor.org and Khan Academy (free)
Study.com($25 a month, may have gone up, but this is our rate)
Peterson Testing($19.95 a test)
CLEP prep for Introduction to Psychology
Pre-calculus Demystified

1/27/17 update:

Study.com was not necessary, so we dropped it.

So far he's taken 3 CLEP tests(algebra 3 credits, psychology 3 credits, and pre-calculus 6 credits per community college) and passed them all with CLEP prep books, Khan Academy, and free resources online. At the official CLEP site, there are numerous recommendations for free study resources. It's worth checking out. Testing is running slower than expected because the math has been challenging, and he was taking some other classes. His next CLEP will be calculus.

Primary resource for calculus:

Calculus Made Easy
Khan Academy
REA CLEP prep
Calculus Problem Solver (Problem Solvers Solution Guides)

2/7/17:

Ran into some problems with the above resources, so purchased Calculus for Dummies with problems.
He may need some review and/or detailed explanations. So far, he's less frustrated.

Also trying an EdX class for Calculus.

6/17: Melt down with the calculus and it was taking too long! So study was reduced to two days a week with Calculus and the focus is on Sociology and English which will be CLEPed next week, and hopefully the other later this month. After this, he'll take a literature CLEP.  Hopefully, three  CLEPS will be completed during the summer to catch up.

So far, he has been credited 13 credits with one class taken in the college. A little slow going, but he should catch up during summer with his CLEPS. Troubles with Calculus really put him behind, but he will prevail. Encouraging him to use the free math lab for help at the community college.

Heads-up! CLEP test price rises $5.00 in 7/2017. Buy your test registration(s) now to save. The ticket is good for 6 months.




Monday, September 19, 2016

Free College Literature Course: Literature and Mental Health

The University of Warwick has teamed up with some famous faces, and a team of doctors to tackle these questions and others like them, in a free online course on FutureLearn.

The course is offered through FutureLearn which means it’s broken into chunks – so you can do it step by step. FutureLearn also features lots of discussions so you can share your ideas with other learners, which often can be as beneficial as the course material (as one previous student put it “a really wonderful experience and I’ve loved the feedback and comments from fellow course members”).
Here’s a run-through of what’s on the syllabus. The course focuses on six themes:
  1. Stress: In poetry, the word “stress” refers to the emphasis of certain syllables in a poem’s metre. How might the metrical “stresses” of poetry help us to cope with the mental and emotional stresses of modern life?
  2. Heartbreak: Is heartbreak a medical condition? What can Sidney’s sonnets and Austen’s Sense and Sensibility teach us about suffering and recovering from a broken heart?
  3. Bereavement: The psychologist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross famously proposed that there are five stages of grief. How might Shakespeare’s Hamlet and poems by Wordsworth and Hardy help us to think differently about the process of grieving?
  4. Trauma: PTSD or “shellshock” has long been associated with the traumatic experiences of soldiers in World War 1. How is the condition depicted in war poetry of the era? Can poems and plays offer us an insight into other sources of trauma, including miscarriage and assault?
  5. Depression and Bipolar: The writer Rachel Kelly subtitles her memoirBlack Rainbow “how words healed me – my journey through depression”. Which texts have people turned to during periods of depression, and why? What can we learn from literature about the links between bipolar disorder and creativity?
  6. Ageing and Dementia: One of the greatest studies of ageing in English Literature is Shakespeare’s King Lear. Is it helpful to think about this play in the context of dementia? Why are sufferers of age-related memory loss often still able to recall the poems they have learned “by heart”?

Saturday, September 17, 2016

NYC Tenement Museum: Free Immigration History Lesson Plans

We just visited the Tenement Museum in New York City recently, well worth the visit! The tour was excellent, gift store chock full of interesting books, and their website has some nice lessons plans.

See here.

Friday, September 02, 2016

Free Federal Park Pass for Children

Mentions fourth graders specifically, but pass rules indicate that this is good for children 16 and under.

See here.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Monday, August 15, 2016

CLEP Progress and Homeschool

Oldest is still working on his CLEPs. We decided to work through Time for Writing to give him some review. It seems he has forgotten a lot of what he learned through Rod & Staff English, which was excellent for language mechanics, but weak on writing papers.

He's working through Khan Academy in preparation for his math CLEP.

Starbuck now pays for four years of college through ASU, so I am strongly encouraging him to apply there in the near future. He is still learning to drive, and will be going to a driving school to push him ahead toward a license.

For job experience, he is working as a volunteer with a cat rescue once a week. He's registered with Care.com as a pet sitter, but he needs a license to get to regular assignments. There hasn't been a lot of short-term offers.

For career exploration, he signed up for a free accounting class online, and seems to like it! I think he's found something he might pursue. Computer science may still be an option as well, but he seems more suited for accounting.

My youngest continues to use Time for Learning and Brain Pop for homeschool.

For learning adventures, we've been using Airbnb for inexpensive places to stay. So far it has been a good experience staying at people's homes. None have been shared arrangements, so we had the places completely to ourselves. Our next trip is to NYC where we will be staying near Chinatown(inexpensive food) in a small apartment. Good deal and much nicer than staying at a cheaper bedbug hotel.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Free Comprehensive Homeschool Program: Discovery K12

I'll add this to the sidebar. DiscoverK12 covers all subjects from grades K-12, free online. See here.

My daughter wants to continue Time For Learning(paid), but I will keep this program in mind for the future. Time for Learning seems to be good for her attention issues.

Free Algebra and Calculus Video Lessons

See here.

"My videos cover the entire year of Algebra 1&2 and AP Calculus AB."

Friday, April 15, 2016

Classic Novels and Food

See here,

The Little Library Café

Kate Young cooks and bakes food inspired by her favourite works of fiction. This is her blog, recipes included, as part of the Guardian Books Network. You can also follow her on Twitter and Instagram

Thursday, April 14, 2016

College English Composition CLEP

I am helping my son with CLEP preparation materials. I'll be sharing information here as I find it. If any one wishes to add helpful links, please do so in the comments. No advertisements, please. Free resources only, unless it's for tutoring


CLEP® College Composition Book + Online (CLEP Test Preparation)

How to Write an Effective Essay: The Introduction


Trying this site out: Study.com(Not free)

Simplified Writing 101: Top Secrets for College Success

A Writer's Guide to Powerful Paragraphs

Saylor Academy

Thursday, April 07, 2016

And Then There Was One...

One little girl left to homeschool, and she's taken off with online school, so I'm not left with much to share in the homeschool department.

The fourth grader is working on Khan Academy and Time For Learning for her core homeschool. She does a lot of self directed learning where I help her with books and materials in her spare time.

I'll be signing her up for art class soon, and we've been taking day trips to museums, parks, and historical areas.

For some reason, it's not as exciting with the second child, and even a bit exhausting, but that might be my age. I think I miss the challenge which was invigorating. Homeschooling is old hat now, and the homeschooling community has grown and matured. We are no longer pioneers piecing together creative homeschool curricula and researching learning approaches. What was a homey grassroots endeavor is now big business, and educational materials are much easier to find. The internet has matured over the past 15+ years. Everything you need for school, almost everything, is accessible with a search. There's no longer the need for consulting and brainstorming with other homeschoolers. The ubiquitous tight knit communities have scattered. Those blog communities is what I miss.




Saturday, March 19, 2016

Homeschool Graduate!

My oldest officially graduated earlier this week. Wahoooo! I won't miss accounting for his progress to the state. It is so pleasant to be out from under the education regulations. Not much has changed other than the legalities; he still continues to learn and work toward a career.

New short term goals are CLEPing out of Algebra, Calculus, and English Composition.  We take a tour of the local community college campus in April. He's leaning toward an Associate's in Computer Science with a transfer across town to the four year college to finish up with a Bachelor's degree. The community college is very liberal with accepting CLEP credits. He could CLEP out of as many as are available for his degree.

This link is super for finding free college classes online, then there's Khan Academy, and official CLEP study guides. All appear to be helpful for acing the CLEP.

All about the CLEP, only $80.00! This beats the cost of a class.

I'll be sure to update here with the CLEP experiences and results.