Passed on…

Pre-K to Grade 8.

National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics have identified the most important mathematical
topics for lasting learning at each grade level. They are called “Curriculum Focal
Points.” You may read more information and read about the particulars by
grade.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics;Curriculum Focal Points is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Another recommendation:

I wanted to pass this great resource on!! I’ve been receiving it for several years now and just love it. It has a calendar for A&E Classroom and History Channel Classroom taping schedule, highlighted lesson plans, and other great ideas. It is published 2 X a year. Sign up here to get it:

A&E Classroom and The History Channel is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Okay. For the third and hopefully final time, we are revamping this blog.

But, this should not fail, because the girls are running the show…a homeschool project that they have lists and lists of things ready to share with you. They are early readers and writers who are learning how to type. Unfortunately, I can not type as fast as they’d like to review so please be patient with us!

Feel free to comment, suggest or recommend products or services for us to review. We want this to be a fun, educational and exciting place to hang out!

Here’s how it work:

There are 4 girls in our house, me & my 3 girlz.
Each of us are responsible for 1 point.
We will break down each point into quarters:
- educational value
- price
- fun
- originality

The last and final point we must all agree on its value.

Here’s to being a girly girl!
~ Mama
P.S. We may not rate every single post, especially if we want you to check out something cool in a rush.

Tags: Girly Girl

Girly Girls Rock! Defined is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Recommended by a member of one homeschool group:

Book adventure has been a great tool for
us for several years!! It’s similiar to accelerated reader in that kids read
books and then take online tests, but they then earn points and can cash them in
for great items such as books, games, etc. As a teacher, you can set up your
class and then be able to monitor their scores. I highly recommend it!!! http://www.bookadventure.org/

Book Adventure recommendation is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Passed on…

For several years now, I have been using a
great resource for literture called Cyberguides. They
are done by the San Diego County Office of Education. Teachers have developed
these lesson plans for K-12 that utilize internet-based activities that related
to several popular pieces of children’s literature. They are divided by age
level and they are great. I love them and my kids love them. Check them
out.

Cyberguides is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Passed on…JAK Sister!

Hi Everyone! Thought I’d share this list
of virtual field trips….I have many others but these are some of our
favorites.

Enjoy!

http://www.thinkport.org/Classroom/trips.tp a listing of virtual field trips

http://www.bearcountryusa.com/tour.asp Drive thru animal park

http://bouldericecream.com/tour.htm Tour of a small ice cream factory

http://www.ecoed.org/index.cfm Tour of wild animals in Ontario Canada

http://jellybelly.com/Cultures/en-US/Fun/Tours/Virtual+Tour.htm a tour of the Jelly Belly jelly bean factory

http://website1.com/odyssey/ Odyssey in Egypt field trip

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/khufuenter.html Pyramids field trip

http://www.tomsofmaine.com/about/tour_factory.asp Toothpaste factory tour

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/whtour/index.html Tour the White House

http://www.theconstitutional.com/tour.php Take the Constitutional Woalking Tour of Philedelphia

http://geology.wr.usgs.gov/docs/parks/mojave/mojaveft.html Tour of the Mojave

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/index.htm Ellis Island tour from Scholastic

http://www.hersheys.com/discover/tour_video.asp Hershey’s making chocolate tour

http://www.thebeijingguide.com/badaling/index.html Great Wall of China tour

http://www.mda.state.mi.us/kids/pictures/rachel.html Dairy Farm

http://explorer.monticello.org/index.html Tour Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson

http://www.mountvernon.org/virtual/index.cfm/ss/29//cfid/5816670/cftoken/78983216 Mount Vernon, home of George Washington

http://www.plimoth.org/OLC/index_js2.html# Visit The first Thanksgiving

Virtual Field Trips – Comprehensive list is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Jazaka Allahu Khayrun to the sister who researched & compiled this homeschooling (or educational) freebies list for us!

Please note: I have not researched every single site, so proceed with caution.

************************

http://www.adrianbruce.com/reading/posters/index.htm Free phonics posters!!!

http://www.adrianbruce.com/index.html other freebies from Adrian Bruce, a teacher in Australia who loves to share!!!

http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/kids.html Arthur reading kit from America Reads

http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/spidey/index.html Spider Man Reading kit from America Reads

http://www.udel.edu/ETL/RWN/POPindex.html Reading Readiness Activities

http://chumby.dlib.vt.edu/melissa/posters/posterset.html Social studies curriculum resources–printable posters for grades K-3

http://www.fema.gov/kids/freebie.htm Disaster Kids educational materials can be ordered from FEMA, USGS, NOAA National Weather Service, and EPA. All addresses are on the website with ordering information.

http://www.usmint.gov/kids/index.cfm?fileContents=htmlIndex.cfm U.S. Mint website games and other activities for money education

http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/main.cfm/learning/download U.S. Bureau of Engraving website on money education, including lesson plans, posters, interactive $10, $20, and $50 notes.

http://science.education.nih.gov/women/index.html Great video programs (currently out of stock) on women in health career fields. Posters are also available.

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/default.htm Federal Citizen Information Center There are several publications that are free on this website–go to education and see a FREE book on exploring federal lands.

http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/svl/posters/posts.html Free posters from the Wright Center for Science Education. You must snail mail for these posters and ordering information is on the website. There are beautiful posters on the Human Genome, Cosmic Evolution, Earth Anatomy, etc.

http://www.blm.gov/education/00_resources/articles/mojave/index.html resources for teching about American desserts–including a poster of the Mojave.

http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/poster.html materials for teaching about oceans. Includes cd-roms, posters, games.

http://www.thankscompany.com/pages/posters.shtml printable posters for volunteering.

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/farm_act.htm Make a farm downloadable software

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/town_act.htm make a town

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/vill_act.htm make a village

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/castle.htm make a castle,

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/heraldry.htm and then make shields, etc.

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/lettersounds.htm letter sounds free software

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/learnletters.htm learn letters

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/megamaps.htm maps

Map puzzles software:

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/us_features.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/features.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/monuments.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_us.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_mea.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_eur.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_sam.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_aus.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_afr.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_mea.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_con.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_asia.htm

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_cam.htm

http://www.familygames.com/freelane.html Lots of free downloadable games on geography, puzzles, strategy games, word puzzles, etc.

http://www.rayslearning.com/lettersa.htm Free Letters and numbers software

http://fusioned.gat.com/free.html educational materials covering Fusion (the reaction in which two atoms of hydrogen combine together, or fuse, to form an atom of helium)

http://www.nsc.org/ehc/rad/radbroch.htm Nuclear Science and understanding radiation

http://www.timesaversforteachers.com/ Tons of printables for educators!!

http://www.koko.org/kidsclub/teachers/ Free curriculum materials for teaching about Gorillas

http://www.storylineonline.net/ Hear stories read online by members of the screen actors guild (Jason Alexander, Camryn Manheim, etc.)

http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/new_years/crafts.htm free printable elementary school calendar to color.

http://www.benjerry.com/fun_stuff/papercrafts/ a free new England village to print and build, a baloon mobile, and a cow–from Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream

http://www.makingbooks.com/projects.html directions for making several books with children.

http://www.cartoonster.com/ great site for learning about cartooning

http://clothdollconnection.com/FreePatterns.html FREE patterns for making cloth dolls

http://www.webspawner.com/users/pumpkintwopost/ tons of free posters

http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/poster_contact.html Get a free 2007 Iditarod poster from Cabella’s–they also have lesson plans that go along with the race.

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41 The Academy of American Poets distributes the National Poetry Month poster (April) for the current year FREE to educators.

http://www.healthypotato.com/nutrition_plan.asp from the United States Potato Board, lessons, poster, etc. about potato nutrition

http://www.ksgrains.com/corn/edu.html Kansas Corn Learning Center

http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/educators/main.asp fun activities for nutrition education

http://www.4tests.com/ Take practice for SAT, ACT, GED, etc.

http://www.capilano.com.au/education/index.aspx learn about honey bees

http://www.sunkist.com/kids/pandt/ activities and lessons from Sunkist fruit

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/shopcart/shopcartintro.html publication from USDA entitled Science in Your Shopping Cart

http://depts.washington.edu/ceeh/Outreach/ecb.html Essentials of Cell Biology cd-rom

http://www.cloroxclassrooms.com/ get a free classroom kit from Clorox

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/numb3rs/ti/ Curriculum from Texas Instruments using the TV show “Numbers”

http://www.dissectionalternatives.org/ FREE copy of Digital Frog 2 the dissection alternative

http://www.internationalpaper.com/Our%20Company/Learning%20Center/Life%20Of%20The%20Forest/index.html Life of the Forest educational materials from International Paper

http://www.homesofourown.org/default.asp Build a home in this simulation game from the National Association of Home Builders.

http://www.peachtree-online.com/Kids/TeachersGuide.html Teacher Guides for Peachtree Publishers Books

http://www.failurefree.com/p_overview.htm Free online demo of literacy material for not-yet readers

http://www.breadworld.com/justkids/school.asp Three lesson plan books using bread baking from Fleischman’s Yeast

http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/Flashcard_Creator.html Free Math flashcards creator

http://www.teachingteens.com/index2.htm Teaching teens about puberty and menstration

http://www.educationassociates.com/Survey.html career education and life skills book from Education Associates

http://teacher.scholastic.com/index.asp educational materials and lesson plans from Scholastic

http://www.mysterynet.com/learn/ Free lesson plans, ideas, and online mysteries to teach critical thinking and reading comprehension

http://www.educationalpress.org/educationalpress/ Print free word lists, flash cards, bingo cards, etc.

http://www.microsoft.com/education/lessonplans.mspx lesson plans from Microsoft

http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/Default.aspx Receive a free dvd of the May, 2006

http://www.justicelearning.org/ Civic eduation int he real world. Conversation between students and Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer, Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor discussing the Constitution among other things

http://www.imagisoft.com/wizard.htm a digital coloring program that stimulates childrens’ perceptions of light, shade, color harmony, shape and depth. A trial version of this program, complete with six images to colour, may be ordered at no cost

http://www.wxdude.com/ Tons of free weather activities/lessons from Weather Channel meteorologist Nick Walker

http://www.vpw.com/ LARGE number of free sponsored educational videos and print materials to schools, educators and yough group leaders throughout the United States. All you must do to receive these materials is register as a member (which is also free).

http://www.wordcommand.com/wordoftheday.htm Sign up for their free Word of the Day email service

http://www97.intel.com/discover/JourneyInside/TJI_TOC/default.aspx The Journey Inside^SM is a collection of interactive resources to answer commonly asked questions about technology.

http://www.epa.gov/kids/ great lessons on environmental education from the epa

http://www.sf.pii.orders.com/commoncents/ Program from State Farm Insurance that teaches all about introducing good money habits in a fun, memorable way to kids from kindergarten to 12th grade

http://www.freekidsmusic.com/ This is the place for great free songs for kids! Download all the terrific children’s songs you want to. There are no guarantees how long any of them will be here, so grab them while you can. Have fun exploring!! And don’t forget to click on the artists’ names to visit their web sites!

To receive a Underwriter’s Laboratory Safety Awareness Wristband (while quantities last), send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
“I Am Safety Smart”
333 Pfingsten Road
Northbrook, Illinois 60062

http://www.justchoices.com/ FREE social justice curriculum entitled “Just Choices” Through this program, students will learn how their everyday choices affect others in society and will be inspired to take on issues with passionate civic engagement.

http://www.sharetheworld.com/index.html Share the World is a free educational program designed to help your students better understand and appreciate the animals with whom we share our world. In the reproducible activities that form the heart of this program, your students will use their thinking and writing skills to imagine the feelings and consider the incredible abilities of other animals, examine how our relationships with them have changed through history, discover alternatives to their use, and respond to situations in which their well-being is threatened.

http://www.aywregistration.com/ free animation/character education program from Cartoon Network

http://www.a-three.us/starbright/default.html This is a free game to teach children with asthma about asthma in a fun way.

Attention, ocean creatures! Life originated in the ocean, and all occupants of this planet, including humans, are still marine creatures. That’s because the survival of life on land and at sea depends on healthy oceans. And that’s why One Earth, One Ocean, One Life – our interactive CD-ROM – explores the world’s underwater wonders and our need to protect them. To request a copy, CONTACT: WILD Education, Canadian Wildlife Federation, 350 Michael Cowpland Drive, Kanata, Ontario K2M 2W1 OR E-mail: info@…

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/kinderactive/ Receive a a copy of Kinderactive’s next product, when you fill out their marketing survey, from Kinderactive.
http://rochester100.com/index.jsp?action=show_teacher Get free samples of folders, sheet protectors, stick on holders, and mini-wallets.

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/canwaters-eauxcan/bbb-lgb/club/index_e.asp Join the Water Wizards and receive membership card, nickname, certificate, and a goody package, for kids 8-15.

http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/kidsteachers/bookmarkorders/form_bookmarkorder_kids.asp Send a SASE and receive FREE bookmarks!!

http://www.osmre.gov/order1.htm receive free posters, videos, etc. about surface mining

http://www.helios.gr/dis/rhodes/artgallery/form.htm Get a free poster of a Greek painter

http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/kids/site/poster.htm free posters on estuaries

http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/info/pubs/e_teach.htm free environmental education materials

http://www.mathprojects.com/lessons.asp free math lesson plans

http://www.tolerance.org/teach/resources/childrens_march.jsp Tolerance education

http://www.dole5aday.com/Teachers/ClassroomResources/Materials/OrderFormDetails.jsp?topmenu=1 Dole 5-a-day teaching materials

http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/kids/ppcform.htm Planet Protectors–environmental education

http://www.esbnyc.com/kids/kids_coloringpages.cfm?CFID=210368&CFTOKEN=6536289 free coloring pages from the Empire State Building

http://www.aztecafoods.com/kidsclub/index.html Join the Azteca Kid’s Club

http://www.signaturebrands.com/cake_mate/cmbdayclub.html Join the Cake Mate Birthday Club

http://www.bowater.com/en/education.shtml Resources to learn about paper making and instructions to make your own paper.

http://www.mcgruff.org/order.htm Get a set of free McGruff the Crimefighting Dog trading cards.

http://www.cooltoys.com/free-srv.html free toys. Send a SASE

http://www.candybarwrapper.com/kidswrapper.html You’ve seen the customized candy wrappers–now make your own!! Your child can create his/her own customized candy bar wrapper!!!

http://www.dvd2vu.com/DVD2Critic.asp?source=CRFamilytv1# You will receive a movie that is good for a one-time viewing. You will then critique the movie.

http://www.asahq.org/patientEducation/MyTrip.pdf Coloring book for a trip to the hospital

http://www.pppst.com/games.html free online games

Free, 32-page booklet about the American Flag
Send a postcard to
U.S. Marine Corps
Dept of the Navy, Washington, D.C. 20380
Ask for:
How to Respect and Display our Flag Booklet

http://forumancientcoins.com/forvm/Articles/Ancient_Coins_For_Schools_Form.html free ancient coins

http://www.homeschoolinglibrary.com/homeschool_free_help_teleseminar.htm free home schooling teleseminars

http://www.phil.frb.org/education/fedtoday.html history of the Federal Reserve

http://www.lbl.gov/MicroWorlds/teachers/teacherpack.html

http://www.savethemanatee.org/edmat.htm save the Manatees educational resources

http://www.wrinstitute.org/ The Will Rogers Institute has several booklets available for free on topics such as stress, asthma, exercise, nutrition, etc.

http://www.charlesedisonfund.org/Experiments/experiments.html The purpose of the Science Teaching Experiments is to stimulate an interest in science and technology among elementary school students through easy to perform experiments in basic scientific concepts.

Triggering Positive Health Choices,” a free videotape and teacher’s guide to help kids learn about peer pressure and decision-making, is available from Met Life, Health and Safety Education, One Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010-3690.

http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/educators/PostalPack.pdf National Postal Museum’s Postal Pack

Children’s book author Jan Brett has a special free packet for teachers and librarians. Request your packet by writing to Jan Brett, P.O. Box 366, Norwell, MA 02061.

http://papertoys.com/ many different toys to print

http://www.life.uiuc.edu/plantbio/cell/ this is a virtual cell–you can disect, look under a microscope, etc.

http://www.consumerfed.org/consumerinf.cfm The Consumer Federation of America has severl PDF guides–including one entitled “Teaching Your Children How to Save & Spend” that is perfect for teaching teens about spending/saving.

http://www.yo-yo.com/teachers_section/teach_index.html How fun to learn physics, etc. through using a yo-yo.

http://www.cotton.org/pubs/cottoncounts/resources.cfm PDF documents to help in learning about cotton

http://www.teachcoal.org/teacherstore/index.html American Coal Foundation materials for teaching about coal, including a sample kit of different types of coal.

If you would like to receive a free “bottle cap yo-yo” project sheet and illustrated instructions to make this great toy, Send a LARGE self addressed stamped envelope to: Bottle Cap Yo-Yo Sheet
c/o of Recreational Recycling
9318 Bay Vista Estates Blvd
Orlando, Florida 32836

http://www.deltacrafts.com/Projects/ Delta Crafts have tons of projects on their website…project sheets are free

Comprehensive freebies list online! is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Passed on…

Free Teacher’s Manuals from The History Channel

Includes:
- The Declaration of Independence
- The Missouri River: A Journey with Stephen Ambrose
- The National World War II Memorial
- The White House 200th Anniversary

Save Our History
Historians and other educators at The History Channel are creating multidisciplinary teacher’s manuals, available to educators on a complimentary basis. Each manual features primary sources, portfolio projects, vocabulary, and creative activities. Join teachers around America and get your students involved in the Save Our History initiative, where history combines with science, math, geography, and language arts topics to bring the past alive in the classroom. Indicate the manual of your choice. You may order all of the manuals listed.

Free Teacher’s Manuals from The History Channel is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

1. Internet4Classrooms
   There are SO many incredible websites, all my girls LOVE this site.

1. Oh, and we’re totally hooked on StarFall

Two sites we frequent the most as homeshoolers is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

update: 450 More Story S-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-r-s (Stretchers) for the Primary Grades: Activities to Expand Children’s Favorite Books (Paperback)
by Shirley Raines

*If I missed anything, please feel free to add on. Thanks in advance.

Five a Row Unit Program – provides a step-by-step, instructional guide using outstanding children’s literature for children ages 4-8! http://www.fiveinarow.com/

“Story Structures” award winning children’s books ??

“What you need to know” series by Hearst Communications, Inc.

“Let’s Read and Find Out” series
http://www.harperchildrens.com/hch/lrfo/

Sonlight – Christian literature- rich homeschooling curriculum
http://www.sonlight.com/

“Big Book of Big Book of Everything”- Alphabet, Preschool – Fifth
Grade, Instructional Fair

A BEKA
http://www.abeka.com/

Bob Jones – Christ-centered resources for education, edification &
evangelism
http://www.bjupress.com/

Apologia Educational Ministries – Quality Science Curriculum
for the Home School http://www.highschoolscience.com/

The Ohio Virtual Academy (OHVA) is a tuition-free public charter school that gives parents the curriculum, tools, and support they need to deliver a high-quality, well-rounded education to their children at home. http://www.ohva.org/

“Explode the code” & “Get Ready for the Code” books by Nancy Hall “The Phonics Dance” – See it, say it, dance it, read it, and write it!
http://www.phonicsdance.com/

“Leap Frog” Phonics DVDs: “Leap Frog: Talking Words Factory,” “Leap Frog: Talking Words Factory II: The Code Word Caper,” and “Leap Frog: Letter Factory”

The Educated Child: A Parents Guide From Preschool Through Eighth
Grade (Paperback) by William J. Bennett (Author), Jr., Chester E. Finn
(Author), Jr., John T.E. Cribb (Author)

Show, Tell; Recommendations from local homeschool parents is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

[Posted to the HELP board on Monday, April 24, 2006]
So, I came home ready to test my kindergartener, as I reminded everyone at the last meeting, that tests are not available for some grades, so it’s best to order asap.

Anyways, Gr. K is not available until June 19th. As we’re ready to test and I want to send my notifications asap, I had to find other options.

Only to find that 2 other homeschool testing administrations are NO longer offering tests for 2006! One cost $50, the other $54 per test.

So, FLO is $35, with time-restraint that you have to return a completed test in 2-weeks. scoring May take 1-3 weeks. http://www.familylearning.org/index.html {most grades have a 6-8 weeks waiting period}

I just called and ordered mine from Seton Home Study: http://www.setonhome.org/testing/default.php
OR
http://www.setonhome.org/ and go to “Standardize Testing”

Here are the PROS to Seton:
- ALL grades are presently available, and INstock; goes out in mail 24-hours within order.
- $25 ($10 cheaper).
- There’s no time-restraint. As testing is year-round, you (the parent) get the test, take as short or long as you want. There’s no “checking in” process. They use the honor-system. All tests received are immediately scored, materials need to be sent back to be scored. They have 100% success rate.
- Test scoring takes average 24-48-hours, they score everyone onsite. Gr. K- 3rd by hand, 4-12 computer.

So, I had to ask: “How?” Seton have been doing this for over 15 years, they reuse “usable” test and instruction booklets. To save in costs, and “hey: I’m all for recycling!”.

While their curriculum is Catholic-focused, its separate from their testing services. Testing must be secular, confidential, and strictly between client (parent-adminstrator) and themselves. No records are tallied or shared with anyone.

I’ve already called them three times with questions. They have easy-secured online ordering…and obviously, great customer service!

Peace everyone!
~ Ponn
PS. Can you tell…I have limited “patience”?? Hee hee…hmm…amazingly I married into “patience”…yeah, right
“Sabra = Patience”.

PPS. I ordered on Monday, received on Thursday. We started testing yesterday, 2 tests a day. We completed 2 more today & will be done tomorrow. [May 2, 2006]

Testing options beyond FLO is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog