Quality Resources for Elementary School Homeschooling

Home schooling has become an increasingly popular way for parents to educate their children without enrolling them in public or private schools. Not only does homeschooling save parents money on transportation, enrollment fees, tuition, school lunches and much more, it is also an excellent way to bond with your children and give them the education that you feel is best for them. Because home schooling has quickly developed into a viable option for parents, there are many excellent resources online that can be used in assisting you with teaching the proper curriculum. Whether it is through online educational videos, interactive games and puzzles, or simple reading materials, the World Wide Web now serves as a good stepping stone for parents who’ve chosen to home school. This resource page will serve as a great tool for finding some good, solid educational resources on a number of many important topics.

Reading and Language Arts

Reading is the most fundamental of skills, and children should be taught to read at an early age. Through the use of writing exercises and good reading materials, children as young as four and five can begin their reading journey. As students develop, the reading challenges should become a bit more difficult, and skills should be assessed. Proper age appropriate books and stories will help parents determine how much their children have progressed. Using good tools to help guide children along the way will ensure that they become proficient readers and have a good grasp of the English language.

• Spelling Game – This fun spelling game was developed to help students learn how to spell simple words.
• Storybook Adventure – An educational reading game for younger students from the Library of Congress.
• Reading for Kids – This regularly updated site offers reading recommendations for children.
• Reading Resources – This web page serves as an excellent starting point with many different resources and links to reading sites, books, and much more.
• Ways to Get & Keep Kids Reading – A list of 75 different, effective ways to encourage kids to start and continue reading.
• Nursery Rhymes – Some tips and advice on reading nursery rhymes to and with children.
• Children’s Digital Library – This website is a must-have source for an extensive collection of books for kids, where you can find title, author, summary and plot.

Math

Children often struggle with math, and it can be a very tough subject to tackle. Understanding basic math and then gradually moving upward towards mathematics such as algebra and geometry requires patience. More importantly, good practice tests and practice problems can do wonders for mathematical skills. Using other tools like flash cards can also help. Once students get a good understanding of the basics like adding, subtracting, and dividing, they can move forward and participate in long division and simple algebraic equations.

• Addition Blast Off – An easy, fun game from NASA that teaches students basic addition skills.
• Graphs Games – Here are a few sample games that can be played to teach math students about graphs.
• Geometry Word Search – This word search puzzle contains tons of good geometry terms, to help teach students the basic words used in the subject.
• Let’s Do Math! – This page offers some good tips and a few good easy math example activities/games.
• Every Day Math – A few math games that can help teach students about using math in their every day lives.
• Math Resources – Quite a large selection of math lesson plans, reading material, activities, and much more.
• Grades 2-3 – Here are some good math games for students in grades 2-3.
• Math Brain Games – Another excellent list of games to help students understand the principles of math.

Social Studies

Understanding history is an essential part of any well-rounded education. Learning about current events gives students a good grasp on the world around them. Combining this with geography and basic American and global history can encourage students to learn even more about the people who have shaped the world we live in today. Combining history with reading is also an excellent way to help students brush up on their reading comprehension skills, while also learning about history and important events both past and present.

• Current Events – A good deal of links that can help to educate and inform students about current events.
• Smithsonian – The Smithsonian Institute offers some excellent resources in history for students and teachers.
• Ancient Egypt – This virtual museum exhibit shows students all about the wonders of ancient Egypt.
• Historic Places – This is an good place to show students about historic, important places and the roles they’ve played throughout history.
• America’s Story – Rich with information, this site has plenty of good information for American history.
• Social Science – This page is chock full of games and activities focusing on social science.
• The US Mint Games – Here, you will find several games focusing on currency, geography, and much more.

Science

Life science, earth science, and astronomy are good building blocks for teaching students science fundamentals. You can find some fun and easy experiments to try at home that will broaden your student’s understanding of how science works. Animals, plants and the stars are good starter subjects for children just learning about science and its importance. Getting a good grasp of scientific theory and terminology helps children have a healthy respect for our planet and expands their horizons on the topics of the medical field and other scientific aspects.

• Great Green Web Game – A simple game that teaches students to be wiser consumers and protect the environment.
• Rock Cycle Game – Geared towards 5^th grade students, this earth science game educates about rock cycles.
• Tree of Life – A comprehensive website with a great deal of information about plants and animals, for students of all levels.
• Quarked! – This website has a lot of great games designed for science students.
• Science Games – Lots of fun and interactive science games can be found here.
• NASA Space Place – The perfect place to find astronomy themed games for grades 1-6.
• The Science Game – Answer 15 math & science questions to win a million dollars!
• Science Games – PBS offers a wide array of science games for younger students.