Homeschool History - How and What to Teach

Many people think that teaching History to home school students needs to consist of boring lectures and reading many pages of a textbook. Just because that is how most of us were taught, doesn't mean that was the best way to learn about History. I, personally, have developed a true love for History from teaching and reading with my children that I never had from being in school. Here are some tips you can use when teaching your own children:

1. Use tools that can bring History alive for you and your students. Read "living books" or historical fiction. Use DVDs and interactive websites to take you to interesting historical places.

2. Help your children realize that History is more than just a bunch of facts. Everyone loves a story. Read engaging stories about people who lived in another era. When you have read enough historical fiction or biographies, the pieces of History start falling into place. Help them understand that History is a collection of stories of real people. They will be included in that story many years from now.

3. Choose an era of History to study. Don't make it too broad or too narrow. If you find that you put too much information into one year, then extend your study of that era of History into the next year if you like.

4. Have a master timeline and fill in the people that you study. It's fun to see how different people's lives overlapped. They can see that one person was born just before another person died.

5. Read about different people from the same period of History. This helps your children understand how History can be biased based on one person's opinion. The bias doesn't have to be seen as bad or good. It is just the story of History from that person's perspective. You could read about westward expansion from the settlers point of view and also from the Indian's point of view.

6. Use field trips, reenactments, and craft projects to reinforce the stories you are reading or the era of History you are exploring.

Learning about History can be a fun and enjoyable experience if you use a variety of resources and have the right perspective. Choose a period of History and find out all about the stories related to that period. Then use the other resources mentioned here and watch yourself and your children develop a greater understand of History.

Author Info:

For more tips on homeschooling, grab your free report "How to Homeschool using the Best Resources" at http://www.homeschool-how-to.com Heidi Johnson specializes in helping families find resources to simplify and improve their lives.

Used Homeschool Textbooks - 5 Things You Should Know Before You Buy

Homeschooling does not have to cost a fortune! By purchasing used homeschool textbooks, you can reduce your homeschooling cost.

There are many places to find used homeschooling materials online. Some homeschool curriculum providers have homeschool message boards where you can buy or list used homeschool books for sale. You can also find used books at Veg Source, The Swap, Homeschool Classifieds, This Little Piggy Stays Home, and Ebay.

If you would rather buy used homeschooling books in person, check local garage sales, thrift stores, library sales and used bookstores. Half Price books often has curriculum available for sale. You can also contact area homeschool support groups to see if they sponsor book swaps or used curriculum sales for homeschoolers.

In order to truly save money, be wise when making a purchase. Before buying used homeschool curriculum, you should:

1. Know what materials you need. Make sure you know exactly what materials you need for each subject for each child. Don't forget to put teacher's manuals, workbooks and flashcards on your list.
2. Know the exact name, grade level, edition and publisher of each product you want to buy. Check each product carefully before purchasing to make sure you are getting the materials you want.
3. Know the retail price of the materials. In order to make sure you are truly buying at a discount, make sure you know how much the materials would cost if you purchased them new. Write down the maximum amount you will pay for the materials before you begin looking. Include shipping and handling costs in your calculations if you are buying online.
4. Know the condition of the books you plan to purchase. If you cannot view the materials in person or look at pictures of the materials, ask the seller for specific details about the books. Find out if the seller smokes or has pets. Ask the seller if the books have any missing or damaged pages, or pages that contain writing.
5. Know the terms of sale. Make sure you understand the total cost of the products and how the seller wants to be paid. Ask how the items will be shipped and when you can expect them to arrive. Find out the seller's return policy.

Author Info:

Here are some additional tips for buying used homeschool textbooks.

Visit Carletta's website, Successful Homeschooling, to find other ways to lower your homeschooling cost.

Literacy Games - More Fun Than Football!

The pupils at our school in Hampshire absolutely adore these literacy based computer games. They spend much of their free time playing the games in order that their Nessy can grow and grow. Many of the children have bought the games CD to use at home because they are able to put their weekly spelling lists onto the games.

The literacy programme is an interactive, multimedia resource that teaches children of all abilities and ages to learn to read write and spell. The children at Chiltern have gained confidence and they have great enthusiasm for all the games and resources. There are 120 lessons which follow a structured, phonic approach and all the lessons are supported by printable card games, activity sheets, mnemonics and computer games. Simply put, Nessy provides a fun way to learn.

The programme is based on ten islands. These islands represent ten levels of achievement. Each island has ten lessons which come with worksheets, card games, interactive games and simple stories. We use all of these resources which help the children to develop specific skills in reading, spelling and auditory processing.Our classroom teachers didn't require specialist training as assessment activities direct them to the appropriate starting point for individual students. Recording sheets can be printed off for completion and learning is cross referenced. The product covers many learning objectives. It is a standalone product but could be incorporated into word, sentence and text level literacy work and is a brilliant teaching and learning tool. Colleagues have used the resource and they are all in agreement regarding its value.

There are many learning strategies and mnemonics used through the product to help children learn and remember difficult spellings and root word extensions. The 'Monster Words' proved very useful highlighting the difficult spellings 'ought' and 'aught' with mnemonics to aid memory whilst prefixes and suffixes are also focussed upon in detail through the Heads and Tails activities. Printed work is of a good standard, in colour, with choices for how to use the card games. There were no glitches with the program, installation and navigation was extremely easy and the children were using it within minutes.

Literacy games for school and home

The games CD is full of exciting games, excellent for children who need extra help with spelling and reading and is Ideal for home use.

The literacy games can be used by children without teacher or parent supervision and can be used to provide support for the Nessy Learning Programme. Nessy GamesPlayer follows a storyline where skills improve as they grow and keep their own pet Nessy.

Author Info:

Chiltern Tutorial School is a small junior school in Otterbourne, Hampshire, UK for children with learning difficulties including dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia. Come and visit our site and see how our Curriculum helps children be inspired about learning!

Visit School Teaching Resources to find out more about these literacy games: Nessy Learning Programme and the Nessy GamesPlayer and to try the demo's.