Top Ten Free Resources for Homeschoolers

Most homeschoolers are one income families. Curriculum is expensive and the cost to use online schools is prohibitive for some families. Before spending money on curriculum you may not use, check out these top ten free resources for homeschoolers.

Jason Project

Jason.org is a free science curriculum. The goal of Jason is to bring science to every student and to show that science is fun. The website offers free access to 4 different curriculums: Weather Unit - Operation Monster Storms, Geology Unit - Operation Tectonic Fury, Ecology Unit - Operation Resilient Planet and Energy Unit - Operation Infinite Potential. All four units come with lesson plans, teachers' guides, hands-on activities, and student assignments. Online labs, video and games reinforce the learning experience.

Registration is required for full access. All materials are downloadable pdf files. Jason is geared toward middle and high school. As with any homeschool program it can be tailored to meet the needs of younger students.

Discovery Education

Discovery Education may be available to you for free depending on your location. Parents in Arkansas are entitled to free access. Other states have this as well; check with the Department of Education or with the local educational television network. Discovery Education has teacher resources and lesson plans. All material is aligned with state standards, you can see them by clicking on the links associated with the content you are viewing.

Parent's Corner is available for those that do not have full access to Discovery Education. In the Parent's Corner, parents and students can find educational summer activities and get homework help. Help is offered for all grade levels including high school and difficult subjects such as trigonometry and calculus. For example, I asked the Web Math Section for help with the following math problem: sin(x)²+cos(x)². The program gave step by step instructions on how to solve it.

Stossel in the Classroom

Middle and high school homeschoolers will find the content on Stossel in the Classroom thought provoking. Free videos containing clips of John Stossel's "Give Me A Break" television series offers older students a chance to discuss current events and important issues facing our society. The videos are free for the asking, just fill out your mailing info.

Digital Frog: Frogger Club

The Frogger Club from Digital Frog is free to join. The site offers a time lapsed video of a rabbit decomposing over 7 days. A link to Digital Frog's YouTube page is included. Their You Tube page offers many clips on different science topics. The Frogger Club page offers games and printouts to use. It is a good resource for free biology material. The rabbit decomposition may upset younger kids - others will find it fascinating. I would suggest parents preview the video clip first.

The software is worth purchasing if you have kids very interested in biology. Best for middle grades and up; younger kids will require some help or modification of the content.

Spelling City

Design your own spelling lists and let kids play online word games with the assigned spelling words. Spelling City is a great resource for homeschool parents. I combined it with the word lists from Wordly Wise for reinforcement of spelling. It is easy to use and elementary school kids will find it fun. There are two options on this website a free service and a paid service. The paid service allows you to keep track of your kid's progress week over week. Personally I do not feel the paying the fee offers any value. Tracking can be done with a spreadsheet for free. I'd recommend sticking to the free service unless you have 21 kids like the Duggars.

Home school Buyers Co-op

The Home School Buyers Co-op is a resource for any homeschool parent. It is free to join. The co-op uses the number of members to gain discounts on popular homeschooling curriculum. Free services include field trip planners and curriculum.

Lesson Pathways

Not too long ago, this was an expensive subscription service. Lesson Pathways was founded by the same person who started K12. Registration is required, but access is completely free. Curriculum, lesson plans and extended activities are available for grades K through 5.

The website takes some getting used to as it is not easy to navigate. I was a beta tester for the site and I feel that it could be more user friendly. The content is good; there is a lot of information for parents. Lesson plans are broken down into easy steps.

Hippo Campus

For parents of homeschooled high school students, Hippo Campus is a valuable resource. They offer free Advanced Placement (AP) courses. In order to receive proper AP credit, the student must take and pass the AP exam for the course. Arrangement of taking the test is up to the parents. Check with the local high school or the Advanced Placement website to locate a testing facility near you. There is a fee to take the exam, however the coursework is free. The courses currently offered for free through Hippo Campus are:

AP Algebra

AP American Government

AP Biology

AP Calculus

AP Environmental Science

AP Physics

AP Psychology

AP Religion

AP Statistics

AP US History

AP Algebra and AP Calculus are offered in English and in Spanish. All other courses are only offered in English.

Flatworld Knowledge

Homeschoolers that are college bound, dual enrolled or those already attending college will appreciate Flatworld Knowledge. They offer free and very low cost pdf files of major college textbook. Considering that new college level textbook can cost over $100.00 each and used textbooks over $50.00 each; Flatworld offers students considerable savings over traditional textbooks. Their selection is somewhat limited but when you can find the books needed, it offers huge savings over traditional textbooks.

Kindle for PC

Downloading the Kindle for PC application is free. Once installed on your computer you have access to hundreds of free books that you can read on your laptop or desktop computer. The books range from adult level to stories that you read to your kids. Kids who have an aversion to reading books but like the computer may embrace reading on the Kindle PC. For free it is worth giving it a try.

Free curriculum is always a welcomed resource for homeschoolers. Give these a try before investing in expensive options. That's the great thing about homeschooling - it is flexible.

Other articles you may enjoy:

Creating a Homeschooler's High School Transcript

A Parent's Guide to Homeschooling Through High School

2010 Mensa Select Winners are Great Choices for Family Game Night

sources:

The Jason Project

Discovery Education

Stossel in the Classroom

Digital Frog: Frogger Club

Spelling City

Home School Buyers Co-op

Lesson Pathways

Hippo Campus

Flatworld Knowledge

Kindle for PC