scrapbookbuzz Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Disclaimer/caveat: we are all on a budget, usually, as homeschoolers. Some have less resources than others and by necessity, must find as much quality, free curriculum as possible (avoiding copyright infringement, etc). So, I thought this would be a good place to post our go-to spots. I will start. For K-3, I really like Enchanted Learning dot com. Great resources. Even for some older student activities as well. But my FIND for today is http://www.saylor.org/courses/bio308/ A free Marine Biology course! Yes, it's college level, so with my Aspie sophomore I will let her do this 60 hour course in 120 hours. What are some of your finds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 But my FIND for today is http://www.saylor.org/courses/bio308/ A free Marine Biology course! Yes, it's college level, so with my Aspie sophomore I will let her do this 60 hour course in 120 hours. Score! Thanks for sharing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Guest Hollow biology prevented me from losing my son, and not just as a homeschooled student, but as my son. This gal is well known here, but it's worth mentioning b/c her site has blessed me so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g1234 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Stanford History Education Group's US History and World History document-based history lessons: http://sheg.stanford.edu/rlh. Priceless. In both ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Angie and g1234, thank you both for your posts. I'm not understanding the SHEG one very well. I will look at Guest Hollow, although she's already done and passed biology. You never know what else we'll find! Now, I need to find a good math fit (not Khan Academy), determine which history we're doing which will then determine the English, etc. Keep sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g1234 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I'm not understanding the SHEG one very well. Go to the web site. Click US History Lessons or World History Lessons along the left bar. Then you can either click a specific history period on the left bar, or you can start scrolling down the main page. Either way, you'll get to a list of specific lessons. For instance, if you click US History Lessons on the left bar, then scroll down a little, you'll see "Colonial Lesson Plans." The first of those is "Pocahontas." If you click "Pocahontas," you will get to a brief paragraph describing the lesson. Now, if you click "Quick View" for "Download Lesson Plan," "Download Original Documents," or "Download Time Line," you can see what they look like. If you actually want to download these items, create an account. It's free, and you never get unsolicited email from them. Now you can download for real and use as you wish. The heart of the lessons is the documents. That's often all we use, though the questions posed in the lesson plan (especially the central question asked by the lesson) are often excellent for discussion or papers. ETA: It's not a complete curriculum. Rather, it's a wonderful way to go deeper on specific historical issues or events that you will come across in your spine. However, I would say one could do a lot, lot worse than to simply spend the year doing these lessons and doing internet research to provide historical context for the specific events or issues studied. I would even say that would be a far better history education than 95% of public school kids get. The more I think about it, that could really be a very solid way to go for the right kind of kid. Last year we used it alongside a spine, and we plan to do the same this coming year. Notice that they say their World History lessons are still under development this summer. They clearly plan to add a lot more lessons to fill out World History. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 We have used the Stanford History site quite a bit. Worked well. My favorite is Coursera. Both dc's have used it quite a bit. Absolutely free unless you want to upgrade to a verified certificate. Dd is currently taking a Calculus class. They have done a wide range from a Lord of the Rings literature and Game Playing class (new one starts soon) to Micro and Macroeconomics. Lots of Computer Programming options. :) It is totally possible to sign up for the course and just use small bits of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Free Christian Apologetics course from Please Convince Me: http://pleaseconvinceme.com/academy/ Teaching materials (elementary and secondary) for A Patriot's Handbook: http://www.patriotshistoryusa.com/teaching-materials/ Learning about Civics: https://www.icivics.org/ Every other free curriculum I have has come from suggestions from this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I was hunting around for some free algebra resources for myself and liked the look of purplemath.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeritasMama Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Here is an earlier thread with plenty of free curriculum resources, it is very helpful. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/109114-free-curriculum-list/?fromsearch=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle_NC Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Free American Sign Language class, 2 levels: http://lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/syllabi.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 Purplemath is not free, by the way, although it looks interesting! B-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Robin Jo in NC Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 If you sign up (free) at SAS Curriculum Pathways, SAS offers free lessons in Math (including Algebra I & Geometry), English, Social Studies, Science, & Spanish. Here is the link: http://www.sascurriculumpathways.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Angie and g1234, thank you both for your posts. I'm not understanding the SHEG one very well. I will look at Guest Hollow, although she's already done and passed biology. You never know what else we'll find! Guest Hollow has history too. Check out the history shelf. Scroll down and click on a time period and look at all the resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Well, today's find wasn't free but it was darn cheap! I went to Savers (a local thrift store) and found the text AND Solutions Manual for Elementary and Intermediate Algebra for a total of ... $8.00! Woohoo! :party: Check your thrift stores, folks! Never know what you'll find in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 We have used the Stanford History site quite a bit. Worked well. My favorite is Coursera. Both dc's have used it quite a bit. Absolutely free unless you want to upgrade to a verified certificate. Dd is currently taking a Calculus class. They have done a wide range from a Lord of the Rings literature and Game Playing class (new one starts soon) to Micro and Macroeconomics. Lots of Computer Programming options. :) It is totally possible to sign up for the course and just use small bits of it. My don starts the LOTR course this upcoming week. I'm excited for him! I printed out all the reading selections and his 6-week syllabus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 nestof3, there's an LOTR course on Coursera?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Found another great resource: This It's a free LOTR curriculum for grades 8-12. I glanced through Unit 1 and 2. I think in unit 2, the student learns to write something in runes! Fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 nestof3, there's an LOTR course on Coursera?? Yep. :) They read first book of trilogy, a few poems, Book III, Canto I of The Faerie Queene by Spenser. They look at the book, the film, and adapting it to the online game. Playing LOTR online is not required, but it is necessary for one of the tracks. My son already plays, so he's doing this part too. https://www.coursera.org/course/onlinegames Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I have an extensive list of free resources, many, if not most of them, geared to the middle and high school years. I am trying to figure out how to put them on my blog, but in the meantime, if you would like a copy, please PM your email address to me and I will send it to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 I had techwife send me that list. sheks not kidding, it's quite extensive1 anyone else have suggestions? I've often thought of starting a homeschool curricula lending library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Ooo, I thought of a good one! How about shopping your own stash for all that curriculum you were going to use "some day"? Gee, what a concept! ;) Or look through your household library. If you need to, you can come over for coffee and shop through mine! B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 I've often thought of starting a homeschool curricula lending library. This is one of my "dreams." I want to start a Home School House in one of the old homes in our downtown area. I have part of a business plan put together. One of the things we would have is a lending library. I would have a credit card on file for each member and would charge out any replacement cost for books that are overdue by three weeks. That way, if someone decided to keep something, they could, but I could still replace it so others would have access. I would have a gathering room for casual conversation, a library, a teen rec room, a classroom or two that teachers could rent out and a storage area for teachers to rent lockers to store their supplies. Of course, there would be a kitchen and I'd probably do a "coffee club" fee or something like that. Teens could store snacks in designated cabinets with the understanding that if you put it in the cabinet, anyone can eat it. I think I would charge an annual membership fee, then a small add on teen fee for the teens in the family to have access to the rec room. I would probably do "quiet hours" when no children would be allowed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 great ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted August 21, 2014 Author Share Posted August 21, 2014 Found ANOTHER great resource today! Slight intro: I was looking on Ambleside Online because I desperately need a different (yet inexpensive) curriculum for my son. AO was a little bit to confusing for me. Lots of suggestions for buying books when I thought they promoted libraries,etc. ANYWAY... In my search, I found THIS: I think this is EXACTLY what I've been looking for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 My daughter loves coursera.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 I have an extensive list of free resources, many, if not most of them, geared to the middle and high school years. I am trying to figure out how to put them on my blog, but in the meantime, if you would like a copy, please PM your email address to me and I will send it to you. I just sent you a PM for the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Stanford History Education Group's US History and World History document-based history lessons: http://sheg.stanford.edu/rlh. Priceless. In both ways. ::Swoon:: this is wonderful or my humanities obsessed son! Thank You! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 I'll have to check that out, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g1234 Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 ::Swoon:: this is wonderful or my humanities obsessed son! Thank You! Glad it looks so interesting to you! We used it all last year in our US History studies, LOVED it, and are using it again this year in our World History studies. Best wishes, and enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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