Author: HomeschoolFreebie

Audio, Government, History

The Origin of the Constitution (Audiobook)

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The Origin of the Constitution
by James Baldwin, Audiobook read by Nathan Pilling
MP3 Audio Reading (22 minutes) + PDF ebook

In honor of Constitution Day next week (Sept 17th), here is a short introduction to the events and problems that faced the fledgling United States of America, and how they were resolved in the creation of the United States Constitution. Both the audio version as well as the PDF ebook version (with discussion questions) are linked below.

To download the audio version, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save link” to your computer. Mac users, press the “control” key then click the link to download to your mac.

To download the PDF version with discussion questions, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save link” to your computer. Mac users, press the “control” key then click the link to download to your mac.

We’ve got another wonderful resource on the Constitution tomorrow… be sure to get that too!

Autumn, Living Books, Nature Studies

All the Year Round: Autumn

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All the Year Round: Autumn Nature Reader (PDF ebook)

Here’s another great resource for the upcoming Fall season! This classic nature reader was compiled by Frances L. Strong way back in 1895, but it is hardly dated at all. It’s filled with engaging stories and poetry about plants, animals and insects as they go through the fall season, preparing for wintertime.

Lovely illustrations, gentle text, great for read-alouds & nature study! Highly recommended!

To download this resource, RIGHT CLICK HERE then “save” to your computer!

Games, Grammar

The Child’s Own English Book – Lessons & Word Games

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Today we feature this little-known gem, which is a terrific introduction to grammar: You have an introductory story/essay on each part of speech, how it is used, and why it is important. This is followed by several games to play that will help teach young students to identify and properly use their nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, interjections, etc. A unique and innovative approach to beginning grammar, this is a playful and child-friendly classic text! Highly recommended!

To download this PDF ebook, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save” to your computer.

Mac users: Hold down the CONTROL button and click the above link, then “save” to your mac.

Games, Math

Fun Dice Games that Teach Math

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Dice Games = Math Fun

One “math manipulative” that most of us already have in our homes is dice. This little cubed figure is our best friend when it comes to teaching multiple math concepts.

Dice games are versatile. They can be based on luck, skill, planning, or all of the above. You can find games to play with two players or twenty, on a table or on the floor, and ages 3 – 80 can enjoy them together. They are a great way to practice math skills and pass the time.

First, here’s a few helpful tips when playing with dice:

– Use a cup to control shaking before the roll (this can be noisier but that is okay!).
– To prevent dice from falling to the floor, instruct students to cup one hand as if it were a soccer goal and roll the dice with the other hand into the “goal”.
– Use old place mats or felt squares to dampen the noise of dice rolling.
– Students often get overly excited about rolling dice, creating flying dice and theatrics. Use this rule to help keep gaming orderly: If dice are rolled off the mat, the player loses his/her turn.

Next, here are some great links to a multitude of cool dice math game ideas:

DO-IT-YOURSELF MATH GAMES WITH DICE

PRINTABLE MATH GAMES USING DICE

A BUNCH MORE DICE GAMES FROM ACTIVITYVILLAGE

 

 

Nature Studies

The Bee People

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The Bee People by Margaret Warner Morley (PDF ebook)

Today’s resource is this delightful 1899 “Living Book” about bees, written by the author of “Little Travelers” and “Seed Babies”, volumes which we have featured here in the past. Wonderfully easy to read and highly inviting to young readers, the chapters read almost like a storybook, and include Bees & Flowers, How a Bee Sees & Flies, Honeybees, How and Why Bees make Honey & Honeycombs, Queen Bees, Bee Facts & Fancies, and much more. Includes Questions for Review at the end of the book.

This is a great “Charlotte Mason” style nature study book your kids will love.

To download this PDF ebook, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save” to your pc. Mac users, press the “control” key then click the above link and save to your mac.

Language Arts, Reading

Steps to Reading

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Katrina Lybbert at Brightly Beaming Resources has created several  study courses for teaching babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers how to recognize sounds, letters and words. Included are a Nursery Curriculum (age 0 – 1), Steps to Reading Program (ages 2 – 7) and a Kindergarten Curriculum (ages 4 – 5). The popular “Letter of the Week” program is a section of the Steps to Reading Program.

These are simple, practical hands-on lesson plans for helping your little ones recognize letters and sounds and learn how to read.

Click here to go to the site!

Math

Everyday Number Stories

HomeschoolFreebie |

Everyday Number Stories (PDF ebook)

Here’s a wonderful math problem book, filled with with delightful nostalgic illustrations from a long ago, simpler America (which the teacher probably will enjoy even more than the students), along with a host of practical, down-to-earth, and progressively more difficult arithmetic problems.

Very well done… This would be a great supplemental book for just about any elementary math program for students in grades 2-5.

To download this PDF ebook, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save” to your PC. Mac users, press the “control” key then click the link and save to your mac!

Poetry

A Poem for Today: Little Boy Blue

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LITTLE BOY BLUE

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And his musket molds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new
And the soldier was passing fair,
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.

“Now, don’t you go till I come,” he said,
“And don’t you make any noise!”
So toddling off to his trundle-bed
He dreamed of the pretty toys.
And as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue.
Oh, the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true.

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
Each in the same old place,
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
The smile of a little face.
And they wonder, as waiting these long years through,
In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue
Since he kissed them and put them there.

– Eugene Field
Poetry

A Poem for Today: If

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IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master,
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)