Your kids are probably like mine in that they LOVE to paint and make a giant mess!   We’ll do watercolors sometimes, but I’ve been scared to introduce anything darker (or more permanent).   The Pencil Grip, Inc. offered us the chance to review their Kwik Stix 12 pk and kindly sent us a 12 pack!  They also sent a bonus pencil grip called The Single Grip that Sweetheart played with.   The Pencil Grip, Inc. is well known for their pencil grips that are helpful for any little ones, but particularly special needs children or those with delayed fine motor skills. My little ones LOVE the Kwik Stix and so do…

Math is possibly the scariest homeschool subject!   I hear many moms say they’re hesitant to homeschool because they get overwhelmed by the math.  We may even have negative memories of math from our own schooling years.   A+ Interactive Math wants to help parents overcome that math obstacle!   We were given access to two of their Math Mini Courses and we chose to focus on Money and Tables, Charts, and Graphs. Each mini-course offers a year’s access to the material and has between 10 and 35 lessons.   Topics include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages, elementary algebra, elementary geometry, decimals, fractions, and more. After logging in, the kids…

My Sweetheart is busy learning to read, so I relish the opportunity to try out programs that will help her build that oh-so-valuable skill. I was especially intrigued by Read, Write & Type because of the typing skills it incorporates. Sweetheart hovered over Super D as he learned to type with a different program and was super excited to have a version of her own. Talking Fingers, Inc kindly gave us a one year subscription, good for multiple users to their program, Read, Write & Type. This is an internet based program, so no downloading is required! Read, Write & Type is ideal for ESL students and works really well for parents…

I regularly scour the Internet for copywork and so I was eager to try out the offerings from Homeschool Copywork!  They offer three levels of membership, and kindly gave us a Lifetime Membership to their site. I like to incorporate regular copywork into our schooling for a number of reasons.   The most obvious is that my kiddos need to practice their handwriting!!   Good handwriting doesn’t just come naturally to kids (right?!), and so they need to practice!  I well remember learning to write in cursive in 3rd grade, and practicing over and over (and over) again! I also like to give my kids copywork because it gives them…

Look for free curriculum!  Lots and lots and lots of sites offer free curriculum!  Even some public schools are offering their programs online for free, if you want to go that route.  Pinterest is FULL of free curriculum as well and you can find great sites like How to Homeschool for Free. Look for used curriculum!   One of my favorite sites to look for used curriculum is HomeschoolClassifieds.com.   It pays to look in unusual places if you’re looking for a specific kind of curriculum.  I’m part of a yahoo group for Math U See users where they post used materials.  I’ve gotten LOTS of our Math U See…