This seems to be a good site for finding days out by region.  You can specify whether you are looking for indoor or outdoor activities, as well as age range suitability.

Hope you find something useful!

Sarah

For those of you with children at Reception/ Key Stage 1 and 2 (i.e. aged 4-11) I have just heard about a great British website with thousands of free downloads.

It is called Sparkle Box and from a first look has many very useful items, such as clock faces and money pages.  There is also phonics related work and topic based information too. 

It has been designed primarily for teachers/schools and everything is linked to National Curriculum, however, apart from the things that directly talk about the classroom setting, my first impression is that this is an excellent resource.

Sarah

I was intrigued to find this link on a site I was visiting today.  I hope it will be of some help to someone.  The group Dyslexia Action has published a  Guide to choosing dyslexia-friendly books for kids, in association with Waterstones.

I have had a brief look at it and found some books which I would be happy for my boys to read and others that I wouldn't.  However, I thought it may be a useful thing if you have a child with dyslexia to see what all their recommended books have in common, in order to be better able to help your child choose books that will be 'friendly'.

Sarah

I first heard about these little videos on Radio 4.  Professor Martyn Poliakoff from Nottingham university has made a short 'video' about every one of the elements in the periodic table.  He was interviewed on PM and was engagingly enthusiatic about it all. Apparently the idea started as a bit of a joke and then blossomed as the potential for teaching and learning became apparent. 

It is quite useful to start with the introductory video, rather than just jump in with an element, because it gives you an idea of who he is and his starting point.  I found him a little eccentric, but with very short exposure to what he has done I have already understood more about the periodic table than I did before.  I hope in time, my children will find them similarly useful.

Sarah

PS. Since I first looked at this I have discovered that the 'other' periodic table posters he has in his office, like the one about vegetables, or fruit are available from various online shops, not least ebay.  I have yet to find the one about desserts, sadly.

   Here is a link to a FAB science experiment e-book! The youngest experiments are listed as being for 7-9 year olds, but it goes into ones for older children as well. I'd say mainly Key Stage 2 and 3. It also appears that most of the materials needed are fairly easy to access (though I didn't read through the materials list of the entire book!).

   These would be great add ons to any science curriculum or you could use it to base a curriculum around. And here is the link to the site it is from - Planet-science.com. The website has resources and information from preschool right up, so be sure to check them both out!

   There is a brand new website just for home educating families in the UK!! This is a place to network, share ideas, find out the latest news, and meet up with other home edders here on UK soil. It is called Home Education UK.

   We love our Home School Blogger, but I know that I have many readers here who love to come and read but are daunted by the idea of keeping up a blog themselves. This is a smaller commitment than a blog and a great thing to support something British run and operated.

   So for all of you who are looking for more support and encouragement, pop on over and check it out. Say hi to Shoshana who set it up and runs it and tell her how beautiful the new site looks! There is a link in the sidebar for it too, so be sure to check it out.

   How cool is that? An entire site just to give away free homeschool things every day!!!!  Of course you all know by now that my favourite word is *FREE*, so this is simply wonderful news!

   This site offers one free resource every day. It is only on offer for one day and then it is gone. So basically you need to pop over and check it every day to see if there is something you could use, because tomorrow it will be gone!

   You don't need to join anything, sign up to anything. I just got a free booklet and didn't give my name to anyone, so I know it works. Be sure to check it out!

   I realise this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you are homeschooling in the Classical persuasion this is too cool!!!

   In the Classical method, amongst other things, you teach Latin, Greek or both. Well........here is a website that has 146 language books to download for free in Latin and Greek! I can see everything from primers, to textbooks, to classical liturature in the original languages. There are books there for the beginner or the scholar.

   The website is called Textkit : Greek and Latin Learning Tools and is simply packed with great free stuff if you are teaching these languages! So go and check it out. You may even want to get the odd beginner Latin course book just to help with understanding English since so many of our root words go back to the Latin. So in that way it could be of use to lots of us!

Access to Thousands of FREE Resources During Teacher Appreciation Week

Get Books, Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and Other Activities We all owe much of our success in life to teachers everywhere. We at Learning A–Z want to thank educators the best way we know how—by opening up access to our websites. Last year during Teacher Appreciation Week, we held an Open House that provided FREE access to ALL of our educational websites. Response was so overwhelming that we are going to do it again, and for even longer! Explore Six Websites Bursting with Materials Each day during this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5–9, plus May 12, Learning A–Z will open one of its six password-protected websites. This will allow teachers to leisurely explore all of Learning A–Z’s resources, including our newest website for differentiated instruction, Science A–Z. We invite teachers everywhere to sample the Internet-delivered books, lessons, activities, and worksheets—for FREE. Enjoy Six Days of FREE Access The websites will be open on the days indicated below, from midnight to midnight Central time. May 5  Thousands of printable books, including leveled readers and supporting materials May 6  Interactive leveled reading library and online progress management system May 7  The most complete collection of elementary writing resources anywhere May 8  Custom vocabulary lessons and activities to match thousands of topics May 9  Skill-specific materials for students needing extra reading help May 12  Science units with multi-level books, lessons, experiments, and labs For more information, please contact support@learninga-z.com or call 866.889.3729. With our thanks, The Learning A–Z Staff

Please distribute this announcement freely. Visit all the Learning A–Z family of websites:

   You gotta love that word *FREE* don't ya'? Well these are really cool activity books on different countries of the world! They are from 'The Voice of the Martyrs' website and are called 'Kids of Courage'. There are five of them and they have great information about the history of the country, coloring and puzzle pages, projects to make, stories from the history of that land and stories of children living there today!

   We are currently learning about Egypt in school and I'm printing off the Egypt book to use today with the boys! There is tons of great info in there. They are all over 50 pages long too and in full colour. These are quality books, be sure to check them out!

   This should keep ya'll busy for awhile! LOL!  This is from an email I received listing the winning top 100 homeschool websites. I thought I knew them all - now even I have some new ones to check out!

Homeschool.com's Top 100 Educational Web Sites of 2008

Selected By: Homeschool.com

   I suppose I should be trying to convince you all to buy the wonderful Math U See program since I am the UK rep for it, but instead I'm going to share some *FREE* maths books that you can find online to download and print off!

   The site is called XP Math and it has a long list of downloadable math books on it here! The site also has loads of other math resources like Games, worksheets and videos!

   So if you are looking for some new maths resources or just something to suppliment what you are already doing, be sure to check it out!

   This is one fabulous site!!! It is all the holidays of the year listed by months with a history of each event and links to internet resources for all of them!!!  WOW! Someone has put in ALOT of hard work assembleing that site!

   So be sure to go here and check it out!

http://www.knowledgehouse.info/index.html

I realise that lots of American holidays are listed on this site but all the big ones are too. So I'm sure there is a ton of information we can all use on here!

   Remember that new online magazine I told you about a couple of weeks ago? Heart of the Matter online? (OK. Admit it, how many of you never even looked?) Well they have produced a **FREE** online unit study about the Human Body!

   It has activities listed for both younger and older students so it is good for everyone and for large families with varied ages. Lots of ideas for what to do in all the different subjects, online materials to use as well as suggested books. I realise that some of the books may not be available here, but this is a subject that I KNOW we can get similar books in the library about so well worth looking into.

   So go here to check it out. You won't be dissapointed!

   OK. So if you have been reading this blog for even five minutes you know that I love a good freebie!!

   Well our wonderful friends at TOS have put together a whole entire FREEBIE DIRECTORY!!!!! So now you can click on there and see over 40 freebies all at once! And loads of them are downloadable samples of curriculum which is great to try before you buy and spend a fortune shipping things over. Others are just great sources of encouragement and fun things to make homeschooling easier and more enjoyable! So check it out!

Do you ever wish that you could really get a good look at a homeschool product before buying it? Sure, each company’s ad says that it’s the best, but you’re still left wondering, "Is it best for MY family?" With our new Homeschool Freebie Directory, you can find out for sure. We've pulled together forty different homeschool companies offering a wide variety of products for you to try. Just visit our online Freebie Directory page to learn how you can claim the freebies that interest you. NO STRINGS ATTACHED. You’ll find everything from handwriting and reading products to science and social studies resources, subscriptions to educational websites, unit studies, e-Books, music lessons, fun homeschool products and more. There truly is something for everyone! You're welcome to come back to the site as often as needed to check out all the offers. In fact, you have an entire year to explore and discover the many engaging resources and interesting products that are featured. Everyone loves to try samples! Why do you think Sam’s Club and Costco stores are such a hit? Surely we aren't the only ones who frequent the yummy sample tables? (We just love those scrumptious, tantalizing little eggroll thingies.) Having a "taste" truly is THE way to try before you buy. Here’s more great news. There are plenty of freebies for everyone! Tell your friends and homeschool support groups so that they, too, can enjoy the free gifts – NO STRINGS ATTACHED. What a fantastic way for them to discover new homeschool resources and products without having to actually buy ANYTHING (unless, of course, they want to)!
Sometimes it's nice to shake things up a little bit during the winter. Why not try something new with these great freebies? You're sure to find something that will be a wonderful addition to your homeschool! Enjoy the freebies!

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   Sorry about dropping off the face of the earth here! Contrary to what you may think this blog has NOT been abandonded!!  We are in the middle of the adoption hand over for our foster son to his new parents and life is just slightly insane right now! This has been one of the things to go on hold right now!

   I have some exciting new UK things to post about in the coming weeks but it will have to wait a few more days to be able to post those - sorry!

   In the meantime I was sent this link this morning for a new *online* homeschooling magazine!! How about that for us in the UK? No postage charges!! Yippee!

   Now it is an American magazine, but if you just simply ingnore the articles about coupon shopping and things there are alot of good ideas and alot of great encouragement for homeschoolers at all stages of home education. From preschoolers to high school there is an article for you. Those who are just thinking of starting and those feeling like giving up - there is something for everyone.

   And best of all (you knew this was coming, didn't you?) It is **FREE**!!!! My favourite word! So go on check it out. What have you got to loose? It is called 'The Heart of the Matter' magazine.

   Have a great week with your littlies! Whether this is your first week of homeschooling or your 100th!

   If you are interested in Charlotte Mason's methods, wanting to learn more about them, or use them already and just want some fresh ideas and encouragement - this one is for you!

   Cindy over at 'On Our Journey Westward' blog is hosting the 5th Charlotte Mason Carnival. What is a Blog Carnival, I hear you ask? Well, it is when someone hosts a blog post that includes links to several other people's blogs. The posts are usually all about similar topics, in this case various aspects of homeschooling Charlotte Mason Style!

   So make a nice hot cuppa and pop over to click on several of the excellent posts that are listed! Even if you never heard of Charlotte Mason, this is a great way to find out what her ideas are all about in real everyday life today! You are sure to find some great new ideas, and possibly make some new friends along the way!

   Pop on over to this post on the Home where they belong blog and you can find two great resources for free copywork!

   Copywork is a great way to work on handwriting without using meaningless lines, and at the same time have them learning something in what they are writing! It is used heavily in the Charlotte Mason method but can work with many homeschooling methods.

   Hope these are usefull to you!