The Teacher's Desk has been reproducing some historical primers that are just excellent, and inexpensive! I printed and bound these primers and they make terrific readers. These are especially good for use with the Ambleside curriculum for the younger children. These stories are classic and children love them. I hope the publisher continues to create more of them in the future. I stapled these, and made a binding with some kind of brown paper-like tape that my hubby had laying around. I'm sure any type of tape would work fine. The pdf files also include story sequencing cards, handwriting worksheets, copywork pages, matching worksheets, dot-to-dots, and coloring pages to go along with the stories Here's a pic of the four primers that are available so far :-)

This is a short and quick lapbook we did on Mount Rushmore. We learned about the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, the dates when the sculpture was started, when it was finished, the presidents to be included, problems that arose, and some other fascinating events that happened in between. Also included in the 'booklet' are facts of each of the presidents and various things that they did in their lifetime. I really wanted to make this into a bigger project and lapbook, but it just didn't seem to fit right now (this seems to happen sometimes in the wonderful world of homeschooling :-) All of the resources came from last year's October Book Bag (2008) from Teacher Book Bag.

All resources for the lapbook are from Homeschool Share.

We wanted an excuse to make yogurt smoothies, so we did this :O)

This is the lesson folder we created for lesson 7 of the American History curriculum we are using this year by ProntoLessons. They are very basic, but I made these lesson folders just so I could have the pictures, maps, and other info handy for each lesson. Here are some pics of what we put together for the Nez Perce based on the ProntoLessons plans.

This was lesson 7. You can view the previous lesson folders we made here:

Lesson 1 - Iroquois Part I
Lesson 2 - Iroquois Part II
Lesson 3 - Cherokee

Lesson 4 - Cheyenne

Lesson 5 - Apache

Lesson 6 - Ute

This is the next lesson in the science curriculum I'm using this year by ProntoLessons. This folder is not part of the curriculum, but I decided to make a sort of 'Lesson Folder' for each part. It's very basic, but I made this so that I could have the pictures, worksheets, and other info handy for teaching without having to bring my kids to the computer each time. Science for Kids is a 37 week course. This is lesson 3 of eleven Biology lessons. Here are some pics of what we put together for Cells & Microbes based on the ProntoLessons plans. You can view the previous lessons here:

Lesson 1 - Ecosystems

Lesson 2 - Food Chains

I was amazed to find some insruments that I didn't know the names of in ths freebie card kit from Teacher Book Bag :O)

This is the next lesson in the science curriculum I'm using this year by ProntoLessons. This folder is not part of the curriculum, but I decided to make a sort of 'Lesson Folder' for each part. It's very basic, but I made this so that I could have the pictures, worksheets, and other info handy for teaching without having to bring my kids to the computer each time. Science for Kids is a 37 week course. This is lesson 2 of eleven Biology lessons. Here are some pics of what we put together for Food Chains based on the ProntoLessons plans. You can view the previous lessons here:

Lesson 1 - Ecosystems

This is the lesson folder we created for lesson 6 of the American History curriculum we are using this year by ProntoLessons. They are very basic, but I made these lesson folders just so I could have the pictures, maps, and other info handy for each lesson. Here are some pics of what we put together for the Ute based on the ProntoLessons plans.

This was lesson 6. You can view the previous lesson folders we made here:

Lesson 1 - Iroquois Part I
Lesson 2 - Iroquois Part II
Lesson 3 - Cherokee

Lesson 4 - Cheyenne

Lesson 5 - Apache

I recently tried out the website Time4Learning for one month. I've always thought this would be what I needed to complete my homeschool curriculum. The scope and sequence is what has always grabbed my attention. It turns out, the scope and sequence is right on with topics covered.

Navigating the Time4Learning website was a breeze. I was able to figure everything out right away. The parent or teacher can login and find additional lessons and printable worksheets. I was also able to change each child's grade level higher or lower than the level I signed up for. Each child gets their own login information. The system saves the progress of each child. The Time4Learning system also keeps track of what your child has already completed, and assigns the quizzes.

I had four of my children try out different grade levels. We used 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. They had no problem navigating around the website. They enjoyed the multimedia lessons and worksheets for all of the subjects. One of the levels was too difficult for my daughter, so I simply switched it. This only took about 10 seconds. The multimedia lessons are extremely informative and cover all information that is needed.

I emailed customer support several times to ask questions and they were friendly and responded quickly (within a few hours).

Time4Learning covers all of the major subjects (Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies) and includes hundreds of activities. The animated characters throughout the site are lively and seem like they would be appealing to both young and old.

 
The only thing I could say that the Time4Learning website should improve on, is the amount of worksheets provided. The quality of the worksheets are excellent, they just need some more! This was only for certain grades, and I am sure as time allows, this website will add more. The videos and quizzes partially make up for the lack of worksheets. I’ve just always been a worksheet person, so I was disappointed with that one small thing :O\

I have plans to sign up for this website again in the future. The cost is fairly low, and they have discounts for additional children. With the cost of curriculum these days, Time4Learning has a pretty decent membership fee.

Overall, the website isn't scattered and everything is in one place. It's very organized. All subjects are included. The multimedia lessons hold the child's attention, and the worksheets are not overwhelming. The scope and sequence lets you know what's covered. Also, just about everything is done for the parent or teacher. I have big hopes for this company, and feel that over time they will have the perfect website, especially for homeschoolers like me. 

This is the lesson folder we created for lesson 5 of the American History curriculum we are using this year by ProntoLessons. I made these lesson folders just so that I could have the pictures, maps, and other info handy for each lesson. Here are some pics of what we put together for the Apache based on the ProntoLessons plans.

This was lesson 5. You can view the previous lesson folders we made here:

Lesson 1 - Iroquois Part I
Lesson 2 - Iroquois Part II
Lesson 3 - Cherokee

Lesson 4 - Cheyenne