One of the things I love most about homeschooling is that we can incorporate so many resources into our daily learning. My kids LOVE anything technology related. I know a lot of parents regulate the amount of screen time their children have. That is something I don't worry too much about. My kids choose to play outside, build things and do crafts over electronics almost every time. Well, all but one of them (and surprisingly, it's not my oldest), for that one the rules are no screen time if it's light outside. She doesn't have to go outside but she does have to find something productive to do. If I feel like she has been productive enough for a while, I will hand over her iPod.......it's a rare occurrence but it does happen from time to time. My iPad is loaded with educational apps they love to play. There is tons that can be learned from them and I personally don't have any qualms over which way they choose to learn. Book, video, website, workbook, apps, board games, hands on experiments. There are so many ways kids can learn and each one seems to learn from a different method. I do try to give them a decent amount of computer time to use for learning. There are so many amazing websites to teach them just about anything imaginable. I feel that it is very important that they are able to "tech savvy" we live in a wold that functions on technology. By the time they are adults I suspect to succeed you'd better be fluent in technology. There is no better place to learn how to use all forms of technology safely than under the watchful eyes of their parents.
I thought tonight I would share some of my favorite websites with you. Some of them I found recently through a quick google search but most of them we have been using for years. One day in the near future I will comprise a list of my favorite iPad apps. That one is going to take some time though.
Using the internet connected TV to watch science experiment videos on the Imagination Station website.
Maezy using her LeapPad at Popaw and Nana's house on the mountain.
Hudsyn, sitting on my lap making me watch her do something on her iPod before we read a story.
Bella trying to talk Siri into calling her Nana. Judging by the look on her face, it wasn't quite working out as she had planned.
Greysen and Maezy laying on my bedroom floor watching a movie while I folded laundry. They don't usually watch iPad movies (they are usually reserved for outings that last too long), but Greysen was sick, and I wanted to keep a close eye on them.
Tristin and Bell watching a documentary on Netflix off her iPod.
Hudsyn, Tristin and Bella having their after dark computer time. This wasn't necessarily educational. Hudsyn was playing Lalaloopsy.com and Bell and Tristin were playing wildkratts.com.
Here is my list of some of our favorite websites, if any of the links don't work let me know and I will fix them.
www.brainpop.com This one is full of educational videos. There is a free version and a version you can purchase. I think the purchase option on this one is quite high and we've been happy with the free version for years.
www.spellingcity.com - online spelling and vocabulary list. You can use the ones they offer or input your own. The paid version on this one is quite affordable and well worth the money to me, again it's used for homeschool purposes in our house. Before we were homeschooling we always used the free version and it suited all of our needs.
www.starfall.com - An early reading website. My kids have all used and loved this website.
www.explodethecode.com - A website that primarily teaches phonics and decoding skills. This is a paid website, the price is in my opinion perfectly acceptable. My kids also use the workbooks to go along with this site.
www.abcya.com - A free educational game website for kids form K-5.
www.readingeggs.com - A learn to read paid website. My kids really enjoy this one.
www.khanacademy.org - This is a phenomenal website. You can learn just about anything you want to know, including some light computer programming. The best part is.......it's free!
www.kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ - All the things you love about National Geographic but online and for kids. They also have a little kids site, which is linked on the kids one.
www.ixlmath.com - A wonderful math practice website. This one also offers a free or paid version.
www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm - National Gallery of Art for kids. Super fun!
www.scholastic.com - Scholastic's website, lots of great eBook downloads for free and pay.
www.akc.org - The AKC's website. We have an extreme dog lover in the house, so this may not be as interesting to other families.
www.almanac4kids.com - The farmers almanac for kids. Fantastic!
www.weatherchannelkids.com - The weather channel online and for kids.
www.extremescience.com - All sorts of great science info on here.
www.lawrencehallofscience.org/kidsite - An amazing collection of science experiments and activities.
www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/home/index.html - The Nasa kids website. My Dad introduced us to this one years ago and all the kids love it!
www.loc.gov/families - The Library of Congress for kids.
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature - The PBS nature website.
www.spatulatta.com - A cooking website for kids.
www.greatachievements.org - The greatest achievements of the 20th century.
www.wonderopolis.org - Basically anything you have ever wondered about you can find an explanation for here.
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