Top Ten Sites for Homeschooling

Each week for the next 10 weeks, many bloggers in the iHomeschool Network will be linking their top 10 lists.   Inspired by Angie's weekly meme at Many Little Blessings, this fun event is going to provide me with TONS of great resources, ideas, and inspiration!  

  

This week's topic is:

Top 10 Favorite Websites to Use for Homeschooling

There are so many sites I visit... many of them personal blogs, where I get ideas for read-alouds, crafts, and so much more.  For the purpose of this post, I have not included any personal blogs, but rather general sites {most of them full of free resources} I hope will benefit you.

Of course -- the biggies:  Netflix, Amazon, Pinterest -- those just go without saying... I think our homeschool might be dead in the water without those {well, not really, but you know what I mean }.

Here they are.... in no particular order:

10.  The Well Trained Mind ~ When planning our school year (and frequently throughout the year, too) I always consult The Well Trained Mind.   From this site you can find out about all of the curriculum pieces and also join the Well Trained Mind forums. I also find the curriculum map to be invaluable!  

9.  Squidoo ~ Do you Squidoo?   Basically, anyone is free on this site to create a "lens" - similar to a blog post - of a topic they know much about.   I've linked you to the homeschool lenses... so much great information!   

8.  Ambleside Online ~  This is an online Charlotte Mason curriculum for FREE.  There are booklists, reading schedules, and links to free e-texts.  It is a treasure trove of information.  I always consult Ambleside for reading selections and to locate free resources.  I was just looking through the Grade 6 plan in planning for next year - I love their science recommendations.  

7.  Dance Mat Typing ~ Both of my children have made their way through these free typing lessons (several times!).  They are short, funny, and just well done.   Do your teach keyboarding to your children?  This is just the resource you need. 

6.  Spotify ~  This is like the Netflix of music!  For a small fee each month ($9.99) you can have access to ALL music.  All you do is search by composer (artist), song, or genre. The music can be played through the Spotify app on your iPhone or iPad - and also through your computer.   If we are studying a particular composer, I can pull up many selections of music to match.  It makes our SQUILT time a snap!! 

5.  Homeschool Share ~ I think we use Homeschool Share EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.   It is an excellent site for all things lapbook, notebooking, and printables.   It is a site where many moms have collaborated to share the resources they have created.  I first discovered this site two years ago, when I was searching for Five in a Row resources.  They have everything FIAR, and much, much more!!  At the Homeschool Share blog you can learn even more, and their Show and Tell section is great.   My son's dinosaur lapbook was featured one week.   I also love their monthly calendars. 


4.  Project Gutenberg ~ Since I'm all about FREE, I love this site. You can download so many books here (in the public domain) for free.   Recently we discovered some great composer biographies to download.  If I find something I want to read with the kids, I always head to Project Gutenberg to see if we can get it free of charge!

3.  NotebookingPages.com ~ A membership to Notebooking Pages is a wonderful investment in your homeschool!  (There is currently a very good sale going on until this Friday, and there is also a Facebook party TONIGHT to unveil a very exciting new feature for members!)

What I love about Notebooking Pages is that whatever subject we are studying, I can go to this site and find printable notebooking pages to go along with the topic.   This week we are delving further into Joan of Arc... guess what?   I found a lovely set of notebooking pages... for both my seven and ten year olds.   These pages are all so well done.  I am excited that my children are creating beautiful notebooks that are keepsakes of their learning journeys!  

2.  Dogo News: Fodder For Young Minds ~ This site makes it very easy to incorporate current events into your homeschool.  There are articles, videos, and much more.   We usually watch these at lunch time each day. Our most recent favorite is about a girl who invented a cure for the hiccups! 

1.  HSLaunch.com ~ Again, a free site that is a file sharing MECCA!   Sometimes I search for specific things on this site... I use these state notebooking pages quite frequently.  Other times I just browse the files and always find something I can use.  The site requires a registration (free), and then you can start sharing files, too.  

What is YOUR favorite site for homeschooling?   

 

Comments

[Aurie{OurGoodLife}]

Great list! Several of these are new to me - going to check them out!

[Jen @ Forever, For Always...]

I like to use Enchanted Learning, some things are free, but I like to upgrade to get some more resources. I have never heard of Dogo News, but will definitely use it now! Also, Dance Mat Typing looks good, we plan to work on some keyboarding this summer. Great list, thanks for sharing!!

[Dawn]

Some great new places to visit. Thanks for the list.
Blessings, Dawn

[Joy]

I have heard of a few of these, but some are definitely new to me. Looking forward to checking out all of the blogs doing the 10 for 10!

[Lori]

Great link list with some I had not used before. Thanks for sharing them, now I am off to show my daughter Dance Mat Typing!

[Kenj]

We have the same number 10! Most valuable resource in all our homeschooling years. Going to check out a few of your others that are new to me.

~Kendra

[Karen]

Great list. Most of them I use, a few are new. I will check them out Mary. I am excited to see what Notebooking Pages are going to unveil tonight. :)

[Anonymous]

I like worksheetworks.com. Free printable pages for all topics and subjects.

[Stef Layton]

wow - I don't know any of these sites (besides homeschool share) - THANKS!

[Susan]

Very helpful list, Mary! Many of these I know, but I appreciate the DOGO News link :)

[Jennifer]

Wow! Thanks for the great list, Mary! I definitely need to learn more about Dance Mat Typing, and we love Netflix here too. :)