Links I Like

Resources:
Atlanta Kid Chess - Learn to Play Chess
The Top 100 Educational Websites of 2009
Homeschool Discount Home Educator Discounts
Homeschooling on a Shoestring
Homeschool Buyers Co-op
A-Z Chat
A to Z Home's Cool Homeschool Website
homeschoolclassifieds
Top 100 Preschool Sites
Carolina Biological Supply
Homeschool.com: Curriculum Sampler eKit
4Real Forums at theNetSmith
Interactives
HS Map by State
Kidzone
Resources for Vocabulary Study
Elementary Test Prep Center
World Digital Library Home
Recession-Proof Your Homeschool
Freebie of the Day
Mnemonic Devices
Writing Activities and Games

Other Families:
OurLoudFamily
My Montessori Journey
se7en
Beckys school site
J & M Ranch: celebrate the simple life
Homeschool Creations
Milestones Academy

Art:

Mommy Survival Guide

Unplug Your Kids

Skip to my Lou

Shrinky Dinks

that artist woman
Making Books with Children
Art Projects for Kids: 0 grade
kiddio
Baker's Clay
Click Blick Lesson Plans

File Folder Games:
File Folder Fun
HS Hutt

Games:
Deluth Trading
Games
Find the State -- Play Kids Games!
Gamequarium
The Periodic Table of Videos
USA Geography
Online Spelling Program
Starfall
PEEP and the Big Wide World
Animal Games
Kidzone - Fun Facts for Kids!
BigIQkids e-Learning programs for kids

Local:
CHOOSE CT
Letterboxing
Connecticut Museum Quest
CTHomeschoolhikers
Adventure Wednesday
Little League
Soccer
Football

Music:
Children's Songs
YouTube - BerlinPhil's Channel
Pandora Radio
The Violin Book

Science:
Science Fair Projects
Classical Astronomy
Free Astonomy Study
Germs Science Projects
Super Simple Science good experiments
Physics4kids
Chemistry4kids
Astronomy4kids
Geography4kids
Biology4kids
Chemistry: periodic table to print

Nature:
Handbook of Nature Study
Project FeederWatch
Connecticut Wildflowers
Common Plant Names
Foraging With the "Wildman"

Montessori:
Montessori Materials
Delightful Learning
Montessori For Everyone
My Montessori Journey
Tools for Tots
Chasing Cheerios
Preschool
Montessori Chat
Blog
Montessori Materials

Work Boxes:
What's in the Box
File Folder Fun
Notebooking
Lapbooks

Math:
Numbernut
Math Trainer

Foreign Language:
Foreign language learning (including ASL)
Flash Cards : Online French Help
Live Mocha
ASL Pro Dictionary
Sign Language Videos
Play & Learn German

Other:
Baby Steps
Homeschool Helper
Kelly’s Web Page
Homeschooling High School
Think
Magic Tricks
Lesson Plans
MTS Practical Life
Eideneurolearning
Book Units
PBS Masterpiece
Thomas Jefferson

History:
History

Classical:
Classical Network
http://classicalconversations.com/

Classical Education History Resource List

Textbooks:
Story of the World books 1-4
Story of the World activity books 1-4
Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia of World History
Kingfisher History Encyclopedia (basic text for Logic stage but helpful in grammar stage)

Great Men and Women to Cover
Grade 1 - Ancients 5000 B.C. - A.D. 400:
Cheops, pharaoh of Egypt (2700-2675 B.C.)
Abraham (2100 B.C.)
Hammurabi (1750 B.C.)
Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt (1480 B.C.)
Moses (1450 B.C.)
Tutankhamen (1355 B.C.)
Nebuchadnezzar (1146-1123 B.C.)
King David (1000 B.C.)
Homer (800 B.C.)
Romulus (753-716 B.C.)
Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.)
Lao-tse, Chinese philosopher (born 604 B.C.)
Pythagoras (581-497 B.C.)
Confucius, K'ung Fu-tsu (551-479 B.C.)
Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (550-480 B.C.)
Socrates (470-399 B.C.)
Plato (427-347 B.C.)
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.)
Hannibal, fought with Rome (218-207B.C.)
Cicero (106-43B.C.)
Julius Caesar (100-44B.C.)
Virgil (70-19B.C.)
Ceasar Augustus (45B.C.-A.D.14)
Jesus Christ (4B.C.-A.D.33)
Saint Paul (A.D.45)
Nero (died A.D. 68)
Constantine the Great (ruled A.D. 306-337)

Grade 2 - Medieval/Early Renaissance 400-1600:
Saint Augustine (writing c. 411)
Attila the Hun (433-453)
King Arthur (probably killed in 537 at Battle of Camlan)
Mohammed (570-632)
Charlemagne (ruled 768-814)
Alfred the Great (849-899)
Leif Ericsson (discovered America c. 1000)
Edward the Confessor (1042-1066)
Genghis Kan (b. 1155)
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)
Jan van Eyck (1390-1441)
Johannes Gutenberg (1396-1468)
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512)
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Raphael (1483-1520)
Nostradamus (1503-1566)
John Calvin (1509-1564)
Hernando Cortes (entered Mexican capital, 1519)
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
Walter Raleigh (1554-1618)
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Suggested biographies (not sure why these aren't in chronological list above):
Sir Francis Drake
Elizabeth I
Joan of Arc
Leif Ericsson
Marco Polo
Montezuma

Grade 3 - Late Renaissance/Early Modern 1600-1850:
Mary Stuart, Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616)
James I of England (1566-1652)
Queen Nzinga of Angola (1582-1644)
Shah Jahan (1592-1666)
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)
Charles I (1600-1649)
Rembrandt (1606-1669)
John Milton (1608-1674)
Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
Louis XIV of France (1638-1715)
Issac Newton (1642-1747)
William Penn (1644-1718)
Peter I, Peter the Great (1672-1725)
Yoshimune (1684-1751)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Frederick William I, Frederick the Great (1688-1740)
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Qianlong (1711-1795)
Maria Theresa (1717-1780)
Catherine the Great (1729-1796)
George Washington (1732-1799)
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
Betsy Ross (1752-1836)
Phyllis Wheatley (1753-1784)
Louis XVI (1754-1793)
Marie Antoinette (1755-1793)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
George III of England (1760-1820)
Eli Whitney (1765-1825)
Captain James Cook (1768-1771)
Tecumseh (1768-1813)
Napoleon (1769-1821)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) and WIlliam Clark (1770-1838)
Simon Bolivar (1783-1830)
Shaka Zulu (1787-1828)
Sacagawea (1788-1812)
Nat Turner (1800-1831)

Historical Topics
the Mayflower
early American Settlements
Russia under Peter the Great and his successors
Prussia in the eighteenth century
the Enlightenment
the agricultural revolution
Native American cultures
the British in India
the French Revolution
British-French conflict in Canada
the American Revolution
the Napoleonic Wars
the industrial revolution
Simon Bolivar's fight for independence in South America
the siege of the Alamo
the California gold rush
Australia's beginnings as a penal colony

Grade 4 - Modern 1850-Present:
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845)
Louis Joseph Papineau (1786-1871)
Samuel Morse (1791-1872)
Commodore Matthew Perry (1794-1858)
Santa Anna (1794-1876)
Robert E Lee (1807-1870)
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
David Livingstone (1813-1873)
Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902)
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878)
Susan B Anthony (1820-1906)
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
Harriet Tubman (1820-1913)
Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885)
Catewayo of the Zulus (1826-1884)
Sitting Bull (1831-1890)
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) (1835-1910)
George Custer (1839-1876)
Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)
Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
Mutsuhito (emperor of Japan) (1852-1912)
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
Henry Ford (1863-1947)
Wilbur Wright (1867-1912) and Orville Wright (1871-1948)
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924)
Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Josef Stalin (1879-1953)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
Dwight D Eisenhower (1890-1969)
Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)
Francisco Franco (1892-1975)
Mao Zedong (1893-1976)
Czar Nicholas II (1895-1917)
Amelia Earhart (1897-1932)
Albert Einstein (1897-1955)
Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974)
John F Kennedy (1917-1963)
Nelson Mandela (1918-)
Margaret Thatcher (1925-)
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
Neil Armstrong (1930-)
Saddam Hussein (1937-)
Bill Gates (1955-)

Suggested biographies (not sure why these aren't in chronological list above):
Louisa May Alcott
Susan B Anthony
Clara Barton
Mary McLeod Bethune (educator born as 15th child of former slaves)
Elizabeth Blackwell (first woman dr)
Frederick Douglass
Emma Edmonds
Albert Einstein
Mohandas Ghandi
Langston Hughes
Helen Keller
Mary Todd Lincoln
Thurgood Marshall
Louis Pasteur
Molly Pitcher
Eleanor Roosevelt
Babe Ruth
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Harriet Tubman

Major Events:
Africa under European control
the Indian mutinies
the Crimean War
the Victorian era
the Civil War
exploration of the American West
Euro-American conflict with the Native American tribes
the Boxer Rebellion
World War I
the Russian Revolution
the Soviet Union
the Great Depression
the New Deal
civil war in Spain
the Axis and the Allies
World War II
Nazi Germany/Hitler
the Holocaust
Zionism/the Jews' return to Palestine
apartheid/South African segregation
China under Mao
the Korean War
the civil-rights movement
the Vietnam War
landing on the moon

~~~~
*Well Trained Mind also includes an extensive list of supplemental reading for all grades which would be worth perusing.

Math Websites and Books

(Explanations are quotes - I haven't checked these out for myself yet)

Livingmath.net Peruse Julie Brennan's extensive book lists. Her site is outstanding.
www.hoagiesgifted.org/mathematics.htm - Sir Cumfrence books. Q is for Quark and G is for Googol are good for older kids

Greg Tang books - They're not traditional math books -- more like problem solving with
numbers. For my mathy kid, they were great because they reinforced his
inherent 'number sense' and were fun and visually-attractive. Tang's books aren't really instructional books, though. More like recess with math
especially try Math For All Seasons.

Map Skills

A globe is a sphere and represents the earth
A map is a drawing of a location.
The earth is made up of land and water.
~Color and label land and water on a map

Resources:
www.sfsocialsudies.com
www.nationalgeographic.com/kids
Mapping Penny's World by Loreen Leedy
National Geographic Our World: A Child's First Picture Atlas
Me on The Map by Joan Sweeney

Foreign Language Resources

English from the Roots up (just the flashcards)
Rummy Roots
Power Glide
Ecce Romani by Longman (just the student book, not teacher guide or workbooks)
Siepmann's Primary French Course French Songs by Violet Partington

Art Resources

Men of Art by Thomas Craven - History of art, no prints

Collect prints from museums, frame stores, antique shops; collect catalogs from museums and print stores; obtain art books from the library. Collect art calendars.

American Artists Reflect American History vol 1-4. 5 huge prints per volume by Simon and Schuster publisher.

STories from the New Testament - includes 17 well chosen paintings.

Art Extension Press
National Gallery of Art in DC - avail prints viewed via internet. Museum shop sets sets by Taschen including bio and 6 prints of each artist.
Print Detectors - retail mail order art gallery specializing in locating and selling pritns and posters.

CM Book and Supply List

Books
One well written book on:
~The history of art
~The history of music
~Various biographies of poets, composers, scientists, artists, etc
~One poetry anthology

Substantial amounts of:
~Literature
~Poetry
~Art prints or coffee table art books
~Field guides
~Living books on various topies

Quality Reference books on:
~Foreign language of your choice
~Religion (English, Greek, Hebrew)
~Each branch of science (astronomy, anatomy, etc)

Other reference materials:
~Dictionary
~Thesaurus
~Encyclopedias
~Atlas

Curriculum:
~Math
~Simply Grammar

Supplies:
~Sketchbooks
~Paints and paintbrushes (best you can afford)
~Field microscope (Brock Magiscopes)
~Magnifying glass (one per child)
~Microscope (opt)
~Gardening supplies
~Field coats and boots
~Composition books for copy work
~3 ring binders for narrations, pressed flowers, memorized poems, century books
~Musical instruments
~Music to play
~Wood and tools
~Calculator (one per child)
~Computer (opt)

Science Resources

Tree identification website
Exploring Nature

Geography

Charlotte used travel guides or a travel book to learn about geography. The children should be inspired to visit the area they've read about. Note the manners and any descriptions of the people living there.

First mapwork - Have them draw a map of their room.

Before they read a book, look up the location on a map.

In 10-12th grades keep up with newspapers and learn about the regions currently making the news.

Trace maps with tracing paper. If it comes out especially well, cover it with contact paper.

Pacific Puzzle Company puzzles are made of beechwood. 800-467-0242

History Reading List

Charlotte's Recommendations:
Alton Locke by Charles Kingsley
Chronicles of the Crusades by Devizes and deVinsany
Ecclesiastical History of England by Bede
First History of France by Mrs Creighton (covers 55BC to 910 AD)
History of the British Kings by Geoffrey
History of England by Arnold Forster (covers 55BC-910AD)
Julius Cesear
Modern Europe by Lord
Old Stories from British History by York Powell
Quintin Druward by Sir Walter Scott
Plutarch's Lives by Plutarch
Prisoners of the Tower by Brooke Hunt
Quentin Druward by Sir Walter Scott
Shorter History of England by Green
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Sketches from British History by York Powell
The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott
Tales from St. Paul's by Mrs. Frewen Lord
Tales from Westminster Abbey by Mrs Frewen Lord
Waverly by Sir Walter Scott
Westward Ho by Charles Kingsley

Catherine Levison's List:
The Autobiography of B. Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
In Freedom's Cause by GA Henty
Stories of the French Revolution by Walter Montgomery
The History of the World by Kingfisher
The Timetables of History by Grun
Conversations with Pioneer Women by Lockley
Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey by Schlissel
The Tragedy of Leschi by Meeker
Going to School in 1776 by Loeper
If you Were There in 1776 by Brenner
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Pool
The Sower Series Biographies by Mott Media
Oregon Trail, Lewis and Clark, etc published as The Story Behind the Scenery
Albert Schweitzer, Elizabeth the First, etc - A Rookie Biography


Books with good book lists for history:
Let the Authors Speak by Carolyn Hatcher
Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson
All through the Ages by Christine Miller

Music Appreciation

Resources:
Music of the Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh (formerly A Taste for the Classics) ~ Easy and enjoyable lessons on what a concerto is and similar info

The Spiritual Lives of Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh ~ Short biographies of many composers in chronological order of their life spans.

Both are good books for early narration.

Combine history and music study by looking up the musical development of an era in a book such as The Timetables of History by Bernard Grun

Child Pianist by Mrs Curwen

Source: A Charlotte Mason Education; A Home Schooling How To Manual by Catherine Levison

Math

Teach children the concrete before the abstract no matter how old they are. When they are young always have them use counters such as dry beans or buttons rather than cubes. Give them story problems and let them use their counters to solve them. When they can add or subtract up to 20, introduce multiplication and division using beans. They will see right away multiplication is the same as addition only faster.

Let them use counters as long as they want. No child should use a multiplication table until he has created one and it might take months to make one. Let the child learn through experience faster and easier ways to do any type of math.

Daily mental effort, one step at a time, will give the child the habit of concentration. Encourage clear thinking and rapid, careful execution. Do not redo incorrect problems; move on to the next problem.

To learn money, use real money
To learn weights and measures, weigh and measure. Weigh out 4oz of sand or rice. Have them guess the weight of an object such as a book and then weigh it. Learn fractions while learning measurements. Use a yard stick and measure objects around them. When learning place values, say "two tens" instead of "carry the two".

Great resource book: Applying Algebra by Garlic Press

Source: A Charlotte Mason Education; A Home Schooling How To Manual by Catherine Levison

Grammar

Wait until the child is at least 10 yrs old and he has practice with narration before beginning grammar. Simply Grammar by Karen Andreola is a summary of all CM's writings on grammar which are spread throughout the series. The book teaches one concept at a time.

Sit on the couch for 15 minutes and go through the book orally together.

Resources:
First Grammar Lessons aka Simply Grammar by Charlotte Mason
Short English Grammar by Meiklejohn

Source: A Charlotte Mason Education; A Home Schooling How To Manual by Catherine Levison

Foreign Language

First: Learn the words oralloy
Second: Learn to read and write
Third: Learn grammar

Best to learn from native speakers 3 hrs a week. Second best, use an audio program.

First:
Start young with simple words for objects around the room. They can pick up about 6 a day.

Play lotto by having pictures of household objects in front of them. The parent reads a list of words in the language and they turn over the picture as they hear the word. The first to black out wins. (Or figure out a variation using play size objects such as a doll's chair etc)


Second (7-12 yrs):
Begin learning to read by having you help them translate a little passage. They reread it in the language and then narrate it.

Can also learn Latin the same way but concentrate more on grammar, syntax, and style.

When children grew older they added 40 French phrases every 60 school days.
9-14 yr olds should be speak and understand French and be able to read an easy French book. Also German and Latin.
By 14 yrs old, they studied the History and literature of France, Germany and England equally. Essays on history were written in the corresponding language.
Spelling taught in foreign language the same as in English.

Source: A Charlotte Mason Education; A Home Schooling How To Manual by Catherine Levison