Every once in awhile I have to take time to note new homeschooling resources. . .or at least resources that are new to me. Generally I like to place them in a theme, but I have recently discovered three very cool websites that I thought were worth mentioning. I hope you find them as useful as I have.
Library Elf
Most homeschoolers I know, use the library for at least part of their curriculum. I know that we rely heavily on library books to fill out our literature based curriculum. Not to mention the fact that most libraries have numerous resources that are well worth investigating and taking advantage of.
Library Elf is a service that you register for online (and of course it’s free) and it helps you keep track of the books that you’re holding, the books that you’re checking out and the books that are due via e-mail. I thought that I probably liked the service when I signed up for it. Then I knew I liked it yesterday when I got a note in my box telling me that some of the things that I had requested were in. . .it allowed me to plan my day to make it to the library later much earlier than I would’ve otherwise. (It was just plain convenient.) But now I love it–I got a note in my inbox this morning telling me that my book is due in three days! Now I know I have to go to the library this weekend. This is service is a definite convenience if you find yourself checking out lots of books.
Kids Know It
An excellent interactive website that is geared towards upper elementary or middle school. It has videos and audio, educational songs (think “School House Rock” makes it to the new millennium) a game room and some excellent spelling games. My kids just started investigating this new tool but already it has one the ‘Valorie’s Research and Development Team Seal of Approval’.
Google Lit Trip
This website is awesome! As the site explains: “Using google earth, students disocver where the greatest road trip stories took place. . .and more.” That ‘and more’ part is basically a study through literature and literary elements. While they host specific books, the website is for grades K-12 and has quite a representative sample of literature. If you’re not doing one of the books listed, I highly recommend choosing your next read aloud to go along with a google lit trip.
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