After 10 years (!), it's time for a new look for Freely Educate! This site began as an email list in 2005. The list was called Freely Homeschool. When I made the .com, I named it Freely Educate, to cover all types of schooling. Since then, I've realized, We are all homeschooling to a degree. So I've claimed Freely Homeschool once again! The new site will be easier to navigate, easier to search, and will hold more articles and helpful tips for homeschoolers (which includes everyone who has a child in their care!). My children have grown up with this... Continue reading

K-12 created a free Spelling Curriculum for grades K-12. The 36-week program consists of: weekly spelling lists printable worksheets dictation sentences It is based on academic subjects typically taught at particular grade levels (such as science subjects), and it includes Fry's 1,000 most commonly used English words. If you're looking for a spelling program that's already laid out for you, check out K-12's free spelling curriculum and see if it'll be a good fit for you! Continue reading

I found two excellent resources for teaching Art History to children in K-12 American Art: I'm excited to have found a very large collection of free lesson plans for K-12 on crafts, or practical skills, such as weaving, basketry, pottery and more. The lesson plans include historical information on the skill, and they include hands-on projects. There is much more to these - they even tell us which subjects are being taught in each lesson, for example, here's one title: Quilts and the Underground Railroad, Grades 4-5; Subject: Art; Related Subjects: Social Studies, Language Arts, Geometry Visit Craft Revival to... Continue reading

I spent quite a while searching for classics for my Kindle, and thought I would share a link for you to go directly to the list! All of these ebooks are free , and in the public domain, which means they are US copyright-free and you can share them or print them all you'd like. There are other locations online to find public domain books, but these are especialy formatted for the Amazon Kindle. The list includes classics such as 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea and Les Miserables, as well as lesser known books on hobbies as well as... Continue reading

A homeschooling mom wrote me, " I found another GREAT free web site. It is called Quizlet. It is amazing! It has everything from Fry’s sight words, to SAT vocabulary drills, to capitals and states, to Apologia Physical Science Ch 8, to Spanish and Greek and on on. It provides vocabulary drills, quizzes and games to practice vocabulary in all subjects. My son is studying the constitution. I found tons of constitution vocabulary drills and even a constitution quiz with 60 facts for him to review which he learned in 10 minutes and it was a great pre reading prep... Continue reading

I was a nursing student in the 90's and had to pour over a 50 lb. (so it felt) Anatomy & Physiology textbook in order to study the human body. A few years later (or so), BioDigital has created an interactive 3-D model of the human body. The technology of a program like this is so amazing to me - I could pour over it for hours upon hours and without lifting a pound! There are a few ways to use the BioDigital Human: on your iPhone or iPad (look for BioDigital Human in the app store) as a Chrome... Continue reading

America has such a rich history of crafts, brought to our shores from many countries around the world. I found a very large collection of free lesson plans for K-12 on crafts, or practical skills, such as weaving, basketry, pottery and more. The lesson plans include historical information on the skill, and they include hands-on projects. There is much more to these - they even tell us which subjects are being taught in each lesson, for example: Quilts and the Underground Railroad, Grades 4-5; Subject: Art; Related Subjects: Social Studies, Language Arts, Geometry Visit Craft Revival to view the free... Continue reading

If there's anything that goes well together, it's homeschoolers and coffee. And homeschooling and coffee. And life and coffee. Community Coffee, an American company with an awesome military matching program, sent me a couple of their bags of coffee beans. I chose the Founders Blend and the Louisiana Blend. I like to 'foo-foo' up my coffee, dressing it up in cream and Truvia or maybesometimessugar. Both blends were nice and dark, perfectly created in my French press, and the foundation of an excellent coffee drink, like this Brown Sugar Cinnamon Iced Coffee. Brown Sugar Cinnamon Iced Coffee Serving Size: 1 Prep Time: 10 minutes Ingredients 8 oz. chilled strongly brewed Community Coffee Private Reserve Breakfast Blend coffee 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 4 tablespoons condensed milk As needed, whipped cream for garnish As needed, brown sugar for garnish 1 cinnamon stick for garnish As needed, ice cubes Directions Fill a tall glass tumbler with ice cubes ¾ full. Add coffee, condensed milk and brown sugar to coffee and stir to combine. Garnish drink with whipped cream brown sugar and a cinnamon stick. Serve immediately. recipe by Community Coffee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visit Community Coffee to see all of the yummy blends and... Continue reading

I head to Game Classroom when I need to keep our younger homeschoolers busy. I'll select a grade level and an area of study, then let him or her play the learning games. Game Classroom is a collection of educational games, organized and compiled by teachers. It is well worth a visit from any educator of K-6th grade students. At Game Classroom students, teachers and parents will find: Math games and language arts games conveniently sorted according to skill, topic and grade level. Printable worksheets, categorized by grade level, covering important math and language arts skills. Age-appropriate newsletters and lesson... Continue reading

Smithsonian Magazine is hosting a day when participating museums, many across America, will offer free admission. You'll receive free admission for two people to attend one of the participating museums on September 26, 2015. Continue reading

One of our favorite sources for free lesson plans is at CurrClick, a site with hundreds of downloads for educators. Some of their classes and lesson plans are for sale, but I've found the page of freebies. The free e-books listed on this page may change, as publishers add more materials, or decide to charge for an ebook. If you like the way one looks, download it now. It will sit in your CurrClick account for later use. Continue reading

I've been homeschooling our four kids (with my working husband's input) for almost a decade now, and most of those years have included the books mentioned in the AmblesideOnline.com curriculum. Ambleside Online was created by homeschooling mothers and others who wanted to create a curriculum that is similar to what Charlotte Mason, the 18th century educator, would have used. If you use the curriculum fully, your child would have a classical, literature-deep, rich, and beautiful education. I'm not a very scheduled person, so I don't use the curriculum as fully as it should be used, but I use it loosely,... Continue reading

Congratulations to Beth in Missouri! Thank you to everyone who entered! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, this is what my desk looked like today, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more. ...unless my coffee was hotter. Our kitchen table is where I often land while one of the kids is doing "sit down work," like writing. They focus best when I'm nearby to deal with distractions from kittens and a beeping dryer. Today, at my "desk" - the kitchen table - I'm enjoying the brand new ASUS Chromebook Flip C100. I'm using it to pay bills, check into the timeline for our college... Continue reading

Without leaving home, your child can share his or her hobby and participate in a group setting with other homeschooled children and a highly-reviewed teacher. Three clubs are beginning soon: The American Girl Club Tea Party is especially for ages 5-13, and will meet on August 26th. Learn more, check out the teacher reviews, and sign up here. (The year-round American Girl Club will resume in September). The Magic Tree House Club is a year-round, twice-a-month club, that works through all of the books in the series. It is especially for young readers under age 13. #42: "A Good Night... Continue reading

As part of the education of our four kids, we introduce a lot of practical skills. From raising chickens to building a shed to changing brake pads to sewing, if it needs to be done, and there's a lesson in it, we're going to have the kids help do it! Ever since she was first handed a button and thread to fix a pair of pants, our oldest daughter, who is now a teen, has enjoyed sewing. She started out with scraps of fabric and has progressed into her own fashion design. Keeping her organized is a challenge! When we... Continue reading

Blick, a huge art supply company, offers free multicultural art lesson plans and now free video art lesson plans. The lessons are clearly marked by grade level, and there are art projects for all skill levels and projects that require many or few materials. Even if you think you cannot teach art, you'll enjoy these Blick lesson plans as each one is clearly written with photos and a complete material list. Visit Blick for the free art lesson and free art video workshops, perfect for both homeschool & school, here. ~~~~~~~~~~ Subscribe to FreelyEducate here Keep up with FreelyEducate tweets... Continue reading

Since last year, there has been a lot of online buzz over one of Harvard's most popular online courses. CS50x is an Intro to Computer Science course, it is from Harvard University, and it is free. As you'll see in this quick and fun video, CS50x is not a boring course, and is good for even computer science beginners. The schedule is at-your-own-pace, with suggested deadlines. If you'd like a course certificate or college credit, check out these options. Look for the free Harvard computer science course here. Continue reading

"...I will not fear. What can man do to me?" I don't believe bad things come from God. I believe bad things come from the evil one. I learned this as a 10-year-old living in a boarding school; evil was present and God showed up to help me through it. He did not rescue me, but He comforted me, and through that experience, God turned the evil to good in many ways, the most significant that I am a better mother than I could have ever been without that moment in the grips of hell. When God allows the evil one's ways to happen, we can be assured that this does not mean the evil one is winning. Have hope. We are on the side that wins. "You pushed me violently that I might fail, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation." (Psalm 118) Continue reading

I was looking through a science experiment book on our bookshelf yesterday, and one of the 500 experiments was to have a mosquito bite you. I have found a few experiments that are better than that one! The links below go directly to the experiment instructions. 1. Make a Brain Hemisphere Hat Reader feedback: Georgiaberry said, "We made this and it was AWESOME!" 2. Make a Fruit-Powered Battery (or...just watch the video) 3. Make Magnetic Silly Putty 4. Teach anatomy using a child's life-size drawing. 5. Do this very simple Walking Water Experiment Want more ideas for teaching science creatively?... Continue reading

Hey! It's 5/18 and tonight I've been working on making the site more mobile. That switch has made the entire site go wonky, so please be patient with me and I'll try to get all of the work completed by the end of the week! ~ Lori Continue reading

"Blessed are those who have not seen Him, and yet believe." Continue reading