The Ultimate List of Free Grammar Games

The Ultimate List of Free Grammar Games

The Ultimate List of FREE Grammar Games -- a huge list of games to teach parts of speech, punctuation, sentence types, and writing. Grammar doesn't have to be boring!Grammar and writing can be a tedious subject to teach. Fortunately, there are so many amazing free games available to make teaching them fun. Until now, you had to Google your heart out to find them. No more! Below is an organized list of FREE grammar games for teaching parts of speech, punctuation, sentences and writing. I’ve described each game so you can decide if it’s for you. Following each section is a Pinterest board including those games. Follow them and be sure to pin this post so you can reference it later.

More Grammar Game Sanity

None of these games are online games. For a great list of online games, instruction, and quizzes for grammar, see The Best Free Grammar Websites. Many of the following games are appropriate for both classroom and homeschool use. I love to use games that require multiple players in our family co-op.

To make prepping many of these games even easier, pick up an Amazon laminator and pouches.

Free Parts of Speech Games

Adverb & Adjectives Game – Players must correctly identify adverbs and adjectives and use them in sentences to keep cards.

Go Fishing for Grammar – Play Go Fish with parts of speech cards.

Grammargories – Students compete to write words for parts of speech the fastest.

Jenga Review – Students have to answer a corresponding grammar question before placing it on top of the tower.

Play the Bag Game – students win a point for each part of speech (drawn from a paper bag) used correctly in a sentence.

Grammar Hopscotch – Students have to think of an appropriate word for the part of speech when they stop to pick up their marker.

Hot Potato Grammar – a cross between the Hot Potato game and musical chairs to identify parts of speech.

M & M Challenge Code – A chart for M & M colors and parts of speech that could be used for games of your choice.

Noun and Verb Charades

Parts of Speech Bingo

Parts of Speech Tic-Tac-Toe

Penguin Parts of Speech Game – Students move around the game board after identifying the part of speech in the sentence.

Race Around the Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives Game – players must move to a word on the game board that fits the part of speech drawn.

Roll, Say, Play Adjective or Adverb Game – Students roll a die and write a word using dry erase marker in the correct column. Winners have the most cards correct.

Solve It! Parts of Speech Game – this game treats parts of speech like a mystery to be solved.

Spaced Out Adjectives and Adverbs Game – two teams divide into aliens and spaceman. Drawn cards must be identified as adjectives or adverbs. Words modified must be identified as well. Players who draw a planet card lose all their cards.

Students as Props – Three students have either noun, verb, or adjective taped to their foreheads. Other students tape appropriate words to each student.

Word Dominoes – Cards with words and parts of speech on them are played like dominoes.

Word-Eating Whale Game – an empty milk jug is transformed into a whale and is used to eat caps that have verbs on them (and not nouns) in the tub.

Nouns

Basketball Pronoun Game – basketball-themed board game teaching he and she pronouns to young or special needs learners.

Make it Plural! – Students have to give the plural form of nouns in this board game.

Post It Note Noun Hunt – Players find Post It Note nouns and sort them into person, place, and thing categories.

I Have…Who Has? Plural Nouns Game – This game is played like Go Fish.

Irregular Plurals Card Game – This game is played like Go Fish. Students ask if the other players have the singular or plural form of the noun to make a match.

Grammar Game for Plurals and Possessive Nouns – Students compete with different colored markers on a dry erase board to write the most plurals and possessives in categories.

Pick a Dot Pronouns – Students remove a dot to reveal a pronoun that they must then use in a sentence.

Plural Nouns Four Corners Game

Possessive Nouns Game – Uses illustrated cards.

Possessive Nouns Sorting Game – Students can time their sort to make it a game.

Pronoun Slap Down – identify and collect types of pronouns.

Pronoun Word Detective – Includes a matching a board game to teach pronoun identification.

Proper Noun Sit Down, Stand Up – Power Point slides of common or proper nouns are used to have students sit down for common nouns and stand up for proper.

Proper Noun Tic-Tac-Toe – Players must write a proper noun for the listed common noun as their X or O.

Pumpkin Common or Proper Noun Scavenger Hunt – players look for pumpkins hidden with common or proper nouns on them and record which they are when they find them.

Shining Plurals – Players must identify the plural form and can then keep the card. If they draw a string of lights, they have to return their cards to the pile.

What Gets a Capital Letter? – Students use this board game to determine which words should be capitalized and why.

Verbs

Gator Grammar – Players must identify the past, present, or future tense verb to finish the sentence. Drawing a gator results in loss of cards.

Grammar Sandwiches – Can be played as a matching or Go Fish game for irregular verbs.

Phineas and Verb – Students have to use the correct verb tense in this card game based on the Disney show.

The Verb Game – Students compete to write as many unique verbs that can be associated with a place as possible.

Slap It! Irregular Past Tense Verb Game – Students compete to be the fastest to slap the past tense form of the verb and win the cards underneath.

Verb Balloon Pop – Students pop balloons that contain paper slips with verbs that must be taped onto the correct tense. This could be a race or just for fun.

Verb Race – Students have to write the correct past tense form on dry erase boards to advance on the game board.

Verb Relay Race – Each leg of the relay uses a different action verb.

Verb Freeze – Students act out verbs like charades.

Verb Vine – Players must make the changes to the verb directed by the game board.

Adjectives

Adjective File Folder Game – Students use picture adjectives to prompt them to give thorough descriptions.

Adjective Game Time Filler – Players answer questions about themselves. They sit down if the adjective doesn’t apply, leaving one winner.

Adjective Mystery Bags – Students use adjectives to describe objects in mystery bags.

Alphabetical Adjectives Connect the Dots – You could have students race to complete their pictures by connecting the adjectives in alphabetical order.

Apples to Apples Adjectives – Players draw picture cards and try to submit the best to match the adjective card drawn.

Monster Adjectives – Monster picture adjectives board game.

Roll the Dice Adjectives – Students have to use 10 vivid adjectives to describe the noun picture they roll.

Adverbs

Adverbial Action – Students play charades with adverbs

Adverb Jeopardy – Played like Jeopardy with students identifying the adverb in the sentence.

Adverbs of Time Snakes and Ladders – A Chutes-and-Ladders type board game for adverbs.

Adverb Sort – Players time themselves as they sort adverbs by the questions they answer.

How Often Adverb Game – Board game in which players must answer personal questions using adverbs of time and frequency.

In the Manner of the Adverb – One player leaves the room. The remaining players draw an adverb and act it out when the missing player returns. The returned player must guess the adverb.

Miming Adverb Game – The student draws a verb and adverb card and acts them out. The remaining players must guess both words and use them in a sentence to describe the student’s action.

Walk the Walk Charades – Another adverb charades game

Prepositions

Back to School Prepositions Bingo – using pictures of school-related objects

Bug Prepositions – bug themed cards can be used for Go Fish or Lotto.

Cowboy and Cowgirl Preposition Game – cute board game using a cowboy and cowgirl moving around based on preposition cards.

Games for Teaching Prepositional Phrases in Middle School – Games include Knock Once, Sentence Wars, Weave a Tale, Bad Day Charades, Prepositional Phrase Jeopardy, Drama Time and Sing It.

Motor Skills Preposition Game – a game that lets young children work the wiggles out while teaching prepositions.

Preposition Bingo

Prepositions Board Game – game requires players to use the correct preposition in a sentence. Great for ESL students.

Where is the Bunny File Folder Preschool Preposition Game – players choose the sentence that describes the pictures of the bunny’s location.
Follow Dr. Melanie Wilson @psychowith6’s board Parts of Speech Games on Pinterest.

Send them to Grammar Galaxy creative1

Free Punctuation Games

Comma Relay – A comma is exchanged between runners who must correctly punctuate a sentence for their leg. Contraction Bingo – this two-player Bingo game teaches contractions. Contraction Concentration – Students match contractions in sentences to the words that form them. Dinosaur Bones Punctuation Game – Players move to the space on the board with punctuation that matches their sentence card. Green Eggs and Ham Punctuation Game – Seuss-themed board game. Players must choose the ending punctuation of sentences on cards. Minion Contractions Game – Players help each minion find the two words that make up his contraction. Missing Punctuation Game – Cards contain sentences mission punctuation. Players locate the punctuation marks on the game board. Name That Punctuation Mark – Students are given clues to use to identify the punctuation mark. Punctuation Car File Folder Game – Young students match the punctuation marks to sentences. Punctuation Mark Tic-Tac-Toe Punctuation Present – This game is played a lot like Bingo. Punctuation Red Light, Green Light – Students play Red Light, Green Light and must follow commands associated with punctuation marks. Types of Sentence Baseball Game – Players catch a crumpled up sentence and determine what punctuation mark it needs. Quotation Mark Showdown – Teams compete to correctly identify and punctuate quotes. Follow Dr. Melanie Wilson @psychowith6’s board Punctuation Games on Pinterest.

Free Sentence & Writing Games

The Better Editor Game -- a free game for teaching self-editing!

The Better Editor Game – a game I created to teach students to self-edit (and gives parents a way to edit their students’ work too!)

Citation Hunt – Students have to find quotes in a book to support assertions about the book the teacher has made to earn points and beat the teacher.

Consequences – A group writing game with funny consequences.

I Have…Who Has? Subject / Predicate Game – This game is played like Go Fish.

Four Corners Sentence Type Game – Students go to one of four corners corresponding to a sentence type. They sit down if the sentence read matches their type.

Four Kinds of Sentences Game – Identify what kind of sentence is on the card and advance on the game board.

Interactive Games for Sentence Fragments – Includes Words on Strips of Paper (students try to find someone with an independent clause to go with their dependent clause); Pairs Game (students work in pairs to transform sentence fragments into the best or most humorous sentences); and Song Game (teams compete in determining whether song titles are fragments or sentences).

Frog Punctuation Capitalization Activities – Students look for frog-themed sentences around the room, add a capital letter, punctuation, and put them in order.

Guess What Writing Game – Have a student write to describe an object and another player has to guess what it is.

Law & Order Sentence Structure Review Game – Students compete in this game that reviews sentence types and common sentence errors.

Main Idea and Details Game – Teams race to identify the main idea of a group of sentences.

Matching Topic Sentence to Paragraph – Students try to find the other player who has the topic sentence to their paragraph.

Musical Papers – Students edit their peers’ papers until the music stops and then they move to the next paper.

Paragraph Mix Up – Cut up a paragraph into sentences and mix them up. Have students race to put them in correct order.

Poof! Sentence Types – Players draw a strip and identify if it’s a sentence or fragment. If correct, they keep the strip. If they draw Poof!, they lose their strips.

Random Words Poem – See which student can include the most dictionary words in a poem that still makes sense.

Snowy Sentences – Features snowman-themed word cards that have to be put in order to form sentences. Could be done as a race.

Tabloids – Students creative a factual news story and a tabloid-type story. Other players guess which is which.

Telephone Oracle – A group writing game with writers answering questions and then attempting to guess the question that goes with the answer.

The Sentence Game – A great family game. Players fold paper over and add sentences or illustrations with funny results.

Type of Sentence Game – Players try to guess whether a declarative sentence is true, answer interrogatives, perform commands, and reply to exclamations.

What Kind of Sentence is It Scoot Game – Students move around the room determining which type of sentence each is.
Follow Dr. Melanie Wilson @psychowith6’s board Free Sentence Games on Pinterest.

Want More Ultimate Lists?

Check out my Ultimate Guide to Classical Conversations Resources and more lists from the iHomeschool Network bloggers.

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The Best Homeschool Science Curriculum

The Best Homeschool Science Curriculum

The best homeschool science curriculum. I've done all the reviews and research so you don't have to!My primary desire with this blog is to find solutions to the problems that drive us crazy. With respect to homeschooling, I know that one of the most crazy-making aspects of it is choosing curriculum. You spend HOURS researching. By the time you’re done, you can’t even remember what you’ve looked at and what you haven’t. If you make a choice that doesn’t fit, you start the process all over again.

Most of my education as a clinical psychologist wasn’t on treating patients, but on research. I really enjoy researching things and decided to research curriculum so you don’t have to! I thought science would be a quicker curriculum to research, and while it may have taken me less time than other subjects, IT TOOK ME A VERY LONG TIME. I have tremendous respect for the people who make their living by reviewing curricula. Whew!

How This List of the Best Homeschool Science Curriculum Will Save You Time

But you don’t want to read my whine about how long this took, do you? 🙂 You want the list of the best science curriculum! But before I share it with you, I want to explain how I’ve organized the research. You can read this list of my opinions of the best curricula, pin it, and share it–and I hope you do!

 

But the real gold I’ve produced is a complete PDF of all the best science curricula for elementary, junior high, and high school students. You can look through the tables within the PDF to find Christian, Catholic, or secular curricula. You can look for curricula by cost, difficulty, teacher involvement, or materials required. But even better, you can click on the BEST REVIEWS for each curriculum. No more Googling for you!! You can save the PDF to your computer for when your child reaches the next level of education or if you want to find something new. You can form your OWN opinions of the best homeschool science curriculum with this list.

The best news of all is that I’m not going to charge you for this great resource. You’ll get it for free when you subscribe to any of my email lists (which includes a Freebies Only list, meaning you’ll only be notified when a valuable freebie is ready for subscribers). Sound good? Click on the picture of the table below, add your email, and BAM! It’s yours as quick as it takes vinegar to react with baking soda. Now on to what, in my opinion, is the best of the best.

Best Elementary Homeschool Science Curriculum

 

Best Christian Science Curriculum

God's Design for Science God’s Design for Science by Answers in Genesis is my top pick. Why? Because it takes the least amount of time to teach, is very interesting (I learn new things every week!), and is light on experiments. As a creationist, this perspective on science is also very important to me. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered if you’re looking for something else. berean-builders-science A very close second for best Christian elementary science curriculum is Berean Builders. I love that it’s written by Jay Wile and would be excellent preparation for higher-level science. I’m also crazy about the fact that it’s organized historically. How wonderful to have your science curriculum coincide with your history studies!

Real ScienceBest Secular Science Curriculum

Just because I’m calling a science curriculum secular doesn’t mean that it’s anti-creationist. None of the curriculum I’ve included on my complete list of the best (which you can get by scrolling down) is anti-creation. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, my top pick in this area is Real Science 4 Kids. I love it because the lessons are short, engaging, and very easy to understand. The chemistry explanations are my favorite!

superchargedBest Science Curriculum for Experiment Lovers

Supercharged Science is my top pick. This curriculum is perfect for kids who love to investigate (and teachers, too). If you are raising a future inventor, I can’t think of a better choice. REAL Science Runner-up in this category is R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey. One of the criticisms of it is it has too many labs. The reviews say they’re a lot of fun, so if you’re a lab lover but you don’t want to go full boar, this may be the perfect option.

Other Options

Not what you’re looking for? No worries! I have included several other elementary science curricula and all the info you need in the complete PDF. Click Here to Get the PDF!

Best Junior High Homeschool Science Curriculum

Both of my top picks for junior high homeschool science are Christian curricula.

Apologia juniorApologia is my favorite. It has just the right mix of interesting, conversational text with labs and it’s not expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

BPH_BookCovers_EDITS.inddRunner-up is The Rainbow, which also has a conversational text and might be easier for some students. It is more expensive, however.

 

 

 

 

 

Best High School Homeschool Science Curriculum

Again my top picks are both Christian curricula.

chemistryApologia is once again my favorite. Three of my children have used it and have enjoyed it. The criticism that it does not prepare students for college is unwarranted in my experience.

 

 

 

 

 

MonarchMy second-place pick may be surprising. It’s Switched-On Schoolhouse or Monarch (the online version of SOS). I have been asked by parents of students who struggle with science what they should choose and this is it. It’s less challenging and the least demanding for teachers.

One final option is especially appropriate for high school and that is outside classes through local co-ops. The advantage is your student may enjoy doing labs with others and you won’t have to purchase equipment.  If you have an advanced student, consider dual enrollment or AP classes online through programs like Pennsylvania Homeschoolers. My son had an excellent experience taking Advanced Chemistry through them.

Be sure to follow my Homeschool Science board on Pinterest for loads of great ideas to enhance your science curriculum. Happy learning!

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The Best Free Grammar Websites

The Best Free Grammar Websites

Best Free Grammar WebsitesIf your students struggle with grammar or find it boring, you’ll love these free grammar websites that can serve as a complete curriculum, a great complement to your studies, or a fun, occasional break. I’ve reviewed dozens of grammar websites (so you don’t have to) and have determined that these are the best of the best! If you’re looking for grammar games be sure to check out this popular post.

The Ultimate List of FREE Grammar Games -- a huge list of games to teach parts of speech, punctuation, sentence types, and writing. Grammar doesn't have to be boring!

Grammar games are included with the Grammar Galaxy lessons your student will love!

Grammar Galaxy Books

Best Free Grammar Websites for Beginner to Upper Level Students

Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool

Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool – beginner to upper level

If you’re looking for a complete, free language arts curriculum, look no further. I’m crazy about Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool because it offers pre-planned instruction online. If you want only grammar lessons, students can complete just those sections.

Virtual Grammar Lab

Virtual Grammar Lab – beginner to upper level

I’m crazy about the Virtual Grammar Lab because it provides a search engine of grammar websites for grammar concept and type of activity. Search results tell you if the activity is easy, medium, or difficult. It could serve as a complete curriculum if you used a scope and sequence like this one from Easy Grammar. You can also sign up for a free account so you can track your students’ progress.

Daily Grammar

Daily Grammar – beginner to upper level

I’m crazy about Daily Grammar because it can easily serve as a complete grammar curriculum. Lessons include practice questions and quizzes follow every five lessons.

English Media Lab

English Media Lab – beginner to upper level

While the English Media Lab is designed primarily for English as Second Language students, I’m crazy about the breadth of activities listed at this site for all students of grammar. If you’re working with a scope and sequence of some sort, this site will provide you with everything you need to teach and enrich the study of grammar.

Best Free Grammar Websites for Beginner to Intermediate Students

Schoolhouse Rock

School House Rock YouTube Playlist – beginner

I’m crazy about these classic videos that I remember from childhood. If I remember them, our kids will, too! You can find the grammar videos among all the School House Rock videos on this Disney curated playlist.

Music Room

The Music Room – beginner

I’m crazy about this website that offers easy-to-remember tunes that teach grammar concepts.

Grammar for Kids

 

Grammar for Kids – beginner to intermediate

I’m crazy about Grammar for Kids because it provides links to games and sites around the web that teach various grammar concepts.Screenshot 2015-03-28 08.39.54

Grammar Practice Park – beginner

I’m crazy about Grammar Practice Park because it offers games to teach grammar concepts like proper / common nouns and sentence type for grades 3 through 5. Grammar Gold, also through Harcourt School Publishers, offers grammar downloads for grades 1 through 5.

 

Screenshot 2015-03-28 09.07.28

 

Arcademic Skill Builders – beginner to intermediate

I’m crazy about Arcademic Skil Builders because it has the most game-like interface of the websites I reviewed. While it doesn’t offer a lot of games (Furious Frogs, Word Frog, Verb Viper, and Word Invasion are the true grammar games), your students are likely to enjoy them.

Grammar Gorillas

Grammar Gorillas from Fun Brain – beginner to intermediate

I’m crazy about Grammar Gorillas because it’s a great alternative to sentence diagramming. Beginners can choose nouns and verbs from sentences and intermediate learners can identify all the main parts of speech to earn bananas.

Mad Libs

Mad Libs from Fun Brain – Beginner to Intermediate

Once your students know the main part of speech, they can do Mad Libs online. I’m crazy about Mad Libs because rather than just identifying nouns and adjectives, kids have to choose them. As with any Mad Libs, the results can be entertaining.

Grammar Ninja

Grammar Ninja – beginner to intermediate

I’m crazy about Grammar Ninja because it’s a great way to entice boys to practice identifying parts of speech. Throwing stars get stuck in the words that are chosen correctly and “ninjas” are encouraged for correct responses.

Maggies Earth Adventures

Maggie’s Earth Adventures – beginner to intermediate

I’m crazy about Maggie’s Earth Adventures because of the real-life contexts for the games. Nouns and verbs get sorted into recycling bins. If a student makes a mistake, the sand gets littered with that word’s trash. The editing game involves helping a reporter get his grammar correct by retyping. Other games help students with prefixes and suffixes and word matching.

Grammar BlastGrammar Blast – beginner to intermediate

I’m crazy about Grammar Blast because it offers grade-level quizzes (for 2nd through 5th grade) that mimic questions kids will encounter on standardized testing. Kids will like earning points for correct responses on multiple grammar subjects.

Screenshot 2015-03-28 08.53.55

Grammar Man – beginner to intermediate

I’m crazy about Grammar Man because the site uses comics (in printed and movie form) to teach grammar concepts. There are some excellent printables on vocabulary and reading here as well.

Using English

Using English – beginner to intermediate

I’m crazy about this website because its many online grammar quizzes can also be printed as handouts.

Best Free Grammar Websites for Beginner to Upper Level Students

Quill

Quill – intermediate

I’m crazy about Quill because of its beautiful interface and the practice students will get typing their answers, rather than just choosing a multiple choice radio button.

 

Grammar Bytes

Grammar Bytes – intermediate to upper level

I’m crazy about Grammar Bytes because its exercises offer teaching followed by funny responses to your answers and even more importantly, a thorough explanation for incorrect answers. Power Points, online exercises, and accompanying handouts are available.

Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals

Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals – intermediate to upper level

This is one of the most unique grammar websites and may be super motivating for your students. Movie clips are used to teach grammar concepts. There are exercises and associated worksheets.

Grammar Arcade

Classzone’s Grammar Arcade – intermediate to upper level

I’m crazy about Grammar Arcade because it also has a true gaming interface that middle and high school students will enjoy. There are 10 concepts for students to study. Note that if you are sent to Classzone’s main page, you will need to click on California on the map and then click GO to access the grammar arcade.

Screenshot 2015-03-28 08.46.24

Learn English – intermediate to upper level

I’m crazy about the British Council’s Learn English because it teaches students a grammar concept and follows the lesson with interactive quizzes which can earn points. Fifty grammar concepts are covered.

Bluebook of Grammar

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation – intermediate to upper level

I’m crazy about the Blue Book  site because has a number of excellent free grammar lessons and quizzes and in particular has a great grammar pretest and mastery test.

English Grammar 101

English Grammar 101 – upper level

I’m crazy about this website because it can serve as a complete grammar course for your upper level students. Students must score 80% or better on quizzes before continuing.

Guide to Grammar and Writing

Guide to Grammar and Writing – upper level

I’m crazy about the Guide to Grammar and Writing because it’s an extremely thorough treatment of grammar with associated quizzes that could serve as a complete grammar curriculum for your upper level students.

Be sure to pin this post and follow my Grammar Ideas board on Pinterest for more great grammar teaching inspiration!

Follow Dr. Melanie Wilson @psychowith6’s board Grammar Ideas on Pinterest.

best free homeschool resources

Check out more amazing free resources from iHomeschool Network!

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The Easy Way to Teach Your Teen Life Skills

The Easy Way to Teach Your Teen Life Skills

The Easy Way to Teach Your Teen Life Skills like auto repair and home maintenance. This is the perfect program for homeschoolers and parents who would like their kids to be more responsible.

I received curriculum to review and was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own.

I jumped at the chance to review Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum‘s Character & Skills for Home & Careers because I want my teen sons to have training in basic automotive and home maintenance. My father was gifted in this area, but my father-in-law was not. And my husband? Let’s just say that when I asked him to do the projects with the boys for the course, he emailed me back, “Are you joking?”

What is Character & Skills for Home & Careers?

This 75-lesson course is a high school, homeschool,  elective course that is especially suitable for boys. That’s perfect, because I have a slew of ’em! (Check ’em out on my About page). But if you have a handy girl or a daughter who would like to be, there’s no reason she couldn’t complete the course, too. Your teen will learn automotive, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, time management, and finance skills. What’s not to love about that?

The material is covered in digital format or in five softcover texts and five softcover workbooks. We used the printed materials. If you liked, you could easily three-punch the softcover texts and store them in a binder. We found the material seemed less overwhelming when broken out into five separate units.  What’s very unusual about this curriculum is that you can buy the units separately. Maybe your son knows carpentry, but not plumbing or electrical. You could purchase only these units. If you’re like me, though, you’re going to want the whole course.

Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum Character and Skills for Home & Career

What I Love About PAC’s Character & Skills for Home & Careers Homeschool Material

  • It’s easy reading. My sons have strong reading skills, but this curriculum is designed for all reading levels. The text-to-speech version makes it perfect for students with dyslexia or other reading challenges.
  • It’s in story form. Half the battle in education is convincing young people of the value of the skill. Story is used to provide that context and is more memorable than a standard text.
  • It teaches character. It would be enough for this curriculum to impart information about practical skills, but it goes further in providing examples of men with values. How refreshing!
  • It provides practical application that is doable. I love curriculum that tells me exactly what to do when it comes to application and PAC does just that. If you need to utilize people with strengths in these areas to go over the projects, they’ll appreciate having this structure as well.
  • It would make for a great co-op course. In fact, I was so excited about this aspect of it that my friends and I are going to use it with our boys next year. We will ask the people we know with skills in the various areas to do the projects. (My husband will be so disappointed that we won’t ask him. 🙂 )

To Make Best Use of PAC’s Character & Skills for Home & Careers High School Course

teen boy car PAC IMG_5426

  • Motivate your teen. I spent time explaining why I think this is essential training. Otherwise, this is a course that can get put on the back burner. You can tell your teens that they will be able to save a lot of money by being able to do their own simple repairs. You can also motivate them with responsibility. My 15-year-old will be getting his driver’s permit soon, so I motivated him to study the automotive material.
  • Plan for projects. If you are going to bring in other teachers for the practical applications, you will want to arrange dates with them ahead of time. If dad is going to be in charge, it may be even more important to get projects scheduled so they are completed. When you have dates planned, make sure your son knows when he has to have his written work finished.
  • Give your son responsibility. Once he has completed a unit, allow him to put his new knowledge to good use whenever possible. If nothing comes up, help him get involved in a project in his area of interest. If he’s really interested, arrange an apprenticeship. He may even have discovered a potential career.

Want to Learn More?

Check out a sample of the text and a sample of the work text.

Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum plans to incorporate QR codes into the curriculum in the near future which will enable students to access more material via their smart phones. That’s just cool!

When you’re ready to buy, the teacher’s kit is $18.95. Individual units are just over $15.00 each. Or purchase everything for $95.95–a great price for a course that’s so well put together AND could end up saving you and your son a lot of money long-term. But Paradigm offers these discounts:

40% off for

● homeschool groups (minimum purchase $1000)

● single parents

20% off for

● ministry families

● military families

● farmers and ranchers

● first responders

● foster parents

Call Paradigm at 325­-649-0976 for a discount code to use during the checkout process if you fit into one of these categories.

Be sure to follow Paradigm on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. They have other courses you should check out!

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Bringing Mr. Popper’s Penguins to Life: A Unit Study and More

Bringing Mr. Popper’s Penguins to Life: A Unit Study and More

Bringing Mr. Popper's Penguins to Life: A Unit Study & MoreMy youngest three kids read Mr. Popper’s Penguins for the literature class we do with another family. Two of my kids also completed a unit study using the book through a larger homeschool co-op. They enjoyed it, but I was stunned when the book unexpectedly came to life for my family. I will share some ideas for turning the book into a fun winter unit study, but I will end with the information that really brought the study to life for us (and no, we weren’t sent a penguin!).

The Book

You’ll want to start by getting Mr. Popper’s Penguins from the library, or purchase it in paperback or digitally very inexpensively.

There is a Mr. Popper’s Penguins movie, but I will warn you that my kids didn’t like it.

Unit Studies

You can find a free unit study and lapbook at HomeschoolShare.com.

HomeschoolHelperOnline.com shares an easy free literature unit study for the book.

LibraryAdventure.com gives us fun family activities to go with the book.

Penguin Stuff

This has to be the cutest penguin craft:



Discovery shares its top ten penguin videos.

What Brought Mr. Popper’s Penguins to Life for Us

My husband’s friend, Paul Dowkontt, recently wrote him and other friends about his research and visit to a penguin colony in Antarctica. The kids and I were so fascinated by Paul’s superb writing and photographs that I asked if I could share this with you. If you enjoy it like we did, please comment so we can let Paul know. I have added a couple of notes of explanation.

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We’ve been making good progress on assembling and testing our ANITA instrument. On Sunday we were given our first day off. My friend Dennis the Ice Driller has a good friend who does penguin research out at Cape Royds. She arranged for us to go out with her for the day to see the penguin colony at Cape Royds. We went by snowmobile. The 25-mile trip out there took us about an hour going non-stop.

Here’s a map of Cape Royds. Cape Royds map

This is the McMurdo parking lot for snowmobiles. It is at the edge of McMurdo Sound. Observation hill (Ob hill) is on the left:

Antarctica 1

Getting our snowmobiles ready for the trip:

Antartica 2

Here we are strapping down the survival bags to a sled. Because the weather can change so quickly here in Antarctica, we are required to take survival bags for everyone, radios, and all our ECW gear. The survival bags contain tents, sleeping bags, and food. We radio the McMurdo firehouse our destination, departure time, estimated return time, and number of souls going. If a storm would kick in, we might not get back to McMurdo for a few days. If we don’t report back in by our estimated arrival time, they will send out the search-and-rescue crew to find us. Safety is of primary concern here in Antarctica.

Antarctica 3

I am ready and excited to start our snowmobile trip. I’m wearing all my ECW gear, including “big red” parka, wind pants, bunny boots, gloves with liners, balaclava, wool ski hat, and helmet.

Antarctica 4

On our snowmobile, Dennis the ice driller was the driver and I sat behind him. He weighs about 230 lbs and I weigh 136 lbs. I had about 10 inches of seat space while Dennis kept complaining that he didn’t have enough room. As soon as we started, it became clear that I had to hang on for dear life. We were travelling at about 25 MPH. The sastrugi on the surface of the sea ice gave us constant bumps, jolts, and sideways jarring. After my first 6 breaths, my sunglasses and helmet visor fogged up completely. And on every bump, my wool hat under my helmet slipped slightly down over my eyes. After the first 8 minutes, it was lights-out for me until we reached our destination.

After an hour we arrived at Cape Royds. Dennis and I are both 63 and neither one of us could move to get off the snowmobile because our muscles had stiffened up during the long jarring ride. I finally fell off sideways and then waddled around like a duck for a minute or two. This is our arrival at Cape Royds:

Antarctica 5

Cape Royds is on the coast and is a roosting site for Adelie penguins. Walking out to the penguin colony:

Antarctica 6

Antarctica 7

In 1908 there was a British Antarctic Expedition led by Ernest Shackelton. [Here’s an article for kids about Shackleton.]They built this hut here at Cape Royds. In the past, we were allowed to enter all of the original expedition huts. Inside, they were “frozen in time” exactly as they had been left in the early 1900’s by those early explorers. Today, we were not allowed to enter this hut in order to preserve its historical value.

Fortunately, Google has given us a 360-degree tour of the inside of the hut!

Antarctica 9

Boxes of food stacked outside the Shackleton Hut from the British Antarctic Expedition of 1908. Roast Mutton was on the menu.

Antarctica 10

This is the Adelie penguin colony. We were not allowed to go close because it is a protected area. Researches have permits allowing them to walk amongst the penguins. Because they have no predators out of the water, the Adelies are unafraid of humans walking amongst them. Our host researcher, Jean Pennecook, does Skype video calls to school classrooms back in the USA while surrounded by Adelies. The kids love it.

Antarctica 11

Antarctica 12

Antarctica 13

 

Adelies are cute little penguins about 20” tall. They walk with a funny waddle and with their wings spread out wide to the side. On the ice, they waddle and also slide on their bellies. It amazes me how they can get around this rugged terrain with such short legs. In the water, however, they swim with great speed and agility.

Antarctica 14

Antarctica 15

Antarctica 16

I was surprised how far the Adelies had to walk from the colony on land out to the open sea where they could feed. The frozen sea ice extended over a mile and took them a long time to get to the open sea. Here are two Adelies walking back from the sea:

Antarctica 17

Cape Royds also has a hut used by researchers. It has an outhouse, a phone to McMurdo, and some cooking facilities. The researchers usually stay in tents because the hut is small. They can stay out here for a month or two during the Summer roosting season, getting resupplied by helicopter.

Antarctica 18

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If you’ve intrigued the kids, they may enjoy reading more about Shackleton’s expedition or  Antarctica.

And you may want to check out other books and big ideas for Winter and Christmas on iHomeschool Network.

BookBigIdeaWinter

 

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100 of the Best Language Arts Printables

100 of the Best Language Arts Printables

100 Language Arts Printables for homeschool and classroom use

Language arts is arguably the most important subject to teach. Thankfully, there are so many wonderful free resources out there to teach it! I’m sharing 100 links that include hundreds of worksheet, game, notebooking and reference pages for you to print. I’ve organized them so you can use them to teach grammar, handwriting/copywork, literature, phonics/reading, spelling/vocabulary, and writing.

You’ll want to pin this post for later because it contains links for students of all ages. Please visit my Pinterest board for graphics of all these printables and the iHomeschool Network bloggers other 100 list posts.

#1 The Best Places to Find Homeschool Freebies

I’ve listed lots of great free resources for language arts printables in this post.

Grammar

#2 Montessori Grammar Printables and Activities

Parts of Speech

#3 Parts of speech printables

#4 Cut-and-Paste Grammar Worksheets

#5 Noun / Verb Food Sort

#6 Marshmallow Incident’s Noun – Verb Sort

#7 What is an Adverb? Worksheet

#8 Preposition Worksheet Packet

Grammar Games

#9 Smore Sentence Game

#10 Solve it! Parts of Speech Game

#11 Parts of Speech BINGO

Punctuation

#12 Punctuation Car File Folder Game

#13 Dinosaur Bones Punctuation Game

#14 Minion Contractions

 Grammar Challenges

#15 Grammar Shark Cards with common grammar mistakes

#16 Irregular Verbs Notebooking Pages

#17 Sit vs. Set Notebooking Pages

#18 Lie vs. Lay Notebooking Pages

#19 Their, There, They’re Worksheet

Handwriting & Copywork

#61 Bug Sight Word Game

#62 My Phonics Reading Game

#63 One More Phonics Game

Reading Logs

#64 Reading Logs

#65 Additional Reading Logs

#66 Printable Monthly Reading Logs

Spelling & Vocabulary

Spelling Practice

#67 Spelling Magic (hands on spelling with a twist)

#68 Kindergarten Add a Vowel Spelling Practice

#69 Kindergarten Spelling Practice

#70 Connect 4 Spelling Practice

#71 Read it! Spell it! Write it! 

Spelling Fun

#72 1st Grade Spelling Words – WORD SEARCHES

#73 Word Search Template Freebie

#74 2nd Grade Spelling Word Crossword Puzzles

Spelling Reference

#75 Spelling Rules Notebooking Pages

#76 Dictionary Detectives

Spelling Games

#77 Spell for your Life Game Board

#78 Spelling Bingo

Vocabulary

#79 Vocabulary Notebooking Pages

#80 Read, Build, Write Vocabulary Cards

#81 Word of the Week Printable

#82 Opposites Worksheet Printable Packet

#83 Idioms Notebooking Pages

Writing

How To

#84 Graphic Organizers for Essay Prewriting

#85 Research paper rubric

#86 Free Writing Graphic Organizers

#87 Persuasive Writing Printables

#88 Free Story Writing Printables

Book & Field Trip Reports

#89 Teaching Young Readers How to Summarize

#90 1st Grade Book Report

#91 Biography Report Form/Organizer

#92 Book report forms

#93 Book Report Template

#94 Book Report Notebooking Page

#95 Homeschool Field Trip Journal Pages

Writing Prompts

#96 Creative Writing Prompts

#97 What will I be when I grow up

100 Things Homeschool Link-up; the best homeschool tips online

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