Favorite Homeschool Resources - Middle School

How the times have changed! Recently, I realized our favorite homeschool resources page is several years old, and, while some of the items are still favorites, others no longer fit our style or Amber's age.  It's time for a new list of favorite homeschooling resources.

Our Favorite Homeschooling Resources - Middle School Edition

• Homeschooling Blogs - Amber and I both enjoy reading some of the posts from our favorite homeschool bloggers.  Not only do they provide encouragement and a sense of community, but also ideas!  Oh the number of products we've found because of a blog post, or sometimes simply a way of tweaking our method to better suit Amber.  A couple of our favorites with children Amber's age are Angelic Scalliwags and Homegrown Learners.
  
  
• Heritage History - This is our go-to resource for history reading and some literature.  The diverse topics and reading ability make this a source we can use for years.  We love the portability of their ebooks and the quality of the resources chosen.
  
  
• Homes School in the Woods - I was slow to catch on to their lovely products, but we've caught up now and own almost everything they have created.  We don't use it as our primary lesson, but love the timeline, writing prompts, quick history summaries, and project ideas in each product we've used.
  
  
• Homeschool Tracker - This is hands down my favorite lesson planning and tracking software.  I've looked around, purchased other smaller products and apps, but nothing fit my needs the same.  They've now moved online and can be used from a computer or a tablet.  It really fits my style of planning and our way of homeschooling.  I love that the lesson plans are independent of the student, school year or school schedule.  I can reschedule the lesson for whenever I want in the current school year or postpone it for the next year. 
   
• Audio Dramas - Who would have thought it could be so successful here?  We've adored listening to books we had originally intended to read.  These are not just audio books, but complete reinactments of the books.  So far we loved In Freedom's Cause and Under Drake's Flag.
   
• MapTrek - The easiest way we've found to add geography to our school days is to include it in history.  MapTrek fits with most history plans, so no matter which one we're using we can keep our MapTrek geography going.  The suggested mapping work varies by age group, which keeps the product relevant every year.  Even our TOG Map Aids are made by Knowledge Quest, and appear to be our beloved MapTrek maps simply tailored specifically for Tapestry of Grace.
  
  
• CNN Student News - Until recently we did not purposefully involve current events in our school.  Occasionally we discussed a major news item or local news that might affect our daily lives.  Now we love our CNN Student News.  It gives an age appropriate roundup of world news while still being only a short 10 minutes each day.
   
• Crash Course - Whether it's history, science or literature these brief YouTube videos include an amazing amount of detail along with humor that never fails to keep us coming back.  We love to use them as supplements to our history and science topics, but sometimes we see something interesting that doesn't relate to our current studies and watch it anyway.
   
• Dry Erase Wall - I scoured the Internet looking for the perfect sized dry erase board that would take full advantage of the open space we had. In the end, we decided to repaint Amber's entire study area and turn the open space into a full size dry erase wall. It works like a charm! We use it for math, German, English, quick assignment lists, and even for non-school fun. We've had it for two school years now and can't imagine our day without it. 

Our Favorite Homeschool Resources

During our time homeschooling we have found some wonderful resources that we honestly love to use. The items below vary in subject and even media type, but all have been happily used in our homeschool.

Profiles From History vol. II and Profiles From History vol. III - The very first semester we homeschooled I found these lovely collections of historical biographies written for children. We use the e-book version.  Amber was hooked from the beginning, especially since she could use the iPad. If the history lesson included Profiles From History, then she was happy to comply. There are even small word searches and brief discussion questions after each biography. We were truly sad to finish both volumes. 

A Child's Introduction to Poetry - After showing little interest in poetry, I was shocked when Amber would ask to do more than assigned in this book. We both miss our daily poetry sessions and wish the book had been longer.  This is not one that we will be parting with anytime soon.

Timeline Builder - Timelines have never been our strong point, but this iPad app makes it so easy and has many options for including graphics. Amber can even create some of her own artwork, of any size, then we simply snap a photo with the iPad and it's in the timeline. We actually complete timelines with this app!

Lapbooking Through the Periodic Table - This was a surprise, yet huge, hit. You can read my review of this little gem through the link.  Needless to say, we had tons of fun taking an in-depth look at the periodic table during our fifth grade chemistry unit.  It was the highlight of the semester.

Passport United Kingdom Unit Study - Our great plan was to use this prior to and during the Olympics last summer, but that didn't pan out as intended due to Fred's illness. Still, it is so easy to use that Amber managed to do most of it on her own. We didn't do the baking as planned, but she really enjoyed all the links to live cameras in England, video tours of London, and most especially the biographies of British writers. 

Heritage History - I know this is more an entire publisher than one resource, but we have found everything so wonderful. We have a couple of their collections on CD and regularly import books from those CDs to the iPad. We also read books online via their website.  It is such a great resource for additional biographies, historical summaries, and even spine books. Heritage History saved our World War I study from becoming dull and tedious. Amber often asks "Do we have a Heritage History story to go with this lesson?"

Liberty's Kids - Yes, it's a cartoon TV series, but it is surprisingly factual and the story plots intrigued Amber enough to encourage further study of the events.  She was thrilled when an episode mentioned a historic figure that we'd already studied.  I heard tidbits about that person for the rest of the day.  The series actually is fun to watch, and ... Amber LOVED the theme song.

Nutcracker Ballet coloring book - Amber used used this during our Nutcracker unit and I expected it to be a time filler that she grudgingly completed. Instead, she was miffed each day when the listening and coloring time came to an end. She even colored in her free time. It's amazing, because she never was much of a colorer.  

Latin for Children Primer A History Reader - This is actually part of the Latin for Children curriculum, however Amber absolutely loves reading and translating from this history reader. It is better than translating random selections because it is full of interesting historical tidbits.  There was a point during Primer A that we only survived because Amber had the history reader to use. 

Our Favorite iPad Apps (Homeschool version)

I just got my iPad 3 (or whatever Apple decided to call it) on release day back in March thanks to my husband.  It was an early 40th birthday present. We have already found a lot of homeschool uses for the iPad and just can't imagine not having it.  

To be fair, this wasn't my first venture into the Apple products. I had a pretty good idea of the apps I wanted to use on the iPad and of it's abilities before I had it in hand. I've had various iPhones since the iPhone 3 and am currently on the iPhone 4s. Many of my iPhone apps have grown up iPad apps that are outstanding.

We've come up with a list of some of our favorite homeschool iPad apps to date (in the whole 5 weeks that we've had it).

1. GoodReader - This was a surprise favorite, because I never imagined how important a good PDF reader would be.  It opens PDF files for reading and allows you to create an annotated version of your files with notes and other markings.  This means we can write on the pages and save it as a separate version of the file. It has been invaluable with some of Amber's PDF textbooks.  She can work directly on the iPad and we don't have to waste paper to print out the single activity for the day.  Plus, she still likes the coolness factor of doing her work on the iPad, so I can get her to do extra work by just letting her use the iPad longer.   GoodReader also handles MS Office file types and it does a great job with the massive PDF files.

2. Weatherbug - I've been a fan of this for years. I had it on my computer desktop eons ago. Then, I had it on my first iPhone and every subsequent one as well.  It is my go-to app for weather.  I just like how it is arranged and the details it provides. It has current conditions, the day's weather info, forecasts (down to the hour) and radar maps.  The radar maps are accurate and current, which can be very useful in Missouri when you are not at home during a storm.  The iPad version is arranged a little different than the iPhone version, but it's a good change. The maps are always visible as well as all the other data that normally you have to tab through on the iPhone.  Amber used Weatherbug to complete her weather log for each day during our weather unit.  As a bonus, the iPad version was free, where I paid for the iPhone version. 

3. NOOK - This may be a bit biased because we all have Nook e-readers in this house.  We don't share computers, phones or e-readers.  Not a great sharing family.  The Nook app allows us to access our Nook books on the iPad without having to carry both devices when we are out.  I still prefer the Nook for general reading, mainly because I don't like reading with backlighting if it can be prevented. 

4. Kindle - The Nook may be our chosen e-reader, but we do know the value of the Kindle apps.  Amazon has great deals (free and cheap) on e-books that aren't always available at Barnes and Noble.  The Kindle app on the iPad allows us to use those books without being stuck at the computer with the Kindle for PC app.  There is still the backlighting issue for me.  I will never purchase a book for Kindle that I can purchase for the Nook and read on my eInk Nook device. 

5. Reminders - I know this comes with the iPad (and iPhone), but it is just so useful that i had to list it.  I replaced my purchased to-do list app on the iPhone with this handy little app.  It lets you create various lists and edit them on a whim.  I use it for my to-do lists, my shopping lists and any other list I need to make during the day.  It also syncs between all your Apple devices with iCloud.   Whether I'm using the iPad or the iPhone my list is the same. That is terribly handy.  Especially if I'm researching on the iPad and think of something I need to do later or add to the grocery list.

6. Declaration of Independence - We've been studying the American Revolution and this app has been an interesting tool.  It has a text version of the Declaration and a copy of the parchment version that is legible through the app.  There is also a section on the signers of the Declaration that includes a snapshot of their signature from the Declaration with a biography of each signer.  This app helped us do more than study only the words of the Declaration of Independence, but also the men who helped begin our country.

7.  Feedler RSS - I can get all my blogs on the go!  It has an iPhone version as well, so I'm set wherever I go. It has a simple interface and makes it easy to keep up with everyone.

8. Book Creator - Amber has found a new love in creative writing and this app lets us put all her works together in a book that can be read through iBooks.  Images from the web or synced from iTunes can be added to any page of the book. This app is great for making an Art class portfolio too. The app also allows you to incorporate sound into the book, either from iTunes or a recording you make.  Amber is currently planning on writing, illustrating and narrating a book for her cousins. The app's instructions say you can also submit books made in Book Creator to Apple's iBookstore, but we are mostly interested in the app for our own fun and use.

9.  Oregon Trail - It's the old game returned!  It's only $0.99 for either iPad or iPhone and still oddly addicting.  Amber loves trying to get her party safely to the end of the trail.  There is always hilarity in the inventive way she loses party members.  It also does teach about the westward expansion, so it vaguely counts as a history activity.   Be advised though, this is a huge app.  Amber can't load it on her 8g iPod Touch unless she takes nearly everything else off.

10.  Pages - I bit the bullet and bought pages.  It allows me to create documents quickly when I don't have a computer available.  I will be honest though, it doesn't even come close to comparing to MS Word or OpenOffice Writer.  It is missing a lot of functionality that I have come to depend on in the PC applications.  Still, it does the job when you need a document created and can't get to the computer. I'm not sure it's worth the $9.99 price tag though.