Educational websites

In celebration of the new school year, thought I'd share some of our favorites! Baden loves anything on the computer (I think we've bought Reader Rabbit in every version), so we've found a lot of good stuff.

http://www.nationalgeographickids.com/
The animal videos, maps, and facts are great. Note: Some of the videos mention a species evolving--a good conversation starter for us.

http://www.betweenthelions.com/
Great for early reading skills and other reasoning skills.

http://www.caillou.com/
Not as specifically educational, but has some great outlets for creativity (make your own house, choosing your style, windows, furniture, etc.) and problem-solving.

http://www.filefolderheaven.com/
www.filefolderfun.com
I Google "free file folder games" frequently and now have a host of great file folder games Baden loves. The printing and cutting out can be laborious, but is really rewarding.

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/mw/
Houghton Mifflin's math games that are an extension of their curriculum.

www.bbc.com/science
We like the organs game, the space jigsaw puzzle, and some others.

http://www.starfall.com/
Wonderful for a whole spectrum of reading skills, an online calendar time, and other games.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/clf/index.htm
Organized by subject, this wheel has games for everything from Spanish to science.

http://www.sesamestreet.org/
So many fun games for toddlers thru kindergarten, teaching health skills, singing songs, reading skills, sorting, you name it.

www.nickjr.com/playtime
Preschoolers love it: Learning with Dora, Diego, and other characters they see, well, everywhere.

www.wordworld.com
Based off the brilliant PBS show, this has some innovative early reading activities.

I'm sure I'll be adding more soon, so check back when my memory (or my Google toolbar) is fully functioning.

Pics from the boys' trip to Houston

It's an annual trip now--to Grandma and Grandpa's in Houston! This year Will got to come with Baden and Dad. These are the grandparents' faves. More to come!

The Breakthrough

This morning, Baden asked, "Can we do some school before Robyn picks me up for Comm. Central [his one-day-a-week co-op that he loves]?"! Yes, Baden! Yes, we can!

He likes it! YAY!

First day of school!

John took Baden to Comm. Central today, a classical education co-op. He’ll go all day Monday and I’ll teach him the rest of the week (our Plan B after not selling the house…but trusting it’s God’s plan A). We’ve been busy over here trying to make it even more fun than public school. So here’s a pic of him, his dad, and his NASA backpack!