Archive for category educational programs

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Finding Literature Online

It’s winter for us in the United States– that means more inside activities. For us, it means more reading. I have a stack of books that I’ve ordered from the library, but there are several books that I desire to read that my library does not carry (I like history books, especially ancient civilizations and British history; these seems to be in short order at my library, which carries a ton of fiction stuff).

I considered getting one of those e-reader gadgets (like the Kindle or Sony e-Reader) but the price tag gave me sticker shock. But I found that one doesn’t really need one of those gadgets to read books, not really. There are a ton of e-books to be found online. And if you have a netbook, it’s as easy as starting up a browser or opening a pdf file. Here’s a quick list of e-books to be found online. All of these sites have free books and other forms of literature to read.

Google Books
By far, Google has the largest selection of books and magazines, new and old. I like their library because they have many books that have been out of print for decades , which are very useful to me for my research.

Project Gutenberg is a huge site, with thousands of books you can download or read online.

The Christian Classic Ethereal Library has many old books and documents online for reading.

American Rhetoric has a large database of speeches, documents, videos, and more.

The Classic Bookshelf The website is a little hokey (old), but they have a searchable database and some great classics online.

The Open Library is good.

The Online Books Page is run by the University of Pennsylvania and has a searchable database.

Diploma Guide.com has a listing of free books and textbooks you can read online, as well as a listing of universities in the U.S. (public and private) where you can search for more.

The Internet Archive Text Archive
This website has a large selection of older books.

The Cornell University Library has some very old journals from early America. And The Making of America has a selection of older books, too.

Children’s Storybooks Online has children’s books.

And this list just scratches the surface! If you still haven’t found a particular book, try searching for “read books online” and/or the title or genre of the literature you want.

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Learn the Constellations with Stellarium

I think I mentioned this excellent software program before, but it’s worth mentioning again. It’s called Stellarium, and it’s a planetarium for the computer. My son absolutely loves it, and he’s learned some new things about the program to show us. One very cool feature is the ability to view constellation art, with major star and constellation lines. We are learning about the constellations and the gospel of Jesus Christ in them, so this is a very useful resource these days.

This screenshot shows just one of many different things you can do with the program.

stellariumscrnsht

I’m so impressed with the software! And it’s free!

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More Great Geography Games Online

Two of the kids are studying geography right now, so I’ve been on the prowl for some great online resources. I ave found some excellent websites! So I thought I’d share. :D

We really loved these, and the boys LOVED playing the games. I loved it knowing that they are learning geography! Here are the links. Enjoy!

Purpose Games

They have terrific geography games, but they also have some outstanding games on the planets of the solar system, human muscles, label the heart, flags of the world, famous paintings, chess pieces, and 840 pages of more educational games. I hit the jackpot when I found this site.

World Atlas.com
I’ve relied on this website for almost 10 years– they have outstanding outline maps that you can print. Plus– oh! the joy!– they have ANSWER KEYS for all the quizzes! I love this site.

TravelerIQ Challenge
Get ready; “challenge” is an understatement here. This is a speed test, and accuracy counts. You are given a location, and you must pinpoint it’s position as accurately as possible. The game will show you the precise location and tell you how many kilometers away you choice is. The more kilometers you add up, the lower your Traveler’sIQ. So you want to be as fast and accurate as possible. Whew! I found some of it to be difficult. It’s very addictive, though!

Owl & Mouse Software
I mentioned this before. I have been using their free software for almost 10 years. They also have online games and printouts, and other activities for young kids. A great site!

Maps.com
This site has a large selection of various maps games, in Easy, Medium, or Difficult mode. And it’s great!! This will really make those brains work hard.

KidsGeo.com
This is a colorful site. The games are not as challenging, but they are still very good. Repetition is key.

Hope this helps!

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Terrific and Free Educational Software

I’ve got a couple of kids working on Geography studies right now, and once again we’ve discovered a marvelous online tool to assist us. I’ve mentioned this site before, but it’s worth mentioning again and again! It’s Owl and Mouse Educational Software, and they are FANTASTIC. I’ve been going to this site and using their free software for eons– probably close to seven or eight years now! They still have all the old software up, too. I have never seen such simple, excellent software for kids.

OK, enough gushing! The main site is here, and the free geography games are here. You can play the games online or download them, for free. They are not technically games– not in the sense that you and I think of games– but more like interactive study tools. I much prefer software like this instead of the “racing cars” or “shooting spaceships,” which, in my opinion, don’t do much to educate the child.

I spent some time doing some of the quizzes myself. I took a screenshot of the World Monuments game.

mapgame1

mapgame2

I think I need to study more, though. :-p There are other games, for continents, world features, countries, capitals, etc. There is Easy Mode and Hard Mode.

The Owl & Mouse software is a perfect tool for the homeschool or as an educational supplement. I’m very impressed with the way it is put together. And I’m thankful it’s all free! Well done! Thumbs up!

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