abcTeach is an easy way for parents to begin the homeschooling journey without breaking the bank. The focus of this website is to help children to grasp the fundamentals and run with them. There are thousands of worksheets to choose from which allows parents to customize their children’s educational experience.
One of the traps that most homeschoolers fall into during the elementary years is spending a mint trying to buy the “perfect curriculum” for their little ones. But, as experienced home educators know, their needs can be met by resources such as abcTeach for as little as $40/year (or $70 for two years) for individual families. This is an exceptional value, especially when you have multiple children since you can have access to multiple grade levels.
So what do you get for your money? There are over 35,000 worksheets to choose from ranging from the basics (math, time, spelling, and handwriting) to the cool (suduko, shapebooks, and art work). They also offer unit study themes, research tools, clip art, language studies and more!
The site owners are very creative, and since some of their offerings might be new to parents, they provide tutorial videos to help you make the most of each resource they offer. I found that to be exceptional since I have belonged to other elementary level programs that pretty much just make you it out on your own.
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So, how did abcTeach work out for me and my crew? Well, I enjoyed creating the different worksheets. It was quick and easy. There are also ways to customize the worksheets beyond the original offerings which worked really well to make sure that girls weren’t peeking at each other’s work. So, I had a lot of fun. The downside for my family is that they don’t really enjoy doing worksheets very much. My kids are on the kinesthetic side of town, so we do a lot of physical activities while studying, so being made to sit down and fill out papers didn’t really thrill them.
I, however, think that abcTeach is a wonderful tool to add to whatever your homeschooling style happens to be. It’s perfect for those days when the parents are involved in other things, but they still want their children to do some unsupervised schoolwork. I plan on using the suduko and crossword pages for our many driving excursions as a way to keep their minds active without the use of their handheld games. I am glad that abcTeach was kind enough to give me a test drive to really discover the hidden treasures they’ve created.
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They also generous enough to giveaway thousands of free worksheets so that parents can try them out on their kids before they purchase the full subscription. You can also sign up for the newsletter which fills you in on the new worksheets available and other teaching tips. These resources were created for teachers, parents and homeschoolers so be sure to tell your friends that if they have a child who needs more practice in a particular subject that abcTeach should be their first stop.
The beautifully delicate illustrations of Stubby’s Destiny captured us immediately. The story has a Christian theme, but is the story’s message is appropriate for people of all faiths. The overall theme is that each person has a personal path, or destiny if you will, to follow. It encourages using our individual strengths and talents to lead us to our own personal greatness. When you combine the message with the lovely illustrations it is not surprising that this book is an award-winning one.
The book, NO BONES ABOUT IT! The Sum of Our Parts Series, is very well written and informative. My children’s reaction to the material was surprisingly different. My oldest girl absolutely wanted nothing to do with the book. She’s a “spooky” child and had troubles getting around the illustrations. They are very life-like and really disturbed her. So, if you have an easily spooked child I would recommend just reading the information to her and keeping the pictures out of sight. Now, my youngest daughter absolutely LOVED the illustrations. She spent an enormous amount of time checking the book and herself to make sure that she possessed all of the bones that were laid out in our study. It’s one of her favorite books, not only learning about her body but for torturing her big sister. I personally found the subject matter very well-written, easy to understand and a bit humorous (no pun intended).
The book Earthquake was a well received by my nine year old. She got to read it before me and was truly fascinated by all of the geological facts and pictures. After I assured her that Pennsylvania isn’t earthquake country (she was beginning to collect the emergency gear that was described in the book) she really started to enjoy it. My little girl wasn’t as interested in this one, but I guess at six the earth’s crust isn’t nearly as interesting as femurs and phalanges.
Although I received these books in e-book form, Guardian Angel Publishing also makes print paperback, CDs and DVDs. All of their wares are on sale both through their website (www.guardianangelpublishing.com) and Amazon. They also provide readers with free ebooks and coloring pages from their book collection. The best thing about Guardian Angel Publishing is that each of their publications is a wholesome addition to any family library.
Great news! Nature Friend Magazine has a few surprises up their sleeves since my review and I wanted to let you in on it. First and most important are those coupon codes that you add at the time of checkout. This is a limited time offer, so be sure to place your orders before November 30, 2009.
Magazine Subscription Savings: BLOG93
30% off Hardbound Volumes: Coupon Code: HBV30P
Now for the other exciting news for the kids. Nature Friend Magazine is having a story contest that’s open for the kids. Here are the details:
We are announcing a story contest in the December issue of Nature Friend. The contest will be open to families that subscribe to Nature Friend, and will appear in the May 2010 issue. The complete rules will be in the December issue, but here are a couple of notes. Three entries will be selected from each of four age groups, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, and 15-17. From the three stories selected in each group, we will randomly draw a name and give that writer a pair of binoculars or $35, winner’s choice. The other two writers will also receive something.
Secondly, Judy Kauffman, the writer of our Creative Writing lesson in each Study Guide, has recently lost her house in a fire. No one in the family was injured, but most things are gone, including her writings. Those of us that have been following her lessons know how important it is to her that a nature journal be kept. We want to get her new nature journal off to a running start. We need your help to do this. We invite you to send two photocopies of the pages in your journal. We will forward one copy on to Judy to jump-start her new journal, and the other copy we will keep for consideration in the story contest. See the details in the December issue concerning how to submit your stories.
Submissions that are not selected for the story contest will automatically be considered for the June Readers’ Issue.
I'm a homeschooling mom with seven children: 3 human, 2 feline and 2 canine. I'm also the wife of one very patient husband who seems to like the role of ringmaster to our circus. I am a virtual assistant who enjoys writing, crafts, music and laughter. I hope you'll visit often. Please be aware that this blog is supported by affiliate links, although every link isn't necessarily an affiliate program.
