There are many websites available for supplemental help with math and science. My perception is that they do not completely meet students' needs, though I could be wrong. I am working on a math/science website and would like to know what more you are looking for--what would meet your needs as a homeschooler. (Not trying to sell you on anything. Just looking for information.) If you struggle with math and/or science with your middle school student, I'd love to know more about your experiences. What do your students struggle with most? Why do you think your child struggles? What sites or apps or other products have you tried to help solve the problem? Have they worked? How could they be improved? What, if anything, do you pay for help with this problem? I know there are many free sites, but others charge a subscription or fee. Thanks so much for your help. Your feedback will help me address some of the struggles you have. Shari
What I would like is a place to go where I could get more practice. My 15yo is learning Alg 1, but at a slow pace. He needs a lot more practice than what the book gives him. I have difficulty finding places that will allow me to print out worksheets that are specific to what I'm looking for. And no, I do not pay.
Thank you for responding. The information is very helpful. Have you seen IXL dot com? I believe that is free, unless it limits the number of questions per day. It looks like Math dot com has an algebra worksheet generator that is free. Is your son having any trouble applying Algebra to solve real world problems? That's where I see most students get hung up and I haven't seen a lot of practice available for those types of problems.
I think what's greatly lacking out there is (unlimited) free practice for higher levels. There are lots and lots of free resources for kids who are learning 5 x 9 = 45, but not a lot for high school stuff. We struggled with math until we found Life of Fred. Now, it's a breeze. So far, science hasn't been an issue (but I minored in science education in college). However, it would be wonderful to find free videos of the most common science experiments done online so that kids who are unable to do experiments at home can learn from these. (Not the same old experiments on YouTube. I mean high school and college level experiments with explanations, and perhaps even instructions like "pause here to write your hypothesis" or "pause here to write down the materials necessary" or "pause here to draw a chart for data", etc.)
I don't know how much of it is free, but have you checked out Discovery Education? I know they have a lot of videos and interactives. I have a paid account with them, so I cannot tell which resources I am seeing because of my account, but it' sports exploring. I recommend getting on their email list. They have virtual field trips that I know are free and are also fun and interesting. As far as unlimited math practice goes, did you check out the two sites I mentioned in my previous post? I'm curious if either of those sites meet your needs. Shari
I saw Dr. Jay Wiles's blog today where he's writing a new high school chemistry text. He was the originator of Apologia, but he sold it, and now is writing a new elementary science series, of which 3 are now available. But he reviewed the revision of his Apologia chemistry book put out by its new publisher and he was very disappointed with it. He found numerous errors in it, and told the publisher about them, but they only put out a partial list of errata and corrections. People were asking him about what they should use, and of course he recommended his original chemistry, but it is short in supply in the used book market, leaving people without a good one to use. So he's writing a new one which should be out in August 2015. He says he's arranged the topics somewhat differently than his previous one, and has changed the experiments based on what he knows will be available for use by homeschoolers today.
Uuuuuuuuuuugh?!?! Why didn't I know about his elementary series sooner?! I just followed up looking at Chemistry and saw his elementary books. Now I totally want to throw my A.Y.E. series out the window for DS#2! Lindina, I've looked for a timeline or something that tells when all the books will be completed. I can't find one. Do you know how many books he plans to have for the elementary series, and when they'll be completed? I'm very, very, very strongly considering switching. I don't want to if we won't finish before he's ready for Apologia General, though. He'll be "in 4th grade" next year (accelerated, of course). My 9 y/o is doing General right now, but he's my history buff. I bet even he would want to go back and read these on his own.
I'm sorry, all I know about it is what I said. No idea past that! Did you find Dr. Wile's blog Proslogion? (or however it's spelled)
Yes, and actually I just went back and dug into it again to see if I could find anything. Looks like the 4th book is finished, but it's being reviewed by other experts before going to the printer. The 5th book hasn't been written yet. I told DS#1 about this series when he woke up this morning. He's jealous and says I should order the whole thing anyway just so he can read through it real quick (he devours books). You know... like I have $200 just sitting around somewhere, right? I told him to wait until some used copies start showing up, and then I'll get these for him. :lol:
