This excellent writing program is one that I highly recommend for all kinds of struggling writers. Andrew Pudewa has created a program that makes it easy to teach and grade your student’s writing. This program is being used successfully in a small private school and is used in homeschools.

In order to implement this program it is important to understand the entire program. The Teaching Writing Structure and Style (TWSS) is the framework for the entire program. Many parents, teachers and educators are able to educate their students using only this series of DVDs. Others choose to have Andrew teach their child using the Student Writing Intensive DVD programs (SWI) and Student Writing Intensive — Continuation Course (SWI-CC).

Scientific microscopes are an important tool in scientific study. Being able to clearly see your sample is critical.

After a child learns to read it is important for you to make sure that your child is able to understand what they are reading. If your child doesn’t understand what they are reading it is important to work with the child to make sure that they begin to understand what they read.

The Magic Tree House by Mary Osbourne Pope is a series of books with a history theme, making them perfect for families that homeschool, geared toward grades 2-4. There are two children, Jack and Annie, who travel to various historical places using a magical tree house. There are a total of 66 books.

These fictionalized children’s books of real times and places are a great way to introduce your child to various times and places in history and the world. Homeschooling families can use these books as a great way to break up their history reading in other more focused reading with these chapter novels.

Eric Carle is a children’s author and illustrator of numerous books and collectibles. He has more than 70 million books in print after an extensive writing career.

His books are beautiful art works usually done in college and many have additional textures including lights, shiny items and noise makers (not too loud though). Many are books about nature but he also covers the basics in children’s literature.

My children read picture books through 5th grade or so because I prefer the vocabulary and rhyming and Eric Carle is at the top of our list for the prek-3rd grade.

The Box Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warren is a children’s series created and written originally in 1942. It is aimed at Grades 2-4. The series begins with a story of four children who run away from their grandfather who end up living in a boxcar. There are more than 100 books in the series with only the first 19 written by the creator Gertrude Warran. There are also a variety of spin-offs,including board books and cookbooks.

I invite you to check out these books for your early reader who is moving into chapter books. They are great fun.

This workbook series, Flashbook Kids, is for grades K-8 and covers math, reading, spelling, language arts and testprep. The books can be purchased individually or they also have all of the subjects for each grade in one book. The lessons are clear, offers great review within the program, interesting pictures and great explanations. I have used a variety of subjects in a couple of different grades and I highly recommend this program for working with your child afterschool (afterschooling), for homeschooling all or individual subjects or summer review.

Barnes and Nobles carry the books but if you want you can purchase some of them through Amazon.com you can also find some of the books at Booksamillion.com

Okay, maybe you have already read J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. But who wouldn’t love this.

Horizons is a curriculum that is a staple among homeschooling families. It is a Kindergarten through grade 6 program.

Horizons Mathematics is a workbook/textbook style math program that has a reputation of moving quickly through topics in its spiral approach to learning (students work with several topics at a time rather than a mastery approach where one topic is taught and student masters it and then a new topic is introduced). The workbooks are very colorful with a variety of additional puzzles and math topics.

The teacher manuals are occasionally less than helpful but even so this program can be a great fit for the right family. For some children this book can move rather quickly through topics but for others the pace is just right.

Have you ever wanted to have Ms. Frizzle as your teacher? Her magic school bus is a great way for kids to learn science topics. Her science and community lessons are fun, entertaining and educational. I incorporated some of these while I was homeschooling but since all of my children have enjoyed these DVDs they have been great to have around the house for that time of day when you just need a few minutes break and the kids need something to do.

I found that my children got the most out of the movies starting at age 4 through 10 years old or so. There are a variety of books including chapter books and picture book style. They are designed for a variety of ages.

Enjoy the guilt free time the kids have in front of the television. If you are interested, in addition to the variety of books, you can also purchase science kits based on these books and movies directly from Scholastic.