This is what I am doing now and what I am using. you can go to my favorite links page for other great sites I like to use.

Preschool- K

My motto at this age is--If learning isn't fun with little ones then you are doing it wrong.

Starfall.com - has been my favorite all along. It works for whatever stage your little one is at. It has several different sections starting with  the ABC's and ending in some great reading sections. Just go on and look and your little one will love it! I go through the stories and if I see a word they keep having problems with, I write it on a index card in big red letters. and we go over them a couple times a day.


With math  we count a lot of things like marshmallows and goldfish and raisins. I have a big 1-100 chart above his bed. So we like to count more and more every night. We also like to do things like - if we have 3 goldfish ( the snack crackers, not the real ones) and I take away one how many do we have? And at the end we eat them of course to show subtraction.
 
I put a map of the United States up on the wall so when we talk about some place we can go look at the map and find it. This was great when we watched his favorite movie CARS. And we talked about California and what route he may have taken across the states. We also talk about what state we live in and what state other family members live in, or where the beach we like to go to is.

(By the way I bought the state map and the 1-100 map at our local Dollar Tree- great place to find really cheap teaching things)

Science- We check out books at the library on the animal we want to learn about and read about it. We also look it up online and find some great information that way. One of the things we love is to use the National Zoo ( located in DC) website. It has live web cams which let you see what the animals are doing when ever you like. Super cool!

http://national zoo.is.edu/Animals/WebCams/

Science- we are learning about the parts of a plant and what each part does. I am teaching a very simple version of this but its funt o go pull up plants in the yard and talk about roots and things like that. We just recently did - does it sink or float. Which was great because it got him thinking!

History- Sydney is studying Lewis and Clark so we talk about Indians and he gets to join in with a lot of the crafts, even if he doesnt know really what we are talking about I am a big fan of pre-exposure of alot of subjects.

Hand writing- To get Jayden used to writing I let him do alot of coloring on blank sheets of paper. I ask him to draw me as many circles and funny loops he can. Then I give him some lined paper ( I am not sure what the paper is called, its just the kind with several big lines kids can use to practice their letters and numbers on) and I write his name and have him trace it. Then I play follow the bees path on another sheet. I  make a bunch of little dashes or dots and they go all over the sheet and he has to trace the path. I let him use a marker to do this and he always gets to pick out the color he wants to use. This makes it more fun for him. Plus we dont use markers everyday so its a extra incentive to do some school. I kind of feel like he starts to associate school with being fun too.

The most important thing we do with Jayden is talk to him.We ask him alot of questions and just listen to him ramble. That is the best way to add vocabulary  and to help him use words properly ( ex- instead of letting him say it broked, we correct him with the proper tense of the word, lovingly of course). Plus he is such a funny little guy its fun to hear him and his ideas. We of course read two books a night to Jayden. I like to read one chapter book and one short funny book. He has to listen to the chapter book quietly to get to his "fun" book.

(I love using the enchantedlearning.com site for both kids. There is so much you cant even imagine!)

5th Grade-
 ( I am currently using Time4learning.com along side the Aleks.com, but I dont know how much longer I will use both)

Math- Aleks.com- check out the links page for a way to get 2 free months! (Normally it is $20 a month)

History- I use  the time4learning to introduce what we are learning. For example she read about Thomas Jefferson on Time4learning and then she went to gardenofpraise.com and she did the section there on him. It has information and worksheets and lots of goodies ( for FREE!!) to use.When we moved on we went to the Louisiana purchase and then Lewis and Clark. She did the little section in Time4learning.com to introduce the subject to her and then we found 2 movies at the library. One was a national geographic one ( which was great!) and the other one was a historical one about Sacajawea.( on a side note I have let her study a subject and then watch the Disney version or another version of the subject to let her see how they got it wrong. This was very easily done with Pocahontas. I feel like it gets her in the thinking pattern of questioning  "Hollywood"  and not just accepting what the world tells you as the facts, find out for yourself. Which is something alot of kids dont do now. A great life skill. ) Anyways, off my apple box and back to Lewis and Clark. She is also reading several books about Lewis and Clark, but they are from different perspectives. She read one about both men and their journey, another about York ( the slave that was with them), one about Sacajawea, and one form the perspective of the large dog that was with them on the journey. I also found a great book with some activities to do at my library. We are going to make a tipi, some indian clothes, fruit leather, a salt map of their journey, and study about some of the animals they saw along the way. I also found on the National Geographic site a game where she can be Lewis and Clark and make the journey.

Science- Again using the time4learning.com site to introduce a subject and then we build on it. That site ahs been great for introducing the scientific method. And then get to do experiments to add to it. She even came downstairs and asked me if she could teach Jaydens science today because there was a cool experiment with magnets she thought he would like to do with her. (Thats was a good homeschooling moment for us!!)

Language arts- Time4learning.com. This is her favorite part to do on that site. So I just let her do it all on that one. Time4learning has a place where I can go and check her grade she made on the quizzes, how long it took her, etc so I just use that to see how she did on something that day.

Grammar/Reading/Biography/ Computer skills/ reading comp/ etc- Sydney is reading through some of the classics this year. She also has one biography to read a week. After she finishes it she has to write a report or a review of what she read. Then we go through and correct spelling, grammar, and add to her paper. After she does all of that she has to post it to her blog. When we first started she was not a fan of writing at all. But now she is getting really good at it and the errors are less and less. the blog I use is free so there must be something to it. Email me if you want some more information on it. Or check it out yourself.

http://lolastarneal.blogspot.com/

PE- we play outside and Sydney does a sport almost every season. We like the Upward Sports for her.

Life Skills- We learn life skills everyday. She learns child care by helping me and observing how I deal with a toddler or by helping with her little twin cousins.She helps me plan meals and cook meals. She prepares a healthy snack for herself and Jayden on some days. We read recipes and talk about them and if we can make it better for you in any way without losing taste. We go grocery shopping and talk about whats on sale and if it really a good buy or not. What the best deal is and how much we will use or need, etc. We do the same with clothes shopping. We talk about what she really needs and where can we get it at the best price. Slowly she is getting out of that materialistic thought process that was quickly picked up in public school during her early elementary public school days. By the way- sometimes if you really look Targets clearance wrack can beat the thrift store prices! She is also learning how to manage a house hold and be a good wife , mother, and teacher. Things like that are caught not taught. She is a great accountability partner without even knowing it!