Life of Fred

Budget Friendly Tips from Real Fun-Schooling Moms!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Recently in our main Fun-Schooling Mom Support Group we asked these questions:

How does your family Fun-School on a budget?

What are your favorite free and cheap resources to use with Fun-Schooling Journals?

Here are some great responses from our some of our Fun-Schooling Moms!

I have a few ideas on how to Fun-School on a budget.

Resources at the library free.

YouTube videos are free.

Streaming on most devices are free and you can get a lot of documentaries.

Having each child just pick out a core journal and using the free resources above would be very affordable.

A.M.B.

Library books, YouTube and streaming services for videos, “buy nothing” Facebook pages, public access parks/nature centers, Teachers Pay Teachers.

J.C.

Definitely the library is resource number one. Then “buy nothing” groups, yard sales, thrift stores, and eBay.

A.S.M.

Crash Courses on YouTube.

S.B.

We have 5 kiddos, and we love to visit our local library for free resources in the community! We love checking out documentaries, living books, handicraft themed magazines! We also love the Life Skills Fun-Schooling books to learn with what we have at home.

L.S.

Library and online resources: Britannica, BrainPOP, BrainPOP Jr, Trueflix

J.B.

We go to the civil war reinactments for history and also the cemetery, and for math we count train cars as they go by our house, and of course the library. Another great way learn is reading signs like historical landmark signs. We love our Fun-Schooling books. It’s not every day you get a kid who asks “Can we learn about something?” on a weekend, but we always try to say yes.

L.R.

Public library for switching out books as interests change. Thrift books for books they love or if you don’t have a library close. Jesse Robertson Keep it Colorful painting tutorials for the artists (2 free a week on her site). Pizazz Art tutorials with watercolors on You tube and other videos and documentaries on the topic of choice. Free printables from Teachers Pay Teachers or any google search of “free printables” including the topic in the search bar, buying when there is a sale to prepare for future studies. Also, The Good and the Beautiful has free Language Arts and Math curriculum for download on their website. Oklahoma School for the Deaf offers 2 free sign language courses(prerecorded at your own leisure). Sorry for the jumbled and unorganized thoughts, just typing as it comes to me. Hope this helps someone!!

K.A.

Epic book app for books on the go, this way I don’t have to run to the library to check out when we change it up last minute.

Pinterest for craft ideas. We tend to craft and art with every thing. So I keep cardboard tubes, egg cartons, pipe cleaners and so much more in bins and then when we do a new topic like different fish or animals we look up crafts for them and make them.

A.U.

Click here to read more great tips!

Pages: 1 2

Sarah’s Mom Tips: Is Math Your Homeschool Nemesis?

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

🧐The PROBLEM with math is that the way it is normally taught! Conventional math lessons are boring, hard to understand, seem irrelevant to real life, and are no fun. 😔

😉My books are like a reset button, kind of like comfort therapy. 😌

My math books are not designed to prepare your child to take a standardized test. Instead they bring math concepts down to earth.

My books make math practical, fun, creative, useful, and easy to apply to real life problems and projects.

What I do is have my children learn basic math with Fun-Schooling Books, and real life projects involving MONEY, time, calculating, and measurements. They become very confident and unintimidated by math. They don’t see it as a subject, but as a super valuable skill for getting things done.

If I were you and wanted to raise kids to be able to confidently use real math in real life… Work through the Thinking Tree Books, then add the math you need for testing, credits or grade level learning.

I would suggest Khan Academy, Life of Fred, Math-U-See, Prodigy…

My kids focus on learning the math that is relevant to their career goals.

Math Craft: Not Just for Dyscalculia!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Not Only for Dyscalculia! 

Math Craft has proven to be a fun way to introduce math to young children, not only those with Dyscalculia. Children who struggle with math in school also enjoy the games. They are an entirely different way to learn than what is taught in classrooms. It has also been a good way to ease children into homeschooling after leaving a school setting or for kids who had a negative experience with math. Older siblings love to do these games with their younger siblings too! 

Helping Adults to Stop Counting on Their Fingers

Moms who played the games with their children also saw benefits for themselves. Many had always counted on their fingers and struggled with basic math. It is likely some have Dyscalculia and were never diagnosed. Schools also tend to pass children along with levels in math before they’re ready, especially with girls, so bad habits develop. We’ve been thrilled to hear from adults who have seen progress and gained confidence in math after playing the games with their kids. Plus the kids love to see their parents being good examples and learning too! 

After Math Craft

Parents often wonder what the best path to take is after a student has completed Math Craft. We suggest one of our Math journals. They are written in a similar style and will be a good way for students to practice their new skills. Math Mysteries, Comic Book Math, and Math for Minecrafters are especially good options. Multiplication Games is a good journal for students who need help with memorizing their Multiplication tables. 

Families can use our journals exclusively for a few years or combine them with a math curriculum of their choice. Life of Fred is a popular option among many Fun-Schoolers and seems to be Dyscalculia-Friendly because Math is presented as a story. There are many other options out there too! What’s your favorite?