Finding and Using "Old School" Textbooks in Your Homeschool


When we lived overseas for about 10 years, most of the time we lived somewhere where there was no home mail service (and we didn't usually have a PO Box), so we couldn't get mail delivered. So I didn't buy textbooks or workbooks much and I relied heavily on the internet for textbooks.

As I searched, I saw that a lot of homeschoolers were using classic textbooks (from the late 1800s and early 1900s.) such as McGuffy readers or Noah Webster spelling books.  After pouring through several that I found on The Gutenberg Project, I was hooked on these super old textbooks.

Yes, they were old, and yes, there were some things in them that would not be considered politically correct today, but I fell in love with some of them as I'm old school and I really liked some of the old teaching methods. I found grammar books that didn't just teach the parts of speech but had students construct sentences from concepts taught in the lessons, but to aid the students in the sentence writing, they provided topics for them to write about.

Or, in some books, there was constant review on previously taught topics that was built right into the lessons. I just don't find that that much these days in modern textbooks.

Or in other books, there were pronunciation drills or exercises to make sure that students knew how to pronounce words and they learned about syllabication.  Some of my kids who are really good readers can butcher the pronunciation of words something awful.

Now, I'm not knocking modern textbooks. Some are really good and visually appealing, capturing the attention of students. Most of the old, classic textbooks, feel really old. But, I like the way many of them present the material.

If you are old school like me, and like "old-fashioned" teaching methods,  I'll be adding links to classic language textbooks to TJ Homeschooling, in shaa Allah.

If you are new to the world of using classical textbooks in today's world, here are a few places you can find:


Google Play Books

This is a more recent find for me. You can search old and modern books of all kinds. You can find free books as well as paid books and there's textbooks, novels, trade books, just books of all kinds. You can download free books, or keep them in your Google Play library to browse online. It's really neat and in these past few weeks, I have found a lot of classic textbooks as well as some more recent workbooks.

Archive.org


19th Century School Textbooks Collections


An Old Fashioned Education

This is a personal website, but the author uses classical textbooks in her curriculum and she gives links to classic textbooks arranged by subject categories (grammar, math, spelling, etc.)

Don Potter.net

LOVE this site. I used it a lot when we were overseas. I have found so many great old spelling books, phonics primers, and grammar books in the past.  There's a navigation box on the right titled "Education Topics" that you can use to find classic English and math books.

Project Gutenberg

When we were overseas, this was my mainstay as far as books for the kids for reading and old school textbooks. I was constantly searching here. I haven't used it so much since we have been back in the states as we have a physical library to go to, but I did find many classic textbooks here.



So here are a few places to get started if you are interested in exploring older textbooks. Of course, you will invariably find that you may need to edit the lessons (to purge archaic terms, religious references and ideas that don't match your own, things that aren't pc, etc.) but if some of the more modern textbooks are too flashy and don't have enough substance for you, looking into classic textbooks may be worth checking out.

As I said earlier, I'll be linking to some of the ones that I am considering using or that we have used in the past. in shaa Allah.

Do you use classic textbooks in your homeschool?

If so, which are some of your favorites? What are some of your favorite sites to find them?
Please leave a comment to help others discover your favorites.



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Start Your Homeschool Day with a Momference (or, a Dadference)


Help get your homeschool day going with a quick morning conference with each child......

Freezing/Boiling Point of Water Reference Chart

I made up this little poster for my son to keep in his notebook so that he could use it to remember the boiling and freezing points of water in Celsius and Fahrenheit, in shaa Allah.


Boiling and Freezing Temperatures of Water Chart




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Ordinal Number Foldable

A little foldable that I made for my son a while back to help him remember or look up the ordinal number endings for numbers so that he can say or write them correctly.

Ordinal Number Foldable


Ordinal Number Foldable




Timeline TemplatesHistory Timeline Notebook Template (PDF)

Ancient Civilization Notebooking Page

This simple printable is a little "ancient" itself as I made it several  years ago for my kids.  It's still great for recording basic facts about ancient civilizations as they learn them.

Ancient Civilization Notebooking Page



Perfect Square Drill Worksheets

I have one child that is working on the doubles multiplication facts (aka perfect squares---5x5, 9x9, etc.) and I had a hard time finding premade worksheets or generators that exactly addressed this type of fact (or maybe I just didn't used the right terminology to search).

At any rate, I eventually found one site that had four such worksheets and I thought I would share in case others had trouble finding some as well.

You can download them from Dad's worksheets.com which is a pretty useful site for other kinds of premade math worksheets as well.



Help Students Avoid Errors with a Self Correction Checklist

I love this idea!

Math Problem-Solving: Help Students Avoid Errors With the ‘Individualized Self-Correction Checklist

"Students can improve their accuracy on particular types of word and number problems by using an ‘individualized self-instruction checklist’ that reminds them to pay attention to their own specific error patterns."

Find tips for setting up such a checklist here:

Explore Crafts, Hobbies, Careers & More at DIY.org


DIY.org is a neat site that we discovered last summer. Children can explore different hobbies, careers, and skills here.  There are challenges that the kids undertake to learn the new skills and they can share pictures and videos of things they produce on the challenges. Kids can level up/earn experience with each project. 

A few of my kids are actively participating on the site right now and love it. It's a nice resource especially if you have kids that don't get out a great deal, but they can still be exposed to many areas of life.


Explore crafts, hobbies, careers, and more at DIY.org



Help Your Child Become More Well Rounded with These

Life Skills

Some years back, while I was looking for life skills resources, I stumbled across some Boy Scout workbooks that were intended to help them earn their badges.  As I looked at the long list of workbook topics, I thought, gee, this would be great for building life skills and trying to help the kids become more well rounded.  The worksheets are extremely varied; you'll find some for business, archery, emergency preparedness, game design, genealogy, art,  sports, plumbing, and so much more.  

They are great for little units of study or as an aid in putting together your own units of study.

Merit Badge Worksheets - MeritBadge.org



















Volume Bars Foldable


I came across a nifty handmade "foldable" at Flikr and thought it would be helpful for my bunch so I made one. I think it's a great way for kids to visualize customary volume conversions.  My daughter seemed to like it.  It would be great for a math notebook or in a file folder with related material (Still deciding where we'll put it for quick reference/review). I printed it out on colored paper to make it pop!



You can get it from my TpT Store


How to Fix a Jammed Garbage Disposal

How to Fix a Jammed Garbage Disposal


Our garbage stopped working a few days ago.  I was feeling a little adventurous as I had fixed our stopped up bathtub a few weeks ago, alhamdulillah, so I decided to research how to fix a jammed garbage disposal.

The first video I came across was quick and easy to watch so after viewing it, I decided to give the advice a try (see video below).

Alhamdulillah, it worked! What a sense of accomplishment! (Especially since I am 2-0 in the repair department thus far.)

The advice in the video applies to the situation where you turn on the disposal and it makes a humming sound, but won't work.  I learned it is probably a stuck flywheel.   So here's what you do:

  1. Push the reset button on the bottom of the unit (picture). Turn on the disposal. If that doesn't solve the problem:
  2. Before starting this next step, unplug the unit from the wall. In this step, you use an Allen wrench and give it a turn under the disposal in the Flywheel Turning Wrench Hole (picture). Well, as soon as I did that, bubbles started forming in the sink so I suspected that it had worked. 
  3. The  final step is to put a broom handle in the unit and try to dislodge whatever has gotten stuck. 
  4. Test the repair by plugging the unit back in and turning it on.  



I try to include my kids as much as I can (mostly for support/help, lol, but also because I don't want them to feel helpless about making simple repairs around the house).  It seems like a good idea to have little exploration sessions from time to time on basic machines and things around the house, how to care for them, install them, and repair them.


Are you handy around the house?
What types of repairs have you made yourself after watching a video?



Teaching Phonics on Your Own

As I mentioned on the main phonics page here at TJ Homeschooling, this is a simple, quick overview of how you can teach phonics at home, in shaa Allah.
How to Teach Phonics at Home


1. If you are teaching phonics on your own, the first thing you'll want to do is brush up a little on phonics if you are rusty or never learned it.


Here are a few places you can do that:
 2. The next step is to get a good phonogram list. A phonogram is  a letter or letters that represent a sound. For example, "ee," "ay," and "a" are phonograms.

There are many phonogram lists out there, but one of the most extensive that I have found is a free one from Ultimate Phonics.

3. After you've got your list, you basically take one phonogram at a time and teach it. 
  • Introduce the rule (sound) of the phonogram.  
  • Then, give your students words with the specific phonogram to practice reading. (Besides reading a list, play games and activities as I mention below)
  • Next, give your student sentences to read with words that contain the phonogram. (You can have them copy the sentences too, for writing practice)
  • Finally, give your students stories to read that contain the phonogram (e.g. Sheep in a Jeep to each the "ee" phonogram.
  • Each day, before you learn a new phonogram, be sure to review previous ones (you can do this quickly with flashcards. Show the phonogram, have your student make the sound, then have your student read one word that contains the phonogram). If your student needs more than one day for a given phonogram, then take more days, as needed.

Add Some Fun to Your Lessons

When you are teaching the words:
  • You can play games like Bang, Bingo, Tic Tac Toe. 
  • You can do reading drills.  
  • You can play hopscotch with the phonograms in the spaces.  
  • You can give your child worksheets
  • and you can do so much more!

The main thing is just to provide CONSISTENT  with regular practice AND regular REVIEW.


Be prepared before you sit down. Know which phonogram you are going to go over and what activities you will undertake.  




And that's really it.  The key is the CONSISTENCY.   We have had a few mainstay activities that we use over and over again because they were fun. It's ok to do that.  My 21 year old today still remembers the first phonics flashcards that I  made up because we used to play so many fun games with them. It was just a deck of homemade index cards with a phonogram on one side and words with that phonogram on the other side.  We didn't do much other than that except worksheets and a few internet sites (this was the late 90s/early 2000s). That was it. Today, there are so many sites with games on the internet where you can reinforce the phonograms you are working on. 

As I mentioned before, sometimes my kids got phonics right away and sometimes they didn't. The key is to be consistent (have I mentioned that before? lol) and when things just aren't working after a good CONSISTENT effort. STOP, STOP, STOP.  Don't beat a dead horse as the saying goes. Sometimes I have found that if we stop and pick it up at a later time, eventually they do pick it up, in s haa Allah (God willing). One of my kids was four when she learned how to blend words together in phonics. One of mine was 11 almost 12 before he got it. 

So, in a nutshell, that's how you CAN teach phonics yourself without a prepackaged curriculum, if that is what you want or need to do.   My kids are in a public homeschooling program and I really miss the days of our independent phonics learning. It was much more explicit and simple and to me, more effective.

Reading Incentive Rewards & Programs

Reading Incentive Programs

Local Libraries

Check your local library for summer or year around reading rewards programs. This year, our local library has given away small toys and certificates for In N Out Burgers several times during the year.

Mensa Excellence in Reading Program

Year around reading program. Kids read books from the list and received a T-shirt and rewards certificates. Grade K-12

Pizza Hut Book It

October to March reading program. Students receive 1 free  1 topping personal pan pizza for each month your personal reading goals are met. Grade K-6. Check in the spring for the following year to enroll because you have to sign up ahead of time and then certificates are shipped in September or so. (Currently homeschoolers may sign up starting May 1).

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program

Kids get a free book when they read 8 books over the summer.

Reading Rewards Sites

For these sites, you, the parent, set and give students rewards. These sites help you track their reading.

Kids can search for books here, take quizzes, and earn prizes for reading.

This is a neat site where kids can track the books they read, and win digital badges. Parents can set a goal and their own rewards and when student reaches the goals, it will inform you so you can give them your reward.


Are Reading Incentive Programs a Good Idea?

Not everyone agrees that reading incentive programs are effective.  I have found that they work wonderfully with my kids that already love to read, but not so much for ones that don't like to read.

Elementary Reading Incentive Programs is an article which has some good tips for using reading incentive programs as well as some of the drawbacks.

A Closer Look at Reading Incentive Programs, an article by Alfie Kohn, who is very anti-reading incentive program, provides a look at the case against reading incentive programs. 

So, like I said, these type of programs provide a nice little reward for my readers. I'm still exploring ways to get my nonreaders to read more, but I think a great deal of it comes down to finding books that interest them.  If they are not interested in novels, but say, animals, well, that's what we get them. If you have kids that find non-fiction more interesting then find books about faraway places, sports, etc that will get them reading, in shaa Allah.


Finding ALL Factors of a Number

I remember in my early days of homeschooling when I was teaching my kids to find the factors of a number or set of numbers, it was somewhat of a struggle because I didn't know how to teach them how to find ALL the factors of a number.  

Several years ago, I came across this video that gives a systematic method of finding all factors. I reviewed the method with one of my daughters this morning and I thought maybe someone else could benefit from learning this method, so I wanted to share the video here:


(Note: The video contains music)

Doubles Addition Tic Tac Toe

More practice with the doubles addition facts (1+1 to 6+6) with Tic Tac Toe


This set comes with 4 tic tac toe boards. Student must give the answer to the fact to place his or her marker. I played this yesterday with my daughter with a hand drawn board and she LOVED it, so I decided to spiff it up for her (and make it easy on myself so we could play again without having to hastily draw a board)


Doubles Addition Tic Tac Toe

And I made a mini addition chart so that she could look up the doubles facts that she didn't know yet.
Mini Addition Chart





If you'd like to request tic tac toe or bingo for larger doubles fact, please leave a comment!

Doubles Addition Bingo!

Need to practice the doubles addition math facts?

Try games. Here's a simple bingo game for the doubles math facts 1+1 to 6+6 (what my first grader is currently working on).

It has two types of boards (2 of each):
  • With the addends
  • With the sums

Doubles Addition Bingo
Doubles Addition Bingo

And it has three different types of caller cards:
  • With the addends
  • With the sums
  • With doubles dominos


Doubles Addition Bingo


Doubles Addition Bingo

Doubles Addition Bingo

Since the boards are only 3x3 and make for quick play, we usually play "Cover Up" instead of Bingo which is where, to win, your student must, ummmm, cover up the whole board. 

(I made more caller cards in each caller card set  than would be needed to fill one board because a few facts are repeated on the boards)


I hope you enjoy! 




Current Events Form

Help your student(s) organize their current events study with this current events template/form.

We've done current events on and off throughout our homeschooling. The high school homeschool program that my high schoolers are in requires a couple of current event assignments to be submitted throughout the year. But, there were no guidelines given and I wanted to try to make sure that the kids got something out of the assignment rather than just summarizing what was written in the article.

So, I put together a current events form that not only requires them to record key information about the article and summarize it, but it requires them to find out where the events in the article took place and find that place and mark it on a map, and requires them to think about how the events in the article can impact lives, including their own.

Current Events Template

The template is just one PDF page, but I made a lined and  unlined version. In addition, there is a DOC version available.

Even if you do not do formal written current assignment events, you can use the template as a prompt for when you and your kids discuss current events.

Download:

PDF (both lined and unlined versions are included)
DOC (both lined and unlined versions are included)


Arabic Alphabet Diagnostic Test & Recording Sheet

Not scientific or professional (and yeah, I gave it a overly fancy name, lol), but just a simple Arabic Alphabet recognition test I made up several years back so that I didn't have to keep writing out the letters to test them.  (Another great option would be a set of flashcards. ;)

Arabic Alphabet Diagnostic Test


Then there's this nifty recording sheet so that I could test my kids throughout the year and mark which letters they had mastered or had trouble with.

Arabic Alphabet Diagnostic Test Recording Sheet

Download

What Letter Does It Start With?



So many times I have sat down and brainstormed objects that start with a certain letter of the Arabic alphabet to use for Arabic lessons/activities. And pretty much all of the time I lose the list. So, I decided to sit down and type one up so that I would know where to find it when I needed it. I thought it would probably come in handy for others so I am sharing it here. Insha Allah, I will try to add to it, but here are some to get started:



  • Alif – arnab (rabbit), ibrah (needle), asad (lion), alif-yeah-laam—deer, ananas (pineapple), anf (nose), uthn (ear), asnaan (teeth)
  • Baa – baab (door), beyt (house), baqarah (cow), battah (duck), burtuqaal (orange), (bataataa) potato, basilla (peas), beydh/beydhah (egg)
  • Taa – taaj (crown), tuffah (apple), teen (fig), timsah (alligator)
  • Thaa—thowb; thalaajah (refrigerator), th’abaan (snake)
  • Jeem—jamal (camel), jabal (mountain)
  • Haa –himaar (donkey), hisaan (horse), hoot (whale), haleeb (milk)
  • Khaa –khuroof (sheep), khubz (bread), khukh (peach), khiyaar (cucumbers)
  • Daal—dubb (bear), dumyah (doll), dajaaj (chicken), daairah (circle), dalw (bucket), daftar (notebook) 
  • Thaal—theyl (tail), th’ib (wolf)
  • Raa—rummaan (pomegranate), raas (head), raqabah (neck)
  • Zaa –zeytoon (olive), zahrah (flower), zanjabil (ginger)
  • Seen—sayyarah (car), safeenah (ship), samak/samakah (fish), sareer (bed), sikinah (knife), sitaarah (curtain), sa’ah (clock)
  • Sheen –shams (sun), sh’ar (hair), showkah (fork)
  • Saad –salaat (prayer), sahn (plate)
  • Daad—difda’ (frog)
  • Taw –taa’ir (bird), taa’irah (airplane), tabeeb/tabeebah (doctor)
  • Thaw—thabee (gazelle)
  • Ein—‘anza (goat), ‘inab (grapes), aseer (juice), eyn (eye), ‘asha (dinner)
  • Ghein—ghadaa—lunch,ghurab(crow)
  • Faa—farawlah (strawberry), fam (mouth), furn (oven), fatoor (breakfast)
  • Qaaf—qittah (cat), qitaar (train), qird (monkey), qadim (foot), qalam (pencil), quffaz (gloves)
  • Kaaf—kalb (dog), kummathra (pear), karaz (cherries), Kabah, kursee (chair), kitaab (bok)
  • Laam—laymoon or leem (lemon), lisaan (tongue), laban (milk)
  • Meem—mowz (banana), maraba (jam), masjid, mil’aqah (spoon), mistarah (ruler), musht (comb), miftaah (key), miqaas (scissors), miknasah (broom)
  • Noon—nimr (tiger), naml or nimlah (ant), nahl (honey bee) , nafithah (window), niqaab (veil)
  • haa, Hurayrah (kitten), hubayrah (hyena), hulaam (gelatin)
  • wow—waraq (paper, leaf), ward/wardah (rose)
  • yeah—yad (hand)




Arabic Readers at The World of Omar and Mariam

Someone in one of my homeschooling groups shared this site that has Arabic leveled readers for kids.

It has 3 volumes of books, each volume having 7 books and there are related online activities to complete with them.  I just flipped through one of them and it seemed neat so I thought I would pass it on.

The World of Omar and Mariam