The internet has changed our lives so much, I don’t know how we managed before it. I know people who homeschool without internet at home. It is possible. After all, pioneering homeschoolers of the 80s and 90s all managed without it.
My children coloring a page as they follow instructions from Kinderbach.com – our piano curriculum online
However, the internet makes it so easy for me to teach. Here are some ways in which the internet plays an essential role in my homeschool:
- researching homeschooling in general and curriculum in particular
- inspiration from other blogging, homeschooling moms
- finding the best deals on curriculum
- downloading free printables
- science4us.com, mangolanguages.com, kinderbach.com, k5learning.com – all these curricula, which we currently use, are online. I will be writing reviews on all of them in a few weeks, by the way.
- finding about the weather, which can change our plans for the (following) day. Who has time for the TV news to get to the weather forecast? We live in a mountain town, with steep neighborhood streets. Our driveway is at an incline, too. Not bad, compared to other homes around our town, but enough to make it dangerous to walk to the mailbox when it freezes over. Even getting two inches of snow means we are snowed in.
- Amazon Prime, baby! Love it, love it, love it.
- Google Translate – sometimes I draw a blank when my kids ask me for a word in French or Romanian or Spanish. Then, I tell them, “Let’s look it up!” Bonus: they learn the process of getting information.
- blogging – the multitude of opportunities for dialogue and sponsorship a blogging, homeschooling mom exposes herself to is astounding.
- Code.org – if you want your children to learn how to program a computer, you’ve got it made with this site.
- The Khan Academy – my children are too young for it still, but we look forward to diving into this free resource for math, science, history, economics, with subjects being added regularly.
To see what my fellow crew members see as a homeschooling essential today, please click on their websites below:
Laura @ Day by Day in Our World
Julie @ Nurturing Learning
Lisa @ Farm Fresh Adventures
DaLynn @ For the Display of His Splendor
Lori @ At Home: where life happens
Nicole @ Journey to Excellence
Brandy @ Kingdom Academy Homeschool
Meg @ Adventures with Jude
Sarah @ Delivering Grace
We rely on the internet a lot as well. We could do it without but I am blessed to not have to. We find lots of ideas and information, as well as people to connect with.
Yes, especially since our little public library does not do us much service, the internet is an absolute necessity!
I have to say, we rely heavily on the internet for our homeschool too. With such a tight budget I have to find as many free resources as possible, and fortunately, the internet is loaded with them! Having an internet connection is an absolute essential for us too!
Don’t forget Netflix for all of the educational shows. My kids have learned so much watching shows like How It’s Made, Mythbusters, and Extreme Engineering.