Favorite Educational Products for Kids ~ Round 2

As we’re still in the heart of our homeschooling year, I’m constantly on the hunt for great educational products. I love to try them all! I’ve bought some major duds, but I’ve also found some real treasures. A couple months ago, I did Round 1 of My Favorite Educational Products for Kids. Today, we’re moving on to round 2…and, I imagine there will be a round three, before the school year is over.

Here we go:

I would be thrilled for my kids to follow in the footsteps of their father, in many areas of life. But, when it comes to typing skills, I’m going to be SURE that they rise above. Holy cow. Typing with one finger doesn’t really jive anymore in today’s world. It would take the man an hour just to order pizza online! Thanks to Typing Instructor for Kids, the kids are well on their way to becoming typing masters. They go on an adventure through Typer Island, earning fun rewards along the way.

Learning is so much easier, when it’s made to be fun. And, the book series, You Wouldn’t Want to Be series is way fun! Each book teaches what it was to live in different periods of history. The illustrations are fabulous, the kids love the random humor, and there is great info to be learned. So far, we have just bought the books that correlate with what the boys are learning in history. And, we’ll get the other when the time comes. We’ve read about Roman Gladiators, Vikings, Inca Rulers, The Black Death, Samurais, and we still have so many to go!

I use my iPad for several things in school. There are lots of fun apps for kids, both educational and not. But, in particular, my boys love Operation Math ($1.99)and Rocket Math ($.99). They’re both great games to help kids learn and memorize multiplication tables and solve addition, subtraction, and division problems. They are also is great for building speed.

Recently, we spent some time learning about human anatomy. I bought a couple DVD’s that we didn’t super love, but the kids were all over the Squishy Human Body Puzzle! You read them a book, while they carefully remove each body part, and then try to put them back in the right place. They especially loved the squishiness of the pieces!

While studying the Renaissance period, I stumbled on the most awesome books! They’re called Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists. There is also another series, Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers. And, there are tons of books in each series. We read books on Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, and lots more. The kids were totally into them, fighting over whose turn it was to pick which one we read next. They’re easy to read, easy to understand, and there are funny cartoons, along with real photographs. I just realized there is an Inventor and Scientist series too! I seriously want them all.

Lastly, another series that I am in love with. I know, lots of books. But, we read for school, more than anything else…so, I’ve got lots of suggestions! Okay, so these books are called Who Was…, and they are more like short novels. I love to have the kids reading these, than narrate to me what their chapters were about, afterwards. The narration really helps the info sink into the brain. Plus, I learn something too. Again, the books are easy to read and are packed full of great info. Kids can read about Anne Frank, Amelia Earhart, King Tut, Mozart, Ben Franklin…to name just a FEW!

Hope that gives you some good ideas! Any of these things would make great gifts, as well. (For more ideas, check out Round 1 of Favorite Educational Products for Kids!)

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Mariel

Owner & Author at Or so she says...

Mariel (mahr-eeee-elle) is a mother to six, wife to one. Loves homeschooling, golfing, cupcakes, traveling, cuddling, non-fiction books, gardening, James Taylor, family time, and a sexy wedge. This is her blog. Enjoy!