Free downloads!

I am simply amazed at how many cool educational games we can download (trial period at least) for free!! Three weeks ago, Connor spent hours on Aleks, a math software program. The program tracked Connor's progress and sent me a weekly report (which I should have printed for my record keeping, but didn't). Last week, Connor found BrainPOP. The site has hundreds of online videos explaining bits, bytes and other technology, as well as math, science, art, history etc. This week Connor is learning how to type (the real way--he already hunts and pecks very fast) using a program called Type to Learn 4. Yes, these companies all want us to purchase their programs ($19 a month just for Aleks!), but we find that we can learn a ton just using the 30 day free trial. When the 30 days is over, we simply move on to another program. Even the US government has developed a cool free game, Immune Attack, that teaches anatomy and biology. Home-schooling is often expensive, as in our case: private music lessons, chess lessons, horseback riding lessons, Impact Homeschool Co-op and the YMCA co-op, but it really doesn't have to be as costly as private school. As our economy takes a dive, I may have to reevaluate what and how much I spend on all these extra activities, and it's nice to know I can still get free downloads!