Category: More Free Resources for Your Homeschool

Introducing a Catholic AI Platform Parents can Trust

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I just had to share this with you.

Because parenting is hard. Today, more than ever.

As most of you know, one of the hardest parts of parenting is managing our children’s use of addictive screen-based tech: Smart phones. Social media. The internet. These are wreaking widespread havoc on the mental and emotional health of our youth. And navigating screen-based tech with our kids and teens has been challenging… exhausting, actually.

If parenting weren’t hard enough, along comes AI, that powerful tool that is rapidly changing the landscape of innovation, work, and education.

So parents have yet one more thing to worry about, monitor, and try to keep up with.

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Free Picture Addition Cards for Kindergarten and Grade 1

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Here’s a set of Picture Addition Cards that help children understand the concept of commutativity (that is, 1+2 and 2+1 both equal 3). Kids with Down Syndrome and other special needs require a lot of practice with pictures to understand and master addition facts. So I made these for my son, and as always, sharing them with you.

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FREE Number Sequence Puzzles in Art

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Does your child need extra practice sequencing numbers from 11-20? Here are four FREE sequence puzzles featuring the artwork of Homer Winslow. (I like exposing my kids to beautiful artwork in any way I can!)

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Poems for First Grade

Published on by Mary Cooney2 Comments

Here’s a FREE book for poems for first grade that I compiled for my son with Down Syndrome. All my children have copied, memorized, and recited poems throughout their homeschooling years. So I certainly wasn’t going to let my youngest off the hook just because he has T21! Especially because memorizing and reciting poetry is so great for developing memory skills and working on articulation and pacing in speech. But most importantly, poetry fills the mind with beautiful imagery.

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Simply Subtraction Level 1 Games

Published on by Mary Cooney2 Comments

Here are the Games for Simply Subtraction Level 1, which covers the subtraction facts within ten. These FREE games can help bring some fun into your math lessons! Our kids need a lot of review to build confidence and fluency. Games a great for sparking interest and motivating our kids to practice those facts.

There are eight games that align with most of the lessons in Simply Subtraction Level 1.

Here are some sample pages:

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A Year of Picture Books with Sequencing

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Sequencing is such an important skill for little people and especially for those with delayed language skills. It helps build comprehension and memory, and it helps children to narrate, which in turn supports the development of speech.

Reading a picture book and re-ordering or retelling the sequence of events is a very simple yet effective way to build language skills. When I can, I use visuals to support the sequencing of events. But often we just practice telling what happened next, or who did what next. So, I’m always on the hunt for picture books with clear sequence of events.

Here are some of our favorite picture books for sequencing:

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Free Winter-Themed Addition Cards

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Here is a set of winter-themed addition cards focusing only in the +1 and +2 facts, designed for children with Down Syndrome and other special needs. Children with T21 need to spend a lot of time using concrete objects and pictures to support their understanding and practice of addition.

In keeping with an incremental approach to learning, I recommend helping your child master the +1 and +2 facts within ten before moving on to +3 and +4 facts. Hence, these picture addition cards.

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Simply Addition Level 1 Math Games

Published on by Mary CooneyLeave a comment

For those of you who are using Simply Addition Level 1 to help your child master addition facts within ten, here is a set of FREE Math Games. After all, playing games is the fun way to practice math skills.

This set contains a variety of games that align with most of the lessons in Simply Addition Level 1.

Take a look:

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First Steps with Phonics, Book 4: A FREE Phonics Workbook for Children with (or without) Down Syndrome

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Here’s the fourth and final book in the First Steps with Phonics Workbook series, designed especially for children with Down Syndrome.

While most phonics programs begin with CVC words, this introduction to phonics begins with something even easier: the phonograms that make one and only one sound. Book 1 teaches children to sound out and spell words that have the phonograms AY and AI. Book 2 teaches the phonograms EE and IGH. Book 3 focuses on the phonograms OA and OE. And Book 4 teaches the phonogram EIGH.

Here are samples from Book 4:

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