What techniques, resources, or methods have produced great results for your children?

[Isa]

I thought it would be a help for us to see techniques, resources, or methods that have worked well for others and their children. For the most benefit if you list a resource, describe what about it has worked so well.

I have recently used some resources that have produced great results. Now my 7 & 8 year old sons know the presidents and states & capitals better than I do! In fact, they can instantly point to any state, quickly call out any U.S. Capital, and list all 43 presidents in order without any mistakes.

An easy way for children (and adults) to learn material is through visualizing pictures. This is the way my sons learned everything so effectively. The resources I used were:

-Yo, Millard Fillmore by Cleveland & Alvarez (Memorizing Presidents)
-Yo, Sacramento by Cleveland & Alvarez (Memorizing States & Capitals)

Other resources that work in the same way are books by Dr. Memory. You can find more information at www.doctormemory.com (http://www.doctormemory.com).

A free fun program my sons have enjoyed and learned a lot with is Seterra. Your children can learn where all the countries of the world are located and other features in a game format. Now my boys can instantly point to any state in the U.S. The link to download Seterra is:
http://www.wartoft.nu/software/seterra/

What techniques, resources, or methods have worked really well in your homeschool?

[Beth in Central TX]

One resource that has really opened up daily discussion of current events and interesting facts is our subscription to Top Story by God's World News. http://www.gwnews.com/ Both of my older boys enjoy reading each edition from cover to cover. I keep them in the car, and they will re-read many of the articles. At dinnertime, they talk about what they've read, ask questions about new concepts, and brainstorm for solutions to problems or resolutions to conflicts. It's been fun to see them think about the problems and conflicts in the world, and it also lets us instill the Biblical worldview that we are trying to shape as we homeschool.

Another great resource that I just happened upon is MAKE magazine. http://www.makezine.com/
My oldest son devoured the first edition we received last month. He's always wanted to do a science fair project, but never showed any initiative before this year. The MAKE magazine had an article on how to build a Beetlebot. My son learned how to solder, built the bugbot, typed up his own information, took pictures, and made a poster board to display. He was so excited about the whole project and I was very proud of his work.