Five Fantastic Homework Helpers You'll Love!

Back to School is my total, absolute jam. As a teacher, I loved getting all ready for Back to School. As a homeschool mom, I'm even more swoony over the time of year. And having complete access to Usborne Books amplifies the giddy-factor by about a million. 

I get asked ALL OF THE TIME for my top recommendations for Back to School and homework helpers. This question is nearly impossible to answer, but I've compromised and am bringing you my TOP FIVE SERIES you should definitely consider for your home!

Each of these has a fantastic variety of subjects to fit your families' specific needs, and they're all listed & linked below for your convenience! :) 

For access to sales and discounts, tips and encouragement for raising readers, to follow along on Buck & Chuck's homeschool journey, and to get regular peeks inside all UBAM has to offer, make sure you Join our Literacy Group by clicking here!

And now, five homework helpers you'll love!

1. Lift-The-Flap Everything!

Lift-the-Flap are MA.GI.CAL and Usborne Books has perfected the art of combing a fun, engaging activity with the opportunity to reinforce aaalll of the necessary skills for success. Lift-the-Flap allow your kids to practice their important new concepts without feeling like homework or drills. The colors and flaps are inviting instead of overwhelming and intimidating like so many boring and dry worksheets; and the motion of the lifting flaps actually helps the brain reinforce learning! My kids can sit and lift these flaps for an impressively long time, and they're actually interested in the questions and answers! Click on the photo to see inside!

Here are just SOME of the subjects you can get in this awesome format. Some subjects are available in multiple styles for a variety and age levels, and some are available in Spanish! Click to see these:

ABC | Adding & Subtracting | Animal Homes | Art | Atlas | Beginner Math | Bridges & Tunnels | Bugs & Butterflies | Colors | Computers & Coding | Energy | Engineering | Exploration & Discovery | Fractions & Decimals | Germs | Great Cities | How Things Work | Measuring | Multiplying & Dividing | Museums | Nature | Numbers | Opposites | Periodic Table | Science | Seas & Oceans | Shapes | Shakespeare | Snow | Space | Space Stations | Telling Time | Times Tables | Universe | Weather | Weather & Climate | World Religions | Your Body

2. Encyclopedias

In an era of the internet, I am a firm believer that every home should have quality encyclopedias. Unlike just anybody posting on the internet, encyclopedias provide quality, reviewed content by authors and publishers held accountable for the information they put out there. Usborne encyclopedias are incredibly well-designed, contain magnificent photography as well as information presented in bite-sized chunks! This makes the content accessible to young readers instead of intimidating or overwhelming. Our encyclopedias are also internet-linked! This means there are links or QR codes provided throughout the book. When followed, they will take your student to safe, reviewed websites with even more fantastic information on whatever subject they desire! Click on the photo to see inside!

Check out the variety of encyclopedias at your disposal. Geography, Science, and History are available in paperback as well:

Animals | Children's | First Human Body | First Science | First Seas & Oceans | Geography | Science | World History | World Religions | Or Get our Popular Collection of three hardback encyclopedias!

3. Dictionaries

These aren't just your old Websters Dictionaries. These are the most beautiful, helpful, necessary to all families everywhere MATH AND SCIENCE dictionaries. Believe me when I say: these things come in handy. FOR REAL. They are so well written, with verbiage and explanations that will help either your CHILD navigate their homework on their own, or help YOU as the parent be able to explain tricky ideas or remember concepts you've long forgotten! They're full color and beautifully illustrated for inviting, appealing adventures through the worlds of math and science.

Biology | Chemistry | Elementary Science | English Dictionary | First Math | Math Early Grades | Math Middle Grades | Math Upper Grades | Physics | Science (Combination of three)

4. Activity Books

Usborne Activity Books are TOP NOTCH. They are creative and engaging to keep your kiddos interest, but also rigorous and thorough, to be sure they're getting impressive practice! The workbooks are consumable (one-time use), but have LOTS of great pages for practice. The wipe-clean are great to use over and over again! 

Activity Books: 

Adding & Subtracting | Animal Detective | Architect | Art | Astronaut | Bugs | Chess | Coding | Dangerous Animals | Engineering | Entrepreneur | Fraction & Decimals | Knights & Castles | Math | Maps | Measuring Things | Multiplying & Dividing | Museums | Nature | Not a Math | Not a Science |  Pilot | Polar Worlds | Science | Scientist | Telling Time | Times Tables | Wild Animals | USA |

Wipe Clean:

5. Writing Tools

Writing is a difficult skill to master. Good writing requires creativity, structure, and an extensive vocabulary - all endeavors that can be intimidating to overcome. Our Write Your Own series is fantastic for developing these necessary skills in a FUN, low-stress environment. They give your kids the freedom to create and explore writing while simultaneously gaining incredible skills in organization, vocabulary, and imagination! I HIGHLY recommend also adding a thesaurus to your wish list. My personal favorite is the Not-Your-Everyday Illustrated Thesaurus! 

Bonus: Wrap-Ups & Palettes

More like toys than homework helpers, the Learning Wrap-Ups and Palettes have become a STAPLE in our homeschool. We use them DAILY! My kids think they're fun, they are a great way to get a little movement in, avoid the fine motor skills my son despises while still getting in INCREDIBLE practice. They are simple to use, self-check, and cover a wide variety of skills (including reading, math, Spanish and music theory!