Home School Links

Has several useful activities for different areas of education.
http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/

Provides worksheets on the standard topics, a lot are free, a lot more are only for paid members
http://abcteach.com/directory/basics/

This is the Link to all the free worksheets this website has to offer. Printable, and look simple in nature
http://www.homeeducationresources.com/FREEphonread.htm

Math Games for Elementary and Middle School Math
http://www.mathplayground.com/fractions_add.html

Has tons of activites to print and read.
http://www.kidzone.ws/
A okay reference website for math concepts up to pre-algebra
http://www.coolmath4kids.com/fractions/index.html

Free Worksheets
http://www.googolpower.com/content/free-learning-resources/worksheets

This website gives links to other useful website for Pre-K to 8th Grade
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/grade_level_help.htm

Free Worksheets Designed for Teachers. They have it broken into Math and Language Arts Build for Grades 1-4. It has several specialty pages as well, calendar, holidays, etc...
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/

K-8 It has interactive games that can be played for math, reading, science, social science.
Simple point and click type games, standard pictures.
http://www.kidport.com/
 
Special emphasis on Math, Also has science, reading, writing.
http://www.softschools.com/math/games/

13,000+ Free Worksheet, on every topic, It also has good category titles and is organized well
http://www.schoolexpress.com/

This website is a link website designed for teacher, has a good description and tons of links
http://www.sitesforteachers.com/
This is another worksheet site that has a ton of them, some good specialty ones as well. It's organized nicely and meant for K-5
http://www.tlsbooks.com/

Basic Math Worksheets & Pre-Algebra Worksheets
http://www.freemathworksheets.net/

This site has 30 free downloadable books.PDF books, with a PDF worksheet
http://www.readinga-z.com/samples/preview.html

This is a progressive learn to read program, that starts from beginning to advanced phonics books
http://www.progressivephonics.com/

Helps beginning learns learn their first 55 words. Has some games that help develop an in-depth knowledge of these first 55 words.
http://www.learntoreadfree.com/

This is a website dedicated to teaching Science & Math as it related to Science
http://www.msnucleus.org/

This website is deticated to multiplicatin, but has some fun games that help to re-enfoce multiplication
http://multiplication.com/interactive_games.htm

Has a lot of family friendly activites and games, some educational value, it oriented very lightly on animals, and being eco-friendly, but only lightly.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/

Good Vocabulary Building Site. Starts with a word and definition, then gives you more and more information about the word, history, uses, etc.
http://www.kinderpedia.com/

Helps Teach Spelling, Vocab work practice made easy
http://www.spellingcity.com/
tons of games for kids that some category specific & general. Looks like a good balance between fun, and education
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/

Good Online Books at kids.aol.com
http://kids.aol.com/KOL/1/KOLJr
This looks like a government gate way to a bunch of educational resources, it's a bit difficult to negative and isn't very progressive, but if you want to search around it has tons of information some good some not as good.
http://kids.nypl.org/

Learning to read (audio books) bunch of reading stuff
http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/auto_login.asp?U=nypl&P=libra

Awesome phonics reading program, has videos, worksheets, and interactive programs that help kids learn to read.
http://www.starfall.com/

To create and provide curriculum-based instruction on the Web which enhances and improves the way PreK-8 students learn.
To provide parents and teachers with the Web-based interactive tools and resources they need to accelerate learning and improve educational performance in the 21st century.
http://www.theheadoftheclass.com/

This has a curiculum method of teaching the different topics. It has a lot of good ideas, and allows you to submit your own to help make it better. Good for creating a comprehensive year by year pathway.
http://www.lessonpathways.com/

They have full lesson plans for pre-k, K, and 1st grade students. Designed for home school, daycare, and pre schools
http://www.funlessonplans.com/

Really good website full of experiments that can be done at home, some are a little complicated or overly messy, but it's pretty nice.
http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/
 
A Blog that is created to help people choose a way to educate their children without paying for anything
They have some comprehensive curriculum
http://www.freelyeducate.com/

Has a lot of good information on pre-algebra, algebra 1, algebra 2, and geometry.
http://www.kutasoftware.com/freemain.html
 
Comic books that help to teach economic principles
https://www.newyorkfed.org/publications/result.cfm?comics=1

An online grading system, that allows you to enter your grades online, allows parents and students to view attendance and grades online.
http://www.engrade.com/home-demo.php

Website doesn't seem to work except for this state by state social studies on the state you choose.
http://www.harcourtschool.com/ss1/choose_state.html

This is a free spelling course, has words, exercises, & dictation, developed into a step by step course.
http://www.splashesfromtheriver.com/spelling/courseoutline.htm

A real good resource for worksheets, coloring pages, flash cards, songs, videos, fun activities, tools. Nicely categorized by grade.
http://www.havefunteaching.com/

Math Lessons, Study tips, step by step solutions. Some geometry with angles, shapes, etc
http://www.mathexpression.com/

Math TV has several videos that teach you how to solve problems step by step it goes from pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, trig, and calculus.
http://www.mathtv.com/

Cool Looking games that help build basic educational skills built for 3rd grade through middle school
http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/


This website is designed for preschool kids age 3 to 6. It has adventure stories that are directed toward reading. It also has many printables, and support material the related to each adventure. The adventures have many characters from popular pbs kids shows.
http://pbskids.org/

This is a great music teaching website. It has lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes, and handouts.
http://www.musictechteacher.com/musicquizzes.htm


This website has a lot of shakespeare work and support material to analyze the store, and give it deeper meaning. It also has essays, and quizzes.
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/

This has 15 lessons that are perfect for the beginning reader. "Included are the names of alphabet letters, consonants, vowels and vowel rules, letter blends and common words, along with many pictures to enjoy."
Really simple, and nicely laid out lesson.
http://www.abcfastphonics.com/


This website allows you to download a program. This program will have a character put onto your computer. This character can read text in word, and excel documents, tell time and several other things. It could help a child who has a difficulty reading navigate the computer
http://www.deskbot.com/

This website is designed to help kids read by using unique strategies
http://reading.ecb.org/index.html

This is a website for kids and parents to learn about finances.
http://www.ecb.org/finance/

Free Software that helps you kid learn to read by using adventure stories
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/owlmouse.htm#Medieval

This website has lesson plans that give you an idea of curiculum, for grades k-12, also it has interactive games, and links to other great websites for learning.
http://www.uen.org/k12student/

This website page has links to the top 100 other educational sites. Looks very useful as a links page, websites are nicely broken down.
http://www.homeschool.com/articles/top100-2009/default.asp

Really Great Picture Books, that read the text to you. It's categorizes by pre-reader, beg reader, inter reader, advanced reader, adult reader.
http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/library.htm

So I wonder what the right answer is for my business?

I am starting a tax company, now what?

So there are a ton of things I have done to get to this point but I will start by saying I am completely committed to starting a tax accounting company. I have worked for Liberty Tax for Two years (one as general manager), I have also worked for a CPA firm, I completed my degree in accounting.

Why I decided to go for it.

I wanted to find a super good job and get to work to bad I graduated with a recession making things hard. I had a job offer but then after November 2008 being a hard time and the out look for 2009 not looking great, my offer was declined. I was sad and so was my wife. I can't find a good job, so I have to make money so, I'm putting up my shingle and getting to work.

#1, I must get customers

I did run a window cleaning in college and one thing I learned the more I advertise that means the more money I can make, crazy huh? So, I am completely committed to spending a tremendous amount on advertising with valpak. I have decided on how I will do things and what will happen with the ad, I completely believe my ad is the best tax preparing ad in the bunch, so I plan on good response, but I have no idea what that means, hopefully it will give me the number of people I need to get me to 100% efficiency, no more no less.

A bad business paradox!

I have been reading articles on the topic "What makes a great service company?" Everyone says you must provide the BEST customer service, here is my problem there are so many incredibly successful service companies out there and from my experience they don't have even decent customer service compared to what these articles are suggesting, so I don't understand how this can happen. Any suggestions, how can this be why do we happily go to companies that treat us sub-par? Why do great friendly local companies fail?

The problem with college

So I just graduated from college. It's interesting there are several problems with college, I'm just going to rant about one thing. Why do professors like to compare college to a job. I know they think that's why they are here so they can get a good job. Do you know the problem with that? I will never have to work at a job where I need to study biology, algebra, creative writing, spanish, and art appreciation in the same day. I may "use" all these things but no more then at a common sense level. And another reason this is stupid is because at an office job the manager is responsible for helping you to be successful, and every good manager knows they personally responsible for the success of their employees. They need to read good management books to learn what makes a good manager such as: they need to make assignments clear and achievable, they need to do regular and frequent evaluations of their students (employees). They need to make sure we understand what they want. The only thing that teachers do when they say college is like work is to say "College is like a job so you need to work harder" stupid huh?

All in all college is not about learning what makes a good employee its about getting a good GPA that's 90% of what employers care about anyway.

Starting a second business

So I have started couple of new businesses doing tax preparation. I just graduated from college in Accounting. I have taken several business classes and website design classes. I have also done a lot of online marketing classes.

I have designed my website unclesamexpress.com it shows a lot of my website, tax and payroll skills. I can help anyone in the State of Idaho. All other states I can do as well, I'm just more comfortable with Idaho.

I have been running a window cleaning business for three years and want to start to branch out by helping people with their taxes and bookkeeping. I also want to help with web design work and website marketing.

I have been very nervous about it because I have become comfortable with marketing window washing, and I know what kind of response I get from my ads. I am nervous about starting a new company.

It's fun to be at the beginning of the process again. I really need to move more to these new businesses because I will be able to do them from my home office a little easier then the other then window cleaning where I have to go out and work at people's homes all the time.

I am nervous and excited all over again. Wish me luck

Etsy

Etsy is full of amazing and beautiful things.
It would be a shame if your beautiful work didn't sell because your description of the item left your customers scratching their heads.

This is a list to jump start your thinking when you write your next item description. Remember that your customer cannot see the item in person. Don't assume that the qualities of your item are obvious to your customer or that your photos say it all. (I have seen more than one item that I couldn't even figure out what the item WAS!). You might even consider describing your item as if you had no pictures for your customer to look at. Really make them feel like they are right there with your item.

This is not an all inclusive list and some questions may not be appropriate for all items or sellers. This list is just to get you thinking about some of the things your customer might want to know about your fabulous work.

1. What IS it? (It may be totally obvious to you what the item is, but it might not be obvious to your customer).

2. What color is it? (The color on your computer monitor may not be the same as mine).

3. How big is it? (As a buyer I don't want to guess if that painting will fit over my fireplace or if those earrings are going to hang past my shoulders).

4. What is it made from? (What materials and techniques are used?)

5. How do I care for it? (Can I wash and dry that wool sweater?)

6. Who should buy it? or Who should NOT buy it? (Is it appropriate for pregnant women? Children? Pets?)

7. What is it used for? (Is it decorative? Does it have a function? Both?)

8. What does it feel like? (Is that scarf soft to the touch? What's the texture like? Is that necklace very heavy?)

9. How does it work? (Does it slip over my head? Is there a clasp? Do I tie it around my waist?)

10. Why is this one better than the one in the next shop? (What special skills, materials, or ideas do you use that make your item the best?)

11. Do I get everything in the picture? (I see 12 items in your picture, do I get them all? Only one? Does that lovely bauble in the background come with it or is it just for display?)

12. Will it fit me? (When I shop in a brick and mortar shop I might try on 12 things and find only 1 that fits well. I am taking a BIG chance on buying clothes online. Please make it easier for me by offering extensive measurement and sizing information. Don't assume that your customer will know what you mean by "small" or "Large")

13. What if it doesn't fit? (Am I stuck with it? Will you exchange it? Who pays to ship it back?)

14. Is it ready to use? (Is that painting ready to hang? Do I need to frame it first?)

15. How does it arrive? (Is it gift wrapped? Is it ready to ship or is it made to order?)

16. Will I get the EXACT item in the photo? (Is it a stock photo or do I get the exact item?)

17. Is it gonna stink? (Does that vintage item have a funky, musty odor? Does the seller smoke while he creates that item?)

18. How do I know it's "vintage"? (What kind of research did you do to determine how old that item is? Is it marked? Is there a date on it? Are you experienced with vintage and antique items?)

19. What do those fancy terms mean? (Don't take for granted that your customer knows what a cabochon is or what giclee or gocco means.)

20. Can I live without this item? (Chances are your customer can easily live without your items. It's your job to SELL it to them. Let them know why owning this item is so wonderful. Are they gonna feel like a princess with that lovely bracelet? Is that platter not only functional, but makes a wonderful work of art? Is that item the perfect gift for hard to buy for people? Does the item evoke certain emotions? Tell us what's so great about it!)

Social Media or smores

What is a smore? It's a social media whore, I just learned that today, never heard it before. Alright so I really enjoy writing down stuff on my blog, I don't mind twitter, and facebook it helps me keep up with people. I want to try linkedin, but I haven't gotten around to it. I want to try to get more professional people as followers.

I want to ask a question: How do you keep up with your online media?
I can understand why some people try to stay away from it. I really find my blog important because I like having a history of what is important to me at certain times in life, but facebook once a month, twitter, I don't know how I feel about it yet.

Okay some of the best resources anyone can have for their business are:
Score.org
Entrepreneur.com
Also good places to get information is your states website for starting a business almost every state has one, and sometimes you just need to google a question.

I also find that people give free advice online about all kinds of businesses and really from one industry to another you are going to have similar problems. So look for help from any successful business person and you be stepping in the right direction.

#1 way to get more cash for your business, is to bill people immediately, and start accepting credit cards.
Paypal and Google Check out are free, so get started taking credit card payments.

Also go to Freshbooks.com and they have a sweet program that gets your invoices sent fast, professionally and they help you keep up with who's paid and who hasn't. Check it out.

What is a bounce rate?

Bounce rate is one of the most important analytics information that is given to you from your google analytics. So what is the bounce rate? The bounce rate is the percent of people who visit your website and then leave without looking at any other webpage.

Why is a high Bounce Rate bad?
The reason that it is bad is because when people get to your website they are not getting what they are looking for. Once they clicked on your ad, or referral links they went to your website and didn't like what they saw.

How can I improve my Bounce Rate?
There are two ways to really improve your bounce rate, first you want to make sure that the keyword, or referral link is relevant, if the keyword isn't producing results, then you should just get rid of it. The other option is to take the webpage viewer to a page that is more relevant to them.

For instance, on my website I do accounting and web design services, if I setup an adwords account that was about tax preparation I would send them to my tax preparation services website, not my homepage. Your homepage often doesn't tell the user specific information which is what will engage them. Once they have read the information that they are looking for they are more likely to continue looking around.

Also this will increase your average time on your site which is usually a good thing.

If you haven't created a google analyics account start today by going to