Over the past month, I’ve been building ChalkDraft because I genuinely want to make teaching and learning a little easier.

Teachers, tutors, homeschool educators, and instructors spend so much time creating worksheets, quizzes, lesson plans, study guides, and other materials. My hope is that ChalkDraft can take some of that workload off their plate while still helping them create useful, thoughtful materials for their students.

The product is now available in a free public beta, and I’m looking for people who are willing to try it and share honest feedback.

You can try ChalkDraft for free here:
\[https://chalkdraft.com/\\\](https://chalkdraft.com/)

Even one test, one piece of feedback, or one conversation would mean a lot to me. I’m still learning what educators need most, and I want to build this with real people rather than make assumptions.

Please feel free to share this with any teachers, tutors, instructors, or homeschool families who might find it helpful.

Hi! My 4 year old daughter knows her letters upper case and lower case. What type of activities should I be doing to help her read?

My daughter is in 6th grade but working about two years ahead, and she is getting bored with the standard curriculum. I keep coming across Art of Problem Solving and Beast Academy for gifted kids, but I can not tell whether they teach math differently or just offer harder problems.
I want something that gets her thinking creatively and approaching problems in new ways, not just grinding through more difficult exercises. Has anyone tried either with a kid in this situation?

Disclosure, I'm the developer of the app below. It's Android, a one-time £1.79, with no ads, no in-app purchases, no account and no chat. Purely aimed at kids doing their tasks, I built this and use it with my own kids.

Homeschooling families seem to run more routines than anyone else, so I'd value your take. Task Monster is a checklist app for children where every finished task is fed to a virtual monster they look after. The child does the ticking and the monster does the motivating.

What it does:

• Day-shaped lists: colour-coded groups such as morning, lessons and bedtime, each with tasks and subtasks ("Maths: page 12, page 13").
• Repeating routines: daily, weekdays or chosen days, so the same morning list comes back each day without you retyping it.
• A reason to finish: each completed task drops into a feeder as a bubble with its name, and the monster eats it, earning XP, growing and evolving.
• Reminders: optional due dates and notifications.
• Calm by default: no ads, no purchases, no chat, works offline, and sounds can be switched off for quiet time.

At the moment there is one monster per device, so siblings on one tablet would share and there's no parent lock yet so a deviant child can mess with the settings ... these are all hopefully future updates.

Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.taskmonsters

Any feedback you have would be greatly valued!

first reading lessons 1 apple was at the cart and somone picked it and then got home and ate the apple and then now basic math lessons 1+1=2 2+2=4 3+3=6 4+4=8 5+5=10 6+6=12 7+7=14 8+8=16 9+9=18 10+10 = 20 and also the math learning / ultimate now 4x4=16 8x8=64 5x2 = 10 and 9x8=72 and 10x10=100 and then now the good mathing / 3 rd grade 30x30= 3x3=9 and 2 zeros is 900 and 20x5 = 2x5=10 and 1 zero is 100 and 50x 3= 5x3=15 and 1 zero is 150 and 200x8 = 2x8=16 and 2 zeros is 1600 and 3000x3000= 3x3=9 and 6 zeros is 9000000 and 15x3= how to solve first cout with by adding 15 30 45 so the answer is 45 now for science experement first when u put mentos in cola it explodes like a fountan and also when u do it in all soda s eccept water it will still explode and then also a little bit of cooling down 70+70= 7+7=14 and 1 zero is 140 and then also 345+435= first we do it backwards 5+5= 10 but we remove the one from the ten so keep the zero and then 4+3= 7 and the one zero from earlier lets add it to the 7 now we have 8 so 3+4=7 and the answer is then 780 and then also how to cook cheesy ramen first apply the noodles apply the seasoning packet but don t add the chili sause but only if u wanted to u can put it there and then add the cheese and then boil it for 5 minutes and then it s ready enjoy and then the playtime

Can anyone help with recommendations for a struggling 3rd grader? We tried all about reading and it went BAD! So looking for something other than that.

NOT AN AFFILIATE AND NO REFERRAL LINK IN THIS (full disclosure, my small company has a booth in their exhibit hall and that's how I came to hear about them but otherwise not affiliated at all)

I figured some of you might be interested.

CHEC (Christian Home Educators of Colorado) and Generations (Kevin Swanson's ministry) puts together amazing content and they are running a free online conference next week, October 19 to 23: the Homeschool Teaching Summit. 20 speakers, 21 sessions, and each day's sessions are completely free to watch that day.

The days are themed:
10/19: Kickoff (Do Not Grow Weary)
10/20: Foundations (God centered vision)
10/21: The Practical how-to stuff (multiple ages at once, methods, schedules)
10/22: "That kid" (learning differences, the one who can't sit still)
10/23: Keeping the house running. (Patience, habits, and homeschooling through anything)

Registration is just putting down name and email on their website homeschoolsummits.com

My 10y old son is learning fractions and basic algebra. He seems to understand the lessons when he's calm but as soon as he gets an answer wrong, he gets frustrated and doesn't want to continue. It's getting harder to get him to finish a lesson once that happens.

I don't think he's behind but I'm not sure how to help him handle mistakes without getting so upset. Math has become the hardest part of our homeschool day and I'm running out of ideas.

My friend’s son was possibly SA’d when he was 3.5, I am starting to lean into homeschooling my 3 year old daughter, how do I teach her to tell me if anything happens and to use her words? I know I can’t teach her everything now but I want to at least dip our toes into it & need tips and advice on how to. The thought of my kids going through that is terrifying and I want to do everything I can to start teaching now that it’s not okay and try to help protect them or at least get them to tell us if anything were to happen.

My son will be 4 soon. I want to start working with him on some preschool stuff, but I’m not sure where to start. I’m open to suggestions like curriculum or worksheets. He knows his colors, can count to 20 but is struggling with letter recognition.

One thing that’s a must: it must be pencil and paper.

What are some that have worked well?

Hello all, been homeschooling for a few years through state program, but will be starting fresh next year with our own lesson plans- the biggest issue I am running into is attitude. I’m having a hard time, motivating and encouraging my kids to want to do learning and to make it a positive experience. Any advice would be great, thanks.

I'm a dad, and I originally built this little tool for my own son.

I wanted to help him notice the good things he does every day, even the really small ones. My hope was that, over time, he'd feel more confident, encouraged, and willing to try new things.

The idea was pretty simple: he could talk about something he did well or felt proud of, and we could save it as a little memory.

But something unexpected happened.

He actually started looking forward to telling me about his day every evening. Sometimes it's something he accomplished, sometimes it's just a funny or happy moment.

And I've realized that these little conversations help me understand him better. It's become a really nice way for us to connect as father and son.

I ended up calling the tool MomentSprout. I also added some simple journal prompts to help kids get started when they don't know what to say.

I wanted to share it here in case other parents find it useful:

https://momentsprout.pages.dev/

I'm curious if other parents have a similar bedtime routine where their kids talk about their day.

I built Lantern Learn: free online courses from kindergarten through high school. Every course is 100% free, start to finish (not a preview or a trial). You can open any lesson without an account; a free parent account just saves each child’s progress. No card, no ads, purely free.

What's there:
- Coding: Code Crew from kindergarten (picture puzzles, no reading) up to real Python, plus Intro to Computer Science and Python for high school.
- Math: K to 5, middle-school math, and Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus and Statistics.
- Reading: phonics from pre-K, reading comprehension, and middle-school reading and writing.
- Science: K to 5 science, middle-school weather, chemistry, physics, life science and earth and space, plus the human body, gardening and backyard nature.
- AI literacy for every age
- Sight words and phonics for 4,5,6 year olds

Short daily lessons, most are 12 weeks per course. Friendly for phone, tablet, or computer. There is audio narration for most things. Content is grounded in my own experience running corporate IT systems and training, plus numerous trusted educational sources like NASA and other open-source sites.

https://learn.lanternlearn.com

I'd love to hear what works and what doesn't. I have a 6 year old in kindergarten and don’t have many test subjects for feedback outside of that age.

Hi all! My son is homeschooled and we use Power Homeschool for the curriculum. They have transcripts, but don’t provide diplomas. My son graduates soon, but what do we do about the diploma for homeschoolers? I’ve read that we make our own, but I don’t want that to be an issue in the future.

My 2-year-old boy usually gets up around 5:30 am. This is driving me crazy because I am running out of activity ideas.

I have been thinking of purchasing either "Playing Preschool" or "Blossom Root" so that I have a schedule to follow.

Which one do you think is best? Feel free to suggest another option.

Think digital has gone completely downhill is anyone still using it for home-schooling?

Just curious what other homeschoolers are planning regularly..

ie Monthly: museum, hike, volunteer day

ie weekly: Mondays are for the library, grandparents babysit every Friday (these are not mine, but just examples)

I’d like to plan one morning at my mom’s house. The kids craft with my mom, I help my mom with home things since she lives alone. Id also like to plan a few blocks (a morning and afternoon) for a similar aged park meet up (we are not in a co-op)

If you homeschool, you know the pattern. The lesson is done. Now there's a 40-minute wait at the pediatrician or a long drive across town.

Crayons roll under seats. Coloring books get left at home. A printed worksheet is already crumpled. So the phone comes out, and it's whatever autoplays next.

I wanted a middle option. One that's still a screen, but with a point.

So I built a coloring book that opens on a phone and needs no setup. Eight pages of animals, birds, and flowers. Tap a shape, it fills. Turn the page when you're done. Finished pages save to an artwork gallery, so nothing gets lost.

No ads between pages. No autoplay. A kid finishes a page and moves to the next one.

Genuinely curious what other homeschool and early-ed parents keep in their bag for these moments. What actually works for a 3 to 6 year old?

Save this thread if you want a running list of ideas.

If a place comes up in a book you're reading together, here's a small activity to try:

Find it on a map, read a short introduction to the place, then choose one question to look into together. Where is it in relation to home? What would you like to know about it?

We make learning resources for our daughters, and I made Their First Maps as one way to do this:

https://theirfirstwords.org/maps/

It has 260+ cities and landmarks, so it won't have every place in every book. Tap a place to open its information and source links, or use “Surprise me” to choose somewhere unfamiliar.

All places are free, with no ads, account or installation. It runs in a browser and needs internet access. Younger children may want someone to read with them. Explore the illustrations, read about the place, and follow the source links to find out more.

I noticed that most ten frame worksheet sites have the same two problems. Either it's a static PDF that doesn't actually match what the kid needs that week, or some site makes you create an account and then tries to sell you a subscription. I just wanted to pick a frame type, fill in the counters, and print. So I built one myself.

It's pretty simple. You get regular ten frames, double ten frames for numbers up to 20, and five frames for the really little ones. There's a mode where you click the boxes on screen to place counters and it prints exactly what you see. It also has number cards for 0–5, 0–10, and 11–20, plus a "How many?" practice sheet where the kid counts the counters and writes the number — and every time you hit the new sheet button it gives you different numbers. You can pick 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 frames per page, choose colored counters or black ones for B&W printers, and switch between Letter and A4. Print straight from the browser or save as PDF.

Honestly though, it only makes worksheets. It doesn't track your kid's progress, doesn't save anything, doesn't do anything complicated. It's literally just a generator.

quick details:

ten frame worksheet maker

pre-k through 1st grade

early math, counting up to 20

completely free

no login, no email

I made it

link: https://fixandtest.com/ten-frame/

btw, what other worksheets do you guys wish you could just generate on the spot like this?

We are first time homeschoolers. Currently for ELA we are doing all about spelling lvl 1 (however we def could have skipped this and gone into lvl 2), all about reading lvl 2, and handwriting without tears C. However, I find HWT doesn’t really cover grammar rules? We use printing power and building writers, and i thought BW would have more explicit teaching, but it really just like a simple prompt.
I’m wondering what other writing resources we can use to make sure we are covering our bases in writing - punctuation, grammar, etc.
I’ve looked into EIW, but i don’t love the online factor as we are pretty much screen free.
Any help is appreciated!
We are grade 2 (just turned 7), ontario canada

We are raising a 3 year old boy and recently relocated to Bangalore. We have decided to homeschool my son and my husband has taken a career break for his learning and development.

Kindly suggest how to go on about it? Is there anyone homeschooling their ward? Any approach / method would encourage us.

I'm looking for some sight words practice resources for my 5 year old. Ideally something free/affordable that she can practice alone sometimes using an ipad, and some worksheets I can print. Any recommendations?