THANK YOU

You know, I am typically so busy with my kids and day-to-day activities in my life, that it doesn't really occur to me to check and see how well my blog does.  Does anyone even read it ?  Well, they do.  I haven't had this blog for that long and I was pleasantly surprised to learn to day that I'm almost at 10,000 views !  Most of them are readers from the U.S.A., but there are a considerable number from all over Europe.  Who knew ?

 It's inspiring to know that my short writings on homeschooling and related topics are helping others.  Hopefully, they bring you an occasional laugh, too.  Perhaps this picture will; it's a very recent, very blurry photo of me holding my 3 month old grandson, Julian Miles.  From us to you ~ THANK YOU for reading.

POTPOURRI OF HOMESCHOOL WEBSITES

A POTPOURRI OF WORTHY WEBSITES TO VISIT

Free Curriculum Materials & Online Resources
http://www.ignitethefire.com/freefirewood.html
Free online courses, curriculum guides, textbooks & reference materials. Foreign language, English & Language Arts, and 19th Century Schoolbooks links have been posted.

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SCORE Cyberguides:
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cyberguide.html

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Free, extensive literature units for grades K-12
MIT OpenCourseWare

http://web.mit.edu/ocw/ The Massachusetts Institute of Technology places most of their course materials free online for anyone to use. Some of the course packages are very complete, and advanced high school homeschoolers would be able to study the materials on their own.

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Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
http://www.powa.org/
This online course provides instruction and practice in the development of basic writing composition skills necessary for college-bound students. Each explanatory section comes complete with assignments. Also included is instruction in how to write four different types of essays: Informal, thesis/support, argumentative, and exploratory. This course could be used as a stand-alone course in composition, or the course segments distributed over several years of high school as part of another English course.

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Supplemental Resources: The Elements of style, by Strunk
http://www.bartleby.com/141/

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The Internet Grammar of English
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm
This is an online course in English grammar originally designed for university undergraduates. It incorporates interactive and self-correcting exercises, and is a complete course in English grammar, easy to use. Because this is a British site, grammar terms may be slightly different than those commonly used in the United States. (English Department, University College London)

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Grammar and Writing
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm
This is an interactive course in grammar applied to writing. Includes many online interactive quizzes and complete explanations of English grammar, with applications to written composition. (Capital Community College, Hartford, CT)

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BBC's Get Writing Course
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/
Beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of instruction and practical application exercises. Explore the site, then click on "mini-courses" to get started. (British Broadcasting Corporation)

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The Basics of Screenwriting
http://www.fathom.com/course/21701762/index.html
A six-module course covering these topics: The Premise, Character Development, Screenplay Structure and Visual Storytelling, Setting the Scene, and Formatting Your Masterpiece. (American Film Institute)

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News Writing
http://www.learner.org/resources/series44.html
This is a video instruction series in the basics of journalism. 15 half-hour video segments, using online video-on-demand, with commentary by leading journalists.
NOTE 1: Requires DSL broadband connection.
NOTE 2: There is an optional a student text and teacher's guide to accompany this video online course, but they must be purchased. The books are not absolutely necessary to use the video course. You may wish to listen to each segment, then design your own assignment to practice the video segment topic.

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Debate Central
http://debate.uvm.edu/learn2.html
This will link you to many resources on debate, including a 13-part "Critical Advocacy" streaming video series on the how-tos of debate (you will need at least the free version of RealPlayer to view these videos). Also included is the free syllabus, course instruction videos, and free online debate textbook used for Dr. Snider's Fundamentals of Debate course at the University of Vermont. Used together, these resources could comprise a full-year debate course for high school English. (University of Vermont)

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Patterns, Functions, and Algebra http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/learningmath/algebra/index.html
Basic Algebra course; interactive with online video. Originally designed for teacher training.
NOTE: Requires DSL broadband connection

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Geometry
http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/learningmath/geometry/index.html
Basic geometry course; interactive with online video. Originally designed for teacher training. (Annenburg/CPB)

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Geometry of Art & Architecture
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/syllabus.html
This companion site to a Dartmouth College course provides an approach to geometry that may be particularly appealing to arts-oriented students. (Dartmouth College).

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Supplement this course with Euclid's Elements.
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/toc.html

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Elementary Statistics
http://sofia.fhda.edu/gallery/statistics/index.html
A basic elementary statistics course complete with 12 thirty-minute video lectures, assignments, quizzes, online calculator, and exams with answer keys. A complete statistics course. (Sofia Open Content Initiative)

Against All Odds: Introductory Statistics
This online video course includes 26 half-hour video modules and introduces the basic principles of statistics. NOTE 1: Requires DSL broadband connection.
NOTE 2: Optional textbooks to accompany this course may be purchased.
Supplemental Resource: AP Statistics Course Description and Syllabi You must register (it's free) first, then you may download any AP Course Description and sample syllabi

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AP Biology Online Syllabus
http://www.users.nac.net/challoran/apbio.htm
This is a massive and well-organized site, which includes reading assignments, teacher's lecture outlines, a timetable for the course, selections from online textbooks and hypermedia from leading colleges and universities (including MIT), and a large number of well-selected online activities to support learning the course material, including links to virtual labs. Although technically not an "online course," the materials could be used as is, accompanied by the recommended textbook, to more than meet the instructional requirements of AP Biology.
There is a required textbook, Biology(4th ed.), by Peter Raven & George Johnson. (McGraw-Hill, Publishers).
http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/rjbiology/

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Supplemental Resource: AP Biology Course Description and Syllabi
http://www.apcentral.collegeboard.com/
You must register (it's free) first, then you may download any AP Course Description and sample syllabi
General Chemistry I
http://cnx.rice.edu/content/col10263/latest/
and
General Chemistry II
http://cnx.rice.edu/content/col10262/latest/
For advanced students with an excellent math background.

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Concept Development Studies in Chemistry
http://cnx.rice.edu/content/col10264/latest/
An online chemistry textbook.

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Physics I Online Course Outline
http://www.mcasco.com/p1outln.html
This site is actually a hyperlinked online textbook, not a full course. For advanced students.

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Physics I, 8.01
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-01Physics-IFall1999/CourseHome/index.htm
This course is a first-semester college freshman level physics course available free in its entirety, including 35 videotaped lectures, from the MIT OpenCourseWare project.

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Homeschooling in Tough Economic Times

                                                        Photo:  A colonial village underway.

We all know that the global economy is facing challenging times these days.  Many people are looking at how to be more frugal, live more closely with nature, choosing simpler lifestyles.  The irony is that many homeschoolers already have done that and it’s a matter of course for them. Homeschoolers, by and large, live on one income.  That’s the sacrifice that they make so one parent is home with the children, to homeschool.  While the homeschool community has been adept at being saavy consumers, they haven’t been exempt from feeling the pinch of hard times since the Crash of ’08.  

Whether it’s cutting back on long drives for field trips due to high gas prices, making plans for attending events that are closer to home, buying or swapping school books that are gently used, or even having the stay-at-home parent take on a part time job; changes are happening for most families.  Yet, the key is always, “family”.  One thing is for sure; homeschoolers know how to adapt and be flexible with their lifestyles to make things work.

Here are some articles from 2009 until currently, about homeschooling and tough economic times.

Articles:

Tough economic times present new challenges for homeschool families

http://www.pantagraph.com/news/article_29b0d38b-d742-5ae6-810a-f5cd43d8ecb8.html

Homeschooling During Financial Crisis: Three Ways it Saves

http://www.homeschool4free.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=143:homeschooling-during-financial-crisis-three-ways-it-saves&catid=81:homeschol-finances&Itemid=71

Families continue homeschooling despite tough economic times

http://www.examiner.com/article/families-continue-homeschooling-despite-tough-economic-times

How Homeschooling Empowers Families in Tough Times

http://homeedmag.com/HEM/262/takingcharge.php

TEACHER TOOLS & TEMPLATES

   Photo:  My six year old daughter learning to write with a quill pen and ink.

A mom I don't even know posted the  link I'm going to share with you, below, on one of the e-lists that I am on.  Frequently I am too busy to even look closely at the information other moms share and I'm sure I've missed a treasure trove along the way.  I'm glad that I didn't miss this site.

There are numerous teacher templates to print out (free) at this link:  http://www.educationworld.com/tools_templates/index.shtml

They also have "standards" listed by state and by subject.  For some homeschoolers, that is a welcome resource and it is for them that it is shared.  Frequently, newer homeschoolers like to use such lists because there is a common anxiety in early homeschooling about "not wanting my child to miss something".  With more experience, one realizes that such anxiety is unwarranted.  For others, there is a genuine pleasure in having the level of structure that standards offers.  So you can check it out here: http://www.educationworld.com/standards/state/toc/index.shtml

Looking for holiday ideas and historical information ?  That's here, too.  http://www.educationworld.com/holidays/

A library of worksheets is listed here, not just from one website, but from many of the most popular ones ! http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/worksheets/

Do you use lesson plans in your homeschool ?  If so, there are a variety of them to review, here: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/

Whether you have a Kindle Fire or an Apple iPad, there are some excellent resources here that you can load and use, to enhance education, as well.  http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/

Now you understand, with all of the one-stop shopping available at the  Education World website, why I was so excited that I didn't miss the mom's post who shared it on the e-list !  We're all looking for ways to enhance our homeschool experience, and do so for free or reasonable cost, and with convenience due to our busy lives.  This is one site that fits the bill and I thank them for that.

BABY JULIAN MILES & A GOLDEN SPATULA

Barely two months old of cuteness, right here.Okay, so I just can't resist and I don't even want to, anyway.  Now that my oldest child, my daughter, has returned to her work as Dr. Sarah with the psychologist hat on, I get to play gramma again !  As the schedule turns right now, I'm babysitting both babies once a week.  Adriana is a big-sister-two-almost-three, and Julian is two months old.  So he is now the most current bambino for the family to spoil !  Here he is, napping on a warm and snuggly grandma.  That would be me, of course.  


In other family news, below is my son, who won the Golden Spatula for making the most colorful cupcake decoration at the library's recent cupcake decorating contest !  He just turned 8 years old, and he's a proud recipient of that spatula.  Go, creative Leo !

MATH GAMES ONLINE & A SALAMANDER

This is a super short post, readers !  A friend was asking me about some interest-holding math websites for her kids to use.  I suggested the two that follow.  They include printable worksheets all the way through interactive online games and it's pretty much free to enjoy !  

http://www.math-play.com/

http://www.counton.org/

Since I'm really pressed for time, I'll spare the long story about how another mom friend recently found a spotted salamander that appears to have been washed out by our beautiful, babbling brook, from his hibernation space.  That fact cost us $60 to set up a space for Dr.Spot (not to be confused with Dr. Spock, you see).  He's contentedly back to a pseudo-hibernation state in his fake long in his glass aquarium.  We have a full stock of crickets for him to munch on and one of these days when he plays the role of Punxatawny Phil and lets us know when spring is really coming by gettin' out from under that fake log, he can have a tasty morsel of cricket to nibble on !  Ewwww.

So, how do we know it's a he ?  You just count the number of spots on the salamander.  The dolls have fewer and the guys have 30 or more.  It's definitely a he.  Carry on.

TISSUE PAPER CRAFTS !

TISSUE PAPER CRAFTS

In the last few weeks, I’ve been using some spare time to re-organize my first floor closets.  For as much work as it has been, it has also been fun because I’ve uncovered some really fun craft items.  Namely, a huge bag of tissue paper scraps.  I’m glad that I kept them because I wanted to use them for a winter’s day when I knew we’d be indoors and the time would be ideal for having fun making tissue paper crafts.   That day will soon arrive so I’ve been looking around online for how to turn that colorful bag of tissue papers into creative art work.  Here’s some links that I’ve found online that certainly inspire just that !  I’ll post pictures of our projects later when I edit this page with an update.

http://www.freekidscrafts.com/tissue_paper_crafts-t105.html

http://www.abchomepreschool.com/Crafts/TissuePaperCrafts.htm

A few favorites for my younger children that piqued my interest with the holidays coming up for Valentine’s and St. Patrick Day, are these holiday themed projects.

Stained Glass Heart Craft
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mstainedglass2.htm

Shamrock in 3-D
http://www.theideabox.com/Shamrock_Tissue_Paper_Art.html

Suncatchers with Tissue Paper
These are just adorable and good for multiple ages.
http://www.favecrafts.com/Crafting-with-Kids/colorful-tissue-paper-suncatchers#