Dissecting Flowers
The carnival of cool homeschoolers #5 is posted at Homeschooled Twins. I loved all the posts, but the post from Playful Learning caught my attention due to a flower project I’ve been working on with a friend. Visit her Dissecting Flowers post to explore a flower dissection lesson, parts of a flower, Life Cycle Video, flower gallery and making flower shirts.
Click on the graphic below to visit the carnival of cool homeschoolers to find other great posts and resources!
U.S.A. Games
These free games from Shepherd Software include capitals, states, landscapes, cartographer, lakes, rivers, oceans and geographer.
Looking for a good book?
Our family is always looking for another good book to read. My county library’s website offers reading suggestions from nationally known librarian and author NANCY PEARL. Not only are there book recommendations at the site, but you can also read the first chapter from each book that she recommends.
The first book on her list for June was Grayson by by Lynne Cox. This small memoir recounts the time when marathon swimmer Lynn Cox encounters a baby Gray whale on an early morning swim and how she helps to reunite it with its mother. You can read the first chapter of this book here and read Ms. Pearl’s other recommendations here.
Doing what comes naturally– counting
Some things are so simple, we forget to mention them when talking about learning. Most of what we learn comes naturally. For example, one of my children began counting things when he was a toddler. He did it because it was something he enjoyed doing.
As he grew, he set up stores, played many different games, counted trees, rocks, animals and anything else that would hold still long enough to be calculated. He also bought a used cash register that provided him hours of practice and fun.
Playing games also can offer great counting practice. Muggins offers some great math games here at their website.
Here are a few other online counting games:
Natalie Criss of P.E.A.K. – Podcast Interview
I recently learned that Parent Educators and Kids (PEAK) is hosting a fun-filled retreat July 25 and 26th in Mississippi. When I saw that the contact for the event was P.E.A.K.’s founder, Natalie Criss, I got a hold of her to see if she would tell us more about the event.
In addition to helping coordinate great events for P.E.A.K., Natalie lives with her husband and two daughters near Jackson, Mississippi where they have been homeschooling for several years.
You can listen to our interview and enjoy Natalie’s inside glimpse of their upcoming event here. [display_podcast]
Thanks again, Natalie, it was great talking to you! – Mary
Technorati Tags: Natalie Criss, P.E.A.K., Parent Educators and Kids, homeschooling, homeschool, homeschool event
A History of Us by Joy Hakim
The history books that I had to read while attending school were dry, boring and often put me to sleep. Our family was delighted when we found Joy Hakim’s books because she breaks through the tedious details and dates and tells us the story of others who lived during each time period in our country’s history.
We found these to be a good basic study in American History.
You can visit her website here and check out her list of books at F.U.N. Books.
Careers in Music
This website from Berklee offers descriptions of careers in music. You can explore the various possibilities here. They also offer 5 Essentials of Music Career Success, Music Career Resources, Music-Related Associations A-Z.
DC State Board of Education Approves Homeschooling Regulations
I have been wondering how the State School Board voted in D.C. on Wednesday evening. I found the answer in the following announcement at their site:
July 16, 2008
Today, the DC State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted a resolution approving new regulations for homeschooling in the District of Columbia following a request for approval by State Superintendent of Education Deborah A. Gist. The regulations, which were developed by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), provide the District government with additional tools to ensure that all students receive an excellent education. The regulations were approved by a vote of 5-1 and now move to final promulgation by the State Superintendent of Education.
Under the new regulations, parents and guardians electing to homeschool will be required to submit written notification of their intent to homeschool to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The approved regulations will now require parents to maintain a portfolio of their child’s work, which the OSSE may review upon request up to two times a year. Most significantly, the new regulations allow the OSSE to make a determination about whether regular instruction is taking place in the home.
“The participation of the homeschooling community was a very significant component of this process. The voice of the community helped to ensure that we approved regulations which are sound and balanced. We must make sure that our work with the community continues on this issue,” said DC State Board of Education President Robert Bobb.
Gist noted that “we look forward to working with homeschooling families in the District of Columbia to ensure that they receive all of the supports necessary to successfully educate their students at home.”
American Alligator – National Geographic
American Alligator – National Geographic provides facts and photos, video and sound, map, e-card and a printable photo here.
We enjoyed looking at the video and listening to what the sounds they make most of all.
Spacecraft Engineer Game
NASA needs your help! As part of an international coalition, it has begun building the International Space Station. But the Space Station is threatened by orbital debris-abandoned satellites, rocket remnants, and many other things.
Can you design a spacecraft to protect the Space Station from this “space junk”?
The Informed Parent Feed- National Gardening Month April 3, 2013
- Happy Birthday Vincent Van Gogh March 30, 2013
- Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss March 1, 2013
- Carnival of Homeschooling and Following your Interests February 19, 2013
- Responsible Pet Owners Month – Official February 10, 2013
- It’s been a while… February 4, 2013
- February is Library Lover’s Month February 2, 2013
- Carnival of Homeschooling Blog Carnival May 29, 2012
- Come to the Carnival! May 23, 2012
- Great Earth Day Opportunity from GardenSoxx.com April 20, 2012
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