Gour-den Delights
Using
gardening as part of a homeschooling curriculum
by Blythe Pelham
  As an
artist I'm very much a create-as-I-go kinda gal. Our children have been homeschooled since
birth, though since I think of life as learning it often seems silly to me to label what
we do as schooling. One method I frequently use in guiding/teaching involves doing
something I enjoy and pulling the children into the activity along with me. One such
passion for me is gardening. Our current gardening project took us in many directions from
which learning can 'grow' from a garden! Our gourds have seeded projects in music,
history, art, science, marketing, and more. Take a look at what we've done and tell us
what you're doing!The Truth About Butterflies
 Rick Mikula is called the
Grandfather of Butterfly Farming in the United States. Rick has also been 'tagging
butterflies for the last two decades as on going research into the mysterious migration of
the monarch butterfly. In this interview and essay from Rock you can learn about the
importance of butterflies, basics facts and misconceptions about butterflies and how you
can get involved in butterfly preservation.
The Rockets Red Glare
by Allen W. McDonnell
The story and FREE teacher's guide
 The Start Spangled Banner,
National anthem of the United States of America dates back to the War of 1812. During that
war Francis Scott Key went aboard a British Frigate to negotiate the release of an
important prisoner of war. Find out more about this story, see materials from the website
from the Smithsonian along with a FREE downloadable teacher's guide!!
African-American Homeschooling
An interview
with Judi Thomas
of HERITAGE Homeschoolers
hosted by Joe Spataro
  Former
middle school teacher Judi Thomas of Marietta, Ga., started HERITAGE Homeschoolers, a
support group for minorities, after finding other organizations included few, if any,
black families. She has been homeschooling her daughter Juliet (age 9) and her daughter
Jacqueline (age 4). Judi in many ways is like any homeschooling mom but with some unique
perspectives. As a former middle school teacher she has an intimate inside knowledge of
how the "system" works. As an African-American homeschooler, she has developed a
support group for this community of homeschoolers, adding to the diversity of the
homeschooling movement. She was recently featured in a Time Magazine article, and I
thought it might be fun to chat with Judi a bit and have her tell us more about herself,
her family and her support group.
The 14th Colony
 by Allen W. McDonnell
Most children in North America learn at an early age that the "Thirteen
Colonies" revolted in 1775 and after 8 long hard years won their independence with
the Treaty of Paris in 1783. What most of us weren't taught is that the British
actually founded 14 colonies on the Atlantic coastline of North America. Find out more.
Joanne's Movie Reviews:
"Remember
the Titans"
hosted by Joanne Spataro
Charlotte Observer Movie Critic
 movie review & historical
perspectives
  "Remember the
Titans" scores as a winning football drama. Based on a true story, the movie is set
in 1971, when T.C Williams High integrated blacks and whites. They learn to accept each
other’s differences; friendships blossom. Boone continues to keep the team on their
toes and playing their hardest. But how will the rest of the town react to the newly
bonded team? Find out more and also see our resources to learn more about this important
time in our history.
FREE coloring page
"Home Sweet Home"
 Have
some fun coloring the bird in front of her house. Print two copies and you can color the
page along with your child and spend some quality time. If you get even more enthusiastic,
we have some great ideas right there for making SIMPLE birdhouses there too!!
See the Bird Center
Meet the Author
Arlette N. Braman
"Kids Around the
World Create!"
 Interview & FREE craft
  This book is an excellent collection of crafts
from all over the world. Arlette's tried and true international crafts have given
children hours of fun along with information about other cultures. In this interview, she
discusses: How her book connects cultures in a unique way; How her book is perfect for
homeschoolers and for special holidays; How to use basic materials for wonderfully
creative crafts. We also include a FREE excerpt from her book - "Indian Welcome
message" craft. Find out more.
 FREE coloring
page
Friendship
Teach your children about the importance of
friendship and how we can all live together with this cute coloring page showing the
friendship of a dog and a kitty.
Shoebox Aquarium
  This week's Craft of
the Week comes from the very popular book, The Absolute Best Play Days, written and
created by Pam Waterson. Pam's book is divided into themes like music, airplanes,
dinosaurs, etc. Within each theme there are activities, crafts, videos, even snacks! The
Absolute Best Play days is great for children age preschool age and up. The book is geared
towards creativity and fun learning. It can be successfully used by parents who home
educate their children and parents who want to enrich their children's learning life. This
week's Craft of the Week is making an aquarium. This is featured in the fish section
or theme of Pam's book which also includes other terrific "fish" activities and
related books that help kids explore the world of fish.
Soapmaking
This week's Craft of the Week features a popular way to
have good, clean fun- soap making. The following recipes will create hand soap,
granulated laundry soap, and a basic shampoo and more. Don't forget the rubber
ducky!
Meet the Author
Cynthia Leitich Smith
"Jingle Dancer"
 hosted by Joanne Spataro
interview
& Native American resources
Cynthia Leitich Smith has written "Jingle Dancer," a children’s
book celebrating Native American culture. People who read this book with savor the
enchanting rhythm of her words, and learning about Native American traditions. It’s a
wonderful book for all ages. The young girl, Jenna in "Jingle Dancer,"
participates in a powwow. A powwow is a Native American social and spiritual event that
may include dancing, drumming, singing, eating, and sometimes camping, trading,
storytelling, rodeos, or film and art shows. As the author says, "It's my hope that
children will see themselves in Jenna, who like Bat from a traditional Mvskoke story, can
make a difference even though she is small." Find out more
Brain Teasers-of-the-Week
This is a new section where we will be asking
you some fun questions. Try to answer them on our discussion group and we will reveal the
answer back here next week. The questions are broken into three groups, Easy, Hard and
Tough, so it will give everyone a chance to play.
Fourth of July Collage
 A great way for kids
to learn about what Independence Day means is to have them make a collage. By finding
various pictures in magazines, catalogs etc.. they can identify what it means to be
American and what our independence means to all of us. Also, this is a terrific exercise
to develop eye hand coordination and fine motor skills.
 Zone
Unit Studies:
Building
Model Cities
Building a model can be a lot of fun and help
you to learn more about the real world, because you really need to focus on reality to
make a model. Here are some ideas that we are developing in our discussion groups.
Black History Month
Martin Luther King
Learn more about how Martin Luther King &
Rosa Parks emerged on the national scene from a wonderful excerpt from The American
Century from Harold Evans.
FreshAir Teen Magazine presents
5 Best Tips for Homework Dilemmas
by Joanne Spataro
Many students hate homework, but that's not saying you can't try harder. If you
just get organized and feel confident that you can tackle algebra, etc., you can complete
the task at hand; without the usual tears or dread. Find out more
The 50 United States
by Joe Spataro
America, that is the United States of America is a big place with a lot of
materials to study. Sometimes it's hard to remember some of the little things. Here are
some study aids.
Promoting
Awareness
These activities are designed to promote
awareness of others and the world around them. Also to give children confidence in who
they are - knowing that differences are okay and attitudes and consciences vary in things
we decide to do in our lives.
Let's Go
Surfin': Inventions
Discovering that the Chinese had toy
helicopters centuries before man flew in helicopters made me curious. Let's learn more
about ancient inventions. |
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